Ch. 8: The First Step to Freedom
December had reached Musutafu and it was set to be a cold one. -5 degrees Celsius was the average for the last week and a half and for the Principal of U.A. High, he was glad he had his winter coat come in. Also the heating unit was pumping out that sweet, sweet heat to keep him toasty while the winter winds blew outside. That was nice. Nezu sat at his desk looking over the recommendations for the hero course on his computer with an excited smile on his face while sipping some excellent green tea. They had received around forty or so recommendations and the lineup was looking stacked with talent and potential. They had the son of Endeavor with a dual power quirk, the daughter of the famous Yaoyorozu family that could create anything she knew the composition of, a young man that could create a typhoon with his mere presence; it was looking to be a very good year.
"Principal Nezu," the intercom on his desk interrupted his train of thought as his secretary's voice came through, "Aizawa is here to see you." Nezu looked at the clock in the corner of the screen to see it was half past four in the afternoon.
'Ah, was it that time already?' Nezu thought with a stretch before pressing a button on the intercom, "Thank you, send him in," The door swung open a second later almost like Aizawa didn't bother waiting for permission though the entrance was little more than amusing to the principal. "How are you today, Aizawa?" Nezu asked as he walked over to the couches so the two may sit down. He poured Aizawa a cup of his tea but it was ignored by the pro.
"I'd be better if I wasn't left in charge of your pet project," Aizawa groaned as he took a seat across from the principal and handed him a sheet of paper, "This is the info we have on Rage Shroud. Everything we've been able to identify in regards to his quirk."
"I understand that you don't like it but with the way you're performing, how can I have anyone else do the job as good as you are?" Aizawa scoffed a little before taking a drink of the hot tea. Nezu read the data sheet as he nursed his cup, never once changing expression as he took in all the information that his coworker had so diligently acquired. "First Step and Second Step?"
"First Step is when he has control and Second Step is when he's uncontrollable. Midoriya figured it was best to give the two forms a name each so they could be easily referred to," Aizawa explained, earning a pleased nod from Nezu who kept reading. After reading the last line on the page, he set the sheet down with a slightly saddened smile, "Progress has stalled, has it?"
"Midoriya seems to be stuck at one minute. It never increases but also never decreases. We've even timed in with one of the high-speed cameras we have and it's sixty seconds on the dot, every single time," Nezu's smile faded as he thought about the problem.
"That's troubling. If he isn't improving with it…"
"Then he's a potential liability with it," Aizawa finished, "Thankfully, he can turn it on and off within seconds so at the very least, First Step is completely manageable, if a bit impractical."
"You don't sound very reassured by that," Nezu pointed out, earning a small sigh from Aizawa as he crossed his arms and tried to look aloof.
"It's not his control of his power I'm worried about; it's his reckless personality that causes him to get involved in problems he has no business with."
"Some would say that's one of the markings of a hero," the principal countered, "A desire to help even if the help is unwanted or unneeded."
"Maybe but that's not what I mean. He strikes me as the kind of person that if push came to shove, he'd use any and all options on the table, no matter how dangerous they are, if it means he can help."
"Ah, I see," Nezu said with a nod, "Rage Shroud is indeed a powerful option but I guess it would be a problem to let him use it for now. And with the way it looks, it does appear that the situation won't be getting any better for a while."
"That's not the only problem plaguing it..."
"Alright, now that we've gotten to the point that you can turn it on and off quickly, we need to see just how powerful it is," Aizawa explained as All Might stood next to him on the beach. Midoriya was standing across from the two with Eri not present for the day.
"Here's the plan, you'll use Rage Shroud and punch my hand as hard as you can and using that, we'll be able to get a general idea of your power," Midoriya nodded as Al Might held his hand up and braced himself for an attack. Rage Shroud exploded out with a roar and combined with Body Burst to heighten his power as far as it could go. Midoriya wound up and threw the strongest punch he could into All Might's hand, leading to a slightly loud clap of the blow connecting.
"...That's it?" Aizawa asked, not at all impressed, "That wasn't even close to the level of power you were using before."
"Huh?" Midoriya looked at Aizawa, confused as Rage Shroud vanished. He drew his hand back to look at it, "But… I put everything I had into that punch…"
"I must admit, that punch, while strong, was nothing compared to the attacks you were throwing at me back at Hosu. I'd say your punch was about… hmm… one-fifth the strength," All Might's hypothesis made the confusion on Midoriya's face deepen as he had no idea what was going on. All Might let out a laugh before pointing a finger upwards, "Do not be discouraged, Young Midoriya, as I have a theory!"
"Oh, joy," Aizawa snarked, "This should be good," All Might ignored the obvious jab and deflated back to his normal form before continuing.
"Most likely, your full power can only come out when you're in Second Step while First Step only gives you a small taste of that power. Sort of like a limiter."
"Oh, I get it!" Midoriya clapped his hands together, "The power itself must be overwhelming me and when I use all of it, I can't control myself!"
"It's not a bad theory," Aizawa agreed, impressed that All Might was able to explain that despite him having no experience with teaching. "It's possible but we need to know more so it doesn't cause problems for us later on, like the entrance exam where there's tons of students you could accidently hurt. They tend to be high stress situations after all," Midoriya nodded before they went back to training.
"I see. And how's Eri's training coming along?" Nezu gestured to the sheet on the table, "There was nothing on her in there."
"Because we've made exactly zero progress with her," Aizawa admitted gruffly, thinking to all the attempts with Eri, "Because we have no idea how to activate it, we can't even tell if it works on plants, and that leaves animals and people… and I know how much you hate using others for experimentation."
"Oh, I absolutely despise it," Nezu agreed in a cheerful voice, "But that also means we're at an impasse."
"The only other option that we've come up with was to test it on terminally ill animals," Nezu pondered the idea. From the cold, calculated side of his mind, it was a sound one. You risk very little as the animal in question would die anyway but it was the principal of the matter that upset his empathetic side.
"Who came up with that idea?"
"Midoriya, though I can tell he just said it as a joke," Aizawa said as a small smile creeped onto his face, "He even mentioned that you'd love that. He also acknowledged that if Eri failed and accidentally rewound someone out of existence, she'd be traumatized further."
"And that wouldn't help Young Eri any," Nezu shook his head as he tried to find a happy medium to help Eri, "She's been at least cooperative, right?"
"We've basically been bribing her with ice cream and cookies and that seems to get her determined to do a good job so no real problems," Nezu had to stop himself from laughing his tea out through his nose.
"That's good to hear though make sure she's at least getting some vegetables in her diet," Aizawa nodded with an amused smirk, "I'll start brainstorming some ideas for her training and get back to you," Aizawa nodded before standing up.
"If you'll excuse me then," Aizawa bowed to his boss before leaving the room, leaving Nezu with his thoughts.
"Izuku and Eri… two confounding individuals, these ones," Nezu sighed as he walked over to his desk again and pulled up an email with the Board of Directors for U.A. High. "Maybe I should consider adding a few renovations to the campus."
Exhaustion was an old friend to Sir Nighteye as he poured through countless reports, all in an effort to find the most wanted man in Japan. The man that stole his idol's future and forced the Symbol of Peace to consider early retirement. The man that spent over a century ruling the underground and spreading fear into the hearts of all that would dare to exist in his world.
All For One. A being of unspeakable evil that it made his skin crawl just thinking about the smug look on his face the last time he saw it. The world thought him dead but thanks to the thief, they now knew better. All For One was alive and he needed to be stopped… if only Nighteye could findhim. It was now January, a full two months since they found out about his survival and he had nothing to show for it.
He even tried the same method as Noh. Trackdown, an information broker that could find anyone in the country. That plan dried up in record time because it would appear that Trackdown ran for the hills and got right out of the country to parts unknown. He probably knew that All For One would be coming for him if he was found out. That left very few options. He could try looking to the future of someone who might fight All For One but… he couldn't. He couldn't risk seeing someone's death… like he saw All Might's. The future he sees is immutable. It hasn't changed and it will never change. He continued to think of solutions when he heard a knock on the door. Without even waiting for a response, the door opened to reveal the grumpy face of Gran Torino. Nighteye matched his with one of his own.
"Hard at work, I see," Torino remarked as he walked in, leaning on his cane until he sat down in a chair against the wall, "So, I take it by that glare on your face you didn't drag me all the way down here for pleasantries?"
"I was hoping to ask for help," Nighteye began as he stood up from his chair and walked over to Torino, "I've hit a roadblock in finding All For One and you've been in this fight longer than anyone. I was hoping for your advice," Gran Torino closed his eyes with a hum as he began to think. Nighteye waited for a minute as the silence between them filled him with anxious energy as Torino merely sat still, lost in thought. When he opened his eyes to look at Nighteye, his face didn't relay good news.
"I'm afraid this situation is just as new to me as it is to you," Torino admitted, "The thing with All For One before was that he was so confident in his power that he never needed to hide so he was easy enough to find if we needed to. However, the fight with Toshinori must have put the scare in him."
"Nearly dying after such a long time of feeling invincible will do that to a man," Nighteye added, earning a nod from Torino.
"Right now, we're flying blind and running out of time," Torino looked at one of the All Might posters that lined the walls of the room as Nighteye took a drink of water, "Toshinori has passed on One For All already," Nighteye had to stop himself from spitting out the water at the revelation. He settled for choking on it instead.
"*cough* *cough* He what?! To who?!" Nighteye's eyes were now burning with outrage. He hadn't been told anything of the sort. Torino's eyebrow quirked upwards.
"Oh, didn't he tell you?" Nighteye shook his head, amusing Torino further as he rubbed his beard, "Huh, I wonder why…" he said with a smile.
"Who did he give it to?" Nighteye demanded with more urgency about it.
"A girl named Ochako Uraraka," Not the name he wanted to hear. Not even close. Though it did beg the question:
"...Who?"
"A junior high kid that's taking the U.A. entrance exam next month. Met her a month or so ago, in fact…"
It had been awhile since Sorahiko Torino had visitors, even longer still since Toshinori had bothered to show his face to his teacher. He'd have to remind him to visit more often. But right now…
Right now, he needed some entertainment.
Toshinori was bringing over the next inheritor of One For All to meet with him and he knew from his descriptions she'd be a complete sucker for one of his pranks. Torino dropped a plate of sausages and ketchup on the floor a few minutes before they were set to arrive, before shutting off all the lights and lying face down and sprawled out on the floor like a murder scene. Just in time to hear some voices at the door.
"This is the home of my teacher, Gran Torino," Toshinori's voice spoke through the door. There was a lengthy silence before a female voice came through.
"Um, All Might?" Uraraka began, concerned, "Are you okay?"
"C-Course I'm okay!" Toshinori's voice was one full to the brim with fear, "W-W-Why wouldn't I-I be okay?!"
"I'm just wondering why you're just standing there, shaking like an earthquake," Torino had to stop himself from laughing, keeping it down to just a snort. He liked this girl already.
"It's j-just a bit cold out!" he insisted.
"It's only 5 degrees and you're in a full coat with a scarf," she pointed out innocently.
"Never mind!" The doorbell rang. Then it rang again. Then a third time.
"Maybe he's not home?"
"We both agreed on the meeting time so I don't know why-" The door opened a crack as the doorknob turned, "The door's unlocked?" The door opened slowly as the two peered their heads in to see Torino, looking very dead.
"AH, HE'S DEAD?!" Uraraka screamed but Toshinori's veteran instincts and knowledge allowed him to instantly recognize the sausages and ketchup as he looked at his mentor, unimpressed. Torino's head shot up to look at the two.
"I'm alive!" Torino said in a goofy, senile voice. Uraraka fainted where she stood at the utterance, falling back against the wall to her butt.
"You're not funny, sir," Toshinori walked over to help his teacher up as Uraraka sat on the ground with a dazed look in her eyes. Gran Torino laughed at the sight while he was helped up and dusted himself off.
"Sorry about that, I couldn't resist the chance to have some fun at the new girl's expense," Gran Torino walked over to the sitting girl and got a good look at her, hand to his beard, "Hmm… not too impressive looking but more promising than Toshinori was at that age," Uraraka finally returned to her normal self but was still a bit unnerved by the old man in front of her.
"You think, sir?" Toshinori asked as he helped up Uraraka.
"Of course!" Torino replied with a grin, "Back then, you were so lanky and weak you could have been knocked over by a stiff breeze, not unlike today."
"Um…" Uraraka tried to talk but Torino just kept going and interrupted her as he turned to look at her.
"Anyway, I've got some tea going so take a seat," Torino then turned to Toshinori, "Toshinori, get the tea and make some taiyaki while you're at it! Oh, and clean up that mess too," He said as he pointed to the ketchup and sausages.
"Y-Yes sir!" Toshinori moved quickly, leaving Uraraka in awe at how this old man commanded the greatest hero on Earth like he was a bellboy. She followed Torino as he sat down at the table and looked at Torino's entertained face.
"So, from what Toshinori tells me, you're having a bit of trouble with One For All?"
"Um, yes… and no?"
"Why do I hear a question?"
"Well… maybe I should just show you," Uraraka stood up and activated One For All and Torino watched as red veins shot up across her entire body, crisscrossing all over with little sparks of pink lightning appearing every so often. She flicked her finger and nothing happened. Torino's eyebrows shot up.
"Hmm, impressive," Torino said with a smile, "I'm surprised you have such control in so little time."
"Well, this is only a little bit, like 3% or so and even then, I can't move all that well while using it since I need to concentrate so much."
"Still, you've not only made significant progress by controlling your output but you've even figured out the correct use of One For All," Torino let out a hearty chuckle, "You're going places, kid," Uraraka turned off One For All and bashfully rubbed the back of her head feverishly.
"Thanks, but it's my friends that deserve the credit," Torino then looked at Toshinori who was staring at the microwave, shaking. Ochako felt the temperature in the room shift ever so slightly like there was a draft.
"So, it wasn't Toshinori that taught you but instead a few of your friends?" Uraraka nodded as she sat back down. Torino tapped his cane against the table, causing Toshinori to turn around and bow in front of his mentor. He then received a heavy bonk on the head, "You muscle-bound nincompoop! Do you know even the most basic of basics when it comes to your own quirk!?"
"Well, I never needed to think about it!"
"Of course, you didn't! That's because we trained you into a replica of Hercules before she gave you it, not to mention your natural talent for it!"
"She?" Torino flew into a rage and threw the cane, conking Toshinori again.
"And you didn't even tell her about Nana, either?! What the hell have you been doing these last eight months?! Did you tell her anything about what she signed up for?!"
"It was never important before now!" Toshinori shouted as he rubbed his forehead. Torino grumbled as he turned to Uraraka.
"Must I do everything?" he sighed before he explained, "Nana Shimara was the One For All wielder before she gave it this zygote," he jabbed a finger at Toshinori who left to get the tea and treats, "before she was killed by a criminal by the name of All For One," Uraraka's breath caught in her throat as she processed what she was told.
"That's the monster that did all those horrible things to Izuku!" Toshinori placed everything on the table before he handed Torino back his cane and bowed his head in anticipation of another strike that came as predicted. Of course, Midoriya was also friends with his protégé because why the stupid hell not.
"Just so you know, I'm angrier you didn't tell me who she keeps for friends," he said as Toshinori sat down, "Then you know he isn't dead," she nodded which earned a sigh from Torino. They needed to find All For One and fast because they couldn't throw this girl at him and expect anything less than a murder. She might be stronger than All Might in theory but in practice she's nothing to that man. "One For All itself started as the quirk of the man's younger brother but All For One thought he was quirkless. He gave him a stockpiling quirk for whatever reason and it fused with the quirk the brother did have. The ability to pass on his quirk."
"Right, All Might said that the quirk was powered up with each transfer from person to person," Uraraka remembered as Torino nodded.
"Right now, the only person in the world that can stand up to that monster is Toshinori and with him giving up One For All, our window to stop him is very narrow," He turned to Toshinori with a stern look, "You should work to save as much of One For All as possible so you're ready for him."
"You know I can't ignore a cry for help," Toshinori argued before Torino looked at him with a glare.
"There are tens of thousands of heroes in this country. Are you telling me you are still so arrogant that you can't trust them to handle anything?" That shut his student right up, "I know you're supposed to be the Symbol of Peace but it's going to be really hard for you to be that if you're too busy being quirkless."
"All Might's quirkless?" Toshinori bowed again but this time there was no strike.
"Probably the only thing she's asked that she didn't need to know," Torino shook his head at the lack of due diligence by his pupil, "Anyway, we've gotten a bit off track from why you're here," Torino took a bite of his taiyaki, "So, what's the problem you're having?"
"Well," she picked up her taiyaki with all five fingers and let it go above the floor. Torino watched as the treat floated in mid-air, completely defying the laws of physics, "My quirk lets me remove gravity from objects and people but now it's doing something weird," she took the treat and set it down in front of Torino. She then waved her hand down and Torino could've sworn he heard the table start to groan, "Go ahead, pick it up," Torino looked at it for a second before attempting to do so. Sure enough, it was like it was made of lead.
"I see, so you now can increase the effects of gravity on objects, hmm?" Uraraka nodded as she placed the pads of her fingers together and said "release". The treat was now as light as it used to be.
"Actually, I can freely control how much of an effect gravity has so it's not just pure weightlessness. I can now make things lighter but not too light."
"We were wondering if quirks being enhanced or mutated by One For All has happened before."
"Well, I couldn't tell you since Nana's quirk was just floating in one spot above ground. Flying wasn't super easy for her and I first met her after she got it so this is all news to me. If she wanted to fly, she had to kick the air repeatedly to get anywhere."
"Oh!" Uraraka exclaimed as an idea hit her, "Maybe her original quirk wasn't strong enough to mutate like mine!"
"Could be," Torino nodded his head, "Your quirk is well-suited for rescue work and is quite useful and versatile. At the very least, it has more uses than Nana's. She, by comparison, only used hers to stop herself from falling and her jury-rigged flight."
"Thanks, I wanted to be a hero like Thirteen since she's my idol-oh my god, this is amazing!" Uraraka gushed as she took a bite of the taiyaki. Yep, he liked this one.
"So, One For All, the strongest quirk in existence, is now in the hands of an untrained gravity girl who's only been in one fight in her life?" Nighteye was back in his chair, head in his hand and glasses on the desk. He couldn't believe what he just heard. All Might, just gave One For All, his legacy, to some girl he met on a fluke.
"Pretty much, yeah," Torino nodded, "Though I wouldn't call her 'untrained' as much as 'inexperienced'."
"Like the difference matters," Nighteye bitterly snarked, "And she's also friends with the thief?"
"Yep," Torino could see what the problem was for Nighteye but he couldn't agree with it.
"This is the worst possible scenario..."
"What makes you say that?"
"I had a candidate for One For All lined up and he's perfect for the role," not that it matters right this minute, "I even had Nezu tell All Might about him but to think that he would completely ignore such a perfect hero for some little girl…"
"It was never our decision to make," Torino pointed with his cane as Nighteye glared, "When I first met Toshinori, I thought he was a complete boob of a child with a dream too radical to work. You only need to turn your head to see how well it's worked for him," Torino motioned to the All Might posters throughout the room.
"But you trained him extensively before he ever got it! The girl hasn't stepped foot in a hero school yet and he just decides to give her One For All because she does something recklessly heroic?! That doesn't stop it from being an idiotic decision!" Torino sighed at how stubborn Nighteye was being. It was like working with All Might all over again.
"So, who is this wonder child of yours?" Suddenly another knock was at the door.
"Sir, it's Togata! You called for me?" A cheerful voice called through the door. Nighteye smiled as he turned to Torino.
"Would you like to meet him?" This was salvageable. It would take a while but he could fix All Might's mistake.
"Thanks for letting us all stay the night, Mrs. Midoriya!" Ochako said cheerfully as she walked in with Minoru and Tsuyu in tow.
"It's no problem at all, dear," Inko smiled warmly as she shut the door, "You all have a big day tomorrow so giving you a place to stay for the night is the least I could do for Izuku's friends." The trio walked into the living room to see the couch was gone, leaving a wide-open space.
"So, what exactly are the sleeping arrangements?" Tsuyu asked, a bit concerned because of a certain purple pervert.
"I moved the couch into Mom's room for her to sleep on it," Izuku clarified as he left his room to see his friends, "The girls will share her bed since it's for two people while Minoru will be in my room," Minoru shook his head with a knowing smile.
"You know me too well," Izuku sighed at the comment but smiled regardless.
"I have to or the girls will try to kill us both."
"Well, it would mostly be Tsu," Ochako explained with a hint of danger, "I would just be very cross with you two."
"Um, I've felt what 'very cross' is and know that it makes whatever Tsu would do look tame," Minoru said as he threw his stuff into Izuku's room, "You only need one trip on the Vomit Comet to regret your life choices…"
"And yet, you never seem to change," Tsuyu countered.
"Baby steps people. I'll put more effort in when we get to U.A.; a place where everyone doesn't already know I'm a perv."
"You could at least get some practice in with controlling yourself."
"I am right now," Minoru retorted. Ochako and Izuku just shook their heads as they watched the two argue.
"I swear, they're always going at it," Izuku said with a sigh.
"It's not like Minoru doesn't bring it on himself," Ochako reasoned as she walked into the living room.
"True," Izuku watched as Ochako took a seat at the dining table and took a seat next to her. He looked at her face and she seemed apprehensive, "You okay?"
"I'm just thinking about tomorrow and how I'm probably going to screw something up…"
"Who are you and what have you done with Ochako?" Izuku asked with a chuckle, which brought a soft smile to her face, "You're normally so optimistic about everything that it's strange to see you actually be nervous about something."
"Well, I'm basically carrying a legacy now," Ochako remarked, "It's hard not to feel the pressure now that I'm just a poor girl from the countryside and now I'm basically having to become the next All Might. How can I not be nervous?"
"Just do what I do," Ochako looked at him inquisitively, "Remember everything that you can do, and then use it." Ochako's eyes widened and a bright smile returned to her face.
"You're right! I've got all I need to pass; I just need to apply it!" Izuku nodded before he noticed Tsuyu and Minoru looking at them, with him smirking.
"I've never seen a couple more thirsty for each other,"
"Seriously," Tsuyu agreed, causing the two to blush.
"So, how are you all feeling about tomorrow?" Tsuyu asked as the four sat on the floor in front of the television.
"Well, thanks to you guys helping me, I feel like I've finally gotten a hand on things!" Ochako exclaimed with excited energy before her mind remembered the written test, "Though I'm nervous as all get out about the first part of the test…"
"I made a bet with Zuku that I could get a higher score than him in the written test," Minoru spoke with pride.
"And I said he wouldn't even make the top twenty in the practical," Izuku countered with a smirk, "Which he won't since he doesn't take anything seriously."
"I could if I wanted to."
"But you never want to."
"You boys are really turning this into a competition?" Ochako asked, exasperated.
"It is a competition," Izuku reminded her, "We're facing every single other person in the test to get into the hero course. From what Aizawa told me, they only take the best of the best in the practical and everyone else is shoved into a different course that they also signed up for."
"When you put it like that, it's sounds like a lot of people slip through the cracks."
"Speaking of the practical, what quirk are you going to you, Izu?" Ochako asked. Izuku sighed as he leaned back.
"Right, isn't Overhaul still out there looking for Eri? He knows about Targeted Warp," Minoru added.
"I've decided that it would be best to use Targeted Warp since I'll probably end up using it on accident anyway if I get into a fight and panic," Izuku reasoned, "I'd rather have to fight Overhaul again than have to explain my past to the whole school because of one mistake."
"Not to mention that you're going to try and keep it under wraps as long as possible, right?" Tsuyu asked.
"I won't say anything if no one asks," Izuku said with a nod. "Whatever the case, we'll all just have to try our absolute best to succeed with what we're given. I've heard that if we fail the practical, there's still the Sports Festival to fall back on. Though first things first, we have to actually get intoU.A. since if we fail the written, we're done for." Everyone nodded in agreement.
The next morning was busy as all hell. The group tried to be at U.A. as early as possible and it was still loaded with people. It seemed like thousands of other hopefuls had arrived for the entrance exam.
"This might be a problem," Minoru said as he climbed up Izuku's back to get on his shoulders, "There's so many people that there's a higher chance that a lot of them are gifted!"
"Probably more gifted than the kid with balls on his head," Tsuyu added.
"Quiet, or I'll throw my balls at you."
"Can you please call them something else?" Izuku whined, "The thought of you hitting Tsuyu with your balls is a mental image I will take to my grave," Ochako had to stifle a laugh.
"How about 'grapes'?" Minoru suggested.
"Better. Now, which way to the test room?" The four found a diagram with a map to the testing rooms just inside the building. As it turns out, there were multiple test rooms listed by school, so all four would have to split up.
"Well, this blows," Minoru complained as he had to climb back down Izuku's back, making sure to take his grapes he used to get up there with him.
"What, were you hoping to have Izu carry you through the test?"
"I wouldn't have minded it."
"Move it, extras" the four turned to see the blond boy from the sludge villain attack. Katsuki Bakugou, if he remembered from one of the times his mother visited his family since he came home. The four parted to let him pass as he took one look at the diagram before he noticed Ochako and sneered. He turned and walked down the hall towards room three, where Izuku unfortunately had to follow.
"Glad to see his attitude's intact even ten months later," Ochako snarked, "Anyway, I don't want to be late so I'll see you guys after the test!" she said with a wave and a smile, "I'll accept nothing less than all four of us passing!"
"Such high standards," Minoru said with a sigh, "Well, I guess I do have to try if I want to win the bet."
"You won't," Tsuyu said as she left.
"I will!" Minoru fired back as he walked off, leaving Izuku alone to do the same. He looked at the card he was given in the mail to find his seat in the very far back corner. He'd make a joke about Nezu trying his best to isolate him but no one was around to get the joke. After taking his seat and waiting as the room filled with students, the proctor for the test finally walked in, handing out the test to everyone. When he finally got his copy, Izuku focused on it as best he could though he was starting to realize that while he may have had Nezu's study guides, they were apparently no real replacement to years of actual schooling. After the hour was up and all the tests were collected, a new person walked in with blond hair standing upwards in a spike.
"What's up, U.A. candidates!" Present Mic said as he stood with his back to the class, "Thanks for tuning into me, your school DJ!" He motioned his arms towards the crowd, "COME ON AND LET ME HEAR YA!" he shouted and placed a hand to his ear, only to be met with stony silence. Izuku wished he had time for an autograph since Mic's radio show was one of his few sources of entertainment when he was living in that storage garage. He sighed before continuing, "Keeping it mellow huh? That's fine and I'll just skip straight to the main show. Here's how this practical is going to go down! ARE YOU READAY, YEAH!" More silence as the screen changed to show seven boxes with letters on them, "After I drop the mic here, you'll head to your specified battle centers and all be thrown into an urban setting full of robot villains for ten minutes and you'll get points when you shred them like a mid-song guitar solo!" Izuku looked at his card to see it had a "B" on it. The screen showed three robots with points above them, "They're worth one, two, and three points apiece with the difficulty increasing with the point total. HOWEVER! Make sure to keep things heroic! Attacking other examinees is a U.A. no no, you dig?"
"Excuse me, sir, but I have a question," A haughty voice shouted as he stood up. The boy had blue hair with glasses on and that's all Izuku could see from where he was.
"Hit me!"
"On the print-out, you listed four types of villains, not three," he stated with his voice getting more outraged as he continued, "With all respect, if this is an error on official U.A. materials, it is shameful!" Izuku tried to stop himself from snorting out of his nose but he couldn't hold it, "We are exemplary students, we expect the best from Japan's most notable school. A mistake such as this won't do," He then turned to the chuckling Izuku and pointed at him, the glare on his glasses hiding his eyes from view, "Additionally, you with the unkempt hair. You've been chuckling and mumbling this whole time. Stop that. If you can't take this seriously, then leave. You're distracting the rest of us." He called out Izuku in front of everyone in attendance.
Clearly, this meant war. Izuku stopped chuckling and quickly warped a cone megaphone into his hand under the table and spoke into it.
"I'M SORRY. IS THIS BETTER, CHATTERBOX?" The crowd around him started to laugh at the blue-haired examinee, who was taken aback by this brazenness but couldn't offer a rebuttal before Present Mic stepped in.
"Alright, the both of you can knock it off," he said playfully as he tried to regain control of the situation, "Thanks for calling in with your request, examinee 7111!" A fourth robot appeared on the screen, "The fourth target is worth zero points. That guy's just an obstacle we'll be throwing in your way. There's one in every battle center so just think of it as a hurdle you should try to avoid. It's not that it can't be beaten; there's… kinda no point. I recommend that my listeners try to ignore it and focus on the ones topping the charts!"
"Thank you very much," 7111 said with a bow, "Please continue," as he sat back down, Izuku took note of all the info he just got. He needed to get more points than everyone else while also avoiding the zero pointer. Bio Scanner was useless since his targets weren't alive so he'd have to do things the old fashioned way. He'd also have to come up with a more complex plan on the fly since he only knew that the center was an urban area and his targets were robots… and nothing else.
"That's all I've got for you today so I'll sign off with a little present: a sample of our school motto! As General Napoleon Bonaparte once laid down, 'a true hero is one who overcomes life's misfortunes'. Mmhm, now that's a tasty soundbite!" He gave the brightest smile he could manage, "You ready to go beyond?" a giant graphic appeared on the screen, "LET'S HEAR A PLUS ULTRA!" Izuku took the words to heart as he steeled himself. He was ready. He could do this.
After changing into his gym sweats and arriving at the battle center, Izuku took stock of the competition. 'Chatterbox is here but I don't see anyone else I know. But I guest that makes sense. Nezu knows about Tsu and Ochako and might have found out about Minoru… somehow. With him, I wouldn't even be surprised. But that's actually pretty helpful. I can't steal any points they would need. I can just focus on myself-'
"You're mumbling again," Izuku turned to the familiar voice. He put on a warm smile before addressing the man.
"Ah, Chatterbox, can I help you with something?"
"You can start by ceasing with the mumbling as you're distracting the other entrants," Chatterbox claimed as he began karate chopping the air with what Izuku could only describe as "self-righteous fury", "And stop calling me, 'Chatterbox'! My name is Tenya Iida and I demand that you address me as such." Izuku saw a prime opportunity to throw one of the more promising entrants off his game. He just had to mess with him a little.
"Sorry, Chatterbox, I would if I respected you at all… but I don't. Also, so what if I was mumbling?" Izuku dropped the smile before continuing, "If you can't focus on what you're here to do that someone talking to themselves is distracting to you, you might not be ready to be a hero; an occupation full of distractions. Also, you're yelling at me for mumbling to myself. Which one of us is being louder?" This seemed to rile up Iida to a breaking point who was about to let him have it before-
"OKAY, START!" Present Mic's voice echoed through the city as he stood at the top of the gate leading into the battle center. Everyone turned to look but Izuku heard "start" and knew he needed to move. He warped a rock into his hand and threw it as hard as he could over the crowd, allowing him to bypass it and run in, shocking everyone, "WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?! THERE'S NO COUNTDOWN IN AN EMERGENCY AND ONE KID'S ALREADY TAKEN OFF!" Iida ran off after Izuku along with the rest of the crowd, intent on catching up to the warping boy. Izuku looked over his shoulder as Iida began to catch up.
'Okay, he is definitely fast!' He saw the engines sticking out of Iida's calves, 'So, that's his quirk. Engines that increase his speed to an amazing degree. I don't think I can beat him in a foot race but I might be able to keep up by warping... it also seems familiar to me but I can't remember where.' A one-pointer came screeching around the corner, taking aim but it didn't last long as Izuku's foot drove through its face, To his right, Iida gave another one-pointer a stiff dropkick and crumpled it like aluminum. 'I need to focus on what's in front of me for now and how to limit Chatterbox taking all the points.'
"Help!" Izuku turned around to see a entrant fallen over in front of a one pointer. The one pointer took aim and was promptly smashed by an incoming green-haired blur. Izuku quickly recovered from the kick and landed on solid ground before he looked at the cowering teen, extending a hand to help him up.
"You okay?" The teen stood up on his own, no worse for wear.
"Yeah! Thanks for the help!" Izuku gave a small salute before he started warping away to get more points.
Ochako could feel One For All course through her body as she used the 5%, she had to outrun most of the competition. She even lowered her own gravity to go even faster but it couldn't be held for long. She tried to run away from the thick of the battle, content to pick up points where she could on the outskirts where the numbers were smaller but far more manageable. As a two-pointer appeared in her face from an alleyway, she placed her hand on it before throwing her hand down, causing the machine to crumple under its own weight. She was on the board, but it was taking too long for the robots to fall apart and she felt bloated from doing it. She tried to swallow the bile in the back of her throat as she tried punching a one-pointer in the head, knocking it clean off.
'Oh wow, they are flimsy. This works way better!' Ochako took to punching robots and her score slowly but surely rose.
Aizawa scratched his neck as he watched the test, more specifically, Midoriya's test. He put four months of his life into training that kid. He damn well better pass or he will personally throw him into whatever hole they plan to put him in himself. He wasn't at all surprised that Midoriya decided to use Targeted Warp as his quirk of choice because it was the one he was the most used to using but he was surprised at just how good he was at using it. Izuku would throw a rock at an enemy, hit a completely different foe, warp to the rock and throw another at a third robot and attack the second one before warping to the third one. Rinse repeat. He also made sure to target the heads of the robots where they're the weakest. It was effective enough that he was keeping pace with a speedster that, while faster on the ground than Midoriya, wasn't as good at multitasking and transitioning through motions. Though real villains would catch on to such stunts before long so he'd need to adapt. Aizawa had to admit it though. Midoriya definitely had the skills to be a strong hero though he had a lot of competition. That speedster, Iida, was talented and well-trained already but being from a family of heroes will do that and his quirk was a strong one. There was also the Bakugou kid in center A who was tearing up the place with sadistic glee and frightening levels of power as he went "boom" and then there was no more anything. There were some other less than stellar but passable performances but nothing noteworthy.
"What do you think, Aizawa?" Eraser was ripped from his thoughts as Yagi and Nezu looked at him as if they were talking and wanted his input. "What do you think of this year's batch?"
"There's talent but the gap between the best and the passable is extremely wide. You can see from just watching Bakugou, Iida, and Midoriya and then comparing it to… say that purple ball kid who's just barely getting by with immobilizing the robots. Also, I think he's bleeding..."
"Immobilizing villains is a very useful skill," Nezu argued.
"If he had other skills to back it up. Just another thing he'd need to be taught."
"I do like your suggestion to have some of the current first years participate incognito as examinees to be rescued, Nezu," Nemuri said from his left as she pointed to Midoriya helping up an injured examinee and warping him to the gates to remove him from the battlefield, "It gives some of the less combat-oriented kids a chance to shine."
"Indeed, but it might not be enough to keep up with them. Anyway, I think it's about time for the main attraction," He looked over his shoulder at the man in charge of the robots, "Don't you agree, Power Loader?" The digger bucket-helmeted man chuckled with sadistic glee as he pressed a big red button on his control panel, causing the battle centers to start shaking.
When Izuku heard about the zero-pointer, he wasn't sure what he was expecting but he was certain of one thing.
He wasn't expecting a fifteen-story tall robot that crushes buildings in its hands like paper. The robot punched the ground, sending a massive dust cloud blowing by, nearly knocking Izuku off his feet.
"LESS THAN TWO MINUTES REMAINING!" Present Mic shouted.
"Oh, so that's what they meant by 'better to avoid it'," Izuku said aloud as he turned to go back to fighting the small fry when he heard a cry of pain and frustration.
"No! This can't be happening!" Izuku turned to see Chatterbox lying on the ground, buried up to his waist in debris caused by the zero-pointer destroying the top of a building. He saw the zero-pointer moving towards them so he took off running towards Chatterbox.
'I've used a lot of warps today so I've only got a few warps left before the vertigo kicks in. It should be fine, I think. I think I've got a lot of points though I lost track after forty,'Izuku winded up to throw before launching the rock that landed right in front of Chatterbox. "Need a hand?" Izuku said as he placed a hand on his back before warping the two back to the front gate. The man took a look around to see where he was and saw that he was free again. But now he was angry.
"How dare you sabotage me-ack!" he tried to stand but fell down again as his legs gave out, "Damn, I can't even stand!"
"Well, yeah," Izuku snarked as he straightened himself out to stand, taking a second to steady himself as the vertigo arrived, "Not many people can walk after being buried in concrete and rebar. You should be glad I came back to get you out of there rather than complaining about rescues you don't like. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to see if there's anyone else that needs help," Izuku warped away, leaving a seething Iida on the ground. But he wasn't angry that he was saved or how he was saved. He was now angry because the person who saved him was more concerned about others while he was only concerned about himself. Like a hero would.
Pain. That's what Ochako felt as she held her leg. She didn't see the concrete rocks coming but she sure felt it when it smashed into her right leg. She was useless in this state and outrunning the robot wasn't an option.
All Might and the staff watched on, taking stock of the situation.
"Be ready to stop Executor C, Loader," Nezu ordered with a smile.
"Kill switch at the ready," All Might looked as he watched Ochako pick herself off the ground and stare at the giant robot.
'Now, things get interesting,' All Might thought as he watched his protege tremble on her good leg with a look of fear in her eyes, 'A person's true character is revealed when faced with danger,' She looked around and saw that she wasn't the only one caught in the crossfire. A few other students were either trapped or stricken with fear and couldn't move. She had an idea that was so crazy, it just might work. 'There are no combat points for taking on that humongous villain but there is opportunity,' She removed as much gravity from herself as possible and launched herself with her good leg to the robot's body, 'To show what you're really made of,' Placing both hands on it, she raised its weight as high as she could get it, eventually bringing it to a stop as the treads could no longer move the weight. Everyone looked on in awe as the robot began to short-circuit under its own weight, showing that this one girl managed to defeat it all on her own. 'That's right, show who you are. Embody what it means to be a hero! Nothing is nobler,' She let herself fall to the ground with a smile as the robot was defeated and threw up when she hit the ground, no longer able to move, 'than self-sacrifice!'
"Holy hell!" Power Loader shouted as he looked at the control panel.
"Power Loader," Nezu looked on confused, "What did she do?"
"According to the troubleshooter, she made the Executor so heavy it burned out the motor!"
"That's amazing!" Nezu applauded, "I read about her quirk but I wasn't aware it was this powerful!"
"With a quirk like that, she could be a top hero!" Midnight added as she jabbed Aizawa with her elbow playfully.
'She managed to immobilize that huge villain on top of her performance throughout the test. She's definitely a standout with incredible potential but...' He watched as she continued to vomit out the contents of her stomach, grossing out a lot of the other competitors, 'she needs to work to limit the drawbacks.'
"AND THAT'S TIME!" Present Mic shouted as an alarm began to blare. Iida took notice as he looked around, seeing no one except one student with ruffled purple-hair and tired, disappointed eyes wearing dirty, ripped up clothes. He looked like he'd been in a hell of a fight. Was he another student that the warper kid saved? He could stand now as Recovery Girl came by and healed him before walking away to help others but he couldn't find the strength. Not because of anything wrong with him but because he saw exactly how foolish he was being. He popped another gummy she gave him into his mouth as he thought about the warper who, without hesitation, came to his aid and put others first, even if they didn't get along. Now that he thought about it, all throughout the test, if there was someone in need of help, the green-haired boy was the first one on the scene to help, even if he gained nothing from it. Either he had confidence in his own abilities to get a high score (which Iida begrudgingly had to admit that, yes, he did) or he didn't know how to turn away from someone in need. A thought hit him. What if the exam had other parameters that he didn't know of? This was a test for the hero course so of course they would be looking for heroic actions like stopping to help others in need. The boy must have realized that and acted accordingly. Why hadn't he considered that?
Pop* "You doing okay, Chatterbox?" His train of thought was derailed by the voice of the warper who looked at him with an expression of concern.
"That's not my name," Iida grumbled, "It's-"
"Tenya Iida, right?" Iida was caught off-guard as he heard the warper say his name.
"If you know my name, why must you insist on calling me 'Chatterbox'?!" Iida started his karate practice at the insult, chopping the air in an almost robotic manner.
"Just to see how you handle being messed with and you handled it pretty well all things considered," Izuku, on unsteady legs, took a seat next to Iida before extending his hand as a fist, "Izuku Midoriya. You can call me Izuku if you like. Or don't; I don't really care which," Iida stared at the closed hand hesitantly and with suspicion.
"Why the sudden change in attitude? We've been hostile to each other all day and now you want to make peace?"
"Like I said before, I didn't respect you but now that I've seen you work, I do," Izuku gave a warm smile, "I mean, you're a jerkass who demands everything to march to the beat of your drum but I'm the same way sometimes. I certainly wasn't helping matters with the name calling and the megaphone. There was also a bit of test nerves in there so I made jokes to lighten up a little but I can see that was me just being an ass. I'm sorry. Plus side: I think we both did well since we basically shut out most of the competition here."
"Well…" Iida adjusted his glasses with a slightly embarrassed look on his face, "I suppose I was acting a bit too much like a jerk and we did indeed do a superb job since I feel I got at least fifty points and I think you were keeping pace with me. I just feel I could have done better if I wasn't so careless…"
"Hey, we all have our bad moments. That's why we're here, right? To get the training we need to be the best heroes?" Iida returned the smile as he extended his hand.
"Right!" Izuku looked at the open hand and bopped it with his fist.
"Sorry, I don't do handshakes because of my quirk," Izuku opened his hand to show the cross on his palm before he bumped his fist together, "They're a pain to remove so I have to fist bump."
"Ahh, I see! Fist bump it is!" The two gave an awkward as hell fist bump before laughing and returning to the bus.
"By the way, how do those engines work?" Izuku asked, notebook suddenly in hand.
Ochako walked out of the main building feeling like utter garbage. Recovery Girl healed her leg and nausea but because of that, she had no stamina left, especially since she used a lot of it to stop the zero-pointer. Tsuyu had to carry her just to get her to the group.
"Oh, lord, you look like trash," Minoru said with sympathy as he held an ice pack to his head.
"I feel like trash," She noticed the ice pack, "What happened to you?"
"Explodey McKilling happened," Minoru remarked, irritated, "He blew up a robot and I got hit with the debris."
"So, how'd everyone do?" Everyone responded with a good though Minoru was worried since he only got 28 points from his traps. Hearing that Ochako got around forty, Tsu got almost as much, and Izuku thinks he's somewhere in the fifties wasn't helping. His quirk couldn't keep up with two freaks of nature and Tsu's is just better at everything.
"Hey, I'm sure you did fine. Me and this one guy at our center pretty much stole all the points."
"Yeah, that makes me feel better," Minoru snarked as he skulked off towards the train station to head home.
"Eh, he'll probably be fine," Tsuyu commented, "He seems to have an uncanny amount of luck at pulling wins out of his ass," Tsuyu than adjusted her grip on Ochako, "I'll take sleepyhead here home so don't worry about us."
"Actually, Tsu, I'll just stay at Izu's place again."
"You sure?" Izuku asked, nervous at the thought of having her stay over again... and just her this time.
"I don't have the energy for a two-hour train ride with strangers right now… And I need food and your mom is like a god-tier cook," Tsu didn't even try to hide the knowing smile on her face, earning a glare from Izuku.
"Alright then. I'm sure Mom won't mind."