You'd be surprised how long setting up updates can be.
Even shadow updates like this take a lot of time, ensuring that notes and formatting don't mess up the chapter. And that's just for one website; I am prioritizing the FFN version first since this is where most of my audience for this story prefers to read.
My Hero Academia Untold: The Fafnir Knight (Remastered Edition)
Saga I: Dusk
Arc I: Origins
Chapter IX: The Exam
"The Journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step."
-Lao Tzu
The young man sat there, bright and early, in his hotel room with an extra phone, receiving his first assignment for his new...job.
"You have your instructions, yes?" He heard a raspy voice say over the phone.
"Yeah, hit the place hard and fast while some of the best Pro-Heroes are at UA today."
"Good... my sources say you're one of the best at cleaning up filth."
The man looked over some of the files he had been given, including pictures of several men wearing bird-like masks.
"Well...I might leave a bit of dust and ash, but not much else."
"Make sure the boss survives; I need him alive so I could use him for another plan of mine. However, the more of his expendables you get rid of, the higher your bounty – as promised."
He looked over to find the picture of said boss. The name Overhaul was boldly written above his head.
"Done."
"Do this well, and your membership in the league is assured."
"And if any civies or pros get in the way?"
"Avoid both if possible, but the most important thing is that you avoid getting your face seen. Don't get caught."
The man paused, thinking over an answer that would satisfy the villain.
"Ashes it is, then."
"Heheheheh! You crack me up, you pyro."
With a casual flick of his hand, he hung up the phone and made it burst into blue flames.
"Heh, I give a whole new meaning to the term burner phones," He looked at the sheet of paper with the address he's about to strike. It was followed by the safe house's location so he could retreat when the job was done. Dawn was approaching, and he wouldn't need to strike until later in the afternoon. At least once he has gotten the sign that the key pro-heroes were decided to use the time he had on hand to get his gear ready and rest up. The job could be messy, but his fire should have been more than enough to do it.
Izuku woke up bright and early, as usual. However, today was no ordinary day, for the boy had been waiting for this day for years, and finally, it had finally arrived.
The UA entrance exam.
He carefully hopped out of the bed as his left foot was still a little sore from yesterday, yet he couldn't help but be in a good mood. His encounter with Ochako had gone much better than expected, and he even wound up getting her phone number.
"Izuku, are you awake?" He heard his mother call out to him.
"Yeah. I'm gonna hop in the shower!"
"Okay, I'll go get breakfast started!"
"Thank you!" Izuku called back as he got ready for the big day.
The test wasn't for another few hours. But if you were a diehard hero fanboy like Izuku Midoriya and full of energy, well, it wouldn't be out of place to be overly prepared. One hot shower and a change of fresh new clothes later, Izuku stepped out of his room and into the living room. Only to be surprised by several guests in his home.
While his mother Inko worked in the kitchen making breakfast, Katsuki was sitting at the table waiting for Izuku with a grin on his face as he waited for him. Meanwhile, Katsuki's mother, Mitsuki, sat in the living room with Yū and Ryūko.
"Oh, hey! You're all here!" Izuku exclaimed happily.
"Izu!" said Ryūko, getting up from her seat and giving him a big hug, "How's my favorite little cousin doing?"
"Doing great, Kyū," Izuku returned the hug to his cousin, who had always been like an older sister to him.
"Of course! We're all here for you, Izu," Mitsuki interjected from her seat.
"I also gotta wish you luck and reminder you to make sure this one doesn't kill anyone before the exam," She half-joked, pointing at Katsuki. Eliciting laughter from both Yū and Ryūko. "Just make sure you can handle this job when you get to UA."
Usually, Katsuki would've immediately returned fire but refused to act up in Inko's house out of respect for her. Instead, he settled with a silent growl and crossed arms. And it didn't have anything to do with Ryūko being there; it wasn't like Katsuki wanted to appear more mature while in her presence.
Yep, totally nothing to do with that whatsoever.
"Oh, and Izu, honey," Mitsuki added with a guilty face as she gave Izuku a hug. "Masaru wanted to come, but he couldn't get the time off work for it. He wishes you good luck, too."
"Okay, boys! Breakfast is ready!" Inko called out with several plates lined up for everyone. "This should be enough to get you two through the day!"
"Thanks, Mom!"
"Thanks, Auntie."
A complete western-style breakfast with eggs, toast and a selection of cured breakfast meats was on today's menu. Katsuki being Katsuki, of course, started his breakfast by drowning his eggs and sausage in copious, ungodly amounts of hot sauce. While Izuku, not wanting to regret using the restroom later, settled for a light seasoning of salt and pepper for his meal.
As Inko continued serving everyone else breakfast, Mitsuki took the chance to curiously ask a rather personal question for the boy she saw as a second son.
"So... Izu, what have you been up to lately?"
Izuku didn't hear that layer of mischief in Mitsuki's voice, nor did he notice the wicked grin forming on her face.
"Not much, Auntie; just been doing my usual routine of studying and training," Izuku answered as he took the first bite of his food.
"Oh? Are you sure that is all that you've been doing?"
Izuku paused, eyes narrowed ever so slightly when he saw that smirk that slowly grew on her and Yū's faces. The same expression that always warned Izuku of them cooking up something.
"Yeah... why?" Izuku answered with a quick gulp.
"Oh really? Because I swear, I saw you yesterday with a rather cute girl," Mitsuki's eyes glinted in the light. "Having breakfast and having quite a lot of fun."
Izuku tried to keep a straight face, yet, the sudden blush that had instantly spread across his face like fire betrayed him.
"Izuku!" He could hear his mother cry out, "you have a girlfriend?!"
"No,w-wait! Wait, wait, wait, wait, it's not what it looks like!"
"Ooooooh, Izu! You naughty boy! Not even letting Momma Inko know!" Yū joined in with the same smirk as Mitsuki, having already seen the latter's video. "What's this mystery girl's name?"
"I-I-It's not like th-that! W-well, I-I mean, ah!" Izuku was now full on stuttering.
"Oh, Kacchan," Ryūko called to Katsuki as she turned to the boy. "You know anything about her?"
Katsuki only allowed three people in this world to call him "Kacchan": the woman who just made him breakfast, his best friend, and the woman on whom he has had a deeply-held crush since he was eight.
"I don't know anything," he grumbled, a light blush gracing his face as he turned away and kept eating, unable to look at the Dragoon hero in the eyes. "I haven't seen any girls that talk to Izuku at school."
Although he was a bit annoyed at this sudden change, Izuku hadn't mentioned anything about this last night and wasn't denying it now either. He had more than enough reason to be concerned, even if he would never openly admit it, but after the slime villain attacked. Several people had caught Izuku's rescue on video, and it went viral online for nearly a whole month.
Shit, it even spawned a short-lived series of memes on social media following the next few weeks.
At school, it quickly proved that Izuku wasn't quirkless, as many previously thought and presumed. Although there were quite a few shallower classmates -especially among some girls. Now believed that they could strike gold with the shy, nervous boy. Only now did everyone see his potential as an up-and-coming pro-hero as students came out of the woodwork. Trying to act all buddy-buddy and or hitting on him in ways that made Izuku feel uncomfortable.
Thankfully, many of them backed off, thanks to Katsuki's rather aggressive efforts.
'Goddamn skanks!' He wasn't about to let any one of the people who did been pricks to Izuku for years. Only now become completely two-faced since they could now get something out of him. At the very least, it was fortunate that no one had made the connection with Draco Knight, much to the relief of both families.
Izuku finally managed to find his voice and squeak out, "Sh-she's from out of town! I met her yesterday at the beach –"
"Ooooh, the beach! Inko, come on! You may already have a future daughter-in-law lined up!"
"That is pretty romantic for a first meeting! Better him than this one, am I right?" Yū commented, poking at an irritated Katsuki and knowing full well that she was taking advantage of him being far more docile in Inko's apartment than at home.
"Oh, come now! I'm sure even Kacchan will find a girl that will be sweet on him, too!" Ryūko teased.
Inko could only make muttering sounds that seemed mixed between being joyful and fearful that her little boy was growing up too fast.
"Mom! It's not like that!" Izuku pleaded. "She's just here to take the entrance exam, too!"
"Are you sure, Izu? I saw you eating breakfast with the girl," Mitsuki said between laughs. "That sounds like a date to me."
"Yep, you do work fast, Izu," Yū nodded in agreement while giving the green-haired boy a wink.
"My baby is all grown up!"Inko cried, looking like she was on the verge of a heart attack.
With an exasperated sigh, Izuku had finally given up trying to explain himself and simply settled on just finishing up breakfast. Both boys ate and endured more teasing from their families until they finally finished up and got ready to head out. It was nearly an hour-long train ride to UA, so they made sure to leave early with plenty of time to spare. Both boys were given one more round of hugs and best wishes as they headed out the door.
"Izuku, I'm so proud of you, and I know your father would be too." Inko softly said to her son with tears of pride in her eyes.
"Thanks, Mom."
"It's simple, Katsuki," Mitsuki told her son firmly. "Win and show no mercy."
"Damn right," he answered back with a confident smirk.
As the two boys left the apartment, the Midoriya household continued to buzz a bit more over the sudden development of Izuku's love life. At least until Ryūko said that she had to leave herself.
"Going on patrol?" Inko asked, cleaning up dishes left from their big breakfast.
"Nope," She answered back to everyone's surprise. "I'm actually going to UA as well."
"Why's that?" Yū asked as she helped clear the table.
"I'm one of the special guest pros invited to watch over the practical exam," Ryuko said with excitement.
"And you're just now telling us?" Mitsuki raised an eyebrow, sounding a bit annoyed.
Ryūko only laughed it off, "I wanted to keep it a surprise! Oh, and that being said! I'm gonna invite the boys out to eat after the exam to celebrate. Is that okay with both of you?"
"Sure, go nuts." Mitsuki shrugged dismissively, knowing full well her son would leap at such a chance to dine with Ryūko and most likely destroy anything that would get in the way of that.
"I'm fine with that too, thank you, Ryūko." Inko nodded as well.
As the two boys made their way to the train station, they were filled with anticipation for the entrance exam and chatted to psyche themselves up.
"This is it, Izuku! Eleven long-ass years but it's finally time! The start of our debut," said Katsuki brimming with confidence.
Izuku answered back, his voice steady but still nervous. "We still got to pass our tests first, Kacchan."
"You make it sound like there's even a chance that we'll fail,' the blond stated as he tapped Izuku's head. "Get those ideas of failure out of your head and only think of victory."
"Yeah, you're right," Izuku answered while quietly keeping his personal thoughts to himself. 'If only you really knew what my idea of victory was.'
"You got a handle on your quirk now, right?" Katsuki suddenly changed the subject; "even after the mutation?"
"Yeah, all that beach training really helped with that."
Izuku hated keeping the truth about One For All a secret from his best friend. However, he wanted to keep the faith that All Might had entrusted him. Maybe he could ask All Might for permission to let his friend know in the future.
Of all the people who should know, Katsuki had to be one of them.
"So..who was your mystery girl from yesterday?"
Izuku groaned, immediately covering his face.
"Not you too..."
"Chill out; I'm not gonna tease ya' that much," he lied with a smirk, "not like the Old Bat."
Well, it was a half-lie; Katsuki was planning to tease the greenhead way harder after the exams were finished.
"As I said back home, I met her at the beach and found out she was here to take the UA entrance exam too, so she really is from out of town."
"I wonder why she's specifically out here, instead of staying closer to where UA is…" the boy trailed off thoughtfully.
"What do you mean by that?"
"I'm just saying to keep your guard up," Katsuki followed with a frown. "Remember those skanks from school earlier this year?"
"Kacchan, she isn't like that," Izuku countered; "she's really nice!"
"If she's taking the exam, then she's competition," Kasuki stated as a matter of fact. "Which means she's another person we need to take out."
"Hey!"
A familiar voice called out from behind, a voice Izuku knew well by now. They turned to see Ochako, now running up the street to catch up with them. Izuku waved back at her and stopped to let her catch up, unlike Katsuki, who simply slowed his pace a bit to observe this new development.
'Chocolate brown hair and eyes, a round face, light blush and... makeup?'
And what surprised him was the smile on Izuku's face.
'For only knowing her one day, the way you're smiling says a lot, Izuku.'
"Morning, Midoriya!" He heard her say.
"Morning, Uraraka," Izuku greeted back kindly.
"Oh, hi there!" She turned around, noticing Katsuki. "Are you Midoriya's friend?"
He turned his head with a huff and continued walking.
"Yeah, Round-Face. That's me."
"R-Round face?" Ochako said as she did a double-take. She was left stunned by the ash-blond boy's answer. Izuku had mentioned his friend being a bit rough around the edges. But she didn't see this coming, especially how Izuku had talked him up so much.
"Kacchan, don't be rude!" He then turned to Ochako with a sheepish face. "I'm sorry about that, Uraraka. He's like that with almost everyone. He'll warm up to you in time...hopefully." He added with a whisper to himself.
Ochako pouted a bit while folding her arms; Izuku had been nice to her the entire time she knew him. So she had expected his friend to be similar, so ultimately, she chose to believe in him.
'I hope this doesn't take too long. A nickname should always be shorter than someone's actual name!'
It wasn't long when the trio arrived at the train station and boarded to start the longest part of their journey to UA. Katsuki sat across from the two and continued his observation of Izuku and Ochako. They seemed to be having a good time chatting away the train ride.
Then the blond heard something that put him on edge.
"Is your foot feeling better?" She heard him ask, causing Katsuki to focus more on what they were saying.
"Yeah, it's still a bit sore, but I can walk around no problem."
"What does she mean by that, Izuku?" Suddenly, Katsuki interjected into their conversation; "what's this about your foot?"
The two turned back to face Katsuki, who had a look that simmered with anger.
"Oh! It's nothing too bad, Kacchan!" Izuku quickly waved his hands, "it was an accident! And she helped me around most of the day yesterday to make sure it didn't get worse!"
"Don't dodge the question."
"When I met Midoriya by the beach," Ochako interjected, now trying to explain herself. "I accidentally surprised him when he was getting rid of the trash on the beach and dropped the refrigerator he was lifting onto his foot."
Izuku knew what Katsuki was trying to insinuate; hoping to stop him before he could say anything, he swiftly cut him off.
"Katsuki."
Katsuki froze in disbelief. Izuku meant serious business if he dropped the nickname.
"Look, I know what you said earlier, but it isn't like that," the green-haired boy stated. "She honestly didn't know I was taking the test until after the accident, and as I said, she spent most of the day with me to make sure I was okay."
Ochako wasn't sure what they were talking about but left it alone since the tension between the two was heating up. She sat back quietly, not wanting to cause two friends to get into a fight.
Katsuki looked at Izuku and saw the determination in his eyes. The two rarely argued or fought; right now, it was less of a disagreement and more Katsuki just trying to look out for his friend. In the end, Katsuki backed off.
"Tch, fine," he finally answered, leaning back with crossed arms. The tension instantly lifted between the two, and Izuku felt relief wash over him. Katsuki had tried to help Izuku out with girls at school long before the slime villain incident during middle school, but nothing ever had caught on. And yet, here he was with some random girl he had just met, and he seemed to be right in his element.
'He must be crushing hard on her already,' Katsuki thought to himself as he leaned back in his seat. 'As long as she doesn't distract him or get in our way, then I'll leave it be.'
Soon enough, the three exited the train station and arrived at the front entrance of UA. They couldn't help but feel awestruck just to finally be there. Each one of them had their thoughts and dreams as they entered the outer campus grounds and towards the tables with their guest passes and paperwork.
'Time to show the world who's going to be the next number one hero.'
'I am here now to be a great hero. Dad, I hope you're proud.'
'I'm gonna do my best to be a great rescue hero.'
"Hey Midoriya, I have to go to that table over there," Ochako said as she pointed to the booth where students from Kansai were gathering. "Good luck on the entrance exam!"
"Right! You too, Uraraka!"
As she walked away, Katsuki could see the disappointment on his friend's face. But now that she was gone, it was his turn to finally tease his friend and take advantage of the opening with a wide grin.
"Ease off, Izuku. I'm sure your girlfriend will be able to pass."
He could see his friend's face break out in red as he choked on some sudden air.
"Kacchan!"
"What? Have you seen yourself?" Katsuki snickered, "Damn, man, I haven't seen you like this in years. Not since your 'princess' all of those years ago."
"It's not like that!"
"She's cute but not my type... too bubbly."
"It's because she isn't blonde, huh?"
Katsuki froze, caught off guard by Izuku's recovery, who, without skipping a beat, had a small yet innocent smile forming on his face.
"Are you ever gonna confess to Kyū? I mean, you probably don't have a chance, but you might as well get it over with sooner than later."
Katsuki was left stunned; he wasn't ready for Izuku's quick-witted comeback or just how sharp his counterattack was. Yes, he's been nursing a crush on Izuku's cousin for years, but damn for it to be used against him like that.
"Holy shit, the hell did Round-Face do to you?!"
"Her name is Ochako Uraraka," Izuku playfully corrected.
"It's Round-Face to me until she earns it."
"I still win today, though."
Katsuki simply clicked his tongue out of annoyance. He turned instead to focus his attention on the task at hand. The two filled out and turned in the necessary introductory paperwork and legal waivers to take the exam. Once that was finished, the boys entered a classroom to first take the written portion of the exam. The standardized test turned out to be pretty easy for Izuku; finishing it–with time to spare so he could double-check his answers before their allotted time ran out.
Once the written exam was over, he soon met up with Katsuki near the auditorium entrance.
"How'd you do?" Izuku asked with a relieved sigh.
"Heh, easiest shit ever. But now we finally get to the real deal." Katsuki answered with glee, now that the much anticipated practical exam was next. As the students settled into their seats, they could see the Pro-Hero Present Mic at the podium, welcoming all the examinees as he gave out a general exam breakdown.
"Just taking down just standard bots for points, huh? Seems too simple for the UA practical exam," Izuku noted with narrowed eyes. "There must be something they're not quite telling us yet."
"Don't overthink it," Katsuki whispered back as he leaned forward on his seat. "Or you'll end up tripping over your own damn feet at the finish line!"
Izuku and Katsuki continued commenting quietly as Present Mic continued to the exam breakdown until they realized they would be assigned to different battle centers.
"You better pass, Izuku."
"Same goes to you, Kacchan."
"I HAVE A QUESTION!" They both heard a loud voice call out and a very enthusiastic raised hand. A tall boy with glasses was seen from the crowd, standing almost perfectly at attention with his inquiry. When Present Mic answered his question, the boy turned his attention to Izuku and Katsuki.
"And you two, the blond and green-haired ones!" He pointed his hand at the duo. "You two have been talking to each other this whole time. Stop it! You are distracting the rest of us!"
Katsuki was not one to take what he viewed as an attack lightly, especially right in front of everyone. "THE FUCK DID YOU JUST SAY, YOU FOUR-EYED BI–!"
"Kacchan!" Izuku scrambled up from his seat and dragged Katsuki back to his chair, trying to quiet him down, feeling embarrassed from being called out like that. "I'm so sorry about that!"
The crowd around them laughed, and some even jeered at the two boys, one particular brunette a few feet away couldn't help but giggle at the two's antics. After that, Present Mic carried on and finished his introduction, dismissing to begin the practical exam.
"With all that said, GOOD LUCK!"
The two friends looked at each other and simply nodded as they separated and headed out to their respective battle centers. Izuku gathered with the crowd by the giant gates of his assigned battle center and saw several people with varying quirks. Izuku did his best to breathe deeply and remain calm, nervously clenching his fists in anticipation. The slight wind chill didn't help his situation, given what he was wearing.
He had already changed into his training gear that was more durable than his regular clothes and had the least likely to be torn up when he used his quirk. He wore a sleeveless light green shirt; with arm warmers to help cover where his scales would first form at low power. His dark green athletic shorts with red strap-on sandals had openings wide enough for his foot claws to move and adjust without tearing them apart.
Although Izuku hoped that he wouldn't need the extra power.
The young dragon knew that he should be able to get by just using low power. After all, he had to heed caution to avoid his more draconic features from getting revealed and risk revealing one of his biggest secrets. Looking around the crowd, he spotted Ochako, much to his surprise.
Izuku felt relief seeing another familiar face in the crowd; he began to walk toward her. Only to feel a firm grip suddenly clamp on his shoulder, holding him back. Izuku looked to the hand's owner and saw the tall boy from earlier, now wearing a blue, skin-tight bodysuit, as he stared him down.
"She appears to be trying to focus on the examination," The tall boy narrowed his eyes. "What are you planning to do? Distract her?"
"Wait, no! I know her, and I didn't know that she was here, too!"
"How could that be?" The boy questioned with a raised arrow-shaped eyebrow. "We are supposed to be separated by school and region..."
"That's beca –"
Izuku didn't get a chance to finish as Present Mic called out the signal to start the exam. He whirled around to see he was already falling behind. The tallboy instantly let go of him and joined the rest of the other examinees who had already flooded through the interior of the concrete city.
'Damn it, he distracted me!'
Izuku couldn't waste any more precious time and ran straight ahead. His limbs charged up to fifteen percent as the rest of his body shifted into his 'light armor.' Lightly colored, peach-green scales covered his arms and legs, which had surged with additional muscle, while his hands and feet gained short claws. The rest of his whole body emitted a glow of green lighting surrounding him; it was time.
Ochako was making quick work of the robots; her years of physical training and the month-long training program with Gunhead were finally paying off. One of the one-pointer robots already had its arm swinging at her. It was swiftly dealt with by her simply dodging its swing and pressing her hands against it.
"SHIFT" She yelled out as the robot was suddenly flung straight into the wall behind it, destroying it as the remnants of her mechanical foe were embedded in it. Not letting up the pressure, she ran up to her defeated enemy and began to rip out a large piece from its metal frame. Using the wires to help grip the make-shift shield.
"SHIFT!" This time her quirk launched herself towards a few other faux-villains using her shield to ram into them like a cannonball. Using a combination of her quirk and make-shift plate shield, Ochako kept up a pattern of bashing, blocking, and countering several of these robots as they tried to swarm around her.
"Release!" She exclaimed as she brought down the whole weight of her weapon upon a remaining three-pointer faux-villain slicing deep into the metal with a large flash of spark shooting up.
"Ahh!" Ochako exhaled as she took a short moment to wipe her brow and catch her breath. Unaware of another three-pointer robot slowly skittering up behind her for an ambush. It raised its metallic limbs high, ready to strike down the girl to avenge its fallen siblings.
"TARGET LOCKED! ENGAGING!"
Ochako turned into surprise, metaphorically caught with her pants down. But the girl knew she was not fast enough to raise her shield, so she simply braced herself for the blow coming down. A hit that never came as a green blur suddenly appeared on her right, almost out of nowhere, lunging at the robot. It took a moment for Ochako to process that blur was Izuku, who managed to quickly tear into the three-pointer turning the large metal faux-villain into several large twitching pieces with only a few short swings of his arms.
His work complete, Izuku simply moved on with another quick dash trailed by a flux of violently intense wind pressure. Ochako was left there, momentarily stunned, seemingly left awestruck by the display of Izuku's power. She knew that he had a strength-based quirk, but she didn't realize how strong or fast he could be. It almost reminded her of All Might for a moment.
"Oh crap! I need to keep going!" Ochako suddenly realized she was simply standing there, wasting time rather than continuing the exam.
The council of judges and observers was far from all the battle centers. They all looked over the potential applicant performances being broadcasted from various cameras and into the televised screens in a large and wide observation room.
"Quite a number of solid hopefuls this year."
"Yes, but unfortunately, we still don't have as many candidates as we would have hoped. We had far more than a handful rejected due to their psych evaluations combined with their quirks."
"This is just the first year with the new rule implemented."
"Still, it seems like this year's cut will be solid."
On one screen, the judges could see Izuku and Ochako destroying robots left and right. And on another screen, Katsuki was in his battle center, blasting bots away with the happiest grin plastered on his face. Various students came into view on multiple screens throughout the different angles taken in every battle center. A black-haired boy with golden eyes finished a pile of bots with the flames coming from his mouth. A sparkly blond boy with purple eyes seemed to shine while shooting a laser from his belly, bisecting several bots at once.
Among the judges were a few special guests with All Might in his skinny, weakened form going under the alias as 'Mr. Yagi' to those who didn't know about his secret. Endeavor and Ryūkyū also stood nearby, representing the top ten ranked heroes per tradition.
However, they all remained silent, thanks partly to their last guest: Kai Doumeki. Who was in attendance to oversee the exam as this year's civilian representative. A position that had been created thanks to several recent reforms in educational policy. His mere appearance was met with almost universal displeasure from those who knew the truth. Ryūkyū had hoped to enjoy watching Katsuki and Izuku's big debut.
Yet, the moment had been tainted by the man who ruined her family's legacy and livelihood. The man who betrayed Hisashi and her family, a man that Hisashi once trusted without question.
"Interesting." The room grew tense, Kai's voice catching everyone's attention.
"I see a very familiar name among them." His eyes focused on the green-haired boy on one of the screens. "I'm surprised to see that he made it, given his prior family history."
All Might tensed up but remained quiet; he suspected that Kai was taking a chance to voice his opinion and take a dig at the others.
"If he passes, please do make sure to take countermeasures," He finished, his face solemn. "After all, we don't want a repeat of the past now, do we?"
Before anyone else could respond, it was Endeavor who firmly spoke up.
"Doumeki, unless you have something worth saying, then say it." His voice was cold, laced with anger. "Otherwise, shut up."
Kai shook his head, his warning falling on deaf ears. He understood why, of course. But even Ryūkyū should have known that Izuku could be a genuine threat if his quirk wasn't kept in check. Kai's eyes turned to look up at one of the other screens.
'A backup plan might be in order.'
The practical exam continued when the final phase finally kicked off; a skyscraper-sized zero-pointer was unleashed at the epicenter of the battle center. Ochako looked up in shock, eyes widening as she dropped her shield.
"Nope!" She yelled as she turned to flee from the falling debris and make it to safety. "Not, I'm dealing with that!"
She ran until she heard a scream and saw a familiar blonde girl with tan skin had gotten caught under a large amount of debris. Ochako froze for a moment as she realized that the girl needed help, and despite her fears, the brunette turned right back around to help.
"Don't worry! I'll get you out in just a moment! Just hang on, okay?!" Ochako began to reassure her trapped companion as she began floating the debris way, despite more continuing to rain down on them as the Zero-pointer drew ever closer.
"T-thank you..." The girl weakly said as she held up her arms once the worst was off her.
"I got you now!" Ochako said encouragingly, grabbing her arms to help her get up. "Come on! Let's go!"
As the two made their escape, they were only barely able to stay just ahead of the giant robot that threatened to crush them. All while more debris crashed around the two. However, the side-effects of Ochako's quirk were finally catching up to her. Between nausea and lack of stamina, compounded by her companion's broken legs, they were starting to slow down.
Ochako knew there was no way to outrun the zero-pointer at this rate. As the earth shook around them. Ochako opted for a new plan as she touched her fellow competitor, floating the girl.
"Huh!?" The girl exclaimed as Ochako grabbed hold of her and picked her up awkwardly. "What are you doing?!"
"Sorry about this!" Ochako yelled as she threw her to safety as hard as possible before releasing her.
"WHOAAAAAA!" The girl yelped out as she floated away from Ochako. Once the injured girl was out of harm's way, Ochako finally fell to her knees, overcome with nausea, and crudely emptied the contents from her stomach on the ground.
'I… I can't… keep going...'
However, as the shadow of the giant robot began to tower right over her, Ochako was left paralyzed in fear; her heart rapidly sank. Her instinct was to scream, but her body could not find the strength to do so. She pleaded to herself to move while collapsed between the rubble and believing that she was living her final moments.
'Mom…! Dad...! No, please, I'm scared! Please! Anyone, help me!'
Then, she was suddenly blinded by a large flash of light, followed by a massive gust of wind and a wave of the aftershock that rushed out in all directions.
"SMASH!"
A familiar voice ripped harshly through the air.
SLAM!
Upon impact, the Zero-pointer robot was knocked back, allowing sunlight to bathe Ochako again.
Ochako turned as she heard the groan of grinding metal. The Zero-pointer had been destroyed, with the rest of what remained of its metallic body twisting and groaning as it could no longer support its own weight. Ochako looked up in awe, having been saved from her impending doom. However, as she did, she could see a body dropping from the sky, someone familiar to her.
'OH NO!' Ochako thought as her eyes grew as wide as saucers; it was Izuku plummeting to his death. She didn't know the limits of Izuku's strength, but she didn't see him make any efforts to save himself. 'DID HE KNOCK HIMSELF OUT?!'
"No!" Ochako yelled as she struggled on her hands and knees. "I just need to do just a little more...!"
Using the last bit of strength Ochako could muster, she forced her up and used her quirk on herself. She had to time it just right; Izuku's very life depended on it. It was a tough call, but with the fresh adrenaline pumping through her body, time seemed to slow down enough just to help give her just enough focus.
"No time for second guesses! SHIFT!" She roared as she launched herself with determination on her face, managing to catch Izuku in midair. Latching on to his limp body firmly, determined to repay his efforts.
"I got you!" She yelled out as she tried to get his attention, only to confirm her earlier suspicions. Izuku was indeed unconscious from his attack against the Zero-pointer. Unfortunately, Ochako lost focus as the two began spinning in midair, causing her nausea to kick in again. This time it was worse than before as she lost control in the direction they were flying toward.
All she knew was that they were now descending. All Ochako could do was brace for impact once she felt sure enough that their current height wouldn't cause so much damage.
"Release," Ochako managed to force out, releasing them from her quirk's influence. Unfortunately, her timing had been off, as she slammed into the wall of one of the fake buildings on the opposite side of the battle center, knocking her out instantly before they hit the ground.
Fortunately for the two of them, they were only a couple of feet from the ground, but the two still landed rather harshly on the concrete floor.
The practical exam officially ended, and the medical teams were dispatched into the various areas. Recovery Girl quickly found the two entangled teens at the crash site. Ochako's tight grip on the boy seemed locked and unwavering, as the veteran hero discovered. The old woman tried to physically pry them apart. Ironically this only resulted in Izuku subconsciously latching on to Ochako instead, thus making her job much more difficult.
Despite the situation, this scene was met with a light chuckle from the old pro, who stopped trying to separate them and decided to focus on healing them instead.
'Just let nature take its course when they wake up. Now...let's see,' Recovery Girl thought as she began checking on the two. 'A mild concussion for the lass, and only a few scrapes and bruises for the boy...better than what I initially thought!'
A couple of quick kisses later, both teens were completely restored...albeit still unconscious. Recovery Girl simply decided to leave them be and have some stretcher robots take them inside together.
"These two sure are lucky to have helped each other like that. I'd imagine the betting pool this year will have weird odds this time around." She said to herself with a chuckle as she called for assistance.
In the observation room, everyone's reactions to the destroyed zero-pointer ranged from slight surprise to stunned silence. Ryūkyū had quietly excused herself and ran out of the room to check on her cousin's condition. Meanwhile, Kai leaned against the wall, as pale as a ghost.
'Good lord... If he has...'
Kai may have been quirkless, but he knew that quirks typically got stronger with every generation. What was worse was that Kai knew that even Hisashi couldn't have pulled off something of that magnitude in his fully-armored form.
'If he truly has inherited the worse aspect of his father's quirk...' Kai looked back at the screen in horror. 'They could all be in serious danger...'
"Thank you. My Knight..."
Izuku stirred with his eyelids feeling very heavy, and yet. He also felt strangely relaxed as he lay down on his left side in bed.
'It's the same dream again?' He thought as if he was walking up into his bedroom.
He felt spent on energy, but at the same time, he was somehow feeling very warm and comfortable. A feeling of being strangely safe and surrounded by something that smelled very nice.
'This is new... I don't remember my dreams feeling like this...but I'm not going to complain about it.' Izuku thought to himself while shuffling his body around whatever made him feel so comfy. His body began to regain movement and feel sensations again. He could also feel like there was some additional weight on himself...or wrapped around himself tightly?
However, the more he focused on his limbs, it seemed like he had his arms wrapped around something with similar strength to whatever this was around him. It was nice but also very strange.
'What… is this?'
Izuku could now feel a very soft sensation in his left hand. Whatever it was, it was warm, soft, yet…somehow firm?
'Okay...this is new...but what is? Thi –'
The weight next to him stirred.
"Hmm... I don' wanna git up..." He heard a familiar female voice slur out, with a strong rural accent being a dead giveaway.
That was enough to jolt Izuku awake. His once heavy eyes snapped wide open as he immediately found himself in a very unfamiliar place, holding onto Ochako Uraraka as if his life depended on it. She, too, seemed to be doing the same to him as well. The worst part was that their bodies were stuck together, strapped down to the bed with a rather large, tightly bound leather strap.
Izuku. exe has stopped working.
All Izuku could do at this moment was just mentally scream.
Thankfully in times such as these: a new voice tended to serve as Izuku's guide to readjust his thoughts. Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on the situation, this voice of reason manifested in the voice of one Katsuki Bakugou.
'Wha... Oh? I need to... damn I… g-g-gods...I'm losing it...losing it...okay! OKAY! OKAY!'
'IZUKU!' There was a mental slap. 'GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER! CALM THE FUCK DOWN AND FIGURE THIS SHIT OUT!'
'Okay...think! First things first: what happened? How did I get here like this?'
Izuku's eyes darted around, trying his best to get his bearings.
'A hospital room?'
No.
'A school nurse's office?'
Judging from all the academic posters that stood alongside medically-related ones, a safe bet.
'Okay...I'm in the nurse's office. But this isn't my school's nurse's office, and Ochako does not go to my school...wait...It's Uraraka, NOT OCHAKO!'
'GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER, IZUKU! YOU GOT YOUR BEARINGS, NEXT STEP!'
Izuku was mentally fighting the voice, still trying to serve as his guide. Ochako stirred again, which caused Izuku to stay stock still. He soon realized that his left arm had fallen asleep from being under Ochako's side, and his left hand was...
'OH GOD, NO...!'
Unabashedly on her butt.
'…'
'… WELP, I'M OUT.'
'No, wait! Aren't you supposed to help me?!'
'YOU'RE ON YOUR OWN WITH SHIT!'
'SERIOUSLY?! JUST LIKE THAT?!'
'FINE! YOU CAN START BY GETTING YOUR HAND OFF HER ASS, JACKASS!'
'Gah!'
Izuku complied immediately, swiftly moving his hand off her butt and placing it flat against the shared bed. The poor boy was confused and nervous enough, and the last thing he needed was to be labeled a pervert by the first real friend he's made that wasn't Katsuki. It seemed the removal of said hand was enough for Ochako to stir awake as well.
'WELP...WE'RE BONED...'
Izuku could see Ochako slowly blinking awake as her vision slowly returned to normal, only to see the eyes of a panicked Izuku Midoriya. Her face told Izuku that she was still processing everything happening in front of her. When he started to feel something odd as well...on his butt.
Her hand seemed to have been doing the same thing he had just been doing.
'IS SHE GRABBING MY BUTT?!'
'EH, SEEMS LIKE EQUALITY TO ME! DAMN...SHE REALLY IS GOING AT IT!'
'YOU'RE NOT HELPING!'
'YOU WANTED ME TO STAY!'
After blinking a few more times, Ochako's face finally broke into the very essence of deep red after realizing what she was doing and to whom she was doing it. She instantly let go of him and swiftly tried to back away, only to figure out she was stuck like him.
"Oh, gosh! Im'a so sorry! Can't believe what I was just doin' to ya! Especially after saving me – WAIT, WHY AM I STUCK HERE?!" She spoke rapidly, only growing more panicked as she tried to untangle herself from the bed.
Izuku could only blink at the girl.
'Wait a minute… she isn't mad at me? I'm getting really confused now.'
'TALK ABOUT A WIN! HURRY! GO FOR THE KILL AND CALL HER THE PERVERT!'
'SHUT UP, KACCHAN!'
'I AIN'T KACCHAN, JACKASS! I'M YOU! BUT WITH BALLS!'
In the end, Izuku decided that all he could do was be honest with her.
"Saving you? What do you mean?"
Ochako suddenly stopped moving before looking at Izuku with a puzzled expression.
"You don't remember what happened? After taking down that giant zero-pointer robot?!"
"Eh?!"
'Giant robot? What on earth is she talking about?!'
'IT HAPPENED AGAIN! YOU MUST HAVE GONE OVER FIFTY PERCENT AGAIN!'
Izuku froze, his mind filling in the blanks as Katsuki's voice finally disappeared into his subconscious. It was one of the new drawbacks of his quirk when Dragon Shift and One For All had fused.
His body now shifted in combination with One For All's power, which had its benefits: no longer triggering his draconic transformation out of shock or surprise. However, his body now operated on his natural stamina despite the raw power of One For All. Another drawback he had discovered during his training with Gran Torino was whenever Izuku used roughly fifty percent of his power. There was a high chance of Izuku blacking out with short-term memory loss once his power dissipated.
'It must have gotten really bad if I felt like I needed to pull that card.'
"Are you okay?" He looked up to see that Ochako had calmed down enough to begin gently undoing the straps binding them. Lost in his thoughts for a moment, he hadn't noticed that she had a pained look of concern. "You really don't remember what happened?"
"Y-Y-Yeah. It's just a side effect of my quirk." Izuku admitted with a sigh. "If I go at full power, I blackout and sometimes don't remember anything from the last few hours."
"That's pretty scary...especially after what happened."
"Yeah..."
"Again, I'm really sorry," Ochako pleaded as she finally finished undoing the straps. She realized that her quirk was active as she and Izuku had begun to float.
"Wah!" Izuku yelled out as he continued to gain some height while trying to get himself back to solid ground. Ochako began to panic again.
"I'm sorry, my fault again! RELEASE!" She took control over her quirk, and the two before fell back into the bed with a soft poof. Laughter broke out as the door opened to see a short old lady, followed behind by Ryūko, who had a look of worry on her face.
"Finally awake? Good! I couldn't pry the two of you apart with a crowbar, so I just settled for nature to take its course." The old lady said with a mischievous wink, causing the two teens to start blushing red again. "Sorry about the straps. You two started floating away, which was cute; but also makes it hard to keep an eye on both of you."
"Izu!" Ryūko rushed to Izuku's side and warmly embraced the blushing boy. "You scared me!"
Ochako had the strangest feeling in her chest, seeing this older, familiar-looking lady hugging him.
"Kyū, I'm fine!" Izuku was gently released from her tight hug. "What are you doing here anyway?"
"I came to watch the UA entrance exams!" She chirped happily. She no longer was worried, now seeing that Izuku was in good shape. "I was here with Endeavor to represent the top ten."
Ochako froze as she got a better look at the young woman in front of her. As the realization of who she was beginning to dawn on her.
"Oh my gosh, you're Ryūkyū! The ranked Ninth Pro-Hero!"
"Yep! That's me! The Dragoon Hero!" She happily announced with a pose, making Izuku facepalm.
"Wait, how do you know Izuku?" She asked, not realizing she accidentally addressed him by his first name.
Ryūko did take notice, however. She was about to spare her cousin until she saw his blush grow fiercer.
"Oooh, this boy? Well, you see...Izu here...is my secret lover ~!" She winked and placed a peck on Izuku's cheek. The mere action caused Ochako to back off a few feet away until she practically fell off the bed. Izuku mirrored her actions, backing off quickly enough that he nearly fell off his side of the bed, too.
"Kyū! Don't be gross!" He said, exasperated, desperately hoping Ochako didn't believe in his cousin's antics. Ryūko began laughing hard after seeing their strong reactions. "She's only my cousin! I swear!"
Ochako blankly stared; there was a lot for her to process. Thankfully, the old lady came to her rescue and hit Ryūko with her cane to bring some order to the room.
"Ryūkyū! Stop it before you kill these two!"
Ryūko sighed with a playful pout. "Fine, Recovery Girl, I'm sorry."
"But for real, thank you for saving my cousin." Ryūko bowed to Ochako, then turned to Izuku. "And you! I swear, Izu! You shaved a few years off my life when I saw you drop from that height!"
"I know…I'm sorry," Izuku apologized, sheepishly looking down.
"You two should be good to go," Recovery Girl interjected. "After everything that had happened, I recommend getting some food...that would help recover your stamina."
Ryūko gasped as she remembered her plans from earlier.
"That's a great idea, Recovery Girl! How about you, Kacchan, and –" She turned to face Ochako. "I'm sorry; what is your name again, please?"
"O-Ochako Uraraka!" She introduced herself with a slight bow. The young lass was still processing everything happening at the moment. Now she always wanted to meet Ryūkyū and ask her about Draco Knight since she had been one of his lead sidekicks before his death. However, she knew that it wouldn't be right to ask about that right now as, even now, it must be a rather sensitive issue.
"Ah, and Occhan here, come with us for dinner tonight! There is a really nice place near my agency that I've always wanted to try out! My treat!"
Before anyone could reply, the approaching sound of rapid, heavy footsteps could be heard outside their door.
"IZUKU, WHERE THE HELL ARE YO –" Katsuki slammed open the door, only to see Recovery Girl, Izuku, Round-Face, and…Ryūko. The last person he expected to run into.
"Perfect timing, Kacchan!" She waved him over with a smile. "How about dinner on me? Sounds good?"
Katsuki blinked owlishly, taken aback from hearing those words in that order.
'Shit! I am number one already, or what?'
"Sounds good to me, Ryūkyū," He answered as a wide shit-eating grin formed on his face. His worries over Izuku were quickly thrown out the window.
"Great! Izu, Occhan, go get dressed. We'll wait outside and go when you two are ready!" Ryūko finished pulling out her phone to make a reservation and walked out of the nurse's office.
Katsuki's smile faltered slightly upon realizing it wasn't just him going alone with Ryūkyū and feeling disappointed. But hey, he wasn't going to say no to dinner with Ryūkyū. So he proceeded to follow her out of the office as well. Izuku and Ochako sat there for a few seconds, mulling over everything that had just happened.
"I'm…sorry about that," Izuku tried to break the awkward silence, scratching his cheek nervously. "She can be a bit uh headstrong."
"N-No! It's okay! It's actually kind of endearing if I'm being honest," Ochako admitted with a nervous laugh. "Besides, getting to eat with a pro-hero in the top ten isn't something an up-and-coming hero course student should refuse, right?"
"You two might want to hurry up," Recovery Girl interrupted with a chuckle to herself.
"Oh, right!" The two said in unison, causing Recovery Girl to laugh again.
"Go on then! Shoo!"
"Thank you for helping us," Izuku bowed deeply.
"Yes, thank you for taking care of us," Ochako bowed as well.
Recovery Girl wrote a quick note to herself as both teens walked out, putting it away inside her desk for safekeeping.
"Seems like a solid bet to me." She quietly laughed to herself.
Author's Commentary
Izuocha fluff gives me life. Seriously, I adore these two cinnamon rolls to death, but a vital piece of the puzzle is still missing...but not for long.