A/N: Edit finished 4 August 2018. Beta provided by Kylekatarn77.

Chapter 5

The campus of U.A. High loomed over Izuku when he arrived for the Entrance Exam. He walked through the high, arcing gate that allowed students and visitors alike through the high walls surrounding the campus, and took the opportunity to look around as he approached the main building. The structure was the tallest on campus, with four glass towers a dozen stories high connected by enclosed glass bridges. At its base were three doors, guarded by marble pillars and inscribed with numbers for each class level – one through three. He stepped away from the path so he could stare at the building with a smile. I'll be a student here soon. Taking the Exam is just a formality at this point. Although, I do have to wonder what all is on the Exam?

"Get out of my fucking way, Deku." Izuku spun and blanched at the sneer Katsuki directed his way. With how frosty their relationship had been since their fight at the facility, he was surprised by how hostile the blond was.

"I see I'm not the only one excited, Kacchan."

Katsuki passed him and then paused. He turned back, still sneering, and said, "Don't try and dictate how I'm supposed to feel, Deku. Don't think you can pass if you get in my way."

It's weird to know that was Kacchan being polite, Izuku thought as he watched Katsuki enter U.A. He shook his head and followed, ignoring the curious and confused stares.

Inside, he was handed a card with his information, including a chair number and a testing site code, and the instructions for the practical exam. Izuku followed the other potential students through several narrow hallways and up a spiraling staircase until they entered a dark auditorium. He spent a few minutes searching for his seat and sighed when he saw none other than Katsuki was in the seat beside his. We're probably bunched together by school for this part of the Exam. The other boy glanced at him, glared, and then proceeded to ignore him for the twelve minutes it took for an instructor to finally arrive.

The teacher wore black leather and studded metal, with a stereo rig around his neck and headphones on. His small moustache twitched as he shouted, "Welcome to today's live performance! Can I get a "Hey!"?" He held his arms out towards the gathered examinees.

The auditorium remained silent save for the echo of the teacher's words, "hey… hey… hey… hey."

The instructor carried on as if they had responded the way he wished. "That's great, examinees! I'm here to break down the practical test you'll be taking this afternoon. Are you ready?"

Once more, the auditorium remained silent. Izuku glanced around, more amused than shocked that everyone is so quiet and serious. Just shows you how serious getting into U.A. is when not even Present Mic, the Voice Hero, can't get a response. That or he doesn't have any fans taking the test this year.

"Shut it," Katsuki growled. Izuku flushed and realized from the glares that his thoughts had slipped through his lips.

"It doesn't matter anymore," he mumbled. "I might as well talk to myself while he gives out instructions. They're all on the handout anyways and unless there's a trick, this formality is unnecessary."

Present Mic continued his speech. "Now the practical is the simple part of your examination today. Here's how it's laid out: You'll have ten minutes in one of our Cityscape simulation areas. Those few who do become students will become familiar with these locations by the time you graduate. Oh, and make sure to bring whatever you want! After this presentation, you'll be taking the written portion of the Exam before heading out to your assigned testing locations!"

"They must be separating kids from the same middle school," Katsuki said, looking at his card. Izuku sighed seeing an 'E' while his had a 'B'.

"As those of you with familiar faces have realized, consecutive I.D. numbers are assigned other locations. You all were registered by the school you're coming from."

"I'll crush everyone," Katsuki said while a grin. He added to Izuku, "I'll even beat you and all the weaklings in your group."

Izuku nodded, his attention returning to Present Mic's presentation.

"There are three types of villains in each testing location. Points are awarded based on difficulty of the villain you defeat. It should become clear just how many points each one is worth, but I won't spoil the surprise. Use your quirks to take them down and earn points. That's your goal!" He paused and surveyed the room. The moving slides paused on a chart from the handout detailing the basics of the Exam. Included were blurry images of the villains they were to fight. "Being an anti-hero and attacking other examinees is prohibited and will result in either a loss of points or an immediate disqualification from the Exam. Any questions?"

"I have one," a boy with short black hair said, standing. Izuku saw that his glasses gleamed in the light coming from the presentation. He held up the handout and pointed at the blurry images being shown on the slide. "There are four silhouettes on this sheet, which suggests that there are four types of villains, not three. I'm concerned that this is an error. It would be embarrassing, especially for U.A. High, to have such an error involved with their Entrance Exam. This is Japan's top hero academy, and we have all come to become model heroes." He then turned and focused on Izuku. "And you, with the curly hair! I've been able to hear your muttering throughout the entire presentation. Not only is it distracting, but also I can't help but wonder if you're as serious about U.A. as the rest of us. If not, please leave. I wouldn't want anyone worthy to enter this prestigious school to be barred because of someone's non-courteous habit."

Izuku frowned, silent, as Katsuki snickered next to him. He felt a mix of glares and frowns being focused on him by others in the auditorium.

Present Mic grinned. "Good catch there, Examinee 7111! You should know that the fourth type of villain is worth zero points. It's an obstacle, not an enemy to be defeated. There'll be one at each site. They're gimmicks, meant to rampage and make the exam tougher for those who don't belong here. I can't tell you when they will appear, just that you should be ready to encounter it at any moment."

"Thank you, sir," the boy with glasses said. He bowed and sat down. "It's like a video game," he added, loud enough for those around him.

Present Mic smiled and waved, before saying, "That's all from me! I'm gonna leave my listeners with our school motto. Plus Ultra!"

Although he was aware of how expansive the U.A. campus was, Izuku couldn't help his shock upon seeing the several cityscape constructs tucked into the northwest corner of the campus. After the written portion, they had all been sent to a group of changing rooms before being led to their buses from the main building to the testing sites. Upon arrival, most of the others gathered in a group before the fence gate, standing several feet back. It's massive! Each cityscape has to be at least twenty square blocks if not larger. He scanned the crowd of examinees. All Might showed me a list of notable potential students, but I don't really see any here. They must be at the other sites, then. Hope Kacchan enjoys himself. He was all grins and pleasant words when we separated, but then the written exam took three hours.

There was a tap on his shoulder. Izuku turned to face the kid with glasses from earlier. "So you're the kid who was muttering." His tone was formal, judgmental, and a hint curious.

"It was more mumbling, but sure." He frowned. "Why do you ask?"

"Other than being extraordinarily rude? I don't think you have temperament to be a hero." The boy crossed his arms and Izuku couldn't help but scowl.

"Don't talk about things you don't know about," Izuku said. For a moment, a different boy saying similar words floated in front of him and echoed in his mind. "You don't have what it takes, Deku." He studied the boy in front of him and his eyebrows popped up at the sight of the short pipes emerging from the boy's calves. "Are you related to Ignenium?"

"Yes I am," the boy said, loud and prideful. A couple others glanced at them and begun whispering.

"That's…that's cool," Izuku said.

Izuku turned away and stalked off. A few others had watched their confrontation, but most were preoccupied with preparing for the Exam. Izuku soon found himself standing before the chain-link fence keeping them out of the cityscape. I think I understand why Kacchan likes to punch things, maybe even people, with his quirk. Just let them open the gate so I can take my frustration out on the villain bots –

"BEGIN!"

Izuku jumped and looked around until he, along with the other examinees at Site B watched Present Mic emerge the tower on the cityscape's walls. He stared down at them, frowning. "What's wrong? The test has started! Run! The die's been cast!"

Turning back to the entrance, Izuku grinned at the sight of the gate being drawn back and opening the way into the practical portion of the Exam. He dashed forward, the rest of the examinees breathing down his back. With a frustrated snort, he channeled One for All into his legs and leapt into the sky. For a few seconds, he soared over the cityscape, free and unburdened. Then he saw the villains they would be fighting: robots. Just as they had been told, there were three varieties and as suggested, their point values were visible, being painted onto their hauls. Present Mic hadn't been joking about them being more difficult the higher the point value. Is that a rocket pod on the 3-pointers?

He descended from the sky and landed amongst a half dozen robots. In a blur of green hair and a white tracksuit, Izuku delivered a series of devastating blows. That should be 10 points. The 3-pointers will be tougher to find. Plus, Nedzu let slip that the cutoff last year was 52 points. I just need to get 42 to reach that mark. Hopefully the others don't complain if they find out I'm here because I want to be, not that I have to. He moved deeper into the cityscape, searching and destroying whatever robots he encountered. As the seconds ticked by, his point total racked up. Although he most often used quirk-powered fists, he took opportunities to use other techniques built up by his training. There was a close moment as a laser barely skirted his shoulder, pulverizing a 1-pointer he had crippled. He frowned at the blondie who had fired the beam and his obnoxious French accent, but smiled when the boy apologized. Izuku continued on, smashing robots until he broke the 52-point marker he had set for himself. Might as well keep going, Izuku justified. Kacchan will be aiming for the high score and it would be interesting to see how he reacts when I beat his score.

That was when the Exam went mad. A building two blocks to his left exploded and screams and shouts echoed from the surrounding streets and alleys. Izuku redirected his path to head for the rising plume of dust and smoke. When he reached the wide avenue splitting the cityscape, he gapped at the party responsible for the destruction.

The gimmick robot worth zero points had emerged. It was five stories tall and its hands gripped a nearby building the same way he had held onto All Might whenever he had overexerted himself during training. Eight red eyes glowed and the robot's head shifted to stare down at the fledgling heroes with contempt. A chill raced through Izuku and his hands clenched. He knew it was worthless for his point totals, but that idealistic child, the one who wanted to be a hero, that leapt at the opportunity to become All Might's protégé, wanted to see it knocked down, to have the knowledge he was capable of taking down such a large and dangerous enemy. All Might would take it on with a smile and a single punch. But me? Am I just meant to stand here and stare? His eyes dropped from the robot and to the rubble beneath it. It took only a moment, but he focused on a girl, one of her legs pinned by the stones that had fallen on her. Her face was pale, likely from overusing her quirk.

How can I call myself a hero if I'm not willing to risk everything to help a single person? With that, he grinned and moved.

Tenya Iida panted as he stopped running. He had been going full bore for close to eight minutes. Taking a moment to pause and breathe felt amazing; especially with the dozens of points he had accumulated. He had nearly tripped and fallen upon the appearance of the gimmick robot, but once he found his footing, it was simple to get away. I would be threatening my chance to get into U.A. by fighting it. It has no purpose in determining whether we get in and my quirk isn't suited towards fighting that type of enemy without back up. He prepared to increase the distance between the gimmick and himself when a green and white blur rocketed past him. The wind rippled and Tenya stared at the blur, shocked.

"Whoa, what was that?" someone nearby asked. Instead of responding, Tenya watched as the blur stopped and the boy he had spoken with before the Exam appeared. He stared, frowning. I was terribly rude to him before the Exam, even if he had somewhat deserved. I'll apologize once we finish for the tone I used. He's probably going to get accepted and I would be mistaken to allow negative feelings with a fellow student and hero to persist. If we work together in the future, it would be best if we were at least polite and courteous, if not friendly.

"Hey, there's a girl pinned by the rubble!" another voice shouted. "He must've gone to grab her!" Tenya looked from the boy to the rubble nearest him and saw that there was a girl, her left leg pinned by rocks. The boy approached her, lifted the rock with one arm, pulled her out with the other, and in a blink and a couple heartbeats was next to him.

"Ah, thank you," the girl said, a little dizzy. She turned so that nobody was directly in front of her. "I get nauseous from overusing my quirk, and that was a little too fast."

"S-s-sorry!" the green haired boy said, rubbing his head abashed. "I've n-never traveled with another person while using my quirk."

"It's…it's no problem," she said. That was the moment her face turned green. She vomited and the surrounding examinees all jumped back. After finishing, she wiped her mouth and lowered her head so her bob cut hid her face.

"I'm sorry." Everyone in the vicinity paused and then turned to Tenya, who hadn't realized until then that he was the one who had spoke. He faced the green haired boy and bowed. "I was rude and made assumptions about you before the test. Please accept my apology."

"Before I do that, I need to finish up here." The boy pointed at the rampaging gimmick, which continued to approach. It had passed the rubble where the girl had been pinned and fortunately hadn't trampled it. The noise of its rampage had increased as it approached them and most of the examinees had retreated further away. "I came to U.A. to become a hero, just like many others. However, I can't leave people in danger as long as I can do something."

Tenya opened his mouth to say, "Nobody is in serious danger," but the boy leapt higher than he had when the Exam began. There was a brief moment as he hung in the sky, drawing back his right arm. He blinked and suddenly the boy was falling and the robot was reeling, its head smashed in by a fierce blow. The boy landed, a crater around him, as the gimmick exploded and collapsed backwards towards where it had emerged.

"I accept your apology," the boy said, walking to the gathered group of shocked examinees. He bowed, not as deep as Tenya, and continued. "My name is Midoriya Izuku and honestly, my muttering is a terrible habit I should have better control of. Plus, I was rude back then. Something you said reminded me of an incident last year where I got into a fight with someone I've known for years. It, uh, rubbed me the wrong way as it had back then."

"No need to apologize for that. I'm Iida Tenya," he said, trying to hold back the shock from his face. Between his quirk and how he acts, he could easily be another All Might.

The girl joined them, most of her dizziness gone. "I'm Uraraka Ochako. Thanks for saving me back there, Midoriya."

Midoriya grinned, his face flushed red. He must not get much praise. "Just doing what any hero would do."

It is, isn't it? Tenya turned to the gimmick wreckage as the exam ended. We all ran away, unaware we had left someone behind to get hurt just to save our own skins. I did the same, but Midoriya? He was a hero today.

Izuku smiled at the letter in his hand. In the aftermath of the exam, he had watched Recovery Girl heal and patch up the other examinees. He had finished the ten minutes without a single scratch, even from defeating the gimmick robot. The expected grazing and battering to his knuckles had been somehow avoided. When she came to inspect him, Recovery Girl could only shake her head with a relieved smile. She must still remember the worst of my injuries from when I was first learning how to control One for All.

He opened the letter and holographic projector, small enough to sit in his palm, slid into his hand. It flashed and projected a screen. All Might stood there, grinning, his yellow pinstriped suit cleaned and pressed.

"Young Midoriya! It is I, All Might, here to give you your results and some news!

"I will be teaching at U.A. High starting this year!" Izuku gapped. I should've seen this coming. I am his protégé, so he'd want to be on hand to aid in my training. But how will he get around his three-hour limit? "Don't fret about me, Young Midoriya. As long as you work towards your goals, things will be fine! Anyways, I'm just a temporary adjunct, or that is what we'll be telling the public." A long moment passed as he stared at the image of All Might, whose grin shifted slightly.

"And now that the dramatic pause has passed, I can safely say that you have been accepted! The instructors who have never seen you before were thoroughly impressed. In fact, both Nedzu and I are extraordinarily proud of the effort you put into the Exam and the moral fiber you showed saving Miss Uraraka.

"Congratulations, Midoriya Izuku, and welcome to U.A. High!"