Chapter 3: Up In The World
A/N: I'm doing a fair few time skips early on since the focus of this fic is mostly on Tenko and Ochaco, so we're now coming to Tenko's UA entrance exam, where his Decay can finally be put to some real action (it's a hard Quirk to use outside of combat)
This was it, Tenko thought as he stepped through UA's massive blue gates, my first step to becoming a real hero like grandma. As he walked up to the door, he saw several hundred others walking with him, before they all filed into UA's massive auditorium. Suddenly a voice boomed throughout the massive structure, shaking him to his core.
"HEY THERE, LITTLE LISTENERS! CAN I GET A 'HEY!'" shouted Present Mic, to an awkward silence. "Well, anyway, welcome to UA!" he continued. "Today, little listeners, you get to prove your worth as a future hero in the entrance exam! It'll go a little something like this:" At that moment a copy of the pamphlet Tenko had been given appeared on stage. "Alright, so every one of you is going to be sent to one of our urban arenas to deal with a villain attack! For 10 minutes, you guys gotta take down the villain bots, and then you'll earn points! Doesn't matter how you do it, just shut them down! Easy bots are 1 point, medium bots are 2, and the really hard bots are 3!"
Suddenly a voice shouted back at Present Mic. "Aren't you forgetting something!? What's this fourth bot on the pamphlet supposed to be?"
Present Mic grinned. "Glad you asked, examinee 5783! That's a zero-pointer, an arena trap! Don't mess with it, just keep away. It's not exactly worth the points. Since it's worth none."
The voice said again, "Thanks for the clarification!"
"Any time, little listener!" Present Mic nodded, before addressing the entire crowd. "Now everybody make your way to your assigned testing arena, and remember to Go Beyond! PLUS ULTRA!"
With that, Tenko followed the crowd to his testing arena, and soon enough he found himself in the middle of a proper cityscape. "UA's got all this?" he said out loud.
"I know, right?" a voice said. "It's crazy… Oh, uh, what's your name by the way?"
Tenko jolted. "T-Tenko Shimura! What's yours?" he turned to the boy in question.
"I'm Namiutsu Ishi!" he exclaimed. "I'll make sure to rock your world!"
"Better hope I don't break it down!" Tenko said with a grin.
Suddenly the PA crackled: "Alright, alright, looks like all examinees are accounted for! Now, GO!"
Tenko, hearing the shout, charged forward, leaving the rest of his now confused group behind, only for Present Mic to say, "What are you guys waiting for!? There's no countdowns when a villain attacks! Now get out there and do something!"
That got the other examinees' attention, and soon enough the horde spread out in order to find some bots to break apart.
Tenko, having had a head start, had been racking up points for a solid 20 seconds before competition arrived, having taken off his special gloves to turn every bot he came across to dust. He'd already accumulated 15 points when, just as he was about to take down a three-pointer… "COMING THROUGH!" The bot flew away from Tenko's outstretched arm and he watched as a boy with some kind of rebound Quirk build up momentum and send the three-pointer into a nearby wall.
Woah… Tenko thought as he stared at the massive dent the bot had made, before he ran off to find another target. Over the next few minutes he came across a girl with a magnesis Quirk slamming a 1 and 2 pointer together, a boy with a telekinetic Quirk using a scorpion 2-pointer's tail as a whip, another girl with some kind of static Quirk disabling a string of bots, among several others. He even ran into Namiutsu again, who was using the rubble around him as material for a massive shot that toppled a 3 pointer and caused a domino effect taking a few more bots with it.
Eventually, Tenko entered the final 2 minutes with about 40 points to his name, when out of nowhere he felt a rumbling. He paused for a moment, thinking it might've just been a bot falling to pieces, but then the rumbling came again.
And then he heard the screams.
Suddenly a massive throng of fellow middle schoolers charged toward him and behind them… "THAT'S THE ZERO POINTER!?" he shouted.
But even as he turned to run, suddenly several chunks of rubble from the nearby building dropped to the ground, cutting off himself and 4 other students. Looking around he asked quickly, "Uh, what are your guys' Quirks? Mine's Decay, anything I touch with 5 fingers disintegrates."
"Shackle; I can lock any object in place so long as I stare at it," one boy said.
"Hail; I can generate balls of hail in an area around me," said another boy.
"I've got Bubble," a girl said. "I… can make bubbles to trap things in."
The final student, also a girl, added, "My Quirk is Shockwave, I can, well, make shockwaves when I concentrate."
The Hail boy asked, "Uh, should we run? That thing's not worth any points, right?"
Bubble girl shook her head. "We can't since all the rubble is in the way. Hey, Decay kid!"
Tenko turned around. "What is it?"
"How fast do you think you can clear all that rubble?" Bubble girl asked.
"Too long," Tenko groaned. "The zero-pointer would smush us by then."
"So, that just leaves… taking out the thing we're not supposed to take out," said the Shockwave girl.
"Yeah, but… how?" Shackle boy asked.
Tenko thought for a moment. "Uh, Shackle dude! Think you could lock down its leg?"
The boy pondered. "Haven't found anything I can't yet, so probably?"
Tenko nodded. "Alright, I've got an idea. Shackle dude, hold it down. Shockwave girl, try and knock it off-balance. Hail kid, Bubble Girl, lift some hail up above it to try and get its attention."
Shockwave girl then asked, "And, how about you, Decay boy?"
"I'm gonna make that thing disappear," Tenko said with a feral grin.
And with that, the 5 set their plan in motion as the zero-pointer rounded the corner. As it brought a leg down, the Shackle kid held it in place. As the shockwave girl let loose a burst, she realized it wasn't helping, but with nowhere to go, they stalled. However, the shockwave had got the zero-pointer's attention, so it attempted to pivot around. However, with one leg firmly held down, its balance wasn't good, and so it ended up tipping over into a wall. At this point, however, the dust from the impact threw off the shackle boy, allowing the zero-pointer to break free. Luckily, the Hail and Bubble kids had successfully generated a large mass of ice above the zero-pointer, and they let it drop directly on its head. This did temporarily stun it, but when it got up, it seemed to be even more determined. Tenko gulped, but he realized he'd have to take it down without much assistance, so with one last shout, he let Bubble girl lift him up as the other four took cover, and then he slammed down on the zero-pointer's head with both hands and willed it to disappear as fast as he could. As he felt the familiar dust accumulate around him, he smiled, even as his exhaustion finally caught up to him and caused him to slip off the top.
He woke up around 5 seconds later and realized he was falling, and of course, he began to scream. Bubble girl, fresh out of fluid to make bubbles with, cursed as she realized she'd basically gotten another kid killed, but luckily shockwave girl managed to use controlled bursts of energy to gradually slow Tenko down before he touched the ground. When he landed, he laid on the ground, even as the PA came back on, and Present Mic called time.
"So, how did you guys do?" he asked when he was finally able to stand.
Hail boy groaned. "I don't think I got more than 15… my hail's not strong enough to crack the bot shells so I think the only ones I took down were the ones I found the off switch for."
Bubble girl sighed. "I had it even worse… Hail kid over there could at least dent the bots. My bubbles? Didn't even scratch them. I snuck in a few points by shorting a few out with some exposed wiring but, well, it's not enough…"
Shackle dude smiled. "Bots were dumb enough to try and keep moving even when I locked down their limbs so I managed to get… 25, I think? That's borderline, right?"
Finally, shockwave girl said, "My shockwaves could at least take down the top-heavier bots, so I landed I think 20… Not sure that's enough though."
Tenko put his gloves on and brought the impromptu group together in a huddle. "Well, I got like 40 or so, but I think most of you will be fine… Hero stuff involves saving people, right? And all five of us worked together to save each other. That's gotta count for something."
Saying this, the five of them walked out of the testing arena together, a little more confident that maybe they ended up passing.
Suddenly Tenko realized something. "Uh… I never actually got your guys' names? I'm Tenko Shimura, by the way."
Hail boy spoke first. "Hyou Arashi. Nice to meet you."
"Kaoruko Awata," said Bubble girl. "Think I might keep the name though."
"What, Bubble Girl? That's lame! Anyway, I'm Neru Shoyu," said Shackle kid. "I think we'll get along great, how 'bout it?"
Finally, the shockwave girl spoke. "I'm Chikara Eikyo. If we do all get in, I look forward to seeing you all again here at UA."
"Alright then!" Tenko said. "I guess we'll see each other around?"
"I can make a group chat!" Kaoruko said, pulling out her phone. "What's your guys' numbers?"
With phone numbers transferred and other social media info swapped, Kaoruko had set up the group chat and invited everyone to it.
Kaoruko Awata: Aight here it is
Kaoruko Awata changed their name to Bubble Girl
Bubble Girl: And hell yeah I'm stickin' with this
Tenko Shimura changed their name to GamerTM
GamerTM: I betcha my ELO's goin up
Neru Shoyu changed their name to Binder
Binder: Imma hitch a ride on that
Hyou Arashi changed their name to Ice Ice Baby
Ice Ice Baby: Oh shit we got gamers
Ice Ice Baby: Betta lock em down or they infect us
Chikara Eikyo changed their name to Woman In Power
Woman in Power: Well that's not very nice
Woman in Power: Besides most games are online anyway
Woman in Power: We're all lost causes
Binder: Who you callin a lost cause
Binder: Imma have you know I game as a hobby
Binder: Handy man over there sounds like a basement dwelling man-baby
Binder: And yall know what man-babies do when they aint gamin
Binder changed GamerTM's name to Handjob
Handjob: Alright I'd take Handy Man but come on
Handjob changed their name to Handy Man
Handy Man: There
Handy Man: Now I won't infect you guys with my Dew-drinking, Dorito-stained fingers
Bubble Girl: 1000 yen says you break that promise in a week
Woman in Power: A sure bet? Now that's just mean, Awata
Bubble Girl: Oi, I'll have you know it's only highly likely
Bubble Girl: My mom's a scientist and she says that means the odds are only about 80-90%
Woman in Power: I stand corrected
Woman in Power: Anyway, on the subject of parents
Woman in Power: What do all of yours do? Awata's mother is a scientist, of course
Handy Man: My mom's a consultant at Might Tower
Handy Man: It's part nepotism I'm pretty sure
Binder: Wait what back up
Binder: Might Tower?
Binder: How the hell
Handy Man: Any of y'all heard of the hero Valiant?
Handy Man: She was my grandma
Ice Ice Baby: OK and
Handy Man: She was also All Might's mentor
Ice Ice Baby: Oh
Ice Ice Baby: Aight so your mom has a desk job at freakin Might Tower
Ice Ice Baby: Mine's just a high school teacher
Ice Ice Baby: Meanwhile my dad's just got a boring insurance firm job
Binder: My dad works at Yokusei Inc
Binder: It's a support company
Binder: They specialize in capture and containment
Woman In Power: Fairly poetic given your Quirk
Binder: IKR
Handy Man: Hey wait Yokusei?
Handy Man: I think my sister works there
Binder: Huh rly
Binder: Who's she
Handy Man: Hana Shimura, black hair, twin tails, also kinda short
Binder: I think I've seen someone like that
Binder: Anyway mom's a designer
Binder: I'm pretty sure they met because they both like BDSM
Bubble Girl: TMI
Bubble Girl: Why would you say that
Bubble Girl: Also I realize I forgot to tell you guys about my dad
Bubble Girl: He's a lawyer
Woman In Power: I suppose I'll go next
Woman In Power: My father is an oil magnate
Woman In Power: My mother is his CFO
Handy Man: Coolio
Handy Man: Which company btw
Woman In Power: Exxel
Handy Man: OK yeah that explains so much
Woman In Power: Does it?
Binder: Like you wouldn't believe, Eikyo
Binder: Hey wait is that where the name comes from
Binder: Eikyo, Exxel
Woman In Power: I believe so, yes
Binder: Neat
Binder: Anyway ttyl
Handy Man: Aight
Handy Man: Gotta help my cousin with hw anyway
Handy Man: See ya
With that, Tenko put away his phone and hopped off the train, smiling to himself. He hadn't been one to really make too many friends at school before, (his Quirk was a little too scary for that) so to have a group he could actually talk to was a fairly huge development. Even if they all lived ludicrously far away. At least he assumed most of them did.
A/N: Well, Tenko's got friends! And yes, I did in fact check everyone's ages to make sure that Bubble Girl would in fact be in the same year as Tenko. I wanted to include a couple other of Shigaraki's associates but as it turns out the only person who's the same age is Spinner, and the only other option to make it in is Dabi, which obviously isn't happening. You may see Spinner around at some point, still, so be on the lookout for him.
Anyway, Quirk Profile Time!
Hyou Arashi, Quirk: Hail!
Hyou can generate small balls of hail in a radius of up to 10 meters! The density depends on his concentration, and the hail balls aren't that large, but they work in a pinch! He can even move the swarm around if he focuses hard enough!