Ch. 3 Practical Exam
February 26th. The day of the U.A. High Practical Exam. Natsuko was a nervous wreck but she couldn't let anyone know that. Today was the day she'd find out if she had made the right choice in turning down All-Might's recommendation to the school. After bundling up in a scarf and coat, Natsuko met Midoriya at their usual spot and hurried to the school. Midoriya was also clearly nervous as he flew through the gates.
"Move aside Deku!" 'Well, Bakugo seems to be in a FANTASTIC mood this morning.' Natsuko thought to herself rolling her eyes. Natsuko roughly shoved past Bakugo smirking as he scowled.
"Watch where you're going bombs for brains!" She shouted catching up to Midoriya. "Slow down idiot or you'll tri-" 'And there he goes.' Natsuko sighed as she witnessed him jolt forward and then suddenly stop suspended in air. 'What the hell?'
"It's my quirk. Sorry for stopping you but...well it's a bad omen to trip and fall." It was a short brown haired girl with pink cheeks who spoke. She held Midoriya's arm while he floated to an upright position. 'Interesting.' Natusko thought as she calmly approached the two.
"Sorry about him," Natsuko huffed. "I told him to slow down," she said exasperated as she bonked him on the head with a gentle fist. The girl smiled brightly.
"Oh! Don't worry about it. This is really nerve-wracking." Natsuko sighed.
"I suppose it is…" She reluctantly agreed.
"Ya...Uh...Um…" Midoriya was in a full-blown stutter at that point. 'I think she broke him. Idiot…' Natsuko sighed rolling her eyes as she dragged him away by the back of his jacket.
"Good luck to all three of us!" The girl smiled waving.
"Hey! Wipe that stupid look off your face! We need to concentrate when we get inside." He straightened up and put on a serious face nodding to Natsuko. Once they made it inside the much warmer lecture hall they realized that the hero Present Mic was waiting to start. 'Woah. I didn't realize there would be this many applicants.' Natsuko frowned looking around at the masses surrounding her and Midoriya. 'AWW MAN DID I BLOW IT TURNING DOWN THE RECOMMENDATION?!' Natsuko had the sudden urge to pull her hair out by its' roots.
"Welcome to today's live performance! Everybody say hey!" Natsuko rolled her eyes as Present Mic's enthusiasm was met with crickets which was rather impressive considering how many students were packed into the large hall. Nevertheless he remained undeterred. Well, that's cool, my examinee listeners! I'm here to present the guidelines of your practical! Are you ready?!" Again, he was met with silence. 'Jeez. I hope all the staff at U.A. isn't like this.' Natsuko frowned propping her head up on her palm. She glanced over to Midoriya who looked like he was going to spasm out of his seat. She rolled her eyes. 'Well at least HE'S getting at kick out of this.' "This is how the test will go, my listeners! You'll be experiencing ten-minute-long 'mock urban maneuvers'! Bring along whatever you want! After this presentation, you'll each head to your assigned testing location!"
As he explained, images giving them a better idea of what we'd be doing appeared on the screens behind him. "Each site is filled with three kinds of faux villains. Points are awarded each according to their respective difficult letter. Use your quirk to disable these faux villains...and earn points, that's your goal listeners! Of course, playing the antihero and attacking other examiners is prohibited." Natsuko feigned boredom but she was listening very carefully. 'Using our quirks right out of the gate huh? Sounds almost like a free for all. This could get dangerous.' She thought narrowing her eyes. Suddenly a hand shot up in the crowd.
"There appear to be no fewer than FOUR varieties of faux villains on this handout. Such a blatant error, if it is one, is highly unbecoming for U.A., Japan's top academy! We're all here today in hopes of being molded into model heroes!" 'Eesh. What's up this guy's ass?' Natsuko was unimpressed as the boy stood glaring at Present Mic. "And, you, with the curly hair!" He suddenly whipped around pointing at Midoriya as everyone's eyes followed. "You've been muttering this whole time, it's distracting! If this is some sort of game to you, then please leave immediately!" 'Who the hell does this guy think he is?!' Natsuko was furious and she nearly jumped out her seat to berate the bespectacled boy. Midoriya gripped her arm stopping her before she could do anything rash. With a sigh she pushed her seat forward and settled back down. Midoriya squeaked out a 'sorry' to the boy and that was the end of the confrontation for now.
"Alright, alright. Examinee 7111, nice catch! Thanks! But the fourth faux Villain gives you 0 points! It's more like an obstacle! Have you all played Super Mario Brothers? It's kind of like a Thwomp. Only one at each site! A "gimmick" that'll rampage around in close quarters!" Natsuko ran the stipulations of the exam through her head. 'Three types of villains to score points and one to avoid. Should be simple enough...but with only ten minutes I better focus on villains worth higher point values.'
"Got it...So it's like a stage gimmick to be avoided. Really is like a video game then. Thank you, sir. I apologize for the interruption!" The boy with glasses sat down abruptly.
"That's all from me! I'll leave my listeners with our school motto. The great hero Napoleon Bonaparte once said, "True heroism consists in being…" And that was when Natsuko tuned him out till they were released outside.
Now wearing a loose-fitting sweatsuit and fingerless gloves, Natsuko stretched her arms wide. She had, by luck of the draw, ended up at the same starting point as Midoriya and the girl who had saved him from tripping earlier. He began to make his way towards her when he was stopped by the boy with glasses from earlier. Natsuko couldn't make out what was being said but she could see the distress on Midoriya's face all too clearly. She began to make her way over to them but before she could even take five steps the test began and people sprinted out of the large gates. 'SHIT' Natsuko took off after them yelling to Midoriya as she passed him.
"Let's go!" The area was huge- much larger than Natsuko anticipated. But with only ten minutes she had no time to gawk. Ahead of her was someone smashing a mechanical "villain" worth two points to pieces. 'Now!' Natsuko took a running start and leapt into the air. Suddenly, she disappeared and reappeared right in front of the villain's head with her foot pointed at it's head. With the force of her kick the villain's head snapped clean off rendering it disabled. She landed on the ground skidding to a halt.
"Hey! I totally had that guy!" A disgruntled boy with wings on his back shouted. Natsuko shrugged running backwards toward her next target.
"Snooze you lose!" She yelled. 'That's two!' She spied a three point villain and another two point one not much farther ahead. She disappeared again only to appear mid air above the villain landing a powerful downward kick nearly slicing it in half. She softened her landing by doing a backhandspring before disappearing again and reappearing in front of another applicant and landing a massive roundhouse kick into the villain destroying that one as well.
"Watch it! Those were my points!" Natsuko stood tall and shrugged her shoulders.
"Really? I couldn't tell," She laughed. Before the guy could lunge at her she disappeared, onto her next target.
All-Might frowned in his seat. 'It's true that the rules are pretty much anything goes but...this is just downright unsportsmanlike.' He sat quietly with the principal as they watched Natsuko closely on the monitors. It was clear she had a strategy. Wait till the others did most of the work and then swoop in to claim the points after delivering the final blow. It was clever but still didn't sit right with him. Nezu finally spoke after a moment of deep thought.
"Perhaps we should deduct points for this sort of conduct? It IS an efficient strategy but most unbecoming of a hero in training wouldn't you say? We want to see our prospective students working together." All-Might frowned deeply at the thought of having to tell Natsuko she didn't pass the practical exam. 'Come on. You're a clever kid. I know you can figure this out.'
Natsuko heaved a heavy breath with her hands on her knees, allowing herself a moment's' rest. 'Okay so that's thirty-six points. I've got about four minutes left, give or take so-' Her train of thought was interrupted as a massive villain rose from the ground right behind her. 'HOLY CRAP! This is the villain worth zero points?!' Participants began running in the opposite direction of the monstrosity screaming and yelling. Natsuko turned to use her quirk when she smashed into someone roughly causing her to fall.
"Midoriya!?" She stood quickly while he froze in terror. "You idiot!" She yelled over the chaos. "We need to move!" She grabbed onto his arm dragging him away from the threat of being stepped on.
"Ow!" An almost imperceptible cry rang out reaching their ears. Midoriya halted causing Natsuko to jolt backwards at the sudden dead weight. She looked past Midoriya to see the friendly brown-haired girl trapped underneath rubble right in the path of the mega sized villain. Natsuko paled at the sight. 'Think Natsuko! Ugh! If I use my quirk I'll just be putting myself in danger of being squashed! I'm too close to my limit!' Suddenly, Midoriya surged forward ripping his arm out of Natsuko's grasp. He crouched low before springing high in the air. 'That idiot. He's using One for All. His body can't even handle that yet.' Even still, she could only watch in awe as he reared his arm back exerting so much power that his sleeve ripped clean off. Reaching forward he delivered a blow so powerful that the entire front half of the villain smashed inward and then blew to pieces collapsing to the ground below. A blanket of silence fell around her as every stood amazed at the raw power he had displayed. He was so high up she had to shield her eyes from the sun to to see him.
Natsuko frowned immediately. Midoriya was falling rapidly to the ground. 'What are you doing moron? Use another-' her eyes widened in panic now that she could see his arm. It was a grotesque purple color flapping around in the wind as if there were no bones in it. Natsuko's stomach flipped at the sight of it. 'Just as I thought. His body can't handle so much power yet.' Natsuko quickly looked around her at the other students remembering all the quirks she had seen. Her eyes finally landed on the girl Midoriya had sacrificed himself for. 'Perfect. But I have to move fast.' Natsuko teleported to the girl working with her to lift the heavy debris.
"Hey. If I can get us closer to him do you think you have one more use of your quirk in you?" The girl thought it over quickly before nodding.
"Y-yeah I can." Natsuko grabbed onto the girl and they teleported to the top of the pile of debris below the boy in peril. Unfortunately, he was too far out of their reach for the girl so Natsuko did the only thing she could to save her friend. She clasped onto the girl's hand and swung wide in a circle. "H-Hey wait a second!" Natsuko ignored her protest and threw her off the edge of the debris. Luckily, she was able to slap Midoriya's face and slow his fall at the last minute. She however, had nothing left to save herself and began to scream as she plummeted down.
With a mighty leap Natsuko teleported to the girl catching her in midair. 'Crap! I'm at my limit too!' Natsuko then teleported them to the ground flipping so that her back would take the brunt on the fall as they skidded to a halt. The girl sat up releasing Midoriya before losing her lunch. Natsuko sat up carefully assessing her injuries. Her back was wasn't broken but probably incredibly bruised and raw. At the last moment Natsuko had reached her limit, unable to land in a way that wouldn't cause bodily harm to one or both of them. Considering it was her idea, it only seemed right she be the one to take the fall- literally.
The entirety of the U.A. staff were cheering loudly behind the scenes at what they had just witnessed. All-Might smiled proudly at both Midoriya and Natsuko for their valiant efforts. 'Way to go.' Principal Nezu turned to All-Might.
"Maybe we can make a hero out of her yet hmm?" He smiled turning back to the monitors.
"IT'S ALL OVER!" Present Mic shouted. Natsuko was panting where she sat and glanced over to Midoriya who looked worse for wear. People stood murmuring and gawking at them on the ground which annoyed Natsuko to no end. Even the annoying kid with glasses and blue hair stood silently watching Midoriya. Natsuko could hear light steps shuffling toward her as a sea of people slowly parted. It was an old lady wearing a white coat that was much too long for her. Her gray hair was up in a bun and her eyes were behind a visor. Her cane was in the shape of a medical needle.
"Well done. Good work all." She stopped in front of Natsuko and stared with a wide smile. She suddenly kissed Natsuko's forehead catching her off guard. 'What the-' A cool, soothing sensation enveloped Natsuko's back and she sighed reaching back to feel the formerly torn skin. Something suddenly clicked in the back of Natsuko's mind.
Last August
"Recovery Girl? What kind of lame name is that?" Midoriya waved his arms frantically.
"W-well, I'm sure it was much cooler when she was younger but she's very vital to the Pro Heroes even today!" One exasperatingly hot lazy Sunday in August, Midoriya and Natsuko were looking through their hero notebooks, sitting on opposite ends his bed facing each other while they discussed the entries. Actually, it was more Natsuko being critical and Midoriya having a defense for every hero as to why they deserved to be amongst the ranks of Pro Heroes.
"Eh...if you say so…" she trailed off in a bored tone.
"Recovery Girl..." Natsuko was shocked that she was the one to tend to their injuries.
"Too much like your mother for your own good girlie." And with that she hobbled over to Midoriya to help him. Natsuko was dumbfounded. She hadn't even considered the fact that Recovery Girl would have known her mother.
It wasn't until a week later after trying to reach an inconsolable Midoriya that his mother told Natsuko he had scored a 0 on the practical exam. Natsuko gripped the phone tighter to her ear. 'What?! How could he have gotten a zero! That idiot!' Her heart sank at the thought of going to U.A. without him.
"I'm sorry dear. I just don't think he's ready to see anyone just yet. Try calling again in a few days."
"Yeah...sure thing Midoriya-san." Natsuko sighed hearing the line go dead as Midoriya's mom hung up. Natsuko hung up the phone and went to her room. She flopped dramatically face-first into her pillow. Any day now they would find out their fates. Natsuko was plenty confident but with any situation like this, doubt crept in anyway. 'I know my count was at thirty-six but was it enough? That guy with the glasses was so fast.' She thought back to seeing the boy move incredibly fast with the engine boosters in his calves. He was nearly a blur smashing villain after villain. He was almost as fast as Natsuko but that large villain had cost her quite a bit of time. 'Ugh! Dammit! Midoriya's classmate Bakugo probably wracked up a crap-ton of points too. His quirk is nothing but raw power.' With each passing second Natuko sank further into despair and self-doubt.
*KNOCK KNOCK* Natsuko sat up abruptly. 'The door? At this time of night?' Natsuko padded to the front door and swung it open.
"Toshi? What are you doing here?" He sighed heavily stepping inside while she held the door open wider for him.
"Hey kid...it's been a long day and yours is the last delivery." Toshi raised his hand which was clutching a white envelope addressed to her with the U.A. insignia on it. Natsuko's eyes widened as she took the envelope from him. "Just a warning...yours is a special case. It took us a while to decide what to do about it...and well, I think it's fair." He sat on her couch rubbing the back of his neck in exhaustion. Natsuko's heart dropped to her stomach.
"Wha-what do you mean a special case? I don't understand." Her eyes began to water as panic set in.
"Woah woah! Watch the message and you'll understand." He smiled weakly at her. "I promise." Natsuko frowned deeply and sat next to Toshi while she opened the envelope. Inside was a letter and small disc. Natsuko turned it on only to see All-Might in all his glory looking back at her. He apologized for the delay in receiving results and announced that he would be teaching at U.A.
"What?! Really Toshi?! I swear you're just going to be there to keep tabs on Mi-" She stopped mid sentence frowning. The projection continued on finally getting to the bit about her practical exam results.
"Your combat skills were very impressive! You also displayed amazing control of your quirk at such a young age. Thirty-six points within six minutes is quite the feat." Natsuko smiled at this. "However…" the hologram All-Might began to frown. "We at U.A. are training tomorrow's Pro Heroes. Therefore, we must hold those prospective heroes at a higher standard. Please see here." He pointed to a screen behind him that showed footage of Natsuko jumping in front of other students and stealing their points.
In one clip, she had even unbeknownst to her, tripped another student. Natsuko frowned deeply holding her head down in shame, gripping the couch till her knuckles turned white. 'What would Midoriya say if he saw this? What would Mama say?' Hologram All-Might sighed. "Because of your reckless and unsportsmanlike conduct we decided to deduct 1 point for every villain you received points from during the exam." Natsuko's head shot up in shock.
"Wha-what?' She shot up to her feet tuning to Toshi on the couch beside her. "YOU CAN'T DO THAT! I HAD ONLY HAD THIRTY-SIX POINTS! IF YOU DEDUCT THEN I- I WON'T BE ABLE TO…" she sunk to her knees in despair. "Toshi please!" Toshinori settled his large palm onto her head gently.
"It was out of my hands. But the fat lady hasn't sung yet. Look." He nodded to the hologram of himself.
"Your score was thirty-six! With a deduction of 14 points it goes down to 22 points. Unimpressive by most standards." Natsuko glared angrily at the hologram of All-Might. "But this isn't the end of the story. See here." He again pointed to the screen behind him.
"Oh, it's her…" The friendly brown-haired girl who helped Natsuko and Midoriya appeared. She was speaking to Present Mic.
"Excuse me but um...that curly-haired boy with the freckles...you know the one? He's uh, really plain looking."
"Pfffft!"Natsuko nearly lost it at the unintentional insult to Midoriya. She hated to admit it but she liked this girl.
"Oh, and the blonde-haired girl with the really pretty lavender eyes...the one who looked angry the whole time." Natsuko's attitude flipped like a switch. 'Why that little...I am NOT angry all the time.' Natusko huffed crossing her arms. "Can you give them some of the points I earned?!" Natsuko sat up at attention. 'What?! She's trying to sacrifice some of her points for us?' "At the end he was saying just one point! I heard him! That means he didn't get any right? And the girl, she was doing so well. Much better than me and I bet better than most of the others there too. At least however many points they gave up trying to save me! That boy! He saved my life! And the girl helped me out of the rubble and then came up with the plan to save him!" Suddenly All-Might interrupted.
"This exam you see...We weren't just watching for villain-based points! A hero course that rejects those who do the right thing is no hero course, at all! Think this is all for the cameras?! Think what you want! In this job, you risk your life and put your money where your mouth is!" Turning back to the screen, Present Mic was now patting the girl's head.
"I'm afraid we can't give them your points but there shouldn't be a need for it, my little listener." All-Might again interrupted.
"Rescue points were also a factor here! Another fundamental way for U.A. to evaluate you!"
"What?!" Natsuko practically screeched slamming her hands on the coffee table.
"Sixty points for Izuku Midoriya! Fifty points for Natsuko Kukida! And while we're at it, forty-five rescue points for Ochako Uraraka!" Natsuko had tears in her eyes as she smiled at Toshi.
"Congratulations Natsu-chan. You're in." He gave her an thumbs up as she lunged at his neck to give him a hug.
*Author's Note*
Oh my God I'm the worst. This was supposed to be out forever ago but life has been crazy. I started a new job this month so my schedule is all over the place atm. I really hope you like this one! Natsuko's quirk is teleportation! I have no ideas for a hero costume or name so if you do please share lmao. Although, I'd kind like for her costume to be a little revealing just because she hates that and I like to torment her. Lmao
Last night my husband and I went to see the MHA movie in theaters. It was soooo so good but my god I'm only 26 and 7:30pm felt super late to go see a movie. xD Ummm I think that's it...Please review!