The following is a nonprofit fan-based parody all rights reserved to Brandon Sanderson and Horikoshi Kohei. Please support the official releases.
Izuku swallowed nervously as he stood in the entranceway of UA's main campus, his head swiveling left and right to take in the sights. The pathway leading up to the school building was brick and on either side, it was lined with the busts of famous heroes. There were also trees planted along either side of the path, all of which were bare thanks to the time of year. Izuku knew, however, that come springtime, when the school year started, they would be green and lush. The campus was surrounded protectively by a thick wall that had an entryway with a large arch over it showing the logo of the institution. As he gaped at his surroundings Sera suddenly flew in front of him.
"What's the hold-up Izuku?" she asked.
"Sorry, I just have been preparing for this for so long that, now that I am actually here, it almost feels fake," Izuku answered, as he continued to look around in awe.
"Well, you are here so it's time to focus on the present and get into that exa-"
"One side, Deku!" the voice of Katsuki interrupted Sera's attempt to motivate him.
Stepping aside, Izuku turned around to face the other boy and saw that Katsuki was still far enough away that he could have easily walked around Izuku if he wished. Ever since the incident in the hallway, when Katsuki calmed Izuku down from his panic attack, the two boys had barely any contact. In school, they had become like strangers. Which Izuku was fine with as he had been much too focused on his training to give the other boy a spare thought. If Izuku was lucky, little interactions like this would be the extent of their relationship going forward.
"Good luck in the exam Kacchan, let's do our best," Izuku said kindly as the other teen walked by.
"Feh, as if I needed luck. Just stay out of my way or I'll kill you," He responded.
"I have not missed his attitude." Sera deadpanned when Katsuki was gone.
"Yeah, but you never know, maybe some time in high school will help to mellow him out," Izuku responded hopefully.
Sera just gave him a flat stare in response.
"You're right, probably not," Izuku said with a sigh.
Straightening up, Izuku put a determined look on his face and turned to face the school.
"Well, no more delays, it's time to take the next step on our journey." With all the confidence he could muster, Izuku took a step toward the school building and promptly tripped over his own feet.
"Are you kidding me?" he heard Sera shout in annoyance.
But, all Izuku could think was, "yeah, this is about right."
Suddenly Izuku felt the familiar feeling of gravity's pull disappearing.
"Did I use my gravitation subconsciously?" he wondered in shock before a pair of hands pulled him upright and placed him back on the ground.
As soon as gravity reasserted its grasp he turned to the figure next to him. It was a brown-haired girl who was smiling brightly at him with her fingertips pressed together in front of her. Izuku's eyes scanned her body looking for any telltale glow that would indicate she was using Light.
"Sorry for using my quirk on you without permission, but it would be bad luck to fall right before the exam right?" The girl said in a happy voice.
"What is your quirk?" Izuku suddenly asked excitedly.
"Wh-what?" she asked, surprised by Izuku's intense reaction.
"Izuku you're scaring her," Sera said chidingly.
"Oh, sorry," Izuku said sheepishly, "I got excited because my quirk can do something similar to yours."
"No, it's ok I was just caught off guard. I would love to talk about my quirk with you, but shouldn't we get inside, we don't want to be late."
"Oh my gosh you're right," Izuku said. "Well, thanks for catching me, and good luck."
"Good luck to you too." the girl said.
Both of them started to walk into the building side by side. It took them about one second before the awkwardness set in that they were still right next to each other. Sera giggled at their mistake.
"It's not funny, Sera," Izuku mumbled.
"It really is though," the spren responded between giggles.
"Um," the girl said from Izuku's other side. "I know this is awkward because we just said good-bye but, I have to ask what is with the little blue fairy?"
"Oh, you can see her?" Izuku said in surprise.
"I decided that since you are going to be a hero there isn't much of a point for me to stay hidden all the time," Sera said to Izuku before turning to the girl at his side. "Hello, my name is Sera. I am part of Izuku's quirk. Thanks for saving him by the way."
"Your welcome, my name is Ochako Uraraka," Uraraka responded, "I have never seen a quirk that can talk before."
"Oh," Izuku said with a hint of nervousness, "they are rare but they aren't unheard of. When Sera started talking to me I did some research on it."
"That's cool that you have such a rare quirk trait," Uraraka said with another bright smile.
"Yeah," Izuku said, rubbing the back of his head self-consciously.
He hated lying, but the truth was so far-fetched that this would make his life much easier. Even Sera had agreed to it because she realized that if the truth got out they may be targeted. The conversation paused as they reached the door and Izuku held it open for Uraraka to pass through.
"Oh look, those are the registration tables," Uraraka said, pointing to a long line of folding tables set up just inside the building.
Above each table were signs indicating that the registration cards for each applicant were organized alphabetically according to family-name. Looking along the line of tables, Izuku saw that he and Uraraka would have to split up to get their information.
"Well it looks like we have to split up," he said to her.
"Yeah, I guess this time for real I can say good-bye and good luck," she responded.
"You too," he said with a smile, and the two went their separate ways.
"Wow," Sera said as they got in line. "You have come a long way if you were able to talk to a girl like that. I remember when you first saw that I was a girl, you freaked out and could barely look at me."
Izuku blushed brightly but chose not to respond to her baiting, He had known Sera long enough to recognize a teasing trap when he saw one. Instead chose to focus on the upcoming test. Eventually the line he was in dwindled and he was able to get his registration card for the exam and a schedule. It looked like the written portion would be completed first then, after a lunch break, the applicants were to meet in auditorium B for instructions about the practical. Finding the location of his test room was fairly simple as all the locations were placed on the ground floor with clear signs to direct students. As Izuku approached the correct door he paused and looked to Sera.
"Hey, Sera, during the test could you wait outside. I am sorry to ask that but, I don't want anyone to try accusing me of cheating or trying to distract other test-takers."
The spren looked at Izuku and smiled, "No problem, Izuku, I already planned to do that. I think I will go and explore the campus. I mean we are going to be attending here for sure with how awesome you are, so I might as well get familiar with it."
"Thanks, Sera," Izuku said. The partners shared a smile before Sera zipped off and Izuku entered the testing area.
Sera hummed a tuneless melody to herself as she explored the halls of the hero school. It was a much nicer facility than Aldera was, with bright hallways painted in a white and blue color scheme. She had zipped around the bottom floor occasionally turning into a ribbon of light to squeeze through the cracks around doorways. She couldn't pass through solid objects but most walls have some small space that she could fit through if she looked hard enough. She had invisibly peeked into a few other exam rooms and was amazed at the sheer number of kids trying to get into this school. She supposed that Izuku wasn't kidding when he said this was the most famous, and most desirable, hero course in the country. When she had finished looking around the first floor she decided to move up to the second. As she zipped about however she discovered that the school had a very odd layout. While the first floor was all one large building with auditoriums, the cafeteria, and the administration offices, there were four different second floors. She must have not been paying close enough attention when they were walking in if she missed the wacky architecture.
"I should try to pay more attention. I am almost as bad as Izuku," Sera said to herself absently.
After flying around aimlessly she stumbled across a map of the building and paused to check it out. As she read the directory she was able to learn a bit more about how the school building was used. The map showed that each tower was used by a different course of students: general, support, business, and hero. With a quick scan, she discovered which tower held the hero course, deciding to check that one out first. Before she could zip away, however, she heard a high-pitched voice behind her.
"Hello, and who might you be my dear,"
Startled, Sera spun around but she didn't see anything at first.
"Down here," the voice said.
Sera looked down and was shocked to see a small white creature giving her a friendly smile. She didn't recognize it, not that she was all that familiar with the fauna of this world, but she knew that most animals didn't normally wear clothes like a person, nor could they talk. Her curiosity got the better of her and she lowered down to the creature's level.
"Hi," Sera said in her usual friendly tone, "I am Seranota."
"A pleasure to meet you Ms. Seranota. I am Nezu, the principal of this school." the creature said, introducing himself.
"Cool, I am part of one of the kids who are testing today's quirk," Sera explained. "We decided I should wait out here while he did the written test so people wouldn't think he was cheating."
"Very astute," Nezu praised. "And might I ask what you have been doing in the meantime?"
"Nothing much," Sera said dismissively, "I am just checking out the school. Izuku is very smart so there is no way that we aren't going to get in." She said the last part somewhat braggingly. She was very proud of her bondmate after all.
"Your confidence in your partner is inspiring." Nezu said with a kind smile "why don't I give you a tour of the building. There is still about an hour until the written portion of the exam lets out after all."
"Sure," Sera said.
As the odd pair turned to walk down the hall toward the hero course classrooms Nezu asked absently.
"So you said you are a quirk correct?"
"Yeah, of course, What else could I be?" Sera said
"What else indeed?" Nezu said, a spark of curiosity shining in his eye.
Izuku stretched out his shoulders as he exited the testing area. The material in the exam had been challenging but Izuku felt confident he had done well enough to pass at least. Now it was all up to the practical. He started mentally reviewing what was known about past practical exams of UA. All of the forums said that they had to do with simulating hero activity by pitting the students against mock villains, usually robots. Izuku was confident that with his power he should be able to take out a few. The issue was there was no way to know how many would be needed to get a passing grade. Taking a deep breath Izuku tried to clear his mind. There was no use stressing about it until he had all the information. For now, he only had to worry about eating the lunch his mother had packed for him that morning. The information about the practical portion would be shared later. Following the signs on the walls, Izuku headed for the cafeteria to find a place to eat. As he walked he heard a rumble of voices begin behind him. Turning curiously, he caught sight of a blue ribbon of light zipping around above the students' heads before it changed directions and came straight toward Izuku. Upon reaching him it resolved into the familiar image of Sera.
"Hey, Izuku, how did the test go," Sera said happily.
Izuku smiled at her bubbly personality, "It went fine, I am pretty sure I did well."
"Awesome, so what now?" Sera asked.
"Well, we get a break for lunch then we have to go to the auditorium to learn about the practical," Izuku explained.
"Cool," Sera said.
"So what did you do during the test?" Izuku asked.
"Well," Sera said and then began to excitedly tell him all about what she had seen as she explored the building.
He was only listening with half an ear until suddenly he heard something that made him stop and pay full attention to her.
"Sorry, Sera, but could you repeat that last part?" Izuku asked suddenly.
"Hm?" the spren responded curiously, "You mean when I found the map?"
"No, just after that," Izuku said.
"Oh, you mean when I met Nezu?"
"Yes that," Izuku said incredulously, "you got to meet the principal of the school?"
"Yeah, he was pretty nice," Sera said. "He kept asking questions about me and your powers. It was quite flattering."
Izuku felt a chill down his spine. He knew that Nezu was a hero so he trusted the mysterious creature, but Izuku also had read all the information about Nezu's quirk and how the principal of UA was probably the most intelligent being on the planet. If anyone was going to see that there were inconsistencies about Izuku's power, then it would be him. Izuku just had to hope that the enigmatic principal would be more worried about Izuku's ability to help others than the origin of his powers and what that entailed. Deciding that he couldn't worry about it right now Izuku finished making his way to the cafeteria and found a spot to sit and eat his lunch. It was a hefty meal with lots of high-calorie foods so that by the time the test came around he would have plenty of energy available, in addition to his other stores. Absentmindedly, Izuku felt at his chest where he kept a small pouch on a cord around his neck. After discovering the way gems interacted with his quirk, Izuku had started to collect some of the scrap metal from the garbage he was clearing away and sell it for extra cash. He had felt guilty about it because one of the reasons he was cleaning the beach was to help people, not to make himself richer. But Mr. Yagi had explained that this was no different than him using the beach as a way to train and make himself stronger because he was using the funds he collected for his future hero career, not because he was selfish. Soon he had enough money to purchase some gems online. He was able to find a website that sold loose gems and was surprised that amethysts and smoky quartz were surprisingly affordable, at least the small ones were. Izuku figured that every little bit helped so he placed some orders. Soon he had a modest collection of stones. The sizes of the gems were only a few millimeters across in width and length, but after doing some testing he found that they could store herolight for nearly two weeks. He had to be careful though because once they started to dim they quickly lost whatever energy had been stored. He kept his collection in the pouch he now had under his shirt so that it was close at hand and unlikely to be caught on something. He had gotten into the habit of refilling the stones every morning so that they were always topped off and ready for use. Overall, they were able to hold the same amount of energy he might get from two or three large meals. So with them combined with the food he was now eating Izuku was confident that he would have plenty of herolight available.
When he finished eating, he made his way to the auditorium for the information about the practical. The seats were all assigned so he didn't have to worry about looking for a good one, instead, he just went to the one listed on his card. As he approached his row he began to feel a small measure of excitement build up alongside the nerves he had been feeling. That feeling died, however, when he discovered that he had to sit next to Katsuki.
"What are you doing here nerd?' Katsuki growled out when Izuku approached.
"They must have organized the applicants by their school," Izuku said.
"Tch, whatever, just don't talk to me."
As Izuku took his seat he couldn't help but peek over at the other boy who was sitting with a bored expression on his face. Izuku could tell it was a ruse, though, because he could see that Katsuki's eyes were actively tracking each person that entered the auditorium. Unable to hold himself back Izuku opened his mouth to speak.
"Kacchan, I never did get to thank you for that day. When you helped me with my panic attack. So thanks."
"Shut up," Katsuki said back flatly. The two boys sat in silence until, surprisingly, Izuku heard the other boy ask, "Where's Navi?'
Izuku's mouth gaped in surprise at the question, before he even registered what had been asked. When he finally got control of himself enough to look around he noticed that at some point Sera had disappeared.
"I don't know, I had just assumed she was following me," Izuku said.
Glancing around he eventually saw the glowing blue form of his friend hovering in the front right of the auditorium seats. It was too far away for him to see what she was doing but he knew that she would make her way back over here eventually.
"There she is," Izuku answered the explosive teen, pointing toward the glowing blue dot.
Katsuki didn't acknowledge the answer, so Izuku just let the conversation die. A few minutes later Sera flew back over to Izuku.
"Hey, Izuku, I found Uraraka." Sera said when she arrived.
"Really?" Izuku said, looking over to where the spren had been.
"Yeah, I asked her how she did on the test and she thinks she did ok but that it was really hard," Sera explained.
"Well, I hope you wished her good luck on the practical from me," Izuku said.
"Of course," Sera said
"Shut up, it's starting," Katsuki growled, just before the lights in the auditorium began to dim.
Suddenly the presenting area was lit up revealing a tall thin man in black leather, with some kind of speaker apparatus around his neck. The applicants all sat silently, anxiously waiting for the man at the front to start and they didn't have to wait long before he spoke loud enough for the entire room to hear him without the use of a microphone.
"Hello, listeners, welcome to today's live performance. Everybody, say hey!"
The audience was silent except for one tiny voice yelling out,
"Hey!"
As one, every head in the audience turned to see a smiling blue girl with her hands in the air, next to a green-haired boy with his face in his hands trying to hide his shame.
"Sera," Izuku whispered, "you weren't supposed to actually say it."
"What?" Sera said in a confused tone. "Why not?"
Before Izuku could answer he was cut off by the sound of the man laughing.
"Haha, I love it. No one ever responds when I say that. Get that boy some extra points."
Immediately the glares of the audience intensified tenfold and Izuku shrunk back from the malice being directed at him.
"Alright, alright, lighten up everyone it was just a joke. My name is Present Mic and I will be your MC for this year's practical exam. If you will please follow along on the handouts in front of you we can begin talking about the rules."
Izuku sighed in relief when he felt the stares of the crowd disappear as everyone looked at their handouts. Izuku listened carefully as he read along about how points were accrued. Absently he began mumbling about possible strategies until he heard Sera in his ear.
"You're mumbling again,"
"Oh sorry," Izuku said and smiled thankfully at her.
"Heh, good to see your quirk is finally helping you kick that habit," Katsuki grumbled.
The presentation was going smoothly until the speaker seemed to be wrapping up and one of the applicants raised his hand.
"Excuse me, I have a question." A tall, blue-haired boy in an expensive-looking uniform stood with his hand raised. "You only mentioned three types of enemies but the handout shows four, having such a mistake on your printed information is unacceptable for an institution as prestigious as this. Also," He suddenly turned toward Izuku with a glare, "you have been mumbling throughout the presentation, if you are not taking this seriously then please leave."
Izuku was taken aback by the sudden rebuke but he did his best to stay calm. After all, the boy was probably just as stressed as him, which is what probably caused him to lash out in this way. Sera, however, was not as tolerant.
"Hey," Sera said, "you don't know what he was muttering about, maybe that is how he takes things seriously."
The boy's focus switched to the spren, "You are even worse, you shouted out at the beginning of the presentation breaking the flow of the presenter."
"How can you even say that when Present Mic was happy that I shouted out. You are just mad that you didn't have the confidence to respond," Sera rebutted.
The boy recoiled as if physically struck by the accusation. It was at this point that Present Mic chose to take control of the situation.
"Ok, everyone, calm down. Examiner 7111 thank you for the observation but you shouldn't assume the worst of your fellow applicants. And little miss blue, you should learn to be a little more cool under pressure like your green-haired friend there. Now as for the information about the fourth enemy. It is a gimmick like an obstacle in a video game. It isn't worth any points to defeat and is just there to spice things up. Does that answer your question?"
The blue-haired boy gave his thanks and sat back down.
"Alright, then with that I will leave you with the school's motto. General Napoleon Bonaparte once said, 'True heroism consists of being superior to the ills of life," so go out there and go Plus Ultra. Break a leg everybody"
Izuku smiled as he held his familiar length of pipe once more. If an applicant wished to use a weapon as part of their support gear they had to submit it to the school during the week leading up to the exam so that it could be inspected and assessed for safety. He had turned in the metal staff as directed and received a notice that it was approved and would be returned to him the day of the exam. Now that it was once again in his hands he felt more prepared for the trials ahead. Taking a step away from the gathered teens Izuku began to perform a few practice spins to re-familiarize himself with the weight. When he finished he held the staff at his side and looked at the other examinees. There were a few people with noticeable mutation quirks but the majority looked like average people, leaving Izuku only able to speculate what their quirks might be. As he continued to scan the crowd, his eyes lit up when he saw the familiar face of Ochako.
"Hey Sera, look it's Uraraka, should we go say hi?" Izuku asked the spren at his shoulder.
"Sure," Sera said.
As they began to make their way through the crowd however they were interrupted by another familiar figure.
"What are you here for? Just to distract people. First, you swing around that pipe, then you plan to bother that girl who appears to be focusing."
Izuku was taken aback by the boy suddenly accosting him again, but regained his faculties and spoke in a serious tone.
"Why do you assume the worst of me?" Izuku asked.
"What?" the boy said back incredulously.
"I said, why do you assume the worst of me? In the auditorium, you assumed that because I was mumbling I wasn't taking things seriously, now you think I am purposefully trying to cause trouble. What is it about me that makes you think I have such bad motives?"
If Izuku was still the same person he had been ten months ago the boy's accusations would have made him shrink in on himself. Now, however, even though Izuku was still somewhat awkward around new people. He had enough control over his emotions to not shut down in the face of a threat which allowed him to pose the question.
"Well I-I, you are making things hard for me and I-" The boy tried to respond but he was interrupted by the blasting voice of Present Mic.
"Start!"
After a moment of confusion, Izuku quickly shook it off and began running toward the opening gate that would let the examinees into the testing area, completely forgetting about the conflict he had been having with the blue-haired teen. He was in the middle of the pack and he heard the voice hero say something else, but at this point, he was completely focused on the test. As soon as the group of students made it into the fake city they began to disperse. Izuku turned to the left and found himself face to face with a single-pointer robot which he recognized from the handout. Deciding to use some of his gem reserves first Izuku inhaled the stored Herolight and began to glow. The Light inside of him felt like a bottled typhoon, energizing him and spurring him on to action. He exploded forward, swinging his staff in a vicious horizontal strike which ripped the robot's head from its body.
"Alright, Izuku, one point," Sera called out beside him, making Izuku smile.
Taking off into the city Izuku took out two more robots, another one-pointer, and a two-pointer, As he was running through the streets, however, he heard a fearful cry which immediately stopped him in his tracks. Looking about but unable to see anything Izuku turned to Sera.
"Find where that shout came from. It sounds like someone needs help." Izuku said.
Sera immediately zipped away as a ribbon of light. She was gone for mere seconds before she zoomed back to his side.
"One block over, a boy with indigo hair," she said.
Izuku moved like the wind sprinting over to the block Sera mentioned. When he got there he scanned the area and couldn't see the boy she spoke of.
"In that alley," Sera said pointing between two buildings nearby.
Following her instructions, Izuku ran to the alley in question and found himself facing the back of a three-pointer that was so wide it filled the alley. Looking past it Izuku could just barely see the boy Sera mentioned, being backed into a dead end. On instinct, he sprinted into the alley to try and help.
"I need to get in front of it," he thought when his mind caught up with his actions.
Activating gravitation on himself he changed down for himself to the wall on his right. Using his core to rotate, he hit the wall, which was now the ground for him, running and sprinted around the now sideways robot. Once he was directly beside it, or he supposed over it, he canceled the power making him fall toward his target. Grabbing his staff in both hands he brought it crashing down on top of the robot as he fell toward the earth which had once again become down. When his attack connected, it hit with so much force that the top of the robot was caved in making it cease functioning. Turning around he faced the boy that had been in trouble.
"Are you okay?" Izuku asked earnestly.
The boy stared at Izuku with wide eyes that had noticeable dark circles under them. He was taller than Izuku but noticeably thinner, giving him a lanky appearance.
Hitoshi Shinso stared at the glowing boy in front of him trying to think through the haze of fear and adrenaline that clouded his mind. Was he okay? That was what the shining kid said. Was he okay? No, he was not okay. He wanted to be a hero, he really did, but how in the world was he supposed to show that he could be a hero with the kind of practical test they had been given. He had hoped, prayed even, that a school as well funded as UA would have thought of some way to test future heroes that would take into account all types of quirks, not just the ones that were good for causing property damage. Still, even though he had felt his dreams dying as Present Mic had described the parameters of the exam he had still come out to the testing site in the hopes that somehow he could pass because that is what heroes did, they showed up even when it seemed hopeless. The test had only been going on for a minute and he had managed to be cornered by one of the hulking metal beasts that the applicants had been pitted against. Now this shining boy who was obviously blessed with an amazing quirk swoops in and asks if he is ok. Everything Hitoshi had been through compiled together to fuel the response he gave to the question.
"No!" Hitoshi yelled, "No I am not ok. I am in here trying to be a hero with a useless quirk. How could I be ok? I just wanted to try and help people. Is that so bad? But no, all UA cares about is the ability to crush what amounts to a car loaded with explosives."
Hitoshi panted wildly when he finished his rant. As he began to calm down he started to feel ashamed. The boy in front of him was just trying to help and he had exploded at him, but the frustration Hitoshi felt was just too intense for him to hold in anymore.
"What is your quirk?"
Hitoshi's eyes widened at the question, and he started to feel nervous. But he supposed he had opened this can of worms when he started his rant.
"I have the power to brainwash people if they respond to me," Hitoshi said tiredly, bracing for the disgust to follow.
"I think that's an amazing quirk," the other teen said. "It's not useless at all. You would make a great hero."
Deep down Hitoshi was happy to hear it from someone else, finally, but it didn't really help him with his current situation.
"Thanks, but it doesn't change the fact that there is no way for me to pass this test." Hitoshi sighed and looked to the other boy who was watching him intensely, "Thanks for your help, truly. But, please, just go. You have the chance to reach your dreams."
The shining youth in front of him didn't turn away. He just watched Hitoshi's eyes.
"No," he said, "you don't actually want that do you? You still want to be a hero right?"
Hitoshi looked at the other teen in annoyance. "Of course I do. But there is no way I can beat these things." he gestured to the wrecked behemoth behind the other boy.
"There is a way." the other boy said, "On each robot, there is an off switch, here, see." With his staff, he pointed to the bots midsection where a red button was placed. "If you push that, you get the kill."
"And how am I supposed to get close enough when the robots are all running around and shooting missiles?" Hitoshi said.
"Simple, I'll help you,"
"Are you an idiot?" Hitoshi asked. "We don't even know each other's names. We wasted the last minute and a half talking here and there are only 7 minutes left. There is no way we would both get enough points to pass."
"My name is Izuku Midoriya, and I think we can do it. Will you trust me?" the other youth held out a shining hand as he said this. Like he was offering something precious.
Hitoshi stared at Midoriya in disbelief. Every moment felt like an hour as the window of opportunity closed. Could this be his chance? Did he meet the one person stupid enough to risk their shot at UA to help someone else? Hitoshi couldn't say for sure but if the chance was in front of him, what did he have to lose by saying yes? Reaching out to take the proffered hand, Hitoshi answered.
"My name is Hitoshi Shinso, and I guess I can play along."
"Perfect," Izuku said with a smile, "I would also like you to meet Sera."
When he heard that, Hitoshi finally took notice of the small blue figure that was floating nearby. She was wearing a tracksuit that mimicked the one Izuku had on. But Hitoshi wasn't sure if she was wearing it or if it was just part of her given that it was the same shade of blue as her skin.
"Uh," Hitoshi said in reply, unable to think of anything else.
"Alright, Sera, Hitoshi, here is the plan. Sera, I need you to get out there and be our spotter. Find out where the enemies are. Hitoshi, you and I will drop in where she tells us. I will immobilize then you will terminate. Got it."
Sera nodded then flew off.
"And how are you going to pass the test?" Hitoshi asked.
"There are still over six minutes left. We can hunt for your points for three then that will leave the last three for me to find robots." Izuku said
"Why don't we just split the ones we find?" Hitoshi asked.
"Don't worry about it," Izuku said with a smile. "I will be fine. Now, in order to move quickly, you will have to hold on tight."
"Hold on to what?" Hitoshi asked.
Before Izuku answered a bright blue ribbon of light zipped back into the alley.
"Three blocks west, Two three-pointers, and four one-pointers," Sera said quickly.
"Let's go," Izuku said, then grabbed Hitoshi.
The oddest sensation came over him. He felt pressure like he was being filled with something, but it wasn't physical, it felt deeper, as though it was in his soul. He didn't have much time to think about that, however, as the next thing he knew gravity seemed to disappear. and he wildly grabbed at Izuku to prevent himself from floating away. Then Izuku moved and Hitoshi was getting dragged through the city at breakneck speed. As they rocketed through the city, running on the sides of buildings as often as they were running on the street, Hitoshi couldn't help but think.
"What have I gotten myself into?"
Izuku jumped toward a two-pointer, grabbing its tail before flipping over it and dragging the mechanical appendage to the ground. As soon as it made contact he used adhesion to stick it in place just as he had already done to the robot's four legs.
"Now," he shouted, prompting Hitoshi to sprint from the three-pointer he had just deactivated and dive under the robot so that he could access the power button. He needed to move quickly because they were in a place crowded by a few other applicants and there had already been a few instances where someone realized what Izuku was doing and snuck in to steal the kill.
As the bot powered down the two teens came together again, Hitoshi panting heavily from the amount of exertion he was putting into deactivating the robots. Even though Izuku did his best to immobilize them the other boy needed to be careful in case the robot moved erratically. Izuku for his part was still breathing calmly, his herolight granting him stamina, but he was becoming noticeably less bright as his reserves waned. Reaching into a pouch at his waist, Izuku pulled out one of the granola bars that his mother had packed for him. He still had plenty but he had to be careful when he ate them because he needed to wait until the food was being digested for him to be able to convert the calories. He could also feel that some of his gems were also still infused but he was saving them as a last-minute reserve, just in case.
"Ok," Hitoshi panted as he spoke, "That makes 32 points. Listen, Midoriya, I am very grateful but you are running out of time. You already helped me for longer than you said that you would. You only have two and a half minutes left in the exam you have got to go and get your own points."
"Are you sure? I could help you get one more group." Izuku asked.
"We don't even know if there will be any more groups. The information didn't say whether or not the supply of robots was finite. You need to go. I will be fine. With this amount of points, I did better than I could have imagined. Now worry about yourself."
Izuku sighed, "You're right, Good luck in the last min-"
CRASH!
Izuku was interrupted by an explosion of sound. Everyone in the testing area turned suddenly to see a green metal colossus tearing apart buildings as it came down the street. Every applicant stared in shock at the size of the new obstacle before they turned to run away like a herd of animals that just spotted a lion.
"Ok, this is seriously overkill," Hitoshi yelled as he turned to run.
Izuku wordlessly agreed and turned to run as well. He made sure to run at a similar speed to the other boy just in case he needed help but was halted when Sera called out.
"Izuku look!"
Immediately turning his eyes in the direction the spren indicated while he continued to run, he saw Ochako lying on the ground. Focusing on her it became clear that she was trapped under some rubble. Izuku skidded to a halt and turned around. Someone needed help so that was where his body took him. Sprinting to the fallen girl, Izuku was beside her in a moment.
"Uraraka, I am here to help," he said when he arrived.
"Yeah, you can count on us," Sera added from his shoulder.
The girl looked up at them in shock at their sudden appearance, but a twinge of pain broke her stare.
"Help, my ankle is trapped," she said, slightly frantic.
"It's alright, I got it," Izuku said, reaching for the rubble pinning her.
"What kind of person runs toward the giant robot?' Hitoshi suddenly said from behind Izuku.
Izuku turned suddenly and saw that the boy was panting heavily, he had obviously fought through his exhaustion to follow.
"I don't know, you tell me?" Izuku said back with a smile. "Here, I will lift the rubble, you help Uraraka get out." Izuku was yelling now as the sound of the giant robot's approach came closer.
Reaching out he filled the sizable piece of rubble with herolight and shifted gravity so that it was weightless. The act took the remainder of the herolight in Izuku's system to complete but it worked as he was able to shift the rock up enough that Hitoshi could pull out Uraraka. The sound of crashing rubble and breaking pavement came ever closer as the zero-pointer continued its inexorable approach. As Izuku glanced at it he couldn't help but feel that it was too much. Even if the school had safety measures in place, having essentially a moving building running around was dangerous. Turning back to the other two teens, Izuku saw that Hitoshi had pulled Uraraka up and had one of her arms around his shoulder to help her walk.
"You two get away," Izuku called.
"What are you going to do?" Hitoshi shouted back.
"I am going to do what a hero would," Izuku said, and as he did he felt something inside of himself shift, like a realization, a new understanding of who he was and what he was meant for.
"I will protect those who cannot protect themselves."
As he said the words he felt a sudden surge of power. He inhaled what remained of the light in his gems and burned all the food in his stomach, causing him to ignite with radiance. Sera laughed happily as the bond between them strengthened and playfully flitted about above Izuku's head drawing his gaze up. Staring toward the open sky Izuku was suddenly filled with an urge to feel the wind on his face, and he remembered the time he had spent training. Particularly, that there was one experiment that he had never been able to attempt for fear of causing trouble with local heroes. Now, with his body full to bursting with Light his inhibitions disappeared and he used his power to pull himself into the air.
"He can fly?" Uraraka said in awe as her eyes trailed Izuku's shining form.
"What, you didn't know?" Hitoshi asked.
"Well I just met him this morning for like five minutes," Uraraka explained.
Hitoshi looked at her in surprise. "I thought with the way he ran to help you, you must have been childhood friends or something," he said.
Before she could reply a piece of rubble fell nearby, breaking the trance the two had been put in by Izuku's sudden burst of power.
"Nevermind, we got to go," Hitoshi said, and the two began moving away from the approaching colossus. They were slowed down by both Hitoshi's fatigue and the girl's wounded ankle so they still heard the robot getting closer but as they faced away from the approaching danger they looked up and saw Izuku streaking across the sky like a comet as he rammed into the robot's head. There was a clang as he collided but it didn't appear to do much damage to the thing.
"I hope he can actually hurt it," Uraraka said as they continued to run.
Izuku grunted as he collided with the face of the robot. It paused for a moment and he did dent the faceplate slightly but the crash had also broken both his legs as he had landed feet first.
"Ok, that was dumb," He mumbled as he felt his bones reknit instantly.
"Yeah, you think?" Sera said from beside him.
"Sorry, I am still experimenting with the whole flying thing." He said sheepishly, before focusing back on the conflict.
Izuku was strong but he didn't have the muscle strength of a hero like All Might or even Death Arms. He would need to be more creative. He couldn't hold the robot back and trying to infuse something this large so that he could activate gravitation would use too much herolight. He may however be able to unbalance it. Focusing on only the robot's head he pushed in herolight making it glow slightly and changing gravity so that it pulled directly backward on that part of the robot. He doubled the pull's strength and then let go. The head by itself was still enormous, basically comparable to a tractor-trailer, so he had to use about half his stores of Light to affect it with gravitation for even a few seconds. But due to its mass, even that short of a time caused an immense force to act on the head which made the robot tilt back, and because its treads kept moving forward, it essentially rotated around its center of gravity and began to tip backward. As this was happening Izuku once more changed gravity on himself and fell up, using the passing air to position himself directly above the precariously placed robot's head. Once he was high enough, he canceled his upward acceleration and began to slow as the earth reasserted its pull. Rotating himself so that he faced his target, Izuku began to fall toward the robot's head. As he watched from the air Izuku saw the metal colossus tip back and begin to fall. Holding his staff at the midpoint like a javelin, Izuku reared his arm back and prepared to throw it. As he brought his arm forward he filled the metal pole with Light and increased the pull of gravity straight down, multiplying the natural force by four and adding extra acceleration to his already supernaturally enhanced strength. Once the pole left his hand he reversed his gravity to slow himself then canceled it so he hung in the air. The metal staff screamed down like a lightning bolt before spearing into and through the head of the robot. As the foreign object passed through, it destroyed the electronics and processing units therein causing the machine to shut down.
"That was awesome Izuku," Sera said from beside him.
"Yeah," Izuku smiled at his victory for a moment before his mind went to the two teens he had left behind. "Let's go check on Hitoshi and Uraraka." He changed gravity again so that it pulled him toward where he could just see the two standing down on the street near a crowd of other applicants.
Hitoshi stared slack-jawed at the aftermath of what he had just witnessed. Looking around he saw that he wasn't the only one. Uraraka had a similar expression as did many of the others that had returned when they heard the crash of the zero-pointer falling down. What had followed, happened so quickly that no one was sure of the details, but it was clear by the Giant machines limp arms that it wasn't moving anytime soon. Suddenly, Izuku flew down toward them, the radiant teen hitting the ground five or six meters in front of Hitoshi and Uraraka and coming to a running stop. As he traveled the rest of the way to them on foot, Hitoshi could hear him mumbling.
"I need to work on those landings."
"Don't worry as long as you practice, you'll get the hang of it," Sera said, the spren floating at Izuku's side.
When he met Hitoshi's eyes, his features took on a look of concern.
"Hey Hitoshi, are you both ok? No one got hurt when the zero-pointer fell did they?"
Hitoshi shook his head no and opened his mouth to speak when suddenly the voice of Present Mic ripped through the air.
"Time's up"
Reality crashed back into Hitoshi and he reached out desperately grabbing Izuku's shoulder.
"How many points did you get?"
"Huh?" Izuku asked in a puzzled voice before his eyes widened in realization, "Oh, um, seven I think." When he said it his face fell.
"Y-you idiot!" Hitoshi shouted, "How could you do this? You wasted all your time helping me and then fighting that thing. You deserve to pass but you-you.." Hitoshi couldn't say it. He was too overcome with emotion. He wanted to be a hero, but if he was completely honest he had never taken the desire seriously enough, that was why he was so physically unprepared for the test. He had done some research and did some exercise but so many other kids had obviously done more. Now he felt like he was stealing the place of someone so much more deserving.
"Hey," Izuku said, getting Hitoshi to look at him again, "It's ok, I may have lost this chance but Shiketsu has their exam in a few days and there are other hero courses. As long as I keep trying I will reach my dream. I am also pretty sure that I passed the written portion so if nothing else I can join the general course and try to transfer into the Hero course later." He gave Hitoshi a comforting smile as he continued. "I helped you because I believe your quirk has the potential to help people and I could see that you truly want to be a hero. So take this chance and show the world that you deserve it."
Any further discussion was interrupted by the arrival of Recovery Girl. She healed Uraraka's leg allowing the girl to walk without help. She thanked Izuku and Hitoshi profusely for coming back for her. Izuku was bashful but Hitoshi didn't respond. He was still too shaken by Izuku's words and actions. Robotically, Hitoshi followed the rest of the applicants as they were all bussed back to the main campus of the school. Hitoshi and Izuku split up then, as they had put their things on opposite ends of the locker room. When He had changed back into his school uniform, however, Hitoshi finally broke out of his stupor. He appreciated Izuku's words, but he still felt that his passing when the other boy didn't was an injustice too great to stand by and let happen. Leaving the locker room Hitoshi frantically searched the directory for the teacher's offices. Once he found the way he rushed through the halls to the correct door. In his haste he forgot his manners and opened it right away, catching the tail-end of a conversation happening inside.
"-o you think you could give him some of my points? Just enough so that he can pass."
Hitoshi stared at Uraraka as he registered what she was saying. Both the girl and Present Mic, who was the person she had been talking to, turned to stare at Hitoshi as he stood in the doorway. Blushing, Hitoshi looked down in embarrassment.
"S-sorry to intrude." the boy said. "I heard what she said and would like to also ask if you could give Izuku my villain points, all of them. The only reason I even have any is because of him."
Present Mic was silent for a bit and then chuckled. Reaching out to pat Uraraka's head comfortingly he spoke at a normal volume.
"Listen, little listeners, I am sorry to say that transferring points between applicants isn't possible. But don't worry, your friend is going to be just fine I promise."
Hitoshi looked up sharply at the hero's words and saw that he was giving them both a sincere smile. A wave of relief crashed into Hitoshi at the look in the man's eyes. He didn't share any details but it was clear by his tone that Izuku had passed. Offering his thanks and bidding farewell to Uraraka again, Hitoshi hurriedly left to find his way out of the building as he walked, however, he was stopped by a deep voice calling out to him.
"Hitoshi Shinso,"
Halting in the hallway he looked around and noticed a tall man with long black hair leaning against a wall nearby. He didn't know how he missed him but the man seemed to pin him in place with a glare.
"Yes?' Hitoshi said apprehensively.
"Normally you don't get to hear the results of your test for at least a week, but I put in a special request for your written portion to be graded now. Congratulations, you made it into the hero course."
Hitoshi stared at the other man, not sure how to react. He had said congratulations, but the tone he had used made it seem like he felt nothing but disdain at the fact Hitoshi had passed.
"Why do you sound so mad about it," Hitoshi asked, his old defensiveness about his desire to be a hero despite his quirk resurfacing.
"Because you made it while riding the coattails of someone else. If it were up to me you would be disqualified, and unluckily for you, I will be your homeroom teacher. If you show up to the first day of school with the level of ability I saw today I will expel you on the spot."
Anger began to creep up in Hitoshi. After everything that he went through, here was another person who wanted to prevent him from reaching his dream. Hitoshi just wanted to help people, why did people think that was so wrong?
"So what, are you expelling me now just to get it out of the way," Hitoshi growled out.
"Save your anger brat," the man responded. "I said if you show up to the first day of school as you are now. Luckily for you, there is still a month and a half before that day. So here's the deal. If you come here every day from now until the start of school and you survive the hell I plan to put you through. I will accept you being in the hero course."
Hitoshi looked at the man suspiciously. He didn't recognize him as a hero, but he was somehow on campus so he must be allowed, UA's security system was legendary after all.
"So what do you say kid?" the man said as he held out his hand, "are you willing to make a deal with the devil to earn your spot here."
Hesitantly, Hitoshi reached out and took the hand. The man smiled creepily at him and Hitoshi wondered if he hadn't made some kind of terrible mistake.
Special thanks to ACreativeMindAtWorkHere for being the beta reader.