While Class 1A was changing into their gym clothes in the locker rooms, I was approached by someone.
" Excuse me, are you Arata Seiji, the number one in the entrance exam, right?"
I was confused about why he approached me but responded nevertheless,
"Yeah, that's me. Can I help you with something?"
" I'm Tenya Ida. I just wanted to say that since you are one of the few who perceived the true nature of that practical exam, and I'm excited to attend U.A. with you. I really hope we get along in the future."
"Sure, I too hope we get along."
Before we could continue talking, we were rudely interrupted,
"Move extra, especially you, four eyes don't block my way."
"Hey, that's rude!" Tenya said as he followed Katsuki Bakugo to correct him.
'Well seems someone is still salty about not getting first place.'
After everyone was done changing, we gathered together with the girls to make our way towards the sports field when I was approached again; this time it was Uraraka who came to speak to me.
"Hi, I'm Uraraka Ochako. I really wanted to say thank you for helping me at the entrance exam. I hope we can be friends."
"Oh, it was you, I see. Don't worry about it. The name is Arata Seiji."
After hearing this, it seems like she was too nervous to continue, so she ran back towards the girls.
Minutes later, the entire class stood on the sports field. Seeing that the class gathered relatively quickly, Aizawa, looking quite satisfied, began to explain the purpose of our presence.
"Good, now that all of you are here, we can begin. Today, we will be having a Quirk Apprehension Test." He began.
Uraraka hesitantly asked while raising her hand, "Uh…what about the entrance ceremony? Or orientation?"
"We don't have any time to waste on silly things such as ' orientation'. Here at U.A., we break traditions. That means I get to run this class however I see fit to make you heroes." Aizawa immediately shot back in indifference.
He continued, "U.A. is known for its
' freestyle' education system. That applies to us teachers as well. We are free to choose the way in which we teach our students; that's one of the reasons why most pro-heroes come to teach here at U.A."
"Softball throwing, standing long jump, 50-metre dash, endurance running, grip strength, side hops, sit-ups, seated toe-touch. You did all these in middle school, right? Your standard, no quirks allowed gym tests. You have taken these standardized tests throughout your life, but have you ever done it with your quirk?"
"This country is still refusing to allow quirks when calculating the averages of those records. That makes no sense. In my opinion, it's only a matter of time before all this changes."
After saying that, he turned to me,
"Arata, you scored highest on the entrance exam. What was the farthest you could throw the softball in middle school?"
At this question, the class's attention snapped toward me. I knew he would ask me this since, as he said, I scored the highest instead of Bakugo, who's currently glaring daggers at me, fists clenched. And it wouldn't take a genius to figure out why. Meeting Aizawa's gaze, I answered
"57 meters."
"Great. Now throw this as far as you can while using your quirk. Do whatever you want, just don't leave the circle." He gestured towards a circle drawn on the ground before tossing a softball at me.
"Don't hesitate, give it all you've got."
I just nodded and walked towards the circle as everyone stared at me.
Aizawa examined the boy in front of him, thinking back to the clips of Arata's performance at the entrance exam he had seen on the monitoring screen.
'A powerful quirk and a sharp mind. Though the way he interacts with people is as if he is performing a task. An act he put on just to complete his objectives.'
Aizawa concluded that he was a boy he needed to keep an eye on and pay close attention to. To make sure he doesn't stray from the light path.
Stepping into the circle, I looked at the ball in my hand and just tossed it aside. To everyone's surprise, the ball started rapidly flying away on its own.
' Yep, all I have to do is to let the black ghost take the ball and fly away from me. No need to pretend I'm straining myself. Although from the way Aizawa is looking at me, he seems annoyed.'
"I-incredible, is that some sort of a telekinesis quirk?" I heard Midoriya say to himself, while the rest of the class spotted similar looks of surprise and wonder.
Except for Bakugo, who looked enraged.
'Tsk, just a damn extra.' Bitterly thinking that, he convinced himself that the nonchalance of his classmate was to hide his lack of ability, since he beat him in villain points and only lost because of the rescue points at the entrance exam.
The device in Aizawa's hands that automatically detected the distance between the ball and the pitching stand beeped.
'That's probably not his limit…' he thought, observing his student's lack of reaction while showing the results the device displayed: 3755 m
'Hmm, it seems like it got farther than I wanted.' I thought to myself. Keeping my face neutral and stepping out of the circle.
"It's important to know our own limits; that's the first step towards knowing what kind of heroes you are going to become." Aizawa continued lecturing us.
My classmates excitedly exclaimed, as I reached the group, Kirishima was the first to approach me
"3755 meters? Seriously? Damn, that's manly!"
"Woah, dude, that was insane! How did you do that?!" Denki chimed in, along with a few murmured agreements from the rest of the class.
"Thanks." It was a short response, but no one seemed to mind.
Not everyone was impressed, though. Bakugo's jaw was clenched tightly, his hands twitching at his sides, explosions faintly sparking from his palms. For a moment I thought he would attack me.
"So we can use our quirks, for real!? Now, that's great!"
Someone said from behind me, and I suppose that other than Midoriya, who was surely worrying about how he was going to handle the test with his quirk, the rest of the class was excited at the prospect of using their quirks openly in a test when they had always been limited at their previous schools.
However, before the conversation could continue, Aizawa silenced everyone with a cold glare.
"Awesome, you say…? You're hoping to become heroes after three years, and you think it'll be all fun and games? Fine, the one with the lowest scores across all eight events will be judged hopeless… and will be expelled!" His tone was sharp and edgy. As if to underline the seriousness of his words and to prove he was telling the truth.
Panic spread instantly amongst my classmates like wildfire. Their eyes widened in shock as they looked at him.
"WHAAT!?"
While some looked anxious, like Midoriya, who was already tense but now had beads of sweat rolling down his forehead. Others shifted uncomfortably, whispering amongst themselves.
There were also others who got excited at the chance to prove they were best! I, on the other hand, stayed indifferent to Aizawa's words and the various reactions of my classmates.
Aizawa brushed back his messy hair, his gaze locking onto us, with a slight touch of amusement.
"Your fates are in our hands."
He took a step forward, voice dropping.
"Welcome to the Hero Course at U.A. High School!"
"Sensei! Isn't that too unfair? We just got here, and the one with the lowest score has to be expelled? It's only the first day; what if someone's quirks are unsuitable for physical tests!" Uraraka protested.
I silently watched my classmates as Aizawa stayed silent for a moment, his face cold as he looked at us. He remained unfazed, his tone as flat as ever while responding to my classmates' frustration.
"Unfair!? The world is full of unfairness. Natural disasters, random accidents, rampaging villains causing havoc, or any other dangerous situation are any of them fair?" he stated matter-of-factly.
"The world is never fair and is full of unexpected things. You think a villain will be understanding to a pro-hero whose quirk is just not suitable to counter them? Ridiculous!" Aizawa coldly rebutted.
"Heroes are the ones who correct that unfairness. If you think U.A. is a place where you can coast through without worry and still graduate to become a pro-hero, then let me be the one to break that illusion. U.A. isn't that kind of a place. For the next three years, we will run you through the wringer, and you'll have to push past your limits. That's Plus Ultra. Use your strength to overcome it, give it your all."
As Aizawa finished speaking, the class fell silent as his words sank in. The students, even Uraraka, who had protested at first, felt the pressure and had no choice but to accept that he was right.