Chapter 3: Exam Day
"Hmm, Hmm... today's the day." That was what I heard as I awoke from my sleep, the tail end of some morning chant. It was perhaps the most restful sleep I'd ever had, considering that I'd been put to sleep by Senko's very soft tails. I was panicking yesterday, I'm not ashamed to admit it. I was worried that I'd flub the written test, or that the practical would throw something at me I wasn't prepared for.
It took Mum and Senko a long time persuade me that all I could do was hope for the best, since I was as prepared as I could hope to be.
So, as soon as I heard Senko's little waking chant I practically launched myself out of bed, startling my familiar in the process. Her fluffy and soft tails bristled, not to mention the general nervousness Senko always had when I was around her tails.
They were soft, and she was sensitive. So when I gave in to the urge to hug and stroke them she tended to tense up. It was pretty cute all things considered.
"Good morning Izuku-sama, how was your sleep?" She queried with a deep smile on her face and a red blush on her cheeks.
"It was fine Senko, and again, please don't call me Sama, we're friends."
"But you're my master, so please just let me serve you!" Honestly the passion and determination in her voice was kind of incredible. We'd had this argument on many occasions over her time with me so far, and she was very good at winning winning it.
Between the words, the tone, the adorable puffed out cheeks, swishing tails and twitching ears it was hard to disagree with her, even when she was wrong.
"Well, let's have breakfast and head out," I said while pulling on the last of my clothes.
Breakfast was a wholesome affair. Mum had woken up before either of us and had presented us with the miracle food known as pancakes. Ever since Dad had sent us a recipe list just last year, Mum had revitalised her love of cooking.
I could still remember Senko's initial scepticism, and her first bite of a pancake. Her golden eyes had lit up and I swear her fur was glowing all day.
Towards the end of breakfast, the eyes of the skull on the table lit up. The eyes looked around and settled on me.
"So boss, what's the plan?" Bob asked. "Are you taking me with you? Please take me with you."
Bob, was a spirit of air and intellect. He was given to me by my old master Harry, and he was a pain in the ass.
He was a genius, able to calculate out magical equations faster and more accurately than me. On top of that he had centuries of magical experience and could even hold his own in a fight.
But he was so difficult to work with. I had to periodically bribe him with light novels and doujins of a, eh, spicy nature, otherwise he just complained all the time. And buying those isn't easy if you're my age, so I used the internet. That's not to even mentioning his personality.
Of course, he became a perfect gentleman whenever my mother was around. To this day have no idea how she managed to effect that change in him.
"Well, do you think you'll be able to behave if I take you with me." I paused for a moment "will you?"
"Of course boss, scouts honour!" I could almost picture him holding up an imaginary right hand. Then again, I haven't really let him go exploring on his own very often and he probably just had cabin fever.
"Okay, I'll take you along." I sighed as Senko eyed me.
"I'm all the help you need Izuku-sama! You don't need to bring him with us." She puffed out her cheeks in a pout as she finished. What was that about?
"I want every edge I can get for the practical. No shade aspersion on you though, you're an excellent familiar Senko." I explained while supressing the urge to stroke her ears, then I noticed the clock and jolted out of my seat. "Alright, we've got to hurry. Thanks for the food Mum!"
"Thank you for the meal Inko-sensei!" Senko called as she rapidly transformed herself from a Kitsune themed shrine maiden to a regular Kitsune. She hopped onto my shoulder, her twin tails coming down over the shoulder strap of my bag on my other shoulder. I picked up Bob from the table and stuffed him into the bag and hurried out of the door, trusting Senko to keep her balance.
The train ride had been tense. I met up with Bakugou at the station and apart from a greeting we both were silent for the trip. Then we started quizzing each other on the way from the station to UA. As always, by our reckoning we could pass everything.
Just as we stepped from the pavement onto the campus grounds, I managed to make the single least cool move of my life. I was just that excited.
I tripped over my own feet and started falling face first towards the hard-stone ground. Senko launched herself from my shoulder and was about to transform when I felt a light touch on my left arm. Suddenly, my sense of gravity was altered.
I flailed my legs for a moment, only to discover that I was floating in place. "Sorry about that." Came a sweet voice from my left.
All three of us turned to look at the girl who spoke, and her already pink cheeks lit up at the sudden attention. "I know it's rude to use my quirk on someone without asking."
As she spoke, she turned me upright and released her quirk. I rubbed the back of my neck in my own embarrassment: "um, thanks for that. It would have been bad luck if I'd fallen on the day of the test."
She smiled broadly, "no problem."
"Hey Deku, we've got to hurry." Bakugou's voice cut through our conversation. "You too pink cheeks, I assume you want into the hero course, let's go now."
"Pink cheeks" the girl muttered to herself confusedly as we all started walking.
"Sorry about him, he just gives everyone a nickname." Though he wasn't wrong, she seemed to have permanent pink spots on her cheeks. "My name is Izuku. And he's Bakugou."
As I apologised Senko launched herself onto my left shoulder, getting between me and the girl.
"Am… my name is Ochaco Uraraka. Um, is that a fox on your shoulder?" I hadn't noticed before, but she had a rural accent, it was quite refreshing.
Senko didn't seem inclined to move so I just talked past her. "Oh, this is Senko, she's my familiar."
"Familiar? Is that your quirk?" She asked, seemingly having the same idea as me so just choosing to talk through Senko.
"She's a part of my quirk, I'll explain it to you when we both get into the Hero course." Let it never be said that I'm not optimistic! Even for people I've just met.
We arrived at the written exam room and split up to our assigned seats. I received some sideways glances when Senko hopped onto the table, perching herself opposite me.
Nothing came of it however, and the written test turned out to be not so challenging. The mock tests really did work wonders.
There was only a half hour break for lunch before we went to the lecture hall. Katsuki was next to me, allowing us to catch up for a minute. We were interrupted when someone walked onto the stage at the base of the lecture theatre.
"Oh my god, it's Present Mic!" I mumbled rapidly, the words tumbling out as one string.
"Shut it Deku." Katsuki had, earlier in our friendship, determined that the best way to stop me from mumbling was to shut me up as soon as I started. It did.
"CAN I GET A HEY!" Came the deafening voice of Present Mic.
No one said anything in response. I was too busy protecting Senko's downturned ears from the noise. There's an idea for a project! I quickly noted down the words "muffler focus" into my notebook.
"Tough crowd..." Even his mutters could be heard all the way back here. "Anyway kiddos! I'm here to explain the rules for the practical part of your entrance exam!"
There was a pause as a projected image appeared above him on the large blank canvas. "You will all be assigned to locations in about equal numbers, then there will be an urban battle to see who can rack up the most villain points!"
On the projection appeared four silhouettes, three numbered 1, 2, and 3 respectively. The fourth quadrant simply had the shadow and no number. "You get villain points by defeating these faux villains! Each of the three is worth a different amount. It will be up to you to get as many points as possible in the ten minutes allowed!"
"Excuse me! May I ask a question?" a voice cut through the brief pause Present Mic took. I looked over to my left. A few rows down I spotted the boy who spoke. He was tall with a pair of glasses and dark blue hair. "The hand out provided mentions four such villains. Is this a mistake on UA's part? If so, it reflects quite poorly on such an institution!"
Then to my surprise, the bespectacled boy turned and looked at me. What had I done? Maybe he was looking at someone else, I was quite far from him after all. "And you, why have you brought a pet into these examinations? The student's handbook prohibits bringing pets onto the premises."
I just blinked and responded with a simple one-liner "She's part of my quirk." I wasn't even sure he heard me before Present Mic answered his previous question.
"It's not a mistake young listener! There are four different types of enemies. I just didn't mention the last one 'cuz it's worth no points if you defeat it. Think of it more like an obstacle to be avoided."
The tall boy looked back to Present Mic and bowed, "Thank you for clarifying proctor."
"No problem little man! Now if there are no further questions, it is time for you to board your busses and get to your testing fields." Happily for me, no one else wanted to question Senko's presence. It wasn't long before we were standing at the giant arch that was the gate to the testing field.
Now I don't know if I've mentioned this, but UA seems to have infinite financial resources. The testing ground is a city! Or at least a few blocks cut out of one and plonked down in the enormous campus of UA. I looked around and took in the competition. They were a strange bunch, with people of almost all shapes and sizes taking part. I was the only one I saw with a bag, or with a fox on their shoulder for that matter.
As I looked around, I spied Ochaco in a hoodie, looking around, clearly nervous. I made to move towards her to calm her nerves, and mine. I was pretty sure my legs were quivering, but before I could take one step I was intercepted by a familiar face.
"What are you doing?" came Glasses' voice, the same guy who called me out for... something? I honestly wasn't sure what the problem was. "Going to distract that girl before the test begins?"
I looked at him with a frown, that could be an uncharitable interpretation of what I was doing yes. "Well actually I-" I couldn't even finish my retort before Present Mic's voice overpowered everything.
"BEGIN!"
No one moved, except for me that is. My training with Harry hadn't just been magical; survival and fighting techniques had also been touched upon. He had imparted the simple knowledge that battle is sudden, without a clean starting whistle.
"Examinee 2234 has the right idea!" came his voice from behind me now as I crossed the first street in search of a robot. Time to show what I'm made of.
I slowed down to a jog and extended my right hand, concentrating my will into it. In a few seconds where there had been nothing was now my favourite tool, My Soul Katana. Of course, right now it wasn't a katana at all, it was a staff. A wizard's tool as long as I was tall with runes and kanji's engraved into it.
The Soul Katana adapts and changes to its wielder, and mine had had almost 3 years to adapt to me. I had invested all kinds of enhancements into it, some of it learned from Harry, others of my own design. I didn't have time to admire my staff before my first target appeared, a two-pointer.
I pointed my staff right at its single eye lens and yelled: "Voltaus!"
Now I've described this spell before. I used it in the opening moments in my battle with Gizagiza. But back then I was a child with a barely functional striking rod, no real power behind those bolts at all. This was something on a whole different level.
A corona of green sparks surrounded the end and there was a hum as the air was supercharged. Then a snap, like thunder and in a flash the conjured lightning jumped straight at the robot. I didn't bother confirming that I had destroyed it; the scraps of armour plates sent flying in all directions was all the proof I needed.
"Wow! Colour me impressed Midoriya!" Came Bob's voice from my bag. I'd left a gap just large enough for him to see the action. Oddly enough I appreciated the running commentary. Except for this exact second when a one-pointer ambushed me from an alley way. I didn't have time to raise my staff up, only to leap back.
Luckily for me I wasn't alone in this. Senko leapt from my shoulder, her twin tails upright and at a 45-degree angle from one another and glowing bright blue. There was no vocalization for her magic, just the brilliant blue-green Fox-Fire. I'd found out during my trips to Inari's lands that this is the primary way Kitsunes defend themselves and it was quite the sight to see.
You see, Fox-Fire isn't like regular flames, or even plasma. No, these are truly magical sources of energy, and they acted strangely. For example the two balls of fire that Senko launched at the machine didn't wash over the metal, they just imparted the energy exactly where they landed – creating perfectly circular holes in the machine, destroying it.
"And nice save Senko! Honestly, Izuku's so hopeless. Where would he be without you?" Once again, Bob gave us his running commentary. "Though I'm wondering why he's using such energy intensive spells like that lightning bolt when a simple Hex would do the job."
I stopped and looked down at my bag, not bothering to acknowledge the few other examinees that had caught up with me and were engaging the robots in earnest now. I unzipped the bag and pulled Bob out, this time definitely getting strange glances from the other examinees. At least Ochaco wasn't one of them. "I'm sorry what did you say Bob?"
"Didn't Harry tell you about his simple Hex?" Bob's eyes glowed with their usual blue hue and I could almost swear he was rolling them. "Just like him to forget that sort of thing in his old age." Well that was uncalled for. Harry wasn't getting too old to teach. Then again, he did forget to tell me about Soulgazing.
"Well what is it?" I asked the Skull, adjusting my grip over him while launching off a shower of my own fox fire with a cry of "Vulpix!"
"Back before quirks were a thing, mortal magic used to interfere with technology. Harry couldn't even go near the more sensitive stuff without it just falling apart. On your left!" heeding Bob's warning, I glanced over and launched another shower of flames, scouring the armour from a three-pointer.
"But I've seen Harry use a phone! And a computer." I replied.
"That's because when quirks first showed up, mortal magic changed. It no longer ruins mortal technology, that is unless you force it to. He was so happy that he could start using thigs like phones and the internet." Bob explained, not even paying attention to the combat going on around us.
I considered what he said for a moment, then asked the obvious: "So? What is the process?"
"You have to channel your magic into the target." Well that was just unhelpful. I do that with all of my attacking spells so how was this any different?
I didn't have any more time to think about it, three one-pointers were bearing down on me from the wide-open street, and a two-pointer from the alley. I quickly looked around, only to see the other examinees all busy with their own robots. I put Bob away and reached for my shielding charm with the now free hand.
It flashed with my will as two of my attackers smashed themselves into the defensive energy. I smiled, happy that I was able to develop my shield to this point. But then I was caught off guard as the two-pointer zipped to my left and struck out at me from around my shield. That was the downside of my shield, it was only one-way.
I was knocked back, thankful for the training I did with the Kitsunes. They taught me how to take a fall properly. As I was knocked back, I saw Senko launch another barrage at my attacker.
I hurled myself back onto my feet and fired off a bolt of lightning into the trio of attackers that were left over. The Lightning struck the middle one, then arced over in a flash of brilliant light, destroying the red cameras that did eye duty for the robots.
Perhaps that wasn't my best move. I felt myself stagger for a moment, before I was able to regain my balance. I was losing energy into the robots with no heed to my own reserves. This made me think back on what Bob said...
"It couldn't be that easy..." I called for Senko, trusting her to follow behind me as I ran off to find my next robot.
"FIVE MINUTES REMAINING!" I heard Present Mic over the roar of combat. Had it really been 5 minutes already? I had to hurry! I almost tripped over myself when I heard Senko yip at me, drawing my attention to a battalion of advancing robots. So the proctors were sending them out in waves then.
I smiled and thought on what I wanted to do. Channel my magic into them. I raised my left hand, fingers spread wide, covering all of the machines in my view. "DEFICIO!" my voice echoed across the buildings and through the testing field.
There was a halt in the battle. Not just from the robots in front of me, but from all around me. I looked around, only to see the other examinees looking at me with either confusion, or astonishment, or both. That's when I realised what had happened.
"See, I told you it would be more efficient." Came Bob's voice from my pack. "Though you'll need more control if you want to use that consistently."
I ignored him as I took in everything. I had thought I worked out what Bob meant, channel my magic, that is the pure magic, not through some kind of filter like fire or lightning, or even force. It was one of the harder concepts in practicing magic, remembering that Magic is an energy of its own, not just a tool.
So, I had channelled pure magic out of my body, with a chant taken from my limited understanding of Latin and into the robots. All of the robots. Not just the ones that I had aimed for. One by one I saw them emit smoke and then slump down.
The silence was palpable, then I realised how many points I'd probably just gained. Then Present Mic's voice cut through the silence. "PAUSE THE TIMER! WE'RE HAVING SOME TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES! WOULD EXAMINEE 2234 PLEASE MAKE HIS WAY TO THE ENTRANCE OF THE TESTING FIELD!"
If memory served, that was my number. Well that didn't sound good.
I made my way down to the entrance, walking along the surprisingly clear streets of the fake city. I tried to ignore the eyes of the other examinees, making a specific effort of nonchalance when I walked past the guy who called me out earlier. He was the only one I recognised out of the hundred or so people I walked past. More striking was the scale of the havoc I suspected that I'd wrought.
Outnumbering the examinees at least 5 to one were the robots. Some had impact damage, while others were now just piles of scrap. Most of them seemed to be venting smoke, as though they had all suffered the same type of damage. Soon enough I was at the entrance.
Waiting for me were two of the well-known members of the UA staff. Present Mic, and the ever-famous Principle Nezu. He was one of the earliest known examples of quirks extending beyond humans into the animal kingdom, though I couldn't tell exactly what he was, either a very large mouse or a very small bear.
When I arrived Nezu nodded to Present Mic in dismissal and he walked off. "Hello Mr Midoriya. I am Nezu, the principle of this fine institution."
His voice was of a higher pitch than I expected, but then again, he looked like a cute mascot so why wouldn't he have a voice to match? "Hello Principle Nezu, it's very good to meet you."
"Likewise. And I must say hello to the magnificent specimen on your shoulder." Now he was looking at Senko.
"Oh, this is Senko. She's my familiar." I explained as I lifted her from my shoulder to the ground. "If I might ask sir, why was I called here?"
He looked back to me and nodded, I could tell he was trying to get the measure of me, while I was avoiding eye contact by looking at his forehead. "Well Mr Midoriya, you have made quite the impression during our tests today. Please follow me."
We walked for maybe five minutes before arriving at a mobile office suite. It was one of two, maybe the proctors were in here. I almost missed Nezu speaking to me again in my concern for where we were.
"As you can see, that attack of yours caused a lot of damage." Nezu said calmly as he pushed the door open. I followed him through, noticing the slightly melted plastic shell of a card scanner.
"It reached all the way out here?" I asked aloud.
"I told you that you'd need more control." came Bob's voice, slightly muffled by the bag. I could only wince as Nezu definitely heard him. "Just look at your phone."
My wince turned into a look of stunned horror. I ripped into my pack and pulled out my phone, it was unresponsive, and the back had partially warped – probably from some short circuit related heat problem. Well, that's it then.
"I can only assume that you had no idea how much damage that attack of yours would do, Mr Midoriya. You made quite the impression on the proctors, that is before your attack wiped out all of the exam cameras."
I blinked, coming to a realisation, "That's why you halted the exam then?"
"Indeed. Please have a seat." Nezu had moved into a large seat, clearly made for a full-grown human, not someone of his considerably smaller stature. He gestured to the one across the desk from where he sat. I did as he asked and seated myself, Senko hopping onto one of the armrests, sitting on my arm like a housecat.
"Am, I..." I didn't want to voice my worries.
"Oh, don't worry, the proctor room itself was shielded, the footage and internal monitors all survived your attack." He smiled at me, maybe I would be forgiven then.
"No, I mean, Principle Nezu, am I being barred?" I asked.
"Why would we do that young man? You fulfilled the task of the exam, so you pass. In fact, if my calculations are correct you have more than doubled the previous record holder. Have no fear on that front." Nezu then leaned onto the desk, resting his face on his paws. "No, I wish to speak with you on the subject of your quirk."
I eyed him suspiciously, then shrugged. He said I passed, so it couldn't be that bad. "What do you want to know sir?"
"Everything." He said simply, sweeping his paw out in front of him. Before I could reply he elaborated: "I know that your quirk form says 'Wizard - Can do anything a Wizard can.' Quite the clever way of telling those people at the registry everything and nothing at the same time, colour me impressed. But It won't fly at my school. I, and your teachers will need to know about your quirk if we are to teach you."
Well that seemed reasonable. But does he really mean it like that? I looked at Senko for some visual que, she rubbed her chin into me. Well, there is only one way to find out. "It's a very long explanation sir, some of it is pretty unbelievable."
"Let me be the judge of that." He continued to smile all the while as we discussed this, honestly it was sitting on the exact sweet spot between endearing and creepy.
"Okay... I hope you have another cup of tea ready." I then told him... everything. I told him what I knew about my powers, and what I knew of the Nevernever. I explained how when I was younger, I started spotting these strange inhuman creatures – the Yokai and how I found that it related to my power as a Wizard. Finally, I got to how Bakugou and I saved Senko, and found myself owed a favour by the Kitsune's and Inari.
"Who was the one speaking from your bag?" he asked when I finished my explanation. I looked out of the window over his shoulder and saw that I must have been here for at least 2 hours going through this debriefing.
"That's Bob, wait-" I reached in and pulled out the skull. "He was a gift from my old teacher, Harry. He's a spirit of Air and Intellect, he helps me with magical theory. Look sir, we could go on for days discussing every little detail and we wouldn't even get close to covering everything."
He just balanced his head on his paw, then reached for the now cold tea and took a sip. "I believe I have enough information now anyway. You will truly be a unique student and our school will be proud to have you. I may even pull a few strings for some one on one tutoring." as he said that I finally understood why he felt so creepy. He wasn't a predator; he was a curious child who'd found his next interest. Magic was a novelty to him and he wanted to know everything. "Expect your acceptance letter in the mail, and make sure you're on time for your first class."
When he said that, I suddenly felt... something new. It was... weird, the first time I'd ever felt something like it. It must have shown on my face as Nezu asked me what was wrong. "I'm not sure, it doesn't feel bad, the closest thing I can think of is," I paused to think "The shrines. It's like the energy of this place has flowed around me."
And that made sense when I thought about it. This is UA, the place where heroes are made. There is a lot of faith and belief put into this school not only by Japan but by most of the world! There's a kind of power in that. And it made sense why I couldn't have felt it earlier, I wasn't officially a student then, but now I am.
"I have a feeling that my time here is going the be the best time of my life." I said, half mumbling, half wanting everyone here to hear me.
"Oh, god Izuku, couldn't you have said something a little more dramatic?" Bob asked me, breaking me out of the near euphoric feeling of the energy of the school.
"Well not everyone can be the king of one-liners like Harry." I snipped back. "I should get going anyway, I told my friend that I would meet him and we've been here for hours."
He nodded and pushed his chair out with his little legs, His smile had lost its creepiness now and was actually what I expected from him. "Well then you had best be on your way. I look forward to your progress at my school, Wizard Izuku."