Happy Easter!
Onto the Review Responses:
The Keeper of Worlds: A return reviewer, I love you! Ahem, anyways, I'm glad you're liking it. I must confess I have something else planned though.
Fk306: Thanks!
Onto the chapter:
PinkAlienDnceQueen: Midori you up?
R3dR!0t: I'm up js
PinkAlienDnceQueen: Ik ur up silly
PinkAlienDnceQueen: Midori wake up
PinkAlienDnceQueen: Wake up
PinkAlienDnceQueen: Wake up
PinkAlienDnceQueen: Wake up
R3dR!0t: Wake up
R3dR!0t: Wake up
R3dR!0t: Wake up
Izuku hopped out of the shower and wrapped himself in a towel. He went to the sink and started brushing his teeth, only then taking notice of his phone vibrating in a profusely. Peering at it confusedly, the greenet picked up his phone from the counter and examined it.
34 messages!? What's goi- oh they're spamming me.
Midoriya_9: Was in the shower, sorry about that. How are you both? Excited? Nervous?
R3dR!0t: Pumped up and ready to go!
R3dR!0t: Also the spam was ashido, hijacked my phone
PinkAlienDnceQueen: hehe what can i say :p
R3dR!0t: Anyways, reason why ashido was blowing up all our phones was cause she wanted to know where wed meet up
PinkAlienDnceQueen: yepyep
PinkAlienDnceQueen: We have to meet up before the exam
PinkAlienDnceQueen: But we have to meet up after too
Midoriya_9: I'm all for hanging out, but don't you have to take the train home? I personally know it's a long trip.
R3dR!0t: Nah, we got rooms
PinkAlienDnceQueen: we got hotel rooms
PinkAlienDnceQueen: we leave tomorrow
This was news to him. It made him ponder just how busy the hotel industry could get for UA entrance exams. Thousands apply all across Japan, UA was just that prestigious. Izuku hastily finished changing and rushed downstairs. He fumbled with his phone as he sent a message.
Midoriya_9: let's meet up at the front gates.
Receiving affirmations from both parties, he pocketed his phone and made his way towards Katsuki's residence. He rounded the corner just as the blond was making his way outside. The blond was wearing a jacket and scarf, his gaze on the chilly breath dissipating before him.
"Hey," Izuku greeted, waving his hand.
Katsuki's attention snapped onto the greenet for a second before leaving. The blond walked pass Izuku, and towards the station without a response or acknowledgement. Puzzled, Izuku followed after his friend, catching up and matching his stride.
"Uh, hi? Hey? Hello? You aren't wearing any headphones," Izuku observed in a deadpan.
"Shut up! Listen here Deku, today you're an enemy, an opponent, stop talking to me," Katsuki growled, keeping his eyesight focused in front of him.
"Ohhh, sorry."
Katsuki snapped his head towards the greenet with a fierce glare.
"I mean, not sorry," The greenet winced, correcting himself.
"Damn idiot," The blond mumbled under his breath.
"I mean, it is a shame though, I was going to tell you all about this new Katsudon place we'll be going to," Izuku baited.
He noticed the blond stiffen. Katsuki was many things, but someone capable of ignoring others? That, now that was laughable. Anything could bait the guy into interacting with others. It made Izuku think that Kaachan secretly liked talking to others, he just had a roundabout way of expressing it.
Katsuki remained silent, although his eyebrow was twitching. He was just a push away.
"It has amazing servings too! They're a bit pricey, you sure you can cover the both of u-"
"Shut the fuck up! We are going to that fucking Indian restaurant after I win. I'm going to order the most expensive thing and I'm going to force you to order the spiciest thing on their fucking menu!" The blond erupted.
"Pretty sure that's not what we agreed on…" Izuku replied, finding himself deflating.
Poke the bear, you just had to poke the bear, He thought.
"I'll obliterate you by such a wide margin that your nerd ass will have to compensate."
"You're taking this very seriously," Izuku noted.
"No shit Sherlock. How else are we going to find a legitimate way to compete?" Katsuki asked, finally turning to face his peer.
Izuku conceded the point, nodding his head in agreement, "that's true. I'm looking forward to our competition."
The two eventually got off the train. It was at this point that Izuku realized that nearly their entire trip to UA had gone by in a blur. It made him a bit embarrassed, after all, the two of them were talking loudly, and Kaachan's crude remarks can be more than just distracting.
He'd improve on that, eventually.
The two headed towards the gates. Even from where they stood, they could see the massive glass buildings poking out from over the boundary wall. They were walking in a crowded sidewalk, with applicants of all shapes and sizes mechanically making their way through the gates.
Izuku grabbed his phone and started writing out a message.
Midoriya_9: I'm here. By the front gate, I'm going to go a bit inside, to the left. It's rather crowded.
PinkAlienDnceQueen: Wait up
PinkAlienDnceQueen: Kiri and i are close
PinkAlienDnceQueen: 1min or 2
"Those the extras?" Katsuki asked, his glance falling onto the greenet's phone.
"My friends, yeah, I'm going to wait up for them," Izuku responded.
Katsuki clicked his tongue, "I'm going on ahead."
"You sure? Why don't you stay to greet them?" Izuku suggested.
"Pass. I couldn't care less about nobodies. If they can get even close to my score, I might consider it," the blond brushed off, as he walked ahead.
He raised his hand and waved lazily as he left the greenet by the entrance. Moments later, his blond friend was engulfed by the sea of applicants. Izuku sighed and slouched, yeah that made sense. Kaachan took years to approve of him, and although Kaachan mellowed out considerably, he still held everyone to his ridiculous standards.
Izuku couldn't fret about it for much longer as two hands clamped down onto his shoulder, prompting the teen to stand ramrod straight. As if that wasn't enough to startle the boy, his assailant leaned into his ear and shouted.
"Heyo!"
"A-Ashido, h-hey!" Izuku squeaked out, his heart still beating rapidly.
Ashido's golden eyes were wide in excitement, and she had plastered on an ear-splitting grin.
"Did ya have to sneak up on him like that? It's pretty unmanly," Kirishima said, walking up to the two of them, "what's up Midoriya?" the teen greeted with a toothy grin of his own.
Ashido turned to pout at the approaching teen, her hands raised in protest, "I don't see why I need to be manly to begin with!"
Izuku followed her gaze to land onto Kirishima. He certainly looked different. Bigger, Ashido wasn't lying when she said he was ripped. He looked incredibly fit. All of that paled in comparison when his gaze landed on Kirishima's face, or more precisely, above it.
"W-w-w-what happened to your hair!?" Izuku shouted flabbergasted, pointing an accusing finger at the boy in question.
Kirishima chuckled, rubbing the back of his head, "I just wanted a change, it's about that thing I promised I'd tell you about."
Izuku, still shell shocked by the makeover, had to take some time to recompose himself. Once doing so, he was able to recall that, Kirishima did in fact promise to tell him why they stopped talking to him for a bit.
"I see, we'll you can tell me after the exam," Izuku concluded.
Kirishima nodded in agreement before he said, "It's crazy seeing you again after all this time."
"Yeah, it's been a while, you guys look the same yet different, uh, if that makes sense."
"Don't sweat it, I get what'cha mean."
"It's like a high school debut, isn't it?" Ashido piped up, rotating between index fingers she used to poke Kirishima's cheek.
Izuku quirked an eyebrow, noticing the fiery teen indulge the behaviour with a resigned sigh. After a few seconds he eventually grabbed her hands and peeled them off his face.
"Anyways, I was wondering, where's your friend?" Kirishima eventually asked, after his face was finally free from the poking.
"Yeah! Is he still a mean jerk? Uhm, no offence," Ashido followed up, sticking her hands up in a placating manner in case Izuku did in fact take offence.
He didn't and laughed before answering, first to face Kirishima, "He went on ahead, he's excited for the test," from there he turned to face the pink teen, "He's better, but probably still a jerk."
"hmm, well, we should probably head inside, don't want to be late," Ashido said, grabbing Kirishima's wrist and dragging him along.
Izuku followed suit, finding their antics refreshing. A change of pace, certainly less eruptive than Kaachan, that was for certain.
Speaking of Kaachan, the trio quickly spotted the blond further along the path leading into the front doors. He was seemingly ramrod still as some girl spoke to him, oblivious or uncaring of the scalding glare he had. She eventually tapped him on the shoulder before waving goodbye.
Kaachan didn't return it, but his gaze didn't peel off of the brunette as she left. Izuku couldn't care about any of that, he felt like he just walked in on a miracle.
Kaachan just talked to a girl?! Izuku thought confusedly.
The written exam was a lot simpler than Izuku anticipated. If the recommendation exam was fair, then the entrance was a free be. He was done well before the allocated time. And since he didn't need to fear being eliminated before the practical, Izuku took plenty of time to go over his work. He aced it, that was without question.
The students were then greeted by Present Mic. Izuku, seeing him in person before, was capable of internalizing his fanboying. He did squeal a bit, especially when the hero went into his regular radio routine. It was a pleasant sight to bare.
Still, the hero didn't receive any responses to his prompts, Izuku had half a mind to shout out. Then again, there were thousands of students cramped into this auditorium, he may have been more confident in himself, but not THAT confident. Probably best not to draw so much attention either.
Also, Kaachan would probably beat the living days out of him out of second-hand embarrassment.
The rules of the practical were explained. They had ten minutes to fight in a city-zone. Three types of robots that gave one, two and three points respectively. They were considered Villain-bots and needed to be destroyed or deactivated. Those who accumulated the most points passed. Fighting against fellow applicants was grounds for instant disqualification.
An applicant shouted out some slander against the school, agitating both Katsuki and Izuku off to varying degrees before Present Mic explained what the arena trap was. Simply put, to be avoided, gave no points, considered an obstacle. Izuku filtered that for later, what was the point of adding an obstacle anyways? The exam felt pretty simple.
After the explanation, the applicants were divided up into multiple battle centers. Izuku received Grounds A, Katsuki received grounds B. They concluded together that people from the same schools would likely be placed in different areas, to eliminate the possibility to cooperate.
Not that either of them would have anyways. This entrance exam was their medium of competition. No way they'd waste it. Izuku couldn't even imagine how easy the exam would be if he worked alongside Kaachan.
Ten minutes? They'd probably wipe out the whole zone in 5.
Izuku stared wide eyed at the positively massive battle center that he'd be participating in, the giant stone gate and walls rose high into the sky, it encompassed what could have easily passed as multiple neighbourhoods in there, half a town. Initial estimates were way off. Katsuki and him wouldn't be able to clear out all the robots on their own, not even in 10 minutes. The place was enormous!
Izuku shaked his head, he needed to focus on the test. This time, this practical was more to his benefit than an obstacle course. Izuku made sure to stock up on fuel, courtesy of Kaachan.
The explosive blond argued that anything less than Izuku's best would have been a slight to him. Izuku was inclined to agree with him there, even if Kaachan was actually worried for his success, there wasn't a ounce of doubt that his intentions were strictly related to the competition.
Kaachan was just than invested into it.
"Go!' Present Mic shouted, his face appearing on a massive screen.
Izuku didn't waste a moment for the hero's explanation. He dashed out from the crowd of applicants and headed towards the now open and accessible battle center. He heard some applicants finally start to chase after him.
It was a concrete jungle, massive three storey tall buildings, roads, intersections, alleyways. It was a labyrinth. Izuku decided to remain on the main road. More space, and thus it would allow for the bigger robots to remain.
The greenet remained on the main road for a second reason, to centralize his search. Alleyways could have some stragglers, but if Izuku truly wanted to rack up points, he'd need to fight a lot of bots at the same time. Big open roads were the only place that could permit such a thing.
Izuku lamented not having some form of mobility, he knew Kaachan would undoubtedly already be shredding through some of the bots by now.
Izuku finally came upon a group of bots. They looked like 1 pointers. The smaller lean robots caught sight of him and sped towards the greenet. Not wishing to waste time, he shot a massive torrent of flames, blanketing over the bots.
Predictably, they exploded into flames. Izuku grinned, running pass the wreckage with his mouth wide open. He absorbed the lingering flames, finding himself sufficiently replenishing his reserves.
Izuku was aware that he'd have to be more conservative if he wanted to last the ten minutes or find a way to create fire without using any himself.
Given the time constraint, he was leaning towards the former. If he was to be conservative of his fire, he'd have to maximize his efficiency. The greenet went over the three robot types in his head.
The first pointer, small, slick and mobile. They were supposed to be fast and agile, but all of that led to a lack of durability. Hitting them in their singular wheel, or even aiming for the area connecting their abdomen to their torso should result in a fast and easy incapacitation.
The second pointer was a scorpion like robot. Izuku was unsure what gave it an edge, it appeared cumbersome and slow moving. Perhaps the tail held some features? Regardless, aiming for its supportive limbs should render it immobile. It must be more durable than a first pointer too.
Finally, the third pointer was essentially a tank. It had what appeared to be missile launchers. A possible source of fire? Not something Izuku wished to experiment with. It was the biggest, probably the sturdiest and slowest moving. In terms of weak spots, perhaps having the missiles blow up?
Izuku's mumbling thoughts were interrupted as his focus shifted to the road before him. It was littered with robots of all sizes and types. They appeared as if they were idling in that one spot, as if waiting for someone to broach into their proximity.
Well, that's… convenient, he thought, chuckling awkwardly.
Beyond hearing the bots revving up and listening to their audio target lock on him, he heard the sound of multiple paces behind him, he indulged his curiosity and tilted his head to the side, from the corner of his eye, he spotted a group of applicants zeroing in on him.
More specifically, the line up of robots before him.
Not wanting to squander the advantage of getting a head start, he snapped his head back towards the bots and sucked in his breath.
So much for being conservative, Izuku thought as he opened his mouth wide.
Something Izuku learned from training his quirk was that he could alter the width of his flames depending on how he opened his mouth. It was this concept that helped him create Kaachan's AP Shot. Limiting the surface area for the quirk would create a concentrated beam. At least, that's how it worked for Kaachan's quirk.
Vice versa would be a lot of surface area, and thus create an all encompassing cone. Kaachan's bigger explosions were a result of this. The drawback of such an explosion, however, was using up a lot of one's finite resource. In Kaachan's example, his sweat.
Izuku, could emulate the power, but not be hindered by the same drawback. His reserves far exceeded Kaachan's, and they could always be harmlessly replenished.
The sound of steps against concrete increased, as the multiple applicants were raring to unleash their quirks against the grouped up robots.
Sorry to do this. Izuku thought.
He opened his mouth wide and unleashed a beam of flames. The flamethrower speared forward, carving into the road and arced out into a massive cone of fire, covering from one end of the road to the other. The bots seared and crumbled into heaps of trash.
Izuku continued channeling his attack until his reserves went dry, promptly cutting off the stream of flames. He remained in spot for a second, internally reflecting on his attack.
Not good enough to be considered an ultimate move, too expensive on my fuel. Istanbul Inferno is easier to control and carries a stronger punch to it too, the teen surmised.
'W-what the hell was that dude?" An applicant shouted indignantly.
Izuku turned to face the group of students, they approached him with a lag to their step. Seemingly disheartened by his quirk, not that he blamed him. He undoubtedly was excessive.
"Oh, Uh, sorry. There should be more, stick to the main roads for now, that's where the most bots should be," Izuku apologized.
"Whatever man... why'd I have to get a center with a guy like him…" The applicant brushed off, murmuring the second part in a quiet resigned tone.
Izuku quirked an eyebrow confusingly as he watched the applicants scatter, some heeding his advice and pressing forward, others seeping into alleyways. The greenet shrugged, what they did with his advice was up to them.
He turned again to face the aftermath of his attack.
Ah, I get it now, He thought.
The road was ripped up to pieces and charred black. The bots, or what remained were sizzling metal, with flames lingering on top of their robotic corpses.
The greenet sheepishly rubbed the back of his head before absorbing the remaining flames. He had a fraction of what he started with. He'd have to be incredibly frugal with his resources now. The advantage he had by being first into the battle center was used up, now, he'd have to compete against the others for the remaining robots.
An action Izuku didn't find to be particularly exciting. He didn't want to sabotage, or directly influence the failure of others, even for his competiton with Kaachan.
He raced forward, finding a purple haired applicant facing off against a one pointer. Seeing as how the applicant appeared to be severely struggling, Izuku decided to offer a hand.
"Hey, one pointer's are fast, you should focus on their wheel," Izuku instructed, sliding under the robot's swinging arm.
"Also, behind it, just underneath some of it's plating is a switch, use it to deactivate the bot" the greenet continued, pointing a finger at the aforementioned feature.
He recalled that deactivation was held to the same regard as destruction, so it was safe to assume the conspicuous switch for those with quirks incapable of hacking bots. A gamble, but a one-pointer was something he could defeat easily if his theory was wrong.
Izuku sprang back onto his feet and shot a small stream towards the bot's head. The bot shifted focus onto him and forgot all about the other applicant, who followed his instructions and got behind it.
The purple haired boy lunged for the switch, and flicked it. The lights flashed out, and the bot slumped forward as it crashed to the ground in a cloud of dust. Speaking of, the applicant gingerly inspected his scraped arms as he stood up.
"Why'd you help me?" The teen asked, walking up towards Izuku.
The greenet was mildly aware of the fact the applicant had hair wilder and messier than his own. He also had deep bags under his eyes, as if he hadn't slept in weeks.
Izuku eventually shrugged, "I just wanted to help."
"And you didn't want to take the point from me?" The teen questioned skeptically.
"You saw it first, just wouldn't feel right to take it from you," Izuku responded, "anyways, got to go, try to go for the switch if your quirk's not suited for direct combat."
Izuku didn't wait for a response, waving behind him as he ran forward. Time was of the essence after all. This became painfully apparent, as it turned out, bots were hard to come by. At least the one's unattended.
Izuku found himself using his fire reserves as decoys and distractions for his fellow applicants, they'd take their opportunity to take down the bots. The greenet would hastily murmur a quick apology before giving some quick advice before going on his way.
The greenet eventually decided that main streets were simply too crowded, and admittedly too distracting. Izuku simply could not, not help someone, even if they didn't ask. It was instinctive.
Shame those very instincts were causing him to keep giving up points.
He sighed as he ventured into an alley. Hopefully it could lead to unsuspecting bots. Izuku rounded a narrow corner that led into a circular opening, an intersection of sorts.
The teen only had a moment to dive out of a lumbering tail. It smashed through the wall easily, causing debris to cascade to the ground. Izuku barely got to his feet before needing to roll away from the collateral damage.
"You! Lend me a hand," He heard someone shout.
Izuku nodded before launching back onto his feet, he skidded on his soles as he turned to face the 2-pointer bot.
"I'll distract it, go for the switch at it's back, 2-pointers have them underneath their hull, y-"
"Much appreciated!" The person shouted.
Izuku traced the source, and found a blond boy making use of his distraction. The teen slid towards the bot, using his forward momentum to take him in between the bot's legs. He swiped upwards, nicking the switch to deactivate the bot.
The teen lunged onto his feet a few meters away from Izuku and started to dust himself, ignoring the sound of the 2-pointer crashing to the ground.
"Ah, I recall you, Mizuku Idoriya?"
"Midoriya Izuku, I'm sorry, but have we me-" Izuku froze, recognizing the smirk on the blond's face, "you're the guy from the recommendation exam!"
"Correct you are, it's me, Monoma Neito,"
"what are you doing here?" Izuku asked in his shock.
The blond frowned, "I should be asking you that, you bested me in the race after all."
"Ah… right, I wasn't fast enough," Izuku explained lamely.
"No kidding. Regardless, I'm certain only the one who created a functioning vehicle was," Monoma said dismissively.
"Probably," Izuku said, willing his mind not to go back to the painfully vivid details that entailed the creation of said vehicle.
So much skin…
Izuku slapped his cheeks before vehemently shaking his head, "anyways, with a quirk like yours, you'll definitely be accepted."
He received a bitter laugh in response, dry and dejected, "flattered, but I wouldn't be so sure."
"What makes you say that? Didn't manage to get a quirk?" Izuku asked innocently.
Monoma didn't interpret it as such, his frown deepening as he tensed at the question, "No guess not. I suppose I couldn't find a main character to leech off of."
"Wha-"
"Shameful, isn't it. Even deplorable the dependency I require. Resorting to underhanded tactics if I want to stand a chance against the rest of you," The blond concluded with a wistful smile.
Izuku raised his hand towards the blond. Monoma snapped his mouth shut with an audible click of his teeth. He stared at the outstretched hand then towards the piercing green eyes.
"My intention wasn't to garner your pity," Monoma said, looking at the hand revoltingly.
"I'm not pitying you. Look, you've seen my quirk, you know how it works?"
"Uh… yes, I mean, of course I remember."
"Good, I'll transfer my fuel to you, you'll have less reserves than me, so you'll have to play conservative, aim for key parts, 1 pointers wheel, 2 pointers limbs, 3 point-"
"Stop, what are you doing?" The blond asked incredulously.
"Lending a hand?" Izuku asked back confusingly, waving aforementioned hand to cement his statement.
"I get that! Why would you ever?" The blond said, batting at the limb by his face.
"We know each other? We took the same recommendation exam," Izuku responded, puzzled.
"I only spoke to you to gain access to your quirk. I used you!"
The greenet shrugged, "You could have just tapped my shoulder or bumped into me. You chose to introduce yourself."
"T-that's it?" Monoma staggered, was he that simple minded?
"… no, I guess not. You and I both failed the recommendation. Yet, we're both here, determined to get admitted into this school. I can't really describe it, I guess I see you like a fellow comrade in arms? Besides, with a quirk as versatile and useful as yours, you belong here."
The blond gaped at Izuku for a second before falling back into a poised smile.
"Interesting, I'll have you know whether you pitied me or not, I was going to take your offer anyways. I'll do whatever it takes to be accepted into UA," The blond retconned, grabbing at Izuku's hand with more force than necessary.
"Of course, of course. Okay, I'll start, keep your mouth open."
Izuku didn't wait for a response and arced his head upwards, breathing fire. Monoma did as he was told and remained unsurprised when the flames went from one source to the other. Izuku stopped when he ran out, and quickly nodded towards the blond.
Izuku gave Monoma a quick run down of his quirk and the weak points of each bot. He left an overwhelmed Monoma in the alleyway, his blue eyes spinning from the sheer information overload.
The greenet exited the alley and found himself in a large plaza with applicants and bots alike. Without any fuel left in the tank, he'd have to find some way to create fire. 3 pointers could, so his best goal would be to assist those who were fighting them.
His gaze finally fell on a preoccupied 3 pointer across the wreckage and battlefield. What caught his attention was its apparent lack of fighter, but it's behaviour told Izuku otherwise. As he made his way closer, he became aware of some gloves, floating in the air.
Invisibility? He hoped the applicant wasn't naked. Although if the gloves were anything to go by, they likely were. Izuku sighed, invisibility did little in terms of combat, he might as well lend a hand.
With that in mind, Izuku put on a wide grin and dashed headlong into danger.
Katsuki torpedoed into a bot, rupturing it's insides with the sheer force of his landing. He pierced through the bot's torso like a molten bullet and crashed to the ground with an enveloping explosion.
Windows shattered and cascaded down onto the city block. The bots in the vicinity laid on the ground in ruined heaps. Katsuki smirked at his result before launching back into the air.
Flying was still an impossibility for Katsuki, but taking large leaps, using his momentum to zoom from one place to another, was well within the realms of his capabilities, and he flaunted it.
The moment Present Mic shouted at them to start, Katsuki didn't waste a single second dashing beyond the extras.
Sure some engine goody-two shoes caught up to him easily, but all that did was fuel Katsuki to push beyond his limits and to press every advantage he had. In this case, the ability to bypass smaller buildings all together.
One pointer, two, three, nothing stood a chance against the explosive teen's onslaught. He only needed a single explosion for each. The practical started 4, maybe 5 minutes ago?
Katsuki couldn't recall, everything was a blur. Leap into the air, find bots, crash into them and blow them up.
Rinse and repeat.
He didn't bother keeping count. It was a distraction, and besides, he'd undoubtedly lose count in the heat of the moment.
Speaking of heat, there was a rush of it before Katsuki was soaring through the air again. He found another huddle of villain-bots to decimate.
He opened with landing on the large three-pointer, then using it as a platform, erupting it as he took off into a group of one-pointers. They didn't even have the time to react before he incinerated them with a massive cone shaped explosion.
The force sent Katsuki flying back and evading a 2 pointer's swinging tail. He landed with a deft roll, using his momentum to spring back onto his feet. He fired into the ground, rocketing him upwards.
He weaved in the air, shifting his torso to face the ground again and ignited the offending 2 pointer, searing it down into a metallic husk.
He landed on a three pointer and ruptured the insides like paper mâché with a well-placed explosion. Katsuki had to admit, AP-Shot made these robots beyond easy, his fiery bullets shredded through even the three pointer's sturdier hull like it was nothing.
It made the blond smile ferally. He leaped off the destroyed remains of the bot and launched into the air again. Another section cleared out, another section to find. Up in the air gave the blond an unfair advantage over those stuck to the ground. He could practically see anything on the main roads. Alleys were impossible, not that it bothered him any. Alleys were for the weak who couldn't compete for their points. Not to mention there would just be less of them in there. Only an idiot wouldn't know that.
Katsuki finally spotted two group of bots further ahead. The closest was riddled with extras. He could probably take the points from them, but he didn't want to waste his time. The furthest group had far less applicants. Unfortunately, it was too far to make in a leap or from his point in the air, so instead, the blond allowed himself to fall back onto the ground, well timed explosions slowing his fall.
Once landing, he made a mad dash forward, whisking by applicants too caught up with their own fights. He didn't bother to dignify them with a moment's glance.
He was rudely interrupted when the battle center seemingly suffered a massive earthquake. Katsuki froze on the spot, keeping his arms outstretched to retain some semblance of balance. Whoever the hell did that had some fucking powerful quirk.
Suddenly, a gust of wind and dust surged through him, he instinctively raised his arms and squinted his eyes, the force pushed him back an inch. Once the dust died down, Katsuki was rendered speechless at the massive robot standing before him.
Where the fuck did that thing come from? He thought incredulously, his mouth threatening to gape like a fish.
It was obviously the arena trap. Katsuki mentally ran through the details regarding the zero-pointer. It was supposed to be an obstacle. Katsuki was skeptical at first, seeing it now, he was willing to rectify the point. It was recommended to avoid the thing too.
Unfortunately, it 'spawned' directly between him and the group of villain bots he wanted to take out. Katsuki lamented that fact. An utter waste of time, the thing was nothing more than a glorified pylon. Avoiding it would be beyond easy, thing moved as if it were swimming through honey. The real question was, could he find a way to maneuver around it? He supposed hopping onto the buildings could work, take that angle. Maybe he could bait it into attacking him, dodging it shouldn't be a problem, he could then just leap pass it. Then again, the thing might focus hi-
Katsuki stiffened and blinked. He stared numbly at the hand that made its way towards his chin, was he dekuing just now?
He didn't have the time to ponder it, the sound of a pained cry drew his attention, his gaze zeroed in on some random applicant. She looked pinned down under some debris. How, he had no idea, he figured her leg was probably broken.
She looked familiar, but for the life of him he didn't know why. Whatever the case, he wouldn't think about it. She took the exam knowing the risks. What kind of idiot would take an exam to become a hero if she ended up needing one in…stead?
Katsuki blinked.
No way. UA only took the best of the best. That meant their applicants should resemble even a fraction of talented. Saving them? Helping his competitors? UA wouldn't reward that, they shouldn't! He was entirely in his right to leave the idiot be. This was a competition damnit. They couldn't fault him if he wanted to focus on getting points for himself.
Would it be like turning a blind eye? Not in his books, if anything, it'd be retribution for incompetence! If all you have to offer is the desire to become a hero, then it wasn't good enough! It takes more than that to make a hero.
The blond paused, his thoughts going back to an ill-fated conversation.
"But, to answer your question, what I consider makes a hero? Altruism, a self-sacrificing spirit"
You got to be shitting me. Katsuki thought exasperatedly. Of course, he had to think of that now of all times. Just when he was convincing himself that leaving, was the justified, correct course of action.
All Might graduated from this school. One could argue that besides his time in America, it was UA that helped shape him become who he was. If All Might's doctrine was one of altruism, then it could be argued that it was UA that molded that philosophy.
How was Katsuki supposed to leave now?
Damn it! Fine! You want self-sacrifice? I'll fucking show you I can sacrifice! I can sacrifice the most! I'm altruistic as fuck! Katsuki internally ranted.
His features fell into a wicked snarl as he launched himself towards the brunette girl.
"EXTRA!"
The girl flinched as she yelped, "W-what!? Oh it's you!"
The explosive blond decided to file that for later as he landed beside the applicant. He knelt down beside her and inspected the pinned limb.
"Tell me your quirk. Can it do anything for this?" Katsuki demanded, pointing from her to the debris.
Seeing his viciously scary face, she mutedly nodded, "It's Zero Gravity, I ca-"
"Don't care, if you can deal with it, deal with it," He said firmly, standing from his position and turning to face the colossal robot.
"W-what? Didn't you come to help?"
"Of course!" the blond snapped, causing the girl to wilt under his tone.
She had no idea the boy she talked to was so loud, he was so quiet when she greeted him.
"Listen here extra, your dumbass needs saving because of that thing," Katsuki paused to point at the gigantic arena trap before continuing, "so, I'll get rid of it," the teen finished evenly.
"Get… rid of it?" she parroted slowly, understanding what he said but not actually understanding what he meant.
A wicked grin smeared itself across his face, prompting the brunette to remain silent and watch expectantly as Katsuki launched himself into the air.
He nimbly dodged the bot's cumbersome hand, getting over top it fast enough to use as an additional spring board. He took a few skittish steps along the massive metal arm before erupting it, torpedoing himself to soaring heights.
He wasn't familiar with maintaining his balance when going this fast. As a result, it was putting him under tremendous strain. His gaze flickered to the robot's arm, a smug smirk on his face seeing it mangled, metal jaggedly pointing outwards like an exit wound.
Said smirk fell from his face when he noticed it wasn't enough to incapacitate the arm. He shifted his gaze back up to the fast approaching face of the arena trap.
Once he reached an appropriate height, he started creating micro explosions, causing him spin like a cyclone. The lingering smoke tailed behind him before hastily enveloping him, it cocooned him inside its opaque veil. His momentum took him upwards, towards the bot's head.
He emerged from the smoke, a feral grin on his face, "Howitzer Impact!"
He slammed his open palm against red circular sensors. The force was palpable, sending rippling shock waves across the battle center. A colossal explosion erupted from his hand consuming the entirety of the bot's head in a rippling inferno. Katsuki felt searing pain run up his arm. He winced but refrained from crying out. The drawback was far stronger than he anticipated, one of the countless precautions Deku drilled into his head.
He inspected his attack. Smoke and fire consumed the bot's head, its arms suspended in place, as if commands were cut off from it. He allowed himself to smile.
It didn't last, much like the apparent defeat of the arena trap. The zero-pointer commenced it's trek forward, seamlessly unperturbed. He scowled before remembering.
Sacrifice.
He needed to risk everything. Anything less clearly wasn't going to cut it. He was an idiot if he thought he could just half-ass it and expect results. Instead of grimacing, he smirked.
He launched himself forward, ignoring the painful protests of his injured arm. He landed on top of the massive chest piece in a deft roll. He took a moment to reorient himself before continuing his trip towards the neck.
During his inspection, he became aware of the fact that the neck was exposed, it was left unprotected by the sturdy hull compared to the rest. As to why, he didn't know, perhaps an intentional design, to entice people to attack?
He didn't care. He was beside the smoldering head but ignored it in favour of staring at the base of the neck. It was at his mercy, as such, he went for the jugular.
"AP Shot," He intoned smugly.
He launched a concentrated beam, piercing through the metal like paper. Instead of being content with that, he jerked his hips and arms to the side, carving a line along the width of the neck.
He stopped his attack once it slashed out through the front, he fell to a knee as both of his arms hanged behind him to his right. Instantly, an explosion broke out, shoving Katsuki off the edge and plummeting towards the ground. Subsequent explosions were set off all over the zero-pointer like fireworks.
He'd appreciate it more if his hands weren't burning in agony, pulsing and numb all the same. It'd also help if he wasn't falling from lethal heights. He did allow himself to smirk triumphantly though.
He shifted his body, facing downwards. All he had to do was slow his descend. Sure, using his already exhausted and busted arms would hurt like hell, but it was still far better than the alterna-
Is that a hand?
AN: Okay, okay. Where to start! uh,
First, I guess I'll talk about Monoma. When I was planning for this story, I was initially going to have Monoma as the fourth recommended student, (since it wasn't revealed yet who it was). Additionally, his motives were also unknown. Technically, from where I am in the manga, they still are. So, I hope you can spare me if I somehow slaughtered his characterization. Let's go with the excuse that it's an AU? Any takers? Please? Heehee... Anyways, now knowing who the fourth recommended student is, I decided to go with her instead, (I'm not even there in terms of the manga either...).
Onto the next point! The reason why I have Katsuki and Izuku switch battle centers bottles down to one thing: Ochaco. Realistically, she didn't amount enough points to pass on her own in canon. And although I want it to be AU, I don't want it to be THAT AU. Ya feel me? That's the sole reason. KatsukixOchaco is not a thing, not intended at least. I mean, you decide?
On another note, the last scene took me 6 hours to write. SIX! My inability to write action scenes is so disappointing it's looping back to impressive!
And finally, I have 1 exam left on the 25th, then it's back to office drone for the summer! At least I have time to write again, also time to game, read, socialize and exercise... Hmm, this isn't what I had in mind when I wanted to disclose this.
Reviews are much appreciated. Until next time!