Chapter Text
Class 3-E, Kunugigaoka Junior High.
Midoriya Izuku stood outside the wooden building after treading up the mountain, narrowly avoiding the snakes and other obstacles in his path. He always hated how long it took just to get to class but it was worth it to have Yukimura-sensei, she was probably one of the best teachers he’d ever had. She was a caring soul who genuinely cared about her students, regardless of quirk, or lack thereof in Izuku’s case.
He transferred to Kunugigaoka somewhere during his second year after his mom was promoted at work and required them to move all the way to Tokyo. She had a friend who owed her a favour and got him an entrance exam to one of Japan’s most prestigious schools. It’s not to say he wasn’t ecstatic to be attending but he’d heard rumours about the education system being a little unfair.
It’s a miracle Izuku managed to pass exams like he did, it wasn’t anything special but it got him placed in class 2-D. The only reason he hadn’t been placed in 2-B or maybe even in 2-A was because of his quirkless status, Principal Asano himself said that Izuku was on an incredibly thin line and any sort of mistake would result in him being thrown into class 2-E. It wasn’t all that bad.
Kids in his class tended to focus more on themselves than anyone else so any sort of picking on was minimal. Izuku also got to make a friend, the first one in over eight years! His name was Nagisa Shiota, a boy with long, light blue hair and kind of looked like a girl. Apparently he was in the same situation as him, not the quirkless bit, but he was dangerously close to being thrown into E-Class.
Nagisa didn’t seem to care about Izuku’s quirklessness, he didn’t seem bothered about anyone’s quirks but he still refused to share his own. It bugged Izuku a little but he wasn’t going to push if it was clearly a sore subject for his new friend. Overall his experience as Kunugigaoka was very different to the one he had at Aldera with Kacchan and his lackeys and Izuku was confident he was going to stay in D-Class in his third year.
Or that’s what he would have hoped to say.
Towards the end of the year, just after the final exams, Izuku had found a first year backed into the corner of a classroom by two older boys. He knew he couldn’t just watch what was happening and then move on with his day so Izuku did what he does best and stuck his nose where it didn’t belong. It happened in a sort of blur that ended with the first year running from the room and Izuku on the floor with a bloody, broken nose.
The commotion had drawn the attention of a teacher, who took one look at the situation and thought that it was best to drag Izuku before Principal Asano and claim that he instigated a fight. There was no use in trying to put up a fuss because he was dismissed with a punishment as soon as his student files were pulled up and read out. Quirkless. That was the turning point, he was deemed guilty as soon as it showed up.
His punishment, however? Suspended for the last week of school for fighting and assaulting another student, when he returned for his third year he would be joining Class 3-E with nearly no way of redeeming himself. Izuku was devastated. Class 3-E was one of the worst punishments you could be given here, or so he heard. According to the rumours, the class was an old wooden building that sat on top of a nearby mountain.
Not to mention, there was no A/C, no water fountain or anything like it. It was harsh and reserved for the lowest of low, for those who weren’t smart enough, didn’t behave like they were meant to or whose quirks were called undesirable. Izuku shouldn’t have been so shocked at the time, he had kinda known it was coming but still felt his heart break a little.
This wasn’t right. It couldn’t be but Izuku was one quirkless boy, who is he to go against the chairman of one of the best schools in the country?
As Izuku had stumbled out of the school grounds he passed Nagisa, who was leaning on the gate while scrolling on his phone. He didn’t notice the pale expression on his friend's face as he passed at first but pretty quickly stopped Izuku to ask what had happened.
“Midoriya-kun? Is everything okay, what did Principal Asano say to you?” Nagisa asked.
Izuku tried, he really did, to prevent any tears at the question but still felt them form. “He’s suspended for the next week.” He said softly. “I’m also being demoted to 3-E for the next school year in April. For ‘fighting’.”
Nagisa sucked in a sharp breath and placed a hand on Izuku’s shoulder in some form of comfort. It only made him hurt more because being demoted meant he would share no classes with his friend, no breaks, not even lunch together anymore. Izuku had only been here a couple months, how could everything turn so bad so quickly?
“Hey, it shouldn’t be that bad, right?” Nagisa tried to comfort. “I hear the teacher isn’t that bad, despite the class she teaches, she’s actually really nice! Not to mention, I have an old friend joining 3-E a little later into the year as well!”
“R-really?” Izuku sniffed, he remembered Nagisa mentioning a friend before but being split up because they were put in separate classes—Karma, if Izuku remembered correctly. It sucked because it was stressful enough being the new kid, but also being sent down to the lowest class so soon was basically kicking him while he was already down.
“Yeah! I’ve mentioned you both to each other a couple times so I’m sure he won’t mind sticking around.” He reassured.
Izuku smiled at his friend’s kindness, it wasn’t often that someone like him got a lot of good when it came to schools so to have someone looking out for him was a nice change. Nagisa continued to try to bring some form of comfort until they had to part ways at the station, giving each other a wave and a promise to text over the next few weeks.
Nagisa was a good friend to Izuku, one he probably didn’t deserve but he wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth. Now the only thing Izuku would have to worry about was what to tell his mom when he got home..
The next few weeks passed by a lot faster than he was hoping for, before Izuku knew it he was already packing his bags and waking up a lot earlier than normal in hopes of making it to school on time. He’d heard just how large the trek would be and Izuku wasn’t about to be the one who’s late on his first day. It was also safe to say Izuku’s mom wasn’t very happy with the punishment dished out.
She was considerate enough to hear him out, giving him a light scolding for not getting a teacher but ultimately praising his quick thinking and willingness to defend another student being hurt. Luckily the punishment at home was only extra chores and a lower curfew, which didn’t really matter to him, its not like he went out much anyway. Mom never took his phone away which was good, it meant he could keep talking with Nagisa.
Izuku had kept in touch with Nagisa, texting and calling whenever they both could about the upcoming year and how to prepare for it. It was no secret that Kunugigaoka really pushed the students in their third year, it’s what gave them the reputation that they have. See, most students who were alumni of the school often got into the high schools and colleges of their first choice, Kunugigaoka was also a main feeder into one of the most popular schools in Asia.
U.A High, one of the biggest and most well known Hero schools in the world. Students and children from all over the world travel hours and hours just to take the entrance exam, whether it be for the Hero course or the General one! It was Izuku’s dream school, just like any wanna-be hero. All of the pushing and advanced curriculum is what helped all these amazing people become who they wanted to be, because they were given that extra boost just before High School even started.
If you had Kunugigaoka on your resume, you were bumped up to the top of the hiring lists.
It’s also what made Izuku so nervous, sure he’s managed to keep his grades up and decent but this year was going to be significantly harder than the last. He had to prove himself worthy of his dream spot at U.A and of hopefully getting out of E-Class. Izuku kept these dreams to himself, however, the ridicule and mockery in Aldera had more than left it’s mark when it came to that specific topic.
The ride from the train station wasn’t all that long, only about ten minutes or so. Izuku hated waking up early and because of the recent transfer, he’d woken up an hour and a half early to avoid any tardies. As he was leaving the train, he had his phone in his hand, texting Nagisa. Apparently the boy had been moved to E-Class last minute because of his grades and would be joining him purge rest of third year! It was nice to know he wouldn’t be the only one suffering.
While the train ride was nice, the walking was that Izuku as dreading. If getting to his previous class wasn’t bad enough, then this was bound to be difficult for him. Another twenty minutes led to him being stood at the bottom of the huge mountain at the back of the usual campus. Ugh, he was going to have to go up that all by himself, wasn’t he? Izuku was kind of hoping his friend would join him. Well, here goes nothing..!
Izuku is never going to walk near another hill ever again, if he can help it.
That track was hell! He should have day stayed home, requested to do remote learning or something. To think he would have to be doing this over the next year made him reconsider his want of an education. Was all this really worth it, the snakes and bees? Probably. Izuku was just being dramatic but sue him! He’s allowed to complain after walking up a mountain that big. His brooding and huffing was cut off by the sounds of bushes just behind him, making Izuku jump.
“Midoriya-kun!” Nagisa shouted as he emerged. “I’m so glad I found you. Man, that walk up was something else, wasn’t it!” He smiled. Nagisa stretched himself out, rubbing his arms and pulling at his legs, probably trying to relieve them of the burn and ache in them.
“It s-sure was. I don’t know what’s w-worse, Asano-kun’s attitude or t-that walk.” Izuku joked, he’d gotten pretty comfortable teasing and messing about with the shorter boy. He doesn’t think he’s felt this good around a friend since.. Kacchan. The thought of the blonde brings a sharp pang of pain in his chest so he squashes it down and continues on. “Hey, w-what do you think everyone will be l-like?” He asked.
Nagisa straightened out, “Oh! I’ve actually already met some of them, they actually seem pretty chill. Well the ones I’ve met at least. What about you?” He tilted his head as the began walking to the wooden building. “Have you met any of our new classmates yet?”
Izuku hadn’t, he hadn’t seen or hear anybody and was more focused on use getting up the damn path so he made it to class. It would’ve been nice to get to know one of his new classmates before the class began but there was nothing he could do about that. Izuku shook his head ‘no’ as the answer to Nagisa’s question.
“Ah, bummer. Don’t worry I’ll just have to introduce you to them then!” He promised with a wink that made Izuku giggle.
“You will.”
The pair walked in silence, comfortable enough just to enjoy each other’s company. Turns out Izuku made the right call, getting up so early as it gave them both plenty of time to get to know some of their new classmates for the year. The bulging they were set up in was small, old and made of wood. Honestly, he wouldn’t be surprised if fell down before the end of the first week.
Izuku sighed through his nose and readied himself for what was to come. He shouldn’t be this nervous, Nagisa said that the other’s weren’t all that bad so Izuku should take his word for it. If they were also in E-Class, then they’d all be in the same boat, right? They were all stuck in the same situation so hopefully he’d being able to make friends through their shared struggle.