He signed up for the support course.

It was much easier than he had expected, both the application and the test. Apparently, it was just a couple of written exams. Unlike the hero course which had a practical portion. Really, not having one of those boosted his chances significantly. Everyone knew he could barely do better than an asthmatic on a good day.

Still, he couldn't take the tests lightly. The support course may not get as many applicants as the hero course, but Izuku still didn't want to scrape by. He was already behind most potential students since he knew next to nothing about building machines. Although he didn't necessarily have to build stuff, he could settle for doing analytics. Yeah, he could definitely do that. But what if lots of other people were doing it too? He'd just be another face in the crowd.

Well, he already signed up for both. Good foresight really. He was going to freak out at least once a week about the situation anyway.

But right now wasn't the time to stress out. It was time to prepare. Prepare for the test, prepare for the classes, and prepare for everything else. And the best person he knew for all that? Miss Grease Monkey.

He should learn her name.

Except getting anything out of her might be a bit of a problem. She was busy building more rockets and stuff. Generally, just things to make people fly. So how does he broach the problem?

Answer: he doesn't.

Before he could even come up with a long-winded and complicated plan, the inventor grabbed him by the arm and pulled him over to her workstation. Said workstation was an old wooden table, but he didn't want to think about how many things could go wrong. Especially since most of the girl's inventions involved combustion one way or another.

"Alright, so I incorporated your design and the balance is actually pretty good. The problem is weight now. Each boot is basically a medicine ball strapped to each foot. You see what's wrong, right? Steering is going to be a pain in the ass. Not to mention basic balance. But I have no idea where to put all the wiring and that's where you come in." She shoved a notebook—his notebook which she stole a few days ago—and gestured to her project. "Any upgrades? Or you can just scrap the whole thing and design a new model."

As she rambled on, Izuku slowly realized that this is what people must feel like when he muttered. Except, he was probably a million times more nervous than others.

"Actually, you should probably just design a new one. I wanna test this baby out." That was code for using it until it blew up. He learned that a long while ago. Around the time she gave up on her rocket pack.

"Wait, um," he trailed off.

"What's up?" she asked, leaning toward him. Had she ever heard of a personal bubble? Probably not.

"Well, I signed up for the support course, but I, well," he paused to think over his next words, "I need help preparing for the tests."

"So you want my help?" she reiterated, "How about this? You help me work on my babies and I'll teach you the ropes. Deal?"

"Deal!" he accepted happily. Perhaps a bit too happy, but he already said it, and trying to take it back always ended in shame on his part.

Either way, he was already in and there was no getting out. Weeks later, he would woefully scorn his decision. Passing a test was not worth his well-being.

~ Line Break ~

At this point, it had been months since Izuku had met Mei Hatsume. Months since he had talked to her about his notebook. Months since she took him under his wing to create babies. But it had only been a few weeks since he had received his acceptance into UA's support course.

Of course, he didn't expect it. He had taken the actual test over a month before the hologram-letter was sent out and at his door. The worst part was that he would be attending the prestigious academy in a mere day. By tomorrow, he'd be at the best hero school in the country. He'd be taught by actual heroes!

Never let it be said that Izuku wouldn't be excited to meet a real hero. Even if it was for something as mundane as a math class.

Looking at his schedule was an entirely different matter though. He had a regular curriculum first and foremost, so it wasn't anything he wouldn't be able to handle. At least, after the novelty of his teachers being heroes wore off. Then there were two more classes, specifically designed for the support course. Analytics and Workshop. Both were fairly self-explanatory, but it would seem his talent for observation may prove to be more useful than Mei had originally thought. Though a Workshop class would be interesting. Most of his designs were upgrades of Mei's inventions. Making one from scratch would either be a miracle or a dumpster fire. Not to mention actually trying to build it.

But it was too late to back out now. He was already accepted and had all of his supplies, he couldn't just get a refund for all of it. All he could do was try his best. Though at least he had Mei for emotional support, not that she was great at it.

Still, at the very least, it made his mother happy that he was pursuing something substantially less dangerous than the ordinary hero career.

Yet even with all those safe thoughts, that were supposed to quell the storm of anxiety in him, he couldn't fall asleep. He was too jittery and kept rolling over in his bed. Eventually, he shoved off the covers and plopped into his chair. There, he could look at his room, barren as it was now. Much of his decorations were in boxes, meaning the walls only had one poster of Present Mic. Other than that, all that was out were a few figurines that stayed on the shelf either on display or in its packaging.

Looking around his room didn't do anything for him, so he turned to his notebooks. Now, he had two sections of them, one for hero analytics and another for sketchbooks. The latter had been a surprise from his mother, but after she had seen how much he was simply doodling, she insisted they would help. Turns out they did. A lot. Anytime he couldn't get a handle on his thoughts, he could just doodle or sketch something out.

So what would he draw this time?

He could recreate a hero from memory, something he's done dozens of times before. He could sketch out one of Mei's babies, he was familiar enough with them. Or just doodle until an idea came to mind. Anything to get his mind off of attending UA.

UA. Who else was going? Mei, obviously. But did he know anyone else?

Kacchan. He would undoubtedly have been accepted. Aunt Mitsuki hadn't celebrated or shouted the news yet, but Izuku was sure the young blonde was going into the hero course. But he didn't want to sketch Katsuki from memory. There weren't many good memories associated with that face.

Maybe a hero suit? The two boys had made plenty of designs for some when they were younger. He could draw inspiration from those if he remembered any of them.

So he put pencil to paper, sketching the near-standard spandex suit and going from there. There would have to be equipment designed to supplement Katsuki's explosion Quirk since his fighting style was heavily dependent on it. Perhaps a basic utility belt for daily hero necessities. Plus, he would have to have a motif or at least some sort of emblem to work with. Every hero did one way or another. Sure, it was usually their face, but that was beside the point.

First was the equipment then. Well, Katsuki's Quirk relied on his hands, more specifically his palms, so there would have to be some sort of protection. Maybe a heat conductor to make his explosions more powerful, though then he may risk heatstroke if he has to fight for too long. But too much sweat would work against him too. Maybe something to store any excess sweat.

Wait, excess sweat would be everywhere! He could have something to collect sweat. But it wouldn't be any use unless it was going down his arms. That meant the rest of his suit would have to breathable while an apparatus of some sort was on his arms. Something to collect sweat. Maybe a gauntlet or glove that could bring that sweat to his palm somehow. How would it do that though?

The answer would be something he would think about later. Right now, his desk looked very comfortable as a pillow.