The Ninth: Izuku

by RenFoloki

A single stone can alter a stream's path; the same can be said when a single, kind person enters the life of Izuku Midoriya. With a real friend, Izuku becomes stronger, both physically and mentally. Now it's time for them to both accomplish their dreams, become heroes.

13. Final Exams

|Chapter 13: Final Exams

The Next Day, Practical Exam Area

"Alright, it's time for your practical exam." Aizawa announced to the class, all of which were wearing their P.E uniforms. "Remember, it is possible to fail this exam. If you want to go to the training camp, don't make any stupid mistakes."

"What are all the teachers doing here?" Jirou whisper asked Yaoyorozu.

The heiress just shrugged. "I don't know." She whispered back.

Despite their whispering, Aizawa overheard their question. "The teachers are all here because they'll be giving you individual scores on your performance." He explained, easing their worries. "Even if you pass this test, the final decision will be up to us." Never mind, they were back on edge. "And now, Principal Nezu will give you the exam."

Said chimera popped up out of Aizawa's scarf. "Hello, students." He greeted cheerily, sitting atop Aizawa's shoulder. "As you're all aware, the practical exam is taking a change this time." The students all prepared for the worst. "Don't worry, you'll all still be fighting robots."

This calmed the students down a bit. 'Oh thank Kami.'

"However, they won't be the ones from the entrance exam." Nezu added.

Okay, calm over. 'Oh come on!'

Nezu's grin became manic. "Maijima, show them."

Power Loader opened a large container next to him. 'How did we miss that?' The robot that walked out scared a few students. It was 6' tall and had a very humanoid form. It had a dark cloak that covered its armour and a strangely designed helmet. (A.N: Just think of a hooded Mandalorian with black armour.)

"This is an enforcer." Nezu explained. "In what they lack in size and overall destructive power they make up for in speed, intelligence, and hand-to-hand combat." He smiled widely. "Also, I've added a few surprises based on your quirks and the teachers have also given a few surprises of their own."

The students all felt a chill go up their spine again. Though, one student wasn't scared.

"Seriously, that's it?" Bakugou asked. "This'll be a cinch."

Nezu adopted an evil aura. "I'm so glad you think that, Bakugou; but I wasn't finished." His tone took a scary edge. "The final change is that one person in each pair…" The chimera grabbed a box from inside Aizawa's scarf. "Will be wearing these." He opened the box to reveal a pair of metal wristbands.

"Those are…?" Kaminari asked confused, the smarter students knew exactly what those were though.

Izuku decided to explain. "Those are quirk cuffs, Kaminari." He said, shocking the rest of the students.

Nezu chuckled. "Yes, one person in each pair will be fighting quirkless."

The students paled. 'Oh shit.'

Nezu looked to Aizawa. "You can tell them their pairs now."

Aizawa nodded. "I don't actually feel like talking so I'll just show you." He pressed a button and a hologram popped up.

|Final Exam Pairings

Pair 1: Bakugou and Kirishima

Pair 2: Jirou and Koda

Pair 3: Hikaru and Uraraka

Pair 4: Todoroki and Yaoyorozu

Pair 5: Sato and Sero

Pair 6: Tokoyami and Asui

Pair 7: Shoji and Hagakure

Pair 8: Iida and Ojiro

Pair 9: Kaminari and Ashido

Pair 10: Midoriya and Aoyama

"Bakugou, Jirou, Hikaru, Todoroki, Sato, Tokoyami, Hagakure, Iida, Ashido, and Midoriya." Aizawa called. "You will all be wearing quirk cuffs." Said students instantly readied themselves. "The first three pairs will go first, then the second three, and then third three. Midoriya and Aoyama, you two will go last." The pair nodded. "Alright, first pair, ground one. Second pair, ground two. Third pair, well, you get it." He said lazily. "The rest of you, observation room."

"Yes, sir!" The class saluted.

Pair 1 – Bakugou and Kirishima

Bakugou and Kirishima had barely been in the exam arena for a couple of seconds before they were pounced by a squad of enforcers. Wanting to protect his now quirkless friend, Kirishima rushed forward and attacked one of the metal warriors. To his and Bakugou's surprise, the robot was able to hold against the attack.

It continued to block three extra hits before it was taken out. The other three robots were just ad difficult to dispose of. After doing so, Bakugou had uncharacteristically suggested that they find the exit as quickly as they could. A sentiment that his red haired friend agreed with whole heartedly.

They had managed to find the exit and started to sprint for it. Bakugou had let his guard down and focused on getting to the exit, so it was no surprise that he didn't see the robots on either side of him. Kirishima did though and burst forward to push Bakugou out of the way and past the gate, sacrificing himself to the enforcer's mercy.

After regaining his bearings, the angry blonde turned around to yell at his red-headed friend, only to see him pinned by two robots with a down look on his face. The buzzer rang, signalling the end of their time and deactivating the quirk cuffs. Sparking the sweat he built from running, Bakugou rushed the two robots with pure rage.

Pair 2 – Jirou and Koda

Jirou and Koda walked in the arena and actually were able to walk around freely for a while. This didn't elevate either of the students worries, however. If anything, they were only more worried about what their principal could've put in these robots. The silence continued for a little while longer until the sounds of birds filled the air.

Immediately, Koda covered his ears and curled up into a ball. While she couldn't actually understand anything, Jirou guessed that the chimera was subjecting Koda to psychological warfare. Seeing a few enforcers close in around them and hearing the sounds getting louder, Jirou started to drag Koda into an alleyway.

After determining that the robots wouldn't chase them and continue their sound attacks, Jirou tried her best to shake her animal friend out of his trance. After his surprisingly persistent reluctance, Jirou decided to do the next best thing and lightly slap him on the head.

She yelled at him, surprising both herself and Koda, and told him that the animals weren't real. Koda took his hands off his ears and looked down the alleyway to see the robots coming in. A sudden fire seemed to spark in his eyes and the last image the observation room saw was Jirou riding a black bear, tearing through the robots like they were wheat in a field.

Pair 3 – Hikaru and Uraraka

Similar to Bakugou and Kirishima, the young couple were immediately attacked by a group of enforcers. Uraraka grinned rather similarly to Bakugou, which scared Akira just a bit. His fear of his girlfriend was short lived as his attention quickly shifted to the group of incoming robots.

Akira wordlessly took a small device out of his pocket which extended and became a metal staff, which he then broke into two metal batons. The two rushed forward and began an onslaught of attacks on the robots, Uraraka not bothering to use her quirk on the metal warriors.

When she decided to finally float one of the robots, the principal's surprise for them became clear. The robot's all activated what seemed to be feet repulsors and began to hover in the air above them. Uraraka seemed sad that her quirk was rendered useless but Akira had a solution.

He grabbed Uraraka's wrist and placed her hand on a car. After seeing that it was weightless, the black haired teen grabbed and heaved it at the robots hovering above them, destroying all but one. Not wanting to be out done, Uraraka used her quirk on herself and jumped directly at the flying robot.

Seeing the attack coming, the robot tried to grab her out of mid-air. When it did, Uraraka grabbed the arm and twisted it behind the robot's back. After securing herself, she released her quirk and let them both fall to the ground, using the robot as a cushion. After that, the two wordlessly left the arena, looking like a badass couple …. until Uraraka threw up.

Observation Room

As the three pairs entered the room, congratulations were shared all around. Kaminari and Sero assisted Bakugou in trying to cheer up Kirishima, telling them how he had been manly to save the blonde like he did.

Shoji and Sato both congratulated Koda on finally letting his primal side out for a bit. Though, said teen was still rather embarrassed about everyone seeing that side of him, no matter how badass it was.

Izuku and Akira instantly began their handshake while Mina and Hagakure congratulate Uraraka on her newfound fighting skills.

"Alright, that's enough." Aizawa called, silencing his class. "You should be able to tell now that the robots you face will be designed to counteract those of you who still have their quirks. Use this information wisely." He said before lying back down. "Next three pairs, you know where you're going." With that, he closed his eyes and went back to sleep.

The rest of the class didn't even bother to sigh, knowing that this was just how their teacher was. It also helped that they were already more than used to this.

Pair 4 – Todoroki and Yaoyorozu

Yaoyorozu walked into the faux city with a shield and a staff in her hand, trying to keep her cool. Todoroki walked in right behind her, his face adopting his usual stoic look, his eyes were scanning his surroundings though. The heiress turned and saw that he was easily keeping his cool and was about to question him when she saw his eyes widen.

Turning around, Yaoyorozu narrowly blocked a strike from an enforcer wielding a staff. She parried the strike and sent the robot back slightly. The metal warrior discarded its staff and its fist became re-enforced with another layer of metal. Steadying herself, the heiress prepared herself for battle.

After finishing the robot, she remembered her classmate and turned to assist him. However, she instead saw Todoroki standing over an enforcer with a staff through its chest. There were also two other defeated robots around him. Seeing this she deflated slightly and recommended they just find a way out.

Todoroki was able to catch her sad look and questioned her about it. When he finally understood, he explained the only reason he was calm was because he had one of the most capable students in class as his teammates. When she heard this, a deep fire set in her eyes.

Hearing another group of enforcers land behind her, Yaoyorozu decided to let out the big guns, literally. Creating a minigun from her arm, she aimed it towards the group and let loose. The group was destroyed instantly and the two rode out of the arena on a motorcycle with Yaoyorozu going trigger happy and shouting her name.

Pair 5 – Sato and Sero

Sato and Sero had planned to just rush through the arena without trying to fight any of the robots at all. In their heads, it seemed like a better plan than trying to fight off whatever their principal had in store for them. They had made it through one block when a group of five landed in front of them.

The two did not stop their run though and continued to charge ahead. Sero taped onto a building and swung himself up. He turned around and let out a piece of tape that Sato grabbed on to. After using the tape to successfully get around the robots, the two continued to run off towards the exit.

This tactic didn't hold out for long though and the two found themselves surrounded by enforcers on all sides. The two sighed and prepared to fight their way out, the robots had cornered them but they weren't going down that easy. The two actually managed to fend off for a few minutes before a strange purple gas started to surround them.

Unbeknownst to them, the robots they had defeated had slowly began to emit a sleeping gas around the two. It was too late for the heroes in training and they felt themselves get tired. As the two fell asleep, a certain purple haired teacher adjusted her glasses watching them fall.

Pair 6 – Asui and Tokoyami

Tsu and Tokoyami had also decided to try and avoid the fight and find the exit. However, instead of running straight through the city announcing themselves, they stuck to the shadows. The two had actually made it halfway before they had been cut off in an alleyway on both sides.

The robots, however, didn't bother Tsu in the slightest. The moment she saw two land in front of her, she wrapped her tongue around one and threw them into another behind her. Tokoyami had rushed towards the other one and ran up the wall before sending a kick to its face. Looking behind him, he saw Tsu had done the same.

The two continued to run and could see the exit when another four landed in front of them. Before Tsu attacked, however, one of the enforcers began to emit a kind of gas from their cloaks. When she landed a kick to one's face, she realised the gas was a sort of cold fog. It was too late and she only took out one more before her movements became groggy.

Tokoyami, seeing what was happening, didn't hesitate to act and immediately rushed forward. Dodging around a fist, he grabbed what he determined to be the source of the fog and threw it away. With the principal's trap disabled, Tsu and Tokoyami easily dealt with the last two robots and exited the arena.

Observation Room

As the three pairs walked in, everyone went to congratulate them for their efforts and strategies.

Izuku and Tokoyami did their own handshake that they made up at Hawk's agency while Uraraka and Mina congratulated Tsu. Kaminari comforted Sero saying that he did the best he could and Kirishima patted him on the back saying that he was manly.

Sato was comforted by Shoji and Koda, saying that he did the best he could without his quirk. Yaoyorozu was still hyped up and had made herself a leather jacket and a pair of sunglasses.

"Alright." Aizawa called, getting the class's attention. "You'll all have time for pleasantries after you all finish your tests. Next three pairs same places, except for Iida and Ojiro, you two will be in an open field." The two nodded and the three left to their exams, their classmates cheering them on.

Pair 7 – Shoji and Hagakure

Shoji had decided to try and come up with a plan while the two were in the observation room. They both agreed that the robots they would be fighting would have something to counter Shoji and decided that running would be the best option. So, Hagakure climbed onto Shoji's back, and they began their exam.

The two had been assaulted almost immediately after entering the area. A multitude of robots, each with four arms, all rushed to attack them. Shoji, however, didn't let any of them get close to his blue-haired classmate. After decorating the streets with spare parts, the two quickly made off.

As they made their way closer to the exit, more and more robots got in their way. Shoji had gotten slightly tired so Hagakure took it upon herself to stop being helpless and do something. Picking up two robot arms, she began to fight alongside Shoji, surprising him and herself with her fighting skill.

Eventually the two managed to clear out all the robots around them and resumed their run to the exit. However, a last group of robots stood in front of the exit, guarding it. Tired and slightly annoyed, Shoji picked up Hagakure in his arms and bull-rushed the unsuspecting androids. The six-armed teen didn't stop and continued to run all the way back to the observation room.

Pair 8 – Iida and Ojiro

Iida and Ojiro both had cool, collected expressions as they saw what was in front of them. The wide field in front of them was filled with a smally army of enforcers, much more than their classmates had to face. Despite the amount of robots in front of them, you could see small smiles on both of their faces.

Without a word, the two rushed in towards the small army. Ojiro's tail shifted into a fox and he slammed it into the ground, sending him in the air. His tail shifted again and became scaled and spiked at the end. He spun around and sent his tail smashing into the ground, destroying a large amount of enforcers.

Meanwhile, Iida was running through the small army like a truck. Despite his loss of quirk, he still had years of training his legs and how to use them. For every hit the robots missed, Iida sent two more, leaving behind nothing but scrap in his wake. After a while, the two had finished off all but one.

Looking at each other, they smiled and rushed it. Ojiro went forward and shifted his tail to that of a monkeys and used it to throw the robot in the air. Iida used the tailed-boy's back as a platform and sent a kick to the robot's chest, sending it even higher. As the two walked off, the last enforcer crashed into the ground, securing their complete victory.

Pair 9 – Kaminari and Ashido

These two, surprisingly enough, had come up with a half decent plan. Crazy, right? They thought so too. Before they entered the arena, Kaminari had overloaded Mina's quirk cuffs, disabling them, and letting her use her quirk. They didn't think that anything bad would come of it seeing as Aizawa said nothing about taking them off.

They both walked into the arena with small smiles on their faces. A group of robots quickly made themselves known and their smiles became grins. Both let out a flurry of attacks at the group, melting and frying them at the same time. This surprised everyone in the observation room, Nezu included, which is actually a big achievement in of itself.

The two decided to take their time and walk through the city, seeing as they didn't have much to worry about. As more robots ran to face them, the more ambitious and over-confident they became. At some point in the exam, the two had begun hunting the enforcers, wanting to rack up extra points.

After leaving nothing but fried and melted scrap around the entire exam area, the two decided that they had done enough. They started to walk to the exit and excitedly talked about how smart they were and how well they had done. However, just a few steps before they walked through the exit gate, the buzzer rang.

Observation Room

As the three pairs entered the observation room, there were mixed reactions.

Shoji and Hagakure looked extremely worn out, especially Shoji since he basically ran a marathon to get to the observation room. Iida and Ojiro were also sweating, but they had content smiles on their faces. Finally, Kaminari and Mina both had embarrassed looks.

"Kaminari, Ashido." Aizawa started, getting everyone's attention. "Usually you would be punished for doing what you did, however, I wasn't specific enough at the beginning." The two let out a quiet sigh at that. "And I think you learned your lessons." They sheepishly rubbed the back of their necks and hung their heads in disappointment.

The hobo-man turned to Izuku and Aoyama. "No breaking your quirk cuffs, understood?" He asked.

Izuku raised his hands in mock surrender. "Yes, sir." He answered with a small smile.

Aizawa smiled back and nodded his head towards the door. "Alright, go to your exams." As the two left the room, Aizawa pressed a button which replaced all the little screens with one big screen.

"Principal Nezu, what's the surprise you planned for Izuku and Aoyama?" Akira asked.

Nezu smiled lightly at the question. "I gave these robots enhanced durability and strength." He explained, laughing inwardly at their confused looks.

"But those traits don't counter Aoyama's quirk." Yaoyorozu pointed out.

Nezu's smile got slightly larger. "These robots were designed to counter the more dangerous of the pair they faced. Quirkless or not, Midoriya is still a larger threat than most of you." He stated.

The class became more confused but decided to just watch the screens.

Pair 10 – Midoriya and Aoyama

Izuku and Aoyama both calmly walked into the arena, both already having devised a plan. They both figured that based on the other plans they had seen, hiding wasn't going to work and just dealing with the robot's head on was their best option. As soon as they determined that they weren't going to be instantly attacked, they burst off.

Soon after, a group of five enforcers landed in front of them. This didn't faze the two and they continued to run forward. Izuku went in front and jumped high in the air before he sent a double-legged kick to an enforcer, sending it flying into a building. His hands caught the ground and he quickly backflipped away.

Aoyama aimed his arms at two of the robots and let loose his quirk after seeing Izuku return to his side, leaving holes in their chests. Izuku blocked a punch from one of the enforcers and grabbed it. Lifting it above his head, he swung and threw it towards the final one. The two robots crashed into each other and into a car.

Not wanting to take any chances, Izuku lifted the car and dropped it on the two. Looking back, he saw Aoyama with a surprised look.

"What?" Izuku asked.

Aoyama looked at him sceptically. "Are you sure your cuffs are on?" The calm blonde asked.

Izuku looked at them and nodded. "Yeah, can't feel anything." He said.

Aoyama seemed suspicious for another second before dropping it. "Alright, let's leave before more get here."

Izuku nodded. "Agreed, but I'm gonna grab a weapon first." Looking around the mock street, he saw a stop sign and smiled. He walked over to it and ripped it out of the ground. "Alright, let's go."

Aoyama looked like he wanted to say something but decided it didn't matter. "Right."

The two took off again and could see the exit when another group of five blocked it. Izuku stopped and held the pole like it was a spear. He then launched the stop sign forward, impaling the middle robot in the chest. The green haired teen ran up to the pole and dislodged it from the robot. The other four were soon on him but he wasn't worried, spinning the pole as if it weighed nothing, Izuku struck two robots mid-air, annihilating them.

The other two robots were both blown back by bright blue beams. Looking back, Izuku saw Aoyama with his hands stretched out.

"You weren't watching your six." The blonde said calmly.

Izuku threw the pole behind him and impaled a robot that tried to sneak up on the French-teen. "Neither were you." He answered back.

The two smiled at each other before walking out of the arena, passing their exam.

Observation Room

As the doors to the observation room opened, Izuku was met with wide-eyes and slacked jaws. Aoyama understood them but the green haired teen was clueless.

"What's wrong?" Izuku asked, confusion heavy in his tone.

Kirishima was the first to break out of his trance. "Dude…" He started. "…You lifted a freaking car… and dropped it on the robots…" He looked like he was gonna cry out of admiration for the teen.

Izuku remained confused. "Shoji can do that too, same with Sato and Akira." He argued, pointing to the three students. "And I'm pretty sure you could too if you tried."

Shoji looked at him incredulously. "Yeah, we can do that with our quirks, you don't."

Izuku nodded. "Yeah, and?" His question got confused looks from everyone.

Nezu chuckled lightly. "I must say, even though I designed those robots specifically to combat you, I did not expect you to disable them as fast as you did." He admitted.

"I don't think any of us expected him to do what he just did." Akira said.

Aizawa turned off the screens and turned to the class. "You can all discuss Midoriya's monster strength later." His surprise was expertly disguised by his bored tone. "Go home." He finished before rolling himself up in his sleeping bag and jumping into a vent.

The students all left the observation room, unphased by their teacher's weird actions, and began to question Izuku on his strength.

As they walked through the hall, Mina looked at Izuku and felt a great amount of admiration swell up. 'He's so cool.' She thought to herself, her mood quickly dropped and she frowned. 'And I wasted his time by fooling around in the exam.'

The Next Day, Cafeteria

Izuku walked towards a table when he saw pink in his peripheral vision. Turning towards the pink figure, he saw a dejected Mina walk outside. Confused and wanting to cheer her up, Izuku followed her outside.

Akira saw his best friend walk after Mina and smiled. 'I wonder how much longer it's gonna take for them to realise they both like each other?'

Izuku seemed to lose Mina for a bit before he saw her sitting down at a tree. The green haired teen calmly approached Mina and sat down beside her. She obviously hadn't been paying attention to her surroundings as she jolted in surprise when Izuku sat down.

"O-oh, Izuku." Mina said, surprised. "What are you doing out here?" She asked.

Izuku smiled lightly at her. "I saw you walk out here by yourself and you seemed sad. I just wanted to make sure you're okay." He said with a tone that made her blush.

The blush faded and she frowned. "It's just…" Mina started. "I feel like I wasted all of your time with the stunt Kaminari and I pulled." She leaned on his shoulder. "If we had just decided to run through then we would've passed." She wrapped her arms around his. "But instead all we did was get cocky and-"

The pink girl didn't get to finish her sentence as Izuku pulled her in for a hug. While she was surprised, she didn't object and held him tight. The two just sat there for a while with Mina on Izuku's lap, holding each other close.

Eventually, Izuku separated from the hug and looked her right in her eyes. "Mina, you didn't waste any of my time." He started, a bit of a blush on his cheeks. "And it doesn't matter that you didn't pass, everyone fails, even me." He admitted. "Just use this as motivation to do better next time."

Mina smiled at his words, her cheeks a heavy purple. "Thanks, Izuku" She said.

Izuku smiled back and the two both sat there looking at each other. The world around them seemed to fade and they could only see each other. Slowly, almost instinctively, their faces began to inch closer together. They closed their eyes and-

*RRIIIINNNNGGGG*

The sound of the bell startled both of them and they suddenly realised what they were doing. Their faces were set on fire and they both scrambled to stand up.

"I-I, ummm-" Izuku started, only to be cut off.

"Oi! Romeo and Juliet!" Akira called out to them. "Pick up your trays and hurry up, we're getting our marks back." He said before walking back inside, hiding a huge shit-eating grin. 'I've always wanted to use that one.'

Back with clueless and embarrassment, they quickly picked up their trays and rushed inside. Both decided that leaving it was best, but they couldn't deny they felt slightly disappointed.

Class 1A

"WHHAAATTT?!" The class yelled collectively.

Aizawa had just informed that, regardless of their scores on either the physical or written exam, they would be attending the training camp.

Aizawa's eyes glowed red and his hair began to float. "Settle down." He said. All the students sat down, though you could still see a few shaking. A stack of papers appeared in his hands and he began to hand them out. "Here are your overall grades for each of the tests you did."

As soon as the students all got their answer sheets, they began to compare scores. Izuku smiled at his few 100% tests and the other high scores he had. He was broken from his thoughts as another slip was placed over his.

"Izuku, look!" He looked up to see it was Mina. "I got 100% on my math test!" She shouted excitedly.

The green haired teen looked at her form and felt a great sense of pride swell up in him when saw the 100% next to 'math'. He looked over the other subjects and saw she also got high 70s on those as well, not as high as they could be, but they were a start.

"I've never gotten a 100% on anything before!" The pink girl exclaimed before wrapping him in a hug. "You're the best, Izuku."

The events of lunch quickly flashed in his mind but he shook it off and hugged back. They both sat back down with the rest of their class and Aizawa explained the remedial courses, getting a groan from Kaminari, but not Mina, surprisingly enough.

As the bell rung for the end of the day and all the students filed out of the school, Akira watched as Izuku and Mina stood ever so closely to each other as they exited the gates, hands brushing against each other every now and then. 'I'm gonna have to come up with more lines.'

Omake

So my lil sis said I was cruel for the Izumina tease I did and demanded a happy ending. I obliged and decided I should let you all experience it too.

Izuku smiled back and the two both sat there looking at each other. The world around them seemed to fade and they could only see each other. Slowly, almost instinctively, their faces began to inch closer together.

They both paused momentarily and looked each other in the eyes, the question obvious. The two both nodded and closed their eyes, letting their faces get even closer. As their lips connected, a sense of euphoria washed over them. Izuku tightened his hold on her waist and Mina wrapped her arms around his neck and played with his hair. The two could feel the smiles on each other's lips and continued to bask in the happiness they felt.

Mina pushed forward a bit more and Izuku fell on his back, but still held her close. The two finally separated and gasped for air. They both had large blushes on their faces, accompanied by the biggest smiles ever. The two laughed before holding each other close again and letting themselves get lost in the release of their pent up feelings.

At the door to the cafeteria, all of Class 1A stood watching them with a smile. 'About damn time.' They all thought collectively before walking back inside.