Disclaimer: I don't own MHA/BNHA or any of its beautiful and excellent characters.
An: I'm free of the hospital! To thank my editor Jada, who typed chapter five, I've included Shinsou, her favorite character, in this one. Thank you Jada, enjoy!
Chapter 6: Esteemed Exam
Izuki's training had intensified as promised by her insane mentor. Now she practiced all six categories everyday. For her least favorite part, confidence building, her cheeks were always red. Midnight insisted on teaching her to be a model and often gave her too dirty dating advice. Although it was embarrassing, Izuki knew it might be helpful someday. She also concluded that saying things the way Midnight did took a certain amount of gusto.
The main thing she enjoyed under Midnight was the obstacle course. She'd already perfected it, so now she tried running through it with a different sense disabled each time. It taught her to get over her weaknesses. She'd noticed so far that her quirk's consequences usually ranged within bleeding from her nose, hands, or mouth. More use of her quirk caused her to disable a random sense for a period and made her fatigued. That's why she focused on this type of endurance training.
Also, in her many escapes from the stuffy gym, Izuki had taken to cleaning the beach. She'd tried coming here for some fresh air, but found herself breathing less because of the stench of trash. While cleaning she often memorized Midnight's confidence tips. It helped her focus on something other than garbage and sweat. Shinsou joined her at times.
As the beach grew slowly clearer, her control over each persona grew as well. Since her mind always wandered, she didn't notice how toned she'd really become until her silky-haired mentor pointed it out in approval. One especially humid day Midnight approached her with a stack of papers.
"Here, these are for you." She slapped the papers dramatically into Izuki's gloved hands.
"What are they?" Izuki asked curiously. Midnight gave her an accusing glare. She prompted the girl to answer her own question by simply looking at them. Izuki could be so oblivious at times. It was a true tragedy. Finally, Izuki picked up the hints and her eyes flicked over the stack.
"Nope!" Izuki shouted before even reading the notes in the margin. "There's no way I'll wear that, it's too revealing!" Midnight rolled her eyes and pointed at the pictures.
"You will wear that if you want to be acknowledged as my pupil." It was the teen's turn to give an obnoxious glare.
"Can I at least wear a cloak over it?" Midnight retched back her neck in a strong reaction of disgust.
"Of course you can't!" Izuki refuted her exclamation with a new one.
"I'm pretty sure you told me modesty could be a good thing because it makes the reveal that much more brilliant." Her trainer put a finger under her chin and thought for a moment. A long sigh escaped her lips.
"Fine, you can have the cloak." Izuki brought back her overly bright smile. Then, she shoved the designs into her pocket. Midnight leaned over unenthusiastically,
"Alright, time to train."
…..
She had just made a dent in the large section dedicated to tires on the beach, when a slightly annoying individual interrupted her work. He drew closer in his usual irritatingly slow pace. His indigo hair shifted softly in the salty ocean breeze. She waited impatiently for him to finish his approach and he smirked in acknowledgment of her frustration.
"Do you want some help with that?" He gestured to the half-used rubber hunk she'd set down to talk freely. She gave him a small smile, completely forgetting about her earlier irritations.
"I think I can handle it better than you." Shinsou shrugged in acceptance and sat cross-legged on a clear patch of sand. He watched as she continued with her task. Unannounced to her, another figure was jogging up to her and Shinsou. This one had silky and dark hair that flashed brilliantly in the sunlight.
Izuki was making progress on what could be called the Shinsou Tire Tower. The purple-haired teen sat perfectly still as she placed the rubber rings around him in a building stack. She put another layer on, and his face began disappearing amid the treads. Midnight, the new figure, started sprinting straight toward her rubbery tower. Izuki stared, stunned, at her mentor's immaturity, for Midnight had swung the untrained kick of a two-year-old on her Tire Tower, and sent it spralling through the sand. The wheels scattered and Shinsou face-planted, as crudely as possible, onto the beach. The R rated hero examined the destruction with pride. Her assessment cut short when she saw Shinsou.
"Oh, who's that?" She gave Izuki a mischievous grin. Izuki impulsively tensed at the question, but then shrugged off her impulsive secrecy. It didn't matter if Midnight knew who he was because it wasn't like she could do anything about it.
"This is Shinsou Hitoshi." She gestured to the grain-covered face of her friend. Particles from the beach flowed from his messy hair in a continuous stream. Midnight cringed when he smiled at her with a wide, dirty grin. She shook her head in disapproval.
"Please tell me he isn't your boyfriend." Izuki blushed and Shinsou's attention snapped to Midnight. The green-haired girl hesitated as her cutesy-shy persona leaked back into place.
"Uh…" Shinsou cut her off with his own half-assed answer.
"No. we're not dating, not yet anyway." He winked teasingly at the tomato red teen. For a zombie, Midnight had to admit, he was pretty talented at flirting. She observed as Izuki struggled to remain calm and reply back. The sexy hero realized two things in that moment. One, Izuki might actually like this quirky weirdo, and two, he was highly attracted to Izuki. Midnight's personal Sludgy Blonde Boy X Izuki ship was suddenly repainted with a special coating called Infatuated Zombie Prince. She looked at the boy in a new light. He would look slightly better if his tiredness and absent-mindedness was erased. If his hair was combed and she threw on a suit, he might even be handsome.
"Hello? Earth to Kayama!" A slightly tanned hand waved obnoxiously in front of her, directly obstructing her vision. Midnight snapped to attention and refocused on the teenage pair.
"Where'd Shinsou go?" Izuki rolled her eyes at the undedicated adult.
"He had to leave, but we still need to talk." Midnight's brain remained in the fuzzy daze.
"About what?" Izuki puffed out a long sigh and plopped down on a shaky stool of tires. A small sand mountain shifted to support her weight.
"Today's February 25th, so…" This time Midnight was completely pulled from her dream-like state.
"Oh shit! Exam day!" As if it agreed with the exclamation, her hair tangled wildly in the wind. Izuki prompted her with a cheeky smile,
"Don't you have, I don't know...some inspirational advice for me or something?" Midnight straightened her shoulders comically and composed her face into something solemn and serious. Her gaze remained on the teenage girl standing before her.
"Uh...you've made me proud and stuff. I know you'll be an excellent hero someday because you're already a good one. Go out there and show them who's boss!" Even though the speech was rushed and didn't have the most sentimental value, Izuki teared up. If possible Izuki's reverence of Midnight increased, and her smile held all the admiration and joy of both a fangirl and a pupil. Her mentor grinned at her and rewired her mood too, instead of being comical, she became genuine and proud for once. She acknowledged the teenager with respect.
"Be unique as only you can be." The orange tips of sunset gave the perfect backdrop for the heroically cheesy encouragement. The underdressed adult then leaned forward and embraced Izuki with as much sincerity as she could muster. When the two separated, they looked at each other with mutual care and humility. They stayed on the beach for a while, reflecting that in these ten short months they had improved so greatly. Neither hero, nor student, would ever be the same.
…..
February 26th, exam day. She tried in several ways to suppress her nervousness, but she only shook harder. She satisfied herself by observing her surroundings. Yuuei High was packed with every type of student. Even mutant type quirks didn't stand out as much here as they normally would. Izuki had to remind herself that a frog person and an alien girl chatting was perfectly normal in a place like this. Soon however, she became too distracted by those around her. One of the students in the messy throng brushed past her too quickly. He turned back to smirk at her as she fell.
"Better watch where you step Deku." Although he seemed to be acting like a bully again, Izuki saw a familiar glint in his eye that meant he was joking. She gasped as he caught her and smiled. He actually smiled. She could only gap at the entirely different behavior he displayed. He hadn't looked so carefree since they were five. He read her expression and chuckled knowingly.
"Surprised are you? What'd you expect?" Just as she was about to answer, Yuuei's intercom interrupted to announce the beginning of the exam's instructions. Bakugou walked briskly away. She followed before he could object. He was faster though, and she was left to wander the auditorium looking for a seat. With people everywhere, spots were few and far in between. Her scanning eyes landed on an almost empty row. She made her way down to it and hastily sat next to a familiar ash-blonde teen.
"Hey extra, you just sat in my spark zone! If you want to live you should sit somewhere else!" Izuki sighed at Bakugou's poor observation.
"Hello to you too Kacchan." Bakugou jerked back in surprise, but, before he could get out a response, the booming voice of Present Mic asked for attention. The strikingly loud pro wallowed after each attempt to hype the crowd failed. Bakugou groaned when he mentioned the written part. The other part however, caused him to become the egomaniac he could sometimes be. It was a point-based system for destruction. Say the word "destruction" and it guaranteed Bakugou to be psyched. He wore one of those evil-looking smiles only he could pull off. A tall black-haired preppy kid suddenly stood up.
"How exactly is destruction a proper assessment for heroes?" Present Mic grinned fanatically as if he was waiting for someone to ask that question.
"Well kid, you won't actually be destroying anything. We just have some attack androids that rate the strength of your attack whenever you hit them. The people with the most points of attack will be ranked highest, and the top fourty kids will pass the exam. Of course there are possibilities to enter Yuuei through the recommendation tests as well." The spike blonde pro went on to explain that different spots on the androids gave higher points, and that the androids had rankings themselves. The highest difficulty android gave the highest points and so on. Also, for some unknown reason, there were a few no-pointers thrown in the mix. Present Mic made sure to emphasize how much those ones were a waste of time. Then, he told everyone to split into the groups assigned to them on their entrance cards.
The crowd dispersed and Izuki was ripped from all the comfort that came with sitting next to an overconfident person. Sure Bakugou had his downfalls, but he had also provided her with a sufficient distraction from her overwhelming nerves. The sea of students flowing around her added to the paranoia. She struggled to maintain her cool exterior, and slowly moved with the daunting masses. Izuki fell in with her designated section and converged upon a ginormous, steel-enforced gate.
The doors had the Yuuei symbol casted into them. The intercoms were plastered along the top of two tall concrete pillars that held the metal doorframe. Her eyes drifted to the hopeful and nervous teenagers in front. Finally, she found the preppy boy from earlier. Just as Izuki started pushing her way through the crowd, the intercom blared and the gate slid open. She didn't wait for the go, but instead moved along with the inching doors and ran. Her hair bounced and tangled on her shoulders as she rushed past a few other jogging adolescents. The cast iron doors finished opening with a squeal. As if on queue, the first green of spray-painted androids rose up in the distance. She realized then just how far ahead she was of everyone else.
Walking, jogging, sprinting; escaping the silicon grasp of android talons. Just the serrated arm blades were comparable to all of her skills. When she heard android, her brain pulled up the sweet, human-like ones from IRobot or Real Steel. She had never imagined they'd reach the terrifying sameness as the rusty-jointed ones from the Terminator.
By now, her shoes were worn down from all the non-heroic running she'd been doing. She considered fleeing fair game as half the time someone else was targeting the Android anyway. At least she didn't have to worry about her quirk being unfit for the test since, by the way these androids worked, the only quirks at a disadvantage were psychological ones, poor Shinsou was sure to fail.
Suddenly, the building beside her exploded apart. Concrete sprayed everywhere and tiny shards of gravel scraped her skin. The hulking green monster who'd split the stone swerved towards her. Fear racked her body and she shivered uncontrollably. Before she could run or find any bravery, a sparkling burst of light struck the android right where it hurt.
"Thanks for the distraction honey! We make a great team!" The person who'd produced the sparkling light wiggled his fingers in a girlish wave. She blinked twice at the mocking stranger and sprinted forward in a desperate panic. She needed points!
Her heels dug into the fake city's street and her mouth flew open. In the center of the sim city lay a hub of monstrous defeat. Metal limbs and gadgets were strewn across the pavement like a mechanic's workshop had been dumped into the square. The robotic antagonists didn't get there on their own. Several teens zig-zagged through the maze while activating an onslaught of quirks. The preppy boy was fighting his own battle as well. He used his speed quirk to gain momentum and get higher hit points. After hitting the androids weakest spots for easy add ups, he went on to search for more enemies while whispering his point value under breath. A number above fifty! Another person flew past shouting one above sixty. Finally, she heard explosions and Bakugou's voice ringing through the streets. He declared reaching seventy points! Izuki thought her fear was bad, but when Present Mic announced impending doom, her brain imploded.
"One minute left! Hurry it up out there kiddos!" All she had was a few points from a hit or two she'd landed on passing androids. She needed more points! She needed to pass! All thoughts halted when an ominous screech vibrated through the air. It filled her ears with rusty domination, her heart with dread. Before she could be sick, a crowd of fearful examinees pushed past her. They ran only to save their own lives, and forgot about everyone but themselves.
As the teens faded in the distance, Izuki stood frozen, staring at the intricately-wired mass in front of her. A shrill yell pumped blood into her pale face and sent adrenaline shivering through her spine. She snapped her gaze to a desperately struggling black-haired kid. It was the same dude that had spoken against Present Mic. He was now surrounded by a circle of blue and black painted androids. The one that blocked her way was a low-level green. She swatted it aside and lurched forward to assist the boy.
As she joined him in the circle, so did another bot. This one was a deep, velvety purple and its body was covered in a trail of sharp spikes. It was slightly larger than the other androids and along its spine, among the horrifying array of blades, was the bold and white number zero. It was a zero pointer android, but it looked like it should be worth at least ten points a hit. Realizing that the purple zero pointer made it impossible for her and the black-haired kid to win, she pushed him out of the circle and gestured for him to run. He hesitated for a moment, and in that short timeframe an android leaped forward to slice him in half. Before it could, Izuki grabbed its wrist and twisted it around so that its own blade could puncture it in the back. Then, she smacked it in the back of the head with her fist and shooed the boy away again. This time he didn't hesitate.
Spinning, Izuki extended her leg as far out as it would go and sweep-kicked half the circle of robots to the ground. She quickly pulled out some of their wiring while dodging attacks from the surviving bots. After a bunch of follow up punches and kicks, she faced only one more android. Its red-lighted eyes glowed eerily as it swiped at her mercilessly. She jumped over the embedded blades and twisted to grab its left leg. Pulling as hard as she could manage, she dislodged its leg and jumped back before it could swing at her again. As it regained its balance, Izuki dove for her own blade. She stole it, just in time, from the defeated husk of a blue android.
She assessed the weaknesses of the robotic assassin by dodging and hitting at different points each time. She finally discovered that the android never exposed its back. Understanding lit her gaze when she achieved a closer look. The androids main wiring ran underneath the protective layer of sharp spikes. If she placed her fingers just right, the simultaneous activation of her quirk and the stabbing of the blade into its spine would deactivate the android and allow her to escape. Distracted by this exciting discovery, Izuki failed to block an absent swing of the android's blade, and it poked straight through her ankle. Gritting her teeth to refrain from screaming, Izuki used the advantage she now held over the struggling robot, lodging her sword as deep as it would go into the android's wired spine. Then, she placed her hand on the twitching back of the expensive training tool and activated her quirk.
The technology that served to give points based on a quirks attack power worked against the android now. It absorbed Izuki's quirk much easier and faster than normal. Soon, the android was only a pile of silver and violet metal dust on the ground. Izuki wanted to smile, but the android's blade had still been stuck through her ankle when she'd used her quirk and now it was covered in metal ash and bleeding extremely badly. She grimaced as she realized that all she'd gotten was a few more points from the blue and black androids that had surrounded the black-haired kid earlier. She had failed the exam because that stupid zero pointer gave her nothing but pain for all her efforts. Finally, a famous nurse hero, Izuki knew as Recovery Girl, approached with a pitying frown.
"Poor girl's got bleeding pores." She whisped a hand over Izuki's ankle and as fast as the wound appeared, it was gone. Then, she opened Izuki's mouth and clicked her tongue solemnly. Recovery Girl tipped Izuki's chin up and looked her in the eyes.
"I'm afraid you won't be able to talk for awhile. Your tongue's nerves have been partially fried. Your ankle will be fine though." Izuki started to feel unusually tired. Her adrenaline was burnt through and her tongue felt like it was on fire. She was glad, at least, that there wasn't any permanent damage. She gave a nonverbal thank you to the nurse and headed off.
When she returned to her room later, a debate started in her skull and her panic rose from within like a monster, fed by anxiety. She banged her head against her desk in frustration, but quickly stopped when her mom gave a concerned yell. Instead, she waited with a massive pit of uncertainty wiping the emotions from her face. Izuki prayed and hoped that the unforgiving gods would grant her the only thing she ever truly wished for. Her wish to become a hero.
AN: I'm back, and I'm happy to be here(not that Jada did bad or anything). This is my first time writing a long action sequence, so I need criticism more than ever. Please tell me if there's something wrong, grammatically incorrect, or confusing. Thank you for reading!