Chapter Text
“HOW COULD YOU MISS THAT KILL?” Tenko yelled down his microphone. Toya groaned and stared intently at the screen in front of him.
“God forbid one has hobbies.” Toya shot back at him, much quieter. If he yelled too loudly, he’d wake up his parents, and that would be a whole new world of trouble.
“To the left!” Shuichi said, “I think there are two teams?”
“Make that three,” Toya muttered as he noticed more players coming into view on his screen.
Toya heard Tenko sigh heavily, “We can’t stay and fight them for long, the storm is going to kill us.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Toya muttered, and he aimed well enough to knock down two of the members who started firing at Tenko.
“On me, on me!” Tenko was shouting down his mic, and Toya cringed slightly.
“We can see that, Tomura!” Shuichi shouted back, using the gamer tag that Tenko had coined at the young age of eight.
“Come on, we need to lock in!” Tenko muttered, killing one of the players Toya had knocked down.
“They’re on me!” Shuichi shouted, and Toya clicked the buttons on his controller quickly, trying to get more hits on the other teams. There were nine players, and they seemed more focused on Toya’s team than on each other.
“I think they’re teaming!” Toya whispered, and he was only responded to with a loud shriek from Shuichi, followed by Tenko’s absurdly loud screams.
“HOW COULD YOU DIE, SPINNER!” Tenko screamed, and Toya had to stop himself from laughing, “MY VICTORY CROWN!”
“FUCK YOU IT’S YOUR FAULT!” Shuichi shouted back, equally as loud.
“Both of you, shut the fuck up!” Toya muttered, killing one of the teams, “I just destroyed like three whole players, Tomura, you need to lock in!”
“I AM LOCKED IN, SPINNER’S THE ONE WHO FUCKING DIED!” Tenko shouted back, just as one of the opposing teams got a headshot on Toya.
“Fuck, I’m down, I’m down!” Toya was trying to get Tenko to focus and come help him, but the other was just screaming down the mic about how he was getting teamed on.
“FUCK!” Tenko shouted, and Toya heard the familiar sound of a controller being hit as the screen showed they got seventh place.
“Damn it,” Toya muttered, setting his controller down much nicer than Tenko did.
“Spinner, this is all your fault,” Tenko muttered.
“What?!” Shuichi shouted at him, “You’re the one who got seventh place!”
“See how we lost again, Tomura?” Toya said, teasing with an inside joke they’d created a long time ago.
“Shut the fuck up, Dabi!” Tenko muttered, groaning slightly.
Toya and Shuichi both laughed, and Tenko just sighed, “You’re both so mean to me!”
“No, we’re not!” Shuichi protested, laughing.
Toya laughed with him, powering down his gaming console. He got up from his desk, picked up his phone, and sat down on his bed.
“You guys excited for tomorrow?” Toya asked after Tenko finally stopped screaming.
“Oh, yeah!” Tenko was instantly more excited, “I can finally leave this boring school. I hope we all get in. I would be devastated if I had to go back to this horrid place.”
“Oh, come on, is it that bad? Toga loves your school!” Shuichi protested, and then it sounded like he was crunching something because his next words were muffled, “Personally, I’m just glad to get out of this stupid middle school. We never do anything interesting.”
“Eugh, Spinner, don’t talk with your mouth full, you idiot.” Toya snapped at him.
“Quiet, Dabi, I am speaking.” Toya could practically hear Shuichi raising a hand, which, should they be together in person, would be placed over Toya’s mouth.
Toya mocked him quietly, and Tenko groaned, “Yeah, but like… Toga got the good teachers.”
“Ohhh, speaking of teachers—” Toya flopped down backwards on his bed. “What if we get different classes?”
“Ugh, don’t even say that!” Tenko sounded slightly shrill, “I don’t want to imagine that!”
Toya giggled slightly, tapping his phone screen to check the time. It was around eleven pm. His lock screen with a picture of him, his hair fully white, with an arm around Tenko’s neck and a peace sign. Tenko, with his stupid blue hair, had one arm around Toya and one around Shuichi, the green-scaled lizard shooting him a slightly offended look. The picture was from the one time the three of them had gotten to meet for the first time. Toya met Tenko online, and Tenko introduced him to Shuichi. Tenko and Shuichi were neighbors, but Toya lived a bit further away from them. It had taken months of begging his mother to take him to a nearby park.
Toya scratched the side of his head, and when he took his hand away, there was a bit of red dye stuck under his fingernails. Half his hair was still white, but after Toya’s youngest brother had cried over being the only kid with red hair, Toya had bought some hair dye to make him feel better.
“Dabi. Dabi, are you listening to me?”
“What? Sorry-” Toya muttered, refocusing on the conversation.
“Don’t worry. I was just askin’ if you know anyone else trying to get into the hero course.” Tenko repeated.
“No, just you two.” Toya shrugged. Honestly, he was a bit nervous. If he got into the hero course, he’d have to meet all kinds of new people. That wasn’t really his strong suit.
“Tch, I don’t think we need to worry about that. We’re all gonna get in, and we’re gonna be in the same class. I know it.” Shuichi said, and Toya cringed slightly at his confidence.
“Sure, sure. We can’t win a round of Fortnite, but we’ll get into the hero course just fine,” Tenko said sarcastically, and Toya started laughing again as Shuichi started to shout at Tenko.
Toya stretched slightly, then reached into his pocket. “Okay, you’re both stupid. We should all probably get some sleep.”
“What are you, my mother?” Shuichi snapped back quickly, and Toya just rolled his eyes.
“Yeah, yeah, say whatever you want, I don’t wanna hear shit from you if you’re tired tomorrow.” Toya retorted, and he heard Shuichi just mutter under his breath.
“Goodnight, Dabiiiii.” Tenko extended the last part of his name longer than he needed to, and Dabi could almost hear him smiling, “See you tomorrow.”
Toya sighed, taking out one of his earbuds, “Goodnight, Tomura. And goodnight to you, too, Spinner.”
“Night, Dabi.”
Toya disconnected from the call, putting both his earbuds back in the case. He rubbed his eyes slightly, scrolling through his phone for a moment before leaning over and setting it down on his nightstand. He rolled back over on his side, pulling his blankets over him. He stared at his wall for a long time.
What if he did get into the hero course? Would that be enough for his father to acknowledge him? He was lucky he even got to take the entrance exam, and that was only because his dear mother had promised to pay his tuition if he got in. Tenko’s mom had offered to help with it, too, but Toya’s family pride had unfortunately denied her. And even if he did get in, what if he wasn’t in the same class as Tenko or Shuichi? He’d have to make completely new friends! He was sure that he could handle that on his own. He’d barely have anything in common with them despite his love for heroes. He picked at the skin on his thumb. They’d probably give him shit about his father too. Endeavor wasn’t exactly the most popular hero. He glared at his wall now. It wasn’t his fault he got a shitty hero for a dad.
He slowly shut his eyes. What was the point anyway? He was going to get into that course. He had too. It’s all he’d dreamed about ever since he was a kid. He met Tenko online, and their first voice chat they ever had, they talked about the hero course. Tenko went to a special school for kids with ‘villainous quirks’ that offered very expensive yet effective quirk therapy. Tenko had amazing control over his decay, and honestly, Toya wouldn’t be shocked if Tenko could beat him in a fight, even with Toya’s flames. Toya’s best friend also went to that school. She was a lot younger, but Toya had known Toga since she was six. Four years of friendship went a long way.
Toya didn’t even know where Shuichi went to school. He went to a school that welcomed hetromorphs, which honestly just pissed Toya off. Shouldn’t all schools be like that? It’s not like Shuichi was a completely different breed. So what, he looked like a lizard? He was still awesome at video games and was doing everything he could to be a hero. How could that be a bad thing?
It wasn’t, Toya decided, turning over to look up at his ceiling, it wasn’t a bad thing. Because UA high school would accept any student who passed the entrance exam. If they had what it took to be a hero, that’s all that mattered. In Toya’s opinion, that’s all that should matter.
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“Toya! Toya! You’re going to be late if you sleep any longer!”
Toya shot awake at the sound of his mother's voice. He was halfway out of bed and getting dressed when she said his name the second time.
“I’m coming!” He shouted back, excitement more than anything flooded through him. He rushed slightly, grabbing his phone quickly as he dashed into the hallway. He had a few notifications from his group chat with Tenko and Shuichi, and he quickly sent them a message in reply as he scuttled into the kitchen where his mother was waiting, little Shoto standing next to her. Natsuo and Fuyumi were at the table, and the twins grinned widely as Toya skittered into the room.
“Toya!” Natsuo grinned, “You got your test today!”
Toya nodded to him, grabbing a piece of toast from the counter. “When are we leaving?” He asked his mother, Rei, who was currently finishing up breakfast for the rest of the kids.
“Soon,” She told him, then gently pushed Shoto, “Get out of my way, little one.” She muttered. Toya ducked behind the counter and picked Shoto up into his arms, which resulted in a heavy protest.
“Put me down!” He complained, to which Toya responded by lowering him closer to the ground before dropping him.
“C’mon, don’t bother Mom.” Toya scolded him lightly, and Rei sighed.
“Thank you, Toya.” She murmured, exiting the kitchen with two bowls, giving one to each of the twins who were waiting kindly at the table.
“Eat that before your father gets downstairs. He’s dropping you off today, so be nice.” She instructed them, then walked over, picking up Shoto, who hadn’t moved from where Toya dropped him and was now watching with interest as Natsuo picked at the wood of the table. She put him in his chair, then provided him with food as well.
Toya munched on his toast, then bolted up from his chair as Rei grabbed her keys, “Let’s go, Toya. I don’t want you to be late.”
Practically vibrating with contained excitement, Toya followed his mom outside. He kicked his legs back and forth, almost like a little kid on the ride there, clutching his bag with a mix of fear and energy. When he hopped out of the car, the first thing he noticed was a boy with blue hair running straight for him.
“Dabi!”
Toya grinned, not even caring about the slight stares the two of them got as Tenko ran forward and hugged him. Toya laughed slightly, returning the hug, tilting his head slightly.
“We were starting to think you were gonna be late!” Shuichi said from behind Tenko, also stepping forward to hug Toya. The three hadn’t been together for a few months now, which was another reason why they were all so excited.
“Nah, just a bit behind,” Toya murmured.
Tenko grabbed his hand, and Toya felt the smooth half gloves that he wore wrap around his fingers. He started to practically drag him down the path towards the school. Shuichi followed them, and Toya laughed a little as Tenko started to run down the path, dragging his friends behind him.
Toya found out he was on a different testing ground than both Tenko and Shuichi when an extremely loud blond man started shouting at them from the stage. He frowned as he found his way through the school grounds, ending up in the right place. He was away from his friends, so he was silent as they stood outside the grounds. He fidgeted with his hands, picking at his nails slightly.
Toya silently tried to get a look at the people around him. Some kids seemed normal, looked like him. A couple were more like Shuichi with animal traits. He was trying to see if there was anyone he somehow knew when his eyes caught on a pair of bright red wings. It made him pause, and he turned his head, getting a glimpse of blond hair.
“Attention!”
Toya’s head snapped up at the loud voice blasting through speakers around them. He noticed the others around him also looked up, all their faces mirroring his own. Nervous excitement. He was out of his element now, but the second he could get in the testing ground and let loose with his quirk, he’d be able to forget it all.
“Before we get started here, I just want to remind our future heroes,” The man from before (Present Mic, if Toya recalled correctly) seemed almost louder now, “Even if this is a kind of competition, please do not harm your fellow students!”
Toya slightly tuned him out, only about half listening now. His eyes drifted back to the red wings in the crowd, but he had lost them. He only caught another brief glimpse before a loud buzzer sounded and the large doors slid open. No time to focus on that now. Toya, along with the rest of his group, charged forward. Toya summoned flames in his hand, the orange glow flickering to blue as he forced his quirk to be hot enough to melt the robots they’d be facing. This was it.
This was his chance.