Chapter 8; Exam Arc pt. 8

Note to self, leave a really pointless swear warning to maintain a running joke.

Not to self-addendum, mention the fact that you're likely to spoil the shit out of the manga for people who are anime only, that's probably the more relevant note to this.

Note to self-addendum addendum, don't forget to pick up eggs at the store.

Try find my dad while you're at it, he should be in the milk section.

Friday morning, 222 days until U.A. Entrance Exam

"Over there is the Bowery King, he's your go-to man if you want to know what's going on anywhere." Hanryang gestured to a man covered in what Izuku assumed was bird poop, before pointing to a girl with purple hair and an eyepatch, "That's Lee Sujin, if you ever want your ass kicked or a burger she's the person to ask for."

Izuku tried not to stare as Hanryang led him through the underground shelter, this was a safe haven for the homeless of the city and Izuku didn't want to offend the more… colorful people present.

"There's Xiaochen, also a lady to go to if you want to get your ass kicked but she helps kids on the street get a good education." He pointed to a blond lady with large blue eyes, Izuku had to suppress a shiver when she looked at him out of the corner of her eye.

"That's Sang Mandeok, he's who you go to if you want to be recruited into a cult." The two stopped in front of a praying man with grey hair long enough to reach his knee, "Didn't I kick you out last week?"

"It's Manjin, not Mandeok." The man looked up with a neutral face, "And I thought all were welcome here?"

"They are when they don't create death cults on a weekly basis, now give me a good reason why I shouldn't kick you out." Hanryang ordered with a smile, earning a scowl from the grey-haired man.

"I'm visiting my daughter, am I allowed to do that?" Sang bitterly asked.

Hanryang's smile fell as his eyes softened somewhat, "Keep your cult stuff to yourself and you'll be fine."

"I will take this blessing," Sang rose and moved past the two, muttering just loud enough that Izuku could hear: "I should never have let her marry that fiery bastard."

"Should I worry about any of that?" Izuku asked Hanryang as the other man stiffly walked away.

"Nah, he's kept in pretty good check." Hanryang gestured to the rest of the room, "He's a part of all this in a sense, so if you see any buildings with a teal Omega on it, you can probably get some help from them if you put up with a sermon or two."

"Beyond that, you can probably get info from any random beggar on the street since The Bowery King has a network set up." He chuckled, "Although that's a bit more of a risk since not every homeless person is involved in the NHA."

"So I've been meaning to ask about the NHA," Izuku felt he was entitled to ask some questions since this was the most attention he'd received all week from his teacher.

He still hadn't seen Shota once since he abandoned him.

"Ask away, I'll answer your questions as long as you don't ask anything stupid." Hanryang smirked, "So choose your question wisely."

"Is this a government organization or something?" Izuku asked. He thought it was a legitimate question until everyone in earshot of him burst into laughter, Hanryang included.

"Heh, you think the government could organize something like this and keep it a secret?" Hanryang asked in return, "Hope that was your most important question because the Q&A is over today."

"Why was that a dumb question?" Izuku asked as he squashed down his embarrassment.

"Because fuck the government." Hanryang's smirk fell for a moment, before returning as he pulled Izuku along, "Now I have a friend I'd like you to help out."

Later that evening

"This is not what I expected when I volunteered to help" Izuku grumbled as he ducked under a blade aimed for his neck, launching himself back to put distance between himself and his foe.

He honestly hadn't thought that trying to help a homeless teen with a turtle mutation quirk named Francesco find his dad would lead to him fighting at least a dozen of masked ninja wannabe's with foot-based markings in a warehouse.

The fact that Francesco and his father, a man with a rat mutant quirk where also ninja wannabe's didn't help the situation.

Izuku ducked under a body that had been thrown in his direction and looked at the source of it.

Jonesy was also an odd inclusion, although his distinguishing trait was being a sports nut rather than being a mutant.

'That felt slightly racist.'

"Anything can be racist if you ask certain people."

'I'm not going to justify that with a response.' Izuku braced himself as he called on One for All, an ability he felt like he hadn't used nearly often enough since he got it last week.

One For All; LV.1

The one quirk designed to be all for people, for all people! This legacy has been passed onto you, granting you power that may even bend fate as its ninth holder!

Increases all Damage, effect Duration, and ability Range up to 50x at maximum

At your current level, you can only out-put at either 1% (.5x multiplier) or 100% (50x multiplier) (Warning, using any percentage above 1% will inflict harm to the user.)

Izuku grinned as the weak green lightning danced over his skin, he really didn't feel like he needed to use One for All against his opponents.

But he got a new quirk, and he wanted to play with it.

"And yet you didn't play with the last quirk you got."

'Last quirk?' Izuku thought in confusion as he launched forward, knocking over his former opponent, 'The only other quirk I have is United We Stand.'

"And what did you find out almost a month ago?"

Izuku's mind went blank as he failed to remember what his system was talking about.

"You're going to give me an aneurysm."

"Blow shit up you dumb fuck."

Izuku's brows knitted in bewilderment before a spark of realization lit his eyes and his smile grew into an almost feral smirk.

The viridian haired teen slammed his hands into the ground as he launched forward, using Explosion to enhance his momentum on top of his boosted speed from One for All, turning him into a whirling storm of destruction as he launched grunt after grunt out of combat.

The explosions were weak, barely enough to make a noise on their own, but with One for All enhancing them Izuku was able to stay in the air for a good minute, using his friend's quirk to control his movements and the various foot ninja as launch points.

He was almost laughing when he slammed into the ground, even that barely dampening his joy.

"You seem a little too happy for inflicting violence on people."

'It's been a long week, I need to let this out.' Izuku brushed off the worry, pulling himself up just in time to watch as Francesco, Jonsey, and Francesco's father finish off the grunts that had been holding them up.

"That wasn't too bad." Izuku grunted as he rose to his feet.

"You really shouldn't say stuff like that."

'Why?'

"Hamato Yoshi!" a deep, imposing voice bellowed from above them, causing the four present to look up. "You have escaped my wrath for the last time!"

Above the group, hanging from a chain that was quickly lowering to the ground floor was a man dressed in what looked like a heavily modified suit of samurai armor, every surface covered in some type of blade.

"That's why"

"I do not wish to fight you, Oroku Saki" Francesco's father, who Izuku guessed was named Hamato, shouted back as the man slammed into the ground.

"Then you will die!" The now named Oroku declared, swinging his arms out and causing elongated blades to extend from them.

"I feel like there's a story between those two." Izuku grumbled as the Rat man and blade freak launched towards each other, steel shrieking against steel in a shower of sparks.

"Several in fact, although which run of the series you go with changes several key variables."

'That doesn't make any sense.' Izuku thought as launched forward, aiming a fist for a chink in Oroku's armor, Francesco and Jonsey thinking like wise as they followed suite with Sumasata and Cricket Bat readied.

"It would if you could peer into the fifth dimension."

"So what's your battle plan?"

'Hit him until he stops moving.' Izuku thought as he landed a jab in Oroku's exposed armpit, knocking the man from his stalemate against Hamato, followed quickly by Francesco jabbing his spiked prongs at the base of the man's neck and Jonsey taking a swing at the back of his knees in an attempt to knock the man to the ground.

"That's rather simple."

'Simple is easy to change.' Izuku leapt back as Oroku took a falling swing at him, simultaneously swinging a bladed foot up at Francesco.

Francesco was forced to back off or risk getting slashed, allowing Oroku the space he needed to turn his backwards fall into a backflip.

Izuku glanced above the armored man's head, scowling as his health bar hadn't notably decreased. 'One percent punches may not be enough.'

"When is one percent ever enough for anything beyond milk?"

'It worked for the grunts.' Izuku argued, 'So I either need to up the output and hurt myself or use other skills.'

"Well, you have "Explosion" and "Transform" as quirks, although you haven't used the other at all yet. You also have your Fire Breath and Telekinesis skills."

"And the few magic spells you haven't used."

"Like at all."

'Magic is a no go; I'm not used to it enough to use it in a fight.' Izuku curled his fingers over his palms as he let sparks dance across them, 'Explosion, Fire Breath, and Telekinesis will have to be enough.'

"You better put that magic to use at some point, the programmers may patch it out."

'That's a bridge I'll cross when I'm not fighting a giant can opener.' Izuku launched forward, reveling far too much in using his friend's quirk as he slammed an explosive palm on one of the few smooth parts of Oroku's spiked armor, following it up with a double leg kick that Izuku used to put some distance between himself and the man.

"Don't say I didn't warn you."

'I appreciate it.' Izuku thought as he skidded across the ground, watching as Francesco and Jonsey both managed to land rattling strikes against Oroku's head, while Hamato took a swing at his arm in an attempt to disarm him.

Despite the double strike to his head, each blow enough to render a normal man unconscious by Izuku's guess, Oroku caught Hamato's blade, ripping it from the rat man's hand, flipping it into a proper grip and spinning in a deadly whirl of blades to repel the three.

"What is this guy made of?" Izuku asked as he glanced at the man's health bar, barely seeing a sliver of reduced health.

"No idea, I caught him in a dump truck compactor, and he showed up a couple weeks later fine." Jonsey grunted.

"I got him to drop a pier on himself after that, he managed to stay down for a month after that." Francesco added.

"... I left him in a burning mansion…" Hamato admitted.

"I will live as long as my will persists." Oroku growled, snapping Hamato's blade as if it were a twig.

'Alright, so it sounds like Fire Breath isn't going to be as effective. Any tips?' Izuku asked as Hamato pulled out twin sai and dashed forward, Francesco and Jonsey following.

"Again, Magic."

"But if you want to take a risk on something that has more passive bonuses you could take up that perk you got a while back."

'I think we're past the point of weak magic working.' Izuku grumbled, watching as Francesco narrowly avoided becoming a shish kebab due to his shell. 'I'll risk the perk.'

"Enjoy being allergic to light."

'Wait, what does that me-' Izuku hadn't even been able to finish the thought when pain erupted across his body, his veins feeling like they filled with fire.

He sucked in deep ragged breaths, pain was something he had almost forgotten with how his body was now, but this was a violent reminder.

He couldn't breath as he clutched his throat with hands that quickly became clawed, gasps for air punctuated by ember filled wheezes.

Izuku fell to the floor, he had forgotten how hunger felt but for the first time in two months he felt its wicked fangs gnaw at his insides.

"New Perk Demonic Blood unlocked"

Izuku's vision was turning red as his body tensed, barely registering the notification.

He dug clawed fingers into the ground as a shout of pain drew his attention back to the fight, finding that Hamato had managed to jab Oroku's eye.

Izuku's body seized as an aroma assaulted his senses, deepening the pit of hunger in Izuku's stomach at the delectable scent.

One for All crackled along Izuku's skin as he shot forward, boosted explosion's accelerating his hunger induced mad dash as he aimed for Oroku.

He slammed into the armored man, sending the two flying several feet back and into the warehouse wall.

Izuku ignored the blades that dug into his hands as he grabbed Oroku's helmet, ripping it off to expose a scared face and bleeding eye.

He lifted a blood covered fist, slamming it against the stunned man's head, raising his fist to repeat the action again, and again, and again.

When Oroku had grabbed Izuku by the neck his head was a mess of blood and flesh, one black eye blazing with rage among the sea of red.

Izuku felt a smirk split across his face as he grasped the spiked gauntlet that tried to suffocate him, the metal buckling under his grip. A sensation danced just beyond his senses, begging him to use it.

So, he obliged it.

"Skill obtained: Burning Demon Blood"

Something in Izuku took great pleasure in watching Oroku ignite, his face swallowed in flame as he threw Izuku, his roars of rage far quieter than Izuku had expected from a man burning alive.

Izuku moved to finish the man off, but with his first step his leg buckled beneath him, sending him sprawling to the ground.

Health: (10/200)

He felt the hunger and pain fade, allowing him to think more rationally and realize the dozen damage notifications he had let pile up from overusing One for All, as well as from Oroku's armor.

'Am I going to have to deal with that again?' Izuku silently asked his game, he couldn't even bring himself to move his head to watch how the others would handle the situation.

"If you mean going on a hunger and pain induced rampage, then I don't believe so."

"It seems there was a temporary status effect built into unlocking the perk, Gamers Body should keep you from a repeat of just now."

'Good.' Izuku felt his vision growing dark, 'Remind me not to do favors for homeless people without knowing what I need to do before I accept.'

Izuku didn't get a chance to read his system's response as the void swallowed his vision and he flowed down the sea of unconsciousness.

Sunday Early Morning, 220 days until U.A. Entrance Exam

"So how was your week?" Toshinori asked, breaking the silence of the morning train.

"I'd rather not do that again." Izuku sighed in frustration beneath an assorted mass of cloth he had wrapped himself in to protect from the sun's light, "I learned a lot, but it would've been nice if Hanryang or Shota hadn't abandoned me for most of it."

Toshinori looked over at the underground hero, who had been silent so far on their way back to Dagobah, the symbol of peace's ever-present grin slipping slightly. "So what exactly did you have to go through?"

"It was fairly uneventful all things considered," Izuku shrugged, "At least I know how to live off the streets."

"Although I almost got stabbed one night." Izuku raised a hand and began counting off the highlights of his week, "Then Hanryang hunted me for a day in a dangerous game of tag, After that, I helped a ninja wannabe with a turtle quirk try to save his dad from a man obsessed with blades. I also became a demon."

Toshinori turned to Shota, disbelief, disappointment, and frustration all fighting for a place on his face.

"In my defense," The scruffy hero raised a finger, "He was constantly watched to make sure he didn't get in over his head."

"And I leveled up three times," Izuku added, "This wasn't a wasted trip."

"Although I wish I had actually learned to dance." It was a bit hard to work on rhythm when he was busy trying to live on the streets.

"At least you got something out of this." Toshinori gave a small smile.

"So how did you convince Inko to let young Izuku out for this trip, Shota?" Toshinori turned back to the underground hero.

"I was supposed to tell her about this?"

Sunday Evening, 220 days until U.A. Entrance Exam

"...And that's why I'm having to tell you this through a phone call, Mom isn't letting me out of the house without her monitoring me." Izuku finished up his explanation, his cat Mandalay, purring on his chest all the while.

"I think that's the angriest I've ever heard your mother get." Katsumi marveled.

"Yeah, Toshinori is lucky he was able to shift most of the blame" Izuku chuckled, "Although buying Mom several pounds of sweets as an apology definitely helped."

"So are you ready for exam week?" Katsumi asked, causing Izuku to freeze.

"I'll take your silence as a no." Katsumi sighed.

"I completely forgot about those." Izuku ran a hand down his face, "what did I miss?"

"Well, this week was a review week so not much" He could hear Katsumi smirk, "Your lucky your grades are good, because missing half a month probably knocked you down a letter."

"Damn it…" Izuku groaned, "So how's your studying going?"

"Pretty good, me and Jiro had a couple of study sessions to make sure we've covered everything." Katsumi chuckled, "Jackie has some good tastes in music."

"When did you and Jiro start hanging out?" Izuku asked in confusion.

"Around the time you started disappearing every other week." Katsumi deadpanned.

"Good point," Izuku winced, "Anything I can do for an apology?"

"Honestly, I just want to hang out." He heard her sigh, "But there's only so much we can do at your house and I'd rather not have your mom be a helicopter parent."

"Can you really blame her for that?" He dryly chuckled.

"Hell no, I'm half tempted to handcuff us together just to make sure you don't do that shit again," Katsumi growled with no real malice.

"Oh, I bet she really likes the idea of putting you in handcuffs."

"Or she wants you to put her in handcuffs."

'Can you not, please?' Izuku silently begged the system before turning his attention back to Katsumi, "That's a bit much, isn't it?"

"So is disappearing for a week to live as a hobo."

"...I can't really argue that point."

"Of course you can't, I'm right." Katsumi scoffed.

Before Izuku could respond, he felt his phone start to vibrate, "Hold up Kacchan, I'm getting a call."

"Fuck your ca-" Izuku but the blond on hold while he switched to the new call.

"What's up All Might?"

"I just wanted to check up on you, my boy!" Toshinori responded boisterously, "And I wanted to see if you were interested in training with an idea I had to help boost your charisma!"

"I'd love to, but Mom's put me on house arrest." Izuku did like the idea of raising one of his stats, but he worried what it would take to raise charisma considering what had earned him points before.

"I believe your mother will be fine with what I have in mind" Toshinori chuckled like he knew the joke was going to be the punchline of, "Unless I've completely misread her that is."

"Please tell me I'm not going to end up homeless again." Izuku pleaded.

"I hadn't planned on it, although Shota did want me to tell you your membership in the NHA is official if you ever want to use their services." Toshinori commented, causing Izuku to groan, "No, my idea is dependent on a question I have about your friends."

"Ok?" Izuku's brows knit together in confusion, he felt like his teacher was trying to avoid outright saying his idea.

"How many female friends do you have?" Toshinori asked, Izuku couldn't quite place the tone his teacher had.

"Three, although I think I can be on good enough terms with three others to become their friends," Izuku answered, doing a quick headcount. Izuku idly realized he no longer had any male friends. "Why is that relevant to raising my-"

Izuku cut himself off as he made a guess at what his teacher was getting at. "No."

"You haven't heard my idea!" Toshinori objected to Izuku's abrupt response.

"You want me to try and date one of my friends!" Izuku accused.

"...I was going to suggest trying to date all of them." Toshinori softly coughed.

"Why would I do that?" Izuku recoiled, "Why would I put any of the friendships I have at risk for something so lame?"

"If I remember correctly you have feelings for one of them already." Toshinori pointed out, "So at the very least you should act on those feelings."

"Yeah, I like Katsumi." Izuku had to admit, although he didn't voice the other names that came to his mind as well, "But I don't want to possibly make things awkward between us if things don't work out."

"It's only a suggestion my boy, one I believe would help you if acted on." Toshinori's voice softened.

"I'll think about it, but I don't think I have the confidence to ask anyone out." Izuku sighed.

"It's a leap of faith my boy!" Toshinori boisterously laughed, "I'll let you enjoy your evening now."

"Thanks," Izuku grumbled as his mentor hung up. "Are you still there Kacchan?"

"So where are you taking me for my date?" She asked, causing Izuku to choke on his spit.

"You heard that?" Izuku wheezed out in between coughs.

"Yeah, you merged the calls, dumbass." Katsumi chuckled, "But seriously, where are you taking me."

"You're welcome ;p"

"You're rather calm about this." Izuku tried to avoid answering the question while he glared at the floating screen.

"I literally confessed to you not even a fucking month ago half-naked at two an in the damn morning" Katsumi deadpanned, "I thought that was a pretty blatant "date me" signal."

"I have no idea where to take you." He lamely answered.

"We can figure that out after finals." Izuku had to suppress a groan at the reminder, "So unless you don't want to go on a date I'm fine with doing something next week."

"No, I want to date you." Izuku felt like he could cook a can of soup with how hot his face was burning now.

"Good." Katsumi confirmed in a forced neutral voice, her tone taking a teasing note as she asked, "So I know Kyoka and Tsuyu are the other two ladies you're likely to ask, who are the other three?"

"Other two, I'm almost completely sure Habuko is crushing on Tsuyu." She really was a nice girl, but Izuku's phobia made their friendship already difficult. "I barely know the other two."

He remembered Ochako was pretty cute when he had dinner with her family, which he could probably get closer to her by helping her dad's company out again.

Toga was… if he was honest with himself he did find Toga attractive but dating her seemed equally dangerous.

Well, he had the quest to encourage him.

"Now you're thinking like a gamer!"

"Shame, I'm down with sharing you but only if the others aren't complete asses."

"I think that's because of a perk I have."

"Yeah, sure it is." He could all but hear Katsumi roll her eyes, "So you actually going to man up and ask Tsuyu and Jiro out on dates, or do you think this call will be enough?"

In a moment of panic, Izuku pulled his phone from his ear to check the screen, the howling laughter of Katsumi mocking him.

"Ha-ha, real cute Kacchan." He deadpanned.

"I'm fucking adorable." Her smirk was almost audible, "But you didn't answer my question."

"See you at school tomorrow." Izuku smirked as he heard Katsumi shout a "wai-!" before he hit the hang-up button.

"Looks like we have a badass over here!"

'Can't I enjoy my small victories?'

"Not as long as I'm around xp"

-Omake: Kodoku-

"The world is against you"

It was the first thing she remembered him saying to her.

"Everyone in this world is your enemy," She could remember the smile on his face when he said that, "Even someone who seems to be a friend today will be your foe tomorrow."

She remembered how soft his hand had felt, yet firm around her own small fingers, "I am your only ally, for this world is cruel to those like us."

It had been dark when he first carried her there, "You may think me cruel, but everything I do from here on out is to prepare you for the world."

She had hated him for so long when he left her there. "You and I were born to be powerful, and they will try to tear you down for it."

But she saw the wisdom he had tried to impart, "You will have to struggle if you wish to stand on your own."

This was her third time in the jar, she knew how it would go. "You will have to seep in the shadows if you wish to conquer the light."

Stone grinding on stone brought her back to the present, hair standing on end as she prepared for what was to come. "Some say you must gather allies to thrive in this world."

Claws grew from her fingers as her flesh hardened, her eyes growing sharper in the low light, even still just barely able to distinguish the exposed brains of her foes. "But an ally is just someone who can stab you in the back!"

She knew she couldn't make the first move, she had been reprimanded for that after her first time in the jar some years ago. "So we must stand on our own, so that we may never turn on ourselves!"

"Remember this my darling Kodoku, United they will stand."

She would do as he wanted.

She would consume every other bug in the jar.

She would take what made her foes deadly and strengthen herself with it.

She would make the deadliest poison for him.

She would stand at the top.

She was Kodoku, the world was her enemy.

"Divided they will fall." Kodoku finished with a mutter, diving into the fray.

And before anyone asks, yes, the Omake is cannon.

I'm horrible at estimating what people gather from my writing, so if you figured out what was going on, then have a cookie, if you didn't, then hopefully I'll focus on this story long enough to let you figure it out in hindsight.

Honestly, I really appreciate all the positive feedback I get from you guys in the comments since I have a bad habit of stalling mid-scene while writing, which has definitely happened in the last two chapters.

So I'm probably about to fuck up the pace of my story and get to the UA entrance exam in the next couple of chapters since there's still a good couple months left, my current expectation is for it to be Chapter 10 where we actually start hitting plot.

Anyways, Have a good whatever now.

To those who are eating their cookies, good job, but knowing Sceptical we're getting to the first Nomu or whatever checkpoint he's made up in 2022 and then the stories going on Hiatus.

Sceptical if you do it to this story like you did the last you can expect to see a large bounty on your head soon enough.

Sincerely

-The Editor

Have a good Christmas!