Minutes later, the entire class stood on the sports field, dressed in matching gym uniforms. The sun hung overhead, casting sharp shadows across the track as Aizawa stood before us, hands in his pockets, his ever-present fatigue doing nothing to dull the weight of his presence.
"This exercise is to gauge your current capabilities," he explained flatly.
Uraraka hesitantly raised her hand. "Um… what about orientation?"
Aizawa barely spared her a glance. "If you're here to make friends, do it on your own time."
Without missing a beat, his tired eyes landed squarely on me.
"Darkheart. How far could you throw in middle school?"
The class's attention snapped toward me like a whip crack. Every pair of eyes suddenly focused, some curious, others cautious.
Sigh. How troublesome.
Meeting Aizawa's gaze with a calm, unreadable expression, I replied evenly, "Don't know. Never went to middle school. I was homeschooled."
A few murmurs rippled through the class, some surprised, some skeptical. A few eyebrows raised.
Aizawa simply nodded. "Alright. Use your Quirk. Do whatever you need. Just don't leave the circle. Give it everything you've got."
I stepped into the designated throwing circle, eyeing the ball in my hand.
Should I hold back?
Probably not. This was clearly a benchmarking test, and Aizawa had definitely seen what I was capable of during the entrance exam. He wasn't the type to miss something like that. If I underperformed now, he'd likely see right through it. Better to give it my all and see what I'm truly capable of.
I tightened my grip on the ball. The synthetic material creaked slightly under the pressure of my fingers. Taking a stance, I drew my arm back, muscles coiled like a spring, and then hurled it forward with a sharp, fluid motion.
The moment the ball left my fingertips, the air around it warped.
BOOM!
A deafening sonic crack tore through the field as the ball shattered the sound barrier.
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.
Each successive boom echoed farther and farther away, shattering the quiet as the force of the throw cracked the ground beneath me into a web of fractured earth.
By the fourth sonic boom, half the class had their hands clamped over their ears. Some winced; others just stood in stunned silence, their expressions caught between awe and disbelief.
The ball was a blur streaking toward the sky, past the clouds, past what should've been possible, and vanished beyond the horizon.
A long pause followed.
No one spoke. The only sound was the distant rustling of wind through the trees.
Aizawa's phone beeped. He looked down at the number and raised a brow, the only hint of reaction on his otherwise stoic face.
"35,769 meters."
Huh. Thought it would go farther.
I kept my expression neutral as I stepped out of the circle. But the stares weighed heavy—some filled with admiration, others with something closer to unease.
I briefly wondered if that ball was going to come down somewhere unfortunate. Hopefully not. But… not really my problem.
As I returned to the group, Kirishima was the first to break the silence.
"Whoa, man! That was insane!" he said, eyes wide and sparkling with excitement. "You made actual sonic booms!"
"Yeah, that was sick," Kaminari added, grinning. A few others murmured in agreement, their earlier nervousness momentarily replaced by awe. Even some of the quieter students nodded with respect.
Not everyone was impressed.
Bakugo's jaw was clenched so tightly I thought his teeth might crack. His palms sparked with tiny explosions, fingers twitching with barely contained rage. A few feet away, Todoroki stood still, arms folded, but I noticed how his fingers curled ever so slightly—calculating, analyzing.
"Thanks, I guess," I replied flatly.
Before anyone could respond, Aizawa's voice cut through the air like a blade.
"Awesome… you say?"
His tone was sharp, almost accusatory. The shift in the air was immediate.
"You're hoping to become heroes after three years here, and you think it's all fun and games?"
His gaze swept across the class. It felt like a cold wind had passed over us.
"The one with the lowest score across all eight events…" He let the words hang in the air like a guillotine.
"…will be expelled."
That hit like a punch to the gut.
While I knew it was likely a bluff, the others didn't. Panic spread like wildfire.
Midoriya tensed immediately, a bead of sweat rolling down his cheek. Uraraka's eyes widened in alarm. Around me, students shifted uncomfortably, nervous whispers spreading like wildfire.
Aizawa ran a hand through his messy hair, then fixed us all with a razor-sharp look.
"Your fates are in our hands."
The class stilled under the weight of his words.
He took a step forward, his voice dropping into something more dangerous.
"Welcome. This is…" He paused just long enough for the tension to coil.
"…the hero course at U.A. High."
I stood quietly as my classmates erupted into protests, voices rising in disbelief at Aizawa's announcement. Their reactions weren't surprising. What was surprising was how unaffected he remained, calm, cold, and utterly unreadable.
"The world's full of chaos, villains, disasters, random tragedies," he said flatly. "Heroes exist to bring order."
The tension on the field thickened as his words sank in.
"For the next three years, U.A. will test you. Break you. That's what it means to go beyond."
There was weight behind his voice, more than at any other point so far.
"Push through. Overcome. Or get left behind."
I scanned the group. Faces had changed, nervous grimaces replaced by firm resolve. Aizawa had flipped the mood like a switch.
And honestly? I didn't doubt for a second that he'd follow through with expelling someone. After all, he had done it last year, even if they were brought back just a few days later.
Event One: 50-Meter Sprint
Iida blazed through his run in just over three seconds.
When my name was called, I stepped onto the track. I had decided that during the tests, I wouldn't summon Aetherion, but I would go all out.
When the signal rang, I launched forward.
Result: 0.049 seconds.
Not bad.
Event Two: Grip Test
"Well, this'll be quick."
I wrapped my fingers around the grip device. A sharp snap echoed as the machine cracked under my hand. It froze at just over three tons before breaking apart.
Dead silence.
Shoji, who came in second with 540 kg, barely got a glance.
Through the silence, I heard Momo whisper, "Show off."
To which I just smirked because, well, it's true. I do like to show off.
Event Three: Standing Long Jump
This one was easy. I just levitated across the sandpit and landed on the other side.
I heard my classmates murmur in surprise.
"He can fly?"
Event Four: Side Steps
This one wasn't about power, just speed and rhythm.
The whistle blew.
Before anyone could react, I vanished in a blur. One moment I was at the start line; the next, it looked like I occupied two spaces at once, flickering back and forth faster than the eye could follow.
A low-frequency hum built in the air, not sound, but vibration. Each sidestep came with a burst of displaced air, making nearby students flinch. Their hair rippled as if caught in sudden gusts.
By the time thirty seconds passed, the ground beneath my shoes was scuffed raw. Heat shimmered around me.
My breathing hadn't even changed.
Aizawa stared, deadpan, as the counter froze.
"Six thousand," the tablet read.
"Is that broken?" Kaminari whispered.
"No," Aizawa said simply. "He is."
Event Five: Ball Toss
Already did mine earlier.
Uraraka dominated with her "infinity."
Midoriya barely scraped into third, just ahead of Bakugo by 0.1 meters.
Predictably, that didn't go over well.
"DIE, DEKU!"
Bakugo lunged. Sparks flew.
Aizawa moved like lightning, but before he could reach them, I had already stepped in. I caught Bakugo's wrists mid-motion, muffling the explosion between our hands.
"YOU BAS—"
Before he could finish, Aizawa's capture weapon wrapped around him.
"No fighting," Aizawa said, voice like ice.
Bakugo seethed but didn't resist.
The rest of the tests flew by. I stayed at the top for everything, except the ball throw. But I could live with that.
When Aizawa called us back, he tapped on his device. A glowing leaderboard appeared.
"Oh, by the way... I made up the expulsion thing."
Silence.
Then—
"WHAT?!"
Shouts erupted, some shocked, some furious. I stayed quiet.
Aizawa shrugged.
"Motivation. It worked, didn't it?"
Yaoyorozu folded her arms.
"I figured."
I rolled my eyes, thinking, 'Woman, I could hear your heartbeat the whole time. You were just as terrified as the others.'
Final Rankings:
Elijah Darkheart
Momo Yaoyorozu
Shoto Todoroki
Midoriya, unsurprisingly, landed at the bottom. Aizawa sent him off to Recovery Girl while the rest of us headed back to class.