Traumatized

by Byrdman53

For as long as he can remember Izuku Midoriya wanted to be a hero. All he needed was for his quirk to manifest and his dream could begin. But what happens when his quirk turns into something he wished he never had.

25. Chapter 24

JIROUS POV

A year and a half of blood, sweat, and tears… well mainly sweat and tears, but none of that mattered anymore. I was standing in front of UA ready for the written and practical exams. Nothing was going to get in my way of me succeeding today.

"Hey Jirou I'm in testing hall A. Which one are you in?" Kaminari ran up to me clearly excited for what was going to happen today.

I looked down at my letter. "Fuck you universe." I let out a sigh before turning to face him. "Hall A."

"Sweeeet we're hair buddies and now we're exam buddies as well. It's almost as if the universe is trying to put us together." He started to do his happy dance again.

I couldn't help but laugh at his choice of words. "Think what you want but just so you know the universe can be a real bitch." I pulled out my phone and went to my photos as I started to walk into the building. "I know that much first hand."

"Holy shit that's a lot of people." The room I was in easily held three hundred people comfortably and to think there were two other rooms with just as many people. It was hard to believe nearly a thousand people apply for this course each year and only forty are accepted into the hero course. I was starting to feel nervous as the realization of how slim my chances were or getting in came to the front of my mind. My jacks started to move on their own and that only made my mind start to go fuzzy.

"Haha I'm in danger."

I was brought back to reality by Kaminaris comment. I started to laugh a little and I felt better. "Well atleast I know I won't have the lowest points on the written exam." I gently smacked my cheeks as I took in a deep breath. "Alright Kaminari let's do this."

Two gut wrenching hours later the written exam was completed. Looking around the room everyone more or less had the same expression on their face. Well almost everyone, some looked as if they already knew they failed, while a select few were actually smiling, and then there was Kaminari. Apparently at some point during the exam his brain overloaded itself so he's was currently on his dumb...er mode. Normally I'd bust out into laughter from this but after that mentally taxing test there was no way it could get worse.

"Dammit this is absolute horse shit!" I was currently running away from a robot that was the size of a skyscraper. "Honestly, where do they get the money to build all this? I mean the test is happening simultaneously in ten different zones."

The practical exam consisted of us beating robot villains. In theory it shouldn't have been that hard but they tell us how many points we needed to pass. It also didn't help that the only way to know how many points you had was to keep track of them yourself. That wasn't exactly difficult either but sometimes two people went after the same robot so there was no real way to know for sure if the points we counted were correct or not.

But none of that seemed to matter now as everyone started to run for their lives. It was hard to believe that the school would approve of a test someone could actually die in… well actually I guess it wasn't so hard to believe this school is the best of the best so it makes sense that the test would be over the top, so I guess it was more surprising than anything. "Well as long as everyone just runs away they should be fine."

"Don't worry everyone I got this."

"God dammit." I quickly shot my jack back and wrapped it around Kaminaris arm. "Come on idiot you're not gonna fight that."

"But Jirou I can.."

"Nope."

"Come on giv…"

"Nope."

"But.."

I raised my free jack and pressed it to his throat. "I said you're not going to fight it. So that means you're not going to fight it. Am I understood?"

He gulped nervously as he started to run with me. "Yes ma'am."

"Good." I started to look around the alleys hoping to see some robots. "Now let's get out of here and try to get some more points before time runs.."

"And that's the time everyone. If you're injured please go to the nurses office and as for everyone else go change and leave the premises. Everyone will get a letter in the next few weeks stating whether you passed or not. Thanks for coming and have a great day."

I let out a sigh of relief as I made my way to the front gate of the test area. "Well with that out of the way I think it's time for a well deserved nap."

"Hey Jirou, wait up."

I stopped and turned around. "What's up Kaminari?"

"Well since we both survived the entrance exam, I was wondering if you wanted to go out and celebrate." He gave me one of his confident smiles.

"He really is an idiot." I took a deep breath. "Kaminari no."

"Alright sweet I'll meet you at the station at… wait… did you say no?"

"Yes."

"Yes." He jumped in the air excited.

"No."

"No?" He looked confused.

"Yes."

"Yes!"

"This is going absolutely nowhere." I pinched the bridge of my nose and sighed. "Look Kaminari you're a… good guy…. but I told you last time I'm not looking for a relationship so my answer is no."

"Oh… well I guess I'll see you around then." He gave a wave as he walked through the entrance.

As he walked away I couldn't help but feel a little upset with myself with how I treated him. "Real smooth Kyoka." I shook my head and made my way to the locker room so I could change and head home.

IZUKU POV

Today was the day all my hard work pays off. I was sitting in the back corner of hall C resting my head on the table trying to get the last bit of sleep I could. Pop's habit of sleeping whenever he hit the change had rubbed off on me. Luckily no one bothered me I guess they all assumed it was some sort of pretest ritual. I was actually relieved no one bothered to talk to me but I could have done without the constant mumbling about me not being in a school uniform. I mean it's not like I had much of a choice. I haven't been enrolled in an actual school in a year and a half. Eventually all the mumbling came to a stop when the proctor for the test came into the room.

"Alright everyone, the first part of your entrance exam will be the written test. It will be a two hour times test. Those who pass it will be allowed to move on to the practical portion of the exam. Does anyone have any questions?" The man stood with his arms behind his back.

"I have a question sir." I heard shuffling of a chair as some guy stood up. "Why exactly is it one written test instead of multiple ones for each subject? Also you in the back, you've been sleeping since you came here and where is your school uniform? Do you have no respect for your school or the rules of this institution?"

The faint sound of chatter among the other students could be heard. Apparently more than one had the same question about me.

"Looks like we have a stickler for the rules." I let out a quiet chuckle. "This should be funny." I didn't answer him verbally. Instead I raised both my hands and used one to imitate cranking a jack-in-the-box. As I turned the fake handle I slowly raised my middle finger until it was fully extended. Once it was fully extended for a few seconds I slowly turned my hand the opposite way while lowering my finger. Apparently Mama Jokes sense of humor had rubbed off on me as well.

"How dare you! Are you sure you're in the right place?"

I raised my hands again and made a fist with one while moving my other hand up in front of it. When my hand passed the other it revealed a middle finger raised towards him again. "That should do the trick."

"Sir, I would like to ask you to remove him from the exam. It is clear that he doesn't not deserve to be here." The kid turned and I assumed gestured towards me.

"Alright both of you calm down."

"... I wasn't calm?"

"The principal himself chose to structure the test this way to see how well you all are able to manage time while not knowing what will come next. The young man in the back is not violating any rules. While typically it's required to wear your school uniform to entrance exams he has been granted permission from the principal himself due to certain circumstances. As far as sleeping the entire time, that is his choice to make. We are treating you as adults and you are free to pay attention or not. Just don't expect any sympathy if you end up missing something."

"Yes sir. Pardon my interruption."

I heard his chair scoot back into place and I just gave a thumbs up towards the front of the room.

"Alright, if there's no more questions we'll begin the test."

And here it is, the test that the principal said would test me more than any other one he had given me before. I really should be thankful that I atleast have an idea of what the questions are like. "Nothing he can do will surprise me now."

"Hello Mr. Midoriya, I bet you're wondering why your test is blank."

"Or maybe he can still surprise me." I flipped through the test and each one was empty. I shook my head and went back to the first page. To read the rest of the note.

"Well if I'm being honest I have no way to know if it's really you or not. Based on your habits I predicted you'd sit in the back corner furthest away from attention."

"It scares me how smart he is."

"The reason your test is blank is because I know you would pass this test with flying colors. You see all the previous tests I gave you I compiled my favorite questions and tubes them down so the masses would stand a better chance at them. So for now just fill in your name and draw a picture or something. Please use this time wisely and don't distract others who are trying to focus."

"Sweet someone just earned a two hour nap." A smile formed on my face.

"That being said, I will not permit you sleeping during this time. I know Mr. Aizawa has been raising you so I'm sure you picked up a few of his habits."

"Dammit."

"Best of luck Mr. Midoriya. I'm looking forward to seeing how you fare in the practical portion."

I let out a sigh as I picked up my pencil. "I wish Licorice was here."

After an excruciating two hours of doodling and fighting the urge to sleep I found myself standing outside of fate waiting for the exam to start. Looking around the crowd most of the people looked as if they had impressive quirks. However I got the feeling that the majority of them relied on the sheer strength of them instead of logically knowing how to use them. I continued to look through the crowd but stopped when I saw someone who was shaking in place as if they were too scared to move. Taking a deep breath I made my way next to them.

"Just relax and take a deep breath, you're going to do fine."

They jumped a little not realizing that I was standing next to them. "I'm sorry, what did you say?"

"Just relax and take a deep breath, you're going to do fine." I scratched the back of my neck.

"You.. you really think so?" The girl turned to me with a confused look.

I looked at her and feigned ignorance. "Oh I'm sorry I wasn't talking to you."

She became slightly flustered as she turned away from me. "Oh I'm sorry. I just assumed.."

"No it's fine I was just messing with you… partially. I was talking to myself just as much as I was talking to you." I looked up and kept my eyes focused on the gate. "You should try and stay calm. If you're panicking you won't be able to think clearly in a critical situation."

"Yeah you're right. I'm just nervous is all." She tightens her fists. "I can't afford to fail here."

I glanced over and saw the look of determination on her eyes. "Yeah... me too."

She looked at me and gave me a small smile. "Thanks for that, now I'm ready to do this. By the way, I'm Ochako Uraraka. It's nice to meet you." She extended her hand but left her pinky up.

"That's odd, her quirk must activate when all her fingers make contact with an object… interesting." I turned to her and started to extend mine as well. "Iz…"

"What do you think you are doing distracting someone right before an exam?" A guy quickly approached us.

"Not this guy again." As I looked him over as he approached us everything made sense as to why he conducted himself the way he did.

He stopped in front of us and looked us over. "I don't know why but I feel like I've seen you before."

I looked at him and smirked a little. "God, he is just making this too easy." I took a deep breath and looked him in the eyes. "Half a pound of tuppenny rice. Half a pound of treacle. That's the way the money goes.."

Both of them looked at me with confused faces. He cleared his throat. "I don't see what that has to do with the situation."

"Pop goes the weasel." I raised both my hands and flicked him off again.

"It's.. it's you from the written test! I should have known a delinquent like you would try to cause problems for someone right before another test." He pointed at me with a robotic motion.

"Calm down Mr. Roboto, that's not what I was doing. I was giving her some advice to help calm her nerves before the test." I looked over to Uraraka to see her trying to hold in her laughter. "Well I guess I should thank you, it looks like she's no longer nervous at all."

He looked at her with a skeptical look. "Is this true?" She nodded her head yes as she tried to hold back her laughter. "I'm very sorry for making assumptions, but still your actions do not show how a hero should act."

"Yeah maybe so, but jumping to conclusions could get you killed in the wrong situation." I turned around and started to head to the gate. "But if it helps out your mind at rest I only did that because I thought it would be funny."

"Wait, you never told me your name." Uraraka called out.

I stopped and looked back for a moment before throwing my hood over my head. "As of now I'm no one." I started to walk towards the gate again as I gave her a small wave. "If you want to know more make it into UA."

I made my way to the front of the gate and stood there waiting for the test to start. "Alright, what's the best approach to this? We're scored on a points system but they didn't tell us how many we need to pass, so let's just assume the forty highest points pass. They said we need to stop the robots to earn points. Most people will probably overlook that and just assume that means destroying them. I need to figure out how to disable them quickly." I put my hand down to my lower back. "This would have been so much simpler if they allowed me to bring my knife. I could just cut an exposed fuel and call it a day." I looked up at the wall and put a hand to my chin. "Something still doesn't feel right though, there has to be more to this that they're not telling us."

Before I could figure out what they had deliberately avoided telling us a siren rang began to ring.

"Attention everyone, your twenty minute practical exam is underway."

The gates opened up to reveal a city. It was a mad dash into the test area as everyone quickly decided that it was every man for themselves. I quickly turned down a side street to a less populated area.

"Alright I just need to find one of each so I can know what will work for each one."

As I came to an opening the way in front of me was cut off by a one point robot. It swung its right arm at me as it spun around on its central axis. I jumped back and watched it spin around for a moment before stopping with its back turned towards me. I couldn't help but laugh when I saw an oversized red button on the back of it that said 'power down'.

"God bless whoever designed these." I wiped a stray tear from my eye as I pressed the button. "Alright one point down and just…. huh they never told us how many of each robot there was."

I jumped on top of the now oversized paperweight and continued to run around dodging and pressing the buttons on the backs of any robots I saw. Ten minutes had passed and I was at twenty four points. I turned another corner and was face to face with a one pointer charging right at me.

"Hey you know what's funnier than twenty four?" I slid under its swing and jumped to my feet to press the button causing it to collapse in front of me. "Twenty five." I started to laugh to myself as I looked around. "Hmmm not as funny as I hoped it would be. Oh well can't let that keep me down I just need to keep on trucking."

Once I had finished clearing out the area I was in, I reached the center of the exam site. I stood in the shadows of one of the buildings and watched everyone fighting robots. Scrap metal was flying everywhere along with the spurts of motor oil.

"Hmm I'm surprised this place doesn't have more or an arsonry issue."

I continued to observe for another minute as I thought through my next plan or attack.

"Time should be running out soon. Did they expect us to finish off all the robots before time ends? If that's the case they should end it once everything has been defeated. Why would they waste all of our time letting us sit around and do nothing?" I looked around the area again and noticed everyone starting to clear out. It was strange how quiet everything had gotten. "This is wrong, something doesn't seem right." I looked around the main road again. "You know it's odd that they would put so many high value point robots in one area. It's almost as if they were trying to.."

Suddenly the buildings began to shake as the ground in the main road cracked. I giant robotic hand sprung from the ground and caused rubble and the scrap metal to fly everywhere. Everyone that was left on the main road began to run away.

"I'm not one to usually follow the crowd but I think they have the right idea."

As I made my way to a safe area everything clicked as I watched the crowd interact with each other. Everyone was pushing each other out of the way trying to get to a safe spot.

"Of course how could I be so stupid. It's so simple anyone with half a brain could figure it out. They're giving points for saving others. I mean it is a hero course after all, it's so obvious that everyone overlooked it. Well let's hope thirty two points is enough because this exam is gonna end in a minute or two."

I continued to run ahead of the robot keeping in eye on the main road looking for anyone that may have fallen or needed help. I was nearing the end of the main road and I was sure time was about to expire. Honestly I was panicking slightly at the thought that I didn't have enough points. The robot was slowly catching up and each step it took shook the ground. If it wasn't for learning how to jump and land on a moving treadmill I probably would have fell multiple times. Unfortunately someone wasn't as lucky as I was. In the group of people running to safety I saw a girl trip from the impact of one of the steps from the robot.

"She should be fine, the robot isn't close to them yet and there's plenty of people around. One of them will help her up."

I watched the crowd waiting to see if someone was going to help her, but it never happened. It looked as if they didn't even notice that she had fallen. I looked back and saw the robot getting closer.

"I hate people sometimes."

Taking off in her direction I hopped over debris and avoided as much of the motor oil as I could. The last thing I needed was to slip while trying to save someone. When I reached her I recognized it was the girl from earlier.

"Hey are you alright?" I tapped her shoulder hoping for a response.

When no response came from her, I quickly checked her pulse just to be safe. It was still there so that was a good sign. While looking her over I noticed there was an abnormal amount of scrapes and bruises on her arm and head.

"I really hate people sometimes."

She had been trampled and knocked unconscious by the grip of people fleeing. The fact that no one noticed ment they were either to incompetent to realize they weren't stepping on the road or that they didn't care. Both of those options pissed me off. I picked her up, throwing her over my shoulder while I continued to head towards the main gate.

They say a person's true self comes out in situations where their life is threatened. I don't know if that's true or not but if it's then all of those people only care about themselves. I reached the main gate and started to head towards the exit when I was stopped.

"What are you doing? The test isn't over yet."

I looked over my shoulder and saw the guy from earlier. "He was in that group as well." I sighed as I stared towards the exit again. "This girl was knocked unconscious so I'm taking her to the nurses office and besides."

A horn went off over the speaker.

"And that's the time everyone. If you're injured please go to the nurses office and as for everyone else go change and leave the premises. Everyone will get a letter in the next few weeks stating whether you passed or not. Thanks for coming and have a great day."

"The test is over so it doesn't matter if I leave or not."

AIZAWA POV

Two weeks have passed since the entrance exam and the kid hasn't asked me once if he passed or not. It didn't really matter because I wouldn't tell him the answer until the official results came in. But that all would change today, the official results came in today and all he has to do now is open it… when Emi shows up.

"Pops how long till Mama Joke gets here?"

"Emi will get here whenever she feels like it." I let out a sigh as a long knock rang from the door. "That being said, I don't think you'll have to wait much longer."

As he opened the door he was attacked by Emi.

"Did you pass? How well did you do? Do we need to schedule an exam at my school?"

"I haven't opened it yet so I don't know." He took her hands off his shoulder as he made his way to the table.

"What? Why not?" She looked at him confused.

"Because you'd kill me if you weren't here to see my reaction." He looked at her with a confused look.

"Fair enough." She shrugged as she sat down at the table.

"Well since that's over." I pulled out his letter and slid it across the table to him. "Let's see the results."

He picked it up and stared at the letter for a minute before opening it. A small metal disk fell to the table. Both Emi and Midoriya looked at it confused until a small projection of Principal Nezu appeared.

"Good evening Mr. Midoriya, I decided to personally give you the results of your entrance exam. While I don't technically have a number grade for the written portion of your exam. As stated before I felt as if it wasn't needed because you'd most certainly pass with ease. That being said your artwork could definitely use work, they were… interesting to say the least. But enough of that let's talk about the practical portion. You managed to score thirty two villain points. It was a great showing for a potential hero to be. Sadly that alone wasn't a high enough score, but I'm sure you figured out that wasn't the only way to score points."

A clip of him pulling a girl out of the rubble and carrying her to safety started to play.

"Aww look at you being a true gentleman." Emi started to mess with his hair teasing him.

"Not only did you save her from the threat at hand, but you went out of your way to take her to the nurses office before the test was officially over. Because of your act of heroism you were awarded twenty three rescue points bringing your total score up to fifty five points. I'm proud to say that you are now a student of UA's hero course."

I couldn't help but feel proud of all the hard work that Midoriya had put in. The past year and a half was hell but he stuck through it and made his dream a reality. Emi was over the moon with excitement, she was on the verge of strangling him with her hug. She'd never admit it but I'm sure she's a little upset he didn't choose her school, but she was proud of him either way.

"Ah, speaking of UA. Starting this year the entire student body will be living in dorms with the rest of their class. This is an idea I had for a while but I just finally got the approval this year for it. In the next few weeks expect a letter that will go over all the details as far as what you will need at UA. However I do have one thing I'd like to add, as far as your interaction with other students. You may want to work on your first impressions a little more."

The projection of Principal Nezu disappeared. Emi and I looked at Midoriya confused at the last statement. "Alright I'll bite. What was that last comment about?"

He let out a nervous laugh. "I may or may not have given a kid the bird… three times."

"Why would you do that?"

"I was trying to sleep before the exam and a stick in the mud decided to call me out about it. He continued to call me out so I flicked him off again… also I thought it would be funny." He scratched his head nervously.

I let out a sigh as I pinched the bridge of my nose. "And what about the third time?"

"I was helping someone calm their nerves before the test and the same guy from earlier accused me of trying to distract them. So I decided to sing pop goes the weasel and flick him off at the end."

"Why would you sing that?" Emi looked at him confused.

"The first time I flicked him off I pretended I was cranking a handle to a jack-in-the-box."

"That's a good one." Emi started laughing.

"Well while I know you didn't have any malicious intent behind it, I'm going to ask you to not do that again." I stood up and made my way to the cabinets.

"What are you doing Shota?"

"Tonight we celebrate." He pulled out a bottle of whiskey and set it on the table. "In moderation of course."

A month passed and I continued to train the kid each day. I told him that I was going to be his home room teacher for his first year. Nezu said it would be a good idea for him to have a familiar face while he readjusts to being around people his age. He was right it wouldn't hurt, plus I could keep an eye on him.

"Alright tomorrow's the big day." I was sitting in my office going over the last of the paperwork when I heard a knock on the door. "Come in."

"Hey Pops I'm gonna go out for a little bit."

I turned in my chair to look at him. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah I just needed some fresh air. I'm pretty nervous about tomorrow, I was hoping it would clear my head."

"Alright, just don't stay out too late. Tomorrow's going to be a big day."

"Yes sir." He closed the door as he left.

I turned back to my desk and pulled out the class roster. "I wonder how he's gonna react when he sees who's in his class."

I laughed to myself a little as I set down the roster sheet. On it was a picture of the girl that I rode in the ambulance with the day I met him and a picture of the child of his old appointed guardians.

"Tomorrow's going to be a big day indeed."

IZUKU POV

It wasn't very late when I left the house. I made my way to the station to hop on a train. After a while I found myself sitting on the bench at the park. Even though I hadn't been here in a long time it still brought peace to me. Sitting on the bench while enjoying the night sky was something I had missed.

"Well Kyoka I did it. I made it into UA." I put my hand on the bench and looked to the side of me. "You know I didn't know it then but this is where my life changed for the better. I met you and you taught me music, I got put in the hospital… that wasn't fun, but I met Pops because of it and I got your number so that's a plus. Then we had dinner. That was a lot of fun. I guess we started dating after that, but neither of us really knew it. You were so much fun to be with. Hell I'm pretty sure you hate me now for leaving."

I sat on the bench for another hour thinking about all the different ways my life could have turned out if I hadn't come to the park that day. I laughed to myself as I made my way back to the station. It was nice taking a trip down memory lane, but now it was time to look towards the future.

"Mi.. Midoriya… is it really you?"

"God dammit."

KYOKA POV

Tomorrow was the first official day of my new life. I had all my bags packed and my clothes laid out for my first day of class. Even though I was exhausted I couldn't sleep so I decided to go for a walk. It's funny the places your feet will take you when you have no destination in mind. Before I knew it I was standing in the sand at the beach. I still couldn't believe that it was back to the way I remembered it being when I was little. I couldn't help but smile. I walked to the gazebo and leaned over the edge to enjoy the stars. As I stood there enjoying the starry night my phone began to go off.

Kaminari: "I'm so excited for tomorrow! Are you ready for it?"

This idiot of course I was, but I was still confused at how he actually passed the written exam.

Jirou: "Hell yeah!"

Kaminari: "Sweet! I still can't believe we went from hair and exam buddies to class and dorm buddies. It's crazy!"

Jirou: "I know right, like what are the chances? Well I'm gonna go to bed. I'll see you tomorrow."

Kaminari: "Alright, night."

I let out a sigh as I put my phone away. I looked up to the stars one last time as I put my hood on and started to head home. I pulled the strings on the hood to tighten on my head a little.

"Well Izuku I made it into UA, but I'm not going alone. I know you'll be there with me whether you want to or not."

A/N

Alright I went on a bit of a writing spree the past few days so you all get an extra chapter this week. You lucky dogs. Well it has finally arrived the fated reunion you've all been waiting for will be here next chapter. Hopefully these two chapters this week will be enough to appease you all for another week. Until then be safe and happy reading.