^Time skip to entrance exam^

Izuku was completely nervous.

He would admit it.

Although the feeling was new to him, he knew what it was.

He never got nervous for tests, for no matter how much he studied or how well he did, teachers opted to lower his score so that he was a straight C student.

He never got nervous going home, because the outcome was always the same beating.

But as he stood in front of the gates of the prestigious UA, he was shaking.

Hitoshi was at his side, quietly whispering things to keep him grounded and actually there, but it wasn’t working very well.

A rather violent flinch racked through his body as he felt a hand on his head, but relaxed into the touch after noticing it was the purple haired boy in question.

Hizashi had quite the fun playing with his hair and trying to find a good style, but he settled on a braid for now.

Hitoshi’s nimble fingers gently slid down to his face before caressing his cheek.

With bleary eyes, Izuku looked up to stare into intense violet.

“You are okay. You can do this. With how hard you’ve been working, this should be a piece of cake, alright?” He nodded his head, registering the words over the bustling sounds of others walking by.

The white haired boy stared for just a moment longer, before Hitoshi saw a fierce determination in his jade eyes.

He paid no mind as the purple haired boy grabbed his hand tightly, thumbing over the freckles and scars.

Despite the mini peptalk, Izuku’s steps were still labored.

He could feel potential students' eyes on them, questioning if he was really fit to be here.

“Is he okay? He probably shouldn’t do the test.”

“He looks like he’s about to pass out.”

“Heh, looks like he won’t be an obstacle. More like a little pebble on the road.”

“C’mon Izuku, if we don’t hurry we might miss the instructions.”

---

“Deku?”

The name slipped past his mouth as he stared at the white haired boy.

He was truthfully about to break down, but weakness could not be shown in front of others.

Izuku had disappeared a day after one of the blonde’s lackeys told him to kill himself.

The next day, no one seemed to notice the boy’s disappearance, and carried on like nothing happened.

Katuski did though.

Every night he lay awake, hoping to whatever was out there, that Izuku wasn’t dead.

But here he was.

Holding hands with some purple haired freak and walking into his dream school.

The first thing that Katuski noticed though, was the scars.

“Shit, there’s so fucking many. . .”

He couldn’t help but wonder if he did all of those.

“No. . .There’s a new one on his eye, and. . .”

He cut his thoughts off as he stared at the boy's leg. Or more so what was left of it.

His middle school uniform had long been ruined, so he couldn’t exactly wear it anymore, so instead he opted for shorts and a large hoodie.

It looked seamless as he walked, black metal curving into what he assumed to be joints. It looked like it was part of him.

Katsuki drank in the boy's appearance more.

Black charred flesh crowned a pair of hearing aids, similar to the blonde's own.

“I did that.”

He knew for certain that he was the reason that Izuku struggled to hear the teacher in class, or hear the bullies making their way over.

The blond could barely move. He felt rooted in place.

“Get in there already. You are Katsuki Bakugou. You are not weak. You do not show weakness. . .” His personal mantra played on loop in his head.

You are not weak.

You are not weak.

You are not weak.

---

Hitoshi was not the best for this.

He knew he wasn’t.

Izuku was barely paying attention to the instructions, his yellow haired father speaking loudly and animatedly.

His eyes were unfocused as they darted around the room, he could see him shivering from cold sweat, his right leg bouncing up and down, hands ringing together and scratching at the flesh around his nails.

Hitoshi knew the basics of how to help someone calm down.

It was practically second nature to analyze a situation and figure out the best way to de-escalate because if he didn’t, there would be dire consequences.

“Izuku, can you confirm that you hear me?”

He barely received a nod in response.

"Alright, that's good. Is it alright if I grab your hand?" He carefully reached his hand over when the snow haired boy nodded.

When he held a firm grasp on the calloused, scarred hand, he brought it to his chest.

"Do you feel my heartbeat Izuku? I'm here, and if you can feel it, that means you're here. You aren't anywhere else. You are at the UA entrance exam, sitting in the seventeenth row, in seat four C, getting ready to kick ass on this test. You hear me? You will beat this course."

It wasn't a question, nor an opinion, or anything that needed an answer.

As far as Hitoshi was concerned, it was a fact.

And that's all Izuku needed.

He pressed more against Hitoshi's chest, and bringing his remaining hand to his own.

Closing his eyes, he breathed deeply, nerves still sleeping through every bone in his body.

He could here Hizashi answering questions for students, stating that they only had five more.minutes before the exam.

He was fine.

Well, he wasn't fine, but he was making progress.

Izuku could tell a few were staring at him, but he could most of all tell that Katsuki Bakugou was stealing glances his way.

The blonde looked either scared of him, or received he was there. In which neither of those made sense in Izuku's brain.

"Sir. . .appears to be. . .one extra. . .be ashamed. . .

"AND YOU!"

Izuku's eyes snapped open.

A blue haired boy with rectangular glasses was angrily staring his way, a glare evident on his face.

"Yes you! With the unkempt white hair!"

He saw Hizashi in the background darken in his mood.

"You haven't been paying attention this whole time! You aren't taking this seriously, and therefore shouldn't be here! As well as the fact that you look like a delinquent with all those scars! If you wish to be a hero, then you should cover those up so you don't end up scaring children-"

"Shut the fuck up!"

Izuku flinched and Hitoshi exploded next to him.

"He deserves to be here as much as anyone else! For you to judge him based on appearance makes you no worse than a bully. Learn to be polite to people, because as far as I know, you're some stuck up bitch who shouldn't be here."

The cold fury in the purple haired boys voice brought chills to the entire crowd.

Hizashi coughed from his spot on the stage.

"Sorry little listener, but he's right. As for your question, that one's a zero pointer! It's really just an obstacle worth no points so you should avoid it!"

The blue haired boy sat down with a glare and a murmur.

Izuku walked out of the auditorium just a little more prepared for this exam.