The Power of a Hero

by Fire Slash

(AU!). At a young age, Izuku Midoriya is entrusted with the Power Stone by Uatu the Watcher, making him the last obstacle a certain Mad Titan must clear to achieve his goal of wiping out half the universe. With the fate of the world now in his hands, Izuku intends to fight for all that he cares deeply about. Will he succeed? Or is the universe destined to be destroyed?

2. Chapter 2: The Entrance Exam

Author's note: Hey everyone, Fire Slash here and welcome to another chapter of The Power of a Hero. Once again, I'd like to thank everyone who has shown support for this story. It means a lot to me that so many of you like this story and wish to see it grow. I apologize for the late update, but not only do I have a summer job, but I'm writing my own book as well. Once I get further into it, I'll give you more details. I have not abandoned my fanfics though, so there's no need to worry about that. If you want to keep traxk of when I'm going to update a story, learn about my book or comic series I'm making, or if you want to chat, I now have an Instagram. Follow me at Fire_Slash_Fanfiction.

Now, without further ado, review and enjoy :-). Oh, and don't forget to vote for who you want Izuku to be paired with.

0000

The next day, Izuku made sure to arrive at Dagobah Municipal Beach Park at the exact time he was told to, not wanting to keep All Might waiting. With the number one hero entrusting him with his power and even helping him learn how to use it, the last thing Izuku wanted was to be late.

Speaking of his new quirk, about an hour after ingesting All Might's hair, he felt a surge of power enter his body. However, he made sure not to use it yet because he didn't want to cause damage to himself or his surroundings. It was best to let All Might teach him the basics before trying anything funny.

"Ah, young Midoryia, you're here early," All Might remarked as he walked up to the boy in his skinny form.

"Yeah," the boy responded. "I didn't want to be late."

All Might smiled at his successor. "Well, it shows that you're serious about your training. Now, before we begin, there's something I need to ask you."

"Sure. What is it?"

"What is your quirk? You see, One for All is a quirk which stockpiles power. Along with the super strength you normally see me use, One for All increases the power of the user's normal quirk. At first, I thought you were quirkless due to the question you asked me, but it's clear you have one based on your fight with the sludge villain."

Izuku began to get a bit nervous. While he already had a lie ready for whenever he was asked about his power, it was still a nerve racking process. "Well, my quirk is called super strength.' By drawing power from a focus point, which is this stone, I can increase my strength, speed, and endurance to high levels. I've never tested its limit though, but I don't think it has one. "

"Hm, so your quirk seems to be similar to One for All," All Might noted. "Like 'super strength,' One for All can enhance your abilities if you focus on doing so." 'But to have no limit…is that possible? Even One for All has one…'

"So, how do I go about using it?" Izuku asked, regaining All Might's attention.

"The way I usually do it is by clenching my buttocks and yelling 'smash' as loud as I can. You can go ahead and try it on one of those garbage piles over there."

Seeing where his mentor was pointing, Izuku walked towards the garbage pile. Taking a deep breath in, Izuku began mentally repeating what All Might told him.

'Clench my butt and yell.' Making a fist with his hand, Izuku began clenching his backside, a surge of energy filling him. 'Huh, it feels like the power I was drawing from the Power Stone when I was fighting the sludge villain.' With the energy filling up inside him, Izuku threw a powerful punch at his target. "SMASH!"

"Holy shit," All Might muttered as he saw the destruction Izuku caused using one hundred percent of One for All. While not as devastating as his strongest attacks, it was still impressive for someone who just used the quirk for the first time. "That was impressive my boy. How do you feel?"

Moving his arm, Izuku noticed it felt stiff for some reason. He never had this problem with the Power Stone and the amount on One for All he was using didn't feel more powerful than the stone. "A bit stiff actually. I'm not sure if I can use it for too long in one arm. Unlike with my quirk, I couldn't adjust the power level I was using. It also felt like One for All only went into my right arm. I didn't feel the power anywhere else…"

"Hm…that's strange indeed," All Might admitted. "It's most likely that your body isn't used to using the quirk. I think some more practice will let you use it more frequently."

"You're probably right."

000

It took about a month for Izuku to realize what the problem was with his quirk. During the time in between him getting One for All and him discovering how to effectively use it, he had no progress with the quirk. Each time he'd use it, he'd get cramps. In addition, he couldn't use it in more than one body part at a time. He couldn't even adjust his power output. According to All Might, his only options at the moment were to use it at zero percent or at a hundred percent.

"I don't get it," Izuku said to himself one night, him being at Dagobah Municipal Beach Park to do some extra training. "What is it that I'm missing?"

Clenching his right fist, Izuku summoned All for One in his arm. "I can feel my arm flexing, but the power just stays there. It doesn't go anywhere else…"

Glancing at his left arm, he then summoned power the Power Stone, it surrounding him in a light purple aura. "Here I can feel it everywhere."

Immediately, Izuku began comparing the two sieges of energy. When using One for All, he seemingly had to flex to use it as it was how All Might activated his power. Of course, unlike the number one hero, clenching his butt and yelling didn't seem to be working as well as it did for him. Now, with the Power Stone, it was like a blanket of power was surrounding him, allowing him to power all of himself up. At the same time, there was a clear origin point, making it similar to One for All in that regard.

"A focus point…" Izuku said to himself. "The Power Stone relies on a focus point to work. While I want to say it's the stone, it might actually be my body. The power is distributed evenly after all. With One for All though, the focus point seems to be my arm. Wait…if I make my entire body the focus point for One for All like I do with the Power Stone, will that work?"

Deciding to test his theory, Izuku walked towards a garbage pile and activated his quirk. However, instead of flexing only his arm, he made sure to pay attention to his entire body. Doing so ended up surprising him as green sparks of energy began flying around him. Reeling a fist back, he then slammed it into the garbage pile, obliterating it completely.

"I can't believe all I needed to do was act like I was using the Power Stone," Izuku mumbled in amazement. "Hm…if that's the case, can I choose to surround myself with a small portion of power like with the Power Stone?"

Activating One for All again, he attempted to lower the output of the energy his quirk produced by up to half. Spotting another garbage pile, he rushed up to it and swung, destroying it with ease.

Smiling at how quick he moved and the destruction he caused, Izuku turned off his quirk. "Man, I can't wait to show All Might."

0000

When All Might arrived at the beach the next day, he was greeted with the sight of a green blur completely tearing apart the mountains of garbage resting on the beach. Noticing the number one hero, the blur eventually stopped moving, revealing it to be his protege.

"Young Midoriya, what was that you did just now?" The man asked.

"Oh, All Might, I finally figured out how to use One for All," Izuku stated before he began explaining his discovery. "Originally, I've only been channeling One for All through one part of my body. With my quirk though, I channel its power throughout my entire body, which gave me an idea. Instead of flexing one part of my body to trigger the power, I tried letting it cover my body like a blanket. I'd say it worked."

"Indeed it did," All Might said with a smile. "How much can you use?"

"With One for All being so similar to my quirk, I found out how to use up to one hundred percent of its power."

"My boy…that's incredible! Now that you figured out how to activate One for All, I can train you how to effectively use it in combat. The last thing you want is to accidentally kill someone."

Izuku's face paled. "Absolutely not."

Thus began what Izuku dubbed 'the eight months of hell.' During this time, he sparred with All Might only using One for All. It was here that Izuku learned two things. First off, All Might was physically stronger than him even if he used a hundred percent of One for All. According to the hero, it was because the quirk grows along with its user and that All Might has had more time with the quirk. Secondly, All Might was a beast in hand to hand combat. While Izuku was no slouch, All Might was way beyond him, having had tons of training. One wouldn't expect All Might to be this skilled if they watched his fights against villains since he really only needed his immense power to defeat them.

As for finally combining the Power Stone with One for All, the both of them decided that he would only do so in emergencies after doing a test trial.

"So, you want me to throw this rock using both my quirks, right?" Izuku asked five months into their training, a stone in hand.

"Yes," All Might stated. "It'll give me a visual as to how your quirks stack." Buffing up, All Might reeled his arm back and tossed the stone in his hand with all his might. "SMASH!" With his strength, the hero managed to split the ocean down an incredible distance before the rock fell into the ocean.

"Woah, that was so cool!" Izuku exclaimed with stars in his eyes. "Lemme try!"

Mimicking the movements of his hero, Izuku had all of One for All course through his body. As for how much energy he drew from the Power Stone, he only used a very small amount to be safe, not wanting to accidentally blow up his own arms. Upon combining the two, a purple aura began to surround Izuku as green sparks of energy shot out of him.

"SMASH!" Throwing the rock, he made a path in the ocean far wider and longer than the one All Might did moments ago. Seeing as the rock never made contact with the water, it was likely that it simply disintegrated. Both males simply stood there with their mouths hanging open, never having seen that much power in their lives before. Eventually, All Might decided to speak up.

"Holy…stinking…super crap. I think it's safe to say that unless it's an emergency, you should only use one or the other in a fight instead of combining them."

"Y-yeah. I barely even used any of the Power Stone's strength and it managed to do that…"

"Barley any of it? Are you sure about that young Midoryia?"

"Absolutely."

'It seems young Midoryia is far stronger than I thought. Thankfully he's on the side of good…'

0000

For the rest of the time leading up to U.A's entrance exam, Izuku spent his mornings practicing with All Might on how to use One for All while dedicating his nights to further practicing with his Power Stone. Even though both increased his strength, the Power Stone had some tricks up its sleeve that All for One lacked; having the ability to create force fields and shoot energy blasts. In case of a situation where he needed to combine his quirks, Izuku already had a plan. He would use One for All as his base seeing as it had a known limit before powering up the quirk with the Power Stone. All in all, the boy was prepared for the start of his journey in being the next top hero.

"Yo Deku, fucking wake up already," the boisterous voice of his best friend said, snapping Izuku back to reality. The two were standing near the front gates of U.A Academy, their test being today. "You'll miss the goddamn test if you keep spacing out."

"Sorry Kacchan," Izuku said, rubbing his head awkwardly. "I guess I'm just a bit nervous."

"Nervous of what?" The boy scoffed. "Of these extras? Please! They're nothing compared to us!"

"I think you're severely underestimating them," Izuku mumbled to Katsuki, knowing full well that some of the people here have had professional training. Of course, he was simply ignored by the explosive blonde.

"Mark my words, you and I will have the highest scores. Of course, I'll be above you, but second's not so bad."

"Whatever you say firecracker," rolling his eyes, Izuku began walking forwards, his best friend in tow, only for him to trip over a crack in the floor.

'Of course this would happen to me.'

Channeling one percent of One for All to lessen the damage done to his face upon hitting the floor, he was surprised when he never did so, instead being arranged back to the standing position as he floated.

"And release!" A female voice stated, causing Izuku's feet to touch the ground. Turning around, he was surprised to see his savior was a cute brunette girl his age. "Whew, it's a good thing I managed to catch you. Falling before the entrance exam would've been some serious bad luck."

"Y-yeah," Izuku stuttered, his mind having crashed due to the fact he was currently talking to a girl. Meanwhile, Katsuki let loose a silent snort at the situation as he found it amusing. "T-thanks for the save."

The girl cheerfully smiled at him. "No problem."

'Was her quirk an anti-gravity one or some form of telekinesis?' Izuku asked himself as the girl glanced at her watch, eyes widening as she realized the time.

"Ah shoot! There's only five minutes left until the exam. Well, good luck you two!" With a small wave, she began running inside before Izuku could even ask her about her quirk. Sighing to himself, he soon felt something hit his back.

"And you wonder why I call you a Deku," Katsuki stated next to him before walking towards the entrance. "Well? You heard round face. Let's fucking go!"

Rolling his eyes, Izuku followed his friend to the testing site, nervousness swelling up inside his body.

0000

The first part of the exam was the written portion, which lasted three hours. Being the intellectual and hero nerd that he was, Izuku breezed through the exam in an hour, Katsuki finishing shortly after him. The two hanging out in the cafeteria until the written exams were over, they then made their way to U.A's auditorium where the instructions for the physical portion of the exam were being given.

"WELCOME TO TODAY'S LIVE PERFORMANCE! EVERYBODY SAY HEY!" Famous hero and U.A Entrance exam host Present Mic shouted, using his sound based quirk to louden his voice. Much to his surprise, no one replied.

"Woah, that's Present Mic," Izuku excitedly whispered to himself. "I listen to his podcast everyday. They really do have pro heroes teaching here…"

"Yo nerd, shut the fuck up," Katsuki whispered to him, the two sitting next to one another.

"Well, that's cool my listeners," Present Mic stated, disappointed that no one responded to him. "Well, I'm here to present the guidelines for your practical, ARE YOU READY!?"

Again, he was met with another awkward silence. "Wow, tough crowd. ANYWAYS, this is how the test will go! You will conduct a ten minute long city landscape maneuver! Within this city, there will be fake villains, each worth different amounts of points!" As he said this, the screen behind him started lighting up before revealing the three 'villains,' aka, three different types of training robots. "Use your quirks to disable them by any means necessary."

Hearing this explanation make Izuku smile. He was glad the concept of the test was easy. The main challenge would be getting to the robots before anyone else did. While One for All and the Power Stone made him a literal speed demon, he didn't know if anyone else taking the exam had a quirk which made them faster than him.

Glancing at the papers he and Katsuki were given before he entered the auditorium, he noticed the two would be taking their exams at different sites.

"Looks like we won't be together," Izuku whispered to his friend.

"Tch, yeah. Looks like I won't be there to save your ass if you fuck up."

"Oh, cheating or injuring others is strictly prohibited, so if you do any of these things, YOU WILL BE ELIMINATED!" Present Mic hastily added as the two boys were talking. "And trust me, we'll know if you do. ANY QUESTIONS!"

"Yes!" A formal looking individual with glasses said. "It was said there were no less than four varieties of fake villains on the handout. As the top hero academy in Japan, you should be ashamed of making such a careless error." He then turned to both Katsuki and Izuku. "As for you two, you've done nothing but serve as a distraction for those of us trying to take this test. If you don't plan on taking this seriously, then I suggest you leave."

At this point, several of the other testees began laughing at the two boys, causing Katsuki to start growling. Knowing how much the boy hated being laughed at, Izuku nodded at his friend, giving him permission to do whatever it was he planned on doing.

"Shut the fuck up you extras!" The boy shouted, his intimidating demeaned causing everyone to go silent. He then turned his attention towards the boy who called them out. "You with the stick up his ass, who the fuck do YOU think you are calling us out? Me and the nerd next to me were talking about the damn exam and seeing as how no one else bothered to shush us, we weren't disturbing anyone! The only fucker who seemingly had a problem with two people goddamn whispering to each other was you, the moron who decided to cause an even bigger scene! Maybe it's you who should fucking leave if you're so fucking prissy!"

"Chillax examines," Present Mic stated, trying to diffuse the situation. Seeing the man do so, Izuku placed a hand on his friend's shoulder, issuing to sit down. The boy who Katsuki called out, shocked at the boy's outburst, sat down himself. "Now, there is a final villain, but they are worth zero points. I were you, I'd run if you encounter one. GOT IT!"

This time, he actually got a bit of cheers in response. "THEN BREAK A LEG EVERYONE! PLUS ULTRA!"

0000

After the briefing, Present Mic split all the test takers into four different groups and had them wait outside the mock city. Looking around, Izuku began observing his competition, noticing how determined everyone was at taking this exam.

'I wonder if the people at Katsuki's test site are acting similar,' Izuku thought to himself. 'Hopefully he hasn't angered anyone with his boasting. Knowing him, he probably has…'

Continuing to analyze his surroundings, his eyes eventually landed on a familiar brunette, the girl looking extremely tense.

'She looks nervous. Maybe I should wish her luck. It might help her calm down a bit knowing someone thought of her.'

"Halt! Can't you see she's trying to relax herself?" A voice asked him before he could finish taking his first step. Turning around, Izuku found himself face to face with the same kid who shamed the school for leaving out the fourth 'villain.' "She's taking this exam seriously. If you want to get in this school, I'd recommend you do the same."

Izuku flushed in embarrassment at being called out again, only for it to soon go away as he heard his peers mocking him.

"Heh, what a loser."

"Looks like one less person to worry about."

Izuku began clutching his hand, not willing to let those comments stand unchallenged. Activating thirty percent of One for All, he was ready to prove these people wrong for underestimating him.

"AND START!" The voice of Present Mic yelled, causing most of the examinees to look at him in confusion as a small breeze made itself known for a few seconds.

"Uh, what are you waiting for?" Present Mic asked the students. "The exam started like two minutes ago. Villains aren't going to wait for you, you know. Someone's already racked up thirty points in the second you were all just standing there! GO!"

Turning around, the kid who spoke out against Katsuki turned around. Upon doing so, he noticed that the boy he was talking to was no longer there. Realizing what this meant, he activated his quirk and began rushing inside, everyone else following behind him.

0000

"AND START!"

Upon hearing Present Mic's shout, Izuku rushed in, his training with All Might teaching him how to react in a split second. Entering the city, the boy was met with a large chunk of robots. There were one three pointer, five two pointers, and seventeen one pointers. With the three pointer being closest to him, Izuku decided to take it on first. Running up to it, Izuku swung a devastating haymaker at his target, obliterating it with ease.

"SMASH!"

His plan worked a little too well, for the shockwave he produced completely tore the other robots mentioned apart, netting him thirty points total.

"I might of went a bit overboard…"

"Uh, what are you waiting for?" Present Mic's voice boomed over the microphone. "The exam started like two minutes ago. Villains aren't going to wait for you, you know. Someone's already racked up thirty points in the second you were all just standing there! GO!"

Hearing this, Izuku decided to go further into the city, wanting to grab some more points before the stampede arrived.

0000

If Katsuki wasn't already fired up for the physical exam, he was now. After putting that pointless extra in his place, he made his way to his testing site, ready for some action. Unfortunately, instead of engaging in some robot asskicking, he was waiting outside his testing site for Present Mic to start the exam.

"Hurry the fuck up old man," the boy growled as he impatiently tapped his foot. Eventually, he got his wish.

"AND START!"

While the extras were giving the man confused glances, Katsuki wasted no time and launched himself forwards with an explosion. Rushing inside, his eyes landed on a nice two pointer ready to die by his hands. An explosion to the face later, it was down for the count.

"Pah, that was a two pointer? Too easy!" Turning around, Katsuki was about to throw himself at some more robots when something made his blood freeze.

"Uh, what are you waiting for? The exam started like two minutes ago. Villains aren't going to wait for you, you know. Someone's already racked up thirty points in the second you were all just standing there! GO!"

Thirty points. Someone managed to rack thirty points in the time it took for him to defeat this two pointer. The thought of that shook Katsuki to his core as he knew who could've done such a thing.

"FUCKING DEKU!" With a roar, he continued his onslaught, murdering any robot who dared stand in his way.

Katsuki always knew Izuku was hiding the strength of his quirk. When the two sparred, he could tell the boy was holding back. Whenever he confronted the nerd about this, Izuku would just spew out some shit and say he was making things up. For years he's been trying to get Izuku to unleash his strength, but the boy was adamant in pretending he was always a bit below Katsuki in terms of power. Now, hearing that he already racked in so many points in such little time, it made Katsuki realize that he was indeed right. Izuku has been holding back his true power.

Of course, it could've been another test goer who destroyed the robots, but being the hothead he is, Katsuki didn't acknowledge that possibility. No, the only possibility he acknowledged was that he finally had competition now…

As he continued to destroy robots, Katsuki noticed someone getting snuck on by a three pointer. Naturally, the boy wanted to leave the extra, but he knew Izuku would give him shit if he found out. Rolling his eyes, he leapt on the three pointer and blasted its head off.

"Pay attention to your fucking surroundings next time," the boy barked before leaving to find more robots, not even paying the other person any mind. Unknown to him, this act would raise his score from an already impressive seventy seven points to an even eighty points…

0000

As Katsuki was tearing several robots apart in his area, Izuku was doing the same. He had managed to net himself another sixty points by destroying several more robots, doing so by taking them on in packs. At first, he was worried about them hurting him, but after being hit by some of their attacks, Izuku realized that thirty percent of One for All was enough to shrug off anything the two or one pointers threw at him. The three pointers on the other hand managed to pierce through his defenses, but they barley did any damage. As such, Izuku was free to take them out without worrying about himself.

As he continued his exam, he actually found himself aiding some of his fellow examinees. He took out a one pointer that was sneaking up against a blonde kid who could shoot a laser out of his belly button, managed to create a force field fast enough to stop some rubble from falling on a pink skinned girl with horns, caught a three pointer that was sent dying towards an invisible girl, and helped a red haired boy duke it out with some three pointers. The latter earned him praise about being 'manly' for aiding him.

"That's ninety points," Izuku stated to himself. "And the exam's almost over. I think I did pretty well. Hopefully Kacchan's doing alright…"

It was then that the ground began to shake, causing Izuku to turn his attention towards the source of the ruckus. Doing so, he saw an enormous robot standing taller than any building casually blasting some of the structures in its vicinity.

"That thing's huge. Is that the zero pointer? Seems like overkill to me…"

Immediately, several people began to run past him as he stared at the robot, marveling at its sheer size. Unknown to him, the boy who had called him out earlier shook his head, believing Izuku to be frozen in fear and as such, not worthy of being a hero.

Eventually, Izuku decided that he should run as well, not sure if he could even take that thing on, only for him to hear something no one else could due to them panicking.

"H-help." Under some rubble and in the path of the robot was the girl Katsuki called 'round face.' It was clear she couldn't get out and if someone didn't do anything, she would be crushed. "S-somebody, please help me!"

Without even thinking about it, Izuku channeled one hundred percent of One for All into his body and started sprinting towards the girl. As he ran in, Izuku began thinking of a plan.

'With a hundred percent of One for All, I might be able to stagger this thing, but it could recover before I can get the girl to safety. Boosting One for All with the Power Stone might actually let me punch a hole in it big enough to take it down. Let's do this…'

Leaping in the air, Izuku channeled a bit of energy from the Power Stone to increase the strength of One for All, using twice as much as he did when he tested combining them the first time. What the boy didn't know was that he would have beaten the robot without the stone. Doing so was simply overkill…

"SMASH!" Unleashing a devastating uppercut, the boy ended up sending the zero pointer skyrocketing into the air. Seeing as the robot never fell down, it was safe to say it was gone for good…

Turning his attention towards the girl, he deactivated the Power Stone and lowered One for All to five percent before lifting the rubble off her. "Are you ok?"

For a while, the girl couldn't speak, star struck by the boy who had saved her. She has never seen such power before in her life. Judging by the fact that everyone else was looking at the boy in a similar way, she wasn't the only one. "Y-yeah. My ankle is sprained though…"

"O-oh." Izuku stated, immediately transforming back into his shy self. "W-would you l-like me to take you to the nurse?"

"C-could you?"

Nodding, Izuku picked her up, both of their faces red at such an intimate moment. Thankfully, Izuku didn't have to travel far for the nurse was already on site.

"Oh dear, seems like these tests get more and more dangerous every year," an elderly lady said to herself as she strolled towards the test takers. Izuku immediately recognized her as Recover Girl, a hero who heals others instead of fighting bad guys. "Does anyone need healing?"

As much as Izuku wanted to release his inner fanboy right now, there were more important things he had to do. "Uh, she does."

Nodding her head, the woman kissed the girl in her arms, healing her ankle. "There you go. All better."

"Thanks," the girl said in gratitude, Izuku setting her down shortly after.

"As for the rest of you, you've all had a long day. I'd suggest going home and getting some rest. We'll send you your results over the mail in a few weeks."

Hearing this, Izuku went to go find his friend, wanting to compare results. Unknown to him, two people were moved by his act of saving the girl from danger.

'That boy… I seem to have underestimated him. Not only is he strong, but he clearly acted like a hero when the rest of us ran. It seems I still have a bit to learn…'

'He saved me without hesitation or fear for his safety. He could've easily used this time to earn more points. He definitely deserves to come here…'