Chapter 1: The Big Day
"Are you sure about this?" her voice was calm, but Izuku couldn't help but hear a hint of worry when his mother spoke. He knew she was stressing about this day for a while, but this was something he had to do.
"Yes, I, I need to do this, even if it's just to tell myself that I tried." Standing in the doorway, Izuku Midoriya was dressed in black sweatpants, a matching jacket, and bright red boots. His heart was a little heavy as he lifted the small draw-string bag over his shoulder, brushing through his fuzzy green hair and onto his back. He had heard about the stress of applying to high school from forum posts all over the internet, but this was something else. Applying for one of the most elite, prestigious, and most of all, competitive hero courses in the world, he couldn't help but feel as though he might be in a little over his head.
Of course, his mom felt the same, and even with several tissues in hand, she couldn't stop all the tears from leaking out. Her puffy cheeks were red along with her eyes as she whimpered softly. "Oh honey, It's just that you've w-worked so hard, and n-now today's the day and, well."
"Mom," Izuku said softly, chuckling before he continued, "If you keep up like that, I'm gonna cry too."
"Sorry, sorry. I just, I know how much this means to you," she whipped her eyes again, more tears rolling out as she did. "Go get it. Show the world what you're made of!"
His mother's determined smile reached Izuku, and after a brief pause, he reached out, and the two embraced into a great hug. They stood in the apartment hallway for a while before the young boy broke away and practically threw open the door. A cool wave of air filled his lungs as he looked back at his mother with a moxie grin.
"Wish me luck!"
"Go get 'em, Izuku!" At the end of his mother's words, he took off down the platform and several flights of stairs before reaching ground level. His pace quickened as he sped down the road and towards his destination.
'Today is going to be the day,' he thought. 'Today is going to be the day I become a hero.'
Living in a super hero society had many differences from one without. Granted, people fantasised about these sorts of things in comics and movies for decades, but it was always special when someone had a superpower, or quirk, of their own. Normally a world would have one hero and one villain with powers, with a sidekick thrown in there for comedic effect. What those types of media didn't predict was that eighty percent of all people would have quirks of their own, and in reality, it was much more special if someone was quirkless and lived without any special trait of their own.
Of course, when the majority of people had quirks like fire breath or lazer eyes, being quirkless felt less of a gift, and more of a disability. Most jobs in the current market almost expected people to have quirks, and would specialize their trades with peoples who's quirks best suited their needs. Firefighters would hire those with water based quirks, loggers would have people with cutting and transport quirks. Even professions like janitors or fast food employees would be occupied individuals with quirks that helped them perform better than a normal human.
In many ways, being quirkless was treated like a disease; a birth defect that can't be cured. Of course Izuku knew not to let it get to him. Even if every billboard either promoted some new quirkbased item, or some service to help those 'unfortunate enough' to be born quirkless. Even on his way to apply to his dream school, he couldn't help but feel like the 'quirkless help hotline' was mocking him for the conditions of his birth.
The ironic part of it all was that most people's quirks left them the same as someone without a quirk. His mom had telekinesis, but it could only be used on small items like spoons and toys. Even then having a tame quirk was better than one who actively debilitated them. He heard of one girl back in gradeschool who was forced to take homeschooling because in kindergarten her quirk manifested and gave her the ability to walk in shadows, but only in shadows. She couldn't stay in anything brighter than a dimly lit bunker. 'No amount of quirklessness could be worse than that.' Izuku thought to himself
Most competitive professions were restricted to those who had quirks without large drawbacks, and this applied to heroics especially so. Everyone wanted to become a pro hero, to fight crime, stop bad guys, and look cool doing it. A while ago an idea like that would have appeared farfetched, but now, it was the dream profession. Good wages, publicity, the fact that you were a superhero! What more could someone want.
Most of society ended up revolving around these heroes. Gone were the days of baseball cards or westen movies. People would rather dress up as the newest pro-hero than as some old kaiju monster. Even school's started popping up for the profession. Teaching young and old alike the ins and outs of what it takes to be a pro hero. Out of all of the schools however, none were more prestigious than U.A. The greatest hero academy in the world. Known for bringing out the best in people's quirks better and faster than anywhere else.
"So what is some quirkless runt like you doing here?" A sharp growl startled the green haired boy. Izuku had been so lost in thought he didn't even realise where he was, or that he was being talked to.
"Huh?" Looking around, he saw that a variety of young kids were walking around him. The busy streets had changed into a forested pathway, with a heavy crowd slowly making their way forward. There were so many people in fact Izuku didn't realise where the voice he heard came from. "Who said that?"
"Me dipshit."
The affirmation was all the boy needed to spin on his heels and face his adresser head on. His confidence had all but faded, and in its place was pure fear. In front of Izuku was a taller, angrier, and overall scarier blond boy slouching in an agitated posture. His eyes were sharp, hair shaped into several sharp points, and most of all a smile only a mother could love. He was wearing a white dress shirt, untucked, with blue khaki pants. The boy's stance was that of a predator ready to pounce, only held back by the fact that it would be too much effort to make a scene. Out of all the people Izuku could have seen here, he was the worst.
"Kachan! I didn't see you there, s-sorry, must have gotten lost in th-"
"Can it trash bag. If I wanted to talk with some loser I wouldn't have come all the way out here to do it. Plus I know where you live so it's not like I needed to look around anyways." His tone was sharp and brutal. It made the fuzzy haired boy feel weak.
"That's not very nice Kachan," Izuku said with a whimper.
"And what have I said about calling me that shitty nickname huh Deku?"
"Sorry! Bakugou. Yeah, but I-I mean you call me Deku so I just think it would be fine if I used your nickname as well. I m-mean we've talked about it before, and I just… you know."
"Ok, yeah, the difference here is that Deku is accurate to how much of a sad pathetic extra you are, and the name you give me was made by you, so it's inherently flawed."
Izuku didn't do anything. Instead just letting the words hit him like a truck, hoping things would just blow over.
Backugo let out a heavy sigh before continuing. "Just don't get in my way Deku, wouldn't want to get yourself hurt playing a game you can't play in." The feisty blond marched past and brushed shoulders against Izuku before disappearing past him, leaving him standing alone in defeat.
He wasn't entirely wrong. Even if U.A. had started to allow quirkless students to apply to all of their programs, no kid without an impressive quirk has ever even attempted to get into the hero program, and only a few quirkless kids have been accepted to U.A at all. It was just improbable. Nigh impossible.
Out of humor, he decided to look up. Izuku hadn't noticed, but he was just outside of U.A,'s front gate. Two large metal roman letters in golden paint sparkled in the sun's light. Despite the odds, the sight filled him with hope.
'You know what?' Izuku proclaimed to himself. 'Space travel was impossible until someone did it, and two simple tests is no rocket science, so what do I have to worry about.' the confidence in his heart began to grow, and the light in his eyes started to sparkle again. 'All I have to do is take one step, and I will be making history. No one can stop me now.'
His left foot moved forward, only to jam itself against his back leg. In mere moments all of the momentum he built up was fleeting as he plummeted face first into the asphalt. With a hard smack, and a light bruise on his forehead, his first step to the world of heroics was a faceplant of epic proportions.
'Today is the day huh.' A small part of him wanted to cry. 'This is going to be one long day.'
'This can't be right.' After recovering mentally from his fall, Izuku entered the testing facility and collected a card from an unenthusiastic lizard eyed girl that validated his entry into the exam. It didn't take long for him and a large collection of other students to be sent off to a separate room to take the academic portion of the test. His best prediction was that they were in an old classroom that had been renovated specifically for the test, but the atmosphere created by both the test administrators and the students themselves created a palpable tension that gave the place a haunting feeling.
The administrator, a lanky long faced middle aged man with green skin and an orange unibrow, watched each student with a keen eye. From what Izuku could gather, the man focused primarily on any student in the room who was marked with some level of mental quirk. As forward thinking as U.A. was, they still didn't allow quirk usage during their academic exams. It gave the green haired boy a bit of a relief, as the small 'quirkless' mark on his testing card made him less of a target.
What did get on his nerves was the frequency of what he could only describe as 'stress noises' from his peers. Every other question he answered another student sighed in frustration, fear, stress, or some evil combination of the three. The issue was that none of the questions he found all too difficult. Even the higher level problems designed to stump the academically gifted felt simpler than basic algebra.
Though, to his peers' credit, rather than spending their free time working with their quirks, Midoriya worked on his academic skills consistently. Without a quirk to work with or a proper place for training, all Izuku could work on in the fitness front was some basic cardio. He tried to apply for a gym several months ago, but that option he quickly wrote off. He could run like hell and swing a stick around, but aside from that his best shot at getting accepted was through his academic skills.
However, he would need to perform well in the heroics test if he had any shot of getting into the actual department he wanted. That reality became very clear after he was the first one in the room to turn in his test, and get whisked off to a large auditorium in a separate building on U.A.'s campus.
Upon walking into the dark room, Izuku quickly noticed a few students had already beaten him to the punch. The sea of chairs spread out far in both directions, with a wooden stage placed at the bottom center of the room. A dark screen that would put sports stadiums to shame rested on the wall behind the stage, powered off but ready for use. It felt like a movie theater on steroids, and aside from a handful of students in the room, the building was practically empty.
At first he figured he could just sit wherever he wanted, but after referencing his testing card again he realised that out of the thousands of seats in the room, only one was assigned to him. After a bit of fumbling around in the dark, eventually Izuku found the section he was assigned. Then the row. Finally, and with a great sense of poetic injustice, the young boy found his seat adjacent to the feisty blond who had ridiculed him just hours before.
"K-Kachan?"
"You have got to be kidding me."
The sharp response startled the boy. Rather than reply immediately, Izuku looked back at his card, only to affirm reality. Instead of replying, he sat down in his seat, luckily with little resistance. The room was quiet. Izuku could hear a few slight murmurs from kids who were lucky enough to be placed next to each other. The occasional sneeze and cough would echo about the empty room, but otherwise the only thing Izuku really noticed was the light but feverish toe tapping that came from his friend.
"There's a lot of seats here huh, makes you wonder how we ended up next to each other right?" No response. Normally Izuku would have given up at this point, but the slow rate of people entering the room seemed to edge on his boredom. "Guess the test was harder for everyone else?"
"Bah," Bakugouu blurted out, just barely keeping his volume low enough to avoid an awkward echo. "That pathetic waste of time was easier than the stuff in the dump we call our 'school.'" The added emphasis on the end reeked of disdain. "Anyone still stupid enough to still be working on that shit isn't qualified to even be here."
At the same time, another student made their way to their seat a few rows ahead of them. The boy was tall and was shaped like a brick to the point his shoulders couldn't be straighter if they wanted to. That same boy looked up at the two with a stern gaze and made a shushing gesture with his hand and mouth. Izuku meeped back into silence while Bakugou let out a low growl before slouching back into his chair.
To make matters worse, the rate at which people entered the grand hall was steadily increasing. Soon enough the room had more filled seats than empty ones. Not too soon after that the seats next to the two boys also started filling up as well. Eventually they were sandwiched by two larger but unrecognisable students on both sides. Neither one spoke afterwards. Somehow it was even more awkward now that there were people in the room then when it was empty.
Fortunately, neither had to wait that long. Once the tests allotted time finished a large wave of kids entered the assembly hall and filled in the remaining seats. The once timid mumble of the room grew into an echoey chatter. Most kids kept to themselves, but naturally some of them were pretty chatty, and those particular cases ended up making up the majority of the noise.
After ten minutes of irritating noise, a figure obscured by darkness slowly walked onto the stage from a set of curtned that lined each side. Some of the chatter died down, but for the most part people didn't notice. For Izuku, each footstep rang like a church bell, even if he couldn't tell who the shadow figure was. Despite being quirkless, the green haired boy was naturally curious about quirks to the point of obsession. That curiosity led to him opening up his backpack that he placed by his feet. After rummaging around for a brief moment, Izuku pulled out a weathered notebook with the number thirteen on it.
"You shitting me? You still keep the thing around Deku?" Izuku jumped as his companion finally spoke up.
"Yes I do." Izuku didn't bother looking at Bakugou, instead focused on flipping through several pages of notebooks.
"Really? The stupid test pricks won't let you take gum into the testing facility, what makes you think they'll let you bring your little hero cheat sheet with ya?"
"I wasn't planning on it."
"Did they feel bad because you're quirkless so they gave you an advantage against the rest of us?"
"No!" he shot back, showing clear agitation to his provokers words, "I wrote down all of the known pro heroes that work at U.A. in my notes, and I was wondering if I'd be able to see any of them in person."
"What, so you think that bum down there is some hero?"
"Yes." Izuku now glanced up and down, failing to match the character's silhouette from one of his journal entries.
"Hah! Like that would ever happen. What hero would waste their time giving a bunch of extras a speech about a test they'll inevitably fail? The coot must like the sound of his own voice a hell of a lot to be here."
"Are you ready!" A booming voice filled sea of bleachers, as a twin set of stage lights beamed on and illuminated the speaker. A flashy man in a black flannel and leather outfit, a pair of tacky sunglasses, and a blond mohawk that shot upwards like a boat sail stood in the center of the stage with his arms open in a heroic pose.
The energetic response was met with confusion, bewilderment, and most importantly silence from the crowd. The audience was more dumbfounded than amazed.
"Ah geez, talk about a tough crowd." The man began scratching at his head, projecting his disappointment around the room. He then turned around and noticed that the large overhead display was in fact, off.
"Oh," the sound of shock was noticeable in his voice, "Well who forgot to turn on the video?" With two claps with his hands the display shot on, illuminating the audience with a close up view of the presenter. "Alright, now that's out of the way, Are you Ready!"
With even more raw enthusiasm, the presenter reiterated themselves, this time with the crowd eagerly matching his tone.
"Oh my, it's President Mic!"
"You have got to be kidding me."
"I was right Kachan! I have him in my notes right here!" Izuku held up his book to Bakugou, opened up to a page with several brief scribbles about both the man's quirk, and a sketchy drawing of the manon the stage. The picture, while crude, was pretty close to the Mic's actual appearance, including some smaller details that couldn't be seen from farther away, like the pair of headphones on his head, along with a speaker mounted to his neck that gave his quirk enhanced voice an added punch.
"If you don't shut up Deku, I'll finish what I started and burn that book to ashes." With that, Izuku retreated back to his seat and hid his book away, fearing the threat to be true.
Unaware of the two's quarreling far into the auditorium, President Mic continued his speech. "Alright! Welcome all to the second and final part of your U.A. application exam, the combat trial!" The crowd cheered, and while most students seemed to jump at this opportunity, Izuku couldn't help but sink back into his chair. Rather than whimper, he quieted down to hear what was going to be said, watching the screen closely as it gave flashed simple images in reference to what Mic was saying.
"For this test, each of you will be placed in an environment akin to the cityscape which most hero's call home. In these arenas, you will have ten minutes to run around and collect points. These points, along with how you perform and conduct yourselves during the exam, are what our faculty will assess you on and will help determine your testing results. Naturally, you are all probably wondering what are these points, and how you get them. Well I'll tell you, all you gotta do is destroy some epic deadly killer robots!"
With a dynamic pose, President Mic's screen flashed and transformed into a graph with four distinct robot silhouettes, each with a corresponding number on them. Izuku gulped, while Bakugou smirked with glee.
"Each of these three specially designed robots created by this wonderful institution will have a number placed on an easily readable position of the robot's body. By destroying these robots, and I do mean destroy, you will then add that number of points to your total. Be fast because once these suckers are gone, there aren't any other ways of earning points!"
The room started to die down, only for Mic to throw in one more remark. "Also, for legal reasons, these robots are made and programmed to be unable to kill you. That doesn't mean they will sit still though, and expect the big point ones to put up a fight! Ow, I'm already excited! Any questions?"
The quietness once again crept in, however Izuku took the time to think. 'So we'll all be competing against each other over the number of points. It's unlikely that we will all be in the same arena, but that still means that I'll have to outpace other people in terms of point accumulation. The issue is that without a quirk I'm at a severe disadvantage. On top of that there's the issue that students might try to target each other, once again throwing another roadblock in my way. I could try and go for some of the smaller point robots as they'll probably be the easiest to fight, but others might have the same idea. It might be wise to either focus on the mid range robots, or separate myself from the rest of the group and find targets that can't be seen.'
"Yo shitface" Bakugou's voice made the boy jump once again. His head spinning like a top towards his chairmate.
"W-What?"
"You're mumbling again Deku, close that trap of yours before I tape it shut." It just occurred to him that instead of thinking, Izuku was mumbling all of his thoughts out loud. It wasn't uncommon for him, but doing it now with so many people around felt much worse.
"Excuse me sir," the room was still dark, but Izuku recognized the hand that rose to be the one from the boy that shushed him and Bakugou earlier. His voice was very direct, and held a strong sense of authority to it.
"Yes! What's your question?" With the speaker's approval, the boy shot upwards in a way that was almost robotic. The kids next to him seemed to jump from the sudden movement, and even Bakugou was slightly fazed.
"I have two things. One," and to Izuku's discomfort, the boy spun on his heels and pointed directly at him. "You are being very loud with your talking and are distracting everyone else. Please keep quiet and considerate of everyone else." The boy turned once again, leaving Izuku in a flushed, embarrassed, and deflated state. Most of the kids nearby let out a laugh or two, and if he didn't know any better, Izuku could have heard a slight chuckle from his right. "Secondly, on the display you have shown four robots, but you said there will only be three. Is there some kind of discrepancy in the presentation, or in your speech?"
"Good thing you mentioned it! Although a little politeness would have been nice," with the snap of his finger, Mic's presentation slide changed to isolate the one robot silhouette with a zero attached. It was bulkier in build, more like a wall than a robot, but its size and shape was hard to determine without any reference point. "Along with the main three robots there are additional dummy robots, decoys if you will. While these robots will try to get in your way, going after them will not give you points. If you want my advice, I say avoid these, as they aren't too fast and will only waste time."
"Thank you sir," and the sturdy boy sat back down after a quick but low bow.
After a long period of silence, President Mic opened his arms as he addressed the crowd one final time. "Alright, now if that is everything, once you leave the building, there will be several buses ready to transport you to your testing location. Get on the bus with the same letter as the one on your card. Now, I will leave you with our school montra as you get ready to fight some epic deadly robots!"
In one simultaneous cheer, the room exploded into one loud scream. "Plus Ultra!" Upon completion, the stage lights dimmed, the monitor switched off, and Mic disappeared behind the same curtains that he came out from. Everyone else began making their way towards the many doorways that they came in through.
Everyone except Izuku.
As everyone made their way to the bus's, he let himself fall back into his own thoughts. The only moment he broke his concentration was when he was called to get onto bus "H." He didn't know how many facilities there were, but the fact that they had at least eight of them was shocking to say the least. Afterwards he went back into his own head.
Fortunately U.A.'s campus was several acres so going anywhere took a while, giving Izuku plenty of planning time. Plus his not so subtle mumbling made people stay away from his seat giving some much appreciated space. Unfortunately he kept on reaching the conclusion that he was probably underqualified for this exam. This test was designed to weed out the weak, and on a good day he could do five pushups in a row. He could run but being a half decent sprinter wouldn't get him any pity points. If the robots really were as tough as President Mic was making them out to be then he was toast.
'I'm screwed!' he screamed internally. 'I can't stick up for myself against other people, how am I supposed to destroy a robot?'
With a sudden jolt, the bus stopped moving. Glancing out of the window was a large concrete wall at least several meters high with a white paint spelling "Arena H" in Japanese kanji. The bus doors swung open, and Izuku's worries transformed into a full blown panic attack. He knew what was waiting for him outside of the bus, and the thought alone was enough of a reason to say on.
'Maybe I can just stay here,' he mumbled, moving his legs into his chest. A primal fear isolated the boy, and the world slowly started to drown around him. 'Maybe I should have just stayed home. What can a quirkless kid like me do anyways, I don't belong here.'
'I don't belong anywhere...'
"Hey, are you ok?"
A soft voice snapped Izuku out of his trance. At first he thought he was imagining things, but upon turning towards the aisle, his eyes drifted upon a girl with a face of curiosity and concern. Her large brown eyes seemed fixated on him. Puffy brown shoulder-length hair curved in toward her head, with twin bangs on each side of her head giving her face a round shape. Her cheeks had a pink blush, and her upper eyebrows were more pronounced than most. Clothing wise a navy coat covered most of her upper physique, while a pair of dark leggings hinted at a thinner body type. She was also wearing a pair of light grey gloves, despite the weather not really requiring them.
After blinking a few times, Izuku realised that yes, there was a girl standing in front of him. Most people never bothered speaking to him growing up, and the fact was only emphasised in reference to the opposite gender. 'What does she want? Did I do something? I should probably say something, she'll probably get mad otherwise.'
He planned to say something polite, or anything really, but all that seemed to come out of Izuku's mouth was a squeaky "What?"
"Everyone else is getting off of the bus," she spoke with kindness, and accuracy, as they were the only two left on the bus at that point. "But you're still here so I was wondering if something was wrong."
"N-no, I'm fine. I'm just, just a little nervous you know." his head dropped down into a slouch, and a deep frown began to form.
"Well of course, everyone is."
'Not everyone is.' He thought to himself, being extra careful not to let his mouth slip.
"But that doesn't mean you can't give it a shot right? I mean, what's the worst they're really gonna do, we're kids, and besides, even if it doesn't go well at least you can say you gave it your all."
Izuku turned back towards the girl, this time with an infectious grin on her bubbly face, and he couldn't help but feel a smile of his own form. Something about her just seemed special.
"Yeah," he got up, leaving his backpack on his seat for after the testing, "thanks, I should be good now."
"Great! Well, good luck!" and without a second thought, she skipped off of the bus.
'Wow,' he mumbled. 'I really should have asked for her name.' Not too long after, and fearful of wasting his chance, Izuku stepped off of the bus onto a dirt patch that stretched in every direction. A large door that rose all the way up the wall gave the testing facility an intimidating presence, not that anyone cared. Most of the kids were performing some kind of stretch routine or preparing themselves in some way. After a quick look around, he couldn't find the girl anywhere, but Izuku did pick out the taller boy who called him out for mumbling during the speech. Now that he was finally in the view of daylight, Izuku noticed that the boy had dim blue hair slicked back out of the way. He wore rectangular glasses, and was wearing a simple track uniform with holes cut in the bottom where exhaust pipes extruded from his calves.
'Are you kidding me, he's in this group too?' Luckily, nobody really seemed to care about Izuku, or at the very least not enough to pay attention at the moment. 'I should probably stay back, wouldn't want to get in anyone's way. I'll just wait till the doors open up before I head in.'
"Which one of you here is Izuku Midoriya?"
Hearing his name get called, both he and some of the nearby students turned to face the bus driver who had a piece of paper in one hand and a crowbar in the other. The man himself didn't have any special features aside from looking like a shady business man with a scratchy beard and a beanie on his head, but his demeanor and tone sent a shiver down Izuku's spine, who reluctantly raised his hand.
"M-Me, sir." The man walked up to the boy and shoved the metal tool into his chest, pushing all of the air out of him in the process.
"Here, you get to use this during the exam. Don't forget to return it or else you'll be charged with a five thousand yen fine."
After catching his breath, Izuku held the crowbar in his hands for a second, taking in what happened. It suddenly dawned on him that he must have gotten some form of quirkless compensation to help level the playing field ever so slightly. He wasn't sure how he felt about the whole endeavor, but the other kids didn't have such mixed feelings.
"Woah there pops," yelled a taller teen with a pair of deer antlers on their head. "Why does this kid get special treatment?"
"Yeah, that is not fair at all." Another gripe was sent from a different student, this time from a girl with fish gills on her neck.
The older man didn't respond immediately, instead looking back down at the paper in his hand before refueling. "Combat trial rule number seventeen, section a, subsection ii. All quirkless participants will be provided with a U.A. issued tool to help give all potential students a fair chance at showing off their natural skills."
"What?"
"You've got to be kidding me."
"Since when did quirkless kids start getting special treatment."
"Kid can't fight without a handout, that's depressing"
The angry quips from his piers made Izuku wince, and despite how he felt about the whole situation, he didn't make up the rules, and in all fairness he needed all the help he could get.
"Well why don't we just take it from him." The boy then froze. Some large teen with a bull mutation quirk moved closer towards Izuku, easily towering over his scrawny body. "He doesn't look so tough, and if he's quirkless he probably wouldn't put up much of a fight."
"No, that is improper." The boy from the auditorium moved in between the two, making the bull kid hesitate while Izuku nearly fainted from the panic relief. "We should focus on demonstrating our skills during the test and not on interfering with each other. That would be both unbecoming of U.A. Students, but of potential hero's as well."
The bull man looked ready to break Midoriya's blue haired defender, but stopped after the bus driver spoke up once again. "Combat trial rule number seventeen, section a, subsection iii. Any student that attempts to take a U.A. provided item, trap or attack another student, or any other attempt to interfere with another participant will have all points removed and be disqualified from the exam." The man almost smirked at the bull kid as he stomped off back towards the rest of the crowd, with the others following suit.
"Phew," Izuku sighed, "thanks man, I thought for sure he was gonna pounce on me."
"No, there is no need to thank me. I am merely trying to ensure everyone here has equal opportunities to perform well today. I should also warn you not to use that weapon against anyone else. It would be very unbecoming with you." Without a word, and for the second time within the last few minutes, the person speaking with Izuku walked off. Once again without Izuku leaning their name.
'Ugh, when will this day end.'
"And test group 'G' is off!" An enthusiastic voice cheered in the darkness.
Far off from the testing facilities, a small group of people had gathered inside of an underground room filled with desks, recording equipment, microphones, and monitor after monitor attached to the large back wall. Each screen had a letter in the bottom corner and focused on key positions where the robots and students met most frequently. Some screens were still empty, but groups 'A' and 'B' had already finished the exam, with the recordings showing the crowd gathering together and making their way towards the exit.
One large central monitor, four times the size of its neighboring ones, gathered the most attention, as it focused on student's who showed high promis during their exams. The majority of the time however, it was fixated on one participant in general.
"This one kid shows high promis. Not only is his quirk powerful, but his control is quite refined as well." A voice said from the shadows, gesturing towards the main monitor.
"His point total shows, sixty points already, and still with a few minutes to go. The kid might break the record if his pace keeps up."
"Yes, but he might lose some points as well. His actions are reckless, and has put several students in risky situations because of them."
"Of course." A squeaky voice chirped from the back of the room. "If anything it shows what potential he has as a hero. None of our students have ever entered in as perfect heroes, as such we should assess them accordingly. I suggest we look at some of the other participants, as there are many other great potential on display. As mentioned, I suggest we look towards group 'G'."
"Um actually," Another weaker voice broke through the busy room. "I was wondering if we could take a look at group 'H' for a moment."
At first, an awkward silence fell over the room, but not too long after a keyboard clicked away in the darkness. The large screen flashed to show an overhead view of the kids standing outside of the testing facilities walls. A large cluster stood directly next to the door, with one straggler sitting next to the bus.
"They haven't gone yet," A voice mumbled. "Is there someone we should look out for."
Another more femenin voice joined in on the conversation as well. "Is that a crowbar?"
"Wait, we actually have a quirkless kid taking the test? What program are they applying for."
The original voice who asked to see the group responded with confidence. "He's trying for the heroics program." The monitor flashed again, this time focusing in on the green haired boy.
"Heroic's?! I know we've removed the quirk requirement but our tests are designed to give even pros a run for their money. Plus my speech didn't really give them much information as to the nature of the tests. Hell I even left out a few things. If he's not careful he might die in there!"
"Perhaps." A low grumble from the end of the room pierced the room's tension. Everyone's heads turned after hearing their colleagues voice for the first time since he entered the room. "However the fact that he has attempted something that many have simply given up on should not be disregarded." There was a long pause before he continued. "I want to keep an eye on him, see what he does. Something tells me there's more to this kid than we are giving credit for."
A light beep came from another monitor, and the squeaky voice chirped up again. "Yes indeed. His name is Izuku Midoriya. He actually goes to the same school as the high point student in group 'C'." The room went silent, eyes glued to the main monitor. "Not to mention there are many high profile students in this group, including one of the Ida boy's. I suggest we give this group our attention. I have a feeling we might have some potential candidates here."
One member has his eyes on Izuku closely, mumbling under his breath in anxiety. 'Come on Midoriya.'
Nobody bothered Izuku afterwards. Their group organiser made it quite clear what would happen if they did. Most just stood around and waited for the door to open. Midoriya on the other hand stayed near the bus driver. The longer they were all there, the more anticipatory everyone got as to when the test would finally begin.
Izuku, already dealing with the anticipation quite poorly, was almost chopping at the bit. 'When will this test start?' He thought to himself 'Does this guy even know?'
"Um, excuse me?"
"What?" the man was as disinterested as ever.
"W-When exactly is the test starting." A few extra heads turned towards the driver in sync with his question.
"Oh, right. One second." The man went into the bus and returned with a small duffel bag in hand. He unzipped the top and grabbed an airhorn in one hand and took what Izuku thought to be a TV remote in the other. With the flip of a switch, the doors opened with a crawl. The metal moaned and the hinges ached. Everyone's attention was now fixated on the doors, and the large endless city landscape inside was revealed. It looked like a city that one would find in an old American superhero movie. The eerie part was that there were no people, cars, lights, or anything. Rows and rows of endless buildings, but most importantly there were no robots in sight.
"And have fun." The airhorn accompanied his unenthusiastic announcement with a squeaky yet booming yell.
Once Izuku finally dared to move his hands from the sides of his head, he realised that everyone else was already off to the races. The crowd of kids was moving into the arena with great speed. Out of fear of being left behind, Izuku dashed towards the arena with as much force he could muster. The main group was moving like one collective bob of superpowered jello. Looking over the crowd a few robots started to enter the main street they were all on. However, rather than following the rest of them, Izuku took a sharp right, separating himself from everyone else.
'If they are all competing for the same points, they'll just run out of robots to destroy.' His legs carried him farther and farther into the arena. Rows of empty concrete buildings lined the barren streets, and the longer he went the more confused he became.
'There are other robot's right? I only saw a few near the start, there should be more.' He ended up skipping to a stop in a large intersection to catch his breath. Faint sounds of explosions and metal clangs echoed around him, but he could tell they were far away, closer towards the center of the arena. He didn't want to run that way, as it was highly likely he would be outcompeted by his more powerful piers. However, that brought up the question.
"There are robots outside of the center, right?" As his plan started to falter, a small humming of an electric motor moved towards his left. His head snapped to the origin of the sound, eyes lighting up with joy. A small white boxy robot with a display on its main chassis rolled in on one large unicycle type wheel. The display had a digital pair of eyes that gave the mechanical creature a nervous personality. Another thing Izuku easily picked up on was the black number one inscribed on the back of the robot.
"A runner," He mumbled to himself. His best guess is that it was designed to imitate the more cowardly villains, or the ones that try to hide in the shadows and sneak up on unsuspecting victims. However, with no visible arms, it was likely the first option was the correct one. "As good a start as any."
His hands clenched tightly around the cold metal crowbar, and without a second thought the young boy gave chase to the tiny robot. The display flashed to one of panic, and the robot spun around and sped off in the other direction. The small plucky metal box moved fast, but months of training began to pay off. Izuku quickly closed the distance, and took a wide overhead swing at the robot. The metal chassis bent like butter, with sparks, nuts, and bolts jumping out of the glorified punching bag.
However, the robot didn't stop. It spun to the left into a dark alleyway made up of two identical looking skyscrapers, clumsily slamming against the walls like a ping pong ball. Not wanting to tempt fate, or his score count, Izuku chased after it. Not too long after, both he and the robot stopped in a clearing, now with the sounds of battle echoing even closer.
While Izuku was still in good shape, aside from being winded, the robot started to short circuit while letting out a flurry of electronic beeps. With a large spark, the single wheel stiffened and the bot fell on its face. As the metal cube made more and more stressful sounds, Izuku closed in, and with a single swing of his weapon split the robot in two. One last beep mellowed out into a fizzling pop as the life drained from the robot.
"Alright, one down." As the sounds of fighting edged on in the background, it just became apparent how much effort he put in to get one measly point. He leaned over with his hands on his knees catching his breath, wondering which way he should go.
It was then, when a large metallic buzz started to stir behind him. A robotic moan roared to life behind him, grabbing the boy's attention in a frazzled state. One moment there was a large brick wall in sight, the next it was gone.
A titanic robot several meters high burst through the wall with a bulky arm and fist. Large plates of armor lined the edges of the robot, and even from a glance the metal was of a much higher quality than the little tyke he just dealt with. Wires and computer chips were visible near some of the bots joints, but they weren't easily accessible. The most concerning part with the small dome shaped head with beady eyes darting back and forth between him and the destroyed robot. A large red three was visible on the beast's broad chest plate, and it didn't take much imagination to guess what this robot was trying to emulate.
"Oh shoot!" Izuku barely had time to plan or even react to the metal monstrosity before a large mace-like appendage swing towards him. With a desperate dodge, Izuku lunged out of the way of the spiked ball that broke into the deep concrete. Dust flew around as the robot's eyes zoned in on him.
'I can't fight this! maybe if i-' His thoughts were easily swayed as the robot ripped the metal arm out of the ground, tearing it through a thick brick wall, before setting it by its side. 'Nope. definitely not.' And with that, he took off in the other direction.
As he ran down the alleyway, Izuku heard noises from both ahead of him and behind. The mechanical terror ripping through layers of concrete and sediment to get to him sent terror down his spine. Meanwhile, the growing volume of the action in the center of the arena didn't make for an enticing destination either. With little choice in the matter, Izuku kept running forward while trying to keep as much of a gap between him and his aggressor as possible. Eventually a beam of light indicated the end of the ally. With every fiber in his being screaming in pain, he dashed for what he could only hope to be safety.
"Duck!" Within mear moments of escaping the alleyway another voice caught him off guard. This time however Izuku's legs went limp and his arm wrapped around his face as he fell to the ground. A beam of light flashed over him, followed quickly by a large explosion that scattered parts of what he could only imagine was the robot that was giving chase.
Upon looking up, he came face to face with a forign looking kid with smooth blond hair in a striking pose. "Thanks, misure~, you brought those points right to me. I might be able to get fourty before the test even ends!"
"Fourty!?"
"Well, I can't be wasting time. Au revoir." The boy almost twirled away as Izuku was left dumbfounded on the ground.
"How are they already almost at forty?" Another large explosion shook the ground, and another one was sent off only a few meters away. Once Izuku got back onto his feet, with all things considered, his situation was just as bad as it was before
The area around him was a war zone. Buildings smashed, roads ripped up; he couldn't even tell where the sidewalk started or ended. All the while robot parts were thrown and scattered around to and fro. The only movement he saw were the other kids running around smashing any machine that dared to move. Quirks were being used left and right, all of which Izuku had never seen before, but by being an active participant in the chaos, everything felt so intense.
It also didn't help that everyone felt the unnecessary need to announce their rapidly escalating point total after every robot destruction.
"Thirteen!"
"Forty two!"
"Twenty nine."
"Fifty!"
As the chaos ensued, Izuku slowly became more and more disoriented. Everyone seemed to race around him, taking down robot after robot. The world seemed to slow to a halt around him, and for a moment he just felt like giving up entirely. At least for a moment.
Within seconds, the hectic action of fighting stopped. For the first time since the exam started, there were no robots to be found. An eerie silence fell over the crowd, broken when a large tremor spread through the area. At first people started thinking there was an earthquake, as Japan was known for them, but something felt off. Another tremor occurred, this time much stronger and longer lasting. It felt like the ground was crumbling beneath them. Izuku's legs gave way as he dropped down onto the ground. With nothing to protect himself, he shielded his neck with the crowbar given to him, hoping that whatever was happening would soon pass.
It didn't. In fact the energy coursing through the earth kept rising and rising until it came to a head. A large crash erupted from the ground. Izuku didn't bother risking a look, but he could tell buildings were being leveled and concrete was flying everywhere. Screamed were mixed in with glass shattering and the sickening bend of metal beams and rebar.
Just as soon as they came, the tremors ended, but the screams kept coming.
"Oh my god!"
"What is that thing?!"
"They can't be serious!"
The screams of panic gave Izuku an instinctive urge to peek through his arms, and what he saw shocked him to his core. In front of him, even with dust still hanging in the air, where buildings and a large open street once stood, was replaced by a giant crater. In that crater was something even more shocking. Higher than any skyscraper he had ever seen was a titanic, metallic beast that put even the greatest of heroes to shame. The robot didn't have legs, but instead one large pair of treads that was built to sustain the machine's weight. It had arms that could level entire city blocks if it chose to do so. Worst of all, on the machine's large black metal chestplate was a white number zero bolted on with solid titanium.
"That's the Dummy!" Izuku couldn't help but scream, as did everyone else. Still prone on the ground, everyone else dashed away fearing for their lives against the metallic beast. Even the young blue haired boy who stuck for Izuku at the bus was speeding off in a jet powered sprint.
It was then when the machine had started moving. Its robot motors started to scratch and whine as they spired to life. President Mic may have undersold many things about the robot, but what he was correct about was its speed. The thing was slow, crawling across the ground at a snail's pace. However, that didn't mean it was any less dangerous.
"Nope! I am not getting flattened today." If this was what being a hero was about then Izuku was out. Being flattened wasn't high on the ways he wished to go out, and he wasn't ready to kick the bucket just yet. His feet slipped against the ground as he tried to skietter off. He hadn't made it very far before he heard her voice call out through the fearful chaos.
"Gah!" A voice, a female voice, one that seemed to pierce Izuku's heart, called out through the hazy dust storm. It came from the direction that the mecha robot was coming from. Slowly, as the dust started to settle, a large wall of concrete was ripped up when the mechanical titan erupted from the ground.
His heart stopped, and the air shot out of his chest as he saw someone underneath the towering pile of ruble. Her legs were trapped under a large slab of concrete. Izuku noticed a faint pink glow around the one piece, which his mind subconsciously predicted was some kind of quirk to lift the rubble. However, there were several additional layers of cement, rocks and other chunks of rubble piled on top of her as well.
'The nice girl. The one from the bus.'
"Help!" A desperate cry of pain and agony ripped through his heart. Something inside of him sparked. A drive he hadn't felt in a long time took over his body, and this time when his legs started to move, they were aimed towards the impending danger.
'What am I doing! This is so stupid, I'm not qualified for this!' His thoughts ran wild as he closed the gap between him and the cement wall. 'Why did everyone have to run away, I'm sure they would be able to help. Why am I doing this? I don't even know her! Oh my god I'm getting closer. What do I say? What do I do! She's stuck under all that rock, I can't even move a shelf how am I supposed to lift that!'
The man didn't have a plan. The omnipotent gigantic robot making its way over to him created an equally large time crunch. Izuku moved on instinct, and with the flick of his wrist he slid the crobar underneath the large pile of rubble.
The brunet, still trying to get her legs out from underneath the rubble, didn't even notice the green haired boy until was trying to lift the cement wall she was trapped under. Her head spun around, eyes wet with painful tears looked up towards Izuku with shock and horror.
"You!" The boy from the bus she was on no longer than ten minutes ago was risking his life for her. A total stranger with tears rolling and a shaky smile plastered onto his face was straining himself trying so save someone he didn't even know. "What are you doing! You're gonna get yourself killed! Get out of here!"
"No." His voice was trembling, sweat dripping from his brow, but he spoke with determination. "I can't, you're in trouble, and I need to help!" Suddenly without warning, the boy pushed his full body on the edge of the crowbar and lifted the cement pile upwards. It wasn't much, but it was just enough to allow her to slip out from underneath the rubble. As she rolled away, she took her hands, each with a small pink pad on the tip of her fingers, and pressed them together. The glow on the rock disappeared, and as if gravity was reactivated, it dropped to the ground.
The crobar snapped under its newfound weight. Izuku didn't care however, and moved towards the brunette.
"Are you hurt?" The smile on his face began to waver and turn into a concerned frown.
"Ah, my legs." Just looking at them they were in rough shape. The left leg, while scratched up and torn up, was still largely intact. The right was horribly misshapen, with both the knee and ankle bent in ways they shouldn't be in.. Izuku's heart felt like it was pounding out of his chest, and after stealing a glance at the robot, he ignored the burning pain in his lungs and moved closer.
"Grab on!" Both teens reached out and wrapped their arms around each other, and after some minor adjustments, they started hobeling away from the large robot.
"It's still coming!" The girl couldn't help but look back, watching the tank sized treads inch their way towards them. Out of the corner of her eye however caught a bright red glow light up from inside a nearby building. Her arm snapped across their chests and pointed to a window with beady eyes piercing at them. "Watch out!"
Izuku didn't have time to think. All he saw was a large body of mass break through a brick wall with a metallic fist. As it sped towards them, all he had time to do was push the girl out of the way before it hit him.
The girl was thrown to the side as her companion was swatted across the street. The boy slammed against a wall, leaving a visible impression from where his body collided. As he fell to the ground, the brunette eyes watched as the attacking robot moved towards her. It was larger than all of the robots she had fought up until that point. Unlike the others, it was fully enclosed in a heavy metal armor. It was bright red, had legs that crushed the ground beneath them, and a large black skull where a point number should have been. It was so far removed from everything she had seen up until that point that it wasn't even certain if it was still a test anymore.
The robot marched towards her with heavy stomps. Her breath quickened as her hands reached out to the sides. A large slab of dry-wall laid next to her, and with a quick touch of her fingers, the pink glow surrounded the object. She threw it towards the robot as if it were weightless, before it smashed into the robot. At first it seemed like she dealt some damage with it, but aside from a minor dent in the chestplate, it was unphased.
Then from behind, Izuku thrusted the broken end of his crowbar into the robot's leg. While it scrapped against the armor, the jagged end slid in between the metal plates and pierced the inner metal components. Sparks jumped, and a metallic cry came from the head of the demonic robot.
With its movement inpared, the destructive robot spun on its waist and grabbed Izuku with its metal claws. Held high above the ground, the boy began to squirm as air was cut off from his lungs. He couldn't breath, and with each passing moment his vision grew darker.
As the robot strangled the child, another slab of concrete was shot at its back. The robot didn't move, keeping its cold digital eyes on the boy as he grasped out in a fearful panic. Then another, larger slab of rubble was shot into it. This time loosening the metal plate that lined its back. Still it didn't move. Just as Izuku's mind was fading to black, a third and final shot broke through the armor, revealing a large open hole where much of its internal components lay.
The robot retaliated. It threw Izuku back towards the large 'dummy' robot. His screams stopped as his back was slammed against another wall. The robot spun back towards the girl, continuing its death march.
Now after getting the robot's attention, she attempted to crawl away. However, despite both of them having broken legs, the robot was much quicker on its feet. The girl tried to throw more concrete towards it, but the bot smashed all hope by swatting the rubble away before it even landed a hit. After two more attempts at delaying the inevitable, the robot stood atop of her. Crushing her chest with its mobile leg. The air was squeezed out of her lungs, and her head felt cold and heavy. She moved her hand to use her quirk, but the beast had other plans. With a simple adjustment of weight, it threw the brunettes arms back to her side. She moved her arms to her face as the robot winded up a punch, ready to let it fly when every part of the mechanical terror froze up.
The girl peeked through her hands as the screen on its boxy head started to glitch. A high pitched alarm started to emanate from the robot, as it stumbled backwards. As she gasped for air, she watched as the bot twisted and turned, reaching behind as if it were trying to grab something.
And it was. The robot pivoted on its bad leg and faced the other direction. Now with its back visible, she saw the boy thrusting a broken metal pipe into a sea of cables, motors, and pistons. He was being flung around like a ragdoll, flailing to and fro, but he held on. Eventually Izuku started clawing away into the robot, tearing into the robot outside in. As he got closer and closer to the robot's core, its metal body started locking up. However the boy didn't stop. Grabbing the metal pole, he pierced into the robot's motherboard, shutting it down for good.
What Izuku wasn't ready for was the self destruct sequence. Within moments of deactivating the beast, a large electric explosion burst from the robot. Pieces of metal shot outwards lodging themselves into the ground and nearby buildings.
The girl wasn't hit, but she watched helplessly as the boy flew overhead, crashing onto the ground behind her, rolling across a glassed covered highway, only to stop after slamming into a previously destroyed robot.
Izuku felt his body ache all over. His head felt light, and his sight was fading in and out. The world faded into darkness as a desperate scream echoed into his ears, only to be drowned out by a metal buzzer that signaled the end of the test.
'Well, at least I got one point.' His head fell to the floor, and his mind went blank.
Much to his surprise, Izuku wasn't dead. When he finally came to, his chest was wrapped up with several layers of bandages. His body stung as he tried to move, feeling like needles were piercing every inch of his body. Nothing was broken, but he could tell whatever had happened after the blast left him in a sorry state.
He was left in the school's nurse's office, where he had been resting for several hours. The nurse herself was an older lady with a quirk that let her heal any physical injury at the cost of the patient's energy. Without enough energy, she couldn't heal. Once he learned who his nurse was, he instantly felt a little sick to his stomach as once he recognised the famous hero name 'recovery girl,' he remembered that she healed people by kissing them from his notes. Something about the prospect of being kissed repeatedly by an older lady he didn't know didn't sit well.
After answering countless questions from health experts, he was more than ready to go home. At first Izuku thought he was going to have to stay the night after the doctors showed concern when he couldn't remember any specifics of what happened during the test, but they eventually gave in and let him leave.
It took a while to reach the front gates. It was pitch black, and the moon was high in the night sky. His mother was out front talking with both his advisor, along with another pair of parents. He didn't exactly know what happened, but he remembered his mother wrapping her arms around him, smothering his weak body with her larger body mass and a heavy coat. The walk home was long, but largely uneventful. Everything seemed to haze by, and he only realised he was home after he had stepped into his living room.
Izuku's mother offered to cook one of his favorite dinners, but a reluctant reply was all she got before the boy disappeared into his room.
After turning on a standing lamp, his heart sank as he looked around his room filled with hero memorabilia and merchandising. One poster in particular grabbed his attention in the moment, one of his favorite heroes All Might giving a thumbs up with a cheeky grin. The words read 'Anyone can be a hero.' His face naturally tried to copy his idols smile, but he broke into tears not long after.
He cried for a long time. Only stopping when he was too tired to cry any more.
Hey, thanks for reading. I'm not sure if I'm going to publish this or not, but if you are reading this then I guess I did.
This was more of a "in the moment creation" than anything, as I had this idea for a while and figured it would be better to get it onto paper (or digital document) rather than just letting it sit in my head. I always felt that by giving Izuku a quirk the story lost a lot of potential in how people who are born with some kind of medical disability in one way or another are treated as lesser than those who are deemed 'normal.'
As someone with a younger sibling diagnosed with autism, I felt a story where someone who was born with a bad hand can still have dreams, goals and aspirations in life, even if it means to find compromises in those dreams.
If I do continue this story, which is uncertain, I will probably write it as my own version of MHA and use the cannon universe as a basis for my version.
You can probably see that with characters like Bakugou who I toned down in the aggressiveness department slightly. Just slightly.
Anywho, I hope you enjoyed reading, and that you have a good rest of your day. Cheers!