The sight of the U.A. was equally awe-inspiring as it was intimidating. Beyond the entrance gate, past the walls surrounding the campus, lies a place where the best of the best could get a chance to rise way beyond what some wouldn't even consider possible. This is the place where the strongest and most respected heroes of japan were born and shaped into their current glory, so no wonder that it was common knowledge that U.A. was one of, if not the best hero school in Japan.

Because of this, it wasn't all that surprising when today, on the day of entrance exams, the entrance to the school itself was swarming with hero wannabes slowly crossing the front door and disappearing into the building, everyone bravely followed in the footsteps of those already inside. Of course, there were few exceptions to this, and among those was one very, very specific group that managed to gather the attention of everyone around them in no time at all.

"We will be fine, we promise."

If the sight of human amalgamation wasn't enough to discourage a few of the teenagers from ever approaching Midoriya, then their voice, the choir of three different people speaking in unison, sealed the deal for those few who were distressed by such unusual quirk.

"You better be! It's enough that you are getting yourselves hurt during training, if i hear that you weren't careful, you will regret being adopted, understood!?"

Mitsuki seemed not bothered by the fact that they were in public and in the center of attention of the majority of those present around them. Her seemingly heartless words caused a few suprised or even hateful glares to be sent towards her, but she either didn't notice or didn't care enough. Or maybe it was simply the fact that she was busy attempting to squeeze the living hell out of both of her children. Midoriya wasn't bothered by this, most likely due to their size making such efforts futile. Katsuki meanwhile was doing his best to break out of the hold of his mother, his facial expression matching that of a rabid animal about to rip someone's face off.

"Enough of this Old Hag! We will be fucking late to the exam at this rate!"

"We have time Kacchan and you know it. You're just embarrassed, aren't you?"

"FUCK YOU, I'M NOT!"

Barely a few meters away from this commotion stood Masaru and Emiyo, both smiling upon the antics they were witnessing.

"They grow up fast, don't they? It feels like it was barely yesterday when Midoriya became part of our family, and Katsuki was still just a small child with big dreams." Masaru spoke to Emi, who responded with a calm nod and few words of her own. Even as her main pair of eyes closed, her third eye still watched the scene Mitsuki was causing, her amusement clear as she smiled fondly at such a sight.

"Had the same feelings when my kids started growing up, or when their children became older. Time sure flies when you have a family to look out for."

It didn't take long before adults had to leave, their work waiting for them. Before that, they managed to say their final good luck to the siblings, and while Midoriya accepted this with a beaming smile, Katsuki, as he usually does, simply stated that he 'doesn't need luck, unlike those shitty extras.'

With their family gone, they finally started walking towards the main building, and despite what just happened, no one else approached them to comment upon what just happened. Yes, some whispered from a safe distance while others simply started for longer than was necessary but other than that it was nothing like what Midoriya and Bakugo usually experienced when they were together in public. This was something that didn't go unnoticed and the merged trio decided to comment on it out loud if only to distract themselves from the stress of the upcoming exam.

"Everyone must be so focused on the exams they don't even have time to be shocked about us. Or maybe potential U.A. students are more tolerant towards extreme mutation quirks?" Midoriya commented, speaking just loud enough for Katsuki to hear. Everyone else kept their distance big enough to be unable to listen in on the merged trio's muttering. As they kept mumbling, three pairs of eyes focused on their hands hidden beneath thick gloves - something they started wearing recently, after too many people almost grabbed their hand. It was a simple but working solution that helped them avoid accidentally exposing someone to the dangerous effects of Chimera quirk.

"You are simply not the center of the fucking world, Fatass. Besides, they are all too busy shitting their pants on the mere thought of the exam to bother their few brain cells with your existence!" Words coming out of the ash-blonde were loud and clear. Katsuki wanted everyone to hear him, and this made the unoccupied space around them even bigger than before, even if at the cost of glares they could feel from all around them.

"We didn't even cross the doors, Kacchan."

"Oh, come the fuck on! I'm speaking the truth and you know it, it's their fucking problem that they can't take it."

Midoriya neither denied nor confirmed his words, deciding to avoid bringing even more negative attention onto both of them. Once inside, everything proceeded rather quickly. First, they were escorted to classes where writing exams took place. It was an exam like any other, if not for the fact that it contained everything from basic, impossible to mess up questions to theoretical questions going way past what would be considered a reasonable level of difficulty for someone their age. As Midoriya and Katsuki aimed for heroic studies, their exams also contained few pages of additional questions, mostly revolving about common sense, morality and law in situations that they, as future heroes, would no doubt face sooner or later.

After the written part was over, students from different departments were separated and sent to their respective auditoriums for the introduction to the second, more specialized part of the entrance exam. For Bakugo's siblings that meant listening to voice hero, Present Mic, as he failed to get a reaction from his 'listeners' when trying to rile up everyone. After rules were explained neither Midoriya nor Katsuki was worried - destroying robots was something they both should excel at, their arsenal of explosions, fire, and force at a distance suited well enough for turning some state-of-the-art robots into scrap metal. All they had to do was ration their energy across ten minutes and avoid zero-point obstacles while catching the high-value targets whenever they could.

Once all questions were answered, heroic students were told to change for the practical exam, and after that, they were directed outside, where multiple busses were waiting for them, about to send everyone to their destination. Siblings were both sorted to separate testing locations, most likely to avoid any teamwork between them. Before Midoriya and Katsuki went their separate ways, they stood aside and took a moment to share some pleasantries.

"Don't you dare to fuck that up Fatass! I won't have you bitching that you were too slow and fat and couldn't get enough points on time, understood?"

"Good luck to you too Kacchan. Try not to kill everyone by blowing them up or burying them in the rubble you will leave in your wake, okay?"

Despite this seemingly aggressive exchange, grins on their faces couldn't have been wider even if they tried. Once that exchange was done, they both simply turned around and walked away to their busses, fully aware that neither of them needed emotional support for what was to come.

Midoriya arrived as the last person to their bus, nearly all places already filled. Three pairs of eyes scanned the interior, searching for an empty seat and at the same time looking at teenagers in those that were already taken. They stood like that for a while, their minds already trying to guess some of the quirks based on appearances alone.

"Kid, take a seat before we grow old, will you? You are delaying everyone."

The voice of the bus driver came from behind them and they almost flinched as some of the teenagers started outright glaring at them. It took a few seconds for them to get moving towards the first free seat, but the girl sitting next to it, blood-red wisps of energy coming out of her eyes like smoke emanating from fire, didn't seem eager to have them here, so they moved further. They considered sitting next to the short boy with purple balls on his head, but as soon as they were next to him, he paled in a matter of seconds, fear of some sort on his face as they stared at him. It didn't take long for them to understand that due to his short posture, they must have seemed gigantic to him, and thus too intimidating. Not willing to stress him and decrease his chances at the exam, they moved towards the last free seat, deciding they would sit there no matter what.

Even before they reached the last free seat, the young man next to it kept looking at them, curiosity clear in his eyes. Once they were standing right next to him, they took a moment to gather their thoughts before they could speak out coherently.

"We hope you don't mind if we sit here, do you?"

If they didn't have the attention of others on the bus before this moment, they surely had it now. It wasn't every day that someone had such an unsettling voice as they did, and enclosed space only made their intertwined tones seem even more unnatural. Few less courageous kids around them straight up moved in their seats, using whatever free space they had to get as far as possible from their newly found source of discomfort. Despite all of this happening, the boy in front of them seemed undisturbed. His blue eyes kept on looking at them, and after a moment cocky smirk appeared on his face, not exactly welcoming but not overly aggressive either.

"Good choice for sitting next to me, my potential classmate." The boy moved his hand across his head, disturbing his slick blonde hair and ruffling his bangs, only for them to once again drop down once again over his right eye. "I'm Monoma Neito, your newly made acquaintances and mighty partner in your heroic future."

Midoriya gave a polite nod and sat down, their body just barely fitting in the seat without squishing Monoma between them and a bus window. They already had somewhat conflicting thoughts about the person next to them. Inko had to admit the boy seemed handsome and spoke in a rather polite manner, even if he already seemed somewhat eccentric. Izuku didn't mind the mannerism of the blonde, already happy at the prospect of finding someone who didn't have a negative reaction to their merged form. Hisashi however seemed suspicious, his instincts telling him that something was afoot. Despite these different opinions about Monoma, they all agreed to act friendly towards the boy, as there was no reasonable reason to not do so for now.

"We are Bakugo Midoriya. Call us Midoriya however if you can, that's what we're used to." In the meantime, the sound of the bus engine became louder as the vehicle moved towards its destination.

"Oh, 'We', not 'I'? So these eyes aren't just for show, are they?" His deduction made Midoriya stare at him in confusion. Their unspoken question was answered before they could even be vocal about it. "Oh, it's easy to see if one is smart enough. The longer I look the more oblivious it is if I have to be honest. What's your quirk? Being multiple persons at once, like having a split personality but also in a physical sense? Seems like a very roundabout way for having superhuman strength."

"It's... much more complicated than that. But to summarise, yes, we have one body, but many minds, souls, and quirks are contained within." As the exam didn't allow for confrontation between students, they didn't mind giving out such information to others.

"Many quirks, not just powers? Oh tell me more, you already had my curiosity before that, but now I simply have to know!"

His interest and excitement seemed real, and there was not even a speck of worry or fear as he looked at them. It made Midoriya's hearts burn with pleasant warmth, seeing that even among strangers there are still those that won't think of their existence as something dreadful. Not only that, but Monoma seemed patient with them so far, not rushing them even as he had to wait for them to agree on their words before speaking out loud.

"It's not much, nor anything flashy, but we can breathe fire, kinda like dragons from the fantasy stories, at least as long as we can handle the heat we generate. We also can pull on objects from a distance, as long as we can see the said object and only if we can handle it, as the pull is also acting on us with equal but opposite force."

While they spoke, the smirking teenager seemed to mull over their explanation, nodding in understanding. Once they were done with explaining, his smirk widened, to the point where it seemed slightly disturbing.

"You have great power Midoriya. With it, this exam will be easy, if not trivial i dare say."

They beamed with happiness, even if this complement seemed somewhat strange. So far Monoma mannerism seemed unusual overall, but it's not like they were average in that regard, so they simply accepted that this is simply how the boy was. Besides, talking about their powers got their curiosity burning as well, so with their eyes full of excitement they decided to learn about his power as well. "What about your quirk, if you don't mind us asking?"

"Eh, to be honest? Nothing special compared to yours." The boy tried to hide it behind his smirk, but it was somewhat clear he wasn't comfortable talking about it. As to why that was the case, however, Midoriya couldn't be sure. "And i don't think words can do it justice, so a demonstration would be better. But that has to wait until the exam, okay?"

"We don't mind." It was clear they were burning with curiosity, but if anything, they were patient. They had to be if they expected others to be patient with them. "And whatever your quirk does, we bet it is amazing and one-of-a-kind."

Their words made a bigger impact than they expected, as at this moment Monoma's smirk dropped, only to be replaced with something closer to a genuine smile.

"I… Yes, you are right. Besides, anything less than that would be simply unacceptable from future U.A. elite, wouldn't it?" The blonde's so-far signature smirk was back, but this time it seemed a bit more cheerful.

Upon seeing this Midoriya smiled back at him, agreeing with a simple nod of their head. They stared at each other for a few seconds before Monoma finally turned away from them and looked towards the window, as if deciding to observe the scenery, and the merged trio didn't mind that. There was a moment of pleasant silence between them and him, allowing them to sort their thoughts, but it didn't last forever, as soon after the bus arrived at their destination.

Human abomination and Monoma kept close to each other once they exited the bus, while everyone else seemed to be busy preparing themselves, be it physically or mentally, for what was about to happen. In front of them were a steel gate and cement walls surrounding a fake city they would soon battle in for the privilege of attending U.A. High. Midoriya felt ready, minds within keeping each other focused on their upcoming task, and they didn't feel like warming up was necessary in their case, the fire deep within them already blazing with their excitement. So instead they decided to look at Monoma, to see if he's ready. The boy seemed almost disappointed, as he looked from person to person, his mood souring with each second.

"Monoma? Everything alright?"

The boy stopped looking around and instead focused on them for a moment, only for his gaze to go back to the people around them.

"Eh, i'm just disappointed, you know? Others at this testing site seem average at first glance, especially compared to you. No clearly superior quirks. How am I supposed to stand out when we are surrounded by such mediocrity?" His words were harsh, but not in the same way as Katsuki's words were. There was a difference of some kind, but Midoriya couldn't pinpoint it, at least not now.

"You almost sound like our brother, you know? No need to worry about others Monoma." After years under one roof with the personification of a live grenade and their equally lively mother, not to mention their separate experiences with those two, they were quite used to people that had less than friendly moments. Instead of getting mad at his apparent lack of respect towards other examinees, they decided to redirect his anger onto something productive.

To get their point across, and to show that what they were about to say won't be just empty words, they kneeled in front of Monoma. Even then they had to look slightly down to stare into the blonde's eyes, but that had to suffice in their situation.

"Besides, didn't you say it yourself? You are future U.A. elite, and nothing will change that, especially not how others will perform."

As they predicted, their words were rewarded with a smirk that made all previous ones dim in comparison. Blonde even chuckled, his worries long gone and forgotten and he didn't seem bothered by the few stares that he received from other examinees. He instead focused on Midoriya, their gentle smile contrasting with their almost in-human appearance.

"Thanks, Midoriya, for keeping me focused." He reached out with his right hand, clearly expecting a friendly handshake after such a personal moment between them. "Let's do our best out there, shall we?"

Midoriya didn't keep him waiting, but as they shook his hand, Monoma's smile slightly soured as he eyed thick gloves that protected Midoriya from coming into direct contact with him. Midoriya noticed that and gave him a questioning look, or at least eyes that belonged to Inko and Izuku did so, while the pair that were controlled by Hisashi narrowed in suspicion. Their hands separated as Monoma was about to speak out, his cheerful mask breaking apart further, but then it was too late.

"OKAY LISTENERS, STAAAAAAAAAAAAAART!"

The roar of Present Mic's voice filled the air just as metal gates opened with a loud bang. Across all the test sites, students took barely a second to get over such a sudden start and rushed inside the fake cities, robot targets dropping like flies before even ten seconds had passed. This however was not the case for Midoriya and Monoma, who stood in place, staring at each other's eyes with disbelief at what had just transpired.

And what happened was simple, but still tragic in its consequences. Monoma panicked upon hearing that the test was starting and acted before his brain could catch up with the logic, or lack thereof, of his actions. The blonde moved as fast as he could, and before Midoriya could react, their glove was pulled off and the small hand of a teenager grabbed onto their palm. And once that happened, the world lost meaning to these two. Seconds passed, and Monoma seemed hypnotized by the feelings and emotions forced upon him. Meanwhile, Midoriya and all minds residing within were fighting with shock and confusion, the temptation of adding someone else into their existence tearing at their self-control.

As always was the case, three minds of the Midoriya became aware of another existence somewhere out there. Their instincts told them to pull with all their might, but they fought it the best they could. For a few moments, they were silent, as if fearing that losing any focus at all would make them merge with the unfortunate boy. This didn't last, however, as soon their emotions became too strong to be contained.

[This son of a b-]

(H-Hisashi!)

{I… I don't understand. W-why?! For what reason?!}

(Sweetie.)

{Was that handshake that important for him?!}

(Izuku.)

{We used our quirk on him! We will fail the exam… Worse, they will lock us up for using Chimera, and…}

[IZUKU, STOP!]

A mental shout from Hisashi echoed across the mindscape, the suddenness of this action silencing everyone, and breaking Izuku out of his panic attack. This moment also allowed the youngest Midoriya to notice just what he had almost done as emotions overwhelmed him.

{Did i...}

(Yes. I could feel you try to pull Monoma's Soul. I barely kept myself from doing the same, this temptation is the strongest one we ever felt.)

{I almost...}

[But you didn't. We didn't. You didn't cross the line, and that's important.]

{Mhm.}

(Feeling better?)

{Kinda. Let's break our connection with Monoma. I feel like i'm about to give in to it once again.}

[Yea, i'm also on the verge of losing myself in it. Ready Inko?]

(Sooner we make it stop, the better.)

Getting their hand out of Monoma's grip was easy. Boy clearly held onto them with all his strength, but their size made his efforts mean nothing. Once they were separated, and Monoma's Soul no longer tempted them with its existence at the edge of their consciousness, it took only a moment for them to shake off the overwhelming sadness. Thankfully they had each other, so the emptiness left behind by the blonde was instantly filled with endless warmth and happiness their Souls created. If not for that, they might have succumbed to despair.

{We have to make sure Monoma is okay before doing anything else.}

(I fully agree. If our experience was this strong, who knows what he experienced.}

[We still don't even know why he did this. I have my suspicions, but you are right, his wellbeing has priority, even if i already hate his guts.]

"NINE MINUTES LEFT LISTENERS! I HOPE YOU ALL HAVE WARMED UP ALREADY!"

Present Mic's voice was quite motivating for Midoriya, so they stopped focusing on their mindscape and instead returned to the world outside of their head. It was instantly obvious that things weren't fine for Monoma, not in the slightest. Boy was on his knees, his arms around his torso, and his body shivered as if an unimaginable cold just befell him despite the sun and clear skies high above them. His face expressed something much worse than fear - it was as if all hope, all warmth of life was lost. This was easy to see in his almost lifeless eyes, with only a constant flow of tears and his shaking body to prove that he's still alive.

{We did this to him.}

[No.]

(Hisashi, it's not the time to argue about who's at fault. It just happened.)

[Oh, have some faith in me Inko! I mean it might be due to his quirk.]

(We don't even know his Qui… Oh.)

['Oh' indeed. He wanted to shake our hands and do so with skin-to-skin contact, and we know that the effects of our quirk stop as soon as contact is broken. He should be shaken up, but he shouldn't end up like this. Whatever his quirk did, it made the aftereffects worse or prolonged it, i'm not sure.]

{Yes, that makes sense. But still, this changes nothing. We have to undo it. Somehow.}

They kneeled once again in front of Monoma, but there was no reaction.

"Monoma, what's happening?"

There was no reaction, at least nothing they noticed, and that made them worried.

[Any ideas?]

{We don't know his quirk. Our own experience with Chimera is extremely limited. I… I don't know.}

(We have to ask Monoma about his quirk.)

[Too bad he seems to be unable to respond. It's like he's not aware that we are there.]

{Maybe we need to let him see our Souls again? He wasn't while his hand was still holding onto our own.}

(What if it only makes things worse?)

[Not like it can go any worse than this. Let's try it.]

They carefully moved their right hand, one without a glove on, towards him. They managed to end up with his left palm on their own without any sort of resistance from the boy, even if the size difference didn't help them at this task. They weren't worried about this, however, since as soon as their hands met, Chimera established the connection, and Midoriya felt the distant presence of Monoma's Soul appear once again. It was so far that calling such distance 'unimaginable' didn't seem adequate, and the temptation to pull him towards them was insanely powerful, just like before, but they were prepared now, and they endured. And as they did, Monoma spoke once again, even if his voice was laced with fear and grief.

"Y-You're back. I w-was alone. Everything was g-gone. Everyone was g-gone. W-why?"

His words, while heartbreaking, pulled them one step closer to understanding just what happened.

{He's like me when my quirk awakened for the first time...}

(Poor child, no one deserves to experience that, not you, not him.)

[Our pity won't make this situation better. Let's focus on helping him]

"Monoma. You aren't alone anymore. Listen to our voice. Tell us, what's your quirk?"

"I… I copy quirks. By touch." Monoma was getting better with each second. He stopped shaking when he started speaking.

"Can you turn off your quirk? Or let go of those quirks you copied? Is there a time limit?"

"EIGHT MINUTES REMAINING LISTENERS! ROBOTS WON'T BLAST THEMSELVES TO PIECES, SO KEEP AT IT!" Present Mic's voice scared both of them, but they still held each other's hands. Both Midoriya and Monoma made sure to not break this almost sacred bond between them.

"No, no, and there is. About five minutes from the last time I touched someone… What's happening to me?"

[That doesn't bode well.]

{We can't leave him here, that's for sure. Just less than one minute had such a drastic effect on him. With five minutes...}

(Not to mention that this would most likely mean that his U.A. career is over before it even started.)

[Yes, but what else can we even do? It's not like we can just hold his hand and pass the exam at the same time!]

({...})

[...We are holding his hand and passing the exam at the same time, aren't we?]

{Yes. But the logistics of this might be problematic. We can't just drag him behind us}

(I think I have something that might work.)

After a few seconds it took for Izuku and Hisashi to acknowledge the validity of Inko's idea, they spoke once again.

"Monoma, we don't have time to explain our quirk in detail. Time is running out. Now get onto us, we will piggyback carry you. Just don't let go of our hand."

"W-What!?" It was clear that's not the sentence blonde was expecting to hear in the situation as serious as this one.

"Monoma, there's no other way to keep us together while still having a chance at passing this exam. Trust us."

Asking for Monoma's trust would normally result in a burst of laughter to the face, but the situation was different. With Midoriya's merged Souls constantly present at the edge of his consciousness, ever tempted with such blissful existence, saying 'no' to anything was beyond Monoma. Besides, part of him knew that if he refused, his remaining option was to stay there, suffer five minutes of existential hell, and then struggle with over half of the exam time lost on being affected by the drawback of Midoriya's strange quirk.

One shaky nod later, Monoma managed to get onto Midoriya's shoulders while his left hand maintained contact with their right. It wasn't easy, his legs were still shaking, but once he was in place, he felt secure, and Midoriya didn't feel bothered with his mass added to their own.

"Can you use all our quirks?"

"Yes, i think. I can feel them. Especially the fire and… your third quirk."

"Fire Breathing uses your lungs and strong emotions as a catalyst. Pull works on visualization of connection and intent of pulling. And finally, Chimera, a quirk that forced us into this situation… whatever you do, DO NOT reach out to what you feel because of it. DO NOT pull this feeling towards you."

"SEVEN MINUTES! I REPEAT, SEVEN MINUTES REMAINING!"

"...Okay."

"Let's do this then!"

Even with the delay resulting from the need for cooperation of the minds within the merged trio, their next action was sudden enough to give Monoma no time for mental preparation. Their free hand aimed forward and slightly to the side, towards one of the buildings in the distance, and barely a second later Pull propelled them forward. They weren't flying, doing so with one hand was not something they wanted to try, especially not with a passenger on their shoulders. Instead, they simply gave themselves enough acceleration to allow them to start running instantly, and do so at a slightly higher speed than they would be able to do so without such assistance. It of course still wasn't anything amazing due to their size, but every second counted and they were aware of it.

"SIX MINUTES REMAINING! SHOW THOSE ROBOTS WHO'S BOSS, LISTENERS!"

It didn't take them long to catch up with the path of destruction that other aspiring heroes left in their wake. Robot targets, or rather, what was left of them, were everywhere. Scraps of metal with signs of damage, be it physical, chemical, or otherwise, were countless, some embedded into the buildings and the pavement, others lying on the ground, a testament to the sheer power of quirks that were used against them. They moved and moved, but this sight didn't seem to end, and so they finally stopped, staring in desperation all around them.

"Midoriya..." Monoma was disheartened by what they could see. In the far distance, the sound of the fighting could be heard, but both he and they knew that running there would only reward them with more smashed robots instead of points they were so desperate for. Fact that he was dependent on them and still had to actively focus on resisting the temptations of Chimera for sure didn't help his optimism at all. "What now?"

(This is not good… We have to do something, anything.)

[We can't just run, we don't have the speed required to even catch up with others, and they will clear everything before we arrive.]

{Then we don't run}

[Izuku, we can't just give up!]

(No, no, Hisashi, he's got the point.)

It was at this moment that Hisashi noticed something. Both Inko and Izuku were staring down at one of the big metal plates, the remains of the two-pointer if he had to guess. It was slightly curved, and had the overall shape of a rectangle, looking kinda like a …

[Oh. That might work.]

{And i already have a name for it!}

(You always do sweetie, you always do.)

"Now it's time to do what U.A. elite would do Monoma, we go Plus Ultra."

"Eh?"

"WE ARE HALFWAY DONE! KEEP IT UP AND SHOW US WHAT YOU GOT!"

It didn't take long for Midoriya to move the metal plate to a more adequate position and flip it so that the concave side of it faced up. Once they stepped on it and assumed a position similar to one used when skateboarding, they aimed their free hand at the building in the distance, fingers extended.

"Wait, Midoriya, this doesn't seem safe!" Monoma was smart enough to guess just what they were planning to do, and so far he didn't like it at all.

"We didn't come here to be safe, we are here to be heroes... Slidin'go Style!"

Acceleration they experienced almost made Midoriya lose contact with the metal plate under them, but their sheer weight kept that from happening. Rain of sparks followed them as the improvised skateboard they stood on kept on moving with increasing velocity. Both them and Monoma, who gripped their hand as if his life depended on it, screamed, fear and adrenaline rising as they achieved speed far beyond what would be considered safe, or even sane considering the amount of scrap metal that was on the streets.

It didn't take long for them to see silhouettes in the distance. Those soon turned into other examinees as well as robots, both sides locked in a chaotic fight. Midoriya were desperate to get as many points as possible, they knew the same was true for Monoma, so instead of slowing down and wasting time, they decided otherwise. The merged trio stopped pulling onto the building in the distance, and instead aimed their hand at one of the three-pointers that was at the sidelines.

"Brace yourself Monoma!"

As soon as the blonde acknowledged their words by gripping their hand as if his life depended on it, they pulled onto the robot with as much strength as their body could handle. Surprisingly, not only were they instantly moved onto a collision course with the three-pointer, but the robot itself also experienced the effects of Inko's quirk, as it moved significantly into their direction, almost tipping over in the process.

({[All Might's Style…]})

"SMASH!"

Their impact with the robot was brutal and sudden, sound and shockwaves scaring the living hell out of a few of the examinees, as not everyone noticed the speeding abomination before it was too late. Midoriya's closed fist met the metal head of the robot, and as one could expect, results were spectacular. Metal bent significantly upon the impact, absorbing most of the kinetic energy that carried the merged trio forward. There was still enough energy however to push Midoriya, as well as the robot they struck, a few meters forward. Monoma, who somehow managed to hold on to the merged trio, had first-row seat in witnessing both this and the aftereffects of such a bold maneuver. The robot seemed deactivated, its red electronic eyes cracked and dim. It seemed like this was their first three points, but they came at a price...

"Midoriya, your arm!"

The patchwork of skin on their hands was dripping with blood, the sheer force of the impact splitting skin. From the intense pain, the merged trio could feel, it seemed like the damage they suffered wasn't superficial, even if they had no clear idea as to how extensive it was.

"FOUR MINUTES LEFT! YOU'RE ALMOST THERE LISTENERS!"

"We're okay."

[Ghaah! Not okay, completely not okay! We overdid it!]

(Yes, very much so!)

{Sorry mom, it was my idea.}

(No no sweetie! I'm not mad! I'm just in pain, and it's hard to think.)

[We all are, but we can't just stand there and wait for it to get better, there's almost no time left, and we only got three points!]

As they moved away from the robot, its red eyes flashed with electronic life, and the machine stirred from its temporary slumber. Robot arms moved to deal a solid hit onto Midoriya, while mechanisms within launchers on its shoulders gave out menacing sounds of activity within.

[Move! MOVE!]

{I'm trying!}

(Monoma! He'll get hurt as well if a robot strikes us!)

Panic overwhelmed them while lingering pain made it impossible to coordinate their actions in time. They barely budged by the time the three-pointer's hands were barely inches away from them. They all stared at the upcoming hit, only for their attacker to be swallowed by a river of flames coming from above them. Air became unbearably hot as fire struck the robot, who moved back to avoid danger. Yet the blaze followed, and soon from behind the intense flames, they could see the machine trashing chaotically, only for it to explode. As it did, the fire attack stopped, and Midoriya could only stare in awe at the still smoldering and red hot remains of the three-pointer.

"Midoriya, everything's alright?"

As they turned their head to look at Monoma, whose voice was a strange mix of panic and excitement, they could see lingering smoke coming out of his mouth.

"… Yes."

"Then move! I'm not going home without turning more of those into scrap metal!"

Not willing to waste more time by answering, they quickly looked around. Their skirmish seemed mostly ignored, as everyone else around them was busy with gaining points of their own. Some examinees even shouted their score out loud, and it wasn't something that made them optimistic.

"Fifty-two!"

"Thirty-six!"

"Forty!"

Doing their best to ignore the panic attack that was building up within them, Midoriya tried to find any robot that wasn't already being attacked by someone. With their free arm damaged, they couldn't use Pull nor attack with their fist, leaving only Fire Breathing, but it had a risk of burning anyone near it, so they couldn't even try stealing someone else's points, not that they ever wanted to do so. The bigger problem was, however, that there seemed to be no robots left! By the time they finished looking around, everyone had already finished their current opponents, leaving mechanical corpses and piles of scrap all around the area

"THREE MINUTES LEFT!"

Right there and then, the ground shook with the power of the earthquake. Some examinees looked around in panic, but thankfully the shaking wasn't strong enough to collapse nearby buildings on top of them. Not long after that, noise appeared, the screech of metal parts moving against one another so loud it echoed across the entire fake city. Everyone, including Midoriya and Monoma, turned their heads towards the source of this terrifying sound.

"...Oh."

This was all Midoriya could come up with upon witnessing what had just arrived at the testing site. Towering above even the highest of the buildings on the test site was a gigantic robot. Its metal hands were so big it used two nearby structures to support its enormous weight.

{Zero-pointer.}

(Isn't that a little overkill? Someone could get hurt just by being near that thing!)

[Yep, it is, and i guess the risk was intentional. That's Nezu's style, alright.]

(Nezu? The Director of U.A. Nezu? What kind of mad man is he to come up with something like this for an entrance exam?!)

[He's… not exactly a man]

(?!)

Zero-pointer moved from the spot it emerged from, pushing against the buildings it was holding on. Those of course couldn't stand such abuse and had fallen to the sides, like oversized domino pieces. Thankfully no further buildings were forced to fall, but this wasn't that helpful, especially since…

"It's coming right at us!"

"I didn't sign up for something like this!"

"Run!"

Everyone started moving back without hesitation, and Midoriya was no different. Some were faster, some slower, but everyone was smart enough to know that zero-pointer should be avoided at all cost, and so they ran towards safety.

"Come on Midoriya, can't you run faster?!" Monoma, despite his inability to move on his own, also expressed his willingness to get out of here

"We're trying!"

Without being able to use Pull, their mobility was extremely limited, as they couldn't replicate their previous maneuver inspired by Sliding Hero, nor could they increase the speed they ran at. This meant that not only they had fallen behind the group of examinees, but also that zero-pointer was getting closer and closer.

{We could try to use Fire Breathing as propulsion?}

[Our mass might be too high for this. And besides, our output is not constant enough, and we lack ways of steering ourselves if it makes us airborne. Trust me, I tried it back in my days at U.A]

(Not to mention that it would be too dangerous if it worked. We could hit a wall, or ground, or someone else!)

"ONLY TWO MINUTES LEFT TO GRAB ANY REMAINING POINTS, LISTENERS!"

The sound of zero-pointer smashing the buildings near him just by swinging his massive arms was too close for comfort, so Midoriya pushed on, running as fast as they could even as their leg muscles started to ache and burn. Panic across the group of examinees in front of them also intensified, metal giant providing more than an adequate excuse to ignore any leftover robots they might have seen in the alleys they ran past. It was at this point that one of the boys in the back of the group tripped, an accident going unnoticed by almost everyone, except for the merged trio and Monoma.

"Midoriya!" Somewhat surprisingly, the blonde boy was the first to react to this, even if his voice was hard to hear due to the noise zero-pointer was generating just by driving in their direction. "He doesn't seem to be able to stand up! You think we could grab him?"

(We are doing something about this.)

[But even if we take him, it seems that we will be in the range of zero-pointers attack at this rate. We're simply not fast enough]

{Dad, what are you suggesting then?]

[We can't run anymore and just hope for the best. It's time to take a stand… Do you trust me?]

{Of course.}

(Always did, always will be)

It took a moment for any outside reaction to Monoma's words to appear, but all of a sudden, right as they passed the fellow examinee lying on the street of the fake city, Midoriya stopped, suddenness of their actions almost causing Neito to fall off of them.

"At this rate, we all will be a roadkill, we won't outrun it without Pull to boost us forward."

"What do we do then?!"

"Whatever we can." Midoriya turned their head towards the tripped person, a young man to be exact, staring at them, confusion, shock, and pain clear on his face. His face seemed plain, while his short brown hair was spiked up at odd angles, but those details were not what the merged trio was focusing on. "Can you get out of here on your own before the zero-pointer gets too close?"

"I don't think so, freaking hell, my ankle feels like it's about to fall off!"

"Fuck…" Monoma summed up their situation quite nicely, as did his sour frown. "You want to stall the damn thing, don't you?"

"Yep."

"... Fine, whatever! Not like we got any points to lose anyway... Just don't get us all killed!"

With no further discussion needed, they turned to face the upcoming giant robot. It was already close enough that nearby buildings were breaking apart from the vibrations, chunks of cement falling to the ground all around them. Asphalt road under them was cracking as the metal monstrosity came closer and closer. Both Midoriya and Monoma couldn't stop the fear from making them shake, but it was too late to try running again, not to mention that they couldn't just leave the boy with a hurt ankle.

"ONE MINUTE!"

(It's scary… we could get hurt, or worse… I can't let this happen, not to my family, not to those kids next to us!)

Midoriya breathed in, lungs filling in with the air that became unbearably hot in a matter of seconds.

[My fire failed once before… no, it didn't. I already failed myself once before. I won't back off again, not now, not ever, not when those i care about are on the line!]

The air within them ignited, turning into a sea of flames that expanded their tissue to its limits. Their chest filled out like a bloated balloon, an eerie glow of blaze inside of them illuminating their skin.

{If we don't do this, someone will get hurt. I can't allow that! If there's anything i can do to save just one smile, then nothing else matters! That's what All Might would do… That's what heroes do!}

Having no further room to expand to, inferno born from their emotions moved into the only direction it could, outside. In a blink of an eye, their mouth opened, and the world in front of them became a sea of flames. This sheer power was enough to push them back, but they managed to stand their ground. As expected, a tsunami of fire hit the zero-pointer, but there was no instant reaction to the attack, for it kept moving forward as if it was just a warm breeze blowing onto it.

Soon, however, the lungs of the merged trio became empty, and flames stopped. They were trying to catch their breath and attack once again as soon as possible, as even now the exterior armor of the robot was cooling down rapidly, fast enough to mitigate most of their attack.

"M-monoma!"

Their desperate plea was spoken out with panic and urgency that made the blonde boy shiver, but he still understood what they expected of him. Neito took a deep breath, and just when Midoriya thought he was still searching for valid emotions to use as fuel, he expelled a stream of fire towards the zero-pointer. It wasn't even one-fifth of what they managed, but the result was still enough to bathe the metallic giant in flames and possibly enough to increase its internal temperature. This however didn't last long, for flames ended once again, much faster than was the case with those that merged trio produced.

Choking on black smoke lingering in his mouth, Monoma was still not used to this power, even if it was his second time with it. Meanwhile, zero-pointer was so close they could already hear the individual mechanism powering this monstrosity, even as one of its arms moved up in what was a prelude to an attack directed straight at them.

Desperate, Midoriya reached out towards only thing that was stronger than their dreams, than their hopes and desires. They embraced something within, something so perfect, so ideal, that for a moment only it mattered. And the robot in front of them was threatening this wonderful thing. It was at this moment that they breathed in, and soon after they let out their fury, their anger, their sheer willingness to annihilate the source of the danger that's threatening their unified existence.

"DIE!"

With no prior buildup, flames roared out of them, streams so powerful it engulfed not only the robot but everything that was in front of them. The ambient temperature around them started getting much hotter than what was comfortable, but they had to endure. The robot wasn't visible, the blaze was so dense it even obscured the silhouette of the machine. Even the sound of the metal giant was obscured by the seemingly unstoppable flames that the merged trio created. This however didn't last forever. Flames finally started to become weaker and weaker as whatever air was used to create them was exhausted. Parts of the robot became slowly visible, metal plates red hot, the machine no longer in motion even if its fist was still high in the air. Whatever damage was, it was apparently enough to make the robot stop just before it could strike them down.

"H-holy crap!" Boy with the hurt ankle was clearly in awe, if not outright terrified by firepower he just witnessed.

"AND STOOOOOP! THE EXAM IS OVER! PLEASE GATHER AT THE GATES FOR A QUICK MEDICAL CHECK-UP OR AWAIT AT YOUR CURRENT LOCATION IF YOU ARE UNABLE TO MOVE ON YOUR OWN!"

"We d-Cough… We did it Midoriya!" Neito, still having troubles with catching his breath, was excited, forgetting about their absolute abysmal score in the exam. His cheerful demeanor disappeared however when Midoriya started wobbling, and their grip on his hand weakened significantly. ".. Midoriya?!"

Inko, Izuku, and Hisashi were already barely conscious at this point. They couldn't take a single shallow breath, their lungs filled with smoke that was now billowing out of their mouth, but even outside of that their whole body felt as if it burned all of its energy in that last attack. It didn't take long before blackness completely overtook them and their body fell to the ground, Monoma just barely managing to not get squished by them while maintaining contact with their hand.

"Midoriy..."

"Are th…"

"Hel…"

# Author Notes #

There are few things i feel like i have to say, if not for myself, then for anyone willing to come this far.

I don't know in what direction this fanfiction will go.

I don't know for how long i will keep it moving forward.

I don't know if i will be able to make chapters faster, or if the current rate of a few months per chapter will stay.

Sorry for all of the above and everything else that you as a reader might find not up to your liking about the story or how i write it. Feel free to be brutally honest about it in reviews, i cannot improve without feedback, after all, especially the negative one.

Karlos1234ify, avidreader-everafter, GV Niuton - I'm glad you liked it in one way or another. Hopefully this, and any future chapters you will also find to be up to your preferences.

theneed4beer - I'm aware what i write might still be either too strange. Regardless, thank you for your time spent on reading however much you managed to read.

TheGreatBubbaJ - I hope i didn't disappoint you with my story so far. Also, here are few answers to your comments (in the order that you made them):

1) I plan for them to keep as much of their appearance as possible, i feel like having them become less monstrous than they currently are would be wrong.

2) I won't be lying - Merging with Nomu did jump my mind multiple times. If it does happen, the question is how i will make it happen, and what the ramifications of this will be on Midoriya and their powers, as i'm still not sure about details of possible interaction between Chimera and the specific Nomu appearing in attack on USJ.

Tom - Thank you for your kind words. I am honestly surprised you think so highly of my writing. It is the first time i am writing something of this scale in English so I didn't expect much. Anyway, thank you once again, and sorry for making you uncomfortable.