A Grey Thin Line

4

      Izuku groaned at his alarm clock's incessant, shrill beeping. He rolled over, pressing the snooze button with more force than necessary before getting up and stretching. His back protested the movement, but he easily ignored the slight burn in his muscles in favor of walking over to his closet and getting dressed.

      After fitting his long sleeved shirt over his head, he heard his phone give off a ping on his desk. Shuffling over, he picked up the device and checked the message displayed on the home screen.

Received 6:39 am
After exams, come to the warehouse, I'll have a gift for you. -Kuroda

      Izuku blinked, caught somewhat off guard by the message, then swiped the screen and typed in his passcode. Izuku replied,

Sent 6:41 am
Got it, and you don't have to sign the text with your name, your contact info tells me it's you.

      The response was near instant,

Received 6:42 am
Bah, you teenagers and your technology, I'll have you know-

      Izuku huffed in amusement, placing the phone down to let his mentor rant about the age of flip phones in favor of finishing getting fully clothed. A quick look in the mirror confirmed that his clothes looked decent enough, long pants with a grey overcoat for the chilly weather. His hair, on the other hand, was a whole other level.

      His mother had often joked that the legendary "Midoriya bed-head" was a trait passed down to every green haired member of the family, right now it seemed his genetics held true; his hair stuck up in every direction, tufts of green bouncing back up after he pressed them down experimentally. Grabbing his brush with a sigh, Izuku set out to try and tame his rebellious head of hair.

      "bed-head?" His mother had asked once Izuku'd finally set foot in the kitchen. Izuku, his hair looking only slightly better than when he'd woken up, simply nodded as he sat down at the counter. "My poor baby." She said, passing him a plate of toast and eggs. "You'd better eat quick, didn't you promise your friend you'd walk to Yuuei with him?"

      He perked up at that, picking up his fork and eating his breakfast in record time. With his toast hanging in his mouth, Izuku made his way to the door, "You're right! Love you mom!" He paused, remembering something before adding, "oh, and Kuroda sensei told me he had a gift for me, so I'll be a bit late coming home."

      "Go take the exam Izuku," she told him, giving him a warm look. "Just be home by dinner, I'm making katsudon, don't be late!"

    M "Got it, bye mom!" He rushed out the door, going down the stairs two at a time. He saw a familiar head of blue hair waiting at the bottom of the staircase and called out. "Iida! Sorry for holding you up!"

      Iida, who'd been on his phone (probably going over notes if Izuku knew him as well as he thought he did), looked up and raided a hand in greeting. "Good morning, Midoriya! You didn't hold us up by too much, we'll still make it to Yuuei with time to spare."

      Izuku sighed, "That's good, thanks Iida." He tuned out the other boy's long winded 'you're welcome' as they walked down the street. Eventually, their conversation turned to the exams.
"The pamphlet they handed out said that we'd be fighting robots for our practical exam." Iida explained to Izuku, "each one has a certain amount of points assigned to them, the more difficult the robot, the higher the point value."

      Izuku nodded, "What about the kids whose quirks aren't build for offense?" He asked, "I mean, Ereaserhead is a pro hero, and his quirk isn't made for fighting giant robots."

      Iida paused at that, seeming to mull over what Izuku said. "I don't know," he admitted, "but I'm sure a great academy like Yuuei has a course of action for such a scenario!"