Disclaimer: I do not own Boku No Hero Academia

Been really enjoying the manga for Hero Academia recently, like really enjoying it. Started on a binge reading spree of available BNHA fanfics and decided to start writing my own, it's been a long time since I have written something.

This is a what-if Izuku had a more consistent line between his personality and ideals, he talked big about being a hero yet never did anything about it before getting One For All. This will start at the UA entrance arc, but there will be flashbacks to show the difference between my story and canon.

Chapter 1: Where it begins

"M-mama... c-can I still be a hero-?"

"I'm sorry Izuku! I'm so sorry!"

Those were not the words he wanted to hear, those were not the words a parent should have told their child. A dream was a fragile thing, like hope, it was easy to shatter. Fortunately, he was not someone who was easily deterred...

Looking up at the tall, gleaming buildings ahead, a young teen took a deep breath before walking through the massive arch that represented the entrance of U.A. High School. Located within the city of Musutafu near the Shizuoka Prefecture, this was the elite academy that boasted the best heroics education in Japan.

"I can do this. This is what all my training had led to. I can't disappoint him..." The teen muttered to himself as he made his way to the auditorium.

A mess of fluffy dark-green hair on his head, emerald green eyes, freckles and wearing a simple dark-green tracksuit with white lines running along the sides. The young teen would have cut quite the stereotypical image of a nerd if not for his angular facial shape and solid frame that even the tracksuit could not fully hide.

Looking around for his assigned seat, he let out a resigned sigh when he noticed the unruly mop of ash-blond hair in the space beside him. Seeing that there was no way out of it, he dropped his backpack onto the table and slide into the chair.

"I see you're here early... Katsuki."

The blond-haired teen in question stiffened at his voice, turning his head slightly to reveal narrowed eyes that gleamed bright-red in the dim auditorium lighting.

"Tsk... shitty nerd."

"...as polite as ever."

When it was obvious that the conversation was going nowhere, he leaned back in his seat before pulling out his mobile phone and tapped on the unread message notification that was flashing on the screen.

[Itsuka: Hey where are you? I'm already seated but I don't see you.]

[I'm seated towards the rear, directly in front of the podium.]

[Itsuka: Hmm...]

[Itsuka: I see you!]

Taking a look around the crowded hall, he finally managed to spot the familiar shade of bright orange hair that belonged to his first real friend. Her teal eyes seemed to sparkle upon meeting his and a large grin spread across her face. Offering a smile in return, he gave a small wave before tapping on his phone screen once more.

[Looks like they placed us according to our previous schools.]

[Itsuka: Aww that sucks... wait does that mean he is beside you.]

[Unfortunately yes, the Pomeranian is beside me.]

[Itsuka: Sucks to be you man. Well looks like the briefing is starting, ttyl Izuku!]

The crowd in the auditorium quickly fell silent when the figure that was now standing in front of the podium cleared their throat, the sound somehow echoing throughout the area. The man was tall, slim and had long blond hair that was styled into a huge skyward-pointing spike. Dressed in a black ensemble, orange-tinted shades and a speaker-like device around his neck, it was an easy deduction to the identity of the man.

'Present Mic, Hizashi Yamada. A Pro-Hero with the Quirk named Voice that allows him to increase the volume of his voice.' Izuku thought to himself, his fingers twitching slightly as he held himself back from taking out his notebook to scribble notes down.

"WELCOME TO TODAY'S LIVE PERFORMANCE! I'M YOUR HOST, PRESENT MIC! EVERYBODY GIVE ME A HEY!"

Izuku could not help but chuckle slightly as the man was greeted by dead silence, though it seemed to do little to deter the host or curb his exuberant nature.

"WELL WELL TOUGH CROWD TODAY! NO MATTER, LISTEN UP MY LITTLE EXAMINEE LISTENERS! I'M HERE TO PRESENT THE GUIDELINES OF YOUR PRACTICAL EXAM! ARE YOU READY?!"

More silence followed in his wake.

"W-WELL THEN! THIS IS HOW THE TEST WILL GO! YOU'LL BE EXPERIENCING TEN-MINUTE LONG MOCK CITYSCAPE MANEUVERS AND BE SPLIT UP ACROSS SEVEN DIFFERENT TESTING SITES. YOU'LL BE ALLOWED TO BRING WHATEVER YOU WANT!"

"Heh... must be so kids from the same school can't help each other out. Not that I need any help." Katsuki smirked at the prospect of showing off his skills while Izuku just rolled his eyes.

"EACH SITE IS FILLED WITH THREE KINDS OF FAUX VILLAINS! POINTS ARE AWARDED FOR DEFEATING EACH ACCORDING TO THEIR RESPECTIVE DIFFICULTY LEVELS! YOU MAY OF COURSE UTILISE YOUR QUIRKS TO DISABLE THESE FAUX VILLAINS TO EARN SAID POINTS! THAT WILL BE YOUR GOAL, LISTENERS!"

"May I ask a question?!" The voice cut through the silence of the hall.

Scrutinizing the person it belongs to, it was a relatively tall and musuclar teen with a wide frame. Short dark blue hair that was neatly parted, a pair of glasses framed his squarish features and gave off the impression of a by-the-book sort of person. His analysis was proven right immediately by the follow up question that was asked.

"There appears to be no fewer than FOUR varieties of Faux Villains stated on this handout! Such a blatant error is unlike Japan's Top Academy, U.A. High! We're all here today in hopes of being molded into model heroes!"

"Another freaking nerd, looks like you can make a friend Deku!"

Fortunately the blue-haired boy retorted before Izuku scathing reply could leave his tongue.

"I heard that! I am here to take this test seriously, if you think that this is some sort of game then please leave immediately!"

"ALRIGHT! ALRIGHT! LISTENERS SETTLE DOWN! YOU'RE EXAMINEE 7111, GOOD CATCH! THE FOURTH FAUX VILLAIN VARIETY NETS YOU ZERO POINTS! IT IS MORE OF AN OBSTACLE YOU HAVE TO AVOID WHILE TAKING THE TEST! IF YOU YOUNGSTERS HAVE PLAYED THE OLD, RETRO GAME SUPER MARIO BROTHERS THEN THINK OF IT AS A THWOMP! A GIMMICK THAT WILL RAMPAGE THROUGH THE TESTING SITE AND SHOULD BE AVOIDED!"

"I see... thank you for clarifying sir! I apologize for the interruption!"

"OKAY THEN, IF THERE ARE NO MORE FURTHER QUESTIONS... GOOD! THAT IS ALL FROM ME, LET ME LEAVE MY LITTLE LISTENERS WITH OUR SCHOOL MOTTO. THE GREAT HERO NAPOLEON BONAPARTE ONCE SAID... TRUE HEROISM CONSISTS IN BEING SUPERIOR TO THE ILLS OF LIFE. GO BEYOND YOUR LIMITS, PLUS ULTRA!"

'Plus Ultra huh... I like it.'

Testing Site B

"Wow it's basically an entire city! And they have a whole bunch of these just laying around!"

"That's U.A. for you. They're something else!"

Izuku silently agreed with the background chatter as he observed the sprawling city landscape before him, constructed entirely just for aspiring heroic students to use. The amount of resources the Japanese government funded to the top heroics school in the country would be no small sum.

'Everyone seems pretty confident. That blue-haired boy that spoke up earlier is here too...' He glanced over his fellow competitors, making note of the exhaust pipes protruding from the guy's rectangular calves. 'Must be a son of the Iida family...'

"ALRIGHT YOUNG LISTENERS! AS THE SAYING GOES, WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH, THE TOUGH GETS GOING! SOOOO... BEGIN!"

The gates barring entrance to the cities swung open, everyone seemed to be mesmerized by it until-

"WHAT'S WRONG? THE TEST HAS ALREADY STARTED! RUN FOR IT! THE CLOCK IS TICKING!"

The Pro-Hero's voice startled everyone out of their thoughts, suddenly noticing that a green blur had already shot ahead in advance.

'Alright, all that training to utilize One For All seems to be working!'

Green lightning sparked around his lower body as he dashed through the city, taking out any robot villains in his path with well-timed kicks to the head. After decapitating another One-pointer, the wall beside him exploded to reveal a Two-pointer.

"Target locked: Prepare for termination!"

'One For All 5%...'

"FULL COWL!"

The green lightning spread evenly across his entire body and he wasted no time as he dodged a claw swipe, kicking off the ground and landing on the Two-pointer's head. Bracing himself, he aimed downwards and pulled his fist back.

"Pile-Bunker... SMASH!"

The resulting punch caused the robot's head to explode and it's large body to smash into the concrete ground, resulting in a large crater forming around it. A quick glance around the area revealed no further enemies, Izuku smiled at the destroyed robot before dashing off.

"

'That's 45 points... I can do better.'

U.A. Testing Site Control Room

The majority of the prestigious staff of U.A. High School were gathered to watch the young aspiring heroes give their all in securing a spot within their school. Chief among them was a small, stout creature that looked like it could be a combination of a dog, a mouse and a bear. This was Nedzu, a rare case of an animal that manifested a Quirk and also the principal of U.A. High.

"Truly one of my favourite times of the year, getting to see so many prospective heroes showcase their abilities never fails to get me excited hahaha!" He stood upon the control panel, sipping a cup of tea.

"We don't inform them of how many faux villains there are or how they are placed. Within such a wide battlefield and with a limited time... it serves to bring out the best in them."

"Be it intelligence gatherers, who can assess the situation in an instant." Ectoplasm pointed out, looking at a monitor showcasing a large teen with six arms that had transformed into ears and ears.

"Mobility experts that are never late to the party." Cementoss looked at another screen, this one showing the blue-haired boy speeding through the city.

"Decision makers who can cope with various situations that may occur." Thirteen watched a blond haired male fire a laser beam from their navel.

"And then there are the natural-born warriors." Snipe hummed as he witnessed a scene of an ash-blond male standing in a pile of robot debris.

"Or in certain rare scenarios... those who embody all said aspects... and more." Nedzu pointed out another screen, this one focused on a green blur dashing through the false city, taking out robots and helping those in need.

"This year's crop certainly has quite the talent huh?" Midnight licked her lips.

"Nah, no way to know yet..." Power Loader shook his helmet-covered head.

"Ha ha ha, right you are everyone. In that case, you know the drill. Plus Ultra and all that ha ha ha!" Nedzu was practically vibrating in excitement as his paw slapped onto a giant red button.

ROOOOAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!

Izuku felt a shiver go up his spine as the mechanical roar echoed throughout the testing site, he instinctively knew that was the Zero-pointer. Judging by the people running past him, he could tell the general direction that he should be avoiding. However just as he was about to dash away, he heard a sudden scream.

"Help!"

Before he realized it, his body was already running in the direction of the cry for help. He ran towards the source of the mechanical roaring and buildings collapsing, he ran pass the blue-haired Iida teen, who looked back at him in shock.

'There she is...'

The cry was from a round-faced girl with brown hair, rubble from the destroyed city had pinned her to the ground. His eyes darted around the scene even as he ran towards her, his mind analyzing the situation to find the best possible choice of action.

'The Zero-pointer is almost upon her, I can't grab her without risking further injury to her as her current condition is unknown. That leaves... taking out the threat.' Izuku grimaced at the logical conclusion he came to, he had no choice but to use his full strength as he did not know how durable the 'final boss' was.

Blitzing pass the fallen girl, he stomped on the ground hard before launching himself into the air towards the Zero-pointer's head. The sleeve of his right jumpsuit shredded off as the green lightning concentrated onto his right arm, glowing red and white energy like veins appeared on the surface of his skin. He took a deep breath and pulled his arm all the way back.

'Just like All Might said... put your back into it, clench your butt cheeks and let your heart cry out! One For All 100%...'

"SMMAAAAAASSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Everyone in the testing ground gaped in amazement as the humongous Zero-pointer was blown backwards, the head smashed right off its body as explosions rang throughout the chassis. Izuku meanwhile bit his lip in pain, the bones, muscles and literally everything in his right arm was fucked at the moment. Also he was free-falling towards the ground.

'I need something... there!'

He twisted his body mid-air, ignoring the sharp stab of pain from his arm, and grasped onto a steel beam protruding from the side of a building. Using the momentum, he swung himself forward and landed with a tumble onto the ground.

"Gahhh fuck!" He landed on his injured arm.

"Oh no, are you okay?!"

Somehow he had landed beside the girl that he had just saved, she had managed to pull herself up but it looked like she had injured her ankle. Before they could communicate further, a loud horn blasted throughout the area.

"TIME'SSSS UPPPP! IT'S OVER!"

Present Mic's voice was the signal that ended the intense testing session, those within the area all flopped down onto their butts in exhaustion. Izuku stood up and frowned down at his broken arm.

'Even with all the training, I still can't handle the resulting kickback of a 100% One For All attack.'

He ignored the mutterings of those around him, even though he knew that they were talking about him and what he had just accomplished.

"My my, that's quite the Quirk you have there dear. The backlash did this to you... almost looks like your body isn't tough enough to handle it properly." The elderly voice belonged to a short old lady who was walking over to him, distributing candy to the participants around.

"Ah that mademoiselle..." The navel-laser Quirk user spoke up beside him. "She's the backbone of U.A. High's healthcare system and the only reason they can host such dangerous exams."

"Recovery Girl, her Quirk allows her to heal almost any injury at the cost of the stamina of the one being healed..." Izuku finished the statement, drawing the attention of said heroine.

"Right you are dear, now let me fix that up for you... SMOOCH!"

Right after she pulled back from the kiss on his shoulder, he had to grit his teeth as he felt the bones in his arm realign along with the muscles repairing themselves. Barely a few seconds later, his right arm looked as good as new and felt as such too. Going through a few motions, he bowed to the short veteran Pro-Hero.

"Thank you for your assistance Recovery Girl!"

"Strong and polite, what a nice young man you are. Are you sure you are fine, healing such a large injury usually drains quite the amount of stamina for most."

"Don't worry, I shouldn't be facing any issue thanks to my training routine."

Without waiting for a response, Izuku stretched before jogging out of the area to pick up his bag from the temporary locker room. He tapped a quick message to Itsuka before leaving for the entrance of the school.

[Done with my test. See you outside the U.A. arch.]

5 minutes later

As he was waiting, he felt someone tap him on the shoulder. Turning around, he saw it was the brown-haired girl he had saved earlier from the Zero-pointer. Taking a closer look, she was shorter than him but still had a curvy figure and a round, innocent-looking face.

'Hmm her face is turning red... oh.' Izuku flushed when he realized he had fallen into his habit again, he instinctively rubbed the back of his head.

"A-ah sorry about that, I have a bad habit of over-analyzing people I just meet..."

"D-don't worry about it, you did save me after all... which is what I came over for! I just saw you standing here so I thought I would introduce myself...*cough* I'm Uraraka Ochako!" She held out a hand with a warm smile.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Midoriya Izuku." He noticed that there were tiny pads on the inner tip of her fingers, probably related to her Quirk.

"Midoriya-kun! Thanks for saving me again! What you did was amazing!"

"Yes I concur, it was certainly a sight to see you sending the Zero-pointer reeling." The conversation was interrupted by a third party, the blue-haired boy from his test site. "Sorry to intrude, my name is Iida Tenya."

"You wouldn't happen to be related to the Turbo Hero: Ingenium would you?" Izuku asked, he knew he was right the moment the other teen brightened up.

"YES! He is my most wonderful elder brother and my idol! I hope to one day be as amazing and inspiring a hero as he is!" Tenya was swinging his arms around stiffly, seemingly his way of expressing his emotions. "By the way Midoriya-san, do you mind if I ask you something?"

"Nope, go ahead!"

"Just now during the test... did you realize that there was a hidden portion of the test when you aided Uraraka-san here?"

"Hidden portion?" Ochako was curious at the sudden topic change.

"Hmm... can't say that I have. My body just moved on its own, if someone is asking for help then I will help them!"

'This boy... I should be ashamed of myself...' Tenya berated himself for his shallow thinking, resolving to better himself with the green-haired teen as an example. "That was an enlightening talk Midoriya-san, I shall not take up any more of your time then. Thank you!"

"Ah me too! My family is probably waiting for news back home, see you around Midoriya-kun!"

Waving to the two new acquaintances he had made, he nearly jumped when a pair of hands wrapped around his head from behind and obscured his vision.

"Guess who?"

"...Mt Lady?"

That earned him a smack to the back of the head.

"I'm joking! Hey there Itsuka, how did your test go?"

Standing across from him was his childhood friend, Kendo Itsuka. She was of a similar height to him, with teal eyes and long ginger hair that was styled up into a high ponytail on the left side of her head. Her current outfit was a simple teal tee-shirt and faded blue denim jeans.

"Great! I think I scored enough to pass the entry requirements!" She pumped her fists in excitement. "How about you?!"

"Same, I should have scored enough to get in as well." Izuku chose not to mention the last minute situation so as to not worry his friend.

"Sweet! I hope we get into the same class! Who were those two by the way?"

"Oh them? I just met them earlier at my testing site, they wanted to introduce themselves."

"Izuku-kun is finally making more friends besides me, I'm so proud..." Itsuka wiped away a fake tear.

"Hey! I totally have-" The rest of his rant was cut off by the hug, a very nice and soft hug, that he received from the girl he was talking to.

"I missed you Izuku..." Her voice was soft, different from her usual cheerful tone so he could only hug her back with a flushed face.

"I missed you too Itsuka... it's been three years since we last saw each other?"

3 years ago

"You're leaving?" 12 year old Izuku was distraught, his only friend was moving away.

"I don't want to... but mama said obaa-chan is in a bad state..." 12 year old Itsuka was upset too, being separated from her best friend.

Kendo Itsuka had been informed by her mother that her grandmother had suddenly fallen ill, her condition was severe and without any relatives nearby, the responsibility fell to them. They had been forced to close down and sell the dojo and relocate further up country.

"...you'll still keep our promise right?" Izuku whispered.

"...of course! We will get into U.A. together and become kick-ass heroes!"

"Language young lady!"

"Sorry Mama!"

The two burst into giggles after that, the melancholic mood broken by the girl's mother.

"Zuku...Promise you'll keep in touch?"

"I will Suka. We can call each other at night whenever we're free!"

"Pinky promise?"

"Pinky promise!"

…

And so they had kept their promise, for the past three years the duo had kept in touch via voice calls and the occasional video calls while doing homework or just to chat. Enjoying the hug a moment longer, they soon separated with a cough.

"So what happened? Did you and Kendo-sensei move back here?" He asked, getting a negative shake of the head.

"Mom is still back up north running the new dojo and taking care of Obaa-chan. I'm renting a place a few stations down, so I'm staying by myself until the U.A. dorms are ready."

"What?! I heard those will only be ready halfway through our first year!"

"I don't have much of a choice unfortunately..."

Izuku wrecked his brain trying to think of a solution for his first and best friend, his mind burnt through multiple scenarios before landing on the most probably one.

"Well... how about if you stay with us? You know... me and my mom?"

"Huh?"

"I m-mean it would save your family a lot of money and I'm sure my mom wouldn't mind since we do have a spare room and she knows you..." He was starting to regret bringing it up, his face felt exceptionally warm and he was looking all over the place.

"...if Auntie Inko doesn't mind. Ah a-and I will have to check with my mom too..." Itsuka cleared her throat, her face was just as red as his.

"O-okay... text you later?"

"Y-ye sure!"

The two then scuttled off in opposite directions, trying to calm themselves down from the sudden influx of hormones.

U.A. Principal Office

"So we have narrowed down our list of participants to those that we are accepting... now to divide them between classes." Nedzu was seated at his desk, a fresh cup of tea in his hand.

"Midoriya, Bakugo and Tokoyami. I don't care about the rest." A gruff voice stated.

"Hey wait a minute!"

"Oh ho, you disagree with Aizawa-kun's choices Sekijiro-kun?" Nedzu asked the white-haired man, alternating between looking at him and another scruffy-looking long, black haired male.

"Yes! He is taking both of the top scoring students, that's unfair!"

"Hmm, that is quite right. Then I shall let you pick one of the two then Sekijiro-kun." The Principal gestured to continue.

"Midoriya, I want Midoriya-kun."

"A wise choice if I do say so myself. Any further arguments on your end Aizawa-kun?"

"No it's fine... that one seems like a problem child anyway."

"Then it's settled. Izuku-kun will be joining Class 1B.

1 week later

"Phew... thanks again for helping me move my stuff over!" Itsuka huffed as she placed the last of her boxes down, her enlarged hands shrinking back to normal size.

"Of course, I wasn't gonna let you do it alone!" Izuku said, stacking the boxes in the corner of the spare room without breaking a sweat.

A week ago they had asked their respective mothers if it was alright to stay over with the Midoriya family until the U.A. dormitories were ready, it felt strangely easy to convince the two women though. Barely a few sentences were exchanged and the two were all for it. Fortunately there were no furniture to move, just her clothing and other miscellaneous stuff so they did not have to contact a moving company.

"IZUKU! ITSUKA-CHAN! THEY'RE HERE!"

"Hmm?" A pair of confused teens stared as the slim, green-haired woman stumbled into the room with teary eyes.

"The U.A. Letter! It's here!"

The words had just left her mouth before the two envelops were relieved from her hand, they stared at the sealed letter before looking at each other. A quick round of jan-ken-pon and Itsuka would be the first to open her letter, it was a holographic recording of Vlad King informing her of the amount of points she had scored and that she had secured a passing grade. The orange-haired girl was ecstatic and paused hers just before it showed the top 10 ranking, wanting to see the other's score first.

"THIS IS A PROJECTION!"

The sudden shout had startled the two teens, along with the poor mother in the back, before the hologram zoomed out to reveal an extremely buff man in a pinstripe suit.

"All Might?!" Three simultaneous voices cried out, not expecting the man to appear from an official U.A. letter.

"You might be wondering why I'm here, that's because the only reason I'm in town is... TO TEACH AT U.A. HIGH SCHOOL!"

The trio were stunned, even Izuku, at the reveal. They heard the sound of someone furiously whispering to the Number One Hero from behind the projection screen.

"Eh you want me to hurry it up? Everything else can be said later? W-well I got it... CONGRATULATIONS MIDORIYA-SHOUNEN! You have not only passed the U.A. entrance exams, but you have also broken the record of the previous holder which was none other than me! HAHAHAHAHA!"

"WHAT?!"

"As you might have already figured out, the test comprised of not only villain points but also rescue points! And you have shown an outstanding performance by assisting your fellow candidates and destroying the Zero-pointer just to save a stranger's life! A hero course that doesn't reward those we do the right thing... is no hero course at all!"

"WAIT YOU DESTROYED THE ZERO-POINTER?!" This time it was just Itsuka shaking him back and forth by the collar.

"So Midoriya-shounen, with a grand total of 60 villain points and 80 rescue points. You pass with flying colours and are the new record holder of U.A. at 140 total points!"

'All my hard work... all these years... everything has paid off...' Izuku could not stop the tears from flowing, as he was embraced from both sides by his mother and best friend.

"Come now, Midoriya! THIS IS YOUR HERO ACADEMIA!"

I think this is a good place to end it. I actually wanted to include more stuff but I realized that no matter what, it's always fitting to end on that scene.

Now yall can already see how my story diverges from canon already, some stuff has been revealed about Izuku's past and some stuff can be inferred from it. The story will be a harem, just saying it now, cause I love a lot of the female characters in the series.

Confirmed In:

Itsuka Kendo

Setsuna Tokage

Nejire Hado

Reiko Yanagi

Mirko (Rumi Usagiyama)

Ryukyu (Ryuko Tatsuma)

The rest still aren't confirmed or won't be in, still need time to think and decide their roles in the story. The 1B girls have a higher chance than 1A girls.

Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed it!