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Izuku sat in his seat, taking several deep, steadying breaths.
He was at the threshold, the point of no return; not literally, he hoped, but definitive all the same. When would he next see Earth? When was the next time he’d be able to see his planet, his home? The program lasted for the better part of a decade, and even after that there were expectations. Jobs, trips, missions that wouldn’t lend time for any sort of vacation until he was well-established in whatever line of work he chose. Could he really do this?
He shook his head. That was a stupid thought. He’d been preparing for this for years already; it had been what, half a decade since the Federation had revealed themselves to humanity? Since they’d released several terabytes of cultural and scientific information into unsuspecting human servers? Since they’d extended an open invitation to join them among the stars?
He still remembered the countless hours spent learning Common, scouring the cultural documents for crumbs of information, and finally looking into the Universal Academy program for interspecies cadets, purely by chance. He remembered finding the requirements for admission, even more hours spent studying for the (allegedly) ruthless exams, even early mornings jogging to meet the minimum fitness requirements. And suddenly, five years after he’d begun, here he stood; on a human – Terran, they were Terran, now – shuttle headed to orbit, where an intergalactic ferry would be waiting to take him away.
And his journey was only just beginning. According to what he’d already read, cadets at UA were lumped together in groups of twenty, normally consisting of all different species. They’d all learn together initially, and later branch out into respective interests; more often than not, this resulted in varied groups with a wide range of skills, and entire classes sticking together for missions after graduating wasn’t uncommon.
Izuku wondered what, if anything, would become his specialty. There were plenty of options to choose from, but becoming well-rounded in everything seemed to be what was calling him most at the moment. Why limit yourself to one thing, when you can get a base for everything? It wasn’t like he had to stop learning after graduating, after all.
He sighed, and slumped down further into his seat. Of course, that would only pan out if he managed to stay enrolled long enough to graduate. There was no guarantee he’d make it.
It took him an embarrassingly long amount of time to notice he wasn’t alone. In the far corner, clearly asleep, sat a skeletal figure with a head of messy blond hair. He (Izuku thinks he’s a he) is snoring loudly, drool pooling into his lap. Izuku is stuck between laughing and trying to move even farther away. He stays where he is.
He spends the rest of the trip repeating his sequence of breaths, doing his best to calm the racing of his heart. Regardless, his mind races; what would the Academy look like? Were there accommodations for Terrans? What was safe for him to eat, and how would he know? Would other cadets be comfortable around him? He wouldn’t blame them, he was a new species, but the thought hurt. And what if his intelligence or strength were subpar by galactic standards? How could he compete-
“Kid?” Izuku startled, eyes darting back to the thin man in the corner. He was looking at him worriedly. “Are you okay? I can hear you overthinking from here.”
Izuku flushed. Had it been that obvious? “Y-yes, I’m fine. Thank you, sir.”
The man relaxed, a small smile spreading over his face. “Don’t worry so much. You’ll do great at UA. And if you have any questions, you can come to me.”
Izuku’s mind got caught on the last thing he said. “Wait- you’re going to UA too?” Aren’t you too old, he didn’t ask. The man laughs, loud and full of joy.
“My boy, you’re looking at the newest member of UA faculty!” His smile became softer. “I’m Yagi Toshinori. It’s nice to meet you, Young…?”
“Ah! Midoriya Izuku, sir.” Yagi Toshinori? Where did he know that name from?
“There’s no need to be so formal, Young Midoriya. Just call me Yagi, or if you must, Yagi-Sensei.”
Izuku just nodded absently, too caught up in the whirring of his mind. After a moment he shot up. “You’re Yagi Toshinori,” he said, finger pointed accusingly.
Yagi laughed. “I recall having told you that just under a minute ago, young Midoriya.”
Izuku blushed. “What I meant was that you’re the Yagi Toshinori. You’re All Might.” Yagi Toshinori had been one of Izuku’s main inspirations, even before the Federation had revealed itself. He was practically a legend, having gone on more missions to space than anyone on record; he’d helped establish the first permanent moon bases, had been on the first manned mission to Mars, had even had a near miss with an asteroid passing through their system to collect samples. Absolutely everywhere he was depicted as an enormous mountain of a man; he towered over every reporter who ever interviewed him, and had always looked like he could bench-press a bus. This was not who was in front of him now.
“What,” he swallowed, looking at the man’s frame. “What happened to you, sir? If- if you don’t mind me asking.”
Yagi sighed, getting up to sit across from Izuku. “I had a bit of an accident, on the return trip from my last voyage. I didn’t want it publicized, for obvious reasons, but…” He seemed to struggle for words. “I think it’s best if I just show you.” Izuku watched in growing horror as he lifted the hem of his shirt, slowly revealing marred skin in a crater; scar tissue spread out from the epicenter, an actual crater noticeable in his torso. Izuku diverted his eyes before he could puke, and Yagi sighed again, lowering his shirt back down.
“It’s the main reason I retired. I couldn’t exactly go on more missions like this, missing a lung and most of my stomach.” Izuku retched quietly. “I thought my time in space was over, until I was contacted by UA. It turns out,” he said with a smile, “that they can only accept cadets when at least one member of the faculty is a member of the same species. They didn’t want to miss out on possible human- uh, Terran applicants, and they’d found out about my exploits in space.”
He grew a wistful smile. “I may not be the best teacher quite yet, but how could I resist the offer to return to the stars? I’ve been in contact with them for over a year, now, and I’m happy to say I’ve been hired.”
Izuku’s mouth was agape. He was going to have Yagi Toshinori, the best astronaut of their time, as a teacher. He was practically vibrating in his seat.
Before he could get another question out, however, the shuttle jolted to a stop and a set of doors hissed open. A large, black cat slinked in, long tentacle-like appendages piled on around its neck. A rodent about half as tall as Izuku was popped out, quickly scurrying across the floor to drop a couple of small devices in their laps. Before he could even process this the rodent had returned to its spot above the panther(?), and Izuku turned to Yagi to see him adjusting the device inside his ear. Izuku copied him.
“It is great to meet the both of you, Izuku Midoriya and Toshinori Yagi! My name is Nedzu, and I am the Principal!” The principal’s voice was high, almost to the point of grating, and there was a hint of mischievousness in his tone. He saw Yagi shudder, but Izuku just grinned. He must be a Wolar, one of the most intelligent species in the galaxy. This would be fun.
He continued. “Welcome to UA. Midoriya, please follow Aizawa here; he shall be your homeroom teacher come the beginning of the term. Yagi, come with me, please.” Surprisingly, despite his size, Yagi had to make a clear effort to keep up with Nedzu’s scurrying steps, and Izuku had to stop himself from laughing. He turned to the other alien.
He got nothing but a slight harrumph and a growled ‘follow me’, but he didn’t much care; the ship they were on now was clearly well-maintained, and the amount of windows around made him want to stop and stare through each one. The whole design was incredible, and somehow both exactly like and completely different from what sci-fi authors had imagined for generations. He was in love already.
They stopped in front of a door, almost double Izuku’s size. Aizawa barely acknowledged him before walking away. “This is your room. If you have questions, don’t.” His tails flicked up lazily and Izuku watched in wonder as he padded away, feet making no sound against the metal floor.
For all he pretended not to care, this only made it funnier to Izuku when he noticed him watching from a couple corridors down to make sure he got into his room alright.
-*-*-*-*-
It took them about a week to get to UA, time that Izuku spent exploring the ship and how it worked. He learned to move through zero gravity with some modicum of grace, and how to adjust to different levels of pull; the most interesting discovery he made was corridors that pulled from two different surfaces at once, something that made him somewhat nauseous to use.
Another discovery he made was the different ways of getting around that existed for different species. To the left and right of every corridor, at about eye level, was an indent in the wall that served for all of the smaller species. The middle corridor was as wide as it was tall, which was saying something, and even above that were what looked like monkey bars. Apparently they worked for species that were used to arboreal-based construction.
It was fascinating, discovering piece-by-piece every little adaptation made for species with needs he’d have never even dreamed of. It made him appreciate the few they’d begun to make for Terrans, even if they were fairly low-maintenance in comparison. As it turned out, most foods would be fine for them to eat, and the only other real adjustments needed would be for their size, which varied a lot between Yagi and Izuku regardless.
Another fun tidbit Izuku discovered was the existence of a ‘survivability ranking’, available for every Federation-recognized inhabited planet. It had more levels than he cared to go through, but the majority landed in one of three: hospitable, tolerable, and inhospitable. The first was generally reserved for home planets and moons, ones that harbored the beginnings of life and sheltered them enough to flourish. The second were generally ones that had been terraformed once the base planets had been outgrown, and the last ones were simple: they were incapable of hosting life of any kind.
Funnily enough, though, Earth didn’t land in any of the three categories. It had apparently been argued that, while it was hospitable to life as a whole, each individual was under such a constant threat of death that it couldn’t be considered welcoming. Between constant major shifts in temperature, random bouts of drought and flood, and more natural disasters than any other ‘hospitable’ planet on record, it was thought to be too dangerous for any long-term survival and prosperity. They’d assumed that so much chaos would grind any technological progression to a halt, and combined with the hostility of the non-sentient life forms already present the planet was viewed as nothing but a symbol for death.
Until the Terrans had colonized the Moon, apparently.
So Earth had officially been given the title of ‘Deathworld’, and the Terrans ‘Deathworlders’. It wasn’t the first time the term had been used, but it was rare enough to cause a stir; immediately afterwards the Federation had sent scouts to get a closer look, and soon after it was decided they would rather welcome humanity with open arms than have them reach space by themselves.
He was shaken from his thoughts by Aizawa beckoning him to follow. He’d questioned, a few days into the trip, why their names sounded so familiar and easy to use; he’d been told that the translator is capable of giving names equivalent pronunciations, something Izuku was immensely grateful for. The technology used for everyday functions like this never ceased to amaze him.
Aizawa stopped in front of the same set of doors he’d entered a week ago, and they were soon joined by Nedzu and Yagi. The man smiled at Izuku in greeting, and he did the same. They’d had plenty of time over the past week to talk, and while Izuku still felt nervous around him sometimes (hanging out with your childhood hero could do that to you), he was coming to like the man as a person rather than just an unreachable figure. It was nice, having another human onboard with him; it made him feel a bit less alone.
“Are you ready, my boy?” His voice was impossibly loud, but still soft. Izuku smiled. He was practically vibrating.
“I can’t wait!” he chirped. In front of him he was pretty sure he saw Aizawa roll his eyes (was that not exclusive to hu- Terrans?) and Nedzu cackled slightly, scuttling to hand him a colored band.
“I’m glad to hear that, Midoriya. The band is for indentifying gender so there’s no mix-ups. Aizawa will show you to your quarters. The cafeteria is very clearly indicated, so you shouldn’t have trouble getting there, and just in case there’s a small device for your wrist that can work as a map. Your classmates will be in the rooms all around yours.” He began to scurry away, Yagi in tow. “Do try not to cause any intergalactic scandals on your first day.”
“So tomorrow it’s okay, then?” Izuku would normally never have spoken up, but he was so excited it slipped out without permission. Nedzu’s cackles echoed down the halls, and ahead of him Aizawa groaned. Izuku was starting to think it was all he could vocalize.
Once fully on the ship, Izuku felt his hair shift against his head, his curls not sticking to his forehead the way they had in the shuttle. His footsteps felt lighter, his arms felt lighter, hell, his head felt lighter. Experimentally he did a small jump and almost butted his head against the ceiling. Aizawa interrupted him.
“If you’re done, please remember to follow me.” Izuku turned around, sheepish, only to be met with a slightly red glare. At eye level.
Aizawa growled again. “What, is my standing on two legs so surprising? You do it all the time.” The last part was more of a grumble under his breath, but Izuku heard it regardless.
“But… why weren’t you doing this back on the shuttle?” he couldn’t help but ask. “This seems a lot more comfortable for you.”
“It is,” he snapped back. “But not everyone is accustomed to your bullshit deathworld crushing gravity.” He closed his eyes, sighing deeply. “I’m sorry for snapping, but being in that position makes it hard to speak, and my back has been killing me. I hope you have an easy time adjusting to a lower gravity; I wouldn’t wish this on anyone.”
Izuku blinked. “Oh.”
A snort. “Yeah. Now come on, kid, I need to get you to your room in one piece.”
In one piece? That wasn’t exactly comforting. Still, Izuku followed, eyes tracing every inch of the station on his way. He hadn’t gotten a good look at it from the shuttle on the way, but he’d seen pictures; he knew that what he was standing on was as large as a moon, heavy enough to orbit its star without issue. It was an engineering marvel; the floors and walls were seamless, and there was no evidence of unusual activity besides a faint omnipresent humming he was sure he’d get used to. All in all, it was pretty much exactly what he’d hoped for; he couldn’t wait to explore.
After a short while of walking behind him Aizawa stopped suddenly. Izuku barely managed to not ram into him, twisting into the wall instead. He sent the older alien a curious look, which was returned by a look that was almost… concerned. That can’t be good.
“Midoriya, beyond this door is the cadet dorms common room. When I open the door you need to sprint to the far side, up two flights of stairs, and then into the third room you see. That one is yours. Look at me.” Izuku, who had been eyeing the door in open mistrust, turned back to him. “I need to know you understand what I’m asking of you.”
Izuku blinked. “I- I think I understand the what, I’m a bit iffy on the why.”
Aizawa seemed to shiver slightly. “Beyond that door are nineteen of the most chaotic cadets I’ve ever had to teach. We haven’t even had class yet and I can tell. They were very recently informed that they’d be the first class to contain a Terran, and they’re waiting to ambush you the moment you open the door. I know you’re fast enough to avoid them but wait what are you doing are you insane-”
In the time Aizawa spent explaining why, Izuku had moved to stand directly in front of the door. They wanted questions? That wasn’t so bad. And either way he’d have to meet them all eventually, right? Why not do it now?
He ignored Aizawa’s increasingly desperate pleas to not open that door, I swear, you’ll regret it and wrenched it open. Nineteen pairs- no, sets of eyes stared back at him. He waved sheepishly.
“Hello, everyone. I’m Midoriya Izuku, your classmate. It’s nice to meet you.”
Chaos erupted.
-*-*-*-*-
Honestly, it hadn’t been as bad as Aizawa had made it out to be.
Most of them had immediately rushed towards him, sure, but they hadn’t done anything besides corral him onto the furniture in the middle of the room. The moment he’d sat down they’d all begun to bombard him with questions, and it had taken him a couple of hours to really get through them all.
A pink skinned alien named Uraraka went first, band indicating she was female. “How many of you are there?” They all seemed surprised at the “Almost nine billion” answer. “On one planet?” She’d asked. “How strong is your gravity?”
A little later had been a tall, broad alien with what seemed to be rough armor on his face. He introduced himself as Kouda, and looked a lot like a sentient rock. “Do you… do you keep pets?”
Izuku brightened. “Yes, actually! The most common ones are dogs and cats, but some people keep fish, reptiles, or birds, too.” He scrambled for his phone, pulling up a few pictures of dogs and cats. They seemed to frown.
“Aren’t those predators?” They’d asked. Izuku nodded. They moved on.
“How big are familiar units?” This one came from an insectoid, large wings on his back and long legs tucked up against his chest. His name was Iida. Izuku tilted his head, considering.
“It depends on the region, really, and specific circumstances. For me it’s just my Mom, but sometimes it can be over a dozen people.”
A smaller alien with tentacle-like… were those ears? Introduced herself as Jirou. “What’s you music like?” she asked.
“It’s different in most regions of the world, actually. Every culture has its own genre, generally, but individual music tastes can include several.”
“How many are there?”
“I think, like… almost a hundred, at this point, without including too many of the fusion ones.” She seemed very excited at that.
“What can you eat?” had been one of the last ones, the question coming from another very large, almost stone-colored alien. He introduced himself as Satou, and took a moment to explain that certain types of food gave him a significant boost in energy and strength for a short while.
“Well,” Izuku had responded, “I think a department of the Federation is still compiling a list? But in terms of general food groups we can eat fruits, vegetables, roots, mushrooms, animals of pretty much any variety, and I guess you could even say minerals, too.”
There was a brief silence. Satou blinked at him, confused. “Wait. So you’re a predator?”
He scratched the back of his neck. “I mean- yeah? All of us are. Us Terrans, I mean.”
“No but- you. You’re a predator?”
Izuku squinted, tilting his head. “Why is that surprising, exactly?”
Satou seemed to struggle for a moment, and Uraraka stepped in instead, arms waving to gesture at his general person. “You just- you’re-” She paused for a moment, visibly searching for the right word. “You’re… adorable,” she landed on. Izuku squawked, trying desperately to recover from someone calling him cute.
“What’s that supposed to mean? Cute things can be dangerous, too!” He crossed his arms, sinking into his seat with a scowl. It looked more like a pout. Unknowingly, to many of his classmates it only proved the point further. Some even chuckled slightly at the sight. He glared at them, only slightly offended. “I’m serious!” he insisted.
In the back, one of the classmates that had yet to introduce himself scoffed. The laughter died down, and he stalked to the front of the class, lizard tail dragging loudly on the soft carpet. He stopped in front of Izuku, only to lean far into his personal space. Izuku gulped.
“So what kind of predator are you, then?”
“I, uh. We’re persistence predators. Sometimes we’d ambush and set traps, sure, but our specialty was always chasing. We’d chase and chase and chase, stalking our prey to the ends of the Earth until either they collapsed from exhaustion, let their guard down, or decided to fight back.”
The reptilian guy stood there in silence for a moment, a sneer on his face. Finally he just went ‘tch’ and walked off scowling. Izuku let out a breath of relief; he was intimidating.
He glanced back up to everybody, fully intent on continuing to answer questions, when his stomach growled loudly. His face flushed. “Sorry, guys, I didn’t mean to do that,” he said, apologetic. Uraraka just looked confused.
“Did you just growl at us?”
Izuku startled. “Ah! No, I didn’t! It was, uh. Every once in a while my body forces the muscles in my stomach to contract, and it’s louder when I don’t have any food in me to muffle the noise. I should go eat.”
Before another of his new classmates could get one last question in, Aizawa interjected. “Come on, Midoriya, I’ll show you to the cafeteria.” A few protests broke out, but they were quickly silenced by a glare from their teacher. “Problem Children, it’s his first day. You’ll have plenty of time to bother him tomorrow.” With that, he headed out the door, and Izuku had to practically run to catch up.
The walk there was short, and neither felt the need to fill the silence. To be completely honest, Izuku wasn’t sure he’d be able to if he wanted to; he was still reeling from so much extended contact with so many interesting people. He wondered what had brought them all to UA, what had called them to the stars and away from their homes. Were they, like him, searching for a place to belong? Did they feel the same longing, the same desire to explore the void that he had?
They came to a stop in front of a set of doors that seemed entirely overkill, and before he could even finish gawking at them Izuku felt a small device being pushed into his hands. He turned to Aizawa in surprise.
He grunted. “It’s so you don’t get lost. It has a map on it, and it’ll tell you what you can and can’t eat. If you’re not sure, do not eat it. The section that serves meat is in the far corner.” He stopped talking, simply staring at Izuku, and he realized with a start that he wanted verbal confirmation.
“Er- yeah! Got it.” Aizawa started to turn to leave. “And thank you, Aizawa. Really.”
Aizawa just paused slightly and nodded, before turning his back to the doors in front of them. They opened with a hiss, and the moment Izuku caught a glimpse of what lay beyond it, he gasped; the cafeteria was enormous, spanning what looked like several stadiums and more than one floor. Every once in a while he could spot small stations full of food, and there were dozens of different alien species serving themselves at every one of them. He gulped slightly, then started towards them, the smell of delicious food calling him like a siren.
Izuku didn’t waste any time at all, almost sprinting to the first station he saw. It was full of grilled mushrooms of several varieties, along with a few vegetables that had been sliced, seasoned, and grilled to perfection. To his surprise he found that he could eat pretty much everything there, sans a few of the more creatively colored ones. Out of pure curiosity he grabbed a little bit of everything, hoping to find his favorites.
He moved on to each food station, similarly grabbing everything and anything he was capable of digesting, including some things he didn’t think he could even describe to anyone back home. By the time he reached the area Aizawa had told him contained meat, his plate was practically overflowing with foods he was only slightly apprehensive about trying.
Just to make space on his plate, he took a short break to eat what he’d gathered so far. Most of it was incredible, the flavors unlike anything he’d ever had; others were the same, but the experience overwhelmingly negative. He’d had to dump out a significant portion of it, earning him a few disappointing glances.
Finally, he headed over to the far corner he’d been promised held meat. It took him a bit to reach it, since in the time he’d taken to eat the cafeteria had become significantly more crowded; still, maneuvering around everyone wasn’t too much of a hassle. It was only a few minutes before he escaped the crowd, and he made an immediate beeline for his destination.
Only to be stopped by the sudden appearance of a face. An upside-down face. Coming from the ceiling.
“Hey there!” it said, voice cheery. “I think you’re a bit lost there, kid.” The new alien looked soft, parts of their skin wobbling around as he hung there. He was mostly opaque, blue and yellow seemingly swirling around each other on their skin, and his eyes were beady points that shifted positions every so often. It took Izuku a bit to get out of his shock.
“Uh. Am I?” That wasn’t good. Had the crowd turned him around somewhere?
“Yeah! You were about to go into the carnivores section. It can be pretty tough to stomach for most of us, especially first years like you.”
“Oh.” Izuku slumped in relief. “That’s good, I was worried I’d gotten turned around. Thanks for the warning, but I was actually headed there on purpose! Meat is part of my diet.”
The blob alien blinked, before slipping from their grip on the ceiling and falling to the floor with a significant splat. He reformed almost instantly, eyes floating back up to the top of his body. He scratched the back of his- neck? Was it really a neck? And chuckled.
“I’m sorry, then. Most newbies end up there by accident, and it rarely ends well.”
Izuku laughed nervously. “I’m sure.”
The conversation lapsed into a slightly awkward silence for a short while, until Izuku cleared his throat. “So, what are you doing here?” Here, in the cafeteria, the only place to get food. Really, Izuku? He felt like sinking into the floor.
Luckily, he seemed just as eager for a break in the silence as him. “I’m just waiting here for my friend, Tamaki. Meat’s a big part of his diet too, but I can’t really stand the smell.”
“Makes sense. You’re a good friend, er…”
“Mirio, Mirio Toogata. And thanks, I try.”
Another awkward silence reigned for a few minutes, until a slightly timid voice cut through. “Alright, Mirio, we can go now I got my food-”
The newcomer was tall, easily as big as Mirio and Izuku put together; still, he was hunched into himself, head ducked down seemingly to avoid attention. He had feathers coating his shoulders and back, but what looked like fur climbed his neck and face, and his arms seemed to be covered in a mucus-like coating.
He paused when he spotted Izuku next to Mirio, hunching into himself further and pulling his lips back into a snarl. “Mirio,” he hissed. “Who’s this?” As he spoke, the feathers on his back seemed to ripple, the wave carrying down to his hands which were- had he always had claws? Izuku took a step back.
Mirio only chuckled. “Don’t be so nervous, Tamaki! He’s a friend! One of the newcomers.” Izuku didn’t know if he meant newcomers to UA, or to the Federation. Regardless he smiled nervously at him, before realizing with a start he had yet to introduce himself to even Mirio.
“Crap, sorry. I’m Midoriya Izuku, it’s nice to meet you both.” He offered his hand to shake.
Tamaki shrunk back even more at his outstretched hand, and Izuku quickly retracted it, remembering it wasn’t a common greeting in most of the Federation. He coughed awkwardly into his hand, shuffling his feet. Mirio’s face had been pulled into a very obvious embarrassed grimace.
“Well, we’ll be going then. Good to meet you too, Mido!” He moved to grab one of Tamaki’s hands, and moment later they were gone, swallowed by the crowd. Izuku’s stomach grumbled again to remind him of his purpose, and he walked off to find the meat.
He only sampled a few different types but he had to say, it was pretty good. He could get used to this.
-*-*-*-*-
By the time he returned to his class’s common area he was just about ready to pass out.
Of course, The Universe decided right then and there that he wasn’t allowed to be happy.
At first, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. A few of his classmates were dotted around the room, each of them immersed in different activities. He could see Satou, the rock alien, bustling around what looked like a small kitchen while talking to another rock-like alien, Kouda. The latter seemed to be communicating in sign. In the center of the room was a large flat surface, surrounded by three very loud classmates. Projections kept popping out in different locations. Idly, Izuku wondered if that was what videogames were like here.
He waved at them all as he passed, and was relieved to see nothing hostile in their return. Trying to remember the directions he’d been given by Aizawa, he turned to a staircase, only to be met with the expressionless gaze of another classmate he vaguely recognized. He seemed to be split in the middle, the right side covered in white fur, and the left in bright scales. He was also massive, taking up pretty much the entirety of the corridor. Izuku lifted a hand to give a small wave.
“Hi,” he said, unsure what he wanted from him. He tried to get around him, but he didn’t budge. “Can you, uh. Could you move, please? I want to get to my room.”
By now the other occupants of the room were all staring at them. Izuku did not think this was a good sign. He waited in tense silence for the hybrid guy to respond.
“You’re a predator,” he finally said. Izuku shifted awkwardly.
“Um. Yeah? Why?”
“I am going to beat you.”
Now Izuku just felt confused, and a little intimidated. “Wh- in what?”
He blinked, tilting his head. “What do you mean?”
“I mean how are you going to beat me? In, like, academics? Sparring? Eating?” He rubbed his forehead. “I’m too tired for this,” he muttered. “Can you tell me this again tomorrow? When I’m well rested enough to understand what you want from me?”
There was another tense silence, before the other boy just nodded. He did not, however, move.
“I- I need you to move out of the way. So that I can go sleep.”
“Ah,” he said, shifting slightly to the right. It left very little space.
“Er, I’m sorry, uh…”
“Shouto.”
Izuku nodded. “Shouto. You, uh. You didn’t give me enough space to get by you.”
“Oh. I’m sorry.” He still didn’t move. Izuku sighed.
“Nevermind,” he muttered. He crouched, judged the distance, and leapt towards the ceiling. The rungs were surprisingly easy to grab, and in the lower gravity he wasn’t as heavy; it was relatively easy to swing himself up to his room.
It was simple, but with plenty of space to customize, something he did not feel up to at all. He’d get to it at some point, he was sure, but for now he was content to simply sleep.
He only just had time to notice that his room’s gravity felt like home before he was out like a light.
-*-*-*-*-
Izuku’s alarm was way too loud.
Its blaring woke him up about eight hours after he’d gone to sleep, the sound filling his room so much that his bed began to vibrate. Later he’d be told it was a function for those that couldn’t perceive sounds, but for now all it was was a nuisance. He groaned, rolling off of his bed and falling to the floor with a loud thump. “Fuck.”
Luckily for him, toiletries and clothes had already been packed into his room, so he could allow himself some time to stumble around while he finished waking up. The uniform’s material was soft, fitting in a way that made it easy to forget it was even there. It felt good, but the sensation of something so foreign kept tickling at the back of his mind.
He was grateful for the space in his room, limited as it was. It was just enough to safely and comfortably do his morning stretches, a routine he’d started pretty much from the moment he’d learned about the physical requirements to get into UA. Slowly, he felt himself wake up. Not for the first time he lamented the fact that coffee was illegal in space; it was going to take some getting used to, waking up without a little boost.
He made his way into the communal area, thoughts still slightly sluggish. A few people greeted him as he went, and he responded, but he didn’t feel like staying to talk; his priority was reaching the cafeteria. He wondered if the food would be different, at different times of day.
His steps were unsure, mind absent, and so he didn’t notice the body blocking the exit in time to avoid collision. Blearily he looked up, hands already rubbing at his eyes. “Huh?” he said, intelligently. Shouto blinked back down at him.
“Midoriya,” he said. “It’s tomorrow.”
Izuku squinted. “…yeah?”
Shouto grunted, shuffling around slightly. It almost looked like he was getting comfortable, which didn’t bode well for Izuku’s breakfast plans. He spoke again.
“I’m going to beat you.”
Izuku stared at him for a short while, incredulous, before sighing. “Shouto, I think we went over this. What do you mean by that? It’s incredibly vague.”
The other boy seemed lost for a moment. “I- well.” He straightened. “My father said I needed to beat you, specifically. As a Terran, and as a new member of the Federation. I hate my father, and so I will do as he asks without using the tools he gave me. To spite him.”
Izuku just blinked at him. That felt like… a lot to unpack. “…but your father never said how, exactly, to beat me. Right?”
Shouto paused, a contemplative look on his face. “No, he did not.”
“Then for now let’s just see if you can beat me in an eating competition. How does that sound?”
He tilted his head. “An eating competition? I’m not familiar.”
Izuku was already attempting to push past Shouto, nudging the door open. “We just eat as much as we want, and then see who ate more food.”
By now a small crowd had gathered, though it was mainly because they needed to use the door. Still, some of them chuckled at his idea. One of them he recognized (Uraraka, he thinks) spoke up.
“Isn’t that- you know. A little bit unfair?” She gestured first at Izuku’s (relatively small) frame, and then at Shotuo’s, who was a touch away from not fitting through the door. Izuku just shrugged.
“Not like I really care in the first place. At this point I’d do pretty much anything to get to the cafeteria faster.”
Uraraka’s eyes seemed to sparkle. “I’m going to watch, then!” she declared. Izuku tilted his head.
“Alright?” He wasn’t sure why she’d want to, but he wasn’t going to stop her.
“I’m coming too!” another voice announced. It was soon revealed to have been the insectoid, Iida. His front limbs were moving jerkily, as though for emphasis. “Someone must be present to ensure a fair and just competition!”
“…sure,” he said eventually. There were a few moments of awkward silence before Izuku turned back to Shouto. “Should we get going, then?”
Thankfully, the larger boy only nodded and walked out, headed straight for the cafeteria. A large part of Izuku was grateful he didn’t have to attempt to find it again by himself, but his gratefulness was slightly mitigated by the people now following them.
Not much was said as they filled their plates. Izuku was somewhat glad to see it wouldn’t be just him and Shouto eating; to be honest, the more time went by the dumber he felt for having suggested it in the first place, but at this point it was too late to try to cancel it. He figured he might as well try, in that case. He selected the food he remembered having liked from the day before, and stacked his plate as high as it could go.
It wasn’t until he sat down across from Shouto, Iida and Uraraka at either side, that he noticed another classmate tagging along. He couldn’t remember her name, but he did recognize her from the day before; her hair was a deep green, similar to his, and she seemed to be covered in a small layer of slime. He smiled at her nervously as she sat down next to Uraraka, and she blinked in acknowledgement.
Why were so many people interested in seeing him eat?
Before he could eat, Iida shot out long arms in front of each of them. He straightened what looked like glasses on his geometric face, mandibles clicking loudly. “Alright! It is time for an honorable competition between two prospective UA students. The terms of the contest are as follows: both shall ingest as much food as they wish, and in the end whoever has eaten a larger quantity shall prevail. Begin!”
Izuku wasted no time, digging into his plate. He’d eaten the day before, sure, but it was more samples than anything substantial. Now he knew what he liked and what he didn’t, more or less; he was going to take full advantage of the cafeteria.
-*-*-*-*-
“How are you still going?!”
Izuku looked up, startled. “What?”
Uraraka’s face was frazzled, and Iida’s glasses were askew. Shouto’s face was still mostly impassive, as was the other girl’s, but he looked vaguely impressed. Izuku looked back down at his now mostly empty plate.
He wrinkled his nose. “I didn’t eat that much.” Sure, he’d gotten a second serving, but that wasn’t too abnormal. Was it? He looked back at Shouto’s plate, only to see it still had some food on it. “Did you… not finish your first serving?”
Shouto shook his head at the same time as Iida mouthed ‘first’ in slight awe. Uraraka jumped up. “Where does it all go?!” she demanded. Izuku chuckled nervously, unsure of an answer.
Surprisingly, it was Shouto who answered. “Clearly it goes towards a secret shapeshifting ability that requires large amount of energy to use.”
Four heads turned to stare at him, completely silent except for a single croak. He did not acknowledge them.
Izuku coughed into his hand, desperate to change the subject. He glanced over at the green-haired girl. “Oh! I’m sorry,” he said. “I don’t know your name.”
She opened her mouth to answer, and a seemingly involuntary croak slipped out. “I’m Tsuyu Asui,” she said, voice hoarse. “My friends call me Tsu.” Izuku had no idea if this meant they were friends, or if she was simply informing him.
He tried frantically to think of a way to keep the conversation going. He did not do well in awkward silences. Were they all immune, somehow? “…what brought you all to UA?”
Iida was the first to answer, enthusiastically pushing his glasses up higher. “I am following in the footsteps of my older brother, Tensei! He is doing honorable work, scouring the universe for evildoers.” Izuku nodded, relieved.
“That’s very admirable, Iida! His job sounds important.” Iida leaned back, a proud look on his face. Izuku smiled. “How about you, Uraraka?”
She startled slightly. “Oh! I, uh. You might not think it’s very noble or anything…” Her voice ended in nothing but a mumble. Izuku frowned.
“We won’t judge you, Uraraka, I promise.” He wasn’t going to push too much, but he didn’t want her thinking she couldn’t talk to them. She paused, hesitating, before speaking up.
“It- it’s for the money.” She looked up, expression guilty, and Izuku sent her a reassuring smile. She continued. “UA graduates normally make a lot of money, and, well. My parents have never been the most financially stable, but they’ve done so much for me, and I just want to help them out, you know?” She buried her head in her hands. “I’m sorry, I know it’s stupid.”
“On the contrary! I think that is a very noble objective, Uraraka,” Iida said. Izuku smiled.
“Yeah! You want to give your parents a better life. There’s nothing wrong with that.”
“I’m here for a very similar reason, kero.” Their heads turned to Tsuyu, whose face was still impassive. “I’ve been mostly in charge of taking care of my siblings for a while, now. It’s made me want to take care of more people. I figured UA is a great way to learn, while also getting the chance to help others.”
“You all have such great reasons,” Izuku said, glad to have the conversation shifted into something more fluid. “I just wanted to explore the stars. I mean, just the thought of so many cultures and planets and life forms- it was incredible, discovering we weren’t alone. I want to learn everything I can about – well, everything, really.”
They lapsed into comfortable silence, and Izuku turned to Shouto. “How about you, Shouto?”
The boy looked at him, eyes vaguely haunted, and said “Have any of you ever heard of genetic splicing?”
Izuku later thought he learned a bit too much, that hour.
-*-*-*-*-
“Come on, Midoriya! We’ll be late.”
Izuku rolled his eyes. “I’m right behind you, Uraraka. Where’s Iida?”
“He and Shouto are already in class. He, quote, ‘believes in punctuality.’ I think it just means he wants to see if he can pick a seat before the rest of us get the chance.” Izuku chuckled and Tsu croaked out some laughter, and Uraraka smiled.
It was the first day of official class; that is, the first time they’d all be actually learning. Izuku was incredibly excited. He’d been at UA for a full week now, and exploring had been fun, sure. But he couldn’t wait for actual classes to start. He wanted to learn the protocols for dealing with different species, how to survive on alien landscapes, advanced algebra.
“I wonder who our first class will be with,” Tsu said as they entered the classroom. “I know Aizawa is supposed to be our homeroom teacher, but I doubt that’ll be first thing in the morning.”
“Who knows,” Izuku replied. “He seems like the kind of guy to try and get us to think first thing in the morning. I wouldn’t be surprised-”
“If you’re just here to socialize, you might as well head back home now.”
Izuku froze, turning to the front of the class only to see a yellow blob on the floor, a cat’s head poking out. Slowly, the yellow seemed to melt away leaving only an irritated-looking Aizawa. “Get to your seats,” he barked (ha). Izuku scrambled to get to his. He ended up behind the angry lizard guy (Bakugou, he’s pretty sure) and in front of an elegant-looking avian. He didn’t know her name.
Aizawa eyed them all critically. “Meet me in Field G as soon as you get your gym clothes on. Don’t be late.” With that, he strode out the door. Izuku just blinked. Gym clothes? Did that mean going all the way back to the dorms?
Before he could test that theory, however, a panel in the wall hissed and revealed about twenty cylinders. A closer look revealed names on them. Quickly, he found his and rushed to change.
He hopes whatever they were about to do wouldn’t be too challenging. It was only their first day, though; it couldn’t be that bad.
Right?
-*-*-*-*-
When they arrived, Izuku once again was left gaping at the sheer scale of the room. The ceiling was domed, and it looked to be at least around three stories above them at its lowest; all around them was nothing but a flat field that seemed to go on forever, the ground’s firmness in direct conflict with how spongy it felt beneath his feet.
Aizawa was waiting for them near the center. “Everyone line up, we’re doing assessments for strength and intelligence. Last place gets shipped home tomorrow. Understood?”
Izuku felt like the floor had dropped under him. What? Was that even allowed? He’d worked so hard to get here, they couldn’t just-
“Midoriya?” A hand landed on his shoulder, and he looked over only to meet with Tsu’s large eyes. “We’ll be fine, kero,” she said. “This is only a test.”
Izuku gulped, but slowed down his breathing anyway. She was right, he’d be fine. There was nothing to worry about.
That didn’t make it any less startling when Aizawa called his name, however.
He scurried over, and Aizawa indicated for him to step onto a circular platform elevated off the ground. “Jump as high as you can. We’re starting off at a lower gravity, we’ll increase it as we go.”
Izuku stood there for a moment, waiting for some sort of signal to start. He felt incredibly light, lighter than usual even with the reduced gravity; he assumed it was the adrenaline. Aizawa just sent him an irritated glance before rolling his eyes. “If you’re waiting for a signal, that was your signal. Do it. If you don’t I’ll just write it down as nothing.”
Izuku yelped, legs tucking under him immediately to launch him as high as he could. He needed to prove himself; he couldn’t be left behind-
Apparently he misjudged. The gravity had been lowered to almost nothing, and he launched upwards at breakneck speeds. He only had a chance to notice the ground getting further and further away before he hit the ceiling, and everything went black.
-*-*-*-*-
He woke up in the UA infirmary, which was a good sign he wasn’t expelled but a bad sign for his general health. He sat up quickly, something he immediately came to regret at the pounding behind his eyes. He groaned loudly.
Hustling steps came towards him soon after. “Oh, Sonny. What were you thinking?” Izuku looked up, coming face to face with a short, almost ethereal alien. Her voice was stern, but she seemed to be concerned. “How’s your head feeling, dear? I’ve never had a Terran in here before, so I’m afraid I’m not very used to your recovery process. You don’t seem to have what you call a ‘concussion’ though, so I’m grateful for that.”
Izuku smiled at her concern. “I’m feeling better already, uh-” Crap, he didn’t know her name.
She chuckled. “My name is Chiyo, but most students call me Recovery Girl. It’s an old nickname.” She moved to his head, quickly removing the bandages. She nodded a couple times. “Everything seems to be alright, then. If you’re in any pain at all, please don’t hesitate to come to me.”
Izuku bowed to her slightly in thanks, and exited the infirmary. He should get back to class, right? What had they been doing?
He froze, his recollection of the assessment tests rushing back to him. “…fuck,” he said under his breath. He’d knocked himself clean out on the very first exercise. That was… incredibly sad. Was he going to be sent home? He really hoped not – he wasn’t sure he could face his Mom, or even Yagi, if that happened.
He slowed as he approached the door to his classroom. If he really had been expelled, then, well… there wasn’t much he could do, was there? He took a deep breath and pushed it open.
A cacophony of sounds greeted him, followed by an almost-tackle by Uraraka. “Izuku! Are you okay? We were all so worried!”
He chuckled nervously. “Yeah, I’m fine. Thanks, Uraraka.” He was about to continue, but a quick cough from Aizawa was enough to silence him. He made his way over to the desk, but first stopped in front of his teacher’s desk.
He bowed. “Mr Aizawa, I apologize for missing class due to my own recklessness.” Then, quieter: “Please don’t expel me.”
He sighed. “Midoriya, nobody was going to be expelled in the first place. It was a logical ruse for you to try your best.” One of his tentacle-like appendages came up to rub his forehead. “It seems it worked a little too well, in your case. I apologize for not warning you about the level of the gravity, nor of an appropriate amount of strength to use.” He dismissed Izuku with a paw. “You can finish your tests with me another day. Now go sit down, we still have class.”
The rest of the day passed incredibly quickly, especially now that Izuku wasn’t worried for his continued enrollment. He got a few more worried glances from his friends, but he just waved them off. He’d be fine. Besides, they’d have time to talk after class.
…which they immediately took advantage of. It seemed like the moment they were dismissed they were crowded around Izuku’s desk, demanding answers about his wellbeing. He was slightly overwhelmed. Was this what it felt like, having friends? It felt nice.
Once he’d explained that he was fine, however, their concern turned to disappointment.
“I really wish I’d gotten to see you in action, Midoriya.”
“Indeed, I was extremely curious to see what your physical capabilities were. I suppose we’ll get our chances to see it tomorrow, but I can’t say I’m not slightly disappointed.”
Izuku perked up. “Tomorrow? What happens tomorrow?”
“Our first Active Action class. The name is a bit strange, but its purpose is to have us all educated on what to do in different emergencies; it’s a very physical class, according to my brother.”
That sounded interesting, he thought. “I wonder what the teacher will be like.”
“We’ll find out tomorrow, I suppose.”
From then, the rest of the day was spent filling Izuku in on what he’d missed. Luckily it was only the first day, so not much; still, he was grateful to his friends. He wasn’t sure what he’d have done without them.
-*-*-*-*-
The following day went by much more smoothly. Izuku’s headache had faded, and he was ready to simply bask in the novelty of dozens of brand new subjects.
He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t slightly distracted, however. His mind kept coming back to the class Iida had mentioned; what would it entail, exactly? He couldn’t wait to find out. By the time it was supposed to start, he was all but shaking in anticipation; he couldn’t wait to meet the teacher, either, they were always such interesting people.
His breath hitched, however, when he heard a familiar voice call “I am here!” from the other side of the door. In seconds he was up, rapidly approaching the man.
“Yagi!” he said. “Is this the class you’re teaching?”
“It is, my boy.” He chuckled at his enthusiasm. “Are you ready?”
“I’m so ready! What are we doing?”
Yagi raised his voice so it could be heard by the rest of the class. “Class! My name is Toshinori Yagi, it’s a pleasure to meet you all. Please make your way over to City District Q, we’ll be having our class there! Make sure to bring your Gym clothes.” Quieter, he turned to Izuku. “I’ll see you there, my boy.” He rushed off.
Izuku walked back to his friends, ecstatic. “I can’t believe we get to be taught by Yagi himself! This is going to be son fun guys.”
“Is he a famous Terran, kero?” asked Tsu. “You seemed to know him pretty well.”
“He is! He’s a really important figure in our culture, especially for anyone who keeps up with the missions into space.”
“You seemed a bit closer than that, Midoriya,” Uraraka accused. Izuku blushed slightly.
“W-well, we had to travel here together and I got to hang out with him a lot and he’s my personal hero so it was really cool and I’m so grateful-”
“Are you his secret lovechild?”
Izuku stopped, brain scratching to a halt. “What?”
Shouto shrugged. “You both seem similar.” He did not elaborate, and Izuku didn’t press it further. Instead he just shook his head.
“No, he’s not my dad.” He got no confirmation from Shouto that the other boy had heard, but he hoped it had gone through regardless. “A- anyway, let’s head over to the class. Shall we?”
He sped off before he could get questioned again.
-*-*-*-*-
It took a short while for introductions, and by the end Izuku was practically vibrating once again.
The exercise Yagi had described was simple; one team of two would hide in a building, a false bomb in their possession. All they had to do was protect said bomb during the time limit. Meanwhile, a second team would have to break in and either apprehend the first team or make contact with the bomb. Simple enough.
He waited in tense anticipation as Yagi pulled out the pairings. He really hoped he’d be with one of his friends; he was really awkward around new people.
The sigh of relief he let out when it was revealed he’d be with Uraraka was legendary; the sigh when he saw they’d go against Iida and Bakugou a bit less so.
Iida he knew for a fact would be a difficult opponent; he was fast, incredibly so, but hopefully not so much in small spaces. That was their only hope.
Bakugou, on the other hand, was a wildcard; he was aggressive, sure, but Izuku had no idea if he’d be an actual good fighter. He’d have to plan for the worst and hope for the best.
“So, Midoriya, do you have a plan?” He was snapped out of his thoughts by Uraraka. He gave her a nervous smile.
“Somewhat. We need to search through the building as quickly as possible; because of the layout, it’s most likely they hid it near the top where it would take us more time to reach it. Luckily for us, it looks like there’s a way to reach the roof via climbing, but I’m not too confident at that height.”
Uraraka perked up. “That’s alright! I’m great with heights. If you want, we can split up and I can take the top. That way we can search a lot more effectively.”
Izuku nodded, excited. “Sounds great.”
Before long the bell sounded, indicating the start of the game. Immediately Izuku rushed off, feet tearing through memorized paths down each floor. It only took him about a minute to clear the first one, moving up quickly. He tapped his comm.“First floor, clear.”
“Sixth floor, clear,” he got in response. He grinned and continued, charging through rooms.
He slowed, however, when he heard other footsteps nearby.
Quickly, he reached upwards, leaping into a vent. He hid himself just in time to hide from an angry Bakugou. The lizard boy let out a growl.
“Where are you, you damn bastard?! I know you’re hiding here somewhere.” He spun around, frustrated, and Izuku took that moment to jump back out…
Directly onto Bakugou’s back.
They fell to the floor with an ‘oomph’, but Izuku recovered faster. The capture tape was around his arms in seconds. He gave him a cheeky wave. “Catch you later, Bakugou!” he didn’t wait to hear a response.
It didn’t take them much longer to reach the room where the bomb was located, and even less to reach the bomb. As fast as Iida was, he was no match for simultaneous attempts; the bomb was captured, and they had five minutes to spare.
Pretty good, if he did say so himself.
-*-*-*-*-
Yagi couldn’t show too much favoritism, so the smile and thumbs up when they finally returned was discreet. Still, Izuku felt great.
It was still a bit terrifying, floating on a giant artificial sphere so far from home; but now he had friends, and a mentor, and a purpose.
He couldn’t be happier.