Disclaimer: Boku no Hero Academia characters and plot events belongs to Horikoshi Kohei.
To Be a Hero
testing the waters
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Several days into their ultimate moves training, the girls of class 1-A were hanging out in the common area to relax one night to talk about their progress. Just a day ago Bakugou had perfected his AP Shot which caused a giant boulder-sized chunk fall off the mountain and nearly collided with All Might who came to visit. If it weren't for Midoriya's quickness and new move involving using his legs, it would've been a dangerous situation for the retired hero. The other guys made good progress with their moves and costume alterations as well, but their practice was interrupted 10 minutes early when class 1-B came in. It was there they learned that the two hero courses will be taking the provisional license exam at separate times and locations; the days were getting shorter for class 1-A and the 50% pass rate was more imposing than ever.
Mina sighed tiredly as she lazed on one of the sofas, "We're working so hard every day..."
"It's not called 'intensive training' for nothing, huh?" Hagakure responded, the energy in her voice also duller than usual.
"There's less than a week left before the provisional licensing exam," Momo reasoned to settle their complaints. The invisible girl perked up once more.
"Yao-momo, how's your ultimate move coming?"
"There's something I want to do, but my body can't keep up yet so I need to develop my Quirk a little more first."
"What about Tsuyu-chan?"
"I've perfected a move even more frog-like than before. I'm sure even you'll be surprised, Toru-chan," the girl responded while sipping on a carton of strawberry-flavored yogurt milk. Shiro, on the opposite side of the girl, was drinking the same thing contently. Due to popular demand for the flavored milk, the dorm pantry was stocked along with the regular ones that Uraraka and the rest enjoyed.
"What about you, Ochaco-chan?" Hagakure asked the absentminded brunette, but she got no response. Tsuyu tapped the girl on the shoulder with question and suddenly the girl was ripped out of her daze with a blush on her face.
"Huh?!"
"You seem tired."
"Oh, no, I'm not tired at all. I'm just getting started!" Uraraka denied with a nervous laugh. "At least, that's how it's suppose to be, but, how do I put it...? Recently, my heart's been feeling all stirred up..."
"It's love!" Mina exclaimed excitedly with her hands in the air. Since she was sitting between Shiro and Jiro, her movement jolted the two girls slightly and Shiro almost squeezed her drink too hard and let it spill just as Uraraka's face burned up with adamant denial.
"Wh... What?! Glove? Shove? Dove? I don't know what you're talking about!"
"Is it Midoriya or Iida?" Mina pressed on with a knowing grin. "You're always with them, aren't you?"
"No, no, that's not it! No...!"
She floated... the girls all observed as Uraraka circled weightlessly above their heads with her hands covering her embarrassed face. Hagakure and surprisingly Jiro were interested and continued to question.
"Who is it? Who is it?!"
"Spit it out. You'll get a lighter sentence if you confess."
"It's not it!" Uraraka begged, "I don't really know anything about that stuff... W-What about you guys?!"
The attention was momentarily drawn off the embarrassed brunette at her question and Mina grew excited as she looked between the girls. "The boys in our class aren't too shabby, so there has to be one or two you guys have eyes on, right? Jiro-chan, you start!"
"W-What?!" It was the punk-rock girl's turn to be embarrassed as she was called on the spot. "I don't like anyone!"
"Eh?" Hagakure leaned in with a sly giggle, "But Jiro-chan likes to tease Kaminari-kun a lot, and he still loves to hang around you despite it!"
"I-I tease him b-because he acts like an idiot!"
"Are you sure~?"
"W-What about you! You're close with Ojiro!"
"We're great teammates!" Hagakure said without missing a beat. "With Shiro-chan, too! There's history between us three from when we went against Todoroki-kun and Shoji-kun!"
"Speaking of," Mina nudged the silver-blue haired girl and wiggled her brows. "Who is it for you? If it was me I'd pick the most handsome guy in our class."
"What?" Shiro blinked incredulously. She hadn't expected to be called out and faced with the sudden decision. The pink haired girl took her confused gaze as not knowing who she was referring to as the most handsome and was quick to supply with a grin.
"The most handsome and princely, you know—Todoroki! Or maybe you like the bad boy type, huh? Bakugou fits the bill! You weren't awake for it, but back in USJ, they played out the roles perfectly. Both of them are fighting over you, so who do you have the hots for? Todoroki? Bakugou?"
This time, Shiro did spill a little bit of her strawberry milk. Mina's eyes lit up.
"It's Bakugou, isn't it?!"
"You're wrong, Mina-chan!" Hagakure disagreed. "It's Todoroki-kun!"
"I-I gotta clean this up..." Shiro stood up and rushed towards the kitchen and avoided the question altogether.
"Shiroooo-channnn!"
"It's not good to force an investigation, you know," Tsuyu cut in to save the rest of the girls from further embarrassment. Momo nodded as well and got up.
"That's right. More importantly, we have an early start tomorrow, so we should turn in."
"Ehhh!" Mina pouted and waved her fists around. "Even if we don't talk about anything important, I want to force it to be about romance~!"
Small talks with the girls were fun and relaxing after a hard day of training, but saved for Mina and Hagakure, the others were glad that it came to a close for the night.
One week later.
National Dagoba Arena: Provisional Licensing Exam Location.
The students of class 1-A stood before the imposing building with a sense of anxious determination in their eyes. Carrying their hero suit cases and gathering with the other schools in the entrance made the situation even more real.
"Ah, I'm getting nervous!" Jiro gripped her bag.
"I wonder what we'll be tested on..." Mineta couldn't stay still. "I wonder if I can get my provisional license..."
"Mineta," Aizawa crouched down to the boy's level and gave him a hard stare. "It's not about whether or not you can. Go and get it!"
"Right, c-course of!"
He made him even more nervous, Shiro raised her brows from behind. Her relationship with Aizawa had become normal once again and she was able to talk to him freely after that night with spilling everything, and she even apologized to the hero for being so distant because of the guilt she put upon herself. This exam was going to be the perfect place to show him that she was set on being a hero and to make him proud once more.
"Listen up, guys. If you can pass this test and get your provisional license, then you novice eggs will become chicks... You'll hatch into semi-pros. Do your best."
"Yes, sir!" Shiro chorused with the rest of her classmates.
"I'll become a chick!" Kaminari echoed with a pumped-up look. Kirishima mirrored it with a fist in the air.
"Let's all call out the usual! Ready, set—Plus..."
"ULTRA!"
Shiro and the others nearly jumped from their skins when a stranger hopped in and stole their line with such enthusiasm. The guy was wearing a white collared shirt and dark pants with a signature hat. Behind him were the rest of his classmates and the one with purple hair had a disproving look on his face.
"You shouldn't just barge in on other people's huddles, Inasa."
"Oh, no!" the larger male seemed to realize his enthusiasm had gotten the better of him and caused him to be rude, so he made a near 180 degree bow at the U.A. students with his head hitting the ground. "I am sorry!"
"What's with this guy trying to get by with just his enthusiasm?!" Kaminari yelled incredulously. Jiro's eyes widened slightly when she noticed the emblem on the students' uniform and hat.
"That uniform... It's from that famous school in western Japan..."
"U.A. in the east, Shiketsu in the west," Bakugou pitched with a careful glower at his competitions. "They're our hero course rivals."
"I wanted to try saying it just once! Plus Ultra!" the male shouted. "I love U.A. High School! I'm extremely honored to be able to compete against U.A. students! I'm looking forward to it!"
Everyone was too shocked to make a noise as they continued to stare at the enthusiastic male.
"Yoarashi Inasa..." Aizawa's drone came as a surprise to the others as the hero recognized who the person was. "He's strong. He got the top scores from those admitted through recommendations last year, but for some reason he turned down his acceptance."
"A first-year like us... So he took the same exam as Yaoyorozu-san and Todoroki-san..." Shiro muttered and blinked when she saw a small trail of blood seeped from the male's abused forehead.
When Inasa heard her voice, he immediately drew his attention towards her with his eyes filled with even more enthusiasm. His towering form appeared before the girl while the rest of her classmates looked with alarm.
"You're Aisaka Shiragiku, the one who made it to third place from the U.A. Sports Festival!" he exclaimed as he smiled at her widely. "I paid close attention to you because you showed so much passion in everything you did! I love passion above all else! It's so nice to finally meet you!"
"It's nice to meet you too... I'm honored," Shiro blinked with surprise, but she offered him a small expression of gratitude. The male's eyes brightened as he bowed 90 degrees.
"Now that we've met, I can finally ask you out!"
"...H-Huh?" she choked.
"EH?!" the rest of her class yelled.
"You have no tact, Inasa. This is hardly the time to drop that on a girl," his purple haired classmate admonished again. The blonde girl with plump lips pouted curiously next to him as well.
"There's blood on his forehead..."
"We have an exam to take. Let's go."
"Right! I should wait until after the exam!" Inasa exclaimed and put his hat back on. From the corner of his vision he saw Todoroki glaring at him with those eyes, but he held his expression firmly. The tension was clear, however. Since he couldn't stay and chat since his classmates were leaving, Inasa bid Shiro and the rest farewell for now. "Everyone else from U.A., please excuse me!"
"Just what the heck was that?!" Sero was the first to speak. "Yoarashi Inasa...?"
"A confession...!" Mina gushed. She wanted excitement from romance, and this was serving it on a hot plate! "He didn't hold back at all! Shiro-chan, what are you going to respond to him?!"
"Who cares what Baldy said?! He's our opponent, nothing else!" Bakugou shouted as he clawed his way up in anger. "I'll kill him!"
"He said he loved U.A., too, but he threw away his chance to enroll. I don't get it," Kirishima piped as he put a hand on the angry blonde's shoulder to stop him from lashing out at anyone. Like his friend, however, he wasn't too keen on the confession either. "What a strange guy!"
"He's weird, but he's the real thing," Aizawa droned. Inasa's eccentricity wasn't news to him but there was no doubt that he was strong individual fueled by the passion he claimed to love. His students needed to be aware of it and not let their guards down. "Keep an eye out for him."
Everyone nodded, thinking that the surprises were over, until...
"Eraser? It's you, isn't it, Eraser?!" A loud, female voice cut through the crowd. A woman with an orange bandana over seafoam green hair waved happily at the suddenly apprehensive and irritated hero. "I've seen you on T.V. and at the Sports Festival, but it's been a while since I've seen you in person!"
Immediately, Midoriya started to piece together who the woman was with her hero costume and demeanor. Shiro was well aware of who the woman was, though, since...
"Let's get married, Eraser!"
"No," came Aizawa's immediate reply.
"Oh my gosh!" Mina's heart could burst at any moment. "Something's in the air!"
The rejected woman let out a hefty laugh, "'No'? Good one!"
"You're hard to talk to as usual, Joke."
"...She's the Smile Hero: Ms. Joke!" Midoriya finally recognized with his fanboy mode on. "Her Quirk's Outburst! She forces those near her to laugh, dulling their thinking and their movements! Her fights against villains are full of craziness!"
"If you marry me, then we can make a happy family with never-ending laughter!" Ms. Joke grinned with a thumbs up. Aizawa continued to rebuff her enthusiastic advances.
"A family like that can't be happy."
"They seem close," Tsuyu commented with a finger tipping her lip. Shiro nodded besides her.
"I heard their agencies used to be close to each other. Eraserhead closed it when he became a U.A. teacher. Ms. Joke came to visit when I was around seven but she joked to me that she was my new mom and Eraserhead didn't talk to her for an entire year."
"If it isn't my adorable Shiro-chan! I missed you!" Ms. Joke waved at the girl before batting her eyes at Aizawa with a fake blush. "Surely you'll do it for Shiro-chan's happiness, too? You can't deny the love between us that bloomed from the cycle of helping and being helped—"
"There was no love."
"Oh, I love your quick retorts! You're so worth teasing, Eraser!"
Aizawa sighed to stop the ridiculousness, "Joke, since you're here, that means..."
"That's right!" Ms. Joke smiled before the hero even needed to finish his sentence and waved for her class to gather around. "Come here, everyone! It's U.A.!"
The group that was just getting off the bus sped up at the mention of the elite hero school and eagerly went up to the students with smiles on their faces. "It's the real thing!" the one with unruly black hair exclaimed as a girl with spiky blonde hair mirrored his excitement.
"Wow, that's amazing! I've seen them all on T.V.!"
"Ketsubutsu Academy second years, class 2!" Ms. Joke introduced her class to Aizawa with a sense of seriousness. "They're my class. Please take care of us."
"I'm Shindo Yo! U.A. this year has had trouble after trouble, so it must've been tough!" the black haired male said as he clasped Midoriya's hands with encouragement before going on to Kaminari. "But even so, you all are still aiming to be heroes like this, huh? That's wonderful! A heart of fortitude is what I believe all heroes should have from now on!"
Shindo continued to shake hands with the students down the line while Midoriya and the others felt the brightness and dazzling aura from the male. He then released Jiro's hands as he stopped in front of Shiro and Bakugou.
"You're Bakugou-kun and Aisaka-kun, the ones who experienced being the center of the Camino incident," he addressed with a kind smile and outstretched his hand. "You both have especially strong hearts. Today, I'll do my best while learning from you!"
He's almost too kind, Shiro pondered as she thought about taking his hand for a handshake. However, before she could, Bakugou slapped Shindo's hand away with a glare.
"Stop pretending. What you're saying doesn't match the look on your face."
"Oi, Bakugou!" Kirishima chided and immediately apologized to the second-year. "Sorry for his rudeness..."
"It's fine! It just proves how strong his heart is."
But because of Bakugou's words, Shiro paid extra attention to Shindo's expression and she caught a glimpse of what the blonde was talking about. It was gone just as fast as she saw it but she couldn't help but agree with the accusation.
What's with him? she wondered as the other Ketsubutsu students struck up short conversations with her classmates. Aizawa called over the ruckus as the time neared for them to get going.
"Change into your costumes and go to the orientation. Don't waste time."
"Yes, sir!"
Class 1-A filed into the arena with bewilderment. Meeting people from other schools had been an interesting reminder about how famous U.A. truly was. Everyone seemed to know them from the Sports Festival and from the incidents revolving around the League of Villains attacks. It was exciting as well as unnerving for some.
Shiro furrowed her brows as she continued to think.
Whatever it is, I don't think these people will make the exam any easier for us...
Inside the arena was crowded with students from hero courses all over the country. Like, really, really crowded. As big as the building looked on the outside, it became such a small looking space after seeing everyone who was going to be a competition for class 1-A.
"Um... Well then, let's do that provisional license thing..."
A tired voice projecting from the front of the arena droned and grabbed everyone's attention. The man looked like he hadn't slept for days and could not wait for the exam to be over despite it not even starting yet. "I'm Mera from the Heroes Public Safety Commission. The kind of sleep I like is non-REM sleep... Nice to meet you all. I've been so busy that I haven't gotten much sleep... We're so short-staffed... I'm so sleepy... With that conviction, I will give you the orientation."
He doesn't look okay at all, Shiro raised her brows. He's the one in charge of overseeing the exam...?
"About the content of the provisional license thing... Frankly, all 1,540 examinees here will have to win through a free-for-all exercise. Our society is currently said to be saturated with heroes, and ever since Stain was arrested, many have shown doubts about the current state of heroes. Well, as a private citizen, no matter what the motivation, to tell someone risking their lives to save others not to seek any reward is a little..." Mera trailed off briefly before continuing. "It's the ruthless story of these modern times. But anyway, whether its for compensation or for loyalty and courage... The result of many heroes working hard together to help people and defeat villains is right now, the time form when an incident begins when it is resolved is so short that it'd make you sick. You all are about to receive your provisional licenses and finally throw yourselves into those rapids. Those who can't keep up will frankly have it tough... So accordingly, what you'll be tested on is speed!"
The giant screen above Mera's head promptly blinked and displayed a number that was shocking to everyone:
Number to pass 1st test - 100 people.
"The first hundred to fulfill the requirements will pass."
A cacophony of anxious murmurs erupted from the crowd of 1,540 students. If they were worried before with the statistic that only 50% would pass, they were in a panic now. Having the first hundred go on to the second test would mean that actually less than 10% of the examinees would pass today.
"Class 1-A has 21 people in total... The possibility that all of us securing a spot to the next test is small but not impossible. However, we have to take into account the unknown strengths of students from other schools," Shiro calculated in her head pensively. Her mind traveled to the people she met just minutes ago; Inasa scored even higher than Todoroki in the recommendation exam and it was testimony of the male's strength. Likewise, Shindo's ominous expression towards her class was unsettling. She realized that the others knew a lot about her classmates, but the same couldn't be said about her class to the others.
"Everyone is more than meets the eye here..."
Her classmates all nodded and looked back to the Heroes Public Safety Commission representative.
"A lot's happened out there in the world, and you know, about luck and everything... Anyway..." the man sighed and stood up tiredly with a target and a ball in his hands. It was time to get the exam started. "Listen carefully as I show you the requirements..."
It was similar to U.A.'s entrance exam where students had to lock down on targets, except the targets were the 1,540 people in the room. Each person gets three target buttons and six balls, and they can choose to hit any six targets or take out two people to pass.
As the balls and targets got passed out, there was a loud and heavy tremble from above and below the students, and Shiro looked around to see the ceiling and walls of the 'room' they were in was prying away to open them up into the middle of an area hosting multiple terrains. It was like U.A.'s USJ but on a much larger scale.
"I believe you all have terrain that you like and dislike," Mera explained for the surprised examinees. "Use your Quirks well and do your best."
We didn't even see this when we walked in. The whole reveal is inexplicably... Extra, the girl thought before focusing back on the situation at hand. If the test was looking for people to finish quickly, then she can assume that people would be working together within their own schools to better utilize their Quirks together.
"Everyone, don't get separated! Let's move as a group!" Midoriya called out as the other examinees started to move. Bakugou immediately scoffed at that notion and took off on his own.
"Yeah right, this isn't a field trip!"
"Idiot, wait up!" Kirishima shouted after the blonde and followed.
"Kacchan! Kirishima-kun!"
Shiro watched as the two ran off on their own. As soon as the rules were revealed, she had been thinking about how she could go about this test that would give herself and her classmates the greatest benefit. Staying together was the safest when there were so many uncertainties but she knew it wasn't the most efficient use for her Quirk. She was at an advantage in this test because her Quirk can target people with heightened probability, but that required less visibility of her presence.
"I'm sorry Midoriya-san, but I'm going to have to do the same," Shiro revealed, which shocked the rest greatly. "We'll meet again for the second test. I know we have what it takes, so let's show them that."
"But..."
"Midoriya, we don't have time!" Mineta tugged at the hesitating male's sleeve. "Everyone's moving already!"
"Don't worry," she gave her classmates an encouraging nod to go ahead. "Let's go beyond..."
At the familiar phrase, everyone smiled and pitched in one last shout.
"Plus Ultra!"
"You have 21 students this year, so you must like them? It's not likely that you didn't know about that," Ms. Joke commented from the bleachers as the examinees started to move in groups. "The one thing that's almost like a tradition for this provisional licensing exam."
Aizawa stayed silent next to the hero as she continued on with her observation.
"As all the high schools around the country compete to pass the provisional licensing exam, the only school that has lost the advantage of no one knowing their Quirks... The top school whose sports festival is broadcasted across the country showing not just the students' Quirks, but also their weaknesses and fighting styles... Your school."
BEEP!
"First test, start!"
"If you like your class this year, then you should've told your students what always happens at the beginning..." Ms. Joke leaned forward slightly to watch the show unfold. Immediately, the group of U.A. students were being surrounded by a mass of hundreds of other examinees, all working together with their own schools. The woman looked over with a small smirk.
"The crushing of U.A."
The rumble from behind confirmed what Shiro had been suspecting as she ran for cover. Everyone knows U.A.'s abilities so they're aiming for us first... she thought while activating her Quirk, but before she could move, an onslaught of rubber balls came gunning towards her from all directions. They're going for it right away...!
A large sheet of ice to curve out towards her left suddenly to block out several target balls that shot towards her way. Shiro ducked expertly to avoid the ones that came from the other side with her left eye spinning, and almost immediately her right eye spun and she kicked away three speeding balls that was enhanced with a jet Quirk heading towards Todoroki.
"Todoroki-san!" she called out in surprise. "I should've expected you to also go solo... But I'm glad you had my back there."
Todoroki gave her a confident nod back. Of course he was going to help the girl; while he was looking to work alone because it was harder to use his Qurik in large groups, he was still on the lookout for danger to help his classmates.
"Be careful, they won't let us pass this easily."
Like their classmates, they were quickly being surrounded...
"'The crushing of U.A'... There wasn't really a reason why I didn't tell them, but in the end, it wouldn't change what the had to do," Aizawa responded while he watched his students carefully. "They just have to overcome everything. A hero is someone who can turn around a bad situation. In the first place, if they become Pros, then everyone will already know their Quirks, so I'm sorry, but..."
Ms. Joke took the Eraser hero's words with a frown as she realized what he was going to say. He knew his students, both the ones working together and the few that ran off on their own, would have figured t it out already and are facing it without fear.
"We look a little further ahead than everyone else."
Not much to say except stay indoors and wash your hands often :) I live in the US so there are people who still aren't taking this pandemic seriously, which makes me incredibly sad... Let's all do our part and flatten the curve. Please ;_;
I hope this chapter was enjoyable, and please let me know your thoughts in the reviews! Reading them makes me really happy!