Beta read by: SinikkavonWolperting and DragonRiderSayomi
Summary: Shota Aizawa is a nervous wreck as he attends the Exams determining whether or not he makes it into AU. And, during the test, he meets quite the interesting character.
This was it. This was the day that would decide it all. The one that would set the path for his future and the rest of his life. Nope, there was no pressure at all. He had this. Shota pulled his scarf a little tighter around his neck in anticipation, and his dark and half-lidded gaze drifted upwards to take it all in. He had been by the school before, passed by it many times throughout his life thus far, but, this time, there was something different about it. This time, the building had a much weightier presence as it loomed over him intimidatingly.
Taking a deep and calming breath, he continued his walk closer to it. The closer he got, the more his heart pounded in his ears and the more on edge he became. Why was he so nervous? He already passed the written exam with flying colors, even if he didn't do so well on this one, he still had a fair chance, right? Shota closed his eyes and shook his head to clear it, telling himself it was best not to dwell on it too much. The more he thought it over and played out the possible scenarios, the worse he would make it on himself.
He was almost there, just feet from the door...this was really it. All those years of preparation, all that time dreaming of this moment, the moment that would decide the rest of his life, it was finally here. One more step and...
"Outta the way!" someone exclaimed as they shoved by him, nearly knocking him off balance. Barely catching himself before he had the chance to topple over, Aizawa rubbed the back of his neck and glanced up, catching a not so apologetic glare from a red-headed boy; his orange locks slicked back neatly. "How about getting out of the damn way instead of standing there gawking like a dumbass," he scoffed, spinning on the spot before carrying on his way.
Shota sent his own glare once the guy's back was turned, but he said nothing. As annoyed as he was, he doubted getting into a fight before the exam even started was the best idea. "What's his problem?" he heard someone else ask from behind; a voice that he recognized.
"Beats me, Tomiko," he sighed, straightening up and tossing the girl a nod. He breathed out again before offering her a soft smile, one that told her he was really alright. "We should really just go though, before we're late," he said, obviously just wanting to change the subject. They were already running late as it were, and although he despised mornings, he wished that he would have gotten up just a little bit earlier.
"Yeah," she said with a nod of her own, bobbed purple hair swishing with the movement. She fell into a step right behind him, making sure to keep her distance and careful not to brush against him by mistake. "You nervous?" she asked, wanting to keep the talking going in hopes it would make them both more at ease.
He merely shrugged to himself, not even casting her a glance. "I dunno," he replied lowly.
Her mouth tightened into a straight line at the response, but brushed it off; he never was much of a talker anywhere, every since they met at the age of five, he was always like that. "Well, either way, just do your best, and I'm sure you'll do fine," she assured, enthusiastically. He still didn't look back, but she could at least see the slight shift in his posture, and she couldn't help but to smile to herself at that.
Together, the two of them paced down the hallways until they finally entered the auditorium. Not wanting to bring any attention to themselves, they stayed quiet and quickly found a couple of seats as the woman in the center continued explaining how the exam was going to go down. They had missed a good couple of minutes, but they were easily able to catch up and understand what was going on.
Then, in the midst of it, someone bolted upright in the stands, and Aizawa instantly recognized the same red-head as earlier. His temper was just as burning as then. "What do you mean, 'worth no points!?'" he exclaimed. Even from where the two of them sat, it was easy to tell the slight hue change of his skin, tinting a light shade of red as other students nearby leaned away.
"I mean exactly what I said," she breathed out, impatiently. "There's no point in fighting them, they are worth nothing. Now, if you don't mind, I would appreciate if you sat back down," she said, a threatening undertone to her voice. With that, nearly the whole room fell deathly silent as a fearful sheet draped over them. "Better," she said, continuing with her explanations without further interruptions.
As it got closer to the actual exam part, Shota found his fingers fiddling more and more as the minutes ticked by. He thought his nerves had calmed down by now, but they were more active than ever. Did he really have what it took? Not to mention what their enemies would be; he was not at all suited to fight robots, or anything not a human for that matter. How the hell was he supposed to take down giant robots with erasure...he wasn't. Maybe his dad was right...maybe this was a stupid idea. His heart racing, nausea churning deep down, he jumped to his feet without thinking with the intention of walking out.
He paused, frozen as a light hand wrapped around his wrist, firmly, yet supportively, holding on. "It's alright," Tomiko promised, instantly letting go and withdrawing her hand when she caught the expression on the other's features. "I'm sorry...it was...a reflex," she quickly apologized. "It's alright though...I didn't see anything. But, it's alright. You should stay and at least try," she said, holding their eye contact until slowly, hesitantly, the boy sat back down.
"Y-Yeah," he stuttered, letting out a heavy breath to calm himself down as he sank deeper into his seat. But, internally, his heart still battled it out with his head. The both of them went at it back and forth for the remainder of the seminar. And, by the end of it, he found things to be the opposite...now he didn't want to get up as others started to filter out. However, his body moved on its own as it slowly and carefully got up; then he spared only a few more moments before gradually beginning making his way out.
He just kept telling himself, he had to keep going; he had to see this through just to see if he really could do it. Unless he gave it a try, he'd never know, and there was a part of him, deep down, that was determined to get through this and prove that man wrong. It was hidden beneath all his self-doubt and uncertainty, but it was still there shining dimly. Taking a deep breath, Shota straightened himself up as much as he could and trailed after the others, subconsciously trying not to stick out as much as possible.
He trailed after the crowd, and in the back of his mind he could pick up on the softer and close walk of Tomiko behind him; the girl was clearly keeping her distance and trying her best not to make him uneasy. In a way, he couldn't help but be slightly annoyed, but at the same time he appreciated the gesture. Aizawa took in a deep and steadying breath as they approached their destination. His heart pounded against his ribs as light-headedness teased the outer reaches of his awareness. If it weren't for the stakes placed on the outcome of this, he wouldn't have been anywhere near as nervous as he was.
Finally, it was here, and he stood there, looking the place over, his gaze wandering over the replicated city...it was almost like the real thing, and he swallowed the lump in his throat at the intimidation of it. They were really serious about making this as much like the real thing as possible. Which meant...he couldn't afford to slip up. "You ready?" he asked, glancing back at the girl. He was too absorbed in his own worries and fears, he almost forgot that everyone here was most likely feeling the same as he was.
"Are you kidding?" she shot back, now stepping to stand next to him. "I was ready a year ago," she assured with a thumbs up and a smile. She nodded one last time in his direction, "Break a leg out there, and show them what ya got."
He hummed in acknowledgement and clenched his fists as he looked back to the exam space. Shota narrowed his eyes and knit his eyebrows, and the moment the alarm sounded for the test to begin, his feet were moving before he could even think about it. Everything went by in a flash; multiple people were already running past him, jumping right into the fray. Left and right, enemies were falling; not even a minute had gone by, and everyone was leagues ahead of him. His jaw tightened as, out of the corner of his eye, he watched one was nearly sliced in half, someone cleaving right through it. The only thing he was able to catch was the flash from their, or what he could only assume, nails. And, on the other side, he could clearly see another another flying about, weaving in and out as their wings carried them about flawlessly. Everyone...everyone was racking up points like it was nothing, and he was still here, unable to come up with a plan of how he was supposed to do this with his quirk.
Gradually, his steps slowed down as all the commotion died down to nothing more than an annoying hum in the back of his mind; his eyes dropped to stare at the ground. There was just no way. It was clear from watching all the others and what they were capable of, that he just wasn't cut out for this; he wasn't cut out to be a hero, and there was no way he would be able to save anyone, let alone...
His eyes widened in fear and his attention snapped to the right just as one of the enemies bore over him...there was no time to move, not time to react. He was practically frozen on the spot as his limbs locked in place and his focus snapped to the robot. Just as he was mentally preparing himself for what was to come, a sound, blaring and ear-shattering forced him to duck his head and cover his ears. Even through the protection of his hands, the cry was finding its way into his skull where it bounced and vibrated off the inside. What the hell was that? Slowly, it ebbed away, enough that he was able to gradually lift his head once more.
Shota's immediate reflex was to swivel his attention back over, but the once threatening opponent was now, what it seemed, short-circuiting. The sheer volume was actually enough to break it. If he wasn't so confused and horrified at the same time, he would actually be impressed. With a quick glance around, he could make out most of the others in the same position as himself, all caught off guard by whoever that was. Then his gaze hesitated, pausing on one individual who was still standing straight, his hands cupped around his mouth.
"Woo!" the blond cheered as he pumped a fist into the air in his moment of celebration. "And that's how it's done," he added with a satisfied smile as he folded his arms victoriously over his chest. Slowly, his expression dropped when multiple complaints and groans reached him, and he took a quick glance around to see all the others shielding their ears, some even with a thin trail of crimson streaking down a side of their face.
With that, he shrunk down just a bit. "S-Sorry," he stuttered with a light chuckle and scratched the back of his neck nervously. "I may have overdid it juuuust a tad."
Aizawa took his time in straightening back up, his ears still ringing fiercely. The aftereffects alone were enough to elicit slight pounding in the back of his head. "W-What the…" he mumbled, slowly taking it all in...so much power, just with a voice; he never would have guessed that it was possible to get that loud. He was sure that if he was exposed to that on a regular basis, he'd go deaf within a matter of hours.
For a few moments. He could only stand there in amazement. And, he hadn't noticed just how long he had been standing there until the blond was eventually aware of the eyes upon him. "You okay over there?" he asked, one eyebrow raised over the brim of his orange shades as he began to stroll over. "I didn't burst your eardrums, did I?" he asked, leaning over until he was gazing into dark eyes.
As a reflex, Shota took a couple instinctive steps back. "I'm fine," he replied, a tad more loudly than he would have otherwise. He gazed back into his own orange-hued reflection and then over to the downed enemy. Admitting it was difficult, but he couldn't deny that fact that he would have been in some serious trouble if the other hadn't jumped in when he did. "Thanks," he muttered under his breath before turning on his heel, intending to walk away. However, a quick and intrusive hand landed on his shoulder, eliciting a startled jolt from him.
"Hey, wait up!" he exclaimed, a bit too enthusiastically. "What happened there, did ya freeze up or something? You weren't doing anything," he blabbed on, hand still resting on the other.
The dark-haired boy shrugged the touch away and began walking away, his brow twitching at the sound of footsteps following him. "I had it under control, alright?" he muttered, hoping that was answer enough for the guy, but he still trailed after him like a lost puppy. "Is there something else you need? I already thanked you."
"Just curious…" he muttered, speeding up until he was walking next to Aizawa. "I've seen everyone else's quirk, but I haven't seen you use yours yet," he said, showing no restraint or respect for another's personal space. "So, what is it? Super strength, are you...well, you're obviously not fast. Um, laser beams or something?" he asked, shooting out one possibility after another as they walked. And, for a while, Shota ignored it, trying to block out the noise for as long as he could. But, as the blond got more into it, his restraint began to dwindle and his volume again started to increase until he didn't think he could tolerate it anymore. "Or!" he nearly shouted. "Maybe you c-an do…" he trailed off, his face faltering as his voice cracked and continued at a normal volume.
Confused, he placed a single hand over his throat and cut his eyes over to Shota, his mouth formed a straight line when he looked straight into glowing red eyes. "...Oh," he whispered, understanding his power right away. "So...you can cancel out quirks?" he asked, watching as the crimson gaze remained on him. "That's...SO COOL!" he shouted, his voice pitching as the other finally blinked. Surprised by the sudden volume, the both of them shielded their ears.
"Yeah…" he replied, looking down. "I guess it can have its uses," he said, but his tone carried a different meaning to it. "Pretty useless in this situation though," he shrugged, speeding up just a bit, forcing the other to do the same in order to keep up.
The other pursed his lips, but said no more on the matter. Instead he pulled away and bit, picking up on the change in mood. "By the way, name's Yamada...Hizashi Yamada," he beamed, giving an animated thumbs up. "But, feel free to call me Hizashi," he said, folding his hands behind his head casually. "And...you are?" he questioned, green gaze back on the other.
Taking a deep breath, he knew there was no way out of this, so the best was to just go along with it. "Aizawa...Shota," he sighed, keeping his attention forward.
"Well, nice to meet you, Shota," Hizashi greeted, pausing to hold out his hand. Although the dark-haired boy's eye twitched at the use of his first name, he accepted the shake, but said nothing on the matter. "I can't help but wonder...do you have any points at all yet?" Despite the fact that they had never even met one another before now, he managed to actually sound genuinely concerned about it. "You know there isn't that much time left, right?" he asked, eyes wide.
Aizawa said nothing, and his silence was enough of an answer. The blond hummed to himself and chewed on his bottom lip. "Well, we better hurry up and find some more to take down then!" he called out, punching upward with one hand and grabbing Shota's wrist with the other. "There's no time to waste!" He never gave the other then chance to reply or even react before he started tugging along.
"H-Hey!" he cried out as he was yanked forward, having no choice but to jog along or risk being dragged. What the hell was with this guy? He was acting as though they were friends or something. Speaking of...he wondered how Tomiko was doing. He hadn't caught sight of her since this all started. Shota just hoped she was fairing better than he was...her ability was no more equipped for this sort of combat than his was.
"I think I see some," Hizashi informed, speeding up a little bit more. "If we hurry, we might be able to make it before someone else can take it out.
Shota glanced forward, instantly spotting the three or so just up ahead. "W-Wait!" he stammered, finally yanking his hand away. It was already clear enough to him that there wasn't a chance of him taking one of these things out, let alone three. "Wait," he repeated, quieter, "I don't think it's such a good idea." His voice was low, defeated, and at this point he felt like nothing more than a burden to those around him. Even after all the encouraging words from his childhood friend, here he was, again giving up before he really even tried.
Hizashi opened his mouth to reply, but his words were cut off before they could even pass over his lips. A scream, a desperate cry for help sounded in the same direction as the foes, and both sets of eyes were darting in the its direction. "D-Did you hear that?" Hizashi asked, his demeanor the complete opposite of what it was just seconds earlier.
"How could I not?" Shota replied, his breath almost catching in his throat. There wasn't much he'd be able to do in terms of helping someone out here, but at the same time, he found himself unable to turn away, unable to just leave someone like that.
Before he could look to the other, he was already off, the blond reacting before he could completely gather his thoughts. At a loss of what else to do, Aizawa tightened his jaw and ran off after the other. He may not be able to do much, but there had to be something he could do, something that would be useful. As he trailed after, his gaze darted from enemy to enemy until the plea sounded out again, beckoning his attention over to the owner of it instead. It was a girl...cornered with no where else to run. Now focused on her, it was only a fraction of a second until she found them as well, and her unwavering stare looked to them in a silent cry for help.
"Go help her," Hizashi instructed. "You do that, and I'll distract them," he explained, giving the dark-haired comrade a nod of assurance.
"Right," Shota replied, returning the gesture and began the run over. Not a second later, he was cringing from another of those mind-shattering yells; it was almost enough to knock him off his feet, but he pushed through it. 'Almost there,' he thought to himself, now only a few yards away. However, he was forced to pause, hesitate when he drew closer to the robot that blocked her only escape. "Dammit," he swore under his breath. Luckily, same as before, they halted, affected by the soundwave that wracked them. It was the same numbing vibration that sent tremors up his legs.
This was his chance though, while it was taken aback; it provided him with at least a few seconds, and he'd be damned if he was going to waste those. Taking a deep breath and muttering a half-assed prayer, he charged forward, keeping his gaze low from not wanting to see if he was about to be attacked. It was as though his body was acting on its own, reaching her before he was even aware of it.
"Come on," he blurted out in a panic, gripping her wrist and giving a solid tug. But, the moment he did so, the girl cried out, the unexpected movement obviously bringer her pain of some sort. Confused and alarmed, he released his hold and once more looked her over. "W-What's wrong," he asked, his dark gaze finally traveling down the length of her other arm to see it caught ...Or, it should have been her arm, but it looked to be more of a large club. Maybe it was her quirk, it had to be, but the appendage was wedged under some rubble.
"I-I'm stuck," she nearly sobbed, fear encompassing her. Her eyes wide, she looked down to the same arm as she gave it a few yanks of her own, but to little avail.
Shota glanced from that, then back to the girl. "Can't you deactivate it or something?" he questioned, as if that wouldn't have been the first thing she tried.
"I can't…" she whined out, tears now teasing the corners of her eyes. "I mean...I can, but I can't right now, I-I can't, I'm too scared," she explained, the meaning of that sinking in. It made sense, some needed to concentrate or stay calm to control it, and if she was freaked out, it only made sense.
Taking a deep breath, Shota closed his eyes for a quick second before snapping them back open and locking his crimson gaze onto her. Almost instantly, he arm reverted back to its normal shape and size. Not wasting even a second, he grabbed her wrist again, making sure to keep looking at her until she had it free; only then did he allow himself to blink. "Run," he demanded, not leaving room for questions or arguments. She obliged without a moment to stare, desperate to get out of there, and he was right behind her, making certain nothing was coming after them. They kept their speed up, their adrenaline did well to carry them on for a while. Though, eventually it wore off as they finally slowed to a stop. The both of them halted, bent forward in an attemompt to compose themselves.
Between heavy breaths, he scanned the girl over. "Are you alright?" he asked, mentally slapping himself for not checking earlier. He was too rash in that moment, but he wasn't thinking straight.
It took her a moment for the adrenaline to wane, but once it did, she considered the question, her dark gaze lifting to meet his own. "Yeah, I think so," she replied with a sigh of relief. "Thanks...by the way," she muttered sheepishly, averting her gaze. And, if he didn't know any better, he'd say he sensed an edge of humiliation in her tone.
Letting out a heavy and satisfied breath of his own, he cut his eyes back in the direction they had come from, just in time to see the blond running up. "Oh man," Hizashi huffed out, leaning over with his hands on his knees the moment he reached them. "That...that was actually scary for a minute there." He then let out a small chuckle as he straightened back up. "Now, you ready to go back out there?" the taller boy asked, standing back up to smack Shota on the back, nearly toppling him over.
"You're kidding, right?" he shot back, voice still a little touchy from his nerves.
"Of course not!" the blond replied, folding his arms. "There's barely any time left, and I still haven't seen you take one of those things down, at this rat-." The timing could not have been worse as the ring pierced the air, signalling the end of the exam. His heart dropped with the alarm. ...He failed, it was over; he couldn't breathe as he looked from one to the other, and his mind jumped from heartbreak to anger; his fists clenched at his sides, and without a word, he turned his back to the others as he began walking away.
Hizashi stood there for a moment, unsure of what to say, and slowly, he raised a single hand a moment too late. "Sho..ta?" he muttered, the name falling on unlistening ears. Slowly, he lowered his hand back down and cut his attention to his left, sharing a sympathetic look with the girl before they both turned back towards the distancing back of Aizawa.
It had been a week...a week since the exam and possibly the most shameful moment of his life; he couldn't even look either of his parents in the face after that. Not without seeing blind support and understanding or self-righteous 'I told you so.' Shota took a deep breath and turned his head to the side, having it straight into the pillow for so long started to make it difficult to breathe. Seven days, and he still couldn't stop thinking about what he could have done differently, or thinking about how it would have been better and less embarrassing if he hadn't tried in the first place.
A soft knock on his door, and he dragged his eyes over to stare at it. "Shota?" he heard his mom call, followed by another couple of knocks. "Mind if I come in?" she asked, voice laced with concern.
She took his lack of a response as an invitation in, and slowly, she pushed the door open with a soft 'creak'. "You know, you can't stay in here forever," she said lightly, elegantly strolling her way over. With his back towards the door, he didn't see her approach, but felt the slight dip in the mattress as she sat next to him. He let out a heavy breath as a gentle touch reached over to brush some of his hair out of his face. "Um, well, a letter came for you in the mail...from UA," she informed, and there was a brush as an envelope was placed on the pillow in front of his face. "I didn't look at it yet, I figured you should be the one to open it. But, I'll leave it there for you...whenever you're ready."
All he did was hum in acknowledgement and pulled the covers closer around his neck. He didn't miss the sorrowful sigh that left his mom's mouth as she carefully made her way back over to the door. "If you want to talk about, you know you can always come to me," she reminded before taking the final couple of steps out and pulling the door closed behind her.
Shota waited a few more seconds before releasing a shuddering exhale and glancing to the letter. It was only a few inches away, and yet, he couldn't bring himself to grab it; he already knew he didn't make it, he didn't need it in written form just to mock him. Chewing on his bottom lip, he stared at the paper, letting the same emotions that's been eating him for days simmer a bit more. Finally, despite his certainty, he bolted upright and snatched the note from his pillow and ripped it open in a matter of seconds.
Now, with the contents in one hand and the husk in the other, his blank stare glanced it over, not taking in any of the words just yet. His hands shook in anticipation and his heart began to thrum against his ribs; it was like the day of the exam all over again. Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath to calm himself down, he finally started to read it over. One word after another, one sentence at a time, he gradually took it all in, his heart rate slowing every new paragraph. "What?" he mouthed, a mix of surprise and confusion churning deep down. "Accepted?" he repeated, stuck on that one word. He read it a few more times just to make sure he got it right, and sure enough...there was no mistaking it, and there was no way this was a dream.
Even once he was done reading it over for the fifth time all the way through, he still had a hard time believing it. He wasn't entirely sure this wasn't just some guy pulling a prank on him. But, as far as he could see, the letter was official, signed and everything. Eventually, the paper fell from his hold, fluttering onto the cover as he continued to stare off. A few key words swirled in his mind, ones that he didn't completely understand yet: Rescue points...bravery...heroism, they all bounced off the inside of his skull and his mind kept jumping back to that girl. Was that what they were talking about, and was that really enough to deem him worthy of attending? He didn't even do that much though. If it weren't for that one guy, for Hizashi, that wouldn't have been a feasible feat for him to pull off.
But, nevermind all that...in just another week, he'd be considered a student at UA, he'd start his first day towards his future. His breath got stuck in his chest and his right hand, trembling subtly, ran through his hair and stinging pricked at his eyes. It was an overwhelming sensation. Shota was trapped between breaking down from the sheer amount of elation that coursed through him and completely shutting down due to the terror of just what was to come. But, for now, he settled for accepting things as it were. All that mattered was that he was in, he made it passed the first obstacle of many, and there was only one way he was willing to go.
He dropped the envelope as well and fell back into his sheets to stare up at the ceiling in thought. In just one more short week...one more, and there was a chance for him to accomplish his dream. Shota looked to the door, considering if he should break the news or not, beyond excited to tell his mom about the letter, but after glancing to the clock and seeing the time, he changed his mind about that and settled back against his mattress. Neither of them were going anywhere, there would be plenty of time to tell her tomorrow. After all, she was the whole reason for going through with this.
So yeah, let me know what you think and if it's something people would want more of, or if you have any suggestions for chapters. I already have a lot planned out, so things will be incorporated accordingly if suggestions are made. C: And yes, DragonRiderSayomi and I made up a whole classroom for this, as well as the teacher in like an hour. XD