Izuku Midoriya groaned as he saw his clock said 1:48AM.

Why was someone texting him, tonight of all nights, this late? Honestly, it was his fault. He put his cell on vibrate and not silent.

Blinking the sleep out of his eyes, he checked the screen of his phone (grimacing at the light attacking his eyes) and saw it was from Kazuho, 2 messages.

Immediately worried for her, he entered in his passcode and checked the text she had sent him.

Hey greenhorn, I'll drive u to UA tomorrow. The exam is at 9? I'll pick you up at 8

Make it a quarter before, probably will be traffic

Smiling at the text, he quickly replied with an 'ok' before fiddling with his alarm clock. He had set it for 6:30, but with the news of a ride meant he could sneak another half hour of sleep. As he began to change the time, however, he thought again. He didn't want to walk into the exam still trying to wake up, that could be bad for him. Plus, the time could be spent making sure everything was in proper order before going into practicals. With a sigh, Izuku changed his alarm back to its previous time. He shouldn't be complaining, however. This was still the most sleep he had gotten in months.

…

Izuku let the cold water run over his skin, trying to shock his body awake. It had yearned for him to take the extra thirty he knew he had to give, but he had decided against it already. He was wasting time at this point, he had finished what he needed to do in the shower a few minutes ago. He couldn't afford to give into the doldrums, so he finally turned off the water and began to shake off the wet droplets from his hair body before grabbing his towel. Drying off and finishing off the rest of the morning routine, he went back to his room to get everything he needed.

He didn't need a jacket since it was going to be warm (despite it being the end of Feburary) so he went with the most 'think-at-a-glance-he-was-wearing-a-middle-school-outfit piece' he had and grabbed his already made gear bag from his closet. Wandering into the dining room, he set the bag on the table and began preparing himself a quick breakfast. Wash a little rice, start a kettle of water, find a clean frying pan, put the rice in the cooker, and wait. He took this time to pull out the sneakers from the gear bag and remove the sole with a handy screwdriver. Double checking the pressure plates and springs were working on both, he strolled over to the cabinet to get the ingredient to make a quick miso soup. After screwing the soles back onto the shoes, he double checked the studs on his gloves to make sure the wires were properly connected to them and they were firmly attached to the knuckles. Grabbing a few eggs from the fridge, Midoriya quickly got into cooking the rest of his breakfast.

Sitting down to his meal of eggs with rice and miso soup, he slowly began to fidget with his final piece of support gear. Getting up to restock the medicine pouch with gauze (Koichi was a freakin' pick pocket for the stuff with all the scraps he got), he returned to see his mother looking at his food and gear strewn about on the table.

Embarrassed, Izuku ran over and began to apologize. "Oh, I'll put that away now… and I'm sorry mom. I didn't think you'd be up so I didn't make you anything." He put the shoes and gloves away before looking towards the kitchen, wondering how quickly he could make her things.

His mom shook her head. "You don't have to dear, I'm getting ready to head back to bed. I just wanted to make sure you got on time. I don't want you to miss the big exam!" She told him with tired enthusiasm.

He smiled at her earnestness. Izuku knew his mom had to be tired, her job acting as the night manager at the local karaoke spot keeping her up until 4 o'clock in the morning. She should be getting some sleep. In fact, he had told her not to worry about him and get her sleep. But instead she was here. Slowly he began to walk over to his mom with his arms outstretched. She leaned into him, wrapping into him for a hug. He hugged her back, telling her in her ear "Don't worry, I'll do just fine."

Still in the hug, he froze as she told him back. "Is fine good enough?" She released the hug first, getting him to slowly release his as she stepped back to look him in the eye. "I know you have all your gadgets, and all the time you spent with your friends at night but… I know the entry rate is only 2%. And you told me that they are going to grade you harder because this isn't your first time taking it. So...I'm worried you could do your best and still not get in."

He interrupted her concern. "Mom, I know what you are saying but… I have to try. This has always been my dream, going to U.A. and becoming a hero. I can't worry about failing if I want to get to my dream."

"But I can, honey, that's my job as your mother. And I saw how you took it last time, when they told you no. You were devastated and couldn't eat for a week." Tears began to well in her eyes as she remembered. A hitch was beginning to form in her voice. "And you just spent the last year trying to get stronger. So if you put in all that effort just to miss...honey I can't lose you to your dreams. Can't...you are a great inventor and so smart. I know Musu Tech invited you in with a recommendation."

"And if I fail, I promise I'll take it mom. This isn't baseball, I know I won't get a third swing at it. But if I don't try, I know it is gonna eat me for the rest of my life. You know, Koichi sometimes tells me he is envious? That he loves his life, but sometimes he wishes he had taken a chance and gone for a hero entrance exam a second time. Helping people isn't enough. I want to save them. And heroes save people." Izuku couldn't help but leak tears as he put it out all on the table for his mom. He knew, he had always known that she doubted him. He didn't blame her for it, she was doing what she thought was best for him. His dreams always seemed a bit ridiculous to anyone who heard it. But he wasn't going to let that get to him.

His mom looked deep into his eyes before dropping them. "Dang it, you're just like your father. You always know how to convince me you're right." She let out a soft chuckle along with the tears.

"Come on mom, don't be mean. At least I'm actually right." He joked about his father's nature to both their amusement.

A few more words and well wishes were exchanged before Inko Midoriya left to get more sleep. He knew he would have to tell her everything, good or bad, about the exam once he got back. Izuku was really hoping it was good. He finished up his breakfast and put away the dirty dishes before finally finishing his tool tinkering. All the pouches were filled and buckles were secure, meaning he was ready. He wasted time looking online about the previous day's news events, taking amusement in how Mt. Lady was getting flack for using the assistance of local vigilantes to draw her opponents into more convenient locations. Apparently, 'The Hauler' (which always brightened his day) had been seen luring some odd villain that could shoot chunks of ice into a park where Mt. Lady stomped him into the ground while she was also seen mocking his partner in crime, Pop Step. He debated asking Kazuho about it, but decided against it. She was moody enough as it was. The text telling of her arrival was welcomed shortly after. He rushed down to see her van sitting idle in the parking lot.

"Thanks a lot for this. I know you were up late, you didn't have to do this." He told her as he opened the door to her van.

She rolled her eyes behind her glasses. "Yeah, but I wanted to. Now get in the car, it's getting cold in here greenhorn." She gestured him in while he quickly complied with. Putting his gear behind him, he buckled up and the duo made their way to the UA campus.

Looking at his senpai, he quickly noticed something she was wearing something familiar. But not familiar on her, but rather with his other senpai, Koichi.

"So, when's the wedding?" He let out a joke as they continued the silent entry into traffic.

Kazuho looked confused, looking around the car. "What the hell are you talking about?"

He gestured towards her hoodie while smiling. "That isn't your old All Might hoodie. That is Koichi's special one he wears out. It is obvious with all the repairs he has put into it."

Blushing, trying to hide it behind the sleeves of said hoodie, Kazuho stuttered out, "S-s-so? What does it have to do with a w-wedding?"

"You definitely stayed the night, didn't you?" Izuku teased his senpai. She was usually the one teasing him, so this was some nice payback.

"S-so what, greenhorn!" She screeched, adding on his nickname as she tried to focus on the road.

He sat back into the van's seat. "Finally. You guys have been dancing around each other since before you brought me into the gang." His smile softened. "I know you two will be happy together."

Kazuho's face turned red as she did her best to keep her eyes on the road and not bury her head into her chest. "Th-thank you." She finally stuttered out.

"No problem, senpai. Just ask Koichi if I will be one of his groomsmen or not."

She glared at him for as long as she risked it. "Shut your mouth greenhorn, or else I'll make you a bridesmaid! You'll even have to wear a dress!" She threatened him.

While it did unnerve him for a second, months and months of handling her and Koichi had left him sharp to easy comebacks. "As long as I'm at the wedding, I'll be the flower girl if you ask me."

"I should make you walk the rest of the way." She was obviously beyond done with him.

"I'm sorry, I'll be good." It was too cold to risk it, especially carrying his things. And he knew she would do it too.

Things were quiet for a few minutes as she drove through the city, but the morning traffic she had predicted the night before led to boredom and got one of them talking again.

"So, how ya feeling? Nervous or what?" Kazuho asked, looking at him through the sides of her glasses.

Izuku felt himself sink into the seat as he let out a sigh. "I keep telling myself that I'm not. That this is going to be easy." He explains.

"Which it will be. You have to consider yourself lucky, greenhorn. Unlike the rest of the brats in there, you have legit combat experience. You have actually fought people and won. Robots are no big deal, right?" Kazuho tried to encourage him.

"People are easy. They can make mistakes, you can talk to them...and most of them aren't made of metal." He pointed out the biggest concern on his regarding the test.

"Yeah, but isn't your goal just to fry most of them? You don't have to punch that hard to do it." She pointed out right back.

"I know, it's just… this is my last shot. I don't get to try again with U.A. If I don't get in, I'm stuck working with both of you if I wanna help people." He hadn't meant that as an insult, but she took it as one.

"Hey, don't get snippy with me. Pop Step and Crawler have been assets to this city for years, what's so bad about being like us?" She asked, refocusing on the road as the flow of traffic started to pick up. Izuku was quick to respond.

"I don't mean it like that! You guys are awesome, and the fact you are letting me tagalong with you to help people has been great. I learnt a lot and am super thankful. But, I mean, the law still treats us like criminals. I mean, we have been pretty lucky, you know? You guys have connections and stuff that means we can get away with this for the most part. That could end any minute. We try to save someone, and we end up in jail. And I don't want it to be like that for me. When I save people, I want to be able to do it knowing I can save someone else the next day!"

This was the crux of why Izuku couldn't settle for being a vigilante. He knew his mom and his friends wouldn't mind if he did, but he wouldn't. He knew he could do a lot more for the world then helping in the shadows. He wanted to be a pillar, a symbol of peace for all those who cannot be heroes themselves. He needed to be able to go anywhere from Hokkaido to Nagisaki and be just like his hero, and tell them not to worry because 'I am here'.

Thankfully, Kazuho already knew about this side of him. "I know kid, I know." She said in a soft voice that she wasn't sure he heard. They were close to U.A., obvious by the gaggle of middle schoolers in different uniforms walking the sidewalk. Finding a nearby parking space, she began to park as she spoke to him again.

"You know green- you know Izuku," she caught his attention by using his name, "me and Koichi are rooting for you. We could never get to be pro heroes, but that doesn't mean you can't. We know you will. You have been through too much with us to make us think otherwise. So I don't care what those kids do. I don't care what this school will do. I care about what you will do. And I know you will knock it out of the park."

Izuku was gleaming at the kind words by his friend. He knew she cared, but not like this. "Wow Kazuho, thanks for that. You really are-" His words were stopped by her continuing her statement.

"If you do fail, just know I'm making you stick to your promise of being my flower girl. Hear me, greenhorn?" She gave him a smug smirk, throwing in a little fuel to his fire that he didn't need.

Izuku left the car and slammed the door shut behind him. He seemed like he was going to storm off before turning to the car window with a smirk. "Okay then, Mrs. Hauler!" He was grinning at that one as he left to go to the exam room.

"His name is Crawler!" He heard her yell, obviously having rolled down the car window. He kept grinning.

"What did she get all mad about?" His attention was interrupted by a boy who had been walking on the sidewalk as he left the car. The three things he noticed about him was how he was fairly tall, had large teeth, and was wearing a coat that sleeves seemed way too big on him (but somehow fit perfectly.

Izuku let out a chuckle. "I was just teasing her about her boyfriend." He told him honestly.

"So is she like your sister or cousin or…" The guy asked, still looking at her in the van. The pink hair was probably confusing him, as to why she was driving him this early in the morning.

"She's my friend. And I guess technically my boss?" Izuku added, figuring since his cover story did have him manage Pop Step.

The tall boy shrugged it off and looked at Izuku for the first time in earnestness. "Wow, you have a big bag. What are you hiding in there?"

"Success." Izuku tried to sound cool, and hoped it worked. "Anyway, I'm Izuku Midoriya. Nice to meet you." He stuck out his hand.

The boy took it. "Hanta Sero. But seriously, your bag is ridiculous. Why do you need so much stuff?" Sero asked him.

Izuku just shrugged it off. "Support gear." He was just a little more specific.

Sero cocked an eyebrow, but seemed to realize that he wasn't going to be super specific. "Well, I hope that means you're prepared. I think I am, but I have no idea." He honestly told him.

" I don't think anyone is really prepared for this. This is the top hero school in the country for a reason." Izuku pointed out. Kazuho's words could only encourage him so much when he was staring down reality.

Sero could only nod in agreement. The two boys kept walking towards the entrance, but not before Sero asked a question Izuku wasn't too surprised came up. "So what school do you go to? Cause that seems super casual."

He was alluding to the fact that Izuku was wearing a plain black T under a dark green sports coat with a pair of black pants that looked like they had more give than the standard uniform wear. It looked nice, but it was clearly not a uniform,

Deciding it really didn't matter, Izuku told the truth. "Ah, well, this is kinda embarrassing. I actually graduated locally from Aldera Junior High last year. To tell you the truth, this is my second time trying to take the UA entrance exam." If Sero was going to start something over it, he could handle it.

"You went full-on ronin?" Sero asked, looking more surprised than mocking. He looked at the school and back to him. "Crap, the exam must be super hard. You look smart and stuff." He had become nervous with this information.

Not wanting to discourage him, Izuku patted him on the back. "Hey man, you don't need to freak out. The written isn't that bad. It's just...I wasn't ready for the practical. It was my fault really." He admitted to his own mistakes. He had tried for too long to let his brain do all the work.

Sero gritted his teeth. He still didn't like the sound of that. He was still nervous.

Izuku noticed how his new companion was feeling and was getting ready to assure him when he saw a calm come over Sero's face. His expression steeled over. "I have worked too hard for this to act like a wimp now. If this test is too hard, I just gotta go down swinging." His mantra to himself ended, and he looked towards Izuku. "Don't you agree?"

Izuku couldn't help but smirk at the burst of confidence he had shown off. It was the exact sort of thing he was telling himself. "100% We have to go Plus Ultra!" He threw in the motto of the school, and shot out his fist in front of him to show he was being serious,

To his surprise, Sero misunderstood him and gave him a fist bump. "Yeah, Plus Ultra!" With that, the two boys were ready to arrive in the exam.

…

Izuku left his new friend to go find his seat in the auditorium when they were going to first assemble. He was sitting near the top of the assembly, in his own sections of those who seemed to be obvious misfits and oddities of those entering the exam. He saw Sero take a seat far below him, and scanned the crowd to see if he knew any more faces. Two caught his eye. The first was a kid that looked way too much like Ingenium for him not to be the little brother he talked about. He had only met the hero twice, though it seemed like him and Koichi were old pals. But each time it left him with the impression of how cool he was. Not to disparage him, but his little brother wasn't giving off that vibe.

The second was his childhood friend Katsuki Bakugou or as he called him, Kacchan. The aura of "Fuck you" and his spiky blonde hair could be recognized a mile away. He was glad he didn't have to interact with him for now, mainly because he was a negative nancy. Or as Kazuho would put it, a giant asshole. It had taken him literally saving his life from a sludge monster while in costume to prove to him that, yes, he could be a hero one day. And that had just gotten him a 'Why the fuck did you do that, I didn't need your help, you fake ass hero.' But with him, he just assumed he was embarrassed. And Koichi called Kazuho a tsundere!

Present Mic began to go into his spiel about welcoming everyone and explaining how the practical would work. He kept an eye on it to make sure that they weren't making a big change to it, but the standard 1, 2, and 3 point robot targets with the 0 point lurking stayed the same. Ingenium's brother had made sure to clear that up while trying to admonish U.A. for their lackadaisical explanation while also calling out Kacchan for being an angry hedgehog. Okay, so he didn't actually say those words but he overheard one of the fellow misfits around him make the comparison and he thought it was hilarious. Even if it wasn't that accurate.

The written exam came first for him, and went about as well as Izuku predicted it would. He had been in cram classes for the last few months, so knowledge on the subjects came easy. It also helped that the topics covered, while not the same as the previous year's test, were in the same ballpark. He didn't recognize anyone near him, so he focused on doing the best he could with the test. It was a margins game at this point, and if he ended up on the edge of making the cut or not he wanted everything working for him. Leaving the testing room and heading to the lockers, he felt confident he had done everything he could for the exam.

While he had realized quickly he wasn't taking the exam with anyone he knew, he was pleased to see Sero in the locker area, preparing to leave for his location.

"How'd you do?" He asked, once he saw Sero looked ready to go out. He noticed his oddly shaped elbows and assumed it had something to do with his quirk.

"Ehh, good enough I think. I just have to be awesome out in the exam, you know?" His new pal admitted.

"So many fucking extras, get out of my way!" A loud voice was heard making his way to the exit out of site. Sero's face grimaced as he realized something.

"Hey, Izuku. Are the people we took the written part with the ones we take the practical with?" He asked to Izuku, who was busy getting his gear out of his bag at this point.

Izuku could only nod. "Yeah, they do. Is something the problem?" Though he already had an inkling of what it was.

Sero let out a long sigh. "Man, that means that guy calling everyone extras is gonna be there. You know he actually asked the proctor if we were taking the real test?" He shook his head. "Ridiculous. I hope I don't have to deal with him while I'm trying to pass."

Izuku put his boots on, making sure they were set to the default mode. "If you want to avoid him, just don't go towards the explosions."

"You know him?" Sero was surprised by the advice.

Izuku was wondering how to put this. He could just say everything he knew Kacchan, but it kinda wasn't fair to him. Sero should make his opinion based on what he sees, not on what he says. "Yeah, he was an underclassman at Aldera. He thinks he's gonna be the best and, well, no one has proven him otherwise." He decided that was a safe compromise.

Sero shook his head, and noticed Izuku putting on a very unique belt. From what he could see it had four pouches in the front, three of them the size of a pant pocket and the other seeming like it was fit for a large can. On the back he assumed there were another 4, but the one peeking from behind his hip opposite of the can pocket seemed very wide. "So is this the support gear you were talking about?" He noticed a pair of gloves peeking out the bag. This was a lot of support gear. "Must have been expensive." He couldn't help but wonder what the hell was going on with his fellow entrant. A ronin with a bunch of gear?

Izuku had to nod. "Yeah, raw materials for this kind of stuff isn't cheap. Fortunately my boss has a friend that owed me a favor and paid for most of it." He was really lucky that Captain had mellowed out since Koichi and Kazuho first met him.

Sero first thought about how it must be nice to have a rich benefactor, but the term 'raw materials' caught his eye. "Raw?" He asked out loud in a wondering tone. "Like, you made this stuff from scratch?"

Izuku nodded. "Yeah, most of it is my designs too. The only stuff I don't buy is the medical supplies and the rope. Only reason I can use these in the exam." He explained.

Sero eyes lit up in understanding. It was obvious Izuku had some sort of intelligence or technology quirk. He decided to make a joke about something he said though. "Yeah, I never need to worry about rope." A small piece of tape dispensed from his elbow and he plucked it off. "This always works in a jiffy." He grinned

Izuku finally had an answer to what was going on with the elbows, and thought it was super useful. He was a little like Kamui Woods, and had great potential in mobility. His ability to save people from far distances was a huge bonus, along with his ability to capture villains. He wondered about the actual strength of the tape, knowing it looked durable but wondering how much force it could withstand. It also meant Sero had to have significant upper body strength in order to succeed, which seemed like something he knew considering the obvious arm muscles and lack of distinctive leg muscles. It was too bad that he was limited to only his elbows judging from his physique, if he had some on his knees that could give him a great amount of flexibility in what he could do and could give him dozens of tactical opportunities his current quirk didn't offer. But it was rude to point out why someone's quirk could be better, like if he talked about how his mother's quirk had way too many limits to be that useful, despite how cool it was.

Sero stood there, catching bits and pieces of his mumbling and was equal parts impressed and disturbed. He liked being complimented and had figured Izuku to be a genius, but this quick breakdown of his abilities and mocking his chicken legs was off settling. "Dude, you don't need to tell me my life story." He put an end to the muttering which made Izuku blush red in embarrassment.

"Ah man, I did it again. I'm sorry, I know it's creepy and all." He was adjusting something on his belt, and two previously hidden hooks appeared. Through a previously unseen slip in the gloves wrist area, they were attached to belt. "It's just… I get way too invested in quirks and what they can do. I mean, it helps me understand things in a fight but it also has made a few people think I'd be too good at being a villain, you know?" It was one of Kacchan hanger-on's that made this observation that had made him so self-aware of it, especially when it was so true.

Sero seemed to think about it. "Yeah, I guess it would be. But you're one of the good guys, so I don't have to worry about that." In a mutter under his breath, he continued. "I guess I need to worry about leg day though."

Izuku chuckled at the self-deprecation. "We all need to worry about leg day." He pulled down on his belt two previously hidden hooks, and attached the gloves he pulled from his bag to them. He didn't need to put them on just yet, he could wait until they were at the exam site. "Well, there is no point wasting our time in here. We're both ready to rock this. See you at UA the first day?" He asked Sero with a smirk.

Sero pulled out his phone real quick. "We don't need to wait that long, buddy. Let's exchange numbers, we can maybe hang out before then. You are a pretty cool dude Midoriya."

"You too, Sero." He pulled out his phone and the two of them exchanged numbers. With a quick set of goodbye's, the two new friends went there separate ways to the buses that would take them to the practical exam.

…

The bus ride had been dominated by a few loud voices on the bus which gave him a few tells. One muscle bound boy was challenging another person who matched his physique, but he seemed more interested in making sure his candy bar's didn't get smushed. Another was a very obnoxious blonde guy who thought he was better than everyone else, saying he could be a better them than they were, which Izuku took as a clue to his quirk. He saw a few of the more frail looking people realize that they might be out of their league, which a few others (mainly the pink girl with horns, a tall guy who looked like a tiger, and a fiery orange haired guy with a burn scar on his hand) were doubling down on how they'd do.

He had a leg up on everyone else because he knew that there was no countdown, so as soon as he got off the bus he pointed himself towards the entrance while putting on his gloves. He also began to stomp the ground with both feet in an almost ritualistic manner, which caught the attention of a few people.

The tiger guy wandered up to him, looking at his gear and odd actions with a cocked eyebrow. "Yo, you okay. Did the stress get to ya?"

"Nope." Izuku was quick to respond, wanting to hear the second Present Mic announced the start of the exam. "Just getting ready." He kept stomping on the ground, building energy.

"I'm guessing… shock absorption then? Your quirk, I mean." The tiger guy seemed like a decent dude, but he wasn't in the mood to make friends like he had with Sero earlier.

"No. But you have the right idea." He hoped this guy did well.

"Secretive, huh? I hope that means you can handle yourself. I hope I don't steal too many of your kills." He flexed his claws to show off his strength.

He looked at the claws, along with the rest of the guy, and shrugged. "If you can take down that many robots with claws like that." He was being honest with the assessment. He would probably do fine against one pointers, and could take out a few two pointers, but they would be useless against three pointers. And you had to take down three pointers (or get a ridiculous amount of rescue points) to have a chance of success.

The tiger guy growled a little bit at the insult. "Watch me." He puffed his chest.

Izuku took the minute to adjust his belt. "Sorry, I plan on being busy."

He almost had time to enjoy the tiger guy's smile at the comeback, but all of a sudden he heard Present Mic's voice booming. "Alright, get going!" With that Izuku clenched his toes to activate the spring in his boots. With all the energy he had built up in them with his stomping, he exploded towards the entrance and at a one pointer right by the door. Just as Mic was explaining to everybody that there were no countdown's in real life, his group watched as Izuku smashed the head of the one pointer in with his fist.

Izuku shook his hand, punching metal hurt. He made sure to activate his glove's batteries, and then began running to the two pointer out of sight of the now rushing in crowd. He had business to attend to.

He rushed the two pointer, ducking a slow attack by its arms and a barrage of second volt level punches to its core. The foe took a little physical damage, but the electric shocks were enough to shut it down. Proceeding to pull a swim move on the robot, he ran by it. The tiger guy suddenly ran past him, having caught up, and began to maul the one pointer that was on Izuku's left. Then, in a flash, he leaped towards the other one pointer on Izuku's right, mauling that to take it out of the game. The three pointer in the area than revealed itself coming from behind the corner of the building, trying to take out the tiger quirked boy. Izuku began to gallop with the extra spring from his boots, and jumped over him to drop kick the three pointer's arm away from the unsuspecting exammate. Quickly getting up, Izuku notched up his gloves to a level three volt and smashed a pair of wild blows at the three pointer. It was enough to knock it out of the game.

The tiger guy looked scared at the unforeseen foe that had almost taken off his head, and was pleased to see Izuku had taken care of it.

"Spend less time on each robot, but good form." Izuku complimented him. "Watch out for the big ones." Izuku couldn't hang around as he began to run down an empty street to find new foes. Thankfully the tiger guy didn't follow, since he didn't want to compete against him right now.

He was annoyed when the next robot he came across, a two pointer, was destroyed by someone's tail attack but made up for it by knocking the lights out of a nearby one pointer. Finding another one just around the corner, he destroyed it with a level two punch.

Izuku kept running down a street and found four robots with a pair of girls fighting them. The pink girl was flinging what looked like acid at a three pointer, and another was trying to headbutt a two pointer into submission. Izuku took his chance and quickly ran up on the other two pointer in the area, knocking him out with a flurry of low volt punches. The fourth robot, a one pointer was coming towards the girl using her head as a weapon was quickly destroyed by a wide acid attack by the pink girl. Izuku was prepared to run as the area had been cleared, but a yelp of the headbutt girl surprised him.

He heard the pink girl yell out 'Sorry' as she fled the scene, and he locked his eyes on the girl who was covering her chest area. There was an obvious degradation of her clothes, with some skin around her neck showing. It was obvious what had happened, especially as she saw him looking and yelled "What the fuck do you want, pervert!"

"I'm guessing pink girl destroyed your shirt, right? You can't let that stop you from fighting." He could afford to give her a quick pick me up. No reason to see her lose because she is embarrassed.

"Not just my shirt." She admitted, completely embarrassed. "So look the fuck away, pervert."

Izuku instantly understood what happened and blushed, looking away. Still, it wasn't fair she had to cut her exam short a few minutes into it. An obvious solution, much to his chagrin, popped in his head and he knew he had to follow through. Taking off his gloves really quickly, he quickly removed his shirt to her loud yelp.

"What the fuck are you thinking! Are you really gonna pull something here?"

He turned around and walked towards her with his shirt in hand before tossing it to her. "Just...put this on. You don't deserve to fail over this." As soon as it landed by her he turned around, making sure the coast was clear. "Just, be quick. I don't have all day."

The girl quickly realized what he was doing and decided to ask no questions. Quickly discarding her acided clothing she discreetly pulled on Izuku's shirt. As soon as she made sure she was decent, she looked up to see him slam the top of the can on the ground and began to shake it rapidly. A three pointer was just coming around the corner.

"What are you doing?" She asked, obviously confused.

"You done yet?" He asked back before chucking the tall can at the incoming robot. It managed to land right in front of it, and exploded as a blast of foam covered the robot and can shrapnel imbedded into it. Izuku followed it up by running at the blinded robot and slammed his foot against it. With unexpected force, the robot stumbled back and fell over, defeated.

"What the hell was that thing?" She stood up and walked towards the defeated robot covered in foam.

Izuku trusted she had put on his shirt and ran back to get his gloves. "Supposed to be a fire extinguishing device, but a decent grenade in a pinch. Better get moving."

She nodded at him, as she prepared to run south of their location. "Thanks for that th- what happened to your stomach?" She noticed as he stood back up from picking up his gloves.

Izuku looked down, seeing the scar was visible. This was why he didn't like being shirtless, why he wore the shirt he was going to use in practicals in the morning. It was a healing scar, but a bit jagged and a few inches long above his belly button. He didn't mind her concern, but now was not the time.

"A villain attacked me last year, I got better. You can keep the shirt. Good luck!" He quickly explained and left, knowing there was more he had to do. He left her in the dust as he began to worry about all the robot wreckage he was coming across. He managed to stumble across a two pointer that he took down with his gloves, but he was getting worried. He knew what was coming soon, and fifteen points were not enough.

He listened for combat, and rushed to the scene, knowing he might have to steal some kills. It took him a minute, but he came across a gathering of students challenging robots. He knew he had to be quick in doing this, so he looked for the people dealing with mismatches and decided to exploit them. A boy with long purple hair was trying to fight a one pointer but doing poorly, so Izuku had no guilt about knocking it out with a level three volt punch from behind. He charged the three pointer the meathead from the bus ride was trying to take out, and knocked it over with a spring loaded dropkick. He followed it up with a pair of volt punches to make sure it stayed down. The meathead complained. "Hey, don't steal kills."

"This is to get into U.A., I can make friends later." Izuku pointed out as he quickly left the scene, but not before taking out a hapless one point robot strolling on by.

He was getting worried, twenty points and his right glove was probably down to fifteen percent charge. He could also hear in the distance the rumblings of a large mechanical creature, no doubt the zero-pointer. Looking for robots, he thought he could grab a few points when he saw the candy bar guy surrounded by all three types of robots. As he rushed towards the scene, however, the guy began to lash out at the robots and made quick work of them. Izuku saw another pair of two pointers in the area that looked freshly defeated, and realized how much this guy had been cleaning up. He was about to turn away when he saw the candy bar guy collapse. Knowing that wasn't a good thing, he ran towards the guy. "You okay, man."

"Too much sugar. Too… tired." The guy managed to spit out, staying on hands and knees around the carnage he had made. Izuku figured it must be a side effect of his quirk (sugar eating boost? It did explain the candy bar care) he figured the best thing to do was to get him out of dodge. He ignored the voice in his head saying he was only doing this for the rescue points, as he helped the guy stand up and directed him to relative safety in the entryway of a nearby building. The zero pointer was on the field and chaos was all around, so Izuku could only remind candy bar guy to look out for danger and he left him there to keep fighting.

He was rewarded by a pair of one pointers that he rushed towards, taking care to take them out with only left handed level two volt punches. It took a few punches for each, and one of them got a decent swipe on his ribs, but they went down for the count. He kept running towards the zero pointer but to its side, still looking for any enemies. His gloves were low on charge, and he knew he would have to go to his belt to make it the rest of the way. A two pointers drifted in front of him, and he pulled from two pouches two different items. The first was a smoke bomb that he deployed, blinding the machine from his doings. Then, he grabbed the rope in his back pouch and made a quick but large lasso. Listening to the machine's movement's in the pepper cloud, he waited until he knew where it was going to escape it from and threw his lasso there. Perfectly timed, one of its legs stepped into the lasso and Izuku pulled it tight. The machine was off balanced and when it tried to step with a different leg, the one other leg buckled as it couldn't support the weight of the machine. As the machine came crashing down, Izuku rushed in and delivered a shockwave kick to its center, putting it out of commision.

He freed his lasso from the robot and began running again. He had no idea how much time he had left, but he needed to find something else. A one pointer was found running from something, maybe another examiner, but Izuku quickly finished him a level four volt punch, draining its battery. Overkill, but he could only use it for one punch. He was now behind the chaos of the zero pointer, in its trail of wreckage and ironically in the safest place you could be.

He wasn't the only person with that idea as he noticed a few people there with him. Some of the few remaining robots had fled here as well, and were paying the price. Izuku focused in one of the guys who was running from a three pointer he couldn't beat and saw his shot. Using his lasso to keep the robot in place, he pulled himself with a boost from his right foot towards the robot and knocked it out with a level four volt punch, draining the battery from his right hand. People were watching him after that stunt, but he didn't care. Izuku decided the lasso could wait as he still had to keep fighting. Desperate to do anything, he reached into a different pouch that had a spike strip ball as he tossed it in front of another one pointer that no one had finished off yet. With one last spring boost with his left foot, he flew towards the robot slowed down by its damaged tire as he threw a big right hand at the robot. His momentum sent both him and the robot into the ground, but Izuku was able to roll away. Another one down. Now if he-

"That is time for your entrance exam! Please return to the entrance of the grounds to see any medical treatment and return to the main building."

He wanted to collapse on the ground. He was so tired, he had pushed himself to the limit. But instead, he gathered up his spike strip and collapsed it back into the ball and got his lasso and fitted the rope back in its pouch. He began to stumble towards the entrance, but a few people came around as they saw how tired he was. He was also getting a few compliments (with other comments).

"Dude, your stuff was awesome! The lasso knockout was epic."

"Where is your shirt, man?"

"That last punch was epic!"

"Is this all gear? You must be crazy smart!"

"That scar isn't from this, is it?"

"You got bruised ribs, those feeling okay?"

"That was hella cool."

"How many points did ya get?"

Twenty nine. He had managed to get twenty nine villain points. That was definitely a lot, maybe even more than he expected to get. But it didn't matter because what got people into U.A. was the rescue points. He knew he had helped a few people, but how many points was that worth? Especially with the curve they told him he would be facing. Would he get enough?

…..

And this is where the first chapter ends. I ended up re-writing the first half of this story, and I'm sure I can write this better, but I would rather get on to the next part of the story. This part is just meant to introduce this Izuku Midoriya and kind of getting to know him and see how things change in the exam. As you can see, I went a different route with completely removing Uraraka and Iida and that whole arc and making a new one. In fact, this story is going to have a few significant changes to who is in which class, and for good reason. Basically, because quite a few people have a different amount of points, it changes where they go. Also, the balance seems wonky. Why does class 1-A get 6 of the top 10 and all of the top 3? So I'm going to be mixing it up a little bit. So hello Juzo Honenuki (Quirk: Softening), Jurota Shishida (Quirk: Beast) and Pony Tsunotori (Quirk: Horn Cannon). And good luck Ojiro, Shouji, and Uraraka, I hope you enjoy Class B.

Yeah, I'm putting Uraraka in a different class. The pairing is IzuMomo (as the tags say) so I don't feel that bad about it. I want Pony in class 1-A and I feel like Uraraka is the best girl to replace her for class 1-B. I hope that doesn't kill your interest in the story, I'm just trying to shake things up a little bit so it doesn't read like every other fanfic that follows canon closely does.

Tell me what you think, and I will be back with an update sometime soon.