* AN: Great thanks to my friend Skelekitty for his help in polishing this chapter.
Disclaimer: I DO_NOT own "Boku no Hero Academia". No profit is being made.
Boku no Hero Academia :: Spectral Arms
"You want me to do what?" Izuku asked in shock as he eyed mountains of trash covering the Takoba Municipal Beach Park. There was no way someone like him could clean this place up in just ten months. The task All Might had set before him would be difficult even for someone who possessed a strength-enhancing Quirk; for someone with a weak Quirk like 'Ghost Arms' it was all but completely impossible.
Not to say that Izuku didn't like his Quirk - being able to project four spectral arms that could hold things for him was quite handy - but he knew the limits of his power. And with his Quirk's weight limit of about one hundred fifty grams per arm, it definitely wasn't suited for moving heavy pieces of scrap metal around.
"I didn't know you have trouble with hearing, young Midoriya." All Might, currently in his desiccated form spoke louder than normally. "I said I..." This was as far as he managed to get before his green-haired protégé interrupted him.
"I can hear you just fine." Annoyed Izuku said, even forgetting for a moment that he was talking to his idol. The said idol meanwhile was making an almost-cartoonish face because of his embarrassment. "I just don't understand how you expect me to clean all this trash up in the time we have before the UA entrance exam."
"It certainly looks daunting." All Might replied. "But I did make sure that you would be able to do it if you follow my 'American Dream' Training Plan to the letter." Seeing that Izuku was still not convinced, he added: "It might indeed be impossible to accomplish within the time limit as you're now, but you're forgetting that your training doesn't yield its results only at its end, young Midoriya. Every day you train, you will be getting stronger. And for that new and improved you, clearing this beach will be quite feasible." Izuku thought over that for a few long seconds before deciding to trust his mentor.
"Alright." He said. "Let's do it. Plus ultra!"
"That's the spirit." All Might cheered him up.
~/ *** \~
Just like Izuku knew, his Quirk wasn't helping him much in clearing the beach. The most he could do with it was picking up small pieces of trash that fell off whatever pile he was moving to the truck at the moment. It saved him maybe a few seconds here and there. Still, those seconds added up over weeks and months, enough that he finished clearing the beach a whole week 'early'.
"Congratulations, young Midoriya." All Might boomed, actually taking his hulking hero-form for the occasion. "With your hard work, you've managed to restore this place to its former glory. I'm proud of you." Izuku was doing his best not to burst into tears under his idol's praise. "And I believe you're now ready to take up the sacred torch of 'One for All' and become its ninth bearer." The man then plucked one of his hairs and offered it to the green-haired teen. "Here, eat this."
"W-What?" The said teen asked as he did a double take at this rather bizarre turn of events.
"You need to take in some of my DNA for the Quirk to transfer to you." All Might explained.
"Well… I guess that makes sense." Izuku replied as he took the man's hair and eyed it cautiously. "Alright." He said after a pause. "Here goes nothing." And he ate the hair. It was disgusting and he'd rather never do something like that again. "I don't feel anything different." He said after a couple of minutes.
"Your body needs to break down and assimilate it. It should take a few hours." Japan's #1 Hero replied. "Why don't we do some light training while we're waiting for that to happen?" He suggested then. Izuku nodded and began going through his 'warm up' exercises.
For a few hours everything was normal. Then, something happened: as he was running his third lap across the beach, Izuku felt a little faint. Since he wasn't doing anything really strenuous, the green-haired boy didn't pay that much mind. That turned out to be a mistake. Not a minute later he ended up face-first in the sand as he suddenly and inexplicably fainted.
When Izuku woke up, he found himself in an unfamiliar medical facility. It was also nighttime already, as there was no light coming from the windows.
"Oh, you're finally awake, sonny?" A short, gray-haired woman asked as she looked up from whatever paperwork she was doing. It took Izuku a few moments to recognize who she was.
"You're the Youthful Heroine, Recovery Girl!" He blurted out. "I-.. I'm honored. I wish I had my notebook with me for you to autograph!" The old lady smiled at him.
"Looks like you're fine now, sonny." She said. "Still, you gave that big oaf quite a scare when you suddenly fainted without any noticeable cause. Speaking of which..." She picked up her phone and dialed All Might up to inform him that his protégé woke up. A couple of minutes later, the said Hero - currently in his desiccated form - burst into the room.
"Young Midoriya!" He cried. "You're awake! Thank god. What happened to you?"
"That is something I would like to know as well." Recovery Girl seconded his question. "I might have not known Toshinori back when 'One for All' was transferred to him, but I know that nothing like this had happened to him."
"W-Well…" Izuku began. "I don't know why I've fainted, but when I did, I found myself in some strange dark void. There were a few silhouettes around me - seven with an eighth looking like it just began forming. They were talking about something, but I couldn't understand a word of what they were saying." This made both adults look at him in wonder.
"That sounds almost like you've met echoes of the previous bearers of 'One for All'." All Might said. "But…" He continued. "I don't think anything like that had ever happened to me in all the years I had the Quirk."
"And when they were done talking, one of them - I believe it was a man - addressed me." Izuku continued his tale. "He said something about the singularity before telling me to take his Quirk, 'Blackwhip' I think he called it, and make it my own. Then something black exploded from him and flew at me and… The next thing I know I wake up here." He said.
"Hm…" Recovery Girl hummed. "If 'One for All' somehow altered your original Quirk, it would actually explain those strange readings I got while examining you. But the only instance of two Quirks merging together that I know of is the birth of 'One for All' from a Transference and a Power Stockpiling Quirks."
"I'll look up the previous bearers of 'One for All'." All Might volunteered. "I know only about my master, but I should be able to dig some information about those before her. Knowing the name of a Quirk one of them had would make this task much easier." Izuku only nodded, not really knowing what to say.
"In the meantime,.." The Youthful Heroine continued. "Let us see if your Quirk had been altered somehow, Midoriya-san." She then turned to her computer and brought up Izuku's entry into the Quirk Registry. "'Ghost Arms', right? It allows you to produce up to four ghostly arms from your body. They have the size and movement range of normal arms but can't lift things that are heavier than about one hundred grams."
"That must be a bit outdated. My current limit is about one hundred and thirty grams per arm." Izuku replied, while making a mental note to update his entry in the Quirk Registry.
"Let's see what became of your 'Ghost Arms'." Recovery Girl said. Nodding, the green-haired teen activated his Quirk and immediately noticed that the spectral arms it gave him looked quite differently now. Whereas they were almost transparent bluish-white before, they looked like they were made of dark smoke - or, perhaps, storm clouds - now. There even were some tiny green lightnings arching between the tiny 'clouds'.
"This is definitely something new." Izuku observed somewhat detachedly.
"Try lifting this, sonny." The UA's nurse said as she placed a thick notebook on the table next to the bed he was currently sitting on. The green-haired teen tried to pick it up and immediately noticed that his spectral arms no longer were moving like regular arms would. Now, he could move them freely, bending and curving them in the ways flesh would never allow to. And when got around to actually picking up the notebook, he applied the amount of force he thought he'd normally need - this turned out to be a complete overkill as his spectral arms were also hundreds of times stronger now. "Interesting." Recovery Girl observed.
"I think we should focus on re-mastering your own Quirk in the time we have before the entrance exam, Midoriya-shounen." All Might said. "If 'One for All' had empowered it to this degree, you might not even need super-strength to pass the exam and we can work on that afterwards."
"A-Alright." Izuku agreed.
"Right now, though, I believe I need to drive you home. It's quite late already and your mother must be getting worried about you." That prediction turned out to be quite an understatement...
~/ *** \~
As Izuku spent the next few days learning what his upgraded Quirk could do, he quickly found out that it indeed became way more powerful. Even more so than that small test Recovery Girl gave him would suggest.
For one, while he still could produce only four spectral arms, those could now stretch up to about fifteen meters and bend in ridiculous ways. One time, Izuku tied his spectral arm into a knot and could still use it perfectly fine.
His weight limit on spectral arms also shot through the roof. Instead of a little over hundred grams, it was nearly half of a ton now. And, surprisingly, even when lifting something so heavy, Izuku himself wasn't experiencing any issues with balance. It was like forces didn't transfer through his spectral arms. And since they were kind-of solid, it gave him an idea.
Turns out, trying to tank even a weak punch from All Might was not a great idea, but at least he confirmed that he could use his Quirk to shield himself. Recoil from taking a big hit could be a bitch, but it was definitely better than letting that hit actually land on him. Oh, and spectral arms appeared to be almost indestructible to normal blunt force.
This led to Izuku trying to find out what else his spectral arms could withstand. And when he stuck one of them into fire, he discovered that it actually got enhanced by the element and he could now deliver fiery punches with that spectral arm. A similar effect could be achieved with electricity, and it lasted for as long as the arm was out.
And then the green-haired teen learned that he could also produce tendrils of the same smoky 'substance' from his spectral arms and even just from his body. According to All Might, this was actually what 'Blackwhip' - the Quirk of Daigoro Banjo, the fifth wielder of 'One for All' - originally was like and it could be used to restrain targets, drag them around or to anchor the user to surfaces. Izuku also managed to swing from one lamppost to another using the 'Blackwhip' tendrils, though it required too much precise control at his current level to be a usable mobility skill.
All in all, 'Ghost Arms' got upgraded into a very powerful and versatile Quirk which could easily let Izuku become a pro-Hero. Even without super-strength and super-speed. And 'One for All' hadn't given him those yet for some reason - something that left All Might completely baffled as it all was completely unlike his own experiences with that Quirk.
Anyhow, the last week before UA's entrance exam was soon over and the time for Izuku to show that he had what it takes to enter a Hero School arrived.
~/ *** \~
"Out of my way, extras!" Katsuki in his typical fashion pushed through the masses of those who came to take the UA Hero Course's entrance exam. And as Izuku had the misfortune of actually being in the explosive teen's way, Bakugo gave him a loathing glare before shoving him to the side. Thankfully, Izuku had his new-and-improved 'Ghost Arms' to steady himself. Otherwise, he'd have probably ended up in a heap on the ground.
The written test was long and difficult and by its end Izuku felt like his brain was wrung dry of any intelligent thoughts. And immediately after the papers were collected, he and other applicants were guided into a large auditorium where Present Mic explained the practical portion of the entrance exam. Apparently, it was a mock battle against an army of robots, some worth more points than others.
The Voice Hero's explanation was interrupted by a tall, blue-haired bespectacled boy who asked why the booklet listed four kinds of robots when only three have been announced by the examiner right now. Turns out, the fourth kind of robots was not worth any points and existed simply to make the examinees' life more difficult. The bespectacled boy also chastised Izuku for mumbling nervously under his breath and told him to take the exam seriously and stop distracting others, or going home.
And, of course, Izuku ended up being assigned to the same testing area as that boy. At least they didn't ride the same bus there.
"Alright, listeners!" Present Mic's voice boomed from the loudspeakers. "Your practical test starts… NOW!" Just as he said that, gates leading into a mock-up city opened. Yet, barely anyone moved, too surprised by this. "What are you all waiting for? Go go go!"
Being one of the first to snap out of his shock, Izuku rushed into the testing area, using 'Blackwhip' to pull himself towards the buildings there with speed only few other examinees could match. Had he looked back, he'd have seen a few people, who had assumed that his nervousness meant that he was weak and would utterly fail the exam, stare at his receding form in complete disbelief. They definitely hadn't expected him to possess a power like that.
Once inside the city, Izuku quickly found a small group of single-pointer robots who immediately began moving towards him while spewing typical overconfident villain lines. Then they went completely dead when he crushed their mechanical heads with spectral arms. Not seeing any other robots in his immediate vicinity, Izuku took off to another area.
Over the next couple of minutes he managed to beat two three-pointers, a single two-pointer and five more one-pointer robots, bringing his total score up to eighteen. Unfortunately, it looked like he wasn't doing any better than others in the testing area and needed to pick up the pace if he actually wanted to pass the exam.
Turning around the corner, he saw an unmemorable blue-haired girl with a water manipulation Quirk trying to fend off a group of four two-pointers without much success. And the girl was so busy trying to deal with the robotic foes coming at her from the front that she failed to notice a single three-pointer sneaking towards her from behind. Somewhere deep down Izuku knew that the robots were programmed not to hurt anyone seriously, but right now that was eclipsed by his heroic instincts screaming at him to save the girl. And so he sprung into action.
Quickly grabbing the sneaking three-pointer with his spectral arms, the green-haired teen threw it into the nearest wall before tearing it apart with 'Blackwhip' tendrils. This sudden commotion startled the girl, causing her to lose control over her water, thus leaving her pretty much completely defenseless against the remaining robots. Not the one to leave someone in such a precarious situation, Izuku went on to attack the two-pointers next. The armor-clad machines were quite tough, but his Quirk was stronger and with some effort he managed to crush the robots into piles of scrap metal.
The girl, however, didn't appear to be very thankful for his rescue. Or was that because she'd rather he didn't 'steal' those points from her? Either way, it didn't look like he was making any friends here, so Izuku moved on to another part of the mock city.
The next four minutes saw Izuku destroying another three-pointer, two two-pointers and six one-pointers, thus bringing his total score up to forty one. Which was apparently pretty good as most people he came across had thirty or less. Then, just as the ninth minute of the exam started, the entire area shook violently as a huge robot rose from the ground. It was easily twenty meters tall and so wide that it could barely fit on the streets of the mock city.
"So, that's the zero-pointer, huh?" Izuku observed. "I can see why Present Mic said we should just avoid it."
For a little while the gigantic machine remained motionless. Then it began to slowly roll towards the entrance into the testing grounds, almost immediately causing one of the buildings to collapse. Izuku was about to dismiss the whole thing and continue hunting for more points in the areas safely away from this behemoth, but then he saw a number of examinees fleeing from the zero-pointer. And it immediately made him wonder whether everyone managed to get away from that collapsing building safely. Thus, much like a Hero he wanted to become, he instead headed there to investigate.
And almost immediately upon reaching the 'central street', he saw that there was a brunette girl, apparently caught under the fallen concrete blocks. Wasting no more time, he went straight to the girl.
"Are you alright?" He asked.
"I think… my ankle is broken." The girl replied, indeed sounding like she was in quite a bit of pain. Nodding to himself, Izuku brought out all four of his spectral arms and had them take a hold of the concrete block that was entrapping the girl.
"I'm going to lift this thing now." He said. "Can you try to move out of the way then? It looks to be heavy enough that I'll need all of my power to lift it." The girl nodded. Taking a moment to focus, the green-haired teen did his best to heave the block. And with some effort he succeeded in lifting it. "N-Now." The girl immediately rolled to the side and away from under the concrete slab. As soon as she was in the clear, Izuku let go of his burden and a moment later it crashed onto the ground, creating large clouds of concrete dust. "I'm going to carry you to the area entrance now." He said then, gently lifting the girl.
"A-Alright." The girl replied as he took off towards the exit from the testing grounds.
~/ *** \~
Even though he was quite certain he had scored enough points to pass the exam, Izuku was still a nervous wreck as he waited for his results to arrive. All Might suddenly going silent and not answering any messages or calls didn't help him either.
Finally, after what felt like ages, a letter from UA finally arrived. Inside, there was a bunch of official forms and a holo-projector disk. And while the forms kind of suggested that he indeed got accepted - why UA would send those otherwise? - Izuku still decided to see what the message on the projector was first.
And as soon as he turned it on, he was greeted by the visage of Japan's number one Hero.
"Greetings, Midoriya-shounen!" All Might's voice boomed. "I'm here with your entrance exam results! You've gotten an impressive ninety four percent on the written exam, and during the practical test you manage to score forty one villain points. That is already enough to get you into the Hero Course, but that's not all." The man paused dramatically, before continuing: "Fighting is not all that Heroes do. Your actions during the practical test were observed by a panel of judges, and for the help you've given to other examinees, you've been awarded additional thirty five rescue points, bringing your final score up to seventy six. Congratulations, Midoriya-shounen, and welcome to your Hero Academia!"
"I did it." Izuku said. "I did it!" He repeated much louder. "I DID IT!" He finally yelled, as if trying to tell the entire neighborhood that he got one step closer to his greatest dream.
