Chapter 18: The Fitness Test
Although Yoshikage Kira didn't entirely believe Shota Aizawa's threat, the fact remained... Katsuki Bakugo was still staring daggers at him. If he didn't post a respectable score, he'd definitely be mocked. So... it was best to take this test seriously.
The first event was the 50-meter dash. As the top-ranked student, Kira was up first. He took a deep breath, did a few warm-up stretches, and then got into his starting position.
"Ready... Go!"
At the signal, Kira shot off. A closer look would reveal golden ripples of Hamon flowing from his legs.
"Yoshikage Kira, 5.48 seconds!"
Kira nodded in satisfaction. The result wasn't bad; it was a full 50% improvement over his time without using his ability.
"Tenya Iida, 3.04 seconds!"
His Quirk is 'Engine,' so it's not surprising his speed is on that level...
Katsuki Bakugo placed his hands behind him, and explosive flames immediately erupted, propelling him forward like a rocket.
"Katsuki Bakugo, 4.13 seconds!"
He shot Kira a mocking grin, the meaning of which was perfectly clear.
My Hamon doesn't enhance my body that much, so it's understandable that I'm weaker than them... Kira silently turned his head away.
Next, a variety of Quirks were put on display as everyone tried anything and everything to improve their scores.
A somewhat narcissistic boy named Yuga Aoyama, whose Quirk was "Navel Laser," simply stood at the starting line, turned around, and fired his laser. He flew across the finish line but stumbled once, having to fire a second time to make it; a slightly dazed-looking girl, Tsuyu Asui, had the passive Quirk "Frog." As the name suggested, she could do basically anything a frog could, and she leaped forward.
The others, whose Quirks might not have been as versatile, relied on their natural physical abilities, mostly finishing the 50-meter dash in around seven or eight seconds.
The second event was the grip strength test. Bakugo, who had shone brightly before, only managed an average human score. A few others, however, produced results that made everyone look twice.
A boy wearing a mask, with eight soft, tentacle-like appendages growing from his body, combined the tentacles on one side into a single thick arm, achieving a score ten times that of a normal person.
Kira silently glanced at his own grip strength meter. 80kg. Only about 50% higher than the average...
Next up was the standing long jump.
The standout performers were once again Yuga Aoyama and Katsuki Bakugo. One student shot tape from his elbows, wrapping it around a distant pole to try and swing across, but Aizawa ruled it a foul. He had to do a regular jump, and the result was, naturally, unremarkable.
Then came the softball throw.
"What?! Infinity!" The device Aizawa was using to record the scores displayed a number that was hard to believe.
Ochaco Uraraka smiled bashfully. Her Quirk was "Zero Gravity," allowing her to remove the gravitational pull from anything she touched. She had made the softball weightless and frictionless, causing it to continue in a straight line at a constant speed. Given enough time, the ball could have floated into outer space and kept Kars company.
It was Izuku Midoriya's turn.
He stood at the pitching circle, holding the ball, seemingly lost in a fierce internal struggle, not throwing for a long time.
"Midoriya doesn't look like he's doing so well..." Tenya Iida analyzed. "His current ranking is probably last. If he doesn't get an outstanding score..." He didn't finish the sentence—he'll likely be expelled by Aizawa-sensei.
"Isn't that obvious? He's a Quirkless loser!" Bakugo sneered from the side.
"Quirkless?!" Kira found this somewhat amusing. "He's the only one who took down that giant robot head-on in the entrance exam!"
Though no one else probably knows, I had to use Killer Queen's power just to get that robot to stop... If he's Quirkless, then what am I? A Level 0 esper?
"Ha? I don't believe it!" Bakugo shoved his face in front of Kira's, looking like a villain. "If he had a Quirk, he would've fought back against me long ago! He must have used some kind of trick!"
Kira said nothing, simply covering Bakugo's face with his hand and pushing him back. He watched Midoriya, who was still standing motionless.
If that power can only be used once, will you use it here?
"Tch." Bakugo just shot Kira a hateful glare. He didn't intend to settle the score right now, but he made another note in the little ledger in his mind.
I, Katsuki Bakugo, hold a grudge!
He turned to look at Midoriya with a serious expression. If you really have that kind of power, then show it to me, Deku!
Midoriya seemed to have made up his mind. He looked at the target, raised his pitching arm, and pulled it back. The blood in his veins pulsed like a caged beast, raging and thrashing against his body.
"Hah!" He swung his arm in a wide arc and threw the ball!
Thud... thud...
The ball rolled a few times on the ground and slowly came to a stop.
"46 meters!"
Midoriya froze, grabbing his arm and muttering to himself, "I thought I was about to use it..."
"I erased your Quirk." Aizawa's hair stood on end, and the scarf around his neck floated as if caught in a wind that wasn't there. His eyes glowed red. He clenched his fist, as if in self-mockery. "That entrance exam really lacked rationality... letting a guy like you enroll."
"Erasing Quirks..." Midoriya looked at him and took a step back in disbelief. "Those goggles... I see. You're the Erasure Hero: Eraser Head!"
"Eraser Head? The underground hero who can erase people's Quirks just by looking at them and dislikes appearing in public?!" Tenya Iida seemed to know a lot about him. "His Quirk is incredibly useful for subduing certain criminals; you could say he's their worst nightmare. My older brother once..."
He suddenly coughed twice, as if he had said something he shouldn't have.
Aizawa looked down at Midoriya. "It seems you can't control your Quirk very well, can you? If you become incapacitated during a mission, do you expect someone else to come and save you?"
Midoriya was about to retort when Aizawa's scarf suddenly shot out, wrapped around him, and pulled him close. "You might say you don't need saving, but the reality is, no matter what, your teammates will risk their lives to save you."
"There was once a hero who performed the great feat of saving a thousand people. You, on the other hand, would become an immobile puppet after saving just one person." He paused. "Izuku Midoriya, you cannot become a hero."
Without waiting for a reply, Aizawa released Midoriya. His hair fell back down, and he returned to his usual decent state. "You get two throws. Hurry up and continue."