A while after...
Satoru finally saw his classmates arriving in the room.
"Yo, Hid!" said Tetsutetsu. "I knew you would have passed the exam before us!"
"Of course I did," said Satoru. "Anyway, is anyone missing?"
"No," Yui replied. "There are all of 20 of us here."
"That's great," Satoru took a breath of relief. "Now there's a ten-minute pause, and then the second part, that's also the last."
"What's that about?" asked Juzo.
"Saving civilians or something like that," Satoru muttered. "Anyway, the technique is the same as before. I go alone, you stay on group. Got it?"
Everyone nodded.
"Are you sure it's fine for you to stay alone, Hideki-kun?" asked Itsuka. Satoru thumbed up.
(Right now, I'm lying to all of them... I feel like shit.)
__________
Second part of the exam
"Alright, guys," Satoru clutched his grey scarf. "Let's save some civilians."
Satoru sprinted forward and left the group.
"When did he get so fast?" Setsuna wondered.
"Hard work, maybe?" supposed Shihai.
"He's always been fast, in terms of running..." said Togaru.
Satoru stopped on a rock and saw two civilians pretending to be injured.
(They're not actually injured, but this is just a scenario where the villains attacked, so...)
"Don't worry, I'm here to save you."
Satoru got closer to them and checked if they were able to walk. "Can you walk?"
They nodded.
"Fine," said Satoru. He generated dark webs from his fingers and cleared the area. "Now I'm going to bring you safely."
Satoru carried the two on his shoulders and ran towards the refuge where the civilians were healed.
(If I really want to turn good, then this exercise is important for me...)
He arrived at the place. A girl with a healing quirk approached him. "Let me see them."
"Here you have," said Satoru.
"They don't seem to be gravely injured," said the girl.
"Fine," sighed Satoru. "Then I'm leaving."
"All right, let's raise the level of difficulty," said Mera from the speaker. Satoru turned on his left and saw Gang Orca and other people. "The villains are launching another attack; will the heroes manage to save civilians while fighting the villains?"
"Fine, next target detected," said Satoru. "Even if he's the #10 national hero, I'll try to take him down."
Satoru quickly wrapped his punches with darkness and dashed forward.
"Watch out, villain!" he said. "The hero Dark Matter has arrived to kick your ass!"
SBAM!
Satoru delivered a powerful jab to Gang Orca's face.
(He's strong...) Gang Orca thought, stumbling a few feet away.
(He went straight for the offensive...) thought Vlad King, on the stands. (I don't know if he's aware of it, but he alone is the guide and leader of the class. Everyone trusts him, and if they're together as a group, it's thanks to him.)
"Dark Punch: 100%!" Satoru swung another punch towards Gang Orca, who managed to dodge this time. "I'll keep him busy, you guys take the civilians away safely in the meantime!"
Everyone nodded and took the civilians with them.
Gang Orca made an ultrasound, but Satoru gritted his teeth and covered his ears.
(If his ultrasound hits me, I'll be unable to move...) He thought. He clapped his hands and created two headphones with darkness.
(He partially neutralized the biggest threat...) thought Gang Orca.
"Dark Smash: Leg Type!" Satoru kicked Gang Orca in the gut. (I have to resist... just a bit!)
Suddenly, an alarm rang. "A bit of attention, please. The exam has come to an end. Now we'll communicate who passed and who didn't."
(Finally, this exam is over...)
"My congratulations, Shirakawa," said Gang Orca. "Even if this was an exercise, you did what a hero should do. No wonder Oro has a thing for you."
(Hikaru, right... He's the number one now.)
__________
Later
"The names of the ones who passed are here in alphabetical order," said Mera.
Satoru searched for his name.
"Shirakawa... Shirakawa... there! I passed!"
"I passed too!" said Monoma.
"Me too," said Togaru.
"We all passed!" exclaimed Kinoko.
"That's a good thing..." Satoru muttered.
Satoru grabbed the paper with his score and remained speechless.
"I've got 71!" said Monoma.
"I got 64!" said Pony.
"I got 80!" said Itsuka. "What about you, Hideki-kun?"
"I..." muttered Satoru. "I got 100/100!"
"WHAAAAT!!?" the entire class shouted.
"HOW THE HELL DID YOU GET 100?" Shihai asked.
"HOW DID YOU DO THAT?" yelled Nirengeki.
"I'm strong!" responded Satoru. "And because I was the only one to face Gang Orca toe-to-toe, I think."
__________
Outside
Satoru was staring at his license.
"Name: Hideki Shirakawa."
"Age: 15."
"Hero Name: Dark Matter."
"This is... wow," said Satoru, looking at the sky. "I wonder if Izuku and Shoto passed..."
"C'mon, let's return to our dormitory now," said Vlad King. "And congratulations to everyone. You all passed."
__________
Night
Satoru was lying on his bed when he dialed Izuku's number and called him.
"Hideki?" Izuku answered the call.
"Have you passed the exam for the provisional license?"
"Yes, you?"
"Of course I did. What about Shoto? Did he get it?"
"No..."
Satoru sat up. "What do you mean he didn't get it?"
"Yeah, I know it's strange to hear, but he didn't get the license. Kacchan didn't either."
"So the two best students in your class didn't get the provisional license?"
"Yeah..."
"Oh man, Monoma will make fun of you so badly..."
"Anyway, I gotta go now. Kacchan said he wants to talk to me about my quirk."
"You mean One For All?"
"Yeah, I mea- HOW THE HELL DO YOU KNOW?"
"I noticed during our fight at the Sports Festival. Don't worry, I'll keep the secret."
"You- tch, whatever..."
"You're not good at keeping secrets, you know?"
"Yeah, I know..."
"Anyway, I'm goin' to sleep, Izuku. G'night."
"Night."
Satoru closed the call.
"Izuku, I understand you," he muttered. "I am the successor of someone too... I'm the successor of All For One."
One thing Satoru didn't know, though, was that that night, the secret only Izuku and All Might had become a secret for four.
Chapter 36 - End