Ayo, ayo, ayo, it's ya boy, NarutoPlug, just got done voting! Cuz that's what real one's of age do! They vote! Vote, vote, vote! Mhm! I checked those boxes with authority!...but I forgot to get my voting sticker…..they did give me a pen, tho…
Anyway, sorry for the late update. School is a whore and I hate it. But, this is a slightly lengthy chapter for you all to enjoy. Now, it's still not as lengthy as the BreakThrough chapters, but it's a decent size, so please enjoy it. Make sure review, follow and favorite the story! I love hearing everyone's feedback!
Don't really have much to say for this intro, so let's get back into the story.
Minus:Negative
Dogu-Bro
"Do you have everything you need? Pens? Pencils? Your gym cloths?"
"Yes, Tou-san."
"And did ya' shower this morning? You can't let your first interaction with the U.A. staff be a smelly one – especially those with quirks that give them heightened smell! Oh, dear god, we cannot let that happen!"
"Yes, Pops. I took a shower this morning."
"And how do you feel about the test? I know you're smart and everything, but that test could be really hard if you don't know the material. Don't let the stress of the moment get to you, sochi."
"…sigh….yes, Father. I feel confident about the written test…"
"Okay….okay…..oh my god-THIS IS REALLY HAPPENING!"
Doguma sweat dropped at his excited father as the man began breathing into a brown paper bag. "Today's the day!" he said in between breaths, "The day you finally get accepted into a Hero school! And not just any school – U.A.! The cream of the crop! Oh my goodness, I've been waiting on this day for…h-how..how old are you son?"
"I'm 15, Tou-san…honestly, how can you forget how old your own son is? How negative…"
"Oh, hush up." Huffed the older man as the two marched out of their shared apartment. Gerald was dressed in his usual office suit while Doguma was in his school uniform. "I'm under a lot of pressure I'll have you know! My son is about to take the U.A. entrance exam and I can't be there to watch you beat up the competition! I just know that you'll do great, sochi."
"Thank you, Pops, but I'm not really at 100% as you can see…"
Doguma was referring his bandaged fingers that were injured the night prior. A night's rest was nowhere near enough time for him to heal his hands in preparation for today's test. What was worse was that Doguma didn't know what the quirk test would be like as he had no reference to go by. Each U.A. Entrance Exam was different from what he's read studying quotes from past participants online. All he knew that quirks would be involved, but he couldn't use his quirk properly at the moment…
Both of his middle fingers, left ring finger and right pinkie and index fingers were broken and in small cast. His other fingers were bandaged up – all except his thumbs. Somehow, his thumbs had avoided any damage from Sakon as they hadn't been stepped on at all. They were his only fingers that were undamaged, but he was going to need all his fingers – preferably, his index and middle fingers – if he wanted to aim Minus correct. He had little practice shooting laser with his thumbs.
"Errgggg-DON'T WORRY ABOUT THAT SON!" shouted Gerald, "Listen! All you've got to do is give it your all! Show them why I'm an amazing father that helped you train your quirk and show them what Freeman's can do, eh?! And remember, if you don't do good…"
Gerald got extremely close to his son and stared at Doguma with a dark look. Doguma sweated a bit and tried to back away from his father, only for the man to get closer. "….I'm gonna make an accountant out of you…."
"O-okay, Father…" stuttered Doguma. 'He can really be scary sometimes…'
"Alright!" said the man, quickly switching back to his happy-self. The duo had made it to the ground floor and was the place the two usually split for the day. "Whelp, I guess I have to let you go. Do good, sochi. I know you can – regardless of your injuries. U.A. would be lucky to have somebody like you in their Hero Program and I mean it."
Those words uplifted Doguma. Even though Doguma knew his father would never tear him down or talk negatively towards him, it was always nice to hear his father compliment him. "Heh…thank you…how positive."
"No problem, sochi." Said Gerald as he ruffled his son's head, "Alright, I've got to go. I'll see you later when we celebrate you getting into U.A.!"
"Alright, Tou-san. Have a good day at work."
Doguma waved as his father walked to the apartment garage. He sighed to himself as he fixed his bookbag straps. He would be walking to U.A. by himself today. Izuku had texted him late last night that he may not be able to walk to the school with him since he was close to achieving his goal of cleaning the beach. Izuku told him if he wasn't outside waiting for him to walk then he should walk to U.A. without him.
"Sigh…I hope Izuku is okay…" mumbled Doguma as he began his streak to U.A. High School. "I haven't talk to him much since he's been busy at the beach…"
Doguma let his mind wander now that he had time for himself. Thinking back on yesterday's events, he's surprised at how calm he was during his fight against the deliquents. How he used Negative was interesting and was an adrenaline-motivated move to use Negative as a sensor. 'Having eyes on the back of my head…' Doguma said to himself, remembering what Sakon said to him. 'I guess it's kinda true, but I don't think I'll be using Negative for a while now…'
After last night's events, Doguma decided that he wouldn't be using Negative for a long time – preferably, never. Negative had taken control of his body when he sensed the negative energy coming from Reginald's dead body. It was clear to the dual-quirk user that he did NOT have control over his quirk and never would sense he didn't have a teacher to help him with his wild quirk.
"….and it's going to suck when I tell Pops that I really don't believe I'm cut out to be a hero…" grumbled Doguma, "…but then he's gonna force me to be an accountant…how negative.." Another grumble escaped the teen in despair, "I swear….when am I going to find something I want to do for my life?…."
"Do-Doguma! Wait!"
Izuku's voice rang throughout the air, causing Doguma to come to a sudden halt. Midoriya Izuku, dressed in their school uniform, was running up to his best friend, clearly tired and exhausted. "Izuku…" Doguma said as Izuku stopped beside him to catch his breath. "I'm assuming you've finished cleaning the beach?"
"Heheh! Yeah!" grinned Izuku, "I finished his morning!"
"How positive." The duo high-fived one another, which was when Izuku noticed Doguma's bandages hands and when Doguma forgot his hands were damaged. "Gaah….the hurts…" he groaned in pain, "Forgot that my hand was messed up…"
"Doguma! What happened?!" shouted a concerned Izuku as he stared at Doguma's bandages hands in shock. "Why are all you fingers injured?!"
"Heh…well, not all my fingers…" chuckled Doguma uneasily, "It's a long story…uhm…."
Doguma hated lying…
"I was walking around late last night for no reason…just wanted to release some of the nerves I had for the test today….heard something in this abandoned storage facility and found a body in there…the delinquents that killed the guy came back and tried to get me next. I fought back, obviously, but got caught off guard…thankfully, the police came to save me, but not without some injuries…" he finished with a weak smile. "Guess I should be glad I left with my life, eh?"
"I...I-I guess…" stuttered Izuku, "…but still…you're talking about almost losing your life so causally…weren't you scared? I know I would be…"
"Scared?" Doguma thought over for a few seconds, "Hmm…no, not really. To be honest, I was a little excited. I guess I've found out that I may be a closet battle junky." Chuckled Doguma, "It felt good to fight without a teacher pulling me away from a guy that deserves a fist to the face."
"Doguma…."
"Heheh. Yeah, yeah, okay." Doguma waved off Izuku worries, "I know. Very 'unhero-like' behavior. Sorry that I had to fight for my life and all…."
"W-wait! That's not what I was trying to say!"
Doguma chuckled again at his best friend's stutters. "I know Izuku. I'm just messing with you…" he said, hoping to calm the greenette down. "Hopefully, we won't run into that baka today…although, he does have a skill for running into us unexpectedly."
"I wouldn't mind it….plus, I'm sure Kaachan will do great and pass the U.A. test…" said Izuku. "His quirk is amazing…."
"Yeah…but once they find out how he acts, then he'll be denied as a student and we won't have to deal with him ever again. Just think about it, Izuku…" Doguma threw an arm around Izuku's shoulder and motioned up to the ocean blue sky. "Me. You. No Bakugo. Plenty of new people to meet. No Bakugo. We get to see All Might daily along with other popular heroes. How positive….And you know what else?"
"No Bakugo?" laughed Izuku.
"Exactly, my friend." Confirmed Doguma with a small smile. "Don't you worry, Izuku. Things are looking bright for me and you both. We've just got to make sure we get into U.A., which I'm sure will happen with just our test grades. We have nothing to worry about…"
"If you say so…" mumbled Izuku as the two continued walking.
It wasn't long until the reach U.A., the massive school with the greatest Hero Program in all of Japan. Numerous student-hopefuls were walking onto the school grounds for the entrance exam.
To his left, Doguma could see the dazzle in Izuku's eyes as he stared at their future. "U.A…" he muttered in utter awe of the legendary hero school. "We're finally here, Doguma…"
"Yup." Nodded Doguma as the duo took their first steps on school grounds. "Time for what we've been waiting since I met you."
"Hey! Move aside, you extras!"
Just the sound of Bakugo's voice birthed an anger within Doguma as the ash-blonde bully pushed past the two. "Get out of my way or you're dead." Said Katsuki.
"M-mo-morning, Kaachan!" stuttered the easily scared Izuku, "Let's do our best…"
Both Katsuki and Doguma stared at one another for a second – their usual ritual of short and intense staring contest happening once more, just waiting for the one to pounce on the other. However, they both understood now wasn't the time for that as Katsuki 'hmph!' and kept walking.
"He….he didn't try to bully us…or attack us…" muttered Izuku in confusion. "Is he feeling okay?"
"Forget him. He doesn't matter." Waved off Doguma. "'Don't let him distract you from this moment, Izuku. It's our time now, right?"
"Right." Replied the greenette.
"And we've been waiting for this moment ever since we were little, right?"
"Right!" he replied with more excitement.
"Then let's take our first steps onto this campus with a bright mindset and not do anything stupid. Okay?"
"Absolutely! Time to take our first steps as heroes!"
"Right…wait, Iz-
Before Doguma couldn't even finish, Izuku left foot caught onto the back of his right, easily tripping himself. Doguma's active mind quickly realized that his friend was falling but couldn't catch Izuku because of the pain his fingers felt along with the cast and bandages restricting his movements. "Gah…Izu-"
"Woah there!"
A girl had saved Izuku from embarrassment as his body surprisingly floated midair before his feet returned to the ground. "Sorry about using my quirk on you, but…well, it's a bad omen to trip and fall."
"Ya…uh…uhm…"
Doguma didn't have to have Negative activated to know Izuku was experiencing a boatload of anxiety at the moment.
"This sure is nerve-wracking…" continued the girl with a pure smile, holding a hand to heart. "Well…good luck to us all." She said with a wave while heading towards the school.
"Ah…" Izuku's eyes lit up as he turned to Doguma. "I just talked to a girl!"
"….eh…but you really didn't say anything, Izuku…" sweat dropped Doguma. "Maybe next time…"
"Ah…Yeah, I guess…" he laughed awkwardly with a head scratch. "But anyway! We need to hurry up before we're late!"
"WELCOME TO TODAY'S LIVE PERFORMANCE! EVERYBODY SAY "HEY"!"
Utter silence…
Doguma, in his seat in between Izuku and, sadly, Bakugo, sat in annoyance as he had to listen to Present Mic, the announcer for the entrance exam, shout inhumanly loud into the crowd of students hoping to become apart of the U.A. 1st-year class. "I hate loud sounds…." Muttered Doguma as he massaged his ears with his palms. "…and annoying adults…how negative…"
"WELL, THAT'S COOL, MY EXAMINEES LISTENERS! I'M HERE TO PRESENT THE GUIDLNES OF YOUR PRATICAL! ARE YOU READY?!"
Utter silence….
"The Voice Hero. Present Mic…" Izuku's eyes were filled with stars as he stared at the blaring hero, "We listen to his radio show every week, Doguma!" Izuku said with hushed whispers as he pulled on his uncaring best friend's sleeve.
"Shut up, Deku…" growled Bakugo.
"This is how the test will go, my listeners!" shouted Present Mic, "You'll be experiencing ten-minute-long "mock cityscape maneuvers"! Bring along whatever you want! After this presentation, you'll each head to your assigned testing location!"
"Looks like we're getting to the hero stuff…" sighed Doguma. The written test was rough for the teen since he could hardly move his fingers to write his answers. The only way he could write was by pinching the tip of his pen between his left thumb and index for an hour. His left index finger wasn't broken, but it was still painful to move it around.
"Yeah….and since we're being split up into different groups, looks like we won't be able to help each other…" Izuku said with less enthusiasm that he had before.
"Tch. You two should be grateful." Bakugo's heated glare caused Izuku to shiver away in fear while Doguma stared at the ash-blonde blankly with uninterest. "If we were put in the same group, I would have blasted you both to the hospital to clean you outta my way. You two are always messing up my plans, so I was gonna make sure that I was the ONLY person from our school to pass this exam! Not that you two even have enough skill to general studies course, much less the hero program!"
Doguma rolled his eyes at Katsuki's rant. "As if we care what you have to say, baka." He said while listening to Present Mic's animated explanation of the exam. "But if you wish to attack either Izuku or me during the exam, then by all means, go ahead. Attacking students is prohibited, but I'm sure your idiot mind would still find reason to attack us."
"Shut up, you freakin' extra of all extras!" growled Bakugo. Small sparks popped from his palms in response to his anger. "I'll take you out here if I have to!"
"Wait. Please, you two…" whispered Izuku, trying to calm the two down. "We can't do this he-
"And those three students with the same uniform!"
A tall, glass wearing boy pointed a sharp index finger in Bakugo, Midoriya and Freeman's direction, causing everyone inside the lecture hall to look at the three boys. "These three have been arguing amongst themselves the whole time…it's distracting! If this is some sort of game to you, then plea-"
"Excuse me, but what's happening over here is none of your concern." Doguma quickly cut off the glass-wearing teen with his sharp tongue and a small glare to follow. "We were talking about the exam between ourselves and no one else. If anything, you're being a major distraction and a waste of time by creating a scene in front of everyone believing that you are doing some good. Be quiet."
. Utter silence…
'…..dang it….' Doguma sighed in annoyance. Being near Bakugo made the dual-quirk user annoyed, so any other outside annoyance would easily put Doguma on edge. He didn't want to make a scene, but the glasses-wearing teen was out of pocket. 'Oh well…what's done is done…'
Said glasses-wearing teen was caught off guard by Doguma's assault and didn't know how to respond – not used to such disrespect by anyone. "Ach…ah…"
"Alright ! Alright! Settle down up there!" shouted Present Mic before contining his explanation of the test.
Doguma ignored Present Mic's banter and, instead, stared at his hands. He could hardly move them and using Minus on any of his injured fingers was a big no lest he aggravate his injuries further. His only hope would be to attack using his thumbs, but his aim with thumbs were the worst by far.
'I would have to bend my hands forward instead of bending my fingers since I either can't even move some of them because they're broken, or I can hardly feel them…' He thought to himself, '…if I not had Negative on last night, I wouldn't be going through this right now…but I guess I'll have to work with what I've got…'
Glancing to his right, Doguma saw the anticipation and fire within Izuku eyes, but didn't understand as to why his best friend was looking forward to the test instead of being worried like usual. How Present Mic described the robots they're supposed to stop sounded tough, and the need for a quirk to pass this test was basically a necessity. 'You've gained brute strength, my friend, but will that be enough to deal with the faux villains? I can't even help you this time, Izuku….'
'…or even help myself…' he said with another discouraging look to his fingers
"PLUS ULTRA!"
Present Mic's ear-piercing howl reverberated throughout the large hall. Those two words worsen Doguma's mood. He understood that U.A. was built off that saying. It's what encouraged students to be the best they can possibly be, and for heroes to try their hardest to keep civilians and cities safe from evil.
'I can't ever attain Plus Ultra….since I'm Minus:Negative…'
Doguma didn't need Negative active to know that his self-loath and depression energy levels were increasing…
'…and since I'm the opposite of Plus Ultra, I can't become a hero…'
Doguma popped his neck and rolled his shoulders. 'Now's the time, Doguma….even though you're handicapped, at least try for Izuku…'
Freeman Doguma was assigned to group two with his I.D. number being 2157. Bakugo and Midoriya were apart of another group, so he wouldn't be seeing them during his examination. All around him were other students stretching, preparing themselves for the test that could change their lives.
'Since I'm limited in strength, I shouldn't go for the stronger villains…' Doguma thought as he stuffed his black tank top into his purple shorts. 'Since this is a city environment and I accel in long-distance fighting, I should take the high ground on one of the buildings and fire away.'
For a moment, Doguma glanced up at the blue sky. There were a few clouds out, hiding the sun behind them. 'What would I give if I could've just stayed at the house and cloud watch from the balcony…'
Cloud watching was another activity Doguma would do to keep calm. The view was very serene and graceful. He would sometimes imagine he had a quirk he could use to fly up to the clouds and rest of their fluffy bodies and read all day. Of course, he knew that could never happen since clouds were made up of water, but to escape from his daily life of dealing with an evil quirk always fascinated him.
Another sigh escaped the teen's lips as he tightened the red bandana on his forehead. "Guess we can't have what we want…" he muttered.
Clearing his head of any other thoughts, Doguma closed his eyes and focused. Nothing else was important right now. The only thing he cared about now was trying his best and gauging just how good he had gotten using Minus for all these years. He had been trained by his father and then took it upon himself to improve his accuracy and speed with Minus.
'Maybe you can't be a hero…but you can defend yourself if necessary…' Doguma told himself as he scrunched his eyes in concentration.
Deep breath in…
Deep breath out…
'Remember your angles. Be precise…'
Deep breath in…
Deep breath out…
'Each shot should be calculated….triangles…remember triangles.'
"Triangles?"
"That's right, my boy! Triangles. Hold your hand out the way I showed you."
Deep breath in…
"Now, with your hand straight out, imagine a line coming from your shooting finger…"
Both of Doguma's thumbs twitched.
"That's your 90-degree base line…just a flat line. That's where your laser will shoot if you are pointing straight out. Since our quirk is straight forward, we must be exact with our aim."
"…straight out is 90 degrees." Mumbled the son of Freeman Gerald.
Deep breath out…
Deep breath in…
"Downwards is 0 degrees…and that's 180. Ya' keeping up with me?"
"Yes, father."
Deep breath out…
"…ANDDDDDD…..BEGIN!"
Doguma eyes snapped open, filled with a fire of ferocity and passion that was never seen by anyone else, even his own father or Izuku. "Let's go!"
Doguma zoomed past all the unsuspecting, confused participants as they look up to Present Mic wondering what he meant. Doguma was already at the doors of the cityscape once everyone else realized that the test was starting. 'This can give me an approximate 15 second lead-"
Suddenly, a girl running on all fours like a horse zoomed past Doguma, leaving nothing but trail of dust. '…forget approximations…these people have quirks…' concluded Doguma.
The dual-quirk teen's amber eyes jumped left and right as the faux villains, large robots of various sizes, came from their hidings. Doguma stopped in an intersection as six faux villains targeted him. 'Four one-pointers and two two-pointers…eight points total. Time to test the new stance.'
Doguma dropped his hands to his sides and pointed his thumbs up. It was the only comfortable way to aim thumbs straight out while not straining his other injured fingers to move. "Their necks are the thinnest parts of their body…" deduced Doguma as two villains approached him.
Dual purple lasers sprouted from his thumbs and towards their intended targets. Doguma smirked to himself when he saw how easily his laser sliced through the villains' metallic necks. "Looks like you guys aren't heatproof, hmm?" he taunted as he aimed his thumbs as the other faux villains.
By the time his area was populated with other students, Doguma had 12 points 45 seconds into the test. He was still searching for a good sniper's point to shoot from by himself. The roads were starting to get crowd and if Doguma wanted pinpoint accuracy for his lasers, he needed space.
Burning through the head of a three-pointer, Doguma jumped over its fallen body and dashed down the road. His eyes darted left as a two-pointer jumped from the roof of a nearby building and descended to the road in front of him. He easily dodged the bot's fist wrecking the road and got in close, running his thumb across the robot's neck in a throat slit-like manner. He continued running, not even looking back as the villain's head fell to the ground, along with the rest of its body. "17…"
Down the road from him, a participant with an oddly shaped head was lobbing what Doguma assumed was glue around the area. His next target was a three-pointer coming in hot with a cocked back fist. Doguma's analytical mind went into hyperdrive as an imaginary line grew out of his thumb resting at his side. 'Thumbs at ninety…approximately 50 yards away and headshot estimated to be 114.5 degrees from base.'
Kojiro Bondo, who was preparing to spray his super adhesive glue at his next target, was confused when a bright purple light struck through its head. "Eh?..." said the yellow giant in confusion as he looked down the road for the source of the laser.
Doguma had ran right, already out of Bondo's sight and towards his next villain – a two-pointer fighting another student-hopeful. Doguma easily stole the teen's kill with a laser to the bot's face. "H-hey!" said the orange-haired girl wearing a karate-gi. "That was mine!"
"Gotta be quicker than that…." Doguma said to her as he zoomed past her with his super-quick agility.
Taking another turn, Doguma's eyes spotted a good rooftop where he could a perfect spot to snipe from above. 'So far, almost two and a half minutes have pasted, and it'll take me a minute to get to the top of that six-story building. Once I get there-
"Aahh!" shouted a girl, catching Doguma's attention. Someone from afar with a strength quirk threw a faux villain into a building. It destroyed it, but the result explosion caused some rubble to fall. Even if she ran now, she would be hit by some pieces of the fallen building.
Doguma's laser sparked to life as they impacted the rock that threatened to smush the girl. Frantically, Doguma jerked his hands back and forth rapidly as if he were erasing something on paper. His lasers were doing just that as they ate through the rock with ease as he forced out a safe amount of negative energy through his thumbs. The jerking motion aggravated his injured fingers a lot, but it was worth it save someone's life.
With the threat eradicated, Doguma continued running to his destination. '-I'll take a 20 second break for breathing since I've been running this entire time.'
"Aahhhh...huh?" The girl looked up, expecting to see the boulder that would crush her….only to see dust particles being blown away by the wind. "What…..where did it go?"
The Minus:Negative user kicked open the door of his desired building and quickly located the stairs. To save time, Doguma would jump over some stairs instead of going up them one at a time. His entire body was crying for him to take a break, but he ignored all the pain in favor of focusing at the task at hand. 'This pain is momentary…work through it to prove a point to yourself, Doguma…'
Opening the roof door, Doguma got a good look at his surroundings while taking his break. He could see just how vast the cityscape was and was impressed U.A. could afford such an area. "This…was just…sitting here…the entire time?" he said in between his huffs.
Nevertheless, he was glad he made the decision to coming to the roof. He could see many faux villains from the roof and targeting them from up top would be easier than running around on the ground. 'This way, I can save up stamina and focus solely on targeting.'
"Alright, breaks up." Purple light sparked from Doguma's fingers as he saw his first targets. A group of one-pointers to the east were easy work for his lasers as they lit up the skies like small shooting stars, impacting the bots with deadly accuracy. The teen moved his assault to a three-pointer south of him before moving north to another bot to be dealt with.
Everybody on the ground watched the light show happening in the air as the purple lasers rained from Doguma's position atop the roof. Doguma himself was heavily focused, moving like dancer as his eyes found a new target while his thumb-laser easily destroyed them. His offensive pressure was noticed by everyone as bots they planned on destroying were offed by a flash of purple light either impacting their heads on burning through their necks.
"Remember: just a small burst of energy and it should come out as a bullet. That's all you need."
"Got it."
"Hit the mark on the door! You can do it, son! Do the little Plus Ultra-thingy All Might says!"
Doguma had been dancing for over two minutes, but that memory with his father was what brought his deadly light show to an end. The teen brought his hands together as he took in a deep breath of air. "…..heh…..Plus Ultra…" Doguma said to himself as he meditated. "What a joke…I'm a living contradiction to the saying."
Depression.
Self-loath.
Doguma didn't have Negative active, but he understood his feelings and emotions well enough to know what was going on within himself. Every time he thought about Plus Ultra, he believed himself unworthy to represent the quote well. He had a dangerous, evil quirk that hardly anybody knew about. While there were parts of his life where he denied the fact that Negative was evil, the past 10 months told him otherwise. There was no way possible someone like him should become a hero with such a quirk. He'd just end up hurting people rather than save them.
Doguma hated brooding. Brooding developed stress. Stress developed pimples.
'…and I hate pimples….how negative…'
But even he couldn't deny that his words were true. He knew that being a hero wasn't in his future.
"…..sigh…what am I even doing here….
"…..sniff….hick…s.s…sniff…"
'Is that….crying?'
Sure enough, Doguma recognized the sound as someone crying, but he didn't know where. He was the only person on the roof. 'So, then it must be coming from below…'
Doguma went back to the stairwell to enter the fifth floor and followed where he heard the crying noise. After taking a few turns in the office space, he saw what looked like a child in fetal position crying out his eyes. Doguma took note of the unique appendages attached to the kid's head – four purple spheres that looked attached to his head. "Uhh..are you okay?"
"AAAAAHHHH!" shouted the kid, screaming in pure fear at Doguma's sudden appearance. "Who-wh…who are you?" he stuttered, backing away from Doguma for precaution.
"…..I'm Freeman Doguma…" replied the teen, "…I heard crying and saw you laying on the floor. What's wrong? Are you injured?"
"No, I'm not injured!" said the purple haired? Purple balled? The purple….kid. "I'm scared for my life and I should have never signed up to be hero! All I want is for girls to like me!"
'Oh, he's one of those….' Thought Doguma in disappointment. He could tell that the short boy held a lot of lust and perversion within him without even having Negative activated. A pervert whose entire life revolved around women he could never be with. 'It may be best to leave him as he is…'
Doguma turned to leave, not wanting to deal with the purple guy any longer. Perverts annoyed Doguma and he didn't need that type of energy around him. "I should just give up!" shouted the crying teen, "I can't be a hero! My quirk can't even beat those robots! And they're super scary!"
Doguma stopped…
'No…just leave…you need to focus on yourself…..'
'….'
'….'
'….'
'…..sigh…I hate myself….'
"You're scared of the robots?" asked Doguma, turning back to the crying, purple guy. "And you say your quirk can't stop the robots? Explain. Start with your name."
The short teen's crying calmed to sniffles as he slowly gathered himself from the ground. "My name is Minoru Mineta and I'm taking the test to become a Pro Hero." Began the newly named Minoru. "But this test sucks! Everyone else is destroying the robots with ease! My quirk, Pop Off," Mineta then proceeded to take off one of the purple spheres from his head, surprising Doguma, only for another one to regrow immediately after, "can stick to anything other than myself. I just bounce right off. Now how in the hell am I supposed to be those big ass robots!" cried out Mineta.
'Pop Off, huh?' Doguma's high intellect was already processing Mineta's quirk and coming up with a way for him to use them against the faux villains. 'It's actually a pretty handy quirk when used correctly…'
"Wait a second…" mumbled the taller teen, "You those spheres can stick to anything? Even hold them down?"
"Well…yea…" mumbled Mineta, "Anything that isn't me…"
"Minoru-san…your quirk is perfect for this test." Said Doguma, catching Mineta off guard with his words. "Present Mic-san never said you only had to destroy the faux villains to get points. You also had the choice to just 'stop' them… stop meaning 'hold them down'."
"Ah…" Realization hit Mineta as his eyes widened. First, hope flooded the smaller boy's body, but then a look of horror grew on his face. "Oh shit…I've been sitting in here for five minutes! How much longer until the test ends?!"
"As of now? A little over two minutes." Said Doguma, referring to the mental clock he had in head, "….have you tried to use your quirk before during the test?"
"Y-yea! I stop about…uhhh…s-six..Six or seven villains! It should add somewhere to around 15-to-17 points."
"Mhhmm…that won't be enough.." thought Doguma, scaring Mineta in the process. "…but don't worry. We'll get you enough points before the time runs out."
"How!? In only two minutes?!"
"Get on my back."
"Wha-what? Stuttered Mineta, backing away from Doguma. "What are-
"If you don't come with me now, you'll never be a hero." Argued Doguma with a glare centered on the quivering Minoru, "You'll stay in here, crying your eyes out – pathetic…is that how you want your stand to be? Is this…..sigh…..is this how you want the ladies to see you?"
A fire grew in Mineta's eyes. "The ladies?"
"Let's go, Freeman-san! Go! Go! Go!"
Currently, Doguma was jumping from roof to roof. The buildings in the cityscape were close enough for Doguma to jump with ease. Mineta had latched onto Doguma's back using his Pop Off balls, attaching them to his back. "We've gotta find some bots to fuck up! Let's go! For the ladies!"
'Just a couple of seconds ago, you were crying with your thumb in your mouth…' sweat dropped Doguma. However, it did feel good to help someone in need. "I've got a plan, Minoru-san…a special way for you to use your quirk to move faster and locate villains even quicker than I can."
"Really!? What's that?!"
"I'm gonna throw you down to the ground-
"WHATTT!"
"-and then you cover you landing with your spheres to make a trampoline!" Doguma shouted back. "From such heights, you'll shoot high in the air and disable the bots' movement from above!"
"Oh!...That's a great plan! Let's do it!"
Reaching the edge of the roof they were on, Doguma carefully grabbed Mineta's sides in between his palms – his fingers were still injured, after all. "Alright. I'm about to throw you down. You ready?"
"DO IT! IT'S FOR THE LADIES!"
Doguma rolled his eyes and threw Mineta down to the ground. A motivated Minoru Mineta threw a couple of his spheres down at his predicted landing spot. "Watch me, ladies!" he announced to any nearby female participants. "Watch me fly!"
Mineta landed on his makeshift trampoline and bounced back up in the air, shooting past Doguma. "W-woah!" grinned Doguma as he looked up at Mineta in the air. "Good job, Minoru-san! Now ran down your spheres!"
"Right on!" shouted Mineta. His eyes gleamed in anticipation when he saw a solo faux villain walking the streets. "Take this!" yelled the flying short boy as he threw his orbs at the villain.
Mineta lit up in excitement when he saw his orbs trap the confused villain to the ground. He began descending back down to the ground, but he quickly threw down another trampoline for him to jump from again, sending him back up in the air. "I'm touching the skies! The Flying Grape Attack!"
Doguma scaled the roofs, following the flying Mineta. He would knock off any of the faux villains his new friend missed with a quick laser bullet to the head. His strategy drastically increased Mineta's mobility and perception. Doguma was beginning to have trouble keeping up with Mineta with how fast he was moving along with the fact that he was tired himself. "Wai…wait, Minoru-san…" gasped Doguma as he jumped onto another roof top.
"I've got you! And you! And YOU!" laughed Mineta as he expertly threw his Pop Off orbs at his foes. The short teen had regained his confidence, "I'm the king of the world!"
Mineta jumped off another one of his makeshift trampolines again, but Doguma eyes widened in fear when he realized Mineta wouldn't be returning down to the ground safely. Judging by his height and speed that the short teen was moving at, he would descend not on the ground, but on the side of a building as the road he was going down ended in front of a five-story building. "Oh no…"
Thinking quickly Doguma ran and jumped off the roof he was on. Activating Minus in his right thumb, he jabbed the appendages into the side of the building he was on and fell. Minus burned through the side of the wall, but his thumb still slowed down his descent back to the ground before he began running to where Mineta would land if he hit the side of the building. "Minoru-san!" shouted Doguma from below! "Watch out! Minoru-san!"
"Eh?" After trapping another group of faux villains, Mineta looked down for his next landing spot….only to shout in fear when he saw that he was closing into the side of a building! "Aahh! Freeman-san! Freeman-san!" he panic-called.
"Minoru-san! Jump off the side of the building with your quirk!" shouted Doguma as he ran after the shorter teen, "I'll catch you!
"AAAHHAHHHHH!" Scared for his life, Mineta threw a barrage of his Pop Off sphere at the spot on the wall he would land on. "Please, don't die! Please don't die! Please DON'T DIE!"
Finally, Minoru hit his makeshift trampoline set on the building and quickly shot an angle back down to the road. Thankfully for the purple-balled boy, Doguma caught the flying teen and landed on his back. "GAaaaahhh…." Groaned Doguma as the wind was knocked right out of him. The threat of bile creeping up his throat was present as his stomach constricted in pain. 'Not good…' he winced in agony.
"Ah…" Meanwhile, Mineta checked his hands and felt his face, shocked to feel that he was uninjured "I'm safe! I did it! That's right ladies!" he shouted, "Mineta-sama CAN save the day!"
The groans of his new friend pulled him out of his self-absorbed speech. "Dogu-Bro!" he cried out, "Are you okay?! Holy shit, man! That catch was amazing, but you look like you're about to poop yourself!"
"…It…wo…wouldn't….surprise me….if…that happened…" The dreaded teen said in-between breaths. "How….ughh….how…many fa….faux villains….did you get…"
"Oh! I've had to have gotten at least….uhh…over fifteen!" proclaimed Minoru with a wide grin. "That has to be more than enough! And it's all thanks to you, Dogu-Bro!"
"Dogu...Bro? What is-Oooomphh!" wheezed Doguma as Minoru glomped him right in his pain-filled stomach.
"Thank you so much!" cried the purple-balled teen into Doguma's shirt. "If it wasn't for you, then I wouldn't be able to become a hero and the girls will never love me! Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
"Al…alright now…" said Doguma as he patted the crying teen's back, "It's okay….and what's this Dogu-Bro name?"
"That's you! Because you're a super cool bro!" exclaimed Mineta through his tears.
"Oh…." Said the generally surprised Doguma. He scratched his head in confusion as he felt…happiness. It had been sometime since he felt happy – ever since he almost killed a man with his evil quirk. To hear Mineta's nickname for him made the dual-quirk teen feel better for himself than he has in sometime. "Thank you…Mineta-san…" he muttered with a small smile. "How positive…That….that really means al-"
*THUD!*
Both Doguma and Mineta's bodies shook from the disturbingly strong vibration that traveled through the ground. A building a few blocks away crashed to the ground as a large, metallic hand gripped the side of another building, heavily damaging it as the wall crumbled with ease.
Mineta's eyes budged out of his head as he looked up at the giant that slowly grew taller. Doguma gawked in utter shock as a large, massive shadow easily covered them, as well as the other nearby buildings hat hadn't fallen, but most likely would soon, by the gigantic titan faux villain that appeared. It stepped onto the main road where Doguma and Mineta lay, paralyzed by a mixture of fear, shock and horror of the giant that looked down on the duo with its many red eyes.
"…..D….Do…Do….. ….bro?" Mineta tapped his new friend's shoulder weakly as he stared at the titan. "We….we need to go…"
Doguma had collected himself faster than Mineta and knew a few seconds prior that they need to go - and faster. Sadly, Doguma was all gassed out. He had been either been consistently running or attacking with his quirk for the past nine minutes. While he could force through the pain his burning muscles felt, what really ended the idea of running away was his, most likely, broken/fractured ribs. Mineta's fall had way more force than he let on. Catching Mineta, even for someone so short and light, at such high speeds had consequences…one of which, was lack of mobility.
"Mineta-san…..I can't move….." he finally admitted.
The news absolutely scared the shit out of Mineta. "You…What do you mean you can't move!?" He screeched. "Just get up and leave! Let's go before it turns us into paste on the concrete!"
Another step from the giant titan shook the ground. "Eep! We've really got to go, Dogu-Bro! Come on!"
"N-no, I physically can't…" he sighed. "…I think some of my ribs are broken… If I move, it'll aggravate the injury….possibly even puncture an organ. Moving isn't an option for me."
Another step. Mineta practically jumped at the thunderous sound. "B-b-b-b-but what are we going to do?!" he shouted in pure fear. "That thing is gonna kill you if we don't move!"
"We know what to do…"
The dark-skinned teen inhaled deeply as he began to focus his quirk into his thumbs. Purple light sparked from the appendages as his fear began to decrease. Instead, he locked onto the happiness he felt when Mineta called him his 'bro'. Mineta was too overridden with fear to move, and to physically weak to drag Doguma away from the gigantic monster, leaving him with one last option…
"We fight."
Two, dual beams of soared through the air and struck the 0-pointer in its thick, metallic neck. Doguma internally growled as he saw how little damage his lasers did to the villain's neck. The nape was incredibly thicker and denser the previous villains', and just two lasers weren't going to cut it in time before it reached them.
"Mineta-san!" he yelled as he put everything he had into his lasers, "I'm gonna need you to throw your spheres at the ground where it will walk at! It'll slow it down!"
"What?!" he screeched, "Why the hel-
"SHUT THE FUCK UP AND DO IT BEFORE WE DIE!" shouted Doguma with a glare so intense that it almost scared the shorter teen more than the O-pointer did. "I AM NOT GOING TO DIE HERE, SO STOP BEING SCARED AND DO IT!"
'To hell with holding back!'
"GGGRARRAAAAAAA!" The first war cry of Doguma's life filled the surrounding area as lasers from his bandaged fingers broke through and hit the 0-pointer's neck. He instantly felt the pain of using his quirk through his injured fingers, but he was going to need the extra power to burn through the bot's neck and survive.
The O-pointer itself was marching towards their direction and it wouldn't take long until it reached them. The tips of Doguma's injured fingers were bleeding, but it didn't matter to him the slightest as he continued his outpour of power. "Grrrrr…Mineta-san! Do it! Do it!"
Said U.A. hopeful was still paralyzed, but slowly inching forward. Mineta bit into his lips, trying to force some type of confidence out of himself to run up to the titan that was the 0-pointer and try to stop it. "…I….I…I h-h-have to….save us…."
Mineta took a full step, before taking another….before switching to an all-out sprint. "GGAAAhhh! Take this!" he shouted as he threw a barrage of purple spheres at the ground. "I'M NOT GONNA LET YOU KILL US!"
'Come on…' Doguma pleaded in his mind as he gritted his teeth in pain, 'Please work….work, work…just slow him down a bit…'
His laser had cut through at least 20% of the bot's neck, and he would need time to deal more damage. He was hoping Mineta's quirk would at least slow him down. "I just need more time…." He growled as he amped his lasers.
"Take this! And this! And this!" Mineta's spheres filled the street as he threw as many as he possibly could. Purple filled the street to the point that it would be impossible for the 0-pointer to safely step on the street without getting caught by Mineta's quirk. "Eat shit!" he yelled before scampering away.
The 0-pointer's massive right foot stomped on the purple mine field without a care – the same with its left foot. However, the bot had trouble pulling up its feet up from the ground as Mineta's adhesive quirk was working effectively.
"Yes..." A smirk grew on Doguma's face as he continued burning through the robot's neck. He was nearing halfway as the gigantic bot began to suffer the loss of important wires and cables being burned as it twitched, and sparks flew out of its neck. "Almost there! Mineta-san! We're almost there!"
"Good! Just hurry up an-
Both of their hearts dropped when the gigantic faux villain ripped the road from the ground as it pulled its right leg up. It was still stuck to the bottom of its foot, but the faux villain's immense forced a loophole of Mineta's quirk. "Oh…Oh no! Oh no, oh no, oh no!" screeched Mineta as the bot got closer. "We're gonna die! We're gonna dDDDiiiiiIIIEEEEEEEE!"
Doguma continued burning through the faux villain's neck, and it was looking as if the damage was starting to work as the villain's twitching grew as more sparks burst from its head. "Don't worry, Mineta-san…" muttered Doguma as he kept his focus on his target. "We'll be getting out this alive. We can do it. We'll make it."
"AAHAHHH!" Mineta could feel his spirit leave his body as he watched the malfunctioning faux villain rear its massive fist back, preparing to strike both Mineta and Doguma on the ground below. "WE'RE GONNA DIE! WE'RE GONNA DIDDIIIIIIEEEEEEEEE!" He cried.
"No…we're not."
Doguma hadn't cut through the entire neck of the O-pointer, but the devastating explosion that came out its neck was all they needed as the giant's head popped off. "Finally…." Doguma released the breath he forgot he was holding in as the faux villain's body fell backwards, smashing into buildings and easily destroying them. "…finally….."
Peace.
Doguma fell to his back as the loud alarm signaling the end of the entrance exam rang throughout the cityscape. He hardly cared, rather, focusing his attention on the clouds floating in the sky. He recalled his previous thoughts over ten minutes ago, wanting to be on the roof of his apartment complex and cloud watch all day sounded ten times better than bleeding out of your fingers, fatigued and possibly having a few broken bones.
'But…..' Doguma's lips stretched to a small smile as he glanced at Mineta who was dancing and crying in happiness. '…heh…..I guess it was worth it…'
"We did it! We did it!" laughed Mineta. "Oh…I'm gonna be a hero! I know I have to have enough points! I'm gonna be student in U.A.'s Hero Program!"
"Oh! Dogu-Bro!" Mineta dropped to Doguma's side and hugged his arm, keeping away from his injured ribs, "It's all because of you! I promise you, Dogu-Bro, when we're in school together, we'll team up all the time and knock out the competition! We'll knock out these three years without a problem.!"
"….hehe…." chuckled the tired boy, "I'm…..I'm looking forward to it."
Deceit.
"Oh dear….you kids really can't stop hurting yourselves, can you?"
A short, old woman walked over to the duo with a syringe acting as a cane. Thanks to Izuku being his best friend, Doguma quickly recognized the woman as Recovery Girl. "Oh, thank god…" he sighed in relief. If Recovery Girl was here, then he knew his very painful injuries were only momentary. "The legendary Recovery Girl has come to save the day."
"Ohoho, seems like somebody knows me." Chuckled their elder, "Yes, I'm here to help you two out. You two really put on a show, beating the 0-pointer. Impressive, if I do say so myself. Now, let's heal those wounds, shall we?"
"It's here! Oh, dear sweet Jesus, it's here! Doguma! Get your ass in the living room!"
The tired Doguma yawned as he walked into the living room. He had gotten in the bed early for the night and was dressed in plain white T-shirt and black gym shorts. "What's here, Pops?"
"The letter from U.A.!" he exclaimed with passion, "It's time we find out if you made it in the Hero Course, which I know you did based on the performance you told me about!"
"Oh yea…that…" Doguma scratched his head with disinterest while his father tore through the envelope. "I guess the entrance exam did happen a week ago…"
"Haha! Here it is!" Stars shined in Gerald's eyes as he held a weird contraption. "Ah! So U.A. uses holographic technology to send out the results?! Very interesting…"
"Holographic?" Now Doguma's interest was spiked by the disc as his father activated it.
"I am here!" shouted the holographic All Might as he flexed his muscles! "Haha! It is I! All Might and, for the first time ever, staff member of U.A. for the hero course!"
"Now, regarding Freeman-san's test scores…" Doguma and Gerald watched as All Might shuffled through papers. "Here we are…well, then! I'm impressed! Your test scores are truly outstanding, Young Freeman! You only missed two questions out of seventy-five! And that's with the injury that we noted you had. The staff was going to ask if you would like Recovery Girl to heal you when we noticed your bandaged hands, but by then, the test had already started. With these test scores, you are automatically granted studentship here at U.A. under the General Education department, however, I'm sure you are interested in hearing about your acceptance into the Hero Course, which is…."
"Please…if there really is a god out there…" Gerald was on his knees praying that his son made it into the Hero Program. Doguma rolled his eyes at his father as the man continued, "…please, let my boy in. You don't know how much this would mean for us….me, in particular. If he doesn't make it, my next phone call from my father back home would be total chaos…please…please…."
"Congratulations, Young Freeman! You passed the practical test!" shouted All Might with a beaming smile. "You put on quite the show for us judges!"
"YESSS!" Gerald jumped out of his crouched position and landed on the couch. "I DID IT! I HAVE A SUCCUSSFUL SON! YES!"
'He's treating me like I'm some test subject…' sweat dropped Doguma, 'How negative…'
"I'm sure you and your family are jumping in happiness right now – and you should!" continued All Might, "Your performance today was highly impressive as you carried yourself with such confidence and poise! Perfect elements for a future Pro Hero to have! Overall, you collected 68 villain points, coming in second place overall for villain points! Truly amazing, Young Freeman!"
Gerald stood perfectly still as he was paralyzed with shock. Hearing Doguma's test scores with his own ears was the equivalent to finding out he won the lottery. "….s-s…second….place…" he muttered. "…he….hehe….my son is a walking tank…."
"But wait! There's more!" Flashes of Doguma consoling Mineta when he first found the purple, saving him from crashing into the ground, and tag teaming with him to take down the 0-pointer were shown as All Might narrated over the scenes. "The practical test also had a secret point system – rescue points! Any type of heroic behavior done during the exam gives you extra rescue points to add to your overall score! You had multiple moments during the practical where you saved people! And while you didn't get points for taking down the 0-pointer, saving Minoru-san and any other nearby participants from its destruction added to the 68 points you already had…with that, your final score iiisss!..."
The Number One Hero of the land spun around in dramatic fashion, faced the camera and flexed his gigantic muscles. "Congratulations again, Young Freeman, for your final score is a whooping 97 points, one of the highest points collected ever in U.A. history! Surely, your time as a student under U.A.'s hero course will turn you into the hero you deserve to be! You have-
It was at this point where Gerald fell to the floor, unconscious from his utter excitement and disbelief over what was happening. Doguma, however, stopped listening to All Might's inspiration words as a dark feeling grew within his heart. He hugged himself as the world around him grew dark as he understood that he was judge just on one part of himself. All Might's positive words were only for the GOOD part of him. The part society would happily accept.
….but once they knew of his other side….
….the dark side…
….the socially unacceptable side….
….the evil side….
'…..I don't deserve to be a hero….'
"Whew!" All Might kicked his feet up on his desk and leaned back in his chair. "That was a lot of videos we had to do today! But I can't wait to see all of the future heroes and train them to help the world!"
"Seems like you're in happy spirits." Smirked Midnight, another Pro Hero working at U.A. whose desk was next to the Number One Hero's. "Usually, these days are the most tiresome. So many videos and fake smiles…ughhi" she groaned in distress, "…while I am happy as well, I wish there was an easier way to tell everyone who made it or not."
"Haha! True, but this feeling I have makes me feel unstoppable!" beamed the blonde brute, "Teaching the next gerneation of heroes was the correct call to make! I can't wait to…..eh?"
All Might glanced at his open lab top – in particular, the new email notification that popped up. Scrolling to it, All Might opened the new email and read its contents.
From: Freeman Doguma
To: U.A. Staff
Subject: Course Change
"Dear U.A. Staff,
Firstly, I want to thank you for accepting me into your marvelous facility. I've always wanted to go to U.A. My best friend and I dreamed about attending ever since we were kids, and now that our dream has become reality, it feels amazing. Truly, thank you for accepting someone like me into U.A. My father and I just reviewed my acceptance into the Hero Program, and while it means a lot to me, I must sadly deny acceptance within the Hero Course offered at U.A. Instead, I would feel much comfortable attending U.A. in the General Education department. The decision was purely made by me and, please, do not think I believe the Hero Program offered at U.A. is inadequate. In fact, I believe it to be one of the greatest Hero Programs in the world. However, I feel as if I am not sure if I want to be hero, and I know there is another person who took the test that wishes to become a hero more than I do. Please, fill my seat in the class I was set to be in for another student who is worthy to become a hero.
Thank you for understanding. I am excited to attend U.A. as a General Education student.
Freeman
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Whew! Got a little heavy there at the end. Sad Doguma, not wanting to become a hero….it really is messed up, huh?
Again, sorry for such a late update. School sucks. Especially when you take classes you don't care about….which is most of my classes…
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, especially the inclusion of the Grape God himself. People always wondered how Mineta was able to score in the Practical Exam, so I wanted to type out how. Of course, it's different with Doguma around, but his quirk is pretty good in terms of capture, which was all they had to do to acquire points in the exam.
I don't have much to say. Just hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Please fav, follow and review! I love hearing back from everyone one.
But yeah, I guess that's it for me.
NarutoPlug, signing out.
Like a real one should…
Trust in the Plug.