Everyone was getting off the bus and prepping for the exam. As some were still nervous, Eijiro decided to break the mood.
"Come on guys! We're going for our licenses! Let's get pumped! Come on, Plus -" he started, and everyone shouted the last part, including someone they didn't know.
"ULTRA!" they all shouted.
"It's not good to randomly insert yourself into other people's huddles, Inasa." someone spoke after the chant, and the new face cursed.
"PLEASE ACCEPT MY APOLOGIES!" he shouted with a bow low enough to smack his forehead on the concrete. Izuku saw the uniform and recognized the shaved student was from Shiketsu High.
"You are forgiven." the martial artist said with his own bow. "Good luck yourself on the exam."
"Thank you for your support!" Inasa said. Izuku handed him a tissue and motioned to his head, and the enthusiastic teen nodded and started wiping the blood off his head before saying his goodbyes.
"That kid's strong." Shouta noted. "During the entrance exam you all took, he had the top score. Though he declined the offer to join UA and turned to Shiketsu." everyone took that information in and decided that they'd work together.
"Eraser? Hey Eraser, it is you!" a feminine voice called from behind, and the UA teacher looked horrified. Looking over was a blonde woman in stripes and smiley faces. "I saw you on tv at the sports festival, but it's been too long since we met face to face. Let's get married!" she asked.
"No thanks…" was the tired teacher's immediate response. The two quipped at one another for a while until Ms. Joke introduced the remainder of her class. Shindou was being overly nice, and both Izuku and Bakugo saw the mask he was wearing. Izuku met it with a projection of chi, stunning the second year students with a warm smile, while the explosive blonde just brushed them off.
"Come on guys, let's suit up and get in gear." the greenette prompted, and everyone left to get ready for the exam.
Momo had given everyone earpieces, just like they had discussed. Everyone wanted to pass, so those with pride swallowed it and the entire class of 1-A was going to treat every challenge like it was the real deal; that meant teamwork, coordination, planning, and most importantly, trusting each other.
The trial was simple. You had six balls to throw, and three targets to protect on you. If all of the targets on you were hit, then you failed; if you nailed the last target on someone, you passed. Out of 1540 test takers, there would only be a hundred to pass this trial. This meant 1-A needed to play their cards just right. Deku realized something and voiced it over the earpiece.
"The sports festival, crap."
"The fuck are you on about Deku?" Nitro snarled.
"They know all of our quirks because of the festival, so likely everyone planned against us. We know nothing about anyone else's quirks though." the inheritor of One for All explained.
"We can work with this." Creati said. "Here's the plan, but it needs to be perfect." at that point, the walls of the building folded out to reveal the area they could work with. Deku, Creati, Thermal Shock, and Ingenerate quickly bounced ideas until a solid plan was formed, and everyone moved at once.
"It's rare for you not to have expelled anyone by now. You must be fond of this bunch." Emi inquired with her friend in the stadium seats.
"No, they're just that good." Shouta praised without batting an eye. The laughing hero looked over in shock; the man had never given that kind of praise to many people, let alone a whole class.
"Well damn, if you're this confident, my kids should look out. What'd you do differently this time?" she asked.
"Me? Nothing. It was Anima who made a difference this year." the erasure hero smirked. "Monster taught them how to be old-school heroes that our grandparents looked up to."
"Well, let's see how well they do." Emi noted. "It's the same thing every year with the exam. The UA Crushing."
At that moment, the signal had blared, and all of the teachers save Shouta were shocked at the smooth movements everyone in UA's freshman class showed. Everyone was moving in different ways, from flips, to quirks, to sliding around, to just running; everyone was doing so with purpose and training, turning the bad situation in their favor. Over the distance, they heard the green-haired teen with lightning dancing across him yell.
"EVERYONE, BRACE YOURSELVES AND STRIKE BACK!" his voice resonated, and Emi swore she felt conviction and comfort in the teen's words. It was like All Might's aura, but calmer, more focused.
"You feel the warmth too, I take it?" Shouta asked, and his companion nodded. So it wasn't just a feeling. "Midoriya has done that for a long while. It makes him seem like the pillar that All Might once was, but bigger."
Shivers ran down the teacher's spines; if this was how it felt at this distance, then what was it like up there? Many of the students of UA had managed to score the last shots to pass, leaving Deku and the last of the less offensive fighters. Everyone knew the hero in green could have passed long before now, but seeing him assist his fellow heroes, they couldn't help but notice him.
Everyone passed. Every. Single. 1-A student. Had made it passed the first trial.
"AH HELL YEAH!" everyone cheered.
"That strategy worked like a goddamn charm Yaoyorozu!" Denki praised.
"It wouldn't work without Bakugo's grenades, that's for sure." Eijiro said, and the blond grinned at the memory of using the explosions as a smoke screen; would have lasted longer if not for Inasa clearing it. That level of control was insane, and Shouto had a new bar to set himself to.
The next part was explained after the series of explosions had changed the playing field. Assist and rescue the civilian stand-ins. There wasn't any explanation to the point system, but Izuku warned everyone to treat that like it was real. This meant everyone checked their first-aid kits, some more in-depth than others, but still there. As everything else was setting up, the remaining students from Shiketsu came up to talk.
"Hey, did any of you run into Shishikura-san?" Nagamasa asked, and Fumikage raised his hand.
"I did. And with the help of dark shadow, we had overcome him at the bridge." the raven-headed teen admitted. The hair-covered student bowed in response.
"If he said anything abrasive, he has issues with people without the same view. He's trying, but it's difficult sometimes." Nagamasa said, and Fumikage responded that there was no ill will.
"Oh, Yoarashi," Shouta turned to the wind user. "You were amazing out there. I hope to reach your level eventually." the dual-quirk user bowed.
"Just don't turn like your old man." Inasa said with mild venom; he may not like the scarred teen, but from his words, it was clear Shouto wanted to improve.
"That bastard? Like hell I'll be like him." the teen responded. "Even though you don't like me, we shouldn't let that hinder us as heroes."
Though the two insanely powerful teens didn't see eye to eye, the small talk let them get over something in between the two.
A siren went off, and the full scenario was given, and everyone was set loose.
"Thermal shock, Tsukiyomi, and Earphone Jack help the other schools set up a safe zone for helicopters and medics with me, and give extensive first aid to any that we'll have coming our way. Everyone else group in threes and call in when the situation changes!" Creati ordered, receiving several 'roger's from the class. Deku came up to a child crying, and he came in to move him.
"Uahhh!" the HUC kid was bawling. "Gramps got crushed!" he explained, but Izuku first checked up on him. His pulse was fine, but his panicking was going to agitate any injury on him. Projecting his chi to calm him down, the hero in green smiled.
"Hey, it's alright now. We'll check everywhere, but right now, we need to get you patched up." he comforted before applying some basic first aid. "Sugar rush, take him to the safe zone, I'll see if the kid's family is alright."
"Sure thing." the muscled hero said before picking the child up and carefully making his way to the area. Izuku started sensing with his chi and found more people under the rubble. Directing Ingenerate to the locations, the two found a couple of old men.
"Hey! You alright down there?" the armored hero called, and the men responded with slurred speech. Going over, Deku and his partner checked them over before carrying them to the safe area.
Then trouble happened.
KABOOM!
An area blew up, And over the earpieces were curses.
"Gang Orca! He and his sidekicks usually specialize in demolition rescue, breaking rubble into smaller pieces. Be careful." Deku informed over the earpieces, shocking the HUC members that were listening.
"Fuck!" Nitro cursed. "Charge, Riot, Sugar, Tail, and invisibitch, with me! Pinky, Cellophane, and Grape, create a perimeter! If they get too close to it, turn 'em back, or turn 'em to ash! If there are civvies in the perimeter, Deku, Engine, and Uravity are getting them out."
"Nitro, keep the collateral to a minimum. Other than that, you heard him!" Ingenerate backed up. This was the structure they all had; Creati would be the strategist and home defender, Ingenerate was the field commander, Nitro was the captain of the combat force, and Deku was the one who could take any role in case he needed to. Information was spread freely between not just the class, but the other heroes-in-training as well.
Hadena was used to these types of exercises, keep the makeup on, act panicked, and when the time came, see how well the heroes did in the rescue. When the "villains" came into the picture, she didn't even flinch; there something missing in the fake disasters like this that you couldn't get in a real situation.
But the heroes-to-be were something this time around.
Red Riot, as she heard his name, was boxing many goons in with the help of his partner in yellow. The explosive-user was keeping the boss busy and Chargezuma was thinning the crowd with his lightning. When one of the villain's had seen her, she knew they'd attempt a hostage situation. Red riot saw them move, and her. Charging head-first, the stone-skinned teen had tackled the villain unconscious before standing in between her and the mob they were facing.
"Deku, we got a civvie over here, and she's too close to the group. Get over here ASAP." he called over the earpiece like they had many times before, but the young girl couldn't bother herself to care.
Deku? As in, her Deku? She had trouble believing it until she felt that aura of calm. That feeling of 'you're safe now, nothing can hurt you' that she remembered vividly from the rainy night her life turned around.
"Hey!" the familiar voice called, and she couldn't hold back her tears. In his forest green and black was her favorite hero. "Ah, Hadena-san!" he remembered. She didn't think he would, but that he not only remembered her face but name, she was almost at a loss for words. But there was still one.
"Deku!" she called, and the older teen ran to her. His touch was gentle as he checked her over for injuries. She was supposed to have a broken leg, and he splinted the limb just like a professional.
"Glad to see you in better circumstances than the last time we met." he said with a smile. "How's your brother, Bara, right?"
"Onii-chan's back in the shop again." she responded.
"That's good. Now we'll get you out of this and to the safe zone my friends have set up." Deku explained, and she could only nod. "Red Riot, Sugar Rush, could you get her out of here; you two look like you need a breather. Nitro, switch places, your explosions will do more good against the group, and I'll take the heavy." he finished over the earpiece, the three heroes flinching at the blonde's volume. As Hadena was being carried, she saw the confidence in his stride against so many people. She couldn't seem to worry though; this was her hero, and she couldn't see this stopping him.
That's enough for this chapter! I wanted to finish in a single chapter, but that doesn't look possible, so it'll be split. I know I've glossed over the battle trial, but there were so many moving parts, so it got the same treatment as the Villain raid arc. Also, Hadena is back for a little! Her life has been looking up since chapter 14 (holy hell, was it that long ago? damn.). Also, I looked at the roster in 1-A, and if well explored, the class can be really good at many aspects of being heroes; combat, rescue, and disaster. With so many leader types for every command role, when they all can work together, the crap they can pull off is pretty big. Anyway, please leave a comment, I'll never stop liking your feedback! Till next time!