This is gonna be a long-a chapter, people. Get comfy.
Chapter 11: Long Awaiting
"And the exam is over!"
Ruby let out a pitiful groan. Penny sat next to her against some debris. "What's the matter, Ruby?" she asked.
"I only got sixteen points," Ruby frowned. "There's no way I could pass with that!"
"Oh, don't say that," Penny assured. "That may be enough for all you know."
"How many points did you get?" Ruby asked. She didn't like the fact that Penny looked hesitant.
"Um…I think it was…fifteen?" Penny hiccups. "Uh…twenty-one." She hiccups again. Ruby couldn't help but think how cute her hiccups sound. "Uh, t-twenty-five." Penny hiccups once more. She bows her head in defeat. "…thirty."
Ruby was afraid of that. She sees the redhead guy nearby. "Um, excuse me?" she called out to him. He heard her and walked over to where she and Penny were seating.
"Hey. Whoa, you look beat. Want me to get a nurse or something?" he asked.
"N-no, there's no need. I just want to know if you could tell me how many points you got," Ruby said, feeling a bit of dread with his answer. She had caught glimpses of him demolishing machine after machine with his hardened body.
The boy took a moment to think. "I think I lost count somewhere in the twenties, but I think I was almost to forty." He looks over somewhere else. "And I think that guy has like over sixty with how many robots he blew up." The guy he pointed was the fiery blonde from earlier, Bakugo. Having to be in earshot of the trio, Bakugo tries to ignore their useless conversation as he fidgeted with his hearing aides, keeping his back facing them.
Ruby sighs sadly. "There's no way I'm getting into the hero course!"
"Rose, please don't say that!" Penny tried to reassure. "After all the people you help, I'm sure you'll get some sort of credit. I mean, isn't that what being a hero is all about?" Bakugo scoffed at that.
"Yeah, I saw what you did," the redhead grinned, showing his sharp teeth. "The way you put your all to save someone, even though they are a stranger to you. That was so manly!"
"Uh…thank you?" Ruby questioned. Never, in her entire life, had she got a compliment like that. Nothing she had done would be described as manly.
The redhead holds out his hand. "The name's Eijiro Kirishima." Ruby takes his hand and was pulled to her feet. They were still sore, but not as bad as before.
"My name is Ruby. Ruby Rose," Ruby introduced herself.
"And I am Penny Polendina! Salutations to both of you!" Penny grinned. Now seeing the freckles on Penny's face and her green clothes, Ruby is suddenly reminded of Izuku.
"Nice to meet you," Ruby smiled.
"Ruby Rose…" Bakugo muttered. He turned his threatening gaze at Ruby. "I thought those stupid petals were familiar." He marched his way over to the trio, pushing Kirishima and Penny out of his way. He stared heatedly at Ruby, who moved back from his glare. "Were you the brat who told Deku he could be a hero?"
"W-Who's Deku?" Ruby asked, confused and slightly afraid.
"A scrawny, Quirkless nerd with a stupid face," Bakugo growled.
Scrawny and Quirkless? "Wait, are you talking about Midoriya?" Ruby asked. Anticipation replaced fear as she moves toward Bakugo, who leaned away from her. "Is he here? Is he trying out for the hero course too?"
Bakugo greeted his teeth. "Get the hell away from me! And don't go putting stupid ideas into other people's heads! It makes them be where they don't belong!" He stomps away.
"Well, that was rude," Penny said.
"I don't know. He could be a tsundere," Kirishima said.
"He's more like a hinedere. Minus the dere," Ruby said.
"You think so?"
Ruby doesn't say anything else. Instead, she watched Bakugo's retreating figure. Some distance away, Weiss saw exchange and gave a haughty harumph.
Qrow looked on in absolute shock since Izuku's attack on the robot. Even when the videos disappear and the Examination Results appeared, showing the top ten candidates.
(1st) Katsuki Bakugo: VP – 77/ RP – 0 (TP: 77)
(2nd) Weiss Schnee: VP – 61/ RP – 15 (TP: 76)
(3rd) Penny Polendina: VP – 30/ RP – 45 (TP: 75)
(4th) Eijiro Kirishima: VP – 39/RP – 35 (TP: 74)
(5th) Ochako Uraraka: VP – 28/ RP – 45 (TP: 73)
(6th) Ibara Shiozaki: VP – 36/ RP – 32 (TP: 68)
(7th) Itsuka Kendo: VP – 25/ RP – 40 (TP: 65)
(8th) Ruby Rose: VP – 16/ RP – 47 (TP: 63)
(9th) Tenya Ida: VP – 52/ RP – 9 (TP: 61)
(10th) Izuku Midoriya: VP – 0/ RP – 60 (TP: 60)
"Such a promising bunch," Cementoss commented. "It'll be ashamed to lose some potential heroes." Nezu thinks deeply upon hearing this.
"It's peculiar that the one in the number one spot has seventy-seven villain points, but zero rescue points," Snipe said. "He's definitely has a lot of fire power."
"On the flipside, the one with the highest rescue points at sixty have zero villain points," Midnight observed. She glances over at Pyrrha. "Of course, neither compares to the scores Nikos acquired during her exam."
Pyrrha blushed, feeling awkward. "Oh, it wasn't that impressive."
[Pyrrha Nikos! Hero name: Achillea! For the entrance exam, Achillea has scored an impressive eighty villain points and seventy rescue points, giving a grand ol' total of 150 points, the second highest points in UA High's history!]
"You gotta stop being so modest, Nikos," Midnight said. "I think you've been hanging around Yagi longer than necessary. He's starting to rub off on you."
"I wouldn't say that," Cementoss said. "Ms. Nikos has always been humble to a fault. A valuable characteristic for a hero."
Midnight turns in her seat towards the back of the darkened room where a man covered mostly in black leaned against the wall with his arms crossed and half his face covered by a multi-layered scarf.
"What do you think, Aizawa?" she asked the man. Aizawa opened his weary eyes behind his long dark bangs before closing them again.
"She's got the talent and spirit, but she should have continued her studies before the HPSC had her out early."
"Oh, come on, Aizawa! Can you not be cynical for five minutes?" Midnight inquired.
"Luckily, she'll be back in the program in a few weeks," Aizawa said.
"Is it that hard for you to give a compliment?" Midnight questioned.
"Please, don't argue on my behalf!" Pyrrha pleaded.
"Such a promising bunch!" Nezu said. "It'll be ashamed to lose some talent."
"Do you have something in mind?" Ozpin asked.
"Perhaps I do!"
All the while this is going on, Qrow was still in a moment of shock, still staring at the board.
"What the hell was that? I thought that kid was Quirkless? How the hell did he pull that off? There's no way he lied. Is he a late bloomer or something? No…that can't be it…If he was a late bloomer, then he shouldn't have this much power…unless this was an accumulation-type Quirk and it build up overtime, sort of like what happened with that Arc kid. But…with that much power at his disposal, it should've been released a long time ago…And why does that attack look similar to All Might?" Qrow snaps himself out of his shock. "Unless…" He moved his eyes over to where Toshinori was sitting, seeing that the tall man was leaving. Qrow's arched brows farrowed.
Toshinori whistled as he exits the lavatory. He barely made his sixth step when he is confronted by Qrow. "Lounge. Now."
Without a quip or murmur, Toshinori followed Qrow to the teacher's lounge. Once inside and making sure they were alone, Toshinori decide to lighten the mood a little.
"Looks like Ruby is getting in. Good for her," he smiled. Qrow shoots him a serious look. "Okay, I know what you are thinking, but I have a good reason."
Qrow arched a brow. "Really? Well, by all means," he takes a seat on the couch, "state your reasoning."
"I saw a little bit of myself in Young Midoriya," Toshinori said. "He had the same dream, the same drive, the same conviction…I felt that it was only right for him to have chance at living the dream."
"You gave a Quirkless kid One for All," Qrow argued.
"I was Quirkless too, Qrow," Toshinori counterargued.
"The difference between you and Midoriya is paramount," Qrow said. "According to your master, a lot of the previous users died young and only had it for a short amount of time. Your master died when she was in her thirties." Qrow rises from the couch. "You, on the other hand, had One for All for nearly forty years! All that power you obtained, all that strength you've accumulated over the years, has probably made One for All the most powerful Quirk in raw power." Qrow had to consciously make sure he doesn't raise his voice and garner unwanted attention. "And you gave it to a kid with no training. I saw what the backlash did to his body and it ain't pretty." A thought occurred to Qrow and he starts to connect more dots. "Your project…"
"That was me training Young Midoriya so he could inherit it," Toshinori admitted. "And to handle it's raw power without him exploding."
Qrow sighs as he collapsed back on the couch. He puts a hand to his forehead, wishing that he was flat out drunk at this point. "Does Nighteye know about this?"
"…Yes, he does."
"From that tone, he wasn't happy with the news," Qrow said. "He wanted Togata to inherit One for All." He sighs through his nose. "Does Nezu know? Ozpin? Nikos?"
"Yes."
"Well, at the end of the day, it was your choice. One for All was still your Quirk to give." He gives Toshinori a look. "As long as you don't regret it."
"Trust me. That kid's gonna go far," Toshinori said with utmost confidence. "I can feel it."
For the rest of the day, Ruby rested at home, utterly exhausted and sore everywhere. Once she got home, she practically passed out on the couch, only waking up for dinner, a moment she barely remembered in her tired mind. She somehow got into her bed the next time she slept. Fourteen hours later, Ruby wakes at around ten o' clock. Thankfully, it was the weekend.
She emerged from her room and head downstairs, where Qrow is, drinking coffee and reading the paper.
"Whoa," Qrow said when he saw his youngest niece. She looked ragged. Her clothes, the same clothes she yesterday, was a wrinkled mess, her hair went everywhere, there are bags under her eyes, and she was slouching. Qrow couldn't help but chuckle at the mirror image of a certain tall, blonde hero that isn't Ruby's father…not that Tai is tall. "Good night sleep?"
"Everything hurts," Ruby said as she dragged herself to table and sat down. "Where's Dad and Yang?"
"Tai's back at the hospital to bring Yang home," Qrow said. Hearing this, Ruby suddenly felt less tired.
"Really?"
"Yep. So, why don't you go get showered?" Qrow said. He smirked as he waved a hand. "You reek from yesterday."
"Shut up," Ruby smiled with a playful slap on her uncle's shoulder as she got up to return upstairs to get clean. Qrow then frowned.
Half an hour later, Ruby emerges from the washroom, now clean of sweat and wearing clean clothes. When she did, she heard her father downstairs.
"We're home!"
Ruby ran down the stairs to see her father and her sister, who is wearing casual clothes. "Yang!" She moved to give her older sister a hug. But Yang flinched back, holding her stump where her right arm used to be. Her lilac eyes looked startled, like she's…afraid. The action made Ruby pause, looking at her sister with confused worry. "Yang?"
Yang shook her head before she smiled. "Hey, sis." She sounded tired. She wraps her remaining around Ruby's shoulders and pulled her close. Ruby could feel her sister's tense muscles. She awkwardly hugs her sister back, her silver eyes tend to dart over to Yang's stump. The two pull away. "Um…how'd you do at your exam?"
"I…don't know, yet. Didn't it take like a week before you knew?" Ruby asked.
"…Right…" The awkward feeling intensified.
"So, now that you're home, you wanna do something fun?" Ruby asked, mustering up a smile.
"I…" Yang sighed. "I actually just want to lay down."
Ruby's smile drops. "…Oh…okay." Yang then headed up the stairs. "…I love you." Yang paused at mid stairs before continuing her trek, without saying a word. Ruby looks down, sadly. Tai, who watched the exchange with Qrow, walked over to his youngest.
"Come here," he said as he embraced her.
"Will she be okay?" she asked.
"She will. But, it's going to take some time," Tai said.
"Oh…Does she know about what happened with Blake?"
"She does. In fact, that's why they wanted to keep her for one more night. She kinda had a breakdown."
"Yang…"
Tai could feel his heart breaking in two at the sight of Ruby so sorrowful for her sister. "It's a beautiful day. Why don't you go out for a walk?" Tai suggested. There was whimper. Tai and Ruby looked down to see Zwei. He looked upset to. "And with Zwei."
"Okay." Ruby goes to retrieve a leash and connects it to Zwei's collar.
"Be careful, okay?" Qrow said.
"I will." Ruby then leaves the house with Zwei. Tai and Qrow glanced at each other, almost at a loss.
Ruby walks along the dirt road with Zwei by her side. She wasn't really sure of what to think. She had thought that Yang was still her usual self, but… It's clear that what had happened had greatly affected Yang. The young girl looks up back at the house, to a window on the second floor where Yang's room is. She could almost see a mess of long, blonde hair from the window before the curtains were drawn.
"Ruby?" Ruby nearly jumped at the sound of her name. She turns to see Jaune from the wooden fencing around his yard. Ruby didn't realize how close she was to her friend's property. "You okay?"
"…I don't know. Yang's back, but…"
"…Want me to accompany you?" Jaune offered. Ruby shook her head.
"No, you don't have to. You're probably still sore from the exam too. How well do you think you did?" Ruby asked, figuring she would try to keep her mind off her sister.
Jaune rubbed his neck. "I don't think I did good. All I did was help people for the most part."
"Did you know that there's a button to deactivate the robots?"
"No, I did not." Jaune groaned. "Why didn't they mention that?"
"Maybe they intentionally withhold that so we could figure it out ourselves?" Ruby questioned.
"Yeah, like we'd have time to look for a button when getting attacked left and right. I guess it wouldn't have mattered since most of the people in Block A had offensive Quirks. Heck, there was this one kid who punched out one of those Zero-Pointers, in one hit."
"What? Really?!" Those things were huge! Who had such raw power to take out that goliath with one shot?
"Yeah. I mean, he practically wrecked his own body, but it was so cool! It was like watching All Might in action!"
Jaune's excitement over what had transpired had Ruby just as elated. She wanted to hear more, but Zwei started to tug on his leash. "It looks like Zwei wants to keep going. Even though he could literally wheeze anywhere!"
Jaune chuckled. "Well, I leave you to it! Let's hope we got in!"
"Plus Ultra!" After waving goodbye, Ruby resumes her walk with Zwei. Sadly, her thoughts went back to Yang and her situation. Ruby tries to think about where to go with Zwei to take her mind off of it, but whatever place she could think of reminded her of either Yang or Blake.
Ruby could only think of one place right now that could help get her mind off of everything.
Izuku laid listlessly on the couch, staring at nothing and doing nothing except for exercising his hand grip in his left hand. His right arm was still wrapped in bandages from breaking his bones. Apparently, someone had healed his body when he passed out. He still has the bandages on his legs too, but they were there to make sure nothing tears open. According to the doctor, he could get the bondages off as soon as tomorrow.
His phone laid silently on the table next to him. Toshinori hadn't called him since the exam. He had texted Toshinori in case if the man was busy, but it looked like his texts have yet to be read.
Izuku wasn't stupid. He knew he didn't pass. He did not gain a single point from the practical exam. All he did was run around like a chicken with its head cut off. Was Toshinori disappointed in him? Was that why he hadn't answered yet? Or maybe…
Izuku remembered back that night before the exam, when Toshinori had to leave in a hurry to the hospital. Is that why he hadn't called back yet? Was Ruby okay? He didn't see her at the school. Maybe he had missed her?
Ruby…
After sitting on that couch after what felt like hours, Izuku rises up and heads into his room to get his jacket. Inko sees her son at the front, putting his shoes on.
"Where are you going sweetie?"
"To meet with a friend." That is if she's there.
It had been a long while since Izuku was last at Sentaku Park. It looks like the kudzu vines had reached to the park's entrance, hanging from above the tree branches like curtains. He pushes away the vines as he journeyed through the foliage, his red sneakers crunching against twigs and branches on the ground.
Once he made it to the park, he saw red. A person in red was sitting at the picnic table. As he walked closer, Izuku knew who it was.
"Rose?"
The person lifts their head up and turned around, looking at Izuku with familiar silver eyes.
"Midoriya?" Ruby said, rising from the table. Without a second thought Ruby rushed to him and pulled him into a hug. Izuku wasn't sure what he was expecting when he reunited with Ruby, but he didn't think that she would hug him. Like she was doing now. After a moment of shock, Izuku returned the hug. He had no idea how this comforted Ruby, who was trying not to cry again. And just as quickly Ruby was ready to give Izuku a hug, she moved to look at him in the face with a guilty look. "I'm sorry."
Izuku blinked at that. "What?"
"I'm so sorry for what happened last year. I shouldn't have said what I said. I should have continued to support you. I—"
"Rose! Rose, it's okay," Izuku assured. "Really."
Ruby looked at him, as if studying his face. "Really?"
Izuku nodded. "Yeah. You were only worried about me." Ruby was no different from his mother. Sure, maybe there was a bit of pity, but Ruby, like Inko, greatly cared for Izuku and his wellbeing.
"Still…" Ruby trailed off. Izuku then hears a bark and looks down to see a black Welsh corgi with a red collar.
"Um, is this your dog?"
"Yeah, this is Zwei. Don't worry, he doesn't bite." Izuku looks back down at the dog. He seemed friendly enough, so Izuku bends down to pet the dog. Zwei seems to like it, inching closer to the freckled boy. Ruby smiled at the sight. She then looks like she had just remembered something. "Um, did you try out for the hero course yesterday?"
Izuku chuckled bashfully. "Yeah. I did."
"So, how did you do?" Ruby asked with a cautious smile as they went to sit at the picnic table. That's right. Ruby only knew of his Quirklessness, before he was able to even meet with Toshinori. She doesn't know about One for All nor of Izuku inheriting it from Toshinori.
"Not great," Izuku said truthfully.
"I guess it makes sense because…" Ruby didn't want to finish the sentence.
This made Izuku feel bad that he couldn't tell her about One for All. Then, an idea struck him. "Actually, as it turns out, I do have a Quirk."
Ruby's eyes widen. "Really?"
"Y-Yeah. A-Apparently, it was lying dormant until the exam." With each word escaping his lips, he felt worse for still lying to Ruby. He could only hope that she would buy his excuse.
"Oooooh. That reminds me of a friend of mine. That sort of thing happened to him too. We all thought he was Quirkless up until our first year in middle school. Turns out, it was an accumulation-type Quirk."
Izuku felt a slight bit of relief at that. "Yeah, same here. Which was lucky for when I punched that Zero-Pointer."
"Wait. You're the guy who K.O.'ed one of those things?" Ruby asked.
"Um…Yeah? You already know about that?" Izuku asked.
"Were you in Block A?" Ruby asked.
"Yeah."
"The friend I mentioned was there. He saw the whole thing!"
"Which block were you in?" Izuku asked.
"D."
"O-Oh. That means you've probably met Kacchan," Izuku said. He can only imagine what Ruby may have experienced.
Ruby blinked curiously. "Kacchan?"
"Oh!" Sometimes, Izuku forgets that others don't now his nickname for Bakugo. "His real name is Katsuki Bakugo. I've called him Kacchan since we were kids." Back when they were friends.
"Aw. That's a cute nickname," Ruby said. "So, what's this Bakugo's Quirk? I wanna get an idea what he looks like. Maybe I came across him at some point."
"His Quirk is Explosion, it allows him to create explosions from his hands."
"Explosions?" The only student Ruby saw with a Quirk like that was…
"Were you the brat who told Deku he could be a hero?"
"Your friends with that angry Pomeranian?!"
"Pomeranian?"
"He kinda makes me think of one. How are you friends with a guy like that?"
Izuku gave her a woeful smile. He remembered his mom asking him the same question. "We were friends once…but then, Kacchan got his Quirk and I…well…"
Ruby frowned. Great. A walking bomb with an inflated ego. It's almost like what's going on with Ruby and Cardin, but flipped around, Quirk-wise. "Well, 'Kacchan' is certainly better than Crater Face."
"Crater Face?"
"It's…something silly. And kind of a bit of payback. Let's just say that a hyperactive kid with a sweet tooth and a speed-based Quirk doesn't make a good combination." Ruby felt the need to leave out how it usually ends with her running into a wall and getting a broken nose.
"So, how did you do?" Izuku asked. "For the practical, I mean."
"I was only able to get sixteen points," Ruby lamented. "I don't think that's enough to get into the hero course."
"Hmmm…Hey, Rose?"
"Yeah?"
"Um…do you still have my notebook? No.7?"
"Oh, yeah! I do!" Ruby said. "If I had known I was gonna see you here, I would've brought it with me."
"Did you happen to see a page with a sticky note attached to it?" Izuku asked.
"…The one about the underground hero, Silver Line? Yeah, I did."
"Was…she your mom?" Ruby looks down at her hands on the table. Izuku feared that he may have crossed a line.
"Yeah…she was. I don't remember much of her. I was so young when she died, so I hardly had any memories of her, but…I miss her. My dad, sister, and uncles would tell me stories about her. I feel like I don't know her, but I do feel like I know her and I'm sad that she's gone. I feel disconnected from her yet connected at the same time. Does that make any sense?"
"I'd say so. As kids, we look up to our parents. When one parent is gone, it's like there's a void."
"You make it sound like you've seen it firsthand. Are you missing a parent too?" Ruby asked.
"I guess, but it's not the same. Both of my parents are alive, but my dad works overseas, and I hardly see him because of it." Izuku takes out his smartphone and turns it on. He goes to a text from his father. "Even though he's a phone call away, we haven't really kept in touch." The text was a simple happy birthday text…from last year. Izuku turns off his phone. "I'm sorry for making this depressing."
"No, it's okay," Ruby said as she laid her head on the table. She started tracing the grooves in the wood. "Today hasn't been all that great anyways."
Izuku reminded himself of what happened the night before. "Do you…want to talk about it?"
"I'd rather not."
It was clear to Izuku that Ruby wasn't ready to talk about it. "Then I won't ask any further."
"Thanks."
Not sure of what else to do, Izuku lays his head on the table too, looking at everything on a sideways perspective. He could see kudzu leaves peaking out from the edge of the table.
"It looks like the kudzu had grown more since last time," Izuku observed, fiddling with a leaf.
Ruby makes a frustrated noise. "I know. Too much green! …Not that green is a terrible color, but this is suffocating!"
Izuku looked around the park. The kudzu vines had fully taken over what remains of the playground. Only the picnic table was saved, though Ruby may have removed the vines herself.
"Do you know why Sentaku Park was abandoned?"
"No idea."
Izuku remembers the Takoba Municipal Beach Park and it's high hills of garbage before he cleaned it. "This area was probably very beautiful at one point. But…" An idea pops into his head. Ruby seems to notice this.
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Ruby smiled.
Izuku holds out his phone and Ruby did the same.
Izuku arrives at Sentaku Park early the next morning. Ruby waited for him near the sign, dressed in a black/red striped shirt with red sleeves and thumbholes and a cute white skull on it and black shorts, and her black boots. She grinned when she saw Izuku.
"What's with that?" she asked, pointing at his shirt. Izuku wore a plain shirt over long sleeve dark green shirt and dark shorts and his red shoes. On his plain shirt is a katakana.
"It's my work shirt," he smiled.
"I can see that. It says it right there," Ruby said, referring to the katakana.
"So, what are we gonna do first?" Izuku asked.
"First, we're waiting for someone. He's my friend's dad," Ruby answered. "He owns a farm next to my house and he offered to help when I asked him how to get rid of kudzu. He said we need to mow it down first before anything else. You and I will rake the mowed kudzu and put them bags. He said he could use them for mulch."
"When is he coming?"
Ruby sees a pickup truck pulling up. "Right now." The truck slows to a stop and a blond, bearded man climbs out.
"Hey, Little Red," Lucius greeted.
"Thanks for coming, Mr. Arc," Ruby said.
Lucius lets out a laugh. "Come now, of course I'd help. I've been wondering how to repay ya for helping around the farm every once and the while." He notices Izuku, who's been staring at the man blankly. "And is this the friend you mentioned?"
Ruby nodded. "Yep! This is Izuku Midoriya. Midoriya, this is –"
"Beacon Darc, the Knight Hero!" Izuku blurted. "He was a hero from North America! His Build-Up Quirk enhanced his body and armor so he could protect people and defeat the enemy, like the knights from ancient times." Finally seeing that Lucius was looking at him, Izuku gasps and covered his mouth. "Sorry…" Lucius only chuckled.
"Don't be, kid. Little Red had already told me about your love for heroes. The name's Lucius Arc," Lucius said. "I'm actually flattered. I've been retired for over ten years, I didn't think that anyone would remember me, let alone someone in a different country. Color me thankful."
"Y-You're welcome, sir!" Izuku beamed.
"Now, why don't you two go wait in the park while I unload this baby," Lucius said, patting the zero turn riding mower in the back of his truck. He takes two rakes from the truck and hands them to the teens.
Ruby and Izuku head over to the picnic table to wait. Ruby takes out a wireless speaker from her bag and looks through her phone for a playlist. "You don't mind if I play some music while we work, Midoriya?"
"I don't see why not. What do you have in mind?" Izuku asked. Ruby shows him the playlist. "Isn't that the father-daughter duo in America?"
"Mmm-hmm," Ruby nodded.
"I've heard a few of their songs. I think they're cool."
"The Williams it is!" Ruby said, setting up. As she did, Lucius rides in on the riding mower as soon as the song started with its guitar intro.
/ I've been feeling sad / Luck's been bad / Living in a painful way/ In disarray /
Izuku and Ruby sat top of the table as they watched Lucius mowed around. A noticeable path was made as the mower plowed through the tangled vines. The teens waited for Lucius to mow a third of the park. Ruby couldn't help but think of what has been happening in the last few days. An absolute rollercoaster of emotions. She could only hope something good will come her way. Well, one good thing did happen.
She reunited with Izuku.
Feeling they have waited long enough, Ruby and Izuku put on some gloves, grabbed their rakes and got to work. "Let's do this!" Lucius smiled to himself. Seeing this generation's youth so eager to help the community warmed his heart. The red and green pair raked the mowed kudzu in large piles. Once they get a hefty number of piles, they'll return to the truck to grab burlap bags and stuff the vines into them. Izuku then takes their full bags back to the truck.
"Look at you, Mr. Muscles," Ruby joked. Izuku giggled.
And this was the rhythm they fell into as the day went by. Maybe some funny mishaps here and there, even a moment where the trunk gets full and Lucius goes to take the full burlaps home before returning to the park, but otherwise great. The day was clear and bright, the air was crisp clean, and spirits were high. By 5 or 6 o'clock, the whole park was successfully mowed, and the cut kudzu was packed away. There was still some kudzu on the playground equipment and trees that couldn't be mowed, but that's a problem for tomorrow.
Izuku and Ruby shared a smile.
The next day was a school day for both, but they still plan to go to the park for more clean-up. Along with getting the kudzu cut from the park equipment, there's also pulling the crown out to cut it.
Izuku sat in his desk as he ponders a bit, muttering to himself about kudzu facts and how to rid them via the crown. Hearing this, his classmates started to think that he finally lost it, some making snide remarks about how it implies that it meant he had it to begin with. Bakugo strangely kept his distance from the freckled boy, ignoring his muttering. Similarly, Izuku ignored the words of his classmates, more focused on the later task.
After school ended, Izuku heads home to change and head back to Sentaku, where Ruby and Lucius were waiting for him. After getting the kudzu off the equipment, they go onto cutting the rooted nodes. Lucius warned them that this will be the most labor intensive, but Izuku and Ruby were up for the task.
/ I've been weak and lame / Filled with shame / Trapped inside a place I've made / A house of pain /
"Some bozo back in the day thought it be a good idea to bring these things over to America for soil erosion control," Lucius said as he used a hoe to expose the crown of the vine so the pair could cut them. "Maybe it worked for a short while, but now they're killing plants, threatening the vegetation that animals use for food and shelter. Not only that, but they also produce isoprene and nitric oxide that could disturb the nitrogen cycle, causing ozone to form, which could hinder the growth of many kinds of plants, including crop vegetation and even cause significant health problems for humans." Hearing this made Ruby and Izuku think about Toshinori. The man has many health conditions already, including a missing lung. Having an air pollutant would only make things worse for him and other people with preexisting health issues. "The only thing these weeds are good for is when they're compost or used for medicine. I'm sorry for rambling on like this. It's not like this would be useful information for you two in the future."
"No, it's good to know this sort of stuff," Izuku insisted.
"Yeah, it's important to spread this kind of awareness," Ruby said. "You saw how bad it was yesterday. Who knows how worse it would've gotten if we hadn't intervened!"
Lucius smiles. "Well, I'm happy to know that I could at least grant some knowledge onto the next generation of heroes."
A few more days went by and Toshinori decides to visit the Xiao-Long-Rose household. He knocks on the door and Tai answers it. "Toshinori, you know you don't have to knock."
"I didn't want to intrude," the tall hero said as he entered. Toshinori looks around. "Where are the girls?"
"Yang is…still coping." Toshinori picked up the sad tone in Tai's voice. Yang was given some time off from school so she could recuperate. It wasn't much of surprise though. Yang was still trying to come to terms what happened. It's a major shock. It would be for anyone. "As for Ruby, she's over at Sentaku Park."
"Again? What has she been doing?" Toshinori asked.
"Check your phone," Tai smiled. Phone? Toshinori digs out his smartphone.
/I know I failed so many times / Drowned my troubles, hid my mind /
/ Buried everything in hundred proof / A skillful coward hides the truth so well /
His sunken eyes widen at the multiple missed calls and unread messages. Some were from Tsukauchi, some were Nezu, and some were Izuku. How did…? Oh, he forgot he left it on silent for the examination and for the recordings for the application letters. 50 recordings to be exact…
He wanted to smack himself in the face right then and there for such negligence. He turns off silent mode before checking his recent message, he'll call back Tsukauchi later. It was a selfie photo of Ruby with…Izuku. Toshinori noticed the dirt on their glove-covered hands and the leaves and twigs in their hair.
Toshinori then looked into Izuku's recent messages.
You're probably busy, but I wanted to tell you that I'm helping Rose with some clean-up.
Toshinori couldn't help but smile at the thought. "Kids these days are something else." He turns to Tai. "By the way, Tai. There's something I've been meaning tell you."
/ But nothing's wrong today / Everything is looking right okay / Taking everything in stride/
/ The sun is shining in the sky / The birds are smiling, so am I / Kicking ass in every way /
/ Think this change is here to stay / It's feeling like a brand-new day! /
Izuku and Ruby stood before their handiwork. Sentaku Park was kudzu free. The ground, the equipment, the trees, and the surrounding area was clean of the offending vine. Unfortunately, the trees and bushes suffered a great deal because of the kudzu, but according to Lucius, they'll get better again with time.
"If you ask me, we did good for a support course student and a general course student," Ruby said, throwing an arm around Izuku's shoulders.
"…Yeah," Izuku said, doing the same to Ruby as they admire their hard work.
"I've been needing to ask," Lucius said. "Why did you two want to clean this park? Were you asked to?"
Ruby and Izuku looked at each other. "Actually, no. We did it because we thought it was the right thing to do," Ruby said.
"As part of my training, I had to clean a beach," Izuku said. "It used to be so beautiful, but people started using it to dump their garbage. Someone I…My…coach told me how back then, it was the service that mattered rather than catching flashy villains. Heroes were those who'd help the community."
"I kinda did something similar for my training too," Ruby said. "Helping people out whenever I can and seeing their smiles, no matter how little the job may be…It makes me happy that I could help!"
A smile formed on Lucius' face from hearing this. "And you honestly believe that neither of you are gonna be in the hero course?"
"Not when you have very little points…" Ruby bemoaned.
"Or none at all…" Izuku muttered.
"Then UA is missin' out," Lucius said. He thought about his son. Jaune also didn't get any points, but he did help around, charging up the stamina and of other students so they could continue fighting. He could make an amazing support hero. "I can't help but wonder how many golden hearts were looked over."
"It's…an unfortunate truth," Izuku said sadly. "But, just knowing that we did our best, knowing that we gave our all…that's good enough."
"As the American saying goes, 'no use raging over tipped water,' right?" Ruby said.
"Actually, the saying is 'no use crying over spilled milk,' but you got the idea down," Lucius said. He glances up at the colorful sky above. "It's getting late. Why don't I take you home, Midoriya? I'm sure your mother is expecting you home at any time now."
"Oh…yeah. You could be right. Thank you, Mr. Arc," Izuku said. So, the three packed everything in the back of Lucius' truck before getting in. After driving for a few minutes, Lucius arrives at Izuku's apartment complex. Once reaching his apartment, Izuku looks out to wave goodbye at Lucius and Ruby. After waving back, Lucius drives off with Ruby and Izuku heads inside, unaware of an important surprise waiting for him.
Lucius parks his truck in his yard and he and Ruby exits the vehicle. "Thank you again for helping, Mr. Arc," Ruby said.
"I was happy to help. After all, true heroes help others, right?" Lucius grinned.
Ruby beamed. "Have a goodnight."
"You too."
Ruby makes her way home, failing to see a gray truck parked near her father's minivan. She reached for the doorknob when it started turning on its own and the door opens. Ruby gasped slightly. "Uncle Toshi?"
"Ruby!" he said. "I was wondering when you were getting home."
"Aw man. Did I miss a visit?" Ruby asked.
"I only arrived to drop something off," Toshinori said. "By the way, you've got an important letter from the mail." He points inside the house.
"Important letter? Is it…?" Toshinori moves to the side so Ruby could rush in. "It'sgreattoseeyouagain,UncleToshi!Haveasafejourneyhome!Bye!"
"I'll see myself out," Toshinori chuckled as he leaves.
Ruby finds the letter on the coffee table and snatches it up and runs up the stairs. From the kitchen, Tai smiled to himself before turning to Qrow. Qrow grins back.
Ruby nibbled her finger as she paced back and forth in her room, the letter from UA on her desk, yet to be opened. She didn't pass. There's no way she passed. She needed to mentally prepare herself for the inevitable heartbreak.
She picks up the letter, takes a deep breath, and opens it. Instead of a letter, it was a hologram disc. She takes it out of the envelope to examine it. Then, a light shined into Ruby's eyes, temporarily blinding her. With a shout, she accidentally tosses the disc, and it lands back on the desk.
/I am…here! As a hologram!/ the larger than life hero in his golden color suit exclaimed from the hologram.
"Wha—All Might?!" Ruby exclaimed, blinking several times to get rid of the dark spots in her vision. "But—this is—UA—why—huh?
/I'm sure you are wondering why I am appearing to you on a message from UA! Allow me to tell you then! Starting this year, I will be teaching the first-year hero course at UA High!/
"All Might…teaching…at UA?" Ruby wondered.
/Now, to more important matters. You're results, Ruby Rose./ Ruby grimaces, already knowing the answer. /You were able to acquire 16 points villain points. By itself, that is not enough to get into UA's hero course./ Ruby closed her eyes and lowered her head in defeat. /Which is why we also gauge examinees' heroic spirit by way of rescue points!/
Slowly, Ruby lifts her head up, her eyes shining with renewed hope. "Rescue points?"
/After all, rescuing people is what makes a hero a hero! Young Rose, because of your heroic feats and willingness to go beyond, you've acquired 47 rescue points! Giving you a total of 63 points!/
"63…? Then…then does that mean…?"
/Young Rose…welcome, to your Hero Academia! Your mother will undoubtedly be so proud of you!/
Those words echoed through Ruby's mind as she comprehended of what was said. "I…did it?" A smile creeps as the words finally settled in. "I did it. I did it! I did it, did it, did it! Ha-ha!" She bounced around her room with her growing excitement and enthusiasm. She then hears her name being called. It was muffled and coming from outside. "Jaune!" She rushes out of her room, passed Yang's closed door, down the stairs, and out of the house. She circled around her house to see Jaune jumping over the farm fence towards her.
"Ruby! I got in!" Jaune exclaimed.
"Me too!" Ruby shouted. "47 rescue points! And you?"
"50!" The childhood friends hugged each other as they cheered.
Tai and Qrow came out to watch the two, as did Jaune's family, clearly proud of two. Yang watched from the second-floor window. She was able to muster up a proud smile for her sister, despite herself.
"You got in?" Izuku asked as he ran down the street. He had just ended his call with Toshinori, asking him to meet him at the beach, when Ruby called.
/Yes! I did!/ Ruby exclaimed. /What about you? Did you pass?/
"Yeah, I did!"
He could hear Ruby cheering on her end. /We're going to UA! Who-hooo! We did it, Midoriya!/
"Yeah…yeah, we did!"
This was merely the next step for Izuku and Ruby to become heroes, but it was a giant step, nonetheless. Neither are aware of the trials ahead of them. But, whatever they may be, these two will face them head on. Luckily for them, they won't be alone.
Cause we're one and the same ~
We're anything but ordinary~
One and the same~
I think we're almost legendary~
You and me, the perfect team~
Chasing down the dream~
We're one and the same!~
Break either next week or two! (Except for an epilogue tomorrow!)
You know how there are songs for the end credits of each volume? If I were to choose a song for this arc, it'd be a song highlighting Izuku and Ruby's budding friendship. One that came to mind is 'One and the Same' by Selena Gomez and Demi Lovato.