Disclaimer: My Hero Academia is the property of Kohei Horikoshi and various production companies.

Key:

Normal Speech: "Sup my dude."

Screaming: "WHERE THE HELL DID IT GO!"

All Might: "Midoriya my boy!"

Thoughts: 'This was a horrible decision.'

DragoonSensei: Glad you like it because the entrance exams end this chapter.

Guest: That's actually all I wanted to hear from my readers, thank you.

Hec he got a bat: Damn Right

allen Vth: What I love about MHA is that the villains grow just like the heroes do, so I wanted him to get out there and introduce himself.

Spiralturtle6: Ochako is fine, don't worry. Also, the Might Guy approval is one of the rarest medals in existence, I shall treat it with due respect and adoration.

PilotTheStarplestian:Izuku is far from perfecting his craft and some of his flaws are going to be explained. Thanks for the feedback and for liking the story. Aslo fuck that grape.

Jerrend: It will get worse, but I don't want it to be dark.

komodome: Thanks for the feedback, here's some things I can respond to. 1) I hate Mineta with a furious passion and even if I got paid to write this, no amount of money could force me to write him in. 2)10% is more like a boost with a time limit, it wouldn't break his bones at his point but it would cut down the duration of his use of One For All. Right now is him at 3% because his body has only had a few months to acclimate to the new quirk. 3)He's gonna have his own unique style, but I don't want to copy the manga/anime for everything. 4)The villains are going to be much more involved in the story than in the manga. 5) The M-rating is almost exclusively for Bakugou and this chapter especially.

ToonyTheBoi :I appreciate the encouragement.


The sky, despite it being the middle of the day, was an ashen gray. The barrier that prevented the escape of the test takers was also stopping any dust from dispersing into the environment, leaving the arena as bleak as their odds of survival. Over the section of the city that had been destroyed by the zero-pointers momentous display of power stood but a few buildings. Really, the remains of a few of the taller buildings that had toppled towards each other. They shook unsteadily with each step the behemoth took towards the gates.

It was there that a single figure could be found, clinging to the side of the tower opposite to the machine. She was almost totally flat against the glass surface, and she slipped down a few feet everytime the man-made threat shook the building.

Tsuyu Asui silently prayed that the monstrosity didn't turned around and smash the high-rise she was currently hiding on. It had been difficult enough getting to the height she had before that thing sent a wave of destruction through the false city. She craned her neck to look over the ruination, and immediately wished she hadn't.

"This is awful," she struggled to say behind light tears. Under the several upturned buildings were students, dozens of them. Some were pinned beneath large structures barely keeping them from crushing them, others were no so fortunate. A scene of death and destruction had been painted by the machine, and it looked as if it would craft another masterpiece at the gate.

"Why is this happening? Why are they doing this?" Tsuyu began to crawl down the tower, still speaking to herself, "Who was that man in the hologram? What does he gain from this? Who's got the power to challenge an establishment like U.A?"

Reaching the ground she hopped towards a student who seemed to be scantily dressed, a shamelessly revealing one-piece, who was pulling a large metal rod seemingly out of her arm. She girl had black hair ending in a sharp ponytail, and coal black eyes brimming with determination. "Hey, you look alright but were you hurt in the explosion?"

Tsuyu shook her head, "I was on a high-rise, avoided most of the blast."

"I made a dome to protect myself and a few others, I sent them to the gate like the boy from the tower yelled but I could use some help right here." The black haired girl then slammed the rod under the piece of stone in front of her before she rolled a stone column under it. "There's a student under here, but he's hurt and I'm not strong enough to lift this rock, help me pull down on this lever."

Tsuyu nodded, taking a position on the opposite side of the pole. "My name is Tsuyu Asui by the way." She planted her feet and started to pull with the other girl. "My friends call me Tsuyu."

"I'm Momo Yaoyorozu, " she strained, "But you can just call me Momo." The effort of the two began to see the lifting of the stone slab, and the voice of a newcomer from under it.

"You can call me Eijiro," the voice coughed. "But I think one of you knew that."

Tsuyu let a grateful laugh slip as her friend pulled himself from the darkness. "Eijiro!"

Once he was safely out from under the rock the two girls allowed it to fall, and Momo turned to her compatriots, "You know each other?"

"We're friends, we split up before the test started." Tsuyu pulled Eijiro to his feet only for him to collapse.

"Are you okay Eijiro? What's hurt?"

"It's just my leg, I'll be fine. Tsuyu, did you see what happened to Izuku?" Tsuyu looked away, concerned over her friend.

"He wasn't in the blast radius I think, but I'm not sure. Eijiro, go to the gate, I'm going to go find him, see if he made it all right."

"I can take him there after I get the others out from the rubble," Momo offered, "Do you think you can help?"

"No problem, I'm already feeling better." Eijiro punched into his hand. "Go ahead Tsuyu, we got this."

With a nod she prepared to leap away before someone roared from next to her. A charging figure rammed into her side, stopping abruptly and allowing the momentum of the attack to carry her away. She landed against a building, dazed from the pain and surprise of the attack, rolling out of the way of another charge. The narrow escape didn't mean rest however as another figure came down clapped his hands together.

When he fingertips touched a shockwave burst forth from between his palms. Tsuyu had no time to prepare herself for the oncoming blade of pressure, and clenched her teeth anticipating the pain. It didn't come however as a rounded hook plucked her out of the air and out of harm's way. She was dropped behind Yaoyorozu who then held the hook in an offensive stance.

"Who are you? Why're you attacking Tsuyu?" Her questioning was ignored as the charging figure began to race towards the her. Knowing the sort of damage he could do Tsuyu wrapped her arms around both Eijiro and Momo, leaping out of the way. Now in clear light, Tsuyu could see that the man was more of a monster, black skin and unnaturally sharp pupils. It was almost completely muscle, and it had a totally exposed brain for a head. The creature turned on a heel and jumped after them while the other figure, a skinny man with dirty blonde hair and large clap teeth sighed.

"Sorry about him, he doesn't do much talking from what I understand, but I've only know him for an hour or two so I'm not really an expert on the subject." Eijiro, still in mid flight, grabbed both girls and flipped himself toward the monster, hardening his arms and slamming his elbows into its eyes. To his shock his strikes did little more than lightly scratch it. "Anyway, if you still interested, we are here to kill you students. Nothing personal but all of us small timers got an offer from the big guy in the sky," he lazily pointed towards the area the hologram had been.

"Suffice to say, it was an offer we couldn't refuse." The beast pickup up the young lad and started to charge towards another building. It's path was intercepted when Tsuyu and Yaoyorozu both kicked its side. The beast dropped Eijiro before tumbling through a window.

"Well you shoulda said no anyway," Eijiro yelled from the ground, grabbing Tsuyu's hand to pull himself up. "Cause it's just you two against dozens of proheros and students confident enough to apply for U.A! If you were looking for an easy target you're dumber than your partner over here!"

The monster, as if rising to the insult, opened its maw. Inside its mouth were rows of sharp jagged teeth covered in chunks of meat and skin and a forked, black tongue. Faster than before, it charged at Kirishima who, instead of bracing for the impact, leaned on his good leg and jumped out of the way, pulling Tsuyu and Momo with him.

The effort proved to save their lives as the creature wasn't making to grab them like before. Instead, as they turned around they saw that it was biting into the stone and brick of the complex behind them. With a vicious snap of its jaws, it chewed through and then swallowed the chunk of building.

"Is that what you think, that we came here alone?" The blonde man began to laugh at the pair, "That's precious, the future heroes of the world are a bunch of gullible idiots!" The behemoth, having no interest in conversation began to square it's shoulders. "There are dozens of us here, I'm just the unlucky bastard that got sent to this section to pick off stragglers. Oh well, I'll just finish off some students while Nomu here takes care of business."

From it's leaning position, the now named Nomu opened its gaping maw again, letting out an ungodly roar. The force of the terrifying shriek began to shake the rubble and shatter windows. With it pointed directly at them, the three teens could only hold their ears and hope to survive the onslaught. But with the sound came the horrible stench of the Nomu's breath. It was a rancid odor, like long spoiled eggs and rotting flesh. As the screaming subsided, Tsuyu realized that she couldn't stand properly, the sound waves had damaged her inner ear, taking her balancing from her. Looking to either side she saw Eijiro and Momo in a similar state.

"Have fun kids," the villain called, "Nomu tend to get hungry fast, so do me a favor and die quickly. It's a damn pain to drag corpses just to feed this guy, the last student is still on his teeth if you didn't notice."


Izuku began to feel the extended use of One For All wear on his body. His current capacity was only three percent, an issue that All Might said he would overcome with time, but he began to wonder if he would ever get the chance. The villain he was trading blows with was much stronger than him, three percent of full cowl wasn't enough to phase him much less hurt him, and going any further definitely break a few bones. Seeing as this was his third villain since the grey haired boy issued his kill order, he didn't think he could risk losing the ability to defend himself.

Izuku gambled a glance to see if he could ask for help from anyone else but they were all otherwise occupied. The clearing was free of those dark portals but it was now full of villains, and while the majority had gone directly after Izuku in the beginning, they were now busy handling the other students or trying to get to the injured party in the middle of the foreground.

"Look alive brat." Izuku brought his eyes back to his fight only to have his neck caught in the crook of the villains arm. After a brief spin, Izuku was thrown by his next it the ground. He rubbed his throat, desperately trying to reopen his airways as the villain stalked over to him. "Shoulda kept your eyes on your own fight."

Izuku, grit his teeth and glared at the being before him, his face was covered in a mask but his eyes were revealed. They were filled with sadistic mirth, and as he raised his fist Izuku resolved to use a higher percentage of Full Cowl, even if it would take him out of the fight he could still do something as long as he was alive.

Fortunately, a friend was around to save him from such a risk. At that moment, Izuku felt his body pulse. It was like he was moving to the beat of a silent drum, and the vibration began to nauseate him. For second he wondered if this was some new technique from his attacker, but looking up he saw him in a much worse state.

The masked man began to clutch his sides. Keeling over, he began to foam at the mouth, desperately heaving for air. Whatever was affecting Izuku was ripping through the villain. It was hardly a minute before he fell to the dirt, unconscious, but breathing steadily. Izuku noticed that the vibrations he had felt were also gone. Looking around he saw the girl he had rescued from before, Jiro, pointing her earjacks in his direction.

"Infrasound," she yelled. "You can't hear it but you'll feel it no problem. I didn't hit you did I?"

"No, I'm fine." Izuku stood up, looking down to the now incapacitated man, "Is he gonna live?"

"Yeah, I only put him to sleep, but it won't last- MOVE!"

Izuku kicked away from the spot he was on in the nick of time. The area he once stood on was littered with needles and razors, some of them impaling the villain he'd just fought.

Izuku watched the growing pool of blood encircle his enemy before glaring at the thrower of the projectiles, "You killed your teammate!"

"So what," a women said from atop a building. "He tried to kill you, I think I deserve a thank you. So do me a solid and stand still!" The woman, a bit on the shorter side, raised her hands into the air revealing metallic grey nails. As quick as a flash, several sharp instruments seemed to grow from her fingertips. With a flick of the wrist she sent another spray of needles at the boy.

Knowing he lacked the natural agility weave through the approaching silver blanket, Izuku started running to the side, as the woman sent another spray he sped himself up, now thinking of a strategy.

'These people are ruthless, ready to kill each other for even a slight chance to take us down. I can't try to run through the crowd, she'd keep going, and maybe she hits a few villains but she'll definitely kill a couple students. I can't get close with her being so high up and throwing out weapons like that. I need something a can throw, but what.'

Quickly, he scanned the area, keeping one eye on the constant hail of metal. Almost everything he spotted would require him to go over three percent of One For All, which he'd been using all day. Even now he felt hairline fractures forming in his humerus and femurs. There needed to be a way to end this.

That was when he spotted the tall blue haired guy from earlier. He was running circles around a large villain that had a number of stone plates covering his body. It looked like he was having trouble getting through the stone hide to do actual damage. Izuku looked back to the woman on the roof, still firing away at him, and made his decision.

"Hey!" He caught the attention of the boy who looked at him inquisitively. "Switch with me!"

Looking at Izuku and then to the source of the raining metal that was following him, Iida yelled back, "I'm not sure how I feel about hitting a woman!"

Izuku, still dodging several kniven needles, and now kunai, rebuked, "How do you feel about knocking one off a building!"

"Not that much better!"

The villainess screeched from the rooftop, "I'll kill you both! Now shut UP!"

Midoriya's eyes widened as the onslaught of weapons and metal increased ten-fold. Slowly a number of nicks and cuts started to grow on his body. Through the pain Izuku was vaguely aware of the shrinking number of still standing students. Not turning his head he screamed at his comrade, "Iida, now is not the time to be chivalrous, switch with me and knock her off the building!"

Iida looked at the armor like plating of the villain he was fighting sighed. "While I'm doing this I would appreciate it if we could phrase it differently."

Like a jet Iida broke away from his fight and started to run towards the building the villainess stood. Almost at once she turned her attention to him and Izuku was allowed a brief respite. He analyzed the villain the new villain whom was now running towards them. A towering figure up close, and the thick plates covering he body looked to strong for him to break through, but there were plenty of spaces in between. Those weak points looked vulnerable enough.

The man took a wide swing at Izuku and at once saw his opportunity. The figure was slow, Izuku felt as though he could drag this fight out just to catch his breath. He wouldn't however, as there were plenty of students facing real threats that he could be helping with.

Izuku ducked under another arcing swing, dropping all the way to the floor and leaning forward. Feet planted firmly on the ground, Izuku pushed off while swinging his right fist up and into the man's ribs.

At the same time, Iida had finished running up the building. Now that he was closer the woman had abandoned any semblance of dignity. She flung her weapons at his with wild abandon only to miss as ran around her appearing to be a blur. On one pass around he shoulder-tapped her off balance, on the next he hooked his arm under her left and swung her off the building using his momentum.

It was also then that he found his feet to be still sliding forward. Tenya nearly flipped over the rails, but by skin of his teeth, held on to the edge of the roof. Still hanging by his one arm, Iida yelled back to Izuku, "She's off the roof!"

Izuku turned with his fist still buried under the armored villains ribs. The woman was indeed flung away from the roof, descending on another fight between student and villain. Quickly, Izuku moved closer to the villain he held, lifting him by bending himself backward. In a mighty heave, Izuku through the man and the flying villainess. She started to fling her weapons at the projectile human but they did little more than bounce of his platted stomach.

The momentum of the larger man carried him straight into the woman and the villain behind her. The crashing force of the three cracked the wall of a building, and the three students were able to breath once more.

"Iida, what the hell."

"What?" the taller boy demanded. "I didn't do anything."

"She was gonna kill us and you were worried about whether or not it was okay to fight back."

"It's very unheroic to harm a lady."

"I think there's an exception to villains," Izuku argued.

"Well we'll just have to argue about this another day," Tenya proposed.

"When, after you get us killed," Izuku pleaded.

"Um guys," the almost forgotten third student pointed out, "There are more villains coming this way."

The two boys snapped their heads to where he was pointing to see an approaching cloud of dust. As it grew closer Izuku began to feel tremors, not like the zero pointer, but almost like a continuous pulse. It was...familiar. It was almost nostalgic, but far from comforting.

Iida began to take a runners stance behind Izuku, "Careful Midoriya. This one seems to be a bit more dangerous than the ones here."

Izuku didn't seemed to hear him however. Instead he squinted at the dust cloud, now close enough to make out a figure on top of it. No, above it. They were just in front of it in fact. Izuku wondered if they could be propelling themselves forward with the wind, but then his saw a flash of yellow.

"DEKU!" Izuku now realized that it wasn't the dust cloud propelling them, but a series of explosion pushing them forward. The pulses in the ground were just at result of those burts.

"Did that villian just yell an insult at us?" Iida remarked.

"That's not a villain," Izuku groaned.

"YOU BETTER LISTEN CAUSE I'M NOT SAYING THIS AGAIN!"

"Then it's another student, that's a relief." Iida wiped the sweat from his brow. "We could use more help over here."

"He's not here to help either," Izuku grumbled.

"How are you so sure?" Iida began to slowly back out of the path of the approaching bomber.

"He's an old friend of mine," Izuku said plainly. "He's probably mad that we were fighting villains without him.

"SOME ANNOYING FROG GIRL AND A DUMBASS RED-HAIRED GUY SAY THAT THEY'RE OKAY AND ON THEIR WAY HERE!"

Immediately, Izuku his shoulders unwind. A bright smile accompanied his cheerful cry, "They're okay!?"

"MOVE THE HELL OUT MY WAY SHIT-HEAD!" Katsuki blew past all three students and landed right in the middle of the fray, grabbing two villains by the face while setting off an explosion in each hand. "THESE FUCKERS ARE MINE!"

"Your friend is very vulgar, and I don't think he's very concerned about the students around him." Tenya raised his hand to his chin and started to think aloud, "Those are very unbecoming qualities of an aspiring hero."

"Yeah we should do something before he hurts someone." Izuku then charged into battle with a grin, still brimming with cheer over the knowledge that his friends were alive and well enough.

Iida stood in awe at the destruction the two boys were laying out on the villains. Izuku seemed to fight with a renewed vigor while the other boy was a completely new beast, ripping into the villains with an almost sinister grin. Their numbers to to change as the villains fell like dominoes.

Speaking up once more, the third student wondered aloud, "Do we actually need to do anything now?"

"I'm not sure, I wasn't quite prepared for this turn of events."


A few minutes prior to the arrival of Bakugou at the major battleground.

Ejiro rubbed at his sides, nursing the bruises that had formed from repeatedly being smashed into, and occasionally through, buildings. While he tended to his wounds he looked around. Early on, Tsuyu and Momo had realized that true to what the other one had said, the beast called Nomu was the quiet sort, and dumb too. The only thing it had tried to do at this point was crush them by charging at them and eat them, which was the admittedly more terrifying prospects of his afternoon.

That simplicity was, thankfully, what allowed Eijiro to survive so long, but it was also why he was taking so much damage. They hadn't been able to do much against the beast, and any wounds they did inflict were blatantly ignored by the monster. It was like a hammer tasked with straightening a nail. Nomu had no intention of stopping until they were all dead or worse.

That was why Eijiro had volunteered to stay behind while they went after the shockwave guy. He had convinced both girls that he would be fully capable of holding the beast off until they could return. His confidence in that statement dwindled every time the monster chipped away at him.

Kirishima currently resided on a higher floor than the beast. He dug his fists into the stone of the building, pulling himself up higher and higher. The beast, apparently angry at the loss of its target and potential meal, began to bang on the walls of that same building. Kirishima began to feel the loosening structure under his hands before turning back towards the creature.

"You hold tight down there, I'm comin' back with a snack just for you." Then, without wasting missing a beat, Eijiro pulled his hands free of the wall. While the monster beat furiously on the structure, Eijiro fell, holding his arms in front of him in a cross-guard.

"Open wide Nomu," the young lad whispered to himself as he continued to spiral towards the beast with his elbows out and hardening slowly.

The monster seemed to hear him somehow but it mattered little. By the time it stopped assaulting the building Ejiro was directly above it. Like a cannonball, Ejiro crashed into the beast, digging his elbows into its head again. His movement didn't completely stop. Eijiro continued to push the beast through several layers of building and even into the concrete below him. The Nomu screamed and Eijiro laughed, final being successful in hurting it, if only a little. It was a short lived celebration as the pain caused it to throw its arms out, catching the boy in his unprotected and unhardened side.

With the wind knocked out of his lungs Eijiro dropped into the dirt. The beast beside him began to rise out of the crater they made, picking up Eijiro by the arm. The creature opened its mouth and Eijiro closed his eyes.

"There are worse ways to die than helping a friend."

"Don't depress me, ya dumb shit."

Eijiro snapped his eyes open to gawk at the new voice. A defined forearm was sticking towards the face of the Nome before him. "This is why you extras shouldn't fight above your weight class."

In a blinding flash of light and heat, Eijiro felt the grip on his arm disappear. He hardened his body as best he could but he couldn't stop all the damage from the incredible blast that was going off so close to him. Eijiro covered his head and waited for the aftermath of the explosion to finish.

Once he was able to open his eyes again he saw the lack of city that was in front of him. The magnitude from the blast seemed to destroy the entirety of the street, and on the other end of the blast was a smoking figure. The Nomu that had been ragdolling Kirishima was immobile in the dirt, covered in soot and burns.

Looking back at the source of the explosion, Kirishima was meet by angry glaring eyes and sharp blonde hair. "What the fuck are you staring at ginger."

As gears began to turn in his head, Kirishima found himself asking, "Is your name Katsuki Bakugou?"

The boy smirked before walking away, "Not even a pro and I'm already famous. I expect nothing less."

"You are exactly what Izuku said you would be," Eijiro blanched at the smug nature of the youth.

"What the fuck did Deku say about me!"

"Oh, you call him by his hero name."

"What do ya mean his hero name?" Bakugou's ever present anger gave way yo momentary confusion.

Before Ejiro could continue their back and forth he remembered the whole reason he was fighting Nomu on his own. "Oh crap Tsuyu! Momo!" Eijiro sprinted in spite of his leg, leaving the Katsuki behind.

"Did that fucker just ignore me!?" A literally fuming Katsuki declared. "Get the fuck back here."

Eijiro ignored him, turning the corner to see the shockwave villain firing away at Tsuyu. The aforementioned frog girl was bouncing in between buildings like a rubber ball, evading each blade with a dancer's grace.

"Damn it stand still," the man said through grit teeth. "These shockwaves are a real drag to control and you are testing my patience."

While shooting out another blast he was blinded by a sticky substance covering his eyes. He pulled at it but his hands become trapped by the goop.

"I got him Tsuyu!" Momo called from her position on the lightpost.

Tsuyu nodded once before bouncing feet first into the villains gut. He landed with a gasping wheeze, hardly wiggling from his place.

"Hey Eijiro," Tsuyu waved, "Looks like you really took care of that Nomu guy, huh."

"Kinda, I had some…" Eijiro paused, "Well I wouldn't really call it help but-"

"Damn right it wasn't help!" Bakugou descended from above them using light explosions to cushion his fall. "I did your damn job, now hurry up and tell me what Deku's been saying."

"Oh, I take it this is Kaa-chan then?" Tsuyu slightly tilted her head while she spoke. "You're angrier than Izuku described you to be."

"I'm gonna kick his ass when I get to that gate!" Before he could Jumped away, Momo took him by the arm. "What do you want extra."

"My name is Momo, and I'd like to know if you can take some injured students with you."

"Does it look like this is a good place for an injured person to be," Bakugou snarled while pointed at his back.

"Wel could you deliver a message to Izuku for us," Tsuyu pleaded.

"I'm not a goddamned carrier pigeon."

"Please, it'll only take a second."

Bakugou huffed, "Whatever, what do you want to say, and it better be snappy cause I'm not wasting my time with this."

"Tell him that Tsuyu and Eijiro are okay and that they're on their way with some injured students."

"Got it, his dumb girlfriend and his dumb guy friend are on their way with some broken idiots." Before anyone could correct him, Bakugou rocketed away, leaving three stunned students to their devices.

"Tsuyu?" Ejiro started, "You're blushing, I don't think I've ever seen you do that."

Tsuyu seemed to ignore Eijiro while she walked away to help some more trapped students. "We aren't dating," she muttered.

"I'll go help her," Momo then left Eijiro to lean on a pillar.

"Seriously though, that guy is like, infinitely worse than what Izuku said he'd be."


The villains are down, the robots are gone, and after one final message from All For One, Izuku destroys the one pointer with Bakugou

Back in regular time.

After the arrival of Bakugou, the tides of war changed. The villains began to drop like flies, and the students were able to resume their positions: injured in the middle, long range fighters around them, close combat fighters preventing anyone from getting too close.

Everyone except for Bakugou was following this pattern, as he was the lone student travelling around the whole clearing to catch and beat villains without discrimination. It was actually by his hand that the last one fell. With that victory, the students began to cheer, some actually crying tears of joy. A quiet relief washed over them all, but Izuku and a select few didn't allow themselves to relax. The barrier that prevented the pros from entering was still in place.

The only conceivable explanation was that a villain was still active inside of outside of the arena, maintaining the structure, or their ordeal simply wasn't over.

Interrupting the cheers of those in the battlefield was the familiar noise of static over the radio. The new faces of the students dropped, some horrified, some stoic, but all grave.

"Oh please, continue your cheering, you've earned it for surviving this far." The visage of the masked man beside his grey-haired accomplice took over the sky. "I'd say you have earned your final lesson."

It was then that the students began to realize that the constant shaking of the Earth… was absent. The movement of the zero pointer had stopped. "The lesson I've been trying to impart upon all you impressionable youths, is that sometimes it doesn't matter how far you've come."

The students saw the giant machine in a familiar pose, the wo club like arms raised like a gorilla about to crush an animals. "Some days, you will face insurmountable odds and you will know the greatest feeling of pride and triumph."

The zero pointer loomed over them, still raising its arms to another crest of height. "And then, that swell of pride or relief shall be extinguished by a flood of terror, much like I assume yours is now."

Izuku felt the coldest pit form in his stomach as he remembered the waste the machine had laid upon the sections of the city that had been several miles away. The gathering of students were much closer.

"Even when the day seems saved, there will always be people like me to be the proverbial 'rain' on your parade. I'm sorry to waste so much potential like this, but it is necessary to send the message."

Before the fists of the machine began to drop, Tomura spoke up, "Game Over, no redos, no refunds. It's a shame too, you just made it to the big boss."

The intermission was cut off and the zero pointer brought its fists crashing downward. Amidst the panicked screams of the students below, one roar could be heard above all others.

"Fuck that!" Katsuki Bakugou set off two massive explosions in the palms of his hands, propelling him upward, past the two fists of the droid.

At the same time, Midoriya thought to himself, 'Caution to the wind it is.' Doing his best to concentrate the power, Izuku used 100% of One For All to jump towards the machines eye. The force and air pressure of his departure floored several students to the dirt. The extreme departure left his leg to weakly flap behind him, the bones having been totally shattered.

As the two boys began to fly towards the mechs head, they both readied their attacks. Izuku's right arm began to glow green, crackling with a sort of electricity. Bakugou gripped his left wrist in his right hand, his palm glowing softly before the light grew to an intense ray.

"Don't get in my way Deku!" the blonde boy viciously sneered at the shorter boy.

"Back at you Kaa-chan!"

Before another word was uttered, the two of them launched their attacks at the zero pointers head. For a second the crowd stared at the sky. They struggled to process what exactly had just happened. One moment they saw the boys throw their fists out towards the machine and the next, the entire top half of their opponent was flying away from its torso. It couldn't have been them to do that, they were only children. Such thoughts were interrupted as the air rippled and a roaring gust of wind emanated from the area the boys fell from.

Bakugou was blown away by both the force of his own and Izuku's attack. He was quick to correct himself in mid-air with a few well placed and well timed explosions. Looking around he saw the still falling figure of his old lackey.

"SOMEBODY CATCH THAT DUMBASS!" Bakugou's cried reached a few students. They recovered from the massive pressure burst that resulted from the boy's attacks, scrambling to catch the youth. Izuku for his part squirmed around. With his eyes closed and two of his appendages flapping uselessly in the wind, it was clear that the boy was unconscious from either pain or exhaustion. Most likely both.

Right when it seemed that the young hero would become another casualty of the day, a long pink noodle wrapped around his waist to slow his descent before bringing him to a complete stop. The sensation seemed to stir the young lad from his state of unconsciousness.

Midoriya's first instinct was to scream in pain. Now that he was conscious he was painfully aware of the many dozens of bone fragments that were currently stabbing into his muscles and nerves. As the adrenaline filtered out of his blood he was also made aware of how profoundly tired he was. Yet, through the pain and exhaustion, he saw a familiar and welcoming sight.

"Hey Tsuyu, Eijiro, really glad to see you're okay." Izuku's voice was hardly a whisper, but in his current state, it was well beyond what he should have been able to manage. "Could you see if that barriers down, I'd check myself but my leg really hurts."

"It's down man, the heroes are already coming in to help with rescue," Eijiro pointed out. "One of 'em is comin' this way actually."

"I think her name is recovery girl," Tsuyu said while she gently maneuvered Izuku to sit against a steel beam. "You've talked about her right?"

"Yep," Izuku's eyes were closed, but he fought the seductive call of sleep. "She's an incredible healer, and one of the reasons U.A. is able to risk such large scale entrance exams."

"That I am dearies." A cheerful old woman wearing a doctor's coat and a pink visor stopped in front of the trio. "That was quite the impressive display of power you just put on, to bad it screwed you up so much. For a second you almost looked cool."

"All old ladies are mean to me," Izuku's head drooped slightly, but the woman gave him a steer look.

"Well I wouldn't have to be mean if being nice was enough to get the message across. It's very good that you were able to protect your fellow students, but be mindful of your limits." Recovery Girl's gaze softened a bit. "But i suppose these are all things you'll be learning once you start attending classes."

"You mean I've been-" Izuku tried to get to his feet but he immediately sat back down. His one good leg was too physically tired to support his own weight.

"Don't try to get up in the condition you're in, and no you haven't been accepted, that I know of anyway. I'm not on the board of admissions, but I've seen what you can do, it'd be pretty stupid of them not to enrol someone like you. Now, I've prattled for long enough, pucker up kiddies."

The final part of her statement froze the children solid before she gave Tsuyu, Eijiro, and Izuku each a peck on the cheek. Instantly, the trio began to feel rejuvenated, Izuku felt the bones in his arm move to stop stabbing into his muscles, solidifying to a proper skeletal structure. His fatigue as well, began to give way to a well rested feeling. Tsuyu and Eijiro too perked up. It was as if they hadn't just fought against killer robots and murderous villains for the past 4 hours.

"I'll be tending to the rest of the wounded, all of you should go home. But take my advice and go around the long way. Quite a few cameras and reporters are waiting at the main entrance." Without another word, the elderly woman hobbled away to another injured student.

Izuku, now in his right mind, surveyed the area. The sheer joy he felt in knowing that his friends were okay made him want to smile, but then the finer details began to rush at him. A stain of red on the side of that building, an unmoving hand under another. The still body of a student, and the villain that lay unconscious just a few meters away. The many paramedics dodging throughout the city, placing students on stretchers and occasionally placing white sheets over them.

Izuku felt the deaths he had witnessed replay in his mind, the pleading eyes of a boy he couldn't reach. The pitiful whimpers of a girl at the mercy of a sociopathic villain. People had died in what was supposed to be a simple test. Children had died.

"Izuku," Tsuyu took his hand in her own. "This isn't your fault. We've done what we can, and we'll think about all the things we could have done when we go to sleep tonight. Those thoughts will haunt you, torture you, but you have to remember that this isn't your fault."

Izuku didn't realize that he was staring at the horrible scene before him. He turned to Tsuyu, "I don't know how I'm gonna do that Tsuyu."

"Well," she took his shoulder and walked him away from the broken city. "We can figure that out together."

"I've got an idea," Eijiro smiled at his friends. "Let's talk about this over some barbeque, my treat."

"That sounds fun," a bubbly voice called, approaching them from behind. Mina Ashido looked battle worn, but unharmed. She most likely had a run in with Recovery Girl. "Where the BBQ place at."

"I too would like to go, I don't often get to go places with friends." Momo Yaoyorozu seemed to have overheard Eijiro's words as well. "This will be an interesting experience."

"Um, I don't think my wallet is strong enough to take care of all of us," Eijiro bashfully rubbed his head.

"Then allow me to pick up the check." It appeared that just about everyone had heard their conversation as Iida too was keen to join the now group of five. "Allow me to apologize for making such rude assumptions about you this morning."

"Well alright then," Eijiro pumped his fist, "This can be like our first big outing with our future classmates."

"Are you so sure that we will all be accepted," Momo questioned.

"Are you kidding," Mina gestured to the six of them. "We were all a bunch of badasses. Of course they'll accept us."

"I'd appreciate it if we could watch our language on this outing." Iida push up his glasses as he spoke.

"Don't be such a stick in the mud." Eijiro patted him on the back as he started to lead the group away.

The six students began a lively conversation, the topic straying away from the days events. The whole time, no one noticed that neither Tsuyu or Izuku had let go of each other's hands. At least not until Izuku hit a flagpole.