When people do a quirkless Izuko story, myself included, they made him godlike or dramatic at the least when sometimes a simple path is better... I learned that the hard way.


"What's up, UA candidates? Thanks for tunin' into me, your school DJ. C'mon. And lemme hear ya!" Present Mic all but screamed at them. Mikumo wanted to laugh at the silence the man received, his stunned and pained look was hilarious. "Keeping it mellow, huh? That's fine. I'll skip straight to the main show. Let's talk about how this practice exam is gonna go down, okay? Are you ready? Yeah!"

Mikumo, six rows away from Izuku, could not help but share some of his brother's admiration for some heroes. Present Mic was a particularly awesome hero at that.

"Will you shut up?" He suddenly heard, and turned in time to see Bakugo glaring at his brother who cringed. Naturally, Izuku did not respond in turn, he just curled in on himself. Would the boy ever get a spine? Bakugo was a bully that thrived on being the best, cut that off and he was nothing more than a little bitch.

"Like your application said, today you rockin' boys and girls will be out there conducting ten-minute mock battles in super-hip urban settings. Gird your loins, my friends. After I drop the mic here, you'll head to your specified battle center. Sound good? Okay?" Present Mic said as the screen behind him changes to show the different battle centers. Okay, okay, let's check out your targets. There are three types of faux villains in every battle center. You'll earn points based on their level of difficulty, so better choose wisely. Your goal in this trial is to use your quirk to raise your score by shredding these faux villains like a mid-song guitar solo. But check it! Make sure you're keeping things heroic. Attacking other examinees is a UA no-no, ya dig?" Present Mic said. The screen behind him changed to show the three robots, and then a mini present mic figure crushing the robots.

"Excuse me, sir, but I have a question," A kid said, raising his hand.

"Hit me!" Present Mic yells.

A spotlight shines on a tall, buff looking stiff. "On the printout, you've listed four types of villains. Not three. With all respect, if this is an error on official UA materials, it is shameful. We are exemplary students. We expect the best from Japan's most notable school. A mistake such as this won't do. Additionally, you with the unkempt hair," he said turning and pointing at Izuku.

"Huh," Izuku said, pointing at himself.

"You've been muttering this entire time. Stop that. If you can't bother to take this seriously, leave. You're distracting the rest of us." The moron uttered.

"I am sorry, but who are you?" Mikumo said, turning to the moron. They all turned to him. "My Brother has been rather quiet, you are the only one to run your mouth. Besides this little scene of yours has taken more time up than all of my brother's mutters put together. So sit down and shut up."

The boy sat down, looking red faced and pained.

"All right, all right. Examinee number 7111. Thanks for calling in with your request. The fourth villain type is worth zero points. That guy's just an obstacle we'll be throwing in your way. There's one in every battle center. Think of it as a hurdle you should try to avoid. It's not that it can't be beaten, but there's... Kinda no point. I recommend my listeners try to ignore it and focus in the lines toppin' the charts," Present Mic said, as the screen behind him showed the mini Present Mic figure running away from the zero pointer.

"Thank you very much..." The moron said, still red faced.

"Oh, I get it. So they're kinda like traps you have to get by in games."

"The whole thing's kinda like a video game, huh?"

"That's all I got for you today. I'll sign off with a little present. A sample of our school motto! As general, Napoleon Bonaparte once laid down. 'A true hero is one who overcomes life's misfortunes.' Mm-hm. Now that's a tasty soundbite. You ready to go beyond? Let's hear a plus ultra! Good luck! Hope you practiced hitting more than just books," Present Mic said.

No one said a word.

""'

The exam arena, as it turned out, was a giant freaking city complete with buildings and not a trace of life. It was incredible really, that they managed to build something like this to test the new applicants.

He did not pay much attention to the mutterings of the others, too busy focusing on channeling energy through his body. Working on his breathing so he did not end up being overwhelmed. He had googled how to do that when he started to worry if Izuku's anxiety was inherited through the cloning quirk he was hit with.

"Right!" Cementoss, his proctor suddenly yelled. "Ready yourself... and... GO!" Literally vaulting over other people with a single movement, sprinting into the city as fast as he could, Mikumo let his mind focus on one fact.

"They have to have a means for people without combative powers to succeed, otherwise hal of their roster would never get in!" With that in mind, he charged with great focus. Immediately He found a robot, a one pointer, in less then five seconds. As he shot towards it he realized that it had to be rather weak of newbie students, without any real training, were expected to best them. With power earned from almost ten months of hellish training, he leaped onto the robot, sliding across it face down until he was face to face with an off switch.

Smiling, he pressed it and the entire thing collapsed to the ground.

"One down..."

And with that, he hurried off, to undo more robots and to make a name for all the quirkless kids in the world.

::::

Deep in U.A., in a room with a bunch of monitors on the wall, a vast number of great heroes and teachers watched the exam.

One such hero, the legendary Nezu, Principle of U.A., watched with great excitement. "Clearly, the examinees have no idea how many villains are present or their location. They have limited time, must cover a vast area, and hunt down every last target. Some use information-gathering abilities to plan out strategies," Principal Nezu said as he watched a boy form various sensory organs with what appeared to be tentacles attached to his arms.

"While others rely on speed to pull ahead of their peers." A boy with engines coming out of his legs blasted through a robot, making Nezu smile as he remembered the boy's brother and his test had gone years ago. "Of course, remaining calm under pressure can be a huge advantage."A boy with a belly button laser and a flashy out appeared next, looking into the camera with a smile. "As can pure power and combat ability." A wild boy with bloodlust filled red eyes was then seen among the wreckage of destroyed robots. "The most successful students use a combination of all these tactics. They're the ones who rack up the highest scores." He finished, as his eyes turned to a boy with green hair, using no provable quirk to make easy time undoing the robots, only stopping to push kids out of the way when they got to close to falling robots.

"Hm, I'd say this year's group looks promising," Midnight said, a pleased look on her face.

"Well, there's still plenty of time before it's over. The real test has yet to come. Let's see how they react," Snipe said, reaching out and pushing a button.

Nezu almost giggled, this was his favorite part... but to be honest this year he was more excited than ever. A Quirkless boy had applied to be a part of the hero program, the same green haired boy he saw making quick work on his robots. The boy, a quirk creation, was had already gathered twenty two points in less then three minutes, using clever moves and trained skills.

'''''

"Thirty six points!" Mikumo wanted to pass out, he was exhausted. He had pulled out all of the stops to defeat the robots, as many as he could find, flipping switches when he wasn't saving students who froze at the sight of falling robots or the explosions created by foolish other students. It was horrifying to see how many students would gladly endanger each other for the sake of gaining entry into the school, he hoped it worked against them.

"I can't do any more, I am exhausted,.. this has to be enough."

Naturally, his wishes were not granted as the entire arena rumbled. From a cloud of smoke and dust not far away, a massive robot erupted from the ground... the Zero pointer was there.

"Think of it as a hurdle you should try to avoid. I recommend my listeners try to ignore it and focus on the ones topping the charts." Izuku remembered Present Mic saying earlier...

The entire student body fled at the speed of light, screaming in terror. He went to join them, only to hear a young man called out. Turning, he saw a body trapped in an ally, his head bleeding from something. Panic filled Mikumo, and he rushed to the boy.

"Please... help." The boy said, his blue eyes filled with panic as blood dripped down his face.

A near year of training kicked in and Mikumo assessed the boy. He was bleeding a lot from his head but there was no darker source of blood, it was likely a smaller wound. He just needed to be moved away, that was a priority. "Where are you hurt?" He asked.

"My head, a piece of robot hit me when that boy with the exploding quirk blasted it." The boy groaned. "It's all dizzy..."

Cursing Bakugo, he threw the boy onto his back fireman's style. "I would have patched you up but we need to flee first, the robot might crush us or a building we are in otherwise."

He ran off, as fast as he could, not that fast given he was carrying over a hundred pounds of extra weight but soon enough he made it to the entrance of the exam, where he was able to hand off the boy to Cementoss.

"He was hit with a piece of robot in the head, I didn't have time to patch him up, not with that robot."

Cementoss, nodded with a low bow. "You did well, carrying his this far. You will be rewarded."

And not soon enough, he lay against the city walls, letting out a breathe of ease as finally it was over...

He had done his best, and better than that... he could only wait from this point on. He hoped it would be enough...

It had to be.


Chapter end, tell me what you think in the reviews.

This was a blast to write.

Love, your Ninja Overlord,

Mika.