For months, Mei and Izuku had practiced making their submissions for the Support Practical. Perfecting their designs and streamlining the production. All in preparation for this day. They were given an hour and a half to create a Support Item and then had to present it to a panel of judges.
Mei had decided to make a jet packet modeled after the one Pro Hero Air Jet used. She loved Izuku's idea of trying to replicate Quirks with Support Items and he kept assuring her it was fine for them both to work on that. It was his idea but he didn't mind if she also wanted to made babies with the same idea in mind. In the end, whatever they made was to help Heroes and that's all Izuku cared about.
Izuku, on the other hand, went a different route. He did intend to make Quirk Replicating Support Items once he was in UA, but he also had another goal in mind. The greenet wanted to help Heroes to improve or upgrade their current Support Items. Technology was constantly evolving and it would greatly benefit Heroes to update their Support Gear to keep with the times. And take advantage of any new gadgets and doohickeys that develop.
The particular Support Item he decided on was for one of his favorite Heroes. It wasn't for All Might because all of his gear was designed by his friend David Shield who kept the Number One Hero up to date just fine. No, he went with someone not well known and who desperately needed an upgrade.
After all the practice runs he had done, he felt like he could make this Support Item in his sleep by now. It didn't take him the entire hour and a half, but it gave him plenty of time to test the Support Item out and fix any bugs he noticed. Before he knew it, it was time for the applicants to present their submissions.
"Next Applicant: Midoriya Izuku. Please proceed into the presenting area," a proctor called out.
Taking a deep breath, Izuku stood up grabbing his bag and carefully carried his submission into the room. Before him was a table with three judges behind it and an empty chair in front of the table facing the three. The greenet walked forward and sat down on the chair, placing his bag on the ground next to him.
"Midoriya Izuku, correct?" the middle judge asked. Izuku gave a nod. "Well then, what do you have for us today?"
This is it. Deep breath in…and out. You can do this! He walked up to the judges' table and placed the yellow goggles in front of them before returning to his seat.
"What you have before you is an upgraded version of the Support Item worn by the Underground Hero Eraserhead."
There was instant murmuring between the judges at that declaration. The middle judge picked up the Support Item and turning it this way and that as they inspected it. Izuku walked them through the different upgrades and design changes he had made and why. Everything was in perfect working order.
"These goggles are impressive," the right judge said, taking the goggles from the middle judge for a closer look.
"It's also impressive that you even know who Eraserhead is," the left judge commented. "Considering how much the man hates the media and avoids it like the plague."
"How do you know about him, Midoriya-kun?" the middle judge asked, writing a note on the paper in front of them.
"My hobby is to analyze Quirks," Izuku said, reaching into his bag for his notebook. He flipped to the pages he had on the Hero and handed the notebook to the judges. "I have always been fascinated about Quirks and since I don't have one of my own, I started to analyze the Quirks around me as well as those of Heroes. It's true that there isn't much on Eraserhead through the media, but there are still a few videos of him fighting criminals in the far corners of the internet. I was able to find them and analyze how he fights and what his Support Item was."
The middle judge looked at the front of the notebook. "Hero Analysis For The Future, No. 13. Tell us, Midoriya-kun, do you want to be a Hero?"
"Yes, I do," Izuku replied, his hands formed into fists as they rested on his knees. "I would have applied for the Hero Practical, but there is a policy that Support Items can only be used to help channel a Quirk. Since I don't have one, I wouldn't be allowed to use any in the practical. Therefore, I decided to go for the Support Course instead."
"I see," the middle judge simply said.
"If you could, Midoriya-kun, please tell us why you focused on Eraserhead?" the left judge asked. They had taken the notebook from the middle one and flipped through the pages. "You have quite a lot of Heroes in here, yet you chose to make these for him specifically. Any particular reason why?"
"Of the few videos I was able to find of the Hero in action, I noticed something that I found inspiring," Izuku replied. It was something that gave him hope that his dream was possible when he found himself starting to doubt. "Eraserhead's Quirk is Erasure which allows him to erase the Quirk of someone he's looking at, sans mutant type Quirks. If you think about it, by doing so, Eraserhead turns the fight from being Quirk against Quirk into a Quirkless fight. Erasure does allow him this edge in the fight, but other than that, all of his skills are the same as someone fighting Quirkless."
The judges seemed to be impressed by the answer and quietly talked amongst themselves before turning back to the boy.
"What are your goals for UA, Midoriya-kun?" the right judge asked.
"If I am admitted into the Support Course, I have two goals in mind," Izuku said, holding up his hand to count them off. "One, to make other upgraded Support Items for Heroes and students. Two, to create Quirk Replicating Support Items."
"Quirk Replicating Support Items?" the left judge questioned.
"If you think about it, Quirks are tools," Izuku explained, placing his hand back on his leg. "As are Support Items. Usually, Support Engineers have made Support Items to aide in the use of the Quirk. However, I believe, with using my analysis to understand the mechanics of how other people's Quirks work, I should be able to make a Support Item that can replicate a Quirk."
"Oh? How so?" the right judge asked, eyes full of intrigue at the idea.
"It wouldn't work with all Quirks like mental or response-based ones," Izuku replied. "But certain Quirks could be recreated using today's technology. For example, my dad has fire breath and if I wanted to replicate it, I could create a mask or mouth piece of some sort to produce a similar effect as the original Quirk. It wouldn't be an exact copy, more like a close facsimile."
"A very intriguing idea," the middle judge stated, placing their elbows on the table and setting their chin on their interlaced fingers. "I believe that about wraps it up. I do have one last question though. Midoriya-kun, if you had the chance to transfer into the Hero Course, would you?"
"Yes, I would," Izuku said without hesitation. He looked confidently into the judge's eyes, his own green ones showing his sheer determination.
"Very well," the middle judge said, pulling his hands apart. "Well then, that's all we need for now. We will keep your submission for further inspection and it will be returned with your results. They should show up in about a week."
"A-actually, could I make a special request?" Izuku asked, nervously. "If it's possible, after you check the goggles, could they be given to Eraserhead instead? I did make them for him after all."
The judges had a quiet discussion that barely lasted a minute. The middle judge turned back to the greenet. "We don't usually do this, but if your submission checks out, we'll make sure Eraserhead gets them."
"Thank you!" Izuku chirped, a smile growing on his face. "Is there anything else?"
"No, you are free to go, Midoriya-kun," the left judge said, holding out the notebook to the greenet.
Izuku took it and placed it back in his bag. He gave his thanks to the judges and bowed before leaving the room. He hoped that went as well as he thought it did. Taking a deep breath, Izuku walked out of the building, hoping that it wouldn't be for the last time.
...
After the Support Practical Demonstration was finished and all prototypes had been submitted, Izuku found himself walking towards the entrance of UA. He was looking forward to going home for a well-deserved nap after all the stress of test taking and presenting his Support Item to the judges. He really hoped they liked his submission.
As he approached the gate, Izuku was once again greeted by a familiar mop of purple hair. Shinsou was leaning against the gate looking at his phone. Did he wait for me? With a smile and a skip in his step, Izuku approached the taller boy. That is, until he saw the slight grimace on the other's face. So, he slowly walked up to him.
"H-hey, Shinsou-kun!" Izuku greeted, still nervous about the other's reaction to his Quirklessness. "How d-did your tests go?"
Shinsou glanced at the greenet, seeming to act the same as he did before. "It's like you said," he said, putting away his phone. "Skewed towards physical Quirks."
Izuku sighed. "Yeah, the bias towards physical Quirks is annoying."
"You said it," Shinsou said, moving to walk out the gate. Izuku fell in step with him as they headed towards the train station. "Those who are blessed with a Heroic Quirk get everything handed to them on a silver platter. Unlike those with a Villainous Quirk like me."
"Villainous Quirk?" Izuku said, looking at his friend(?) with concern. "What do you mean villainous?"
"My Quirk is a Villain's Quirk, Midoriya," Shinsou snapped, making the shorter boy flinch. They stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, causing others to glare at them in annoyance as they walked around the pair. "It's a perfect Quirk for a Villain. That's what everyone told me growing up. I wanted to get into the Hero Course to prove them wrong."
"But there's no such thing as a Villainous Quirk, Shinsou-kun!" Izuku exclaimed, his hands gesturing animatedly. "Have you ever used your Quirk on others? To hurt or take advantage of them?"
"Well, no…"
"Did you ever want to use your Quirk like that? Or plan to in the future?" Izuku persisted.
"Of course not, I…" Shinsou tried to retort only to be interrupted again.
"Then your Quirk isn't villainous, Shinsou-kun," Izuku declared, staring firmly into the other's purple eyes. "The Quirk does not define the person. Every Quirk has the potential to be heroic or villainous depending on how a person uses it. You say you never have or even want to use your Quirk in a villainous way. Therefore, your Quirk isn't villainous because you don't want to be a Villain. Simple as that."
"Midoriya, you don't even know what my Quirk is," Shinsou shot back.
"Simple. As. That." Izuku punctuated each word by poking the other boy in the chest. "It doesn't matter what your Quirk is, Shinsou-kun. If you, in your heart, want to be a Hero and use your Quirk for good, then you Quirk will never be villainous."
Shinsou just stared at the greenet in awe, his mouth slightly open in shock at the declaration. Then he just started laughing, so hard that he hunched over with his hands grasping at his stomach. Izuku wasn't sure what the other was laughing about and just looked at him confused, his head tilted to the side a bit.
Eventually, the purple haired teen got a hold of himself.
"Oh man, where have you been all my life?" Shinsou asked breathlessly. Izuku blushed a little at the question because of the usual romantic connotations behind it. "You're the first person to ever tell me that and you don't even know what my Quirk is. It's Brainwashing, by the way."
"Woah, Brainwashing? Really?" Izuku chirped, an excited smile on his face. It was so bright Shinsou found himself needing to squint. "That would be an amazing Quirk for Hero work! You could break up hostage situations with no collateral damage. Or calm people down if they were having a panic attack. Not to mention the interrogation possibilities. You could also stop people from hurting themselves. Or you could…"
"Midoriya," Shinsou called out.
"Wha…?" That was all he could say before a cloud of haziness filled his mind. It was like he was in a fog. His body felt heavy yet also strangely light at the same time. Time seemed to stand still, but as soon as the fog came it left. Izuku blinked back to the present to find a blushing Shinsou staring at him, hiding slightly behind the hand on his face.
"Please stop complimenting my Quirk," Shinsou pleaded. "I'm not used to it."
"S-sorry!" Izuku squeaked, blushing in embarrassment. "Was that your Quirk just now?"
"Yeah, I found a new use for it by the way," Shinsou said, pulling his hand away from his face. Izuku looked at him curiously and the purple haired boy started to smirk. "It's perfect for stopping your fanboy rambling."
The greenet swatted at the other playfully. They continue on their way to the train station, chatting about Heroes and what not. Before going their separate ways, the pair exchanged phone numbers to keep in touch. With a last wave, they went to their respective platforms. Izuku spent the night telling his mom all about the exams and that he made a new friend.
...
Blog name: ja0-s-blank-canvas-fic
Notes extension: post/626547971471917056/chapter-8-entrance-exam-practical