Takoba National Stadium
Provisional Licensing Exam Location
Dressed in their school uniforms, 2-A's students stepped out of the bus and lined up, their hearts pounding in their chests.
They looked at the massive structure in front of them.
It was finally happening.
The long-awaited morning, for which they had been preparing all this semester, was finally here, looming over them like a sunny ghost.
"Oh, I can't take it anymore!" Mineta gasped.
The moment he was about to fall to his knees to take a breather, Erasure Head walked in and smacked his back.
"Straighten up," Aizawa said lazily, carrying bags under his eyes. "Everyone's watching all of you."
Huh?!
Those words jolted everyone awake.
As their minds pulled back from the nervousness of the Exam, the students' eyes stirred.
Erasure Head was right, they soon realized, noticing eyes… not watching them, but studying them.
Hundreds of students were looking over their shoulders toward them before disappearing into the building. Some had even stopped to take a better look. And almost all carried a blank expression on their faces that bordered on being unfriendly.
"WORRY NOT, COMRADES!" The words suddenly rang across the field, making everyone look up. "WHY?! BECAUSE…"
From the direction of the sun, the silhouette of a massive wyvern-like bird descended, creating large gusts of wind.
A figure jumped off the monster's back, landing in front of 2-A, striking All Might's smiling pose.
Luke, dressed in a yellow suit, looking like a cheap but handsome copy of All Might, lifted his fist in the air.
"… BECAUSE I AM… #$#$"
White strips of cloth came shooting toward Luke and wrapped around him, covering his entire face.
"What are you doing here?" Aizawa asked, pulling the nuisance toward him. "I gave you Detention… And, Nyx… Get down."
The Pro's hair flailed, his eyes glowing as he continued to look at Luke.
In the next moment, Nyx's monstrous transformation went poof, the second figure she carried on her back falling to the ground as well.
It was Todoroki, dressed casually in a white shirt and jeans.
"…" Aizawa.
Last night, Luke and Todoroki had tricked Monoma into coming out of 2-B's dorm before using Delay on him in the middle of the road. Then, they had hidden themselves nearby as the passersby had a good laugh at Monoma's expense.
Aizawa had strong reasons to believe that Luke had forced Todoroki to tag along with him because he knew Monoma wouldn't fall for the trick if he had gone alone.
Nevertheless, after Monoma complained to Vlad King, who then forwarded it to Aizawa, he had no choice but to punish both of them.
Which meant neither of the two should even be here.
But, despite not wanting to admit it, Erasure Head also noticed that Luke and Todoroki's sudden appearance had done the trick.
Not only had his students instantaneously relaxed because of Luke's gimmick, but…
The students, those who were moving, standing, or just arriving, had paused, their gazes falling dead on Luke and Todoroki.
The same gazes that had unnerved almost everyone failed to bring any reaction out of these two because they didn't care.
Moreover, almost all the students from different schools who were looking at Luke and Todoroki weren't looking at them with gazes full of unfriendly rivalry, but… relief.
The ones like Momo, Midoriya, and Bakugo were already a heavy burden to deal with.
If Luke and Todoroki — the two disasters — had been added to the mix, too, then…
Perhaps… Aizawa thought, tightening his ropes around Luke even further. Having them around wouldn't be too bad…
Just as the Pro contemplated loosening his hold on Luke, a figure walked up to the group.
"Ah, are you restraining a Villain, Sir?"
It was a boy with a physique that rivaled Luke's easily, wearing an untucked white shirt and pants. But it was his military-style cap that stood out the most, with an S embroidered on it.
Two more similarly-dressed students came to a stop behind the first one—a boy and a girl.
"You shouldn't just barge into other people's business, Inasa," the boy said.
Inasa jolted, assuming an attention pose. "I… am… extremely… sorry!" Shouting again, he slammed his head into the ground with a loud thump.
Meanwhile, as 2-A's students let out shocked gasps, the girl behind Inasa took furtive glances at Izuku and the boy wrapped within Aizawa's strips.
"Wait… that uniform…" Momo mumbled.
Suddenly, not only the 2-A students but even Aizawa adopted a hard expression, realizing who these students were.
"UA in the East," Todoroki said, narrowing his eyes. "Shiketsu in the West."
Shiketsu High School was another Elite Hero School in Japan, known primarily for its military-style education and training system.
Aizawa let go of Luke as even more Shiketsu students began gathering in front of them, his eyes planted on Inasa as he remembered hearing about him a lot in the last year.
"HAHA!" Inasa stood back up, blood dripping down his chin from his wounded head. "I got carried away because I love UA High School! I am extremely honored…"
One of Shiketsu's students pulled Inasa away as he kept screaming, looking over his shoulder.
Luke, twisting himself out of Aizawa's binding ropes, stared at the back of the girl, who kept looking at Inasa's bloodied forehead.
"Inasa Yoarashi…" Erasure Head whispered the name.
"You know him, Sir?" Luke asked.
"He's strong…" Aizawa's eyes narrowed. "… And… he won't be the only one."
The 2-A students shared glances, taking deep breaths, their eyes following the Shiketsu students as they disappeared inside the stadium.
Suddenly, two SMACKS startled the students.
"Alright, you two," Aizawa said, smacking Luke and Todoroki, binding Nyx as she tried to fly away. "No more tricks. Either stick with me or I will…"
"Erasure? It's you, isn't it, Erasure?!" a girly voice rang out of nowhere.
And whatever threat Aizawa had prepared was stuck in his throat, his face scrunching up as he looked in the direction of the voice… losing the little enthusiasm he had carried within.
Meanwhile, just as the students all over the country were preparing to take their Provisional Hero License Exam, an irrelevant event was happening in the dark world as well.
The Shie Hassaikai, who had been lying low for over a week now, were suddenly visited by an unannounced guest…
… a red-haired woman.