Chapter 14: Police Entrance Exam

A/N: Was thinking of putting a few chapters showing what Nedzu and Aizawa taught him but decided against it because Nedzu will have to mostly teach him basic subject courses to prepare him. I'll be instead, showing it in practical use and snippets of when he goes to learn from them.

Izuku stood confidently in front of the police headquarters at Musutafu where the entrance exams were going to be held. Normally, he would have been jittery and nervous, but having stayed around Hisashi and Nedzu for the past 6 months, he had gained a lot of confidence. He was absolutely sure that he would ace the writing part. The practical part would be slightly more difficult but he had enough faith in Aizawa's teachings even if he didn't have a whole lot of experience yet.

It was an especially funny sight when Kenji, the commissioner had come over for dinner and subsequently kidnapped his father because he didn't trust him giving away information about the exam to him. Izuku chuckled at the memory and entered the building.

He had to register at the front desk first, where there was a line, which was smaller than he expected. Most of them were a year or two older than them. Izuku didn't think much of it. His father had told him that most police graduates were those who dropped out of the hero course. A small fraction of them attended out of their volition.

"Oi, kid, are you lost or something?" Izuku heard a voice behind him. The voice wasn't unkind but the tone was actually warm and concerned instead, "This is the line for the police entrance exam. Did you lose your parents or something,"

"No, I am here for the entrance exam actually," Izuku laughed, brushing aside the comments that had stemmed from his childish features.

The boy paled, "Oh my god, I am so sorry. It's just you're short, so I thought you're like 14 or 15,"

"Oh, I am,"

"What!?" The boy gaped in surprise, "Why are you giving the entrance exam? That's too young!"

"Well, my father is in the police force, so I'm trying out for the academy now. There's no age restriction on attending the academy. It just says you need to be at least 16 before you can even become a patrol officer," Izuku told him.

"Well, you are right, but still, seems too early," The boy conceded, "Did you get bullied into becoming a police officer like my cousin?"

"No, of course not. Why?"

"Kids usually want to be a hero and fantasize about that. Odd to see someone with a differing opinion, that's all,"

"Well, I did want to be a pro hero but every pro I asked, told me I can't be one. All except two," Izuku gritted his teeth.

"Why not?"

"Because I'm quirkless,"

The statement was heard by virtually everyone in the line and things came to a screeching halt, "Did he say quirkless?" Someone asked.

"Poor kid, no wonder he couldn't be a hero," the girl in front of him commented sadly.

"Why'd he even come for the exam. He's gonna get massacred,"

"Just because he doesn't have a quirk doesn't mean he's dumb. You better watch your backs because he'll pass and you all will fail. You guys will see then, hah!" The boy Izuku had been conversing with defended.

"Whatever dude. There's no way he passes. I agree quirk doesn't matter in the police entrance exam but look at him! He's a scrawny little kid!" Someone else said, "I mean there's a reason he couldn't be a hero,"

"I'll have you know," Izuku said with menace, "That I don't need to be a pro to become a hero. A hero is someone who saves people no matter what and that can be anyone!" Izuku declared. The declaration seemed to shut everyone up as they turned to mind their own business. They couldn't really fault that logic without seeming like an asshole.

"Thanks for covering me," Izuku said.

"No problem. Oh! I didn't introduce myself. My name is Uchiha Shisui! Nice to meet ya!"

"I'm Midoriya Izuku. Nice to meet you too, Senpai!"

Shisui frowned as if he had turned into a ghost, "You make me sound so old! Just call me Shisui like you'd call a friend,"

"F-friend?"

"Well yeah! You seem pretty cool so I wouldn't mind being friends," Shisui smiled warmly. Izuku nearly cried at the response but his eyes widened as Shisui smacked on the back of his head by a newcomer, "What the hell, Itachi!?"

"What kind of idiot goes around defending someone who they just met?"

"Hmph! You'd have done the same thing if it was Sasuke. And look, they look so similar!"

"Hn," Itachi grunted, "He does look as cute as him," Itachi conceded and Izuku had no idea whether he should feel insulted or appraised.

"Yup, he's a green bean! And he doesn't have a duck's ass for his hair,"

"Say that again!"

"Anyway, Midoriya, this is my cousin Uchiha Itachi!" Shisui completely blew past Itachi's threatening tone.

"Nice to meet you, Uchiha-san. My name is Midoriya Izuku but Izuku's fine,"

"Hn. You can call me Itachi if you'd like,"

"He seems really broody. Is he the one who got bullied by his father to join the police?" Izuku asked Shisui who replied enthusiastically, "He is!" Shisui was promptly smacked by Itachi, "Why are you going around telling that to people?"

"What? It's true. He wanted to be a pro-hero but his dad's a higher up in the police force and he asserted no son of his will be anything other than a police officer," Shisui said, even copying the tone that was used.

"Yeah, well I don't see why you came with me. You were free to go and give the entrance exam for hero schools," Itachi said.

"Yeah, but I don't really care about that. I just want to help people and I want to do that with my best friend. And let's face it, you need me. You have no other friends!"

"Hn,"

"Does he always just grunt?" Izuku asked and Shisui nodded, "That doesn't seem very sociable,"

"You're next," Itachi ignored and pointed to the front desk officer who was waiting impatiently with a stamp. Izuku smiled guiltily and walked up with his documentation. The officer took a quick look and stamped it with a green approved, "Room 301,"

"Thank you," Izuku said, "I'll see you guys again if you pass," Izuku grinned.

"Of course we're gonna pass! You're the inexperienced brat, not us!" Shisui laughed and then added in a whisper, "But seriously pass, or I'll look like a fool for saying you'll come out on top,"

Izuku chuckled but gave a thumbs-up as he left for his written exam.

Izuku hesitantly stepped into the next room. An officer had been calling the names of all those who passed and ordered them to go into the next room. He saw Shisui waving at him with a grin and was thankful there was someone he knew. He sat between Shisui and Itachi with a large smile, "Told you I would pass,"

Shisui grinned back, "Good to see my reputation is not damaged yet,"

"Welcome to the practical part of the exam! My name is Uzumaki Kushina and I will be your proctor," A red-haired woman said with a smile, "First thing's first, congratulations to Midoriya Izuku who placed first in the written exam," Kushina said ecstatically, "Where is Midoriya?"

"H-here!"

Kushina stared at Izuku for a full minute and then hearts formed in her eyes, "Aww you are so cute! You look like a green-haired version of my kid, Naruto but with freckles!" She cooed, "Sorry for getting off track," She coughed. The examinees sweatdropped, her mood was swinging at random it seemed.

"We will be conducting the practical exam shortly. The officers are going to hand out your answer sheets so that you can see your marks,"

Shisui took his paper with a look of disbelief, "How did you check so many papers at once? And so fast?"

Kushina smiled, "Police have a lot of personnel to spare,"

"Um," Izuku raised his hand, "How come those who failed the written exam aren't allowed in? Don't the marks get added up to determine who passed and who failed?"

Kushina shook his head, "No. Unlike hero schools where you can make up for your marks in the other parts, in the police entrance exam, you must pass every part of the exam. The police believe that you need to have minimum skill in every aspect rather than in hero schools where you can get in by strength alone. That's also the reason, why police have more level-headed people while the pro-heroes have people like Endeavour," Kushina said disgustedly, "Even if you pass this, you'll still need to pass the viva which is a test of your conscience," Kushina warned.

"Now, that's enough time to check your papers. Please follow me to the gym!" Kushina said and opened a door next to her. The students followed suit and marveled at the size, "Let's see... I think 100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, 100 planks, 100 squats, and since you might have to rescue people too, so try and bench press about 60 kg,"

The students gaped, "So much to do?"

But Izuku was not impressed, "That's it? No spars or anything?"

"See, that was my point too," Kushina confessed, "But the principal said that we can teach you how to fight later. So, I'm making sure you are physically fit instead. Now get to it," Kushina ordered.

"Holy shit Izuku. You are gonna tire yourself out!" Shisui said as he saw Izuku do his push-ups really fast, "It's alright. I'm used to it," Izuku said, his breathing rate unchanged. This was nothing compared to what Aizawa had put him through. He grunted. If he knew that there won't be any sparring, he wouldn't have gone and tried to take on Aizawa in a spar so many times.

Some of them had forgotten to stretch beforehand and could not continue the exercises anymore due to cramps. Others didn't have the stamina or endurance and had collapsed after pushing to their limit, unable to move their muscles. Kushina didn't say anything as Itachi finished first, followed closely by Izuku. Once she was sure there was no one else who could finish the exercise, she cleared her throat, "You must be wondering why I haven't told you to leave yet," She told the ones who hadn't completed, "That's because all of you have to do another thing, dodging exercise!" Kushina yelled and flung off the cloth from the basket beside.

"The objective is simple. You have to try and dodge as many balls as you can. Oh, and they're coated with paint, so no cheating," Kushina smirked.

"Sensei, I can't move my muscles," Someone said pitifully.

"Too bad but this is the real world. No one's going to stop to accommodate you," Kushina said a bit too harshly, "Start!"

Immediately, everyone started scattering, trying to make themselves a harder target. Izuku was able to dodge all of them quite easily. "Wait, were those chains throwing balls!?" Izuku stopped to look, "Whoa, that's such a good quirk for capturing targets," Izuku watched with amazement and was almost hit by a ball from behind. Luckily, he dodged at the last second.

He winced as he heard panicked cries on his left. He turned to see that Kushina was throwing balls at those who were on the floor, unable to use their sore muscles as well. Izuku tried to ignore it, and focus on dodging the balls but Kushina wasn't messing around and had been throwing the balls with a lot of force. Izuku learned that first hand when a ball connected with his cheek and he felt as if he had been slammed into concrete.

Izuku grunted and moved towards the students who were in a pile. He caught several of them by their shirt and pulled them to the bleachers. Shisui saw what was going on and ran to help as did several other students. Itachi momentarily looked torn about what to do but he regained his composure and made himself a bigger target for Kushina who took the chance.

Once all of the tired students had been pulled behind cover, Kushina blew her whistle, a grin spread over her face, "Pretty good. Say, did you understand the third aspect of my test?" kushina asked the messy students.

"Third aspect?" Shisui asked slowly.

"It was to see whether you would help your comrades. You were in this together which made all of you teammates. It was to see whether you had a good conscience or not," Kushina explained, "I'm really pleased to see that so many of you would rather save your friends," Kushina grinned.

"Wait, so they were just scapegoats?" Someone asked from the crowd of students.

"Of course not," One of the candidates who couldn't 'move' stood up, "We're actually in the final year of the police academy. Kushina sensei requested us to help by acting like we couldn't move due to sore muscles. We were all acting. Well except those two," The senior pointed, "Those idiots actually forgot to stretch," He shook his head in vain.

"Anyways, you all pass," Kushina said juggling the balls with her chain, "The dodging exercise was just a hoax. There's no way you guys would have gotten away if I was serious," Kushina smiled, "The dressing room is that way. Girls on the left, boys on the right. Once you freshen up, get back here and I'll take you all to the waiting room for the viva.

Izuku waited patiently for his name to be called. This was the part he was most anxious for because there wasn't really any way to prepare for it. He looked to his left, where Itachi was standing stoically, he had already gone in and passed, and was clutching his pass form. Seriously, what did it take for him to smile?

As Izuku was in his musings, Shisui ran out and let out an excited cheer, "I did it! I did it! I passed! Whoo!"

"Congratulations, Shisui," Izuku smiled nervously.

Shisui nodded, "Yup. It's not that hard, Izuku, don't worry,"

Izuku gave a polite smile, but was still anxious, "Midoriya Izuku, your turn," Kushina announced.

Izuku took in deep breaths to calm down, "Hey look at me," Shisui said, "You're gonna do great! You aced the first part and you just barely missed out on first in the practical! Itachi tell him,"

"Hn,"

"Itachi," Shisui said with a warning tone.

"...You're gonna do great Izuku,"

Izuku laughed at the two and headed inside. It had calmed his anxiety down though. He entered to see the police commissioner was one of the three who would be asking questions. Izuku couldn't resist and grinned, "Kenji-san! Is Tou-chan coming back today?"

"Well, I see no reason he shouldn't," Kenji replied.

"How is he?"

"He has... adequate food and water," Kenji said vaguely causing Izuku to chuckle.

The person that was sitting in the center cleared his throat and Izuku turned his attention, "Midoriya Izuku, am I right?"

"Yes sir!"

"My name is Umino Iruka. This here is Corazon and you already know the commissioner," Iruka introduced.

"Yes sir!"

"Good, good. Let's start, shall we?"

Izuku nodded, "The first question," Iruka said, "Do you hold any prejudical thoughts against those who are quirkless or have weak quirks?"

Izuku stared at Iruka for a full minute causing the principal to awkwardly shift. Even Kenji was looking like he had grown bunny ears, "Is there a problem, Midoriya?"

"I get that you probably wrote down the questions beforehand, but even though that's too standardized," Izuku replied.

"What do you mean?" Iruka said and looked down at the file containing Izuku's information. It all seemed normal until he came to Izuku's quirk. It was written lightning control but it seemed like someone had pasted it. He ripped off the pasted paper and twitched, Quirk: Quirkless

"Who the hell did that?" Iruka demanded.

"Gojou," Corazon replied lazily.

"How did he even get inside?" Iruka yelled, "And why didn't none of you tell me?"

Corazon shrugged but Izuku noticed a smile playing on his lips, "It seemed like it would be funny,"

Iruka scowled and muttered something, "I am terribly sorry Midoriya. I have someone who has the mind of a child on my staff!" Iruka nearly yelled, "Getting back," Iruka switched to his gentle demeanor, "What do you think of a quirk like, say, brainwashing?"

Izuku sweatdropped. Iruka's personality had just done a 180. "Aren't principals supposed to be scary and strict?" Izuku thought in his mind but quickly dismissed the thought as memories of a certain rat came to his head. The number of times they had stolen Aizawa's cats and coffee, all in the name of training. Izuku shrugged in his mind, "I guess all top principals are crazy,"

"I think a quirk has nothing to do with you as a person. I'd probably get eager and ask more about it because I love analyzing, but I don't see any reason to treat them specially," Izuku replied.

Iruka was satisfied and moved on to the next question. Corazon asked the next question, "What about a strong quirk, like say explosions?"

Iruka gave his colleague a displeased look. Corazon had evidently knowingly pushed that button. It was a worthwhile tactic to see if Izuku had any bad intentions but it was still not something Iruka wanted to poke at.

Izuku momentarily froze up but snapped out quickly, "As I said, the person matters, not the quirk," Izuku said with resolve.

"Good, good," Kenji said, "And why do you want to be a police officer?"

"I want to prove that there are more ways to be a hero and my skills are best utilized in this occupation," Izuku replied.

The three smiled, "Well, we're done here," Iruka said.

"Wait that's it?"

"Yes, your answers are satisfactory. Plus, there are more students to interview," Iruka said and handed him a green acceptance letter, "Welcome... to the police academy!"

A/N: I'll be getting back to weekly updates soon, I think. I'm pretty confident I can manage 3 chapters per week so I'll probably be alternating the extra chapter between this and my other fic.

Thanks for reading and have a good day.

Also... Yeah I suck at making names and here we are lol.