I do not own My Hero Academia or any of its characters.
Round One: Beginning
Over the next four days, Lee spent almost the entirety of the time they were training trying to get his electricity working. He and Legacy had mental discussions about how they thought the electricity was actually formed and stored inside of his body, as knowing would help him understand how to use it, theoretically. However, they'd had no luck so far. Lee had even tried activating his Quirk to tap into the electricity, then try to draw it out that way. No luck. After four days, everyone's costume upgrades were finished, besides Lee, who hadn't actually upgraded his costume any. Midoriya had had his white gloves replaced by bicep-length sleeves that would reduce the strain on his arms ligaments while using his Quirk, and had similar sleeves but in black added to his costume's legs, with iron soles and toe guards added to his shoes. Eijiro had added black sleeves to his costume. Denki had added a pair of blue-lensed sunglasses that had a frame along the bottom and a wrist device that likely allowed him to aim his electricity, along with a utility belt. Kyoka had had a pair of white gloves made with some kind of devices on the backs and a set of headphones. Koda had a mask of some kind made, one which looked a bit like a muzzle. Others had apparently made changes as well, but Lee had been too absorbed in his attempts to figure out how to use his electricity to pay their costumes any attention.
And of course, his attempts at training were hampered by him being distracted by his situation with Momo, Mina, and Toru. The day after he'd had trouble keeping himself in control, Momo had avoided him entirely, except to get the breakfast he'd cooked, and when Mina and Toru had wanted to give him a kiss good morning, he'd stopped them. Now all three were keeping their distance. He felt bad. He'd offended Momo, and had hurt both Mina and Toru's feelings, and keeping his distance had been doing nothing to help him choose one. Instead, he simply missed being around all three.
"You're not going to make any progress just sitting there thinking about them," Legacy said.
"I know," Lee sighed. "Any ideas? I'm open to suggestions."
"Why not just choose one at random and see if it works out?" Legacy suggested.
"I meant about my Quirk," Lee grumbled.
"Oh, right!" Legacy said. "Well, I was looking back at your memories from the three times it activated-"
"You can do that!?" Lee gaped.
"Yeah," Legacy said. "I am in a machine connected to your brain, after all."
"I suppose," Lee said.
"Anyway, so, during the first, you were in a sparring session with Momo, the second was your match with Midoriya, and the third was a fight against the three stooges," Legacy said.
"I don't think I'd call them stooges," Lee said. "They're a bit too capable for that."
"Yes, yes, but there's a single common thread throughout the three incidences," Legacy said. "Adrenaline. You were in the middle of some type of fight during each, and your body was reacting accordingly."
"Well that doesn't really help me," Lee said. "I can't just decide to give my body an adrenaline rush on the spot."
"Well, no, you can't," Legacy agreed. "Plus, you've been in a ton of other situations where you had an adrenaline rush without the electricity."
"So back to square one," Lee sighed.
"That's enough, Class A!" Vlad King shouted, walking into the gym. "Class B is scheduled to train here every afternoon!"
Lee sighed. He was ten minutes early, as Aizawa pointed out, but while Lee continued to try and figure out hos to generate electricity for that ten minutes, the rest of the class was being explained that all of the hero schools would participate in the exams at one of three training center, with each school having no more than one class there, and only U.A. was sending first years. basically, they were probably going to fail, because everyone they were being tested against had been training longer and harder with their Quirks. Finally, Class A left the gym and headed back to their dorm for the day. Lee walked in and noticed Momo, Toru, and Mina all glance at him before making it a point to turn away. He sighed silently, keeping his face neutral as he headed back to his room. He lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling in silence. It wasn't what he'd wanted. He didn't want to lose them all. He didn't want to lose any of them. He just didn't want to treat them unfairly anymore.
He sighed, raising a hand and imagining electricity arcing between his fingers, imagining the tingling sensation the electricity would caught, the warmth of it being channeled along his arm, the sound of it snapping and cracking between his fingers. And suddenly, it was. Only for an instant, but it was there. Lee sat bolt upright, staring wide-eyed at his hand. He tried to do it again, imagining everything exactly the same way, but there was nothing. He lay back, staring at his hand again.
"Well...that's something, I guess," Lee sighed. "Now if only I could make it work on command."
He sighed, lowering his hand and staring at the ceiling. After a few minutes, he stood, taking off his exosuit and pulled on a pair of boxers and a tee-shirt, taking a few minutes to clean the inside of his suit before laying it out to dry overnight before going to bed.
Lee watched as one of the students from a different school bent over until the top of his head hit the ground as he shouted an apology for joining in Denki and Eijiro's cheer of "Plus Ultra."
"Who is this guy?" Denki asked. "I do not trust his enthusiasm!"
"It's him!" Aizawa hissed.
"Hey, look at their uniforms!" Kyoka said.
"They're from that famous school on the other side of Japan!" Eijiro said.
"U.A. in the East, Shiketsu in the west," Bakugo asked.
Lee narrowed his eyes. The only other school whose Hero Course actually rivaled U.A. Figures.
"I wanted to say it just once!" the enthusiastic guy from Shiketsu said. "Plus Ultra! See, I really love U.A. High School! I am extremely honored to compete against such incredible students! I'm so looking forward to it!" Just then, blood ran down from his hair from where he'd cut his head open when he bent over.
One of his classmates, a boy with blue hair, called out to him, telling him it was time to go, then walked away. The big guy and the brunette girl with them followed and Lee sighed. Of course they'd get paired with the only school that had a standing rivalry with U.A.
"Inasa Yoarashi," Aizawa said.
"Do you know that guy, Mister Aizawa?" Toru asked.
"Indeed," Aizawa said. "He's strong. He's the same year as you all and received the top scores for students admitted through recommendations, but for some unknown reason, he turned down his acceptance to U.A. and went to Shiketsu."
"Wait, he's...our age?" Midoriya gaped.
It was a fair question. The guy was taller than Aizawa with more muscle tone than any of the teachers at U.A., at least now that All Might wasn't walking around in his muscle form anymore.
"Hang on, is anyone else confused here?" Sero asked. "This guy says that he loves our school, but then he turned down his chance to enroll when it was offered?"
"Yeah, what a weirdo," Mina said.
"There are a lot of reasons he might have decided to go to Shiketsu instead," Lee said. "Family, money, travel, maybe he wanted to be closer to someone that was near Shiketsu."
"I suppose," Sero nodded.
"It doesn't matter," Aizawa said. "He's the real deal. Keep an eye on him."
"Eraser!?" a feminine voice shouted suddenly, Aizawa flinching and going rigid. "I'd know that scowl anywhere!" The owner of the voice raised a hand as they walked toward Aizawa, smiling brightly. "I saw you on TV and at the Sports Festival, but it's been a while since we were this close in person!"
Everyone stared at the woman. She looked about Aizawa's age with mint-green hair handing from under an orange bandanna to just past her shoulders, a sleeveless black shirt with a buttoned blouse collar covering her neck, thick metal rings around her wrists over orange gloves with lighter orange vertical stripes along her forearms, a black cloth around her abdomen with three smiley faces along the front, a white belt, a pair of poofy shorts with vertical stripes in orange and green, and loose, shin-high black boots
"She looks familiar," Midoriya said as the girl stopped in front of Aizawa.
"Let's get married," she said simply.
"No," Aizawa grumbled flatly.
Lee arched an eyebrow as the girl bent over laughing.
"You're a real laugh riot buddy," she laughed.
"As usual, you're impossible, Joke," Aizawa said.
"Oh that's Miss Joke, the Smile Hero!" Midoriya realized, flipping his fanboy switch. "Her Quirk is Outburst! She forces people around her to laugh which affects their ability to think and keeps them from being able to move! Her fights against villains are always full of insanity!"
"Yeah, I can imagine they are," Lee said.
"Come on, imagine it!" Joke said. "If I was your wife you'd have a life full of constant laughter!"
"That sounds like an actual nightmare," Aizawa said, Joke beginning to laugh again.
"It seems like you two are close," Su commented.
"Our agencies were near each other," Joke said, clasping her hands and blushing. "As young heroes striving to make a difference in the world, a mutual love bloomed!"
"No it didn't!" Aizawa said irritably.
"I do miss your quick retorts!" Joke grinned, pointing at him. "You're my favorite person to tease, future husband!"
Aizawa sighed, seeming to give up on the argument. "So, Joke, if you're here, then that must mean..."
"That's right!" Joke smiled, then looked back at several students still walking toward them. "Over here everyone! This is U.A.!"
"Oh whoa!" the one in the lead, a boy with extremely messy black hair, said. "It really is Class A!"
"Wow!" a blonde beside him with her hair in a pair of spiky ponytails and her bangs hanging on the right side said, tapping his shoulder rapidly. "That's so amazing! I've seen them on TV before!"
"Second-years from Ketsubutsu Academy," Joke said. "This is Class Two, they're my students."
"Hey, I'm Shindo!" the black-haired guy said, grabbing Midoriya's hand and raising it. "Seems like U.A.'s had a lot of trouble this year. Must've been tough for you."
"Uh, yeah!" Midoriya said.
"But even so," Kendo said, darting to Denki and grabbing his hands, "You're all still aiming to become pro heroes despite those hardships!"
"It's wonderful!" he said, moving on to Kyoka, then stepping back and winking, holding up a fist. "Hearts full of fortitude! I believe that's what every hero in the world needs to have! And Bakugo, it must have been hard for you, what with that whole kidnapping incident."
"Huh?" Bakugo asked.
"You have an especially strong will, don't you?" Shindo asked, holding out his hand. "Today I'm going to do my best to learn from you. I really hope you don't mind."
Bakugo smacked Shindo's hand away. "Stop pretending. What you say doesn't match the look in your eyes."
Shindo's eyes narrowed slightly, though his smile remained the same.
"Hey man, don't be so rude!" Eijiro said. "Sorry, he's just like that."
"It's fine," Shindo said. "It proves how tough his heart is."
"Hey Todoroki!" the blonde said, skipping over. "Can I have your autograph? You were so cool at the Sports Festival!"
Seriously?" a guy with long, wavy black hair beside her asked. "Stop fangirling."
"I'd be happy to sign something for ya," Mineta said.
"Mineta, no one wants your autograph," Lee said. "You didn't make it to the finals of the Sports Festival."
"Hey, get your costumes and head to Orientation!" Aizawa said. "There's no time to waste."
They all headed to the changing rooms and quickly changed. However, as they were, Lee felt everyone staring and stopped.
"What?" Lee asked.
"Why are you wearing that one?" Midoriya asked.
Lee looked down at his exoskeleton and sighed. "My exosuit's still being upgraded. I found some plans my sister had for it, but I got it taken apart last night only to find out I didn't have the parts I needed to finish the upgrade, then couldn't get it put back together in time. So, I'm going to be using this one for the test, then finishing putting my exosuit together tomorrow."
"But, what about the rest of your costume?" Midoriya asked.
Lee held up his black shorts with silver strips on the sides and his tight black shirt. "I figured the bodysuit was probably a little tight for not wearing the suit."
"Good thinking," Eijiro said.
They all quickly finished getting changed and headed to the orientation room, finding a massive crowd of students, all in a variety of different costumes.
"Ugh, okay then, let's do this exam thing," the blonde man in a suit at the front of the room said. "I'm from...uh...the Hero's Public safety Commission. Name's Mera." He began to say something, but his head fell and his voice became a mumbled slur from nearly falling asleep. "I've been swamped lately and I haven't gotten much rest. We're too short staffed. I'm so tired. With that confession, I'll now begin orientation."
You've got to be kidding me, Lee thought. This dude needs a nap, not to oversee a test.
"So about the content of this license thing," Mera said. "Basically one thousand five hundred forty examinees compete in a free-for all exercise or whatever we're calling it this year."
"Seriously?" Sero asked. "That's not a lot of info."
"See, we've got a lot of pros around," Mera said while yawning, head dropping, then rising again. "And since Stain was arrested, many people have expressed doubts about the status of heroes in society. But, when you really think about it, getting paid makes sense. If you're going to risk your life to save someone, why shouldn't you ask for a reward, huh? That's just the way the world works. God, I could use a coffee. Anyway, whether they're in it for compensation or out of a sense of duty, we've got too many heroes working together in the streets these days to keep villains at bay. Honestly, the time between when an incident begins and when it's resolved is ridiculously short. You're all here to receive your provisional licenses so you'll be swept up in this tiresome mess yourselves pretty soon. Those of you who don't have the speed, frankly just won't cut it. Which is why that's what you'll be tested on."
Just then, a screen on the wall behind him turned on, displaying the words, "Number to Pass 1st Test, 100 People."
"The first hundred students to fulfill the requirements will pass today," Mera said.
"There are over fifteen hundred people taking this test!" Momo gasped. "I thought they said that about half of us would be passing!"
"This means, it's actually less than one percent that'll get a license!" Su said.
"Oh man, I'm getting way more nervous!" Kyoka said.
But what are the requirements? Lee thought.
"Well, the world can be pretty crappy," Mera said, standing. "I suppose I should say something about luck. So, anyway, here are the basic rules. The examinee will put three of these targets on his or her body. They can go anywhere you want as long as it's an exposed area. So no soles of the feet or armpits. Each of you will also have six of these balls. The targets are programmed to light up whenever they've been touched by the balls. If all three targets light up, you're out. Oh, and the person who lights up your third target will get credit for your defeat. You get through this round by taking down two people. Got it? Good."
"That's not so bad," Lee said. "Still, the one hundred people passing thing's going to be a massive problem."
"What else?" Mera said to himself. "Um. I guess we'll start passing out the targets and balls. Then you'll have a few minutes to get situated after we open it."
"Open?" Todoroki asked, just as the ground shook and a metallic collision sounded above them.
Above them, the ceiling split open, the two halves spreading out of the way slowly, letting in enough light that Lee couldn't see what was above them for a few moments. Finally, the walls began to move too, the entire room opening like a box that had come apart, leaving them in a massive stadium with several different zones. One was a pair of stone mountains with tunnel openings all over them and the one to the left having a path winding around and around it, giving it a drill-like appearance. from there in a counter-clockwise circle was a highway, a city, a slightly more crowded city, a pond with a cliff beside it including a waterfall, then a forest on top of the cliff and down the sloped backside where it wrapped around to end beside the pond, then an industrial park. The entire stadium was probably half a mile or so wide.
"How the fuck did we get here?" Lee asked.
"I'm sure each of you have different terrains that you like or look to avoid," Mera said. "Use your Quirks well, and do your best. Or not. Whatever."
Everyone was silent.
"Yes I know, it makes for a great reveal, doesn't it?" Mera asked. "And for what? So much sleep loss for this. Hopefully some of these kids are fast and we can get this over with. Until then, I'm going to rest my eyes."
Lee looked around the stands surrounding the stadium, seeing a few other men in suits spread here and there, along with other pro heroes.
Judges, or just watching, I wonder? Lee thought.
"Maybe both," Legacy said.
lee took his targets and balls, tossing the balls into the air before attaching a target to the outside of his left forearm, the center of his chest, and his right leg on the outside. Then, he caught the balls and wedged them between his arm and exoskeleton on the right side.
"Everyone!" Midoriya called out as the other students began to scatter. "Stay close together, we'll fight them as a group!"
"Yeah right!" Bakugo scoffed, turning and running away. "This isn't a field trip!"
"Idiot!" Eijiro sighed, running after him. "Wait up!"
"Kacchan!" Midoriya called after them.
"Kirishima!" Iida called out.
"I'm going on my own safely when a big group's around," Todoroki said, jogging away.
"Todoroki!" Midoriya called after him.
"Midoriya, there's no time!" Mineta said. "Let's go!"
Midoriya nodded and the class ran off, Lee remaining where he was. He stared down at his exoskeleton. He had lied when he had explained why he hadn't worn it. He hadn't found any plans for an upgrade. Granted, Legacy had designed an upgrade that would let him stream electricity along the suit easier once he got the hang of using his electricity, but he had had no plans on making those upgrades any time soon, since it would require Momo to make an entirely new one. The real reason he wore his exoskeleton was much simpler. His exosuit made him feel more like a hero. The exoskeleton made him feel like a cripple. It wasn't that he wanted to feel bad, necessarily. He had just been realizing recently that his reasons for becoming a hero were disappearing. He couldn't help Amy become a hero. He'd failed to protect Amy when she needed it. He'd failed to protect his friends at the camp. And at this point, he really didn't think Mina or Toru would even want to be his sidekicks, let alone would he be able to have sidekicks. So while he didn't necessarily want to feel worse about himself, he hadn't been able to bear putting on the exosuit while he didn't even know if he wanted to be a hero anymore. Hence, the exoskeleton.
He sighed, looking around as Momo skidded to a stop.
"Lee, what are you doing?" Momo asked. "The class is going this way!"
Lee watched her for a second before sighing, shoulders sinking slightly before he jogged after her. As they moved to catch up to the others, she gave him a concerned look.
"Why didn't you wear your exosuit?" Momo asked.
"I just...wasn't feeling it, today," Lee aid.
"Are you alright?" Momo asked.
"I'm fine," Lee said.
Just then, all of Ketsubutsu Class Two leapt off of a cliff in front of them.
"I saw you on TV!" Shindo called out to Midoriya. "Your Quirk breaks your body! I'm totally okay with using that to my advantage!"
The entire class hurled a ball but Midoriya jumped, activating his Quirk and throwing a kick, causing a strong wind that blew away half of the balls. At the same time, Dark Shadow began to swat them away a dozen at a time, Mina began to spray acid in streams that she swung around like whips, Sero swung a pair of tape whips around to knock the balls aside, Mineta did the same with a whip made of his hair balls, and Momo formed three massive shields around herself, Su, and Toru, and Lee blurred back and forth in front of the class, catching anything the others miss and calmly setting them on the ground, forming a massive pile.
"Too slow," Lee said.
"None of our attacks are landing," a blue-skinned robot-looking student said.
"I guess we shouldn't be surprised U.A. won't go down without a fight," Shindo said.
"Maybe not, but we have a plan," the blue student said, then tossed four balls that looked like they'd been compressed into twenty-sided die to the guy with long black hair. "All done."
"I'll take it from here," the long-haired guy said, catching the balls, two per hand, the ball clacking together loudly. "Just try not to be jealous when I end up finishing ahead of the rest of our class."
Both hands began to glow purple as he moved them in a circle.
"But I'm sure you won't mind since I'll be reducing enemy numbers with this elegant attack," he swung his hands to his left side, then his right arm up over himself before pulling both hands back. "Target Lock-on!" He folded forward, then leaned back, hurling the four balls into the air, all four exploding into the ground and burrowing through them. "Boomerang. Crescent Moon trajectory."
"Everyone be ready!" Lee said, electricity flashing from his eyes. "I've got this."
"Get back, I'll handle this!" Kyoka said, stepping in front of her and plugging her jacks into her gloves.
She slammed them into the ground and after a moment, a pulse shot outward from her, ripping the ground apart from her to past Ketsubutsu, both the long-haired boy and the blonde girl falling. However, the four balls burst out of the ground behind One A, targeting Mineta.
"They're coming straight for me!" Mineta panicked.
"Maximum strength and viscosity!" Mina said, swiping a hand and sending a wave of acid into the balls' path. "Protect this perv! Acid veil!"
"Wow, thanks!" Mineta said. "That's such a great move!"
"It's my defensive special that creates a melting wall," Mina said.
"My turn," Lee said. "Fumikage, hold me down."
"Right," Fumikage said, Dark Shadow's arms clamping down on Lee's shoulders, holding him in place as he held his arms out.
Then, electricity arced from Lee's eyes as he swung his arms in a pair of clockwise circles, both forming a whirlwind that rapidly combined, kicking up dust and the entire pile of balls Lee had caught, launching them back at Ketsubutsu like a machinegun of shotgun blasts.
A handful of the students had one or two targets hit, but he didn't eliminate anyone.
"Whoa!" Denki said. "Dude, that's sweet!"
"Where'd you learn that!?" Uraraka asked, landing beside the others, having levitated herself to avoid the initial volley of balls.
"Not all of my training is during school hours," Lee said.
"Piercing Twilight Claw!" Fumikage shouted, Dark Shadow's hand shooting outward at the blonde, only for her upper body to suddenly retract into her lower body at the waist, avoiding the ball Dark Shadow was holding.
Her head popped back out and she sighed. "That was close."
She began to grunt and wiggle as she worked the rest of her body free, then grinned and flashed a peace sign to Shindo, who grinned.
"Interesting," Shindo said. "This isn't the Class A from the Sports Festival. It's obvious their training is making them better fighters."
Just then, Mera's voice groaned over a PA system. "Looks like all the students are still in a stalemate. Not a single one's passed yet. Oh, and don't worry students. I'll keep you updated with an announcement each time a few students move on to the next round."
"Out of the way!" Shindo said, dropping into a crouch and placing his hands on the ground. "Their defenses are too strong right now! I'll fix that. Maximum force!" His hands began to glow against the ground. Tremoring Earth!"
A wave shot outward and Lee dropped to a squat, resting his fist on the ground as electricity arced from his eyes again. A wave of vibrations ran up his arm from where the metal in his exoskeleton touched the ground. A head of him, the ground began to get ripped apart in a wave spreading outward from Shindo.
"Brace!" Lee shouted.
Then, the ground all but exploded, hurling everyone around as the ground ripped itself apart.
"We've got ultimate moves too," Shindo said. "You didn't think you were the only ones, did ya?"
Lee groaned, pushing himself up slowly, feeling something in his exoskeleton scrape and hearing the frame creak. He swore. The vibrations broke it. He hadn't expected them to be so strong when he absorbed some of them.
"Come on, there should be at least one or two who've passed by now," Mera said. "Stop biding your time and get this over with."
Lee sighed, testing his exoskeleton's flexibility and wincing. It was at reduced by at least half, and he had no way of knowing if it would withstand any kind of impact. Just then, Mera shouted in surprise.
"What!?" He shouted. "There were a hundred and twenty students taken down! A single person managed to do that in just one attack!?"
Lee's jaw dropped.
"That actually surprised me so much that I'm awake," Mera said brightly. "I assume we'll see a lot of people passing from now on. Everyone, let's get this out of the way so I can take a break. Good? Good."
Lee sighed. If someone had that kind of power, any kind of tournament battle would be hard. He sighed, dusting himself off and turned back to the Ketsubutsu students, preparing himself for whatever came next.
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