Chapter 3: Burning Hope

Mei Hatsume

Mei Hatsume was a prodigy, and success came naturally to her. However, her peers would likely question her definition of success. As to her, an invention that happened to explode was just as cute as one that worked.

But, no one would argue about the benefits of her most recent investment.

This boy…the one she had met on that fateful day. He was special…never before had she met someone with such will and determination or someone that was so patient and understanding. Being around him had warped her world to such an extent that she no longer recognized what her life had become.

Mei had been an involuntary loner, her extreme intellect isolating her from children her age. Not that she cared, being perfectly content with continually crafting new babies alone.

By the time she had graduated middle school, Mei had mastered numerous scientific, mathematic, and technological disciplines related to the creation of her super cute babies.

And that's how Mei had calculated the rest of her life to be. Her future, in her mind, was already secured as a world-renowned inventor. Her genius would propel her down a lonesome road to discovery, advancement, and fame.

She believed that was all she needed… All she could expect…

How wrong she had been.

She didn't know whether it was the softness and compassion that seemed to come naturally to him. Or the sadness she would catch in his eyes in moments when his thoughts took his attention away from the world they shared. Perhaps it was as simple as Mei had never had a true friend before.

But Izuku had provided a place of warmth in her otherwise cold life. Allowing her to awaken to the multitude of possibilities for the day and the future.

—-

Izuku Midoriya

Izuku breathed deeply, taking a long exhale before inhaling sharply. His focus crystallized in the early morning air; he could hear the wave slapping against the beach. It was the morning of the UA entrance exam, and he was up before sunrise.

Another long exhale, harsh and forceful, with an inhale to match. At this, the points of light surrounding him quickly flicker and vanish as streams of glowing red embers disappear into the boy's waiting mouth.

He could feel his stomach filling with the flames, a smile at the corners of his mouth as he felt the heat wash over his body.

Izuku loved the way his quirk made him feel. A quick inhale could bite back the chill that always followed him.

Snapping his mouth shut, he relaxed his mind and body. Tempering his concentration to its highest peak.

He was standing in the sand with six concentric circles centered on him at increasing distances, starting at 10 ft, with the final ring having a radius of 60 ft. Each ring contained 3 spread-out standing torches, all recently extinguished by Izuku's inhale.

"Ignition!" Izuku screamed mentally, as he could feel his quirk breaking up a portion of the fire he had just consumed, dumping his body with heat and causing his nerves, muscles, and blood to burn and boil.

At that moment, his previously relaxed body tensed all at once as he dropped into a stance before delivering three punches to the air in rapid succession. He extinguished the technique, letting out a steamy breath.

He was immediately drenched in sweat.

As soon as he falls into his battle stance, the tension in his body releases just before he grits his teeth as he activated his skill again.

"Ignition!"

Once again, he burns away at his body as the flame in his stomach is broken up and pumped through his veins.

"HA" Izuku kiaied. Spinning his hips to fling a right kick that would decimate someone's mid-section before pushing off that same right foot just as it hit the ground, launching into a jumping crescent kick.

Landing with a poof of sand, Izuku was panting for air.

"Hmmm... Just as I thought," he began to himself.

"Ignition can allow me to fight with the reaction time, speed, and power relative to a professional fighter but only for brief bursts."

Izuke caught his breath, standing up straight once again. With another inhale, he expanded his chest and gathered fire in the back of his throat. Twisting with a flurry of movement, he spun as he released his flamethrower-type breath covering the first two rows of torches with roiling green blaze while barely dashing the third.

"Alright, my flamethrower range seems to have plateaued at around 25 ft. Any further, and the flames aren't hot or focused enough to be useful," he noted, quickly re-inhaling to salvage any remaining flames.

"Just a couple more tests now; I may need to re-up my flames before heading out." He thought.

"Hey Mei, can you record that my max flamethrower range increased to 25 ft? Also, I may need you to start a bonfire so I can refill before the exam."

Izuku's calls were met with silence…

"Oh yeah," he remembered shaking his head. Until now, he hadn't noticed how used to her presence he was and how empty it felt now that she wasn't here.

Izuku and Mei held up their ends of the agreement throughout the summer, helping the other improve their knowledge and offering the other a different approach or perspective for finding solutions and forming ideas.

Though Mei got a pretty willing test subject to use for her inventions, Izuku felt he had gotten so much from just her presence alone.

Besides simply helping ease Izuku's loneliness from his middle school experience, he also benefited from her extensive knowledge of thermodynamics and physics, which helped with his understanding of fire and, to an extent, his quirk.

They became so close that she would usually show up at Izuku's house in the morning to brainstorm and plan her day with him while he cooked and got ready to work out. Much to the delight of Inko, she loved when her son's cute friend would visit, always ensuring Mei felt at home and doting on her constantly.

During his workout and study, she would return to her lab to scheme and perform whatever dark ritual he imagined took place to give birth to some of her more "Interesting Innovations." She then would show up to the beach without fail to hang, analyze his quirk and practice developing support gear using her observations.

However, once the exam was only a week away, Izuku began to see Mei less and less. She gradually stopped going to his house or showing up to watch and participate in his quirk training.

"Perhaps she doesn't need me anymore…" he pondered. "She got the practice she wanted and decided to move on, I guess."

His head slumped at the thought.

Shaking it off, he focused on the three torches in front of him, one from each of the 40, 50, and 60-foot circles. Gathering the heat in his mouth, he flexed his throat while contorting his tongue, lips, and cheeks.

The energy and force in which the fire leaves his mouth make it difficult to pull off, but he expels the emerald flame in a condensed spherical burst about the size of a softball. He quickly spews three forward, one aimed at each target, with the first two striking with decent accuracy, reducing the central portions of the torches to ash, causing them to collapse. The third hit only the edge of the target, but it still completely removed the section it collided with.

"Good," he muttered, "although it makes my jaw and cheeks sore if I do it too much. It seems like I can hit targets with my Hot Shots at about 60 ft."

He had created this second-breath weapon because it not only conserved fire compared to his flamethrower but also had better piercing and damaging properties.

His tank was low now, but he had one more technique to test. It was one of the few that he could still not execute reliably. He pressed his lips together fiercely as he began to summon all the leftover flame he had without dipping into his natural body heat.

"For this to work, there has to be a lot of pressure on the exit of the flame," he thought, "honestly it may not be possible with just my lips and jaw alone."

He released the fire, bracing his mouth to fight the flame's current into a small exit. For an instant, a thin beam of green eeks out of his mouth, then returns to its flamethrower form before sputtering out as Izuku finally runs out of the heat he had eaten.

"Damn, it seems like that one is still a long way off," he said disappointedly.

"Maybe I can get something to help me focus it?" he said, slapping himself to keep from diving into one of his quirk-related muttering storms.

"No time; I gotta get home, refill on fire, and rest before the exam; it's in 6 hours." he thought to himself as he gathered his belongings and headed back toward his home.

—-

"I-It's HUGE!" Izuku exclaimed, staring up at the enormous open gates of UA. There were hundreds of applicants, but to Izuku, it might as well have been millions.

He found himself in a daze as he walked into the schoolyard, overwhelmed by the sheer number of people and quirks in sight. There was a black-haired boy with what looked like large tape dispensers on his elbows, a boy with a bird head and a cloak as well as a tall young woman with flowing white hair and brown tips and a pair of wings on each ankle. He had never seen so many types of quirks; multiple competitors stood out to him.

He continued into the building, making his way to the written exam auditorium. He hadn't seen Kacchan or Mei anywhere; perhaps they were at different testing sites? No, he had to focus. He couldn't let his thoughts wander on things outside his control; he had to pass this exam before anything.

TIME OVER! TURN IN YOUR TESTS!

"Hmmm that was easier than expected," he noted to himself as he exited the exam hall and headed toward the site of the practical.

He hadn't really struggled on the test at all. With his own study and the tutoring he had received from Mei, the written exam was barely an obstacle for him.

"Now for the main event," he whispered, consciously calculating that he had refilled to about 75% of his maximum heat capacity using the oven and stove he had at home. Their electric bill would probably be high as hell this month, but he would pay his mother back when he became a hero. He smirked to himself before thoughts of Mei drained his smile.

Why hadn't she come? Maybe they weren't as close as he thought, looking down as he headed towards hero practical site #4.

Suddenly, Izuku was tackled to the ground.

As he landed on his back, he quickly sat up, glancing down at the mop of pink dreads burying itself into his chest.

"IzuKunnnn!" A familiar voice yelled, startling Izuku.

Mei looked up to meet her eyes with his, "I'm so glad I caught you before your practical," she beamed, standing up and reaching out a hand to Him.

Izuku blinked hard, not believing what he was seeing.

After pulling him up, she gave him a smug smile.

"I showed up late so when I didn't see you I thought I wouldn't be able to give you this." She said as she opened the gym bag at her side, pulling out a skin-tight full-body dark green compression suit.

"This my friend is a Thermodual regulating polymer that I discovered, designed, and synthesized to keep your body at optimal temperatures when using your quirk."

Izuku's mouth was hanging open; he was still speechless and unable to respond. He knew some of the words she had said, but his confusion must've been apparent as Mei snorted, wagging her finger at him.

"It's just a suit that'll help regulate your body temperature, you can wear it under your clothes." She explained with a defeated tone in her voice.

"I've been worried about you," Mei stated with a softer expression than Izuku had ever seen her with as she looked into his eyes. "I don't think you notice how hot you get when you use your quirk. Because you lived your life growing up in the cold, I dont think realize how harmful heat can be to your body."

"I just want you to be safe, that's all." She explained while looking away, trying to hide the building red on her face.

"It's a prototype so be extra careful."

Mei was usually not what Izuku would refer to as shy, so seeing her like this filled his stomach with butterflies.

"Is this why I haven't seen you in like a week? Is this what you've been working on." Izuku asked nervously, feeling silly for his earlier assumptions.

"MHEHEHE!" Mei laughed right in Izuku's face like he had said something ridiculous.

"Silly Izukun, I did all that last night." She said with a chuckle, "THIS is what took me a week and a half to finish," as she reached back into the bag producing two different colored oversized parkas.

Izuku's eyes widened.

Both parkas looked astoundingly similar to the one his mom had bought him as a child; his eyes began to blink with tears. Since he started training, he had gained about 15 pounds of muscle, causing his old dark green parka to be too small; he also no longer needed it as ingesting flames would temporally alleviate the cold.

"Y-You made this for me? "he questioned, holding back tears.

"Incorrect again, my dear Izukun; I made them for us! "She exclaimed, throwing him the green one and beginning to put on the pink one herself.

Izuku wiped his eyes and looked over the coat he had been handed. He noticed that though it was relatively thin for a coat, it felt warm all the same. Further inspection saw that the hood was lined with shiny black fur. On the sleeves of the jacket, there were images and depictions of flame whipping, and on the back, the words Heat-Seeker was written in bold letters.

He looked up at her, "Heat-Seeker?" he questioned.

"Yeah, I'm not really good at naming things, so you can change it if you want, but I thought it suited you," Mei was blushing, but a broad smile was still visible. "And look what mine says," she yelled as she spun around, displaying the back of her parka.

In the same bold font as the boys, it reads, "My Babies are the CUTEST!"

It was too much.

Izuku couldn't stop laughing. His held-back tears eventually fell down his cheeks as he leaned on a nearby wall to keep from falling over as his gut burst. Initially, Mei was confused. Was he laughing at her? But after seeing Izukus's pure smile and tears, she also began laughing as the two shared a moment in the courtyard together.

After they had collected themselves, Izuku made his way over to Mei, throwing his arms around her and holding her tight. Mei was surprised at first and hesitant to reciprocate the embrace, almost like she was unfamiliar with what to do, but she eventually hugged him back.

"Thank You.." he whispers before breaking away from the contact. Holding the under armor and his new designer parka Izuku gave Mei one last wave as he ran off to the bathroom to change.

"Good Luck, Izukun!" Mei yelled as she watched him disappear into the building before whipping around. She had to go take her practical as well.

"Time to knock 'em dead," She menaced, slapping down her welding goggles and running off.

—-

Katsuki Bakugou

"Stupid fuckin exam, why do they have to make the questions so shitty!" Katsuki huffed as he exited the written exam and began heading toward hero practical site #1.

Katsuki was angry, not because the test had been too difficult or because he thought he might fail….he was mad because he was nervous. The written portion had been surprisingly average for him; although he is no slouch when it comes to studying, he expected more from an exam made by UA.

This put him on edge, lighting his battle lust like the fuse for a bomb. Unfortunately for everyone else, this fuse was extremely short.

Katsuki hustled to the exam site, ready to display the power he had obtained during his training. He licked his lips, remembering the mound of opponents he had overcome to get to this point and the carnage he'd get to inflict from this point on.

His body was loose, and his hands cracked while explosions popped across his fingers.

As a gremlin-Esque grin appears on his face.

"I'm gonna show EVERYONE the POWER of the next NUMBER ONE HERO!"

As Katsuki lined up with the rest of the Participants waiting for the signal to go, he could hear and see a taller male with blue hair and glasses loudly reprimanding a petite girl with curled brown hair. Katsuki rolls his eyes; he could use the warm-up he'd get from beating this guy's ass. "Oi Ass wipe, how bout you shut the fuck up so they rest of us can prepare in peace!" he shouts, staring daggers at the blue-haired boy across from him.

The boy with glasses stopped his tirade, looking shocked at either Katsuki's choice of words or murderous gaze. Visibly conflicted about his next move, he turned and said one last thing to the brunette before hastily leaving the altercation.

Katsuki sighed; it seemed like he wouldn't be getting that warm-up after all. Turning back toward the gate, he resumed his mental preparation before a voice tried to catch his attention.

"Ummm hello…? I just wanna say thanks for that back there! He was really going in on me." The brunette had made her way up to him and was now thanking him for nothing.

"Didn't do it for you," he states without even looking at her. "He was just loud as fuck."

"Oh oh ok w-well t-thanks a-anyway," the girl nodded, her ears burning red. "I'm Ochako Ur-"

"You might wanna get ready," Katsuki whispered to the girl cutting her off as he grinned.

Katsuki's wild instinct could sense when the calm before the storm reached its end.

And he always knew when shit was about to hit the fan.

Suddenly the horn blares, and Katsuki launches himself into the air, leaving the brown-haired girl to watch him as he takes off before she runs to catch up with the rest of the participants.

Katsuki's hands erupted with explosions, propelling him through the air, his trajectory rocking him toward ABSOLUTE VICTORY!

—-

Izuku Midoriya

"Damn," He thought, "Mei really is the best. "This compression suit is comfortable, and this parka looked good."

Stretching at the gate, Izuku prepares for the exam to begin. They had explained the rules, the point system, and the mysterious 0-Pointer, but Izuku was more focused on the multitude of participants around him. While they all stood at the gate awaiting the signal to start, Izuku was bumped from behind into the large back of another examinee.

"Oof… Oh, I'm sorry, that was an accident," he said quickly, reflexively bowing to apologize. The teen turned around, towering over Izuku's 5'5 frame. The figure didn't say anything… just kept their body pointed toward Izuku.

As Izuku looked up from his bow, he saw a taller, muscular young girl; she had a Caramel colored complexion and was maybe a year old than him but definitely in the same grade. Dressed in a white and tan jogging suit, the girl had off-white hair that drooped down her face in long strands and ended with amber color tips; she also had a similarly colored pair of wings on each ankle. Izuku's first impression of this girl was that she was gloomy looking.

"This was the girl he had seen from afar at the school's entrance." He remembered.

"Well it couldn't hurt to make more friends." He smiled in her direction.

"Oh, Hello, my name is Izuku Midoriya. It is a pleasure to meet you." Izuku blurts out, putting out his hand. The girl took it, shaking it lightly, but she still did not respond; Izuku noticed that her eyes never left the ground.

"Oh she's Talaria Kaiba, she's just shy don't mind her." a voice rings out from behind Izuku.

He whirls around to face a dark-haired girl dressed in punk gear with earlobes that seem to move independently.

"The name is Kyoka Jiro," the girl says as she moves to stand next to her much taller friend. Izuku had concluded that the white-haired girl must be at least 5" 10, and she was stocked with muscle mass at the very least comparable to his.

She was an amazon of a girl, and with his keen eye, he could tell she was a formidable opponent regardless of her attitude. The taller girl finally looked up from the floor, allowing Izuku to see her pale silver eyes as she smiled shyly at Jiro.

"Hey, don't underestimate her or me. We plan to make it into UA no matter what!" Jiro said, still smirking at him. "If anything, you should watch out for her," she mused, pointing at the taller girl."

"Don't worry, I wouldn't dream of it," Izuku said with a smile. He was being serious.

"ALL RIGHT….BEGIN! The horn blared, signaling the start of the Entrance exams. It came so suddenly and without warning that it surprised most participants, who were too shocked to move.

"THERE ISN'T A COUNTDOWN IN REAL LIFE, SO GO AHEAD AND GOOOO! President mic screamed through the speakers.

At this, all the participants took off, including Jiro and Izuku. While the girl the Jiro had introduced as Talaria Kaiba simply stood where she was while putting on a gold visor from out of her pocket before squatting down.

Izuaku broke into a dead sprint as a smile appeared on his face.

This was the beginning.

His journey to become a hero!

—-

Rushing through the open gate with the rest of the examinees, Izuku took stock of his competition and surroundings.

The testing site was a mock cityscape complete with buildings and cars, but he could see and feel the giant lumbering robots that thudded throughout the city.

"I need to find a 1-Pointer," He muttered, as he quickly began to outpace the majority of his competition except for a few that possess mobility quirks.

He did take one more look over his shoulder at that strange girl, but he didn't see her behind him, almost like she had disappeared.

Izuku returned his gaze and scanned his surroundings as he dead sprinted toward the sound of metallic footsteps. He could feel his throat heating up as he slowed his sprint into a fast jog. Ahead of the pack, he was one of the first to make it to the city. Three 1-Pointers and a 2-Pointer stood blocking his entrance. "Perfect, He thought.

Before he could inhale, a loud unfamiliar feminine voice boomed over the sounds of human and robotic footfalls.

"FIRST BLOOD GOES TO THE GODDESS OF THE SKY!" it roared as a streak of white shot above the crowd of potential students. The figure was wearing a white and tan jogging suit with a golden vizor covering her face with only her screaming mouth visible. She was seemly running through the sky!

"It's HER!" Izuku thought as he stopped in his tracks, "and she isn't flying; she's stomping the air while her 2 pairs of wings beat in rhyme with her steps," He was fully muttering now.

The girl flew forward, climbing higher into the sky. The way this girl "flew" reminded Izuku of a speed skater. She stopped her ascension, flipping in mid-air to stomp the sky again as she propelled herself downward toward the giant 2-Pointer.

Talaria Kaiba tucked into a ball, her wings flatting themselves to her ankles as she plummeted at an angle, gaining speed. "FALLING STAR!" she yelled as she uncurled just before making contact. Slamming a heel into the side of its head, caving it in, before pushing off and continuing to soar as the crushed-headed robot crashed to the ground.

"HAHAHA, THE GODDESS NEED NOT WASTE TIME ON SUCH EASY OPPONENTS. I LEAVE THOSE WEAKLINGS TO YOU ALL." she bellowed, disappearing into the city.

Izuku was stunned.

Was he supposed to compete against that?! And what happened to her being shy?!

"I told you!" Jiro snickered as she ran past him shooting her ear jacks into a nearby wall. Suddenly the wall shook and crumbled onto a nearby 1-Pointer as her ear jacks returned to her.

"Better get a move on kid, so far were both beating you," She gloated as she continued running.

That had snapped Izuku out of his surprise as he once again picked up speed.

He quickly ran toward a group of 1-Pointers, he was planning on testing his flames effect on the robots, but he had already wasted enough time.

He needed points.

As he approached the robots, they turned to face him. Their glowing eyes tracked his movement. The first one lunged toward Izuku, right into his range. Leaping sideways to dodge the crushing fist of the lead 1-Pointer, he spits two Hot Shots aimed at the thing's chest and head. Both slammed into the bot burning through its armor and into its circuits, catching it on fire as it thudded to the ground past Izuku.

The other two attacked at once, and he wasn't fast enough to completely evade the second. It clipped his shoulder, sending him spinning against the ground a few feet away. As he stood up, trying to collect his rattled body, the 1-Pointers again slammed down toward him.

"Ignition!"

Feeling the fire in his veins, Izuku dodges both the robot's attacks completely, leaping onto one of their arms and racing towards its head. He extinguished his technique, grimacing when he felt the soreness in his legs from that jump, and now he was at about 60% after using that blasted ability.

Not stopping, he continued running towards the head, releasing a torrent of flame on the robot, causing its exterior to melt and drip into its interior. Leaving the back of its head mostly melted and still red hot, Izuku leaped from its shoulders before it hit the ground; rolling into his landing. He inhaled deeply to try and salvage any flame from the wreckage of the two bots. Smaller trails of flame flowed past his lips as the last robot thudded toward him before halting its movement while twitching before its head exploded, falling forward. A boy with yellow hair with a black streak raised his thumb at Izuku from behind it

Paying him no mind, Izuku dashed off in search of more points. He only had 2 so far.

"This is harder than expected," He thought, sprinting off.

Katsuki Bakugou

He knew it.

He was the best.

Katsuki had been absolutely dominating the exam, flying through the air, eviscerating robots with destructive abandon. His manic laugh filled the mock city.

Smiling wide, Katsuki's head swiveled, looking for more scrap to make. His predatory eyes caught a flash of red light in the corner of his eye. Putting one hand in front of himself, he let off a small explosion, shooting himself backward and dodging a laser from a gigantic 3-Pointer.

"Damn these things are big!" He growled, smiling as he flexed his arms back, sending his body hurtling toward the robot, "I WON'T LET YOU LOOK DOWN ON ME YOU ROBOBITCH!"

He flew toward the ground, but right before impact, he placed his hand over the concrete floor at an angle letting off a series of more minor explosions to allow himself to "skip" across it toward the bot's legs. Flying into its right leg, he used both his hands to blow a large explosion that destroyed a portion of its frame, but the armor was thick. However, Katsuki wasn't done; that explosion had sent him flying right into the other leg. He let off another ground-shaking explosion wearing down the robot's other leg.

He bounced back and forth between the robot's legs, ping-ponging until its legs crumbled and it began losing its balance and it crushed its own body as it fell on top of a couple of 1 & 2 Pointers.

Katsuki skidded to a stop atop a building smirking at his handy work. That just took him to 66 points; in last year's exam, no one scored above 50 points, so his victory was assured. Now he could relax and just destroy at his leisure, though he knew the exam would be over soon.

Multiple screams caught his attention as he shifted his gaze out into the city, where he could see a crowd of examinees retreating from a horde of five 1-pointers, two 2-pointers, and a 3-pointer. Katsuki scoffed, "Fuckin idiots biting off more than they can chew." Just before he turned away to continue his search for fun, he saw a familiar girl on the ground, left behind by the fleeing group. She was on her hands and knees, and it looked like she was hurling her guts out. He could see that her whole body contracted and thrashed as she released her bile.

"Shit, those pieces of scrap aren't slowing down at all." He thought, watching as the horde of robots were quickly approaching the sick girl.

"FUCK SHIT FUCK!" He screamed as he stepped off the edge of the building.

—-

Ochako Uraraka

Ochako was tired; she had manger to get around 30ish points before her quirk caused her to violently evacuate her stomach, she loved her quirk, but she hated the side effects.

Looking up, her eyes widened as she saw the robots rushing toward her. She tried to stand, but her legs were too weak. She began to panic. The judges wouldn't let the robots kill her, would they? Whatever the case, she needed to get out of here. Slowly, she began crawling away from the thudding and clanking of the distant threats. She got about 15 feet before she started throwing up again, her whole body shaking after each dry heave; she had nothing left.

The noise was getting closer.

She closed her eyes, wincing at the thought of getting crushed by a robot.

Maybe, it would be quick, painless even, she hoped, but she doubted it.

An explosion whizzed beside her, and she curled into a ball, squeezing her eyes tighter.

"They gave the robots fucking explosives! You gotta be kidding me!" she found herself saying aloud.

Wait, aren't the explosions getting farther and farther away?

Ochako opened her eyes, and that is when she saw him. A streak of red and black with a curt of spikey blond hair. Explosions fired one after another as the boy shot at the horde of robots, dodging lasers and fists from the group of giants. She watched as he briefly landed on the head of a 1-Pointer, rolling off just in time to avoid being smashed by the 3-Pointer's giant fist. He let off two consecutive blasts, shooting him up and then horizontally to dodge another ray from the

hulking 3-Pointer. He was good, but she knew he couldn't keep this up for long.

Since he has been fighting, he has impressively already eliminated 3 of the 1-Pointers and damaged one of the 2-Pointers.

"Without that 3-Pointer there, he probably could take the rest of those things easily," she thought. He seemed like a strong fighter and…

She didn't know; something just told her he could do it. Her father had always told her to trust her intuition, so today would be no exception. She found the strength to stand; finally, her sickness mostly wearing off. She looks around, nodding to herself when she spots what she is looking for.

She runs towards it.

—-

Katsuki Bakugo

"DAMN THIS BIG ASS BITCH!" Katsuki wanted to scream, but he was too busy controlling his breathing as he slipped, dove, and dodged the flurry of metal and laser that had been flying at him for the past 5 minutes, "Don't these things ever get tired?" He asked himself, as he dropped in front of the injured 2-Pointer's large robotic eye.

"EAT BOMB FUCKER!" He roared as he released an air-rending explosion sending the front of the robot's "face" out the back of its head. He had lost count of his points, but he knew there were still two 1-Pointers, a 2-Pointer, and this big ass 3-Pointer that's been taking crack shots at him with its stupid laser. His wrist ached; it had been a long time since he had to use his quirk so much. The flesh on his palms was starting to get raw, and he winced at the pain.

That momentary hesitation, that involuntary stiffing of his body, slowed his movements enough for the 3-Pointer to lock on to him, firing its laser and grazing his chest before another giant metal club of a fist slapped him out of the air and into a building sending him crashing through a large window.

Katsuki blinked as he lay sprawled out in an empty fake building before standing up. Believe it or not, he had seen worse. Hopping out the window he was thrown through, he spots a car flying through the air and smashing into the chest of one of the last two 1-Pointers as it explodes, and that one falls back in a ball of fire.

Shaking out his hands and wrists, Katsuki ascended a building using his quirk to the minimum to get a better view of where the cars were coming from. Landing on the roof, he sees the dumb brunette touching her fingers together before grabbing another vehicle and spinning it like a discus; she releases her grip, sending it flying at the last 1-Pointer, taking it out as well.

"Well, damn," he thought, arching his hand under him as he began jumping from rooftop to rooftop, headed toward the girl and the last two massive robots.

He clapped his hands together, forcing his body to secrete sweat between his palms. It is a trick he saved for emergencies because it often left him severely dehydrated and made him feel sick if abused. He didn't care; he would take them both out in one go.

Increasing his speed, he continued moving from roof to roof, looking down at the robots as they pounced on the girl.

Ochako tapped herself as she jumped out of the way just in time to escape getting smashed by the 2-Pointer. Her weightlessness did nothing to help her dodge the immediate shock she received from the laser as it struck her in the back, knocking her to the ground as she lost concentration of her quirk.

Here she was again, she thought.

"I shoulda just run away...but I couldn't just leave him when he had gone to fight all those things to save me," she whimpered as she tried to roll over to her stomach, throbbing pain on one side of her chest.

"Must be a cracked rib," she winced, unable to even move, "It's over; I'm done." Just then, she heard a yell coming from the sky as Katsuki dove headfirst off the roof above her and the robots, holding his clasped palms behind him. The enclosed space between his hands was filled with thick, collected sweat. It felt like he was holding a handful of oil.

Racing down towards the bots, Katsuki yelled towards the girl, "OI UPCHUCK! YOU'D BETTER CATCH ME!" he screamed, squeezing his hands together tightly without letting any of the liquid trapped inside out.

"BIG BANG BLAST!," he roars as he throws his hands forward, spreading out his fingers while keeping his palms together, creating a shotgun cone that sundered the two giants, leaving them riddled with hundreds of red-hot holes from explosive force and heat. They crashed to the ground around Ochako.

Katsuki couldn't feel his arms as the shockwave sent him flying skyward, barely conscience. Funny enough, he never had successfully pulled off that move till today. He smiled to himself as he began returning to the ground at an accelerating speed. "Damn that dumb girl," He thought, knowing his landing was going to hurt like a bitch and that if he landed on his head, he would probably die.

"If she wasn't so useless, this wouldn't have happened to me," he scoffed, almost chuckling.

Well, at least I won, he concluded, bracing himself for the hard fall.

But it never came. Instead, all he felt was a stinging slap that sent him flying into the side of one of the downed robots, although at a drastically slower speed. After a moment, his floating body dropped to the ground, letting him look up and see the girl lying facedown a few feet away. Even with a broken rib, she had floated herself high enough to intercept him with her quirk to stop him before he splattered against the floor.

"I think she said her name was Ocha-something, right?" he thought before saying to her, "Not bad, Ochuck, I usually don't like damsels in distress but it seems like you got some guts after all!" he sneered.

The girl's only response was a loud, violent regurgitation of what he had to guess must've somehow been yesterday's breakfast.

He chuckled to himself before beginning to cough; he may have some injured body parts himself.

THE EXAM IS OVER!

REPORT ALL INJURED PERSONNEL TO RECOVERY GIRL FOR TREATMENT!

—-

Izuku Midoriya

"Hot Shot Barrage!" Izuku exhaled rapidly, filling the chest of a larger 2-Pointer with around 20 quarter-sized hot holes as it caught flame before crashing into a building no longer moving.

Izuku panted heavily; he was at about 25% now and had around 35ish points, he assumed.

He had gotten so caught up in the battle that he had lost count. Something about the heat that flooded Izuku's blood when his heart raced became a little distracting to him. For a brief moment, he found his hot-bloodedness causing him to charge in recklessly and expend more fire than necessary to secure points. But he was too exhausted for that anymore. He had to be smart about his energy usage; the exam was almost over and he had to squeeze out as many points as possible to ensure his passing.

He stopped briefly to catch his breath, and that's when he felt it. An earthshaking rumble, it wasn't enough to knock him off his feet but was sufficient to get his attention. He turned his head to see the behemoth approaching the city center; it towered over skyscrapers and crushed anything in its path with its gait. All the participants ran in the opposite direction. None of them even bothered to consider facing that monstrosity; he didn't blame them. He wouldn't either.

A bloodcurdling scream cut through Izuku's thoughts, causing his blood to run cold. He dashed toward the sound, making his way through an open building until he spotted the source of the voice. It was Jiro, and she was trapped!

Her face was wet with tears; Izuku had pegged her as the type that wasn't easy to make cry, so the pain must've been intense, he thought. One of her legs was pinned under some rubble created by the 0-Pointer shoulder-checking a skyscraper into pieces as it made its way toward them; it was close! A few more seconds and Jiro would be pavement!

Izuku dashed over, activating Ignition to slam his body into the large debris, trying to get it to budge. It shook a bit but would not move. Even at his physical peak, he could not budge the object using his technique, but the movement did seem to cause Jiro tremendous pain as she yelled out, more tears coming from her eyes.

"I'm sorry!" Izuku screamed, beginning to panic. He couldn't move her, and he couldn't leave her.

His mind raced as the 0-Pointer got ever closer, crushing more buildings and sending more debris crashing into the city. Only one thing in his arsenal would work on that thing…

But could he do it? No..he had to do it!

He looked down at Jiro, tears in her eyes as she looked up at him.

"Midoriya, please… HELP ME!" She pleaded, barely able to make the words through the pain.

Flashes of himself at the brink of death in the clutches of the sludge villain appear at the front of his mind. His throat began to burn, and he forced a cheerful smile as he looked at Jiro, "OF COURSE I WILL!" he assured her before turning around.

AND HE WOULD DO IT!

Izuku spread his feet, taking his place between Jiro and the 0-pointer, pulling his head back as he slowly but aggressively exhales. He would only get one chance at this, so he needs to be able to inhale as much as possible. He forced all the air out of his lungs before contracting all his abdominal muscles to inhale deeply.

He reached out, as the words Mei had said rung in his head,

{"Heat-Seeker? "he questioned.

"Yeah I'm not really good at naming things so you can change it if you want, but I thought it suited you,"}

He would make it suit him.

He would pull every last sliver of heat to himself at this moment. How could he be a Hero if he couldn't save one girl?

The other exam takers began to see little whisps of red particles swirl past them as they continued running from the center of the city, fleeing from the 0-Pointer, like millions of red fireflies flittering past them heading toward Izuku.

The streams converged and filled his chest, "This isn't enough! I need more!" he concentrated harder, pulling more and more on any heat he could grasp.

Jiro's breath came out foggy, and she began shivering as the temperature surrounding Izuku dropped 5 degrees, as red particles appeared out of thin air to fly into his mouth. The fire in his belly expanded; he was at about 50% now, but the 0-Pointer had closed the distance, lifting up its gigantic fist the size of a small apartment building. Izuku gritted his teeth; he had to pull from his body heat. Though he had promised Mei and his mother that he wouldn't, as they all recognized the danger of further cooling, Izuku's already cold body.

But this is what heroes do! They surpass their limits! They go plus ultra!

That is what he'd like to say, but even if he used his own heat, his breath wouldn't be ready yet, and the robot's fist was already on its way toward them.

"DAMN IT! I JUST NEED A BIT MORE TIME!" He screamed as the sun was blocked out by the fist of the 0-Pointer crashing toward them.

"ALL THOSE WITH NOBLE HEARTS ARE UNDER THE PROTECTION OF THE GODDESS!" he heard a voice exclaim as a white blur slammed its winged foot into the fist of the giant at incredible speed, causing the fist to recoil as the 0-Pointer tried to regain its balance. Izuku could see the smiling mouth of the visored girl nodding his way as she circled for another round of attacks.

Izuku smiled as he was reminded that he didn't have to be a hero alone.

That took care of one problem for a bit as he began funneling the heat from his fingers, toes, arms, and legs, letting all parts of his body numb with the cold as the fire in his stomach rumbled and became superheated. A bright greenish-white glow was visible through his chest and throat as he built up the heat more and more.

"One last problem.." he thought, the memory of being unable to produce the desired effect this morning fresh in his mind.

"How can I get enough pressure and focus." His mind was racing; he couldn't hold this fire forever. Just then, he saw Kaiba get spiked out of the sky into a high-rise building across the way as the behemoth turned back toward Izuku, lifting its fist again to smite them.

The fist fell with deadly intent.

"I GOT IT," Izuku figured, "but this is gonna hurt like hell."

He clasped his hands together like he had done so many times before when his hands had befallen the cold that plagued him. His right-hand facing it fingers at the fist careening towards them before they grip around his left-hand palm to palm, with the fingers on his left hand pointing upward before squeezing against the other hand. Izuku had left a small pocket in between as he inhaled a final time, sucking up as much air as could fit in his lungs.

The fist was upon them, threatening to snuff out their lives instantly.

Throwing his mouth into his clasped hands, he flicked the pointer finger of his right hand forward, allowing an extremely small exit for the fire as he blew with all his might.

"BLAZER LAZER!"

A brilliant white-green stream of condensed flame discharged from Izuku's tightly squeezed hands. Jiro swore she could hear his screams of pain as the beam flew from him.

The stream of superheated flame flash-melted the giant battering ram fist, blowing it apart before the beam collided with the robot's chest. Causing a sea of fire to spread across its surface like a firehose spraying against a wall, completely melting the frontal portion of the monster and causing its upper torse to collapse back onto itself in a gigantic heap of flame and scrap metal.

Izuku smiled wide, he had done it, but he couldn't feel any of his body. Looking down at his hands, he saw deep burns and melted holes in his skin, and the melting of portions of Mei's under armor. He was glad he couldn't feel any of this right now, as he could barely stand.

Behind him, Jiro had wiped her tears, staring at the back of the boy who saved her.

"Whoa dude," she sniffled away some of her tears, "You really are a Hero."

The boy smiled at this.

THE EXAM IS OVER!

REPORT ALL INJURED PERSONNEL TO RECOVERY GIRL FOR TREATMENT!

/

Greetings,

This is the author 13LACK, I am very much enjoying writing this fic. As you may have noticed I have added a character to the world, I plan to use Her to replace Mineta cause I hate him. There also will be a few changes to the Class 1-A roster, nothing major but I honestly never understood how some of the kids even got into that class.

Let me know what you guys think about Talaria Kaiba and the story so far.

Till next time!