To Be A Hero

by Pikaboo73

Izuku's only wish was to become a hero, and with the help of his idol, All Might, he's coming closer to that dream. But someone else is joining him on that adventure, someone by the name of Enso Ureshi. He's not joining Izuku to become a hero, instead, he wishes to help Izuku become strong enough to face a threat coming to his world. (Romance,Harem, better than the summary sounds.)

61. Challenged Progression

~{Author's Pre-Notes}~

Phew... Alright, this chapter took a while to finish up, but I'm pretty happy with how it turned out... I think. It's probably the longest battle here that I'm not too sure of. But hey, I'm feeling pretty positive about the dialogue in this chapter cracking some people up! And as for why this chapter took longer to finish, I was dealing with assignments and exams, as always, but now finished another quarter of school! Yay! So I used my whole week of vacation to try working on chapters!

Yup... Just one week.

That's all we get before we move onto the next quarter of school... And while I can say I doubt things will get much slower in working on the fic when going back, it's still gonna be troublesome. But hey, what's important right now is that I've finally gotten another chapter out, so enjoy!

Answered Comments (Oldest to Most Recent):

Exia Zero: Glad to know that you enjoy Enso being... Enso! I hope you enjoy even more useless banter from him here! And god damn, a goalie for street hockey? Sounds painful. And I don't think Enso would have a personal list of people to beat up, probably. Heh, who knows?

PasiveNox: Thank you, but I'd love to hear more of your personal thoughts on it, like what you liked or disliked on chapters. Helps me a lot!

Madko Ota Sanchez V2: Oh boy how I love being sued. That sounds like fun.

blue grimmoire: You're welcome as always, but I'd love to hear more detailed thoughts from you about what you enjoyed from chapters. Those are usually the best feedback.

greengoblin12: Thank you! I'm glad I made something you really enjoyed! I'd love for you to continue commenting on what you think of retypes with each one that comes out. All feedback is helpful!

5AT05H1L1NK: Thanks for commenting and yeah, Enso's Snipe Style is themed on firearms. I'm actually proud of that. And oho? Are you sure he has enough water for all his beautiful roses? Hehehehehe.

Guest: I'm guess you mean the first part of Gon's transformation when he turns completely black? Cause if so, yeah, I see what you mean. But Izuku's body is usually visible and doesn't really change when Ikari takes over. It's more of just an added aura and eye changes rather than a complete transformation.

Extra: The concepts are interesting, and they give me some of my own ideas as to what moves and names would fit Izuku and Ikari together, but I definitely won't be using those exact names. I've also already been coming up with new Ikari-infused smashes, with one you'll see in prob the next chapter. At least you've shown that you've got some creativity in you. Thanks for commenting.

fpinheiro: Well sorry that you've had to wait this long!

Atomic11: Glad you really enjoyed that chapter! But in all honesty, based on what I heard someone say before, I actually doubt now that Izuku has some sort of Stockholme Syndrome, but at this point, I ain't going back to change chapters again, lol. Hope you enjoy this chapter!

TQ679: Well sorry to keep you waiting!

Guest: Huh, nice quote, fits a lot with what Ikari told Izuku before when he was all angry murderous state.

Guest: You never know, maybe two younglings can take down a whole buff ass teacher that can decimate buildings with a swat of his hand.

Guest: Yeah, I never watched Naruto, that a problem? I'm sensing some judgment and a bit of an exaggeration here. So what if I never watched it? It's just how it is.

Guest: Hell yeah I've seen all the recent chapters of MHA. But as for if this fic will reach the war arc, I'm not too sure.

---

~{Monitoring Room}~

"Congratulations on passing! Both of you were amazing!"

Izuku welcomed Momo and Todoroki as the two entered the room. Tokoyami and Shinso glanced back at them with polite nods while Tsu and Iida gave them big smiles.

Everyone noticed that Momo was in the brightest mood as she approached Izuku, her conversation with Todoroki still lingering.

"Thank you, Izuku." She beamed with a bubbly smile.

As for Todoroki, he immediately made a beeline for Enso and Iida, a glint of seriousness in his otherwise stoic eyes.

"What happened there?" Enso immediately whispered, referring to when Aziawa had ambushed them.

Todoroki remained silent as he snuck a glance back at Izuku, who was currently praising Momo.

Enso caught on and let out a sigh.

"Good grief, I thought she'd let it go... What did you tell her?"

Todoroki turned back to him.

"I told her that Midoriya would be fine."

"..."

Enso narrowed his eyes. "Should I be concerned?"

"Take a look and tell me."

He did just that, turning his head to the genuinely smiling Momo conversing with Izuku.

"..."

He turned back and looked up at the screen.

"Yo, Todoroki. Nice shot." Shinso approached, patting his shoulder with a smirk.

"I wasn't aiming there."

"You should be." Enso suggested.

"No." Todoroki immediately deadpanned.

"Uuuuuuuuh, guys?" Ikari was floating beside Izuku while staring up at the screen above. "Pink-skin and Short Circuit are... kinda in trouble."

"Oh yeah, they're screwed." Dark Shadow nodded.

Everyone focused their eyes up to the screen, to which surprise and worry took place to see structure after structure suddenly crashing down.

Izuku repeatedly blinked in confusion.

"Wait... Wasn't their opponent Principal Nezu?"

---

~{Meanwhile}~

"WHAT THE FUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!?"

Kaminari screamed from the top of his lungs as he and Mina ran for their lives. The two ran in the same training area Izuku first formally introduced Ikari to the class, Ground Gamma, an industrial area full of steel pipes and machinery.

And behind them, said pipes and machinery were crashing down violently with explosions.

"What the hell is happening!?" Mina panicked as the two leaped over some debris, then turning a corner.

"I don't know!? But Nezu's gotta be doing this, right!?" Kaminari shouted over the crashing behind him.

"How!?" Mina shouted.

In the crane that held swung a large wrecking ball, Nezu sat comfortably in the driver's seat. The intelligent principal used a paw to pull a joystick to direct the weaponized crane while the other held a cup of warm tea he occasionally sipped from.

"Ah, the sounds of panicked humans. How delightful~" Nezu sighed in bliss, jerking the joystick in several directions and sending the wrecking ball crashing into a building, causing yet another chain reaction of destruction.

"To have the students with the lowest IQ of their class paired against the most intelligent being in the world, how satisfyingly cruel!"

Nezu was grinning ear to ear as he watched the several explosions he was causing while Mina and Kaminari kept running forward, the two desperately trying to catch a break.

"And if they don't combine their IQ to think of a way out of this situation, then I'll just keep enjoying myself!"

Nezu's eyes became somewhat crazed as he took a menacing sip of his tea, then lowering it as his laughter started building up.

"Are you watching me, Enso-kun!? Are you enjoying this!? We should play sometime! My intelligence vs. your experience! Who will triumph and make the other grovel on his knees!? Would you be able to outsmart me!? Or would I crush all of your hopes and dreams!? Oh, how FUN IT WOULD BE! WOULDN'T IT!? HAHAHAHAHA!"

---

The class had turned pale and stared completely blank at the screen, unbelieving of what they were witnessing from their principal.

As for Enso, he had a straight-faced expression as he listened to the maniacal laughter.

"Hm... How about... no?"

"What a frightening demeanor..." Tokoyami uttered.

"Yeah... He's, um... a little messed up in the head." Ikari stared.

"I think we should've already known that..." Dark Shadow sweatdropped.

---

"Kaminari! In here!" Mina shouted for her friend to go through a melted hole she created in a wall, the two then running indoors.

"Jeez! Where do we even go!?" Kaminari panted as two ran through what appeared to be a replica of a factory.

"The exit gate, of course!" Mina answered.

"Not what I meant! I was talking about what direction!?"

"I don't know!"

"DAMN IT!"

Suddenly, a violent crash had the walls and roof start collapsing behind them, making both teens squeal in fear.

"I'm too young to die! I'm still a virgin!" Kaminari shouted while comedically crying.

"I'm pretty sure we all are! Don't think you're special!" Mina shouted back to him as the two dove through an open window and got back on the road.

Kaminari rolled upon landing before immediately getting up with a look of shock.

"EH!? So you haven't boned Midoriya yet!?"

"DO YOU WANT TO GET MELTED!?"

---

"Wait, what did he just say?" Izuku blinked in confusion.

"Hey, Midoriya. Want to see my limited edition All Might figure collection?" Todoroki immediately cut in with a raise of his phone.

Izuku turned to him with sparkling eyes, mentally shoving aside what he had just heard from Kaminari.

"You have an All Might collection too!?"

The rest of the room sweatdropped while turning their heads away in some relief.

"Nice save Todoroki, but... do you always just have those on your phone?" Enso wondered with a question mark forming above him.

---

Mina had a lilac blush on her cheeks but didn't have time to act embarrassed. She gritted her teeth as explosion after explosion occurred behind her and Kaminari, the two once again outrunning the oncoming disasters.

Kaminari turned to her as they ran, still looking shocked by what he learned. "Sorry! I just thought that-!"

"Shut it, Kaminari! Focus on not dying!" Mina snapped as the two ran and jumped over cones in sync.

"My bad! But good luck! In general, I mean! I ship you two the most! Gotta love the curly-hair duo!" He cheered with a thumbs up.

"Thanks, but WOULD YOU JUST SHUT UP AND RUN!?" Mina shouted, feeling both her frustration and embarrassment grow.

The two turned a corner and then ran into another empty building, running across as they heard the destruction behind them suddenly start to fade.

Mina glanced behind her and saw that the toppling destruction wasn't following them anymore, then skidding to a halt as she caught her breath.

Kaminari did the same, panting as he looked back and heard silence emerge.

"Do... Do you think Nezu lost track of us?"

Mina didn't answer yet as she glanced in all directions, listening for any oncoming destruction.

"I... I think?"

Kaminari then stuck his arms up in the air in relief.

"Finally! I thought for sure we were gonna-!"

*Creak!*

Both froze with their expressions as well.

*Crack!*

"..."

"RUUUUUUUUUN!"

They only ran three steps before the building collapsed all around them.

A horn then blared over the sound of the crumbling building.

---

"Team Kaminari and Ashido retires due to time running out."

Izuku had been excitedly rambling to Todoroki when he heard this, abruptly stopping and turning his head to the screen in shock.

"Wh-What?"

"They failed... I guess that's what happens when the two dumbest kids go up against the biggest brain guy..." Ikari sighed, having formed into a small snake around Izuku's neck.

"Agreed." Enso nodded.

"Man, you guys are ruthless." Shinso chuckled.

"Are we wrong, though?" Enso glanced at him.

"Hey, I wasn't disagreeing."

The doors behind the group then opened up to reveal Ochako walking in, a shocked expression forming when she saw the screen.

"Kaminari and Mina lost?!"

"Sadly, they have." Momo nodded.

"The principal is more dangerous than I had ever assumed..." Tokoyami muttered.

"And to think I barely passed too..." Ochako sighed, feeling bad for her two classmates.

"Well, congratulations on passing, Ochako! I'm really glad you did!" Izuku happily beamed.

Upon coming in contact with Izuku's eyes, Ochako's entire face poofed into scarlet red with a blank smile freezing up on her.

"Th-Th-Thanks."

Izuku formed a perplexed look when Ochako suddenly turned away from him, to which Tsu leaned close to her.

"Something wrong, Kero?"

Ochako stared at the ground and embarrassingly touched the tips of her fingers together.

"U-Um... N-Nothing! I-I just kinda figured out h-how... 'obvious' we all were..."

Tsu tilted her head with a question mark forming over it. "Kero?"

"Jiro and Koda are next." Momo declared as the screen suddenly changed, presenting a new area which was a landscape of trees.

"They're against Present Mic, right?" Shinso recalled.

"Indeed. This battle is going to be painful." Enso remarked.

"Team Jiro and Koda. Exam, commence!"

---

~{Fifteen Minutes In}~

"REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

Kyoko and Koda covered their ears from the intense shouting of Present Mic's quirk.

The two were hiding behind some boulders to somehow block out some of the loud vibrations, although it proved to be futile.

"UGH! IF THIS KEEPS UP, OUR EARDRUMS WILL BURST!" Kyoka yelled as pain burned through her head.

Koda covered his own ears in pain, the animal speaker curling into a small ball to shut out the noise.

Waiting right by the exit gait, Present Mic finish yelling and took a deep breath, then squirting some water from a bottle into his mouth. He quickly gargled it before spitting it out and releasing a sigh.

"Man, this is boring..." He twisted his finger into his ear as he smacked his lips.

He then leaned his head back before screaming in English-

"OOOOOOOOOOOOH NOOOOOOOOOO!"

"UGH!" Kyoka clutched her head tightly with her eyes and ears shut, Koda doing the same.

After a few seconds, the screaming faded out, finally allowing a small break for the student's eardrums.

Kyoka immediately turned to her currently shivering partner.

"Koda! Can't you talk to the animals to do something about Mic!?"

Koda shook his head in dismissal, and through a variety of hand movements, he explained that Mic's quirk would just scare them away.

"God damn it! We're stuck! Koda can't talk to the animals, and there's no way I can overpower Mic in terms of noise! He's too loud!"

"HOOOOOOLY SHIIIIIIIIIIT!" Mic's scream came once again in English as it roared through the area, causing the students to clutch their ears once more.

"NGGH! I CAN'T DEAL WITH THIS!" Kyoka screamed.

After a few seconds, the screaming died down once more, leaving both Kyoka and Koda panting in pain.

"Think Kyoka, think! What can you do to get out of this!? What would Greeny do in my shoes!?"

Kyoka's eyes shot in all directions, examining the area and trying to figure out how to escape their situation.

"He'd looked at every little object, analyze everything, find something to synergize with our quirks!"

Kyoka didn't see any animals nearby. Made sense since they all must've run away from Mic's screaming. There wasn't anything she could interact with her own quirk, just the natural forest around her. She tried looking even closer, trying to see just what they could use to get through their predicament. But it was all the same where she looked. There were trees, plants, dirt, and...

Bugs.

Kyoka stopped when she saw something on a large stone next to her, catching sight of one new variable that could help her. A trail of ants made their way in a line, giving her an idea.

If Koda could control animals, then...

Her eyes widened as she turned to her partner.

"Koda! Can you control bugs!?"

The male abruptly turned to her in shock, then seeing Kyoka point to the ants climbing the stone.

To which he immediately turned pale and let out a high-pitched scream.

Kyoka blinked in surprise as Koda hid behind a tree, shaking in genuine fear.

"You're... scared of bugs?"

---

"Hmph, to be afraid of insects... He's missing out. They can be a delicacy if prepared right." Enso sighed in disappointment.

"..."

Everyone in the monitoring room paused as they processed those words, then turning blue in shock with their heads turning to Enso.

Izuku, in particular, was lifelessly staring at him.

"You're... not planning to include bugs in any future meals, are you?"

"..."

"Hold up-"

---

"OOOOOOOOH MYYYYY GOOOOOOOOOOOD!" Mic's scream suddenly rushed through the area when Kyoka tried to talk to Koda, forcing her to suddenly cover her ears and clench her teeth together.

"ARGH! I'M GONNA GO INSANE!"

As the screaming died down again, Kyoka mustered her sanity to talk to her partner.

"KODA!"

The boy was covering his ears but turned in her direction.

"Just tell me if you can control bugs!"

Koda shivered but gave her a nod.

"Then-!"

Kyoka didn't waste any time puncturing her earphone jacks into the rock beside her. She used her quirk to unleash intense sound waves that vibrated the rock to the point of shattering it, revealing the party underneath.

On the ground where the rock had been, all sorts of insects and critters crawled around. From beetles, slugs, and even a spider, all scurried around in panic from being discovered.

Koda's scream echoed throughout the forest once more, frantically shaking his head in fear.

"Koda! Look, you're our only hope!"

Koda paused and glanced over at Kyoka, his eyes widening in horror to see blood coming out of her ears.

Despite this, the girl was painfully smiling as she focused on him.

"I know you're afraid!" Koda noticed the reassuring tone in his partner's voice, "And that's okay!"

"I know someone who's been scared more times than you can count! He's been through so much since we've met him and even before that! Getting hurt, getting scared, dealing with all of that by himself! But despite that, no matter how bad things seems for him, he'd dive into trouble in a heartbeat if it meant helping someone! He'd fight anything scary if it meant saving even one person!"

Koda blinked as he realized that Kyoka was talking about Izuku. He, like many others, had seen the boy's accomplishments and knew that he was as selfless as a person can be.

"You want to be a hero too, don't you!? We all do! And being a hero means facing the things that scare us for the good of others! That's the type of hero he is! That's the kind of hero I want to be! And it's the kind of hero I know you can be! I know you can do this, Koda! So..."

She gave him a confident thumbs up.

"Let's pass this exam already!"

Koda still nervously shivered with his gaze focused on Kyoka's bleeding ears. If he didn't do anything, then the two would continue getting mauled with sound and would end up failing. They'd fail because he didn't act as a hero would in this situation.

He moved his gaze from her to the crawling bugs in the dirt, gulping nervously.

He knew what he had to do.

---

"Team Koda and Jiro have passed the exam."

Izuku and the others were completely blank-faced after watching several critters erupt from the ground under Present Mic's foot. What happened afterward was too disturbing to even start describing in detail.

"Th-That's mortifying Koji…" Izuku uttered out.

"I mean... it worked?" Enso muttered, curiously rubbing his chin.

The doors to the room opened up, to which a depressed Mina walked in with her head down.

"Ugh..."

The group glanced back to see the pink girl waddling towards them in defeat.

"M-Mina?" Izuku uttered, not used to seeing the girl look so down.

She stopped when she heard Izuku's voice, raising her head to reveal her comedically watery eyes.

"*Sniff* Mi... Midoriiiiiiiiii!"

She dove right at him.

"WHA-OOf!" Izuku felt the air get knocked out of him from Mina colliding into his chest, the two falling onto the floor.

"Nngh..." Izuku slightly pushed himself to sit up but nearly fell back when he felt Mina wrap her arms around his waist and stuff her face into his shirt.

"GAH! Mina!?" He found himself screaming rather loud as his face burned with red.

"Waaaaaah! Midori! I didn't pass!"

Both Ochako and Momo had dead gazes in their eyes as they stared down at the two, while Tsu just curiously tilted her head.

"Wha-!? M-Mina! Calm down!" Izuku stammered as he looked down at her, using his arms to prop himself up.

Mina just kept wailing as she looked up at Izuku with comedic tears going down her eyes.

"I *sniff* wanted to go to the camp with you!"

Iida came rushing in with a karate-chopping motion. "Ashido! This is inappropriate behavior for a student! Unhand Midoriya at once!"

Mina's crying stopped momentarily as she sent a hiss and glare at him.

"HEY! I'm healing here!"

Iida flinched and backed up cautiously.

The acid girl then once again stuffed her face on Izuku's chest, rubbing her cheek against it with small purrs emitting.

"IS SHE A CAT!?" Everyone deadpanned.

"Mina..." Izuku had his head down and had managed to lean forward enough to sit up without needing his arms, to which he then moved his hands to the girl's waist.

"EEP!" Mina wasn't expecting this, her face turning lilac as she froze with a nervous smile. He was getting rather bold, wasn't he? Not that she complained, but she still kept her face buried in Izuku's chest.

"Y-Yes!?"

What Izuku did next wasn't expected.

"P-Please... get... off!" With a surge of power, Izuku lifted Mina right off him, shooting up to his feet as well.

"Wha!?"

The result was the boy standing up while raising the girl a few feet above him, holding her up as if a father would raise his toddler.

He was red and panted as he stared up at Mina, in his thoughts of what he just succeeded in doing.

"I-I did it! I got her off me!"

"About time..." Ikari internally sweatdropped.

Momo and Ochako both had widened eyes to see Izuku actually take the initiative to get a girl off him. However, their faces were red from seeing how easily he lifted Mina up, momentarily imagining themselves in her place. And as for the elevated student herself...

"Midori."

Izuku blinked. "Eh?"

He completely locked in place when he witnessed the lilac-pink of Mina's cheeks and the rather... excited look on her face. And her heavy breathing was not helping.

"*Hah*... Hey Midori? You wanna *hah* hold my head between these boys?" She breathed out with a desirable grin.

All of Izuku's body turned red as he stared at Mina with a blank expression.

Then he dropped her onto the ground.

"Ow! Midori, how could you!?" Mina started comedically crying again upon landing on her behind.

Izuku just robotically turned away while sweating nervously.

"Can you all not be idiots? The next match is up." Enso sighed before anything else could be said.

Thankfully, everyone focused their attention on the screen, and sure enough, the next two combatants were already shown to be entering a large lot of the sort with large pillars.

"Toru and Mez-er, Shoji..." Izuku quickly corrected.

"And they're facing off against Snipe." Momo added, looking somewhat worried.

"Their biggest problem will be to even get close to the gunslinger..." Enso remarked.

"Hagakure and Shoji. Exam, commence!"

---

Things were quite problematic right off the bat.

When Shoji and Toru entered the large lot of the sort, they had immediately started taking fire from the opposite side of the large area.

This had the two students frantically take cover from one large pillar to the next, receiving gunfire wherever they were due to Snipe honing in on them.

This went on for several minutes, and now the two were nearly halfway across the room. However, they were also much closer to their opponent and closing the distance the bullets could travel.

"Shoji, how close is he!?" Toru asked, standing beside her partner in just gloves and shoes.

Shoji's extra limbs stretched and formed ears, listening in despite the gunshots ringing.

"He's still somewhat far... But if we stay here any longer, then he'll just turn the corner, and we'll be done for." The stoic teen answered.

"But if we just try to run to the exit, we'll probably be shot..." Toru muttered.

She then gave a thumbs-up through her glove.

"All right! It looks like it's up to me!"

Shoji turned back to her in surprise. "What do you mean?"

Toru started taking off her gloves and shoes, to which Shoji politely turned his head away to respect her.

"I'ma need your help, Shoji! I can't just run out. He'd see me. Well, not see me, but you get the idea!"

"So... what do you need me to do?" Shoji asked.

"I just need you to distract him for a wee moment, please?" Toru cutely asked him, now completely out of view without her few pieces of clothing.

"Are you sure? If we mess up, we could fail... Not to mention if he catches you, you'll most like get hurt-"

"Pfft, we're learning to become heroes, Shoji, of course we could get hurt. Midori wouldn't even hesitate!"

Hearing the mention of the boy had Shoji think of him as well. It's obvious what Izuku would do here, put himself in danger for the sake of others, no matter how injured he could get.

"Alright. Be careful." He nodded.

A sudden clank then echoed as Shoji heard something roll beside their spot, to which smoke started hissing out.

"He's obstructing our vision!?" He realized.

"Better come out soon!" Snipe called as he walked closer to the pillar, repeatedly shooting it.

"Hagakure, we have to-" Shoji turned behind him where Toru should've been, but he didn't hear nor feel her presence.

He sighed.

"So... I just have to distract him?"

Knowing what he had to do, Shoji ran out from behind the cover of the pillar, making it look like he was making a break for the exit.

"Naive!" Snipe just fired a row of rounds right in front of Shoji's path, prompting the boy to stop and turn to the teacher who was aiming a gun at him.

Shoji narrowed his eyes and raised his arms up in surrender, to which Snipe started stepping closer to him.

The hero suspiciously stared at him through the smoke, not hearing the light pitter-pattering nearby.

"Aren't you giving up too easily for a hero?" Snipe scoffed.

"Who said I was giving up?" Shoji retorted.

As if on cue, a pair of floating handcuffs came out of nowhere and snapped onto Snipe's wrist.

"I got him!"

Snipe was shocked and turned his body, "When did you-!?"

*Bounce*

"Eep!" Toru squealed.

"..."

"..."

"Sniiiiiiiiiiiiiipe..." Her voice hissed.

Snipe frantically waved his free arm.

"Wait, I couldn't see ya! I didn't do it on purpose! I promise! I would never-! You're a student, and I'm-! I respect women, I swear!"

"YOU can't touch there! Only Mido-! Wait, no! What the hell was I gonna say!? He can't touch mine either! He can only touch Mina's! Don't make me say embarrassing things!" Toru screamed with a flail of her arms.

"What?" Both Shoji and Snipe wondered in confusion.

"Team Hagakure and Shoji have passed the exam."

---

"They did it!" Izuku cheered in joy.

"They came up with a plan on the spot." Momo smiled.

"Yay... Even Toru passed..." A depressing voice cut off the joy.

Everyone turned their heads to see Mina sulking in the corner of the room with a dark blue aura of depression around her.

"I guess I'll have to tell her my plan of everything I was gonna do to Midori and have her do it instead... She can get me some nice pictures that I can use..."

"Eh?" Izuku deadpanned, not liking how that sounded.

The room's doors then opened up, to which Kyoka entered rather proudly, having passed her exam.

"Oh, Jiro! Congratulations on passing!" Momo praised with a big smile.

"Are your ears okay?" Izuku immediately asked her.

"Hm? What?" Kyoka asked while cupping her ear but smirking jokingly as she did so.

"So you're fine." Izuku simply smiled.

At the same time, Enso and Shinso were making their way out of the room, as it would be their turn right after the next students being Sero and Mineta.

Izuku caught them leaving and called out to him.

"Ah, Enso, Hitoshi!"

The males paused near the door and turned back to him, with Enso being the one to speak.

"What is it?"

Izuku gave him a thumbs up.

"Good luck."

Enso's expression remained stoic.

"I don't need luck."

"You know what I mean." Izuku stared rather unamused.

"...Yeah, I do." Enso turned forward. "Thanks."

Izuku found himself smiling as his mentor left the room with his teammate, the two ready to head to their exams.

Everyone else gazed at Enso with confident expressions as he left, knowing that he and Shinso would most likely be fine. No... they were positive that the two would pass.

"So right now, Sero and Mineta will be conducting their exam, then it'll be Shinso and Enso, and then finally..." Momo's expression changed to become heavily worried as she turned her gaze to Izuku, recalling who his partner was.

The boy simply turned back to the screen as Mineta and Sero appeared, the two waiting by the starting point of the rocky terrain they ended up in.

Time went by as the group watched the two conduct their exam against Midnight, staring as Sero was immediately put to sleep while Mineta screamed and ran.

"Well... Mineta really does have the skills to always escape..." Izuku sweatdropped.

While this exam went on, the doors behind them opened up to reveal just floating gloves with moving shoes.

Toru immediately ran into the room as cheery as she could be.

"Guys, did you see me and Shoji pass!?"

Izuku turned back to her with a smile. "Yeah! We all saw you, Toru! You and Shoji were really coordinated! It was amazing how-ACK!" He was cut off as Toru tackled him in a big embrace of a hug. Izuku felt the air get slightly knocked out of him from Toru accidentally hitting his stomach harder than meant to, to which the two fell onto the floor.

"Ow... Ow."

"Heh, whoops! Sorry, Midori, I meant to just give ya a small hug, teehee~" Toru adorably knocked her own head with her glove-covered hand.

"Please be more careful..." Izuku groaned. He rose his head and looked on top of him. He couldn't see the invisible girl on top of him, but he could feel her on top and could practically picture an outline of her.

"Sorry, but hey! I'm gonna go to the training camp with you guys now!" Toru turned to her best friend, ignoring the dead glares coming from Momo and Ochako from how casually on top of Izuku's lap she was. "Isn't that great, Mina!?"

Mina was still sat in the corner, picking at the ground.

"Yeah... great..."

Toru paused, just noticing the aura of depression around her best friend.

"Huh? What's wrong?"

Mina picked at the ground.

"I... kinda failed..."

There was a pause.

"Oh."

Izuku sighed before sitting up, hands somehow instinctively finding Toru's shoulders to hold as he moved himself up.

The surprise precision and movement caused Toru to press against him, the girl letting out a light squeak of surprise. Unseen by everyone, she was madly blushing at the fact that her face was inches from Izuku.

"Eh?" Izuku paused when he heard the squeak, not even noticing the mounds of warmth pressed against his chest. "What's wrong?"

"Uhhhhhh... buddy? Think VERY carefully about just what invisible's costume is made of." Ikari hinted.

"Eh? What are you talking about? Toru's costume only consists of gloves and shoes, right? She doesn't wear anything else-" A record scratched upon this realization, with Izuku's eyes dilating in absolute horror.

"Bingo."

Izuku repeatedly blinked as he repeated those words in his head. "Doesn't… wear… a-a-anything…" Izuku slowly turned his head forward to the invisible girl on him, processing the warmth of her skin through his costume.

He went from pale to the deepest shade of red he could get, steam erupting from his head. "Sh-Sh-She's na-na-na-"

Toru looked down at herself and was madly blushing too, then hopping off Izuku and awkwardly laughing things off.

"H-Heh... Wh-What are you getting so embarrassed about M-Midori? W-W-We all know I don't wear clothes for my costume?"

Izuku remained seated on the group with his head down, not even listening as a buffer symbol emerged over his head as if trying to process what he had just felt.

"A-A-A naked g-girl was right on top of me... Sh-She was s-sitting on me..."

"Hagakure-chan, you need to be more careful. Midoriya-chan is a guy, after all, kero." Tsu said.

"I-I mean, I'm invisible anyway, so it doesn't even matter, right?"

Mina turned her head from her corner and stared in sadness for her best friend to bring up her own self-conscious issue.

"I don't think that matters." Tsu hinted, turning her gaze down to the boy on the floor.

"Hm?" Toru glanced down at Izuku and saw how red he was. The boy had his palms together in front of his face with a crimson red hue on his skin. His eyes were blank as he muttered an entire storm, completely daunted from the experience of feeling the warmth of a naked girl on top of him.

Toru's eyes widened. A guy was... actually embarrassed by her? Not from any playful teasing, but... just from her being around him? Well, to be fair, she was right on top of Izuku just a moment ago, but... to know that he saw her as any other, that he thought of her like any girl... it felt nice.

"Team Sero and Mineta have passed the exam!"

"Huh?" Everyone moved their attention from the awkward occurrence and instead turned their gazes to the screen, surprised to suddenly see Mineta carrying out an unconscious Sero.

"He... He did it?" Mina blinked in surprise.

"How!?" Toru exclaimed.

Izuku got up to his feet, completely forgetting about what happened a moment ago. He stared at the screen with rather impressed eyes. When he had seen Midnight put Sero to sleep, he honestly expected that Mineta would be a lost cause.

"Well... I guess he does manage to pull through when it counts." He thought with a small smile.

The screen then projected the icons for the next battle coming up, showing Enso and Shinso's faces with a versus icon next to Endeavor's.

Izuku's smile faltered.

"Enso and Hitoshi are next. And then afterward..."

His hands suddenly balled into fists, a drop of red visibly swirling into his pupils of green as a small glare formed.

"Me and... Kacchan..."

Izuku turned around while everyone was facing the screen, proceeding to march away.

Ochako caught him from the corner of her eye, glancing at him as he got to the door.

"Deku?"

That got the attention of the others, the group turning their sights on the boy.

He was opening it when he heard Ochako had called to him, pausing for a moment.

"I... have to get going. I'm right after Enso and Hitoshi, after all... I... I don't even have to watch them to know they'll be fine."

Momo approached him, the worry evident on her face.

"But Izuku-"

"I'll be fine." Izuku's voice turned stern, surprising the group and making Momo freeze. "I know it'll be difficult. I'll be fighting against the world's strongest hero with someone who hates me with every fiber of his being... But..."

He glanced back at everyone, giving them all a small but sad smile.

"I'm not failing. I refuse to. Even if it means using Kacchan's arrogance to my advantage, even... even if I have to leave him... I'm not going to fail. So..."

He let out a pained chuckle.

"Wish me luck."

He then slipped outside with the door shutting behind him, leaving everyone with an uncomfortable silence.

"Izuku..." Momo thought, her worries remaining.

"He won't leave him behind." Todoroki stated stoically.

Everyone turned to him in surprise.

"Even though he said so, there's no way he would just leave someone in trouble. Bakugo can't beat All Might. Midoriya knows this, so he should know that he'll be overwhelmed; they both will, without coordination. And when they are..."

Todoroki turned back to the screen.

"He wouldn't just leave him. Because, unlike Bakugo, Midoriya truly understands what a hero should do... To meddle when he shouldn't."

He stared at the panel containing his father, Endeavor, while recalling when his friend purposely made their battle at the festival more difficult for himself just to help him learn the importance of giving it his all, to not let the past hinder him.

Todoroki narrowed his eyes.

"He'll find a way to end things how he wants to."

"Team Ureshi and Shinso. Exam, commence!"

---

~{Ground Beta}~

Enso and Shinso stood side by side at the beginning of a city identical to the entrance exam for U.A. There was everything you'd expect from a city. Lamp posts, tall buildings, small shops, and long roads with intersections.

Their exam had just started, so the two immediately got to running down the sidewalk, speaking as they did so.

"Man, you can have an actual town of people live in this place." The hypnotizing teen remarked behind his black mask, glancing around the area.

"Indeed. From what I know, they even have functioning water and electricity active when the area is in use."

"Really? Damn. So how far would the exits be in this place?"

Enso narrowed his eyes.

"Apparently, besides where we came from, there is only one other exit in this massive city, one where Endeavor will no doubt be waiting.

The two ran past an intersection voided of any vehicles.

"Seriously!? Just one exit!? Damn it! Why does our exam feel like the principal is trying to shit on us!"

"Don't word it so disturbingly. But I'm sure Nezu gave us these extra hurdles because of specific aspects he knows of both of us."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Two turned into an alleyway for a shortcut, running between two buildings.

"Nezu most likely wishes for me to prove that you won't be just dead weight and have grown strong enough to belong in the hero course, hence why he requires both of us to escape. To see what you can do rather than have just me escape by myself."

Enso jumped over a gate while Shinso easily climbed over it, the two finding another intersection and following the road north.

"Okay, can't we still find a loophole to make this easy for us? Like can't you just carry me and 'Snipe Style' or whatchamacallit to the exit?" Shinso then pointed upward to the tall buildings. "Or can't we travel by rooftops? Ain't you good at that?"

"It's not that simple. As much as I'd enjoy traveling by rooftop, one aspect of this exam is to prevent as much damage to the area as possible. If we were to travel that high, I'm sure Endeavor wouldn't even hesitate to get extreme and blast us. We can't have the buildings damaged or collapse entirely just for convenient traveling. And as for using Snipe Style, I won't be able to carry you while in the form. When moving using that style, my body and the air around me vibrates too intensely. If I tried carrying you, your innards will get distorted and could even split apart."

"What the hell!? That's scary!" Shinso's remarked with bulging eyes. "And hold the fuck up. How did you figure that out exactly?"

"Classified."

Shinso felt an uncomfortable chill, deciding not to ask more or risk painting a disturbing image in his head.

"Then... can't I just use my quirk?" Shinso asked, pointing at the black mask he wore over his mouth.

"Don't count on it. Endeavor must know what your quirk does from the festival, even if it didn't work against me."

"Oh, for fucks sake..." Shinso growled. "What, so we're just supposed to fight him and get burnt to a crisp?!"

"As long as I get you out first, then I'm sure I can escape immediately afterward." Enso reassured.

"Hold on, you're not supposed to get me out of here! We're supposed to figure out what to do in this exam together!"

"So you're suggesting either we focus on escaping at the same time or on fighting Endeavor together? It'll be tough doing either." Enso remarked stoically, the two making it halfway through the city.

"Better than you treating me like a liability. You trained me, you know? You know I can help, especially with the gizmos you had Hatsume make me. It'd be easier to do things together rather than have one run and the other fight. Are you even sure you can stall Endeavor?"

"With the weights he has to wear, I'm positive I can. Perhaps even incapacitate him, although I haven't fought the man before, so I don't know how I compare to him. But I know that due to the additional weight added to his arms and legs, he'd have to stay in one spot using his quirk and wouldn't be able to move as efficiently.

"Hold up, you're serious? You think you can beat the number two hero?" Shinso asked, stunned.

"Perhaps. I don't know too much about Endeavor's abilities, but with my experience and vast moveset, I'm sure I can keep up against him."

"Well... let's hope so. Where even is the old man anyway?"

"I'll find out his exact location. Follow me."

Enso led Shinso into yet another alleyway, then stopping behind an empty dumpster, to which Enso glanced at both sides of the street ahead for any sign of the number two hero.

Shinso stopped beside him, then turning to his teammate.

"So how are you gonna find him?"

"Simple." Enso closed his eyes and clapped his hands together, a blue aura forming around him.

Shinso instinctively covered his genitals in caution, remembering that this was the style that incapacitated men in a humiliating way.

But instead, Enso just took a deep breath.

"Punk Style... Calm Mind."

A mental image of a still body of water in a dark void projected in Enso's mind, a single droplet falling and creating ripples that spread around the entire area.

White silhouettes of everything surrounding him emerged, spreading a good distance and revealing his target location.

Enso partly opened his eyes, forming a frown.

"Once we leave this alleyway and follow the street before taking a left, Endeavor will be waiting for us in a large plaza of the sort... That's where the exit gate is. Across it and behind the man."

Shinso, glad he wasn't getting his testicles punched, stood up and turned to the farther end of the alleyway.

"Could we sneak past him?"

"No, the area is too wide and flat, nowhere to hide or surprise him from. The distance is rather large."

"God damn it! Those bastards are making this harder than it has to be! They're FORCING us to fight the guy with no other options!" Shinso stomped his foot in irritation, the clanging of metal of his boots echoing, which then had him flinch.

"Whoops. These things are so light that I forgot I had them on..."

"Don't worry. They shouldn't even have a scratch." Enso reassured as he stood up.

"Hold on, that reminds me you never did tell me what the hell is this stuff? I looked it up, but I couldn't find anything!" Shinso stared.

Enso just got to walking down the alleyway.

"I've told you before, you don't need to know."

Shinso just frowned but followed.

"Whatever... So back to this piece of shit situation, we're just gonna run in on flame face?"

"It appears so... It's impossible to be able to suddenly ambush him." Enso muttered, the two exiting the alleyway and walking on the street.

"Ugh... shit." Shinso scratched his head, not feeling good about this. "Well... Let's put out this hothead."

Enso nodded, the two then getting into a run once more.

It didn't take long before the road between the tall buildings led the two to the large plaza Enso had seen before.

Upon entering this gigantic circle of emptiness, the two stopped and stared at the burning hero ahead.

Endeavor stood tall with his arms crossed, his flames blazing brightly with his eyes narrowing into a glare upon seeing his two opponents finally arrive.

"I don't suppose you'll let us through if I say please, would you?" Enso politely called ahead.

Endeavor just narrowed his eyes.

Shinso nudged Enso. "And here I didn't think you to the type to make jokes, heh."

Enso turned to him with a tilt of his head. "Joke?"

Shinso deadpanned.

"Nevermind..."

He then focused back on their opponent and smiled behind his mask, cupping a hand over it.

"Yo, Endeavor! How does it feel that despite lit up by flames, you're still darkened in the shadow of All Might!?"

To this, Endeavor just scowled, maintaining a threatening silence.

Shinso sighed in disappointment, seeing as it was clear the number two hero wouldn't be fooled to speak.

"It was worth a shot..."

"I think you just made him angry." Enso pointed out as he saw Endeavor's flames visibly grow bigger.

Enso quickly analyzed the area. For such a large plaza, it was empty, not even a fountain in the center. The ground was made entirely out of smooth cement, and several buildings were close to each other that made up the walls of this large area. Behind Endeavor was the exit gate, their objective appearing relatively small by how far it was. The number two hero was just past the halfway point of the plaza, waiting with his flames calmly burning with the lack of wind.

"So... how do we go about this?" Shinso asked, tugging at the cloth around his neck. He clicked his heels together, and the boots he wore suddenly made a small high pitch ringing, indicating an activation. "Should we both try zooming past him on opposite sides?"

"Let's start with that. Split his attention so he sends flames on both sides to stop us. Then we both immediately head at him to strike."

The two then dashed into opposite directions of the large plaza, running by the edges of their makeshift arena rather far.

Endeavor frowned and unraveled his arms, eyes glancing from Enso to Shinso.

"They're having me choose one over the other? Pathetic."

Endeavor pointed both of his arms opposite of each other open palms. Flames immediately erupting outward in both directions, sending a wall of flames in the paths of both students attempting to run around him.

Both Enso and Shinso narrowed their eyes, but Shinso partly smiled in confidence while Enso marked his target.

"Snipe Style..."

He turned his feet sideways and skid to a halt, his eyes and aura blazing yellow as he crouched into a sprinter's stance as the flames passed his side.

Meanwhile, Shinso turned left towards Endeavor as flames cut off his initial path. This was when he jumped with his feet pointed back, revealing a closer of his boots to the cameras.

These blackish boots with metallic elements had several holes in the bottom of them. Through these holes, jets of air shout out that accelerated Shinso forward at incredible speeds.

Simultaneously, Enso's aura flared up as the air around him vibrated.

"-Piercing Shot!"

Both Enso and Shinso blasted forward right towards Endeavor,

Endeavor wasn't surprised by the sudden increase of speed from Enso, seeing as he saw his techniques in the festival, but he was somewhat shocked by Shinso's sudden movements.

He closed his hands and abruptly stopped his flames, raising his forearms up just as the students got close.

Enso stuck his feet out while Shinso swung his leg, the two's attack connecting right into both forearms and caused a small shockwave to emit.

"NAIVE!"

Endeavor's forearms then started to catch on fire, but not before Enso and Shinso jumped off, to which two pillars of flames erupted from the hero's arms.

"Get past him now!" Enso shouted as he and his teammate landed.

The two then blasted in similar speeds past Endeavor in an attempt to both make it to the exit far ahead in hopes the hero couldn't catch up.

Endeavor just turned around with an evil glare, raising both of his arms up with his fists clenched.

"Trying to run from ME!?"

His palms heated intensely as he concentrated his flames into his fingertips, then opening them to point straight up.

"Flashfire Fist..."

His eyes flashed as each of his white-hot fingertips suddenly emitted concentrated beams of immense heat into the sky, ending high and far.

"HELL SPIDER!"

He then swung his arms down and forward, sending the ten beams bending down like whips.

Enso and Shinso glanced back with widened eyes at the long whips of heat that were coming down, both jumping in opposite directions as these whips came crashing down with an intense slam. Concrete was sent scattering as heat waves emitted from the whips that stretched all the way across to the exit. The two students ended up having to move all the way back to the plaza's edges to avoid getting hit by any debris.

Endeavor wasn't done yet. After these beams of fire hit the ground, he opened his arms and spread them out. By doing so, the makeshift whips of both hands moved in opposite directions and had five beams follow the walls, essentially walking a moving a laser grid towards both students.

"He's forcing us back!"

Enso dashed back while Shinso's boots blasted him quickly, the two ending up back in the far first half of the plaza where Endeavor then put out these beams in an instant.

His opponents now far behind him, Endeavor turned back to Shinso and Enso with an unamused glare.

Simultaneously, Shinso and Enso regrouped several yards away from Endeavor, both in fighting stances ready to move aside anytime.

"What the actual FUCK was that!?" Shinso grit.

"That was a unique way to use flames... I don't even know how that works." Enso muttered. "So it appears it'll be useless to try to pass him..."

"Oi, weren't you the one to say we were expected to fight him anyway?" Shinso sighed.

"Yes... So let's see how durable he is. Distract him for a moment, would you?"

"If I get burnt, I'm killing you." Shinso chuckled as he bent his knees with a foot pointed back.

He blasted towards Endeavor while Enso brought his right arm back, the vibrations beginning to form around it.

"Snipe Style..."

Endeavor pointed his right palm and sent flames ahead right into Shinso's path. The boy tilted his right foot and send a jet blast out of it, propelling him to the left and out of the flame's path. He then blasted himself forward and to the right, aiming right at Endeavor's side.

Endeavor saw him coming and dragged his arm to the side, bringing his flames up towards where Shinso was coming.

Shinso immediately stuck his feet forward and blasted backwards away from the flames, getting out of reach.

At the same time, Enso's eyes flashed as his aura grew denser, to which he swung his charged attack forward.

"Explosive Round."

As previously used against Izuku, his punch created an intense blast of force propelled forward at blinding speeds.

Endeavor heard the shot and didn't even hesitate, turning to Enso's direction and instinctively hold moving his forearm in front of him defensively.

He took a direct shot in his left arm, hissing as the pain from the attack was a lot more than he expected. His feet dragged back a few inches as a small shockwave visibly distorted some of his flames, but besides that, it didn't appear that effective.

Endeavor did shake his arm to get the pain out, feeling it somewhat bruised.

"That had more power than I expected... A pure shot of compressed power? Or was it air?" He wondered, then glaring ahead at Enso.

The boy narrowed his eyes. "Well... He took that... Damn."

Endeavor raised his right fist in preparation for another attack.

"Don't forget I'm still here!" Shinso came flying from the side, seeing that the hero was staring ahead.

Endeavor immediately swung his right arm at the incoming student, but Shinso expected it since he knew Endeavor had sharp reactions, to which the soles of his boots blasted out more air to send him flipping overhead. He then started blasting in a zig-zag around the hero, grinning.

This second of distraction was what Enso needed to already commit to another move. He clapped his hands together, with his yellow colors changing to white.

"Brute style-!"

He raised a clenched fist of dense aura, then smashing it into the ground.

"-Earth Tremor!"

The earth cracked and erupted, concrete was sent hurtling forward towards Endeavor in rapid succession.

The hero squinted his eyes as his gaze turn in its direction.

"Tch!"

Endeavor's flames burned brighter as his right hand clenched into a tight fist.

"Karmic Raze-!"

He then pumped his fist straight up, forming and releasing a tall tornado of fire.

"-HELLFIRE STORM!"

Shinso's eyes widened as he blasted as far as possible to avoid getting caught up in this twister of flames, retreating several yards away.

Endeavor swung his right arm forward, to which the tornado was sent hurtling into the oncoming stampede of debris. The large pieces of oncoming concrete were pulled and spiraled with the tornado or broke apart entirely by smashing together or being torn apart.

Enso couldn't help but feel annoyed as this tornado continued onward towards him.

"Damn it."

Still in Brute Style, Enso crossed his arms, and the aura around him grew brighter and denser.

"Brute Style-Bulk Up."

His muscles tensed for a moment before he felt them loosen up, feeling energy course through his body.

Now having buffed himself up, Enso stuck his arms out as his palms flashed in white.

He clapped his hands together and emitted a giant shockwave that sent powerful winds in all directions. These winds were enough to disperse the tornado and have Endeavor cover his face with an arm, his flames violently getting blown back.

"This buff won't last for too long. Might as well intimidate him."

Enso reached his hands to the cracked ground and easily shoved them underneath, then mustering his strength to pull out a boulder larger than him.

He tossed it just a few feet into the air before jumping and kicking ahead to Endeavor, then running forward after it.

Endeavor clicked his tongue in annoyance as he first turned around with a swing of his palm, sending a wave of flames at the incoming Shiniso who had attempted to get him from behind.

"Yikes!" Shino blasted to the side and felt some heat waves barely graze him, jerking into a few directions before landing away.

As for the boulder heading towards him, Endeavor immediately turned with a right hook swing already coming.

"Flashfire Fist-!"

He concentrated his flames into a white-hot point on his fist, to which he swung it before the boulder even got close.

"-JET BURN!"

A fiery beam with the circumference of a manhole was sent forward and pierced right through the boulder, shattering it apart and continuing onward.

But in the seconds that followed, Endeavor saw a blur from above.

"Brute Style..."

He looked up in shock to see that Enso had jumped above with his fist raised, white aura charging up.

"-Vicious Smite!"

Endeavor immediately cocked his own fist back. However, he surrounded his flames around it, creating a fiery mirage of an even larger fist.

He swung it forward and upward as Enso came down with his fist downward.

"VANISHING FIST!"

Both attacks connected, and an instant bright light filled the area.

Shinso covered his eyes and blasted backward to avoid the explosion that just occurred, wind intensely blowing as debris was sent flying.

"Showoffs!" He frowned as he flew back, landing in a small slide. Smoke covered the area where the collision occurred, Shinso trying to squint through it to find either his teammate or opponent.

But it didn't take long for flames to erupt within this smoke, and a silhouette came out flying backward. Enso had arms wrapped around his legs to form into a ball, spinning several times in the air. But as he neared the ground, he unraveled himself and landed on his feet, although sliding back a few inches.

Shinso's boots propelled him forward, and he quickly landed beside him.

"You alright?" Even though he asked, he could see that there were surprisingly no burns or any injuries on Enso, thanks to his Brute Style's defensive capabilities.

Enso sighed. "Yeah... He's tougher than I thought."

"Ya think?" Shinso sarcastically remarked.

From the smoke, a burst of flames erupted towards the two.

"Get behind me."

As Shinso listened, Enso's aura flared in white as he raised both of his fists.

"Earth Tremor!"

He slammed his fists on the ground, and a wall of concrete debris erupted in front of him. The flames collided into this wall and split while scorching the material to black, even melting it a considerate amount.

"IS HE ACTUALLY TRYING TO KILL US!?" Shinso shouted over the roaring of flames.

"Of course not. Even if we get engulfed, it won't kill us. But you definitely won't get back up."

"Are you sure about that!?" Shinso wasn't convinced at all.

The flames died down after a few seconds, some melted stone dripping from the defensive wall.

"He can't use his quirk forever." Enso declared.

"Can he use it for the approximate fifteen minutes we've got left?" Shinso raised an eyebrow.

"...Maybe."

"We've gotta hurry..."

The two ran left from their hiding place, running in sync as Endeavor sent more concentrated bursts of flames from afar.

"Give me an end of your scarf." Enso instructed.

"Not a scarf!"

"Don't care, just give it."

Shinso tossed the end of his metallic-like cloth, and Enso grabbed the end of it with his right hand.

"At the next batch of flames, go up and spin me."

Shinso raised an eyebrow but then grinned when he realized what he was implying.

"This is gonna be fun."

Endeavor put his palms together and slowly pulled them apart, forming a fireball between them before blasting it forward. This fireball then exploded mid-flight with a spreading of flames hurtling forward like streams.

"Up an at 'em!" Shinso's boots blasted him upward as Enso leaped high in the air with him.

Shinso blasted his boots forward to let the cloth between them unravel, then yanking Enso while jet blasted helped him spin. It only took a moment before he was spinning his teammate circles around him, the two becoming a spiraling blur.

Endeavor looked up at them with a glare, not wasting time to not let the students charge up.

"Flashfire Fist- JET BURN!"

With another swing of his fist, Endeavor sent a fiery beam upward at the students.

"Improvised special move-!" Shinso grunted, mustering his strength. With one last swing that tested his muscles, he flung Enso down with powerful speed.

"-Hypnotic Comet!"

As Enso was sent on a straight path to Endeavor. He hugged his legs in the air and spun rapidly, turning into a ball of bright white that left a fading blur. He focused his power on strengthening his aura around him, increasing his density.

He collided with the beam of fire, its rays splitting as he pierced through it and continued forward at incredible speeds.

"What in the-!?"

Endeavor was surprised that Enso went straight through his attack, but that didn't keep him from reacting. He opened his palms as the spinning human ball collided with him, getting his feet dragged back by the force.

"Nngh!"

He couldn't get a grip on the rapidly spinning male and immediately knew that in a moment or so, he'd get knocked right back.

"So... BOTHERSOME!"

With a roar, he lifted Enso from his arms and tossed him above, flying upwards.

In the air, Enso unraveled and became upright while looking, narrowing his eyes that the combo attack didn't appear to do too much.

Endeavor raised a palm that was already lit, intending to engulf Enso while he was vulnerable in the air.

But a precious thrown cloth whipped right into Endeavor's arm and wrapped around it, suddenly getting forcefully yanked to aim at the side.

He turned his head and saw that just off the side, Shinso had swiftly maneuvered near the ground before having thrown his cloth to ensnare the hero, now using his jet boots to push himself back and forcefully pull Endeavor's arm.

The hot-heated hero wasn't amused and simply kept his palm open. Since Shinso was forcefully pulling his arm in his direction, his hand was already aimed right at the boy.

He erupted flames from his palm, engulfing the cloth holding him and sending them right at the boy ahead.

"Yikes!" Shinso blasted to the side to avoid the flames, a hand still visibly holding onto what Endeavor knew should be the remainder of his cloth.

Endeavor was going to send more flames but heard the whisking of the air as he heard projectiles heading right to him.

"Hmph!" He turned left with hateful eyes to see several blue orbs of energy heading right for him from above. Enso had landed back on the ground by now and was in Punk Style, blue in his eyes and aura to which he used to fire his projectiles.

Endeavor grinned and attempted to swing his right arm to create a wall of flames to intercept these projectiles.

Only to feel his wrist caught back.

His eyes widened as he glanced back to his right hand for a split second.

The black cloth that he swore had burned was still there, and not just that, but it was entirely whole without any signs that it had even been burned. It expanded all the way to the boy who had managed to get it around him. Shinso grinned while forcefully pulling while using his boots to push him back.

"The fabric didn't burn!? Impossible!"

He turned back left and lifted his other arm, but the speeding projectiles had already reached him, about a dozen getting close and exploding.

He was obscured by smoke and dust from the explosions, but Shinso was still using his boots to fly back in place, not feeling any strength fall from the object he was pulling.

"He's still up!" He shouted to warn his teammate.

Suddenly, Shinso was forcefully yanked by a tremendous feat of strength, eyes widening as he was pulled all the way into the smoke.

Due to the pull, his feet were hanging back and propelled him forward since they were still on, causing him to go faster than intended.

"Shit!"

He deactivated his boots and tried to pull his legs so his soles would point forward but couldn't.

He then found himself punched in the gut, nearly feeling his earlier lunch come out as all the air in his body was knocked out.

"Bleurgh!" Shinso then found himself grabbed by the head and forced to the ground, the dust dispersing to reveal Endeavor over him with a look of rage, an iron grip on the boy's face.

"This boy... He thinks he can overpower ME!?" He thought, now completely pissed off but still confused about how a piece of fabric managed to withstand his flames. He used his free hand to unravel the cloth around his right arm, examining the black material while narrowing his eyes.

"This... This material lasted through my flames?

A whistling of the air had Endeavor immediately release his hold on Shinso and instinctively raise his left arm to block a flying kick from Enso, the boy's foot connecting to his large forearm.

Endeavor attempted to reach for him with his other arm, but Enso actually used this arm to grab and pull his body up so that he flung himself over Endeavor in an acrobatic maneuver the hero didn't expect.

Now above him, Enso spun before swinging his leg to kick Endeavor's head, hitting the back of it.

Endeavor released a hiss, eyes flaring.

"Bastard!"

Enso kicked himself off Endeavor as flames erupted at him, landing a few feet away before immediately dashing forward in a second. Endeavor swung his arm, but Enso got low and rolled into a ball right between the hero's legs, but then jumped as the hero had then attempted to crush him down with his foot.

"I gotta distracted him so he doesn't take Shinso out of the battle." Enso thought, expertly flipping himself off the ground and back onto his feet. He made sure to keep close to Endeavor while his partner recovered just a few feet away.

Shinso was coughing on the ground and sat up, removing the black mask from his face to better breathe. Luckily, since he was used to gut shots from Enso, he learned to steady his breathing rather quickly, although he was very glad Endeavor was wearing those weights. Otherwise, he might've puked all of his insides out.

He turned his head to see his mentor perform a jumping cartwheel to avoid flames.

"Ugh... Head hurts like a bitch." Shinso was going to put his black mask back on before pausing, a sudden realization hitting him.

"Wait... Endeavor knows my quirk from the festival, doesn't he?"

He stared down into the black metallic mask that was part of his equipment, exploring his thoughts.

"He does, there's no doubt, and yet... He still talked during this battle. Shouting move names and even addressing Enso... Wouldn't a normal person who watched the festival think that if they said 'anything,' then they'd be brainwashed?"

He frowned.

"Yeah, they would! So if hothead here actually 'talks' without worrying about me, then..."

His eyes widened as he came upon a realization.

"He knows... He knows that my quirk only works when some RESPONDS to me! How he knows doesn't matter, whether figuring it out himself or looking it up from teachers to prepare for this battle."

Shinso got up and turned to see Enso kicked Endeavor's arm before the hero forced him back with more flames.

"It's... It's actually good that he knows what my quirk does! If he chose to be quiet for the entire fight, then it'd be impossible for me to brainwash him, however..."

Shinso grinned as he equipped his mask back on, remembering just what it can do. Thanks to Mei's tinkering, he has the perfect weapon.

"If he thinks he isn't talking to me, then..."

With a plan in mind, Shinso's boots blasted forward, heading for the two fighters.

"Yo! Enso! I got an idea!"

Hearing him come from behind, Endeavor turned with a swipe of his hand, releasing flames.

Shinso blasted upward overhead, avoiding the attack and flying over. "Follow me!"

Enso immediately turned and dashed away from Endeavor, aura turning yellow as his speed increased.

However, Shinso's boots suddenly faltered, to which the boy let out a yelp as he fell from the air. He managed to land on his feet but stumbled as he struggled to run right, barely managing to recollect himself.

Enso narrowed his eyes and was forced to deactivate his Snipe Style to slow down, running at the same pace as his partner.

"I told you not to use your boots for constant flight! They'll sputter out! Do small bursts, remember!?"

"Wait, this works out! Hot-head must've noticed and will think we're vulnerable!" Shinso grinned.

"We are vulnerable. Why is that good? And why are we heading right for the exit one more?" Enso asked right beside him.

"Listen, I gotta get fucked up!" Shinso responded confidently.

Enso deadpanned. "Excuse me?"

As Shinso explained his plan in the short moment they had, Endeavor's eyes narrowed from afar.

"They think they can escape?"

He slightly bent his knees as his flames started flaring violently around him.

"I WON'T LET YOU!"

Behind him, flames erupted from Endeavor, and he was sent blasting forward at the two students.

Enso and Shinso heard the explosion and glanced back to see a human fireball heading right for them.

"I guess we're going with it then." Enso sighed, a black aura erupting as his right hand formed his signature black dagger.

"Let's annoy him as much as possible!" Shinso grinned.

Enso suddenly took a one-eighty and, with a burst of dark energy, vanishing into a black ball of energy heading to Endeavor.

The two powerful men collided into a large explosion of black and orange, flames swirling with energy while sending debris in the area.

Smoke covered the area of impact, but it didn't take long for flames and black energy beams to start coming out of it.

This went on for a few seconds before another powerful impact dispersed the dust, revealing a clash of an uppercut from Endeavor with an ax-kick from Enso.

With a grunt, Endeavor pushed his arm forward and sent Enso upward into the air. He immediately raised an arm and sent a concentrated blast of flames upward, but Enso spun his body to the side to avoid getting scorched.

Endeavor then pointed his other arm across him as he turned his head right, sending flames at an oncoming Shinso.

But the boy blasted overhead while spinning, then swinging his leg down with an additional blast of his boot to add power.

Endeavor brought up his arm and parried the leg swing, then pushing Shinso back as he turned back around at an oncoming Enso.

He sent more flames forward, but Enso jumped up and forward in a precise movement to let the flames go over him as he got close.

He then swung his right arm with his might.

*BAM!*

Endeavor blinked several times as Enso landed several feet behind him. He felt a sting in his cheek and hissed as his palm went to it. At the same time, Enso shook his hand rapidly after having felt intense heat from Endeavor's face, surprisingly not having used his dagger at the moment.

"Okay, that might not have been the smartest attack..." He muttered, checking his hand for any burns.

Endeavor turned back to Enso with his eyes opened in a mixture of shock and anger.

"Did... Did you just slap me!?"

Enso paused as he glanced into his palm, then looking back at Endeavor with a stoic expression.

"Huh... I did. Weird, right?"

"You INFERIOR-!" A kick to the side of his head cut him off, as Shinso had flown by with a grin.

"I'm still here! Or did you forget about me!?" He taunted.

Endeavor was silent to this question as his glares become more hate-filled than ever.

"If only I didn't have these bothersome weights to slow me down!"

He brought both of his arms back, concentrating his flames in them.

"Flashfire fist..."

He then threw his arms forward, to which a massive blanket of flames was sent flowing forward.

"HELL'S CURTAIN!"

The giant tidal wave of flames came hurtling forward towards the two with the threat of engulfing them both.

Enso took a deep breath and got into a crouch, grabbing his dagger with both hands.

"Reaper Of Worlds..."

His black aura flared before Enso blasted forward and vertically spun in the air, swinging his dagger and body rapidly in 360 degrees.

"-Wheel Of Cruelty!"

He spun so fast that he turned into a blurring black wheel of energy, heading right into the waves of flames with so much force that they dispersed an opening as he went in, continuing on towards Endeavor.

Endeavor's eyes widened, but he jumped back just as the wheel came down and collide with the ground in an explosion.

Enso didn't leave a moment of rest and came right out of the emerging smoke with his dagger pointed forward right at Endeavor.

Endeavor gritted his teeth as flames erupted all around him, forcing Enso to suddenly jump and back up.

"For being the number two hero, it's disappointing that you're having this much trouble." Enso blatantly stated from afar.

There was a visible twitch before Endeavor blasted more flames towards him, which Enso dove to avoid.

However, by this point, Endeavor was starting to pant with sweat dripping down his face, only for it to evaporate immediately by his flames.

"He's starting to overheat..." Enso thought as he landed. "Since those large weights are hindering his movement, he can't move around too much as he wants. So he's forced to keep firing flames to keep us at bay..."

Enso kicked a chunk of debris upward, and Shinso blasted up and expertly flung his cloth at it, wrapping it around before rapidly spinning.

Shinso then flung the large piece of cement diagonally downward towards Endeavor while Enso dashed forward as well.

Endeavor just brought a fist back and ignited it, to which he swung it into the rubble and shattered it into flaming pieces.

The pieces came towards Enso, but he expertly spun and swung his dagger to slice them all out of the way while getting close.

Endeavor's palms burst more flames, but Enso got low and slid right between the flame hero's legs, much to his surprise.

"What-!?"

Before he could turn around, Enso had already turned with a jump and jabbed his knife right into Endeavor's upper back, bringing out a hiss of pain from the hero. However, it wasn't too much of a devastating attack, seeing as the hero's large figure compared to Enso's dagger wouldn't cause too much of a serious wound.

"Such as shame, if only you could move faster, you could've countered that." Enso stated, pulling out his dagger and jumping back as Endeavor swiped his arm back with flames. "Weights are such a hassle, aren't they?"

Endeavor's eyes seemed to fire up in themselves. "Bastard!"

With his enhanced speed, although not as fast as Snipe Style, Enso dashed to the side to avoid yet another burning wave.

He then got low to the ground and performed a powerful slice, sending chunks of concrete flying upward into the sky.

Upward, Shinso repeatedly blasted to each flying piece of rubble and either kicked them downward or use his binding cloths to wrap and fling them down, then blasting at Endeavor himself.

With the projectiles above, Shinso coming down behind him, and Enso in front, Endeavor had reached the peak of his patience.

"ENOUGH!"

A giant aura of fire exploded from Endeavor as the ground started shaking with scorching winds swirling around him.

Both Shinso and Enso's eyes widened as the two stopped their advances and attempted to move back.

But it all happened in an instant.

"PROMINENCE BUUUUUUUUURN!"

A beam of flames larger than Endeavor erupted from him straight up, the ground exploding all around him. Scorching winds suddenly spread in all directions and instantly heated every single piece of flying debris to scorching red.

Shinso crossed his arms to shield himself as his boots blasted him back, the burning drafts faster than him.

He thought he was gonna get scorched beyond recognition; he honestly saw his life flash before his eyes. But a blazing yellow blur flew up and caught him as the wave of heat reached, smoke then covering the entire area.

Everything was then hidden by the clouds of soot, the battlefield silent besides the sound of sizzling stone. Second-by-second, the black smoke raised and dispersed to slowly reveal the surrounding results of the devastating attack.

Endeavor was shown to be still standing tall, although the flames around his body seemed to have lightly shortened in size compared to before. He was still visibly irritated, but he was calmer now that he had expectantly finished this battle.

The ground all around him was charred, the area right beneath him was visibly melted, and debris was either red with heat or just as charred as the ground.

Endeavor kept vigilant as he waited for the rest of the smoke around him to clear up, not picking up on sounds of any movement. He gazed at his surroundings, flames ready at his hands.

But after a few seconds of simply the atmosphere clearing up, Endeavor finally saw a sign of the combatants. But he formed an evil smirk upon seeing the conditions.

Enso and Shinso had ended up all the way to the wall surrounding the plaza, clear that the last attack did a number on them. Shinso was sitting with his back against the wall, his head hung without any sign of movement. Parts of his uniform were burnt, but there didn't appear to be any significant burns on his exposed skin. Despite this, Shinso appeared lifeless on the floor with his eyes shadowed, as if the heat from Endeavor's attack had rendered him unconscious.

Enso was crouched down in front of Shinso, his shirt burnt along with parts of his hair. However, what surprised Endeavor was to see the shirt and hair start repairing themselves, both replacing the fabric and hair gone until you couldn't tell he's been burnt in the first place.

It didn't seem like he had been too devastated by the attack, but no doubt the burns on his back still stung. Enso's two fingers were on Shinso's neck, appearing to be checking for a pulse.

Seeing that one of his annoyances had been knocked out, Endeavor grinned and started marching towards them. With one of them out of commission, passing would no doubt double in difficulty. Finally, now it came up to what Endeavor really wanted. To fight with only this mysterious 'boy' and test his true power, to see just how different he was from all the other students. He knew there was so much more to Enso, from power to experience, so testing it here would be... interesting. If only he didn't have to wear these damn weights.

Enso heard Endeavor slowly approach him, standing up with his back still facing the powerful hero. His body covered Endeavor's view of Shinso as he opened his right hand and formed his black dagger.

Endeavor stopped his marching a few yards away from Enso, being sure to give himself some space as not to suddenly get caught in a surprise attack.

He smirked as both of his palms formed flames.

"Now then... now that the pest is gone, I believe it is finally time for the real battle at hand."

Enso's hand tightly held onto his dagger, his voice sounding somewhat wounded.

"You truly are vicious... You could've killed him. Did you even think about that?"

Endeavor scoffed, "Please, I've acknowledged that it'll take much more to permanently render you both out of commission.

"Oh really?"

Endeavor paused, hearing a smugness to Enso's voice.

Then...

"Heh."

That was when...

"Heh, heh."

He heard a... chuckle from him.

Of all people? Him. Endeavor didn't even know Enso for that long, but hearing such a thing was... wrong.

It was too sudden of a change, unless-

Endeavor's eyes widened.

"Wait, that wasn't-!"

He didn't even finish the thought. He just... froze.

His eyes lost color as his body just became completely fixed in place, the flames in his hands getting put out.

Enso turned back to reveal his stoic expression, no sign of any smugness or amusement that had been heard before. Instead, behind him, was who was supposed to be an unconscious Shinso, raised his head with a grunt. Even with his black mask on, you could practically picture the smug grin he had from those egotistical eyes.

"I'm flattered." Rather than his own voice coming out, it was his partner's voice that. "But it looks like this is the end of the game."

There was no doubt about it. Shinso's voice had changed to mimic Enso's, and now Endeavor was frozen in place with a completely dazed expression.

Enso reached behind him and pulled out the cuffs, but first glancing down at Shinso.

"I didn't expect it to end like this."

Shinso chuckled despite the stinging of some of his burns.

"Aren't I just the greatest?"

Enso started marching towards Endeavor.

"Nope."

"...You asshole."

"Endeavor has been captured. Team Ureshi and Shinso have passed the exam."

---

~{Meanwhile}~

Izuku was... worried.

He was sitting alone on a small studio tram as it was being driven towards where his exam would take place, as he couldn't exactly take a bus for just himself. Hunched over, elbows on his legs and hands folded against his face, Izuku really wasn't looking forward to what was to come.

And neither was his quirk, who was growling in his head.

Izuku blinked and saw himself back inside the darkness that was his own consciousness, sitting on what was now a pure black chair in a completely endless void.

All was still as the growling he heard continued, getting louder and louder all around him.

Izuku's expression was stoic, the boy taking deep calm breaths before calling out.

"Ikari."

The growling stopped, but far ahead of Izuku, two large and glowing red eyes manifested, glaring right at him.

"He's gonna get in our way; he's gonna make us fail! We have to make sure he doesn't!"

"And just what are you suggesting?" Izuku asked, clearly sounding uninterested.

"Only ONE of you has to get through the exit to pass. We could make sure he isn't a problem even before we start." Ikari suggested, red eyes momentarily brightening.

"I told you, Ikari, we're not gonna hurt Kacchan." Izuku sternly stated.

"And what if he tries to hurt US!?" The red eyes faded from the distance and appeared right in front of Izuku.

Despite this, Izuku just stared into these eyes with an unfazed expression.

"If he does... then we'll have to defend ourselves. But we aren't going to instigate an attack on Kacchan, nor will we overdo any damage we do to him in the case we do fight him."

Ikari then fully emerged, his doppelganger figure of his host standing right in front of him with even his hero costume outline.

"And you're okay with that!? We put up with him for YEARS! Don't forget that I felt everything that you went through!"

Izuku frowned. "From what I remember, you only manifested after I received One For All. So you shouldn't have felt everything Kacchan did to me in my childhood. In fact, I don't think you have enough of a reason to be as angry with him as you are now."

"I CAN STILL FEEL IT!" Ikari's eyes flared as the abyss was momentarily shaded in red, then dimming down. "Even if I wasn't alive for all that time, I was still in you as your quirk! And the moment I came to life... I saw everything. I felt everything in a surge! Every burn, every punch, every word... ALL, OF, IT!"

"But that doesn't mean we just assault him back for it! We'd be no better than him!" Izuku shouted.

However, when he did, red cracks started to emerge in the dark void.

"You know we should've broken every bone in his body! You should've just let me crush his head in our first battle!"

Izuku did his best to calm himself, taking deep breaths that helped the red cracks fill in black.

"No, Ikari... If we did that, my dream... our dream to be heroes would be over. It's the same as right now. If we were to hurt Kacchan just for revenge, not only could we fail, but we'd be damaging our hero career... I know we both don't want that. So just let, me, handle, it." Izuku spoke, slow and firm.

"..." Another hostile growl came from Ikari as his body slowly faded into the void.

"You'll see. We don't need him. We never did."

Izuku closed his eyes and let out a sigh.

And when he opened them, he was back on the tram. However, the transportation had stopped at this point, indicating that he had arrived at his destination.

Izuku stood up and left the tram, a calm and collected aura to him as he followed the path that would lead him to his exam.

After about five minutes of walking, he saw the large black doors that led into a replica of a large city. And in front of them, Izuku finally saw the one who was causing the dispute between him and his own quirk.

Bakugo was waiting with his back to Izuku, appearing completely focused and just waiting for these doors to open.

Izuku made sure to stop several feet away from his former childhood friend, not wanting to be in the range of a swing.

"Kacchan..."

The moment he heard him, Bakugo's hands balled into fists as his head turned back to Izuku with a glare. It wasn't a completely hate-filled look, but it still had plenty of irritation and hostility to it.

Despite this, Izuku tried to push.

"Can... Can we talk?"

Bakugo just scoffed, turning his head forward, clearly uninterested.

To which Izuku frowned.

"Of course it wouldn't be that easy..."

If he wanted to pass his exam with flying colors, then he had to prioritize a few things.

The top one was keeping his own anger in check.

---

~{Author's Post-Notes}~

So the plot thickens. It appears we all know what the next chapter is going to be all about, don't we? But yeah, I'm off back for another quarter of school... fun. Literally just one god damn week of vacation and that's it before new classes. And today is basically my last day of it. Oh well, I'll always have time assigned for working on the fic, so I hope I could make more progress in it!

I hope you enjoyed the chapter, leave long reviews with your opinions! Always appreciated over the simple 'good chapter' phrase and that's it.

Until next time, heroes.