A/N: Hey all! Just quickly, before this chapter gets underway, I just want to say that in my Universe, Aizawa knows about Izuku and One For All, if that wasn't already clear in previous chapters. For me, as Izuku's homeroom teacher, it makes more sense having Aizawa know.
To clear up characters that know about All Might and Izuku; there's Mina, Recovery Girl, Shigaraki Tomura, Grand Torino, and Aizawa (I'd add All Might and Izuku to this list but I'd say that's pretty obvious.)
I hope that clears things up in the future as I was regrettably unprecise in the early days of this story. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Izuku had felt extremely distracted ever since he'd spoken to Mina, but after rolling over and thinking on it for a few minutes, he was able to finally drift off to sleep. Now, the morning of the Provisional License Exam was upon them, and this was easily the most awful feeling Saturday he'd ever awoken to.
Sitting up in his bed, his eyes went straight to his Hero Costume case, sitting against the side of his desk. This was it, the gateway to their becoming Pro Heroes. If he could pass this exam, he would finally be able to legally intervene when a villain attacks, and it would only get his name out into the world of Heroes even more... Although that might not always be a good thing...
He was just hoping Mina would be in the zone this morning, ready to give this exam her all. The night before she'd been a complete mess, and after their conversation, the two of them had spent the next hour cuddling together and just enjoying the feeling of being in each other's arms. For him, it was all the reassurance he needed, and for her, it brought a lot of calm to her troubled mind.
When she left his room, she seemed much more reassured and bubbly, not quite her normal self, but definitely better than she had been, so he was hoping that meant she would be ready and prepared to pummel her way through the exam and pass with the flying colours he knew she could.
Izuku, however, had been thinking about other things. Besides the exam, another thing had returned to his mind as he'd struggled to fall asleep the night before. Quirk Meditation, or more specifically, why it was he'd lost control whilst attempting Quirk Meditation. Something inside him couldn't help but feel that it was because One For All was already as strong as it could get, but the more he thought about that, the more he doubted it.
It wasn't that his concentration wasn't in the right place either, because he'd not let anything distract him whilst he was meditating. It was probably one of those questions he was never going to know the answer to, but what he did know, was that, after this exam, he wanted to get ahold of All Might, and have him watch Izuku whilst he tried Quirk Meditation again.
"The premise of Quirk Meditation is to have you focus on the power flow of your Quirk, to feel it's energy inside you and try to focus it. The more you can feel your power inside you, the more you will start using it on a deeper level." Aizawa's words had been echoing through Izuku mind as of late, and although he wasn't completely sure as to what that meant, he felt like he had a pretty good idea.
Quirk Meditation was all about feeling the very deepest parts of your Quirk and channelling them through your body as opposed to just activating the Quirk like he usually did. With his current stage of training, if Izuku did end up successful in Quirk Meditation, it would probably be a trump-card move as opposed to a fighting style.
He hadn't really heard from any of his classmates as to whether they were successful in this endeavour either, but he had a pretty strong feeling that Ojiro probably had.
Either way, if he could master Quirk Meditation, and use it as a trump-card - a last resort move, then he knew he'd have given himself a massive advantage. Maybe he could turn it into another Ultimate Move? That would be really interesting.
But, that wasn't what he should be thinking about right now, so he quickly pushed the thoughts to the back of his mind, and got up out of bed, tidying up the bed covers before retrieving his Hero Costume case, pulling off and neatly folding his pyjamas under his pillow, before proceeding to change into his costume.
He wasn't really scared for the upcoming exam as much as he was excited. Even after all the hard work of the past month, the excitement of a physical exam never faded. It was the one chance he really got to show off his power to everyone, and as usual, he wasn't going to let that simply pass him by.
After he'd finished changing, Izuku looked over himself in the mirror again. He felt more prepared today than he had for other exams, and that was pretty major considering how much genuine preparation he'd given to past tests. Then again, this would be one of the biggest exams of his life, at least for now, so this feeling of confidence he had was probably deserved.
He took a deep breath before letting it out with a smile and heading towards his door, opening it and walking out into the hallway.
"Oh, hello Midoriya." Spoke up the sullen voice of Tokoyami, standing at the end of the hall waiting for the lift with a slightly unnerved looking Aoyama and a very unnerved looking Mineta.
"Hey, you ready for this?" Izuku asked with a smile, strolling over to the three.
"I think I am yes..." Aoyama started, before firing a glace down at the Pop-Off Quirk user, who was pasty white and had an ugly look on his face.
"Others I can't speak for, I'm afraid..." The blonde-haired teen added, turning back to Izuku with a shaky smile.
"You'll all do great." The greenette smiled between the three before the elevator doors opened and they all filed inside. It made him feel a little better, actually hearing his classmates voice their concerns and worries, because usually, they weren't massively verbal about it until after the event had taken place, the Final Exam probably being the best example of that.
"What about you Midoriya, you seem quite confident for a change," Tokoyami commented, smirking over at him. Izuku felt a blush coming on and looked at the floor.
"I-I'm not really that scared, I'm more excited than anything. This is the next massive step we take to becoming Pros. You mean to tell me you're not excited?" Izuku retorted, frowning curiously at the Dark Shadow Quirk user.
"Of course, I'm excited, but we've never been up against another school before..." Tokoyami commented as the elevator finally came to a stop and the doors slid open. Everyone else was already there and waiting, excluding a few of the more tardy students like Toru, Mina and Bakugo, but Izuku knew they'd join them eventually.
The atmosphere in the Common Room was buzzing, much more so than usual, and everyone's faces were plastered with anxiety. As usual, the Greenette was more excited to see what his classmates had in store than anything else, but the tension of whether he'd pass or not was just as exciting. Or, maybe that wasn't excitement, but fear.
"Yo, Iida, what're we waiting for?" Kirishima called from the other side of the room, sitting looking quite relaxed on the sofa with Sero, Kaminari and Jiro.
"We're waiting for Ashido, Bakugo and Toru to arrive. All Might and Aizawa are waiting outside for us, and we need to be leaving by eight, sharp." Iida explained.
"Sorry, we're here!" Mina's voice called over the hubbub as both the boys and girl elevator doors slid open, and they made their way out into the common room.
"About time, your chance to actually take the exam was getting a little weak there, you three." Iida warned, folding his arms.
"Shut it four-eyes." Bakugo snapped, walking towards Kirishima and the others and perching on the arm of the chair, glaring around at everyone. It seemed the even with something like the Provisional Licensing Exam, Bakugo still had his competitive spirit.
"Sorry I'm late..." Mina muttered as she and Toru stopped beside Izuku, waiting until most of the class had filed out before following them out of the building.
"What were you doing?" Izuku asked curiously.
"I kinda forgot where I left my costume case..." Mina muttered, rubbing the back of her neck and giggling.
"Why does that not surprise me." Izuku chuckled, closing the common room door behind them and waiting for it to lock before continuing down the front garden and out onto the road, where the coach was waiting.
Surprisingly, All Might and Aizawa didn't say anything to the class as they emerged from their building, simply turning and leading the class onto the bus, which didn't really help with easing anyone's nerves, but what else could they have to say to them besides what they always said?
Izuku let out a sigh as he climbed up the stairs and into the coach, following Mina and Toru to the back of the large vehicle and sitting down between them. During the drive to wherever the test was going to be taking place, he didn't want to really talk to anyone. All he wanted to do, was relax, quell his nerves, and mentally prepare for the trial ahead.
Izuku stared out of the window as the coach slowly pulled into a parking area specifically for buses. The place they'd arrived at the large Tokabo National Stadium, and it's size alone was terrifying. There were about five other coaches parked up here already, and from where he sat, Izuku could see five schools worth of hero course students, all mingling in their groups.
The bus slowly squeaked to a halt, and the motion of Aizawa and All Might getting up out of their seats brought most of them from their thoughts and their attention towards the front of the bus.
"Before we head out, there are a few things I should tell you." Eraser Head started, looking over them all. "There will be a total of six schools Hero Courses partaking in this exam, with yourselves included. The tasks within the exam have not been disclosed to you, but everything will be explained to you before the exam begins." He explained. This felt like useless information, in Izuku opinion.
"What I will tell you, as a little bit of insider information, is that these exams are split into two sections, all of which will require you all, as a class, to work together, which I trust you'll be able to do. I trust you'll all pass, but I won't get my hopes up." He added, not really looking at anyone as he spoke, before turning and walking off the bus.
"Well, some quite reassuring words from Mr Aizawa! Now, if you'd all like to follow me, we'll get you inside and ready to go!" All Might beamed, giving the class a hearty thumbs-up before strutting off the bus.
No-one moved for a moment, exchanging nervous glances and whispers. Izuku hated how little they knew about this exam. Aizawa was right in saying they should've been researching this beforehand, but they'd all had so much going on, and Izuku genuinely didn't even know this exam was coming up at all. It would've been nice to at least have been giving a little warning earlier than a week before the event was going to take place, but he wouldn't dare argue with Aizawa.
After everything his class had been through, there's no way they wouldn't be able to handle this exam. However, the unknown factor of it, and the weight of their Provisional Licenses on the line if they didn't succeed was the worst part of all. Izuku wanted this more than anything, and to have it snatched away from him if he wasn't good enough was one of his biggest fears.
Stepping off the bus, Izuku attention was instantly drawn to the huddle of students nearest them. Their costumes all looked surprisingly simplistic, but all of them looking very strong.
"Dude, look!" Kirishima hissed over his shoulder is Izuku, before subtly pointing over to a girl in one of the nearby classes. It was a blonde-haired girl with quite a beautiful face, dressed in what seemed to be a black, skin-tight bodysuit, with a police hat.
"How cute's she!" Mineta hissed frantically at the greenette, who cleared his throat and fired the small teen an uneasy glance. She was cute, but it felt wrong looking at her, especially with Mina right there with him...
Looking over to where Mina had been, he noticed that she and Toru were now walking with the rest of the girls, excitedly muttering to each other about how 'cool' the boys from other classes looked.
"Huh..." Izuku hummed to himself, frowning after her before looking back to Kirishima. He felt a little bit stirred up, seeing Mina looking at other guys with such an excited look on her face.
"Hey man, don't let it bother you..." Kirishima spoke up.
"W-What? Let what bother me?" Izuku responded quickly.
"Mina..." The red-head responded simply.
"I-It doesn't bother me, I know I can trust her." Izuku responded although he couldn't quite meet Kirishima's eyes when he said that. It felt stupid, letting something like this bother him.
"Well your sorry-puppy face says otherwise. Girls will be girls bro, that just means that if she's gonna look at boys, then you can hand with your good friends and look at the giiiirls." Kirishima smirked, wrapping his strong arm around Izuku shoulder and pulling him over to himself, Mineta, Kaminari and Sero.
"Check it out, that girls got fox ears!" Kaminari excitedly muttered into Izuku's ears, shaking his shoulders lightly as they all turned their eyes to the girl in question. She was quite a tall girl, maybe even taller than Momo, and she had a lot of features of a fox, mainly the ears, tail and legs.
"Weird... I wonder how someone develops a Quirk like that." Izuku thought out loud.
"Who cares, all I know is that it's freaking sweet!" Mineta beamed. Izuku nodded in blind agreement.
"You know what else I've noticed..." Kirishima started, tightening his grip on Izuku a tiny bit. "You're getting quite a lot of eyes, Mr Deku. I'd like to bet that they've heard about you from the Sports Festival, that made us all pretty famous." He stated.
Izuku frowned curiously before taking a quick look around. There were already a lot of eyes on them as they were Class 1-A of U.A High School, one of the most prestigious schools in history, but the majority of them felt like they were directed at Izuku. After all, he was 'self-destructive for the benefit of this classmate' in the Sports Festival, he'd battled and been saved by Endeavour against Stain, and his single-handedly saved a child from the clutches of a villain who'd killed two Pros, although that wasn't public knowledge yet.
"Shota, hey Shota!" A female voice hollered, squeezing through a huddle of students and jogging over to Aizawa. Most of his class stopped and watched as this small, but incredibly joyous looking woman bounded towards a less than pleasantly surprised Aizawa and playfully punched his arm.
"How ya been! It feels like years since we last saw each other." She beamed.
"Who's that?" Kirishima asked openly to the three boys he was walking with.
"You don't know who that is? That's Ms Joke! Mina did her Work Place training with her. Her Quirks pretty cool." Izuku responded quickly, smiling as the two Pro-Heroes exchanged conversation.
"Huh... That makes sense..." Sero commented, glancing from Mina, back to Ms Joke. "Her and Aizawa have a history? Seriously?" He asked as the four of them joined the rest of the class. Ms Jokes class had unsettling looks on their faces, almost disapproving, and it made Izuku feel a defensive aggression heat up inside him.
"No, we don't." Aizawa responded to the Tape Quirk user coldly.
"Hey, that's mean!" The minty-green haired woman laughed. Something about her costume unnerved Izuku slightly. Maybe it was the fact it looked a little bit like a jester or the fact that green and orange really didn't go together, but there was something about her overwhelming laugh and bombastic outfit that made him feel uneasy.
"Aizawa and I go waaaaay back." She said, waving her arm over her head in an exaggerated way. For a teacher with such a happy atmosphere, her students looked very stern and competitive. Maybe Izuku just hadn't got the memo, but last time he checked, this was an exam, not a competition. Aizawa only hummed a response, before his eyes suddenly illuminated, and Ms Jokes face became a little stark.
"Damn, you're still as quick as ever." Ms Joke giggled.
"Still as easy to read as ever..." Aizawa grumbled back, rolling his eyes at her. "Come on, You all need to be ready for when the Chairman of the Hero Public Safety Commission gives his speech." The Erasure Quirk user ordered, before walking past Ms Joke and leading the class towards the entrance of the Stadium.
"Good luck U.A! You're gonna need it!" Ms Joke hollered after them. Izuku watched her from over his shoulder, and his stomach dropped a little after her statement. Not exactly the words of encouragement he or his classmates were looking for.
"She seemed nice." Tsuyu commented.
"Tch..." Aizawa scoffed in response, inducing a giggle from Uraraka and he Frog Quirk user.
"Hey Midoriya, are you okay? You look a little pasty..." Momo muttered, drawing a few of their classes attention to the greenette.
"Hmm? Oh, no I'm fine... Just starting to get a little nervous." He responded with a laugh. It was annoying, the entire time up until now he hadn't felt very nervous about this test, but now he and his classmates were just about to enter the building, and really start the exam, his stomach was doing cartwheels inside him.
"Worried? You? Why?" Mina spoked up, shuffling over to him with a smile. "There's no way we fail." She added warmly, rubbing his shoulder. It was nice knowing they all had such a sure attitude, but what they had to remember was that they knew almost nothing about this exam. Nothing had been disclosed to them. They didn't know how many of the almost two thousand students here could pass, and they didn't know what sort of tests they'd be doing.
Maybe he was being stupid, but going into something with an overly confident attitude when you knew nothing about it felt like a bad idea. Then again, if he started this exam with the thoughts that he couldn't do it, chances were he probably wouldn't pass. He believed in himself, and he knew he could pass, but the unknown factor was what really stunted his confidence.
"Wait here..." Aizawa started as they were lead through the large arching entrance of the Stadium and into what looked like a waiting room, large enough to easily fit the six schools worth of students inside.
"Once everyone is inside, the Chairman will come in and give an explanation on the test. After that, the exam starts, to get serious, because this is no joke." He warned, pointing a stern finger at them before pushing his hands back into his pockets. Us teachers will be inside the commentation area, watching over you all from there." He added, before turning his back on them and walking away.
"Good luck." He mumbled, lifting his right hand and waving at them over his shoulder.
"Wow, really encouraging..." Rikido chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. "How long do you think we'll have to wait until everyone's here?" He asked, fidgeting with his sugary snack filled waist back that he'd had added to his costume.
"I'm not sure..." Iida spoke up. He didn't sound as overbearingly confident as usual, but then it was clear the weight of the exam was getting to everyone a little bit.
"What sort of tests do you think they'll have us do, ribbit." Tsuyu croaked curiously, looking up to the glasses-wearing teenager.
"Well Mr Aizawa said that for both tests we'll have to work together as a class, so I imagine it will be something of a verses match between schools..." Todoroki thought out loud.
"Hey, that'll be pretty fun!" Kirishima beamed excitedly, clapping his hands and rubbing them together.
"And it'll give each of us a chance to show off how our Quirks can be used where others can't, so that would make sense." Ojiro chimed in.
"If their goal was to test our Quirks against one another, then they would've made this a free-for-all deathmatch," Bakugo said with a dissatisfied expression. As much as Izuku didn't like to agree, he could kind of see where his old friend was coming from, but a free-for-all was an awful idea.
Todoroki's suggestion was most plausible as it would kill two birds with one stone; allowing the examiners to see their ability to work as a team, and to weigh up who's Quirks would best benefit from a Provisional License. Giving licenses to students with Quirks that could be used in all areas would probably be the examiners top priority. Parts of that to Izuku seemed unfair, but he also knew that there were probably a lot of other factors behind the scenes when it came down to the fine details.
There wasn't a doubt in his mind that every one of his classmates would get their Provisional Licenses because of how hard they'd all been pushing themselves. Every single one of them had trained their Quirks to be as strong as possible for this exam, and everywhere their Quirks couldn't be used, they'd trained to fill in those gaps.
Someone who acted as a good example was Jiro. Her quirk was incredible for utility, but when it came to actual combat, it wasn't massively helpful, so she'd trained in combat, as had Uraraka and some other utility-based Quirk users, to help make sure they wouldn't fall behind in any areas.
Izuku did, however, feel bad about the students from other schools, who perhaps hadn't thought about, or hadn't had the chance to make up for these areas where their Quirks perhaps couldn't. After everything that'd occurred in these past few months, Izuku felt that this exam's passing requirements would've been made much stricter, which is why he was grateful to his teachers, and himself, for working as hard as he had.
Time seemed to drag by now they were inside, and as the minutes of him and his friends standing alone in the lobby passed, more and more of the other schools filed inside, slowly packing into the area and making it feel much smaller than it looked. Outside, with everyone spread out, it was hard to really see just how many students were going to be taking part in this exam, but after seeing them all in an enclosed space, the stakes felt even higher than before.
Aizawa walked up to the commentating booth slowly, his hands in his pockets and his head down. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't worried for the students of his class, but out in the real world, their most reliable ally, would be their Quirks, so he didn't want to give them any direct help or hints. Important assets of a Pro-Hero was last-minute decision making and deciding on the best causes of action in tense situations where there wasn't much time to think.
"Oh, Aizawa." The strong voice of All Might perked up as the Erasure Quirk user started up the stairs to the room the teachers were all gathered in. As All Might stood at the top of the stairs, Aizawa felt concern awaken within him. Something in the Pro Heroes face looked very unnerved, and for someone like All Might, that didn't spark a lot of confidence in the dark-haired teacher.
"What's up with you?" He asked, reaching the second stair from the top and stopping, looking up to the Number One Pro with a crooked expression.
"Come with me a moment... There's something I must speak with you about." All Might responded gravely. Aizawa's stomach twisted a little at the Pro's words, but he did as he was asked, following All Might down the hallway opposite the commentary booth and into a small cleaning-store side room.
"What's going on?" Aizawa questioned, concern more audible in his voice.
"He's back..." All Might whispered. Aizawa stared at him for a moment with a frown on his face. Being vague in a situation like this really wasn't a good idea if it was as grave as he was making it out to be.
"What're you talking about?"
"All For One..." All Might said before deflating, his frail body steaming as he did. All For One was back? Surely not...
"If this is a joke, it's not funny..." Aizawa said harshly, glaring at the boney form before him.
"Would I joke about something like that Shota?" All Might barked back, his voice hushed. Aizawa shifted uncomfortably, firing a glance over his shoulder to make sure that the door was locked.
"It's a pretty hard assumption to be making at times like these, how can you be so sure?" Aizawa asked, squinting and folding his arms across his chest.
"You remember Mirai Sasaki, don't you?" All Might asked. Mirai Sasaki... Something in Aizawa's mind recognised the name, but not any specifics of it. "Sir Nighteye, my old sidekick..." All Might filled in the gap, walking over to the right-side wall, leaning against it with a heavy sigh.
"Yeah, I remember him-..." Aizawa started, before his mind finally put two and two together. "He told you... Didn't he..." The Erasure Quirk user muttered, his face falling.
"I thought you said he refused to look into any personal futures! How far did you go?" He asked sharply.
"Not far! You really think I'd pressure that troubled young man to do something he swore never to do!" All Might growled, dragging his hands through his hair. There was a tense silence between the two Pros for a moment before Aizawa let out a sigh and straightened himself up.
"What did he tell you, exactly?" He asked coolly.
"He didn't go into specifics, per my request, but he said Shigaraki Tomura and his Warp-Gate accomplice freed him. Two days from now they're gonna attack City Center..." All Might muttered. Aizawa felt more and more of his already small amounts of hope fade away as All Might spoke.
"What are you going to do?" He asked. Realistically, if anyone else got involved besides All Might, they'd be killed without question.
"The only thing I can do... I need to really make sure he can never get out again. I'll use everything I've got left in me to beat him, and when I do, I'll ensure he's held somewhere no-one'll ever find him." He responded.
"What about you?" Aizawa started. Aizawa knew too well, as all the UA teachers did, All Might's health situation, but he also knew about his relationship with Midoriya. Aizawa was one of the first people All Might disclosed that information to. After all, Aizawa was the boy's homeroom teacher, and with his good instincts, he probably would've caught on eventually anyway.
"This could be it for me and One For All... The embers are already fading from me anyway, and with something like this on the horizon, there's no doubt in my mind that this is where my story with that power ends." All Might said gravely.
"Have you told the boy?" He asked. All Might shook his head.
"How could I, Shota? That young man is carrying enough weight on his shoulders right now... The last thing I want is for him to burden himself with more that doesn't concern him." All Might responded quietly, his head hung low.
"But he had your Quirk now, no matter how long it takes, eventually that young man will become involved, and he'll find out All For One is free because the media will plaster if everywhere if you win..." Aizawa said, keeping a realistic mindset.
"Speaking of which, what if you don't win? You're not the man you once were, Toshinori." He added softly.
"I'll die before letting that happen. There's no way I don't win." He responded, taking a deep breath before reinflating himself for the walk to the booth, where he would finally be able to sit back and relax his body again.
"I'll take your word for it... Thank you for telling me." Aizawa said, softening his tone a little and reaching a hand up to the hulking Pro, rubbing it reassuringly.
"Thank you, my friend." All Might fired him a small but genuine smile. "No-one else knows about this, so, please... Keep it between us..." He added.
"You have my word. Now, let's get moving, I don't want to miss this." Aizawa smiled, unlocking the door of the cluttered room and opening it, waiting for his large friend to exit before following, and closing the door behind him.
The timing for this couldn't have been worse, and furthermore, Sir Nighteye's eyes Foresight readings were never, never wrong. Foolishly, the Erasure Quirk user had never thought about Izuku in terms of All Might's career ending soon, and part of him felt a lot of guilt. Knowing that, even in only his first year, Izuku Midoriya would have so much happening made Aizawa feel responsible, and that was painful.
No, he couldn't keep thinking about these kinds of things during such a crucial time for his students. For now, he'd push those thoughts to the back of his mind, and as All Might said, they'd cross that bridge when they got there. It was nice that he'd told him though, because at least now he had a little bit of warning, and time to prepare for what the future could hold.
After what felt like an hour, the final school had made its way inside and things were really getting quite packed in the lobby. Izuku's stomach felt like it was churning as the almost two-thousand student stood waiting for the Hero Public Safety Commission Chairman to appear on the stage and give his speech.
Considering this would be something so mundane compared to the rest of the exam, this really made Izuku nervous. The anticipation of finally finding out what their tests would be and the specifics of them seemed to really be getting to everyone. Mina had been fidgeting ever since Aizawa has left, and even now, standing beside Izuku with her hand in his, she kept shuffling back and forth, tapping her feet on the concrete.
"Are you alright?" Izuku asked softly, stroking the back of her hand with his thumb.
"Yeah... I'm alright." She responded, not sounding very confident.
"You'll do fine, Mina, I know you'll pass. We all will." He smiled warmly at her. She looked a little shocked for a moment because a smile came across her beautiful face and her grip on his hand tightened.
"I love you." She muttered, firing him a wink as movement form upon the stage grabbed everyone's attention.
"I love you too..." He responded, watching as three men, all dressed in black suits made their way up to the large wooden lectern. The gentleman in the middle what the one Izuku assumed to be the Chairman. He had a head of messy blondish hair and a very tired face, even more so than Aizawa's. The rest of the black suit-wearing men and women behind him was who Izuku assumed to be the main members of the Hero Public Safety Commission.
"Good morning, everyone." The tired voice of the Chairman spoke up through the microphone, his slightly staticy voice echoing out through the waiting area, silencing the few students who were still having their own conversations.
"Welcome to your Provisional Hero Licensing Exam. Now, I want to start off by congratulating all of you for progressing so far, especially the U.A first years, who I know've had a very hard first semester." The explained, indicating the class that was smaller than the others, sitting towards the front of the mass.
"Now, most importantly of all are the changes ourselves, and the Police Force have settled on after the recent increase in villain activity. First of all, the exam's focus is on students ability to cooperate with each other. Both phases of the exam are meant to test the students' ability to work together. The first phase emphasizes teamwork and combat ability. The final phase focuses more on decision making and how students adjust to their role in disaster situations." He explained.
"And finally, with the older generation of Pros entering retirement, there are more and more gaps to fill out in the field. So, exam pass rates have been changed so no more than ten percent of everyone here, will pass. This is to ensure only the best of the best and allowed to assist the Pros if things really require it, and can also fill the gaps left behind by the retired generation of heroes."
This statement, made Izuku's heart drop, and by the way, Mina's grip fell a little limp on his hand, he could tell that this fact really hit her hard. Everyone in his classes faces fell, and there was an eruption of hubbub from all the students.
"Now, now!" The Chairman boomed, quickly silencing almost everyone. "I know this is going to be very shocking for you to hear, but examination methods have also been adapter accordingly, to allow fair and justified results." He said, his voice still loud, carrying across the hall with ease.
A max of ten percent of them could pass... That meant that only around one-hundred and fifty of the roughly one-thousand-five-hundred students would pass this exam. That was terrifying. Class 1-A alone took up twenty of those slots. As much as Izuku still wanted to have the mindset that they'd all pass the exam, the chances of them actually managing that with those pass rates was much, much lower.
Izuku looked around his classmates, all of them except maybe Bakugo, Todoroki and Tokoyami, looking much more nervous than before, and rightfully so. Mina herself looked very unnerved, probably the most nervous Izuku had ever seen her before.
From what he'd told them about the tasks themselves, they weren't massively complex, but the tension of being one of the one-hundred and fifty students to pass would definitely rack up the competitiveness of the exam participants.
"Now, for Phase One, examinees must place three targets or "weak points" on their body in any exposed area. The targets recognize the balls and can tell who hit whom based on distance, movement and other factors." The Chairman started, relaxing against the Lecturn and turning to look at a large projector screen that had lowered behind him, showing off images to give more detail to what he was explaining.
"You'll all also receive a box with six orange balls. The targets light up if they're hit by one of the balls. If all three targets are hit by a ball, that student is eliminated. The competitor that lights up another student's third target is credited with their eliminations. Students must eliminate two other competitors to pass the first phase, and only the first 100 applicants to pass will advance to the final phase."
This was basically an advanced version of all-out, Quirk battle dodge ball, and Izuku had confidence that his class would be able to pass something like this. Every single one of them was quick on their feet, and especially for students with a layer of armour, like Tokoyami, this part of the test wouldn't be an issue at all.
All they had to do, was eliminate two to three other examinees, which shouldn't be an issue at all. It was just a case of getting it done fast, and staying on your toes. Once the exam begins, there's a high chance there could be a preparation phase, so they could all decide on a strategy to get the whole class through without any trouble. However, being one of the only two schools with first years up against second years, this would be troublesome no matter how they went about it.
"And, once one hundred of you have passed that phase, we'll move on to the second and final phase of this exam." The tired-looking Chairman started, before waiting a moment for whoever was in charge of changing the slides, to move on to the correct one.
"Professional rescuees from the Help Us Company act as civilians who have been caught up in a villain terrorist attack. You'll be tasked with rescuing them, and the H.U.C. employees analyze your rescuing methods and reduce points in the case of perceived mistakes and a lack of efficiency." He said, before the slide changed to show a photograph of some very serious-faced men and women.
"They're assisted by public safety workers monitoring the exam from the stands. They also watch you and deduct points based on your actions. Each of the one-hundred that pass will begin the second phase with 100 points, and will fail if your score drops below the 50 points benchmark." He finished, before the projector shut off, the lights faded back on, and the Chairman turned to address them again.
Izuku was now terrified. He'd had very little experience in search and rescue, the only time he could remember being when he saved Kota. However, looking at the bigger picture, these task weren't nearly as hard as Izuku had expected, and he was relieved in that regard, but they still, had high stakes and were definitely not to be taken lightly.
"I hope that clears up a few of the gaps left for most of you." The Chairman said, clearing his throat and getting up from the Lecturn. No-one said a word, or dared even move as he looked over the mass of students.
"Good. Now, without further ado, the Provisional Hero Licensing Exam will begin. Separate into your designated class areas and martial will come and deliver each of you your balls and tags for the first phase. Best of luck to you all." He said with a small smile on his face as he and the other members of the Hero Public Safety Commission headed off the stage, and the entire lobby they were in, began unfolding around them like a cardboard box.
There were cityscapes, woodland and cliff areas, and every other environment you could think of here, especially to give every student a fair chance at showing what they could do. This was it now, things were really about to get serious. It was like nothing he'd ever seen before.