The day of the Provisional License Exam was at hand and the students of Class 1-A were taking it at National Dagoba Arena.

"This is it, everyone. Here we have our chance to become real heroes." Twilight said.

"Never thought we'd get the chance so quickly. It's actually kinda scary." Oujiro admitted.

Ghidorah smirked. "We've got this in the bag, you guys. This is our moment right here!"

"Hell yeah! This is OUR origin story and anybody who can't pass is just an extra waiting to be promoted." Katsuki grinned.

"I love your ethic, Bakugou. It's an inspiration to us all." Rarity said sarcastically.

"Let's do this, guys!" Eijirou called out. "On my mark! Plus..."

"ULTRA!"

The class suddenly realized there was one additional voice in the group and looked at the new face. He was a tall, broad-shouldered young man with a buzzcut and military-style hat.

"Um...who's this guy?" Denki asked.

"It's rude to barge into other people's huddles like that, Yoarashi." Another young man wearing a similar hat but with purple hair and squinted eyes said.

"I see...FORGIVE ME!" The buzzcut young man shouted apologetically as he bowed so low, he slammed his head into the ground.

"Inasa Yoarashi...?" Shoto pondered, seemingly recognizing the boy.

"That's right, he was in the Recommendation Exam for UA with us. So he went to Shiketsu High School instead of continuing to apply to UA." Momo noted.

"Shiketsu?" Fluttershy asked.

"It's Kansei's answer to Kanto's UA High," Tenya explained. "As far as hero schools are concerned, Shiketsu is considered just as famous as UA."

Inasa had since stood back up. "I wanted to say it just once! See, I really love UA High School! I'm extremely honored to compete against such valiant heroes-in-training!"

"Careful, fam. I think you're, like, totes bleeding right now." Noted a girl with soft pouted lips and honey-blonde hair.

"Here, let me help with that," Marco said, using his Water Element to splash some healing liquid on Inasa's head wound.

"So if Yoarashi was part of the recommended students for UA, why did he withdraw his application?" Izuku asked.

"Hell if I know. Especially since he got the top score for recommended students." Aizawa shrugged. "But he pulled out before he could receive his acceptance papers, so Tokage was given his acceptance instead."

"If he's our age, then his whole class from Shiketsu is also made up of first-years, right?" Sunset said.

Aizawa shook his head. "He's something of an outlier. The rest of this class is made up of second-years. Yoarashi is just that strong."

"That so?" Ghidorah grinned. "I'm looking forward to seeing what he can do, then!"

"Hey, Shota-Baby!"

Aizawa paled considerably, a look of genuine terror reflecting in his eyes. This did not go unnoticed by his students as they turned to see the cause of his distress. It was a woman with bright green hair that came down to her shoulders and wore a colorful outfit.

"I thought I saw you on TV back at the Sports Festival! Your kids did pretty damn amazing, I'd say!"

"Oooooh!" Pinkie gushed. "I know her! It's the Smile Hero: Ms. Joke! Her Quirk, [Outburst], lets her stun her opponents by making them laugh uncontrollably!"

"I figured you'd be here as well, Emi..." Aizawa groaned dejectedly.

"How do you know her, Aizawa-Sensei?" Elleanor asked.

"She's...my girlfriend." The Erasure Hero admitted. "Our agencies are close together and we're both Underground Heroes. Honestly, I don't know how the hell it happened myself."

"It was truly a magical moment!" Ms. Joke gushed. "One I'll never forget no matter how much Shota denies it!"

Aizawa just grumbled. "Speaking of which, if you're here, then your class must be here as well."

Sure enough, a group of students was approaching, led by a young man with short black hair.

"Wow, so this is Class 1-A."

"This is so cool!" A young woman with short blonde hair tied up in spiky pigtails gushed, her smile showing piranha-like teeth. "I've seen them on TV plenty of times!"

"These are my kids. They're second-years at Ketsubetsu High." Ms. Joke proudly introduced.

The black-haired student approached Izuku. "Hey, you're Midoriya, right? I'm Yo Shindo. I heard UA's been having some trouble this year. Must have been hard."

Izuku didn't know why, but [Danger Sense] was pegging this guy as someone to watch out for.

"It was rough going, but we've been able to handle ourselves."

"I'd say so, you were part of the team that caught the Hero Killer, not to mention how you and Twilight Sparkle were able to disrupt the League of Villains' operations despite being captured. Those hearts of fortitude are what a true hero needs." Yo said.

Katsuki scoffed as he stepped in and shoved Yo away. "If you're planning on being a hero, you should show a degree of honesty, even if your real personality is abrasive. I can already tell from the look in your eyes that your thoughts don't match your words. Not to mention Deku stiffened up when you offered your hand. Clearly, you're one to keep an eye on."

"For once, I can agree with Bakugou," Twilight said. "And Applejack isn't exactly liking you either."

Sure enough, Applejack was glaring daggers at Yo. If looks would kill, the Ketsubetsu student would be buried six feet under already. Thankfully, the blonde girl, Tatami Nakagame, was much more genuine, even excitedly asking for Minoru's autograph, which the dwarfish boy took in stride.

"Alright, you can gladhand later," Aizawa said. "Get your costumes and head for orientation."

"YES, SIR!" Class 1-A called out.

As the students left to get prepared, Ms. Joke turned to Aizawa.

"So, Shota, how many students did you have to trade out so far?"

"Surprisingly, none," Aizawa replied, shocking his girlfriend. "Each of those kids has proven they're serious about becoming real heroes. And they're strong, having put through a lot after the USJ to make sure they aren't caught off-guard a second time."

"Did you warn them about...?" Emi started only to notice Aizawa's smirk.

"I did, but they don't know when it's gonna happen. I only mentioned it in passing but made sure to focus on the exam itself. That way, they'll be ready when it comes just by instinct but will be more focused on earning their licenses."

The orientation room had hundreds of examinees crammed inside.

"Man, this is intimidating..." Denki noted.

"Some of us stick out like sore thumbs, that's for sure..." Terumi added, looking around to see he was practically the tallest person around.

"Alright, everyone," Came the tired voice of a blonde man in a business suit, "Let's get through this exam. I'm Yokumiru Mera from the Hero Licensing Committee..."

"Sorry, he didn't get much sleep." A middle-aged man with a bulbous nose and grey hair said. "I'm Sitch, the Minister Office of Justice for the Hero Committee. I'll be handling things for my colleague here."

"Bless your heart..." Mera mumbled as he immediately slumped over and fell asleep.

"Here's how things are going to go; We have 1540 examinees who will take part in a free-for-all exercise. But honestly, that's far too many for our current society. With how many heroes there are on the street, the response time between an incident and its resolution is rather short." Sitch began. "Because of that, only the first 100 students who meet the exam requirements will pass today."

"That's concerning," Momo said. "We thought only fifty percent of the examinees would pass. But with those numbers, it'll be even less."

"It's still possible for our entire class to pass with room to spare," Tempest pointed out.

"She's right! Now's not the time to be disheartened!" Tenya said in agreement.

"Each examinee will place three provided targets on their body," Sitch continued. "Anywhere is fine so long as it's in an exposed area. For example, you can't place it on the soles of your feet or your armpits. It also cannot be hidden by any facet of your costume, such as a scarf, mask, or hood. These will be considered your 'weak points' for this exam. You'll also be given six balls. The targets are programmed to light up when touched by these balls. If all three of your targets light up, then you're out. That said, if the ball hits any part of your body that doesn't have a target, it will not count against you."

"No pressure, no pressure..." Fluttershy repeated to herself, Pinkie giving her comforting pats on the shoulder.

"Only a direct shot will cause the target to light up, it won't work if the ball only hits in proximity. Whoever lit up your third target will get credit for your defeat. Take down two targets and you make it through the round." Sitch continued.

"This makes things even harsher than the entrance test. It's possible for someone to steal a defeated target from you just by waiting until someone has two lit targets on their body." Izuku realized. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Twilight making the same deduction.

"You'll be given your targets and balls right now. After which, the walls of this room will open to reveal the testing grounds, and you'll be given a few minutes to get situated." Sitch said. "For those of you taking the exam while still in high school, I'd recommend sticking with your class. This exam is meant to focus on teamwork, but that's all I'm allowed to say on the matter."

Sure enough, once the boxes full of gear were handed out, the walls and ceiling opened like a box, revealing the massive arena, filled with a variety of simulated environments. Ms. Joke and Aizawa were up in the stands.

"This is where you're gonna see just what my class has been through," Aizawa said, "I didn't tell them who to expect, or when to expect it. But they'll know when it starts, and they'll be prepared to deal with it."

"And me without a box of popcorn." Ms. Joke lamented.

"Group up, people!" Rainbow Dash barked as everyone in Class 1-A huddled together. "Wanna start us off with your Quirk Nerdism, 'Zu?"

"You got it, Dash. Our powers are already well-known thanks to the Sports Festival," Izuku pointed out. "But that was months ago. They aren't aware of how much we've improved since then."

Once the alert for the exam to start began, several other examinees came out of the woodwork, balls in hand.

"They say each year the exam takes place, UA is immediately crushed," Ghidorah noted before grinning wickedly. "But this year is gonna be different."

Yo smirked. "We already have a good idea of your weaknesses! Not even the likes of Midoriya can get by with how the exam was set up!"

His class threw their balls right at Izuku, who just leaped into the air before rearing his leg back. With a powerful roundhouse kick, he created a powerful tornado that blew all the balls away, with one getting caught on his leg and smacking one of Yo's classmates right on a target. The entire Ketsubutsu class suddenly found themselves having to dodge balls launched back by tape, acid, shadows, explosions, sticky spheres, and various other powers, all launched with expert precision.

Up in the stands, Aizawa grinned.

"At UA, we look a little further than other schools. Yes, during the exam my students have to face other examinees who know their Quirks. But think about this. The UA Sports Festival is shown across the country. Do you really think villains wouldn't be watching as well?"

Emi's eyes widened in realization. But her shock paled in comparison to Yo's.

"I should have realized UA wouldn't go down so easy..."

Class 1-A had quickly huddled together, Shouji using his Dupli-Arms like a satellite dish in case any other schools were trying to ambush them.

"Good thing we have a plan," A young man with blue skin and a helmet-like head named Shikkui Makabe said.

His Quirk was [Stiffening], which let him make whatever he touched with his hands incredibly hard. It would only work on inanimate objects, living things were immune. Shikkui used his power to harden the balls his classmates had before tossing them to another classmate, Itejiro Toteki, who dressed as a ninja in black, though with his black hair still exposed, who tossed the balls right underground, having been lit up with a violet aura.

"This is my Quirk, [Boomerang] and its aim is always true! CRESCENT MOON TRAJECTORY!"

Kyouka smirked. "That's what you think...HEARTBEAT DISTORTION!"

She plugged her jacks into her new gloves and slammed them into the ground, which started to split from the attack. This left the balls exposed and allowed Mina to bust out her own Ultimate Move.

"ACID VEIL!"

Mina emitted a large amount of acid that she swiped forward. The students of Ketsubetsu could only look in shock as all the balls instantly melted into nothing.

"That just wasted a ton of our balls!" Tatami cried.

"How did this happen?! We had this whole thing planned out!" Itejiro panicked.

Yo growled. "We made this plan in anticipation of what Class 1-A could do during the Sports Festival. But that was months ago. We stupidly forgot to take into account how much training they've done since then. Not to mention having to deal with another villain attack."

"Ya got that right, ya varmints!" Applejack shouted before shocking Yo by appearing in front of him at blistering speeds. "BUCKING BRONCO!"

Before Yo could react, Applejack stood on her hands and kicked him with both of her legs. The attack hit him square in the midsection, making him vomit up spit as he was sent flying before being grabbed by Tony.

"Oh hello...AND GOODBYE."

Before Yo could react, he was brutally beaten to within an inch of his life by Tony, Terumi, Junko, and Applejack. Tony then picked Yo up by the collar and glared at him.

"Had enough yet?"

"Not...even...close..." Yo slurred dizzily.

"Alright, you asked for it."

Tony's arm became coated in hard black scales and enlarged to monstrous proportions as his fist became hammer-like.

"HAMMERFIST!"

With a powerful uppercut, Tony sent Yo flying into the air. The boy dizzily saw Ms. Joke looking shocked at how beaten up he was.

"SHINDO!"

"It's-A-Meeeeeeeee~!" Yo slurred out, waving as he fell to the ground, Tony throwing balls precisely into all of his points, eliminating him.

Tatami was staring in shock at how Yo was eliminated so coldly and brutally that she just barely noticed Fumikage moving to attack.

"BLACK ABYSS: PIERCING TWILIGHT CLAWS!"

After Dark Shadow enveloped him, Fumikage launched his claws forward. Tatami freaked out but was able to dodge by literally pulling her upper body into her lower body. This was the effect of her Quirk, [Telescopic], which let her pull her body into itself much like a turtle. But while the pulling in was instantaneous, pulling herself back to normal took a few seconds.

"That was too close..."

"Well, Tony's got one elimination under his belt already," Sunset noted. "We gotta catch up."

"Yeah, the best thing we can do is split up!" Twilight said as she waved her hands, magic energy gathering. "I'll send us out to find some targets to take out!"

In a flash of magenta light, Class 1-A had all been teleported in groups to different areas.

Meanwhile, several other examinees were gathered in the city center. One of them started to notice a massive wind storm was being kicked up. The tornado caused all the balls to get pulled from the examinee's hands and toward the center. The one responsible turned out to be Inasa, who was generating the tornado from his hand.

"I believe it's important for a hero to have passion! And all of you are fighting with it! Please let me join your fight, and show my own passion!"

He brought the balls down in a massive slipstream, successfully taking out 120 examinees total.

"That was total overkill!" Sitch exclaimed, wiping sweat from his brow. "I mean, yeah, Inasa Yoarashi moves on. But for crying out loud, we said you only need to take down two opponents!"

"Sorry, got carried away. My Quirk, [Whirlwind], is best used for large crowds, after all." Inasa apologized.

Izuku and Twilight had teleported into a ravine. As they looked around for any potential targets, [Danger Sense] went off in Izuku's head.

"Twilight, get down! SMOKESCREEN!"

As Izuku unleashed the smoke cloud, he and Twilight heard a female voice cry out in shock. Judging from the hat and skin-tight black uniform, it was one of the students from Shiketsu. In fact, the two recognized her from the group Inasa was with.

"Take this!" Twilight shouted, managing to tag one of the girl's weak points, which was located on her leg.

"Dang, not bad," the girl said. "Name's Camie Utsushimi. As you probably already guessed, I'm a second-year from-EEK!"

She barely dodged as Izuku threw another ball, having it bounce and nearly hit the weak spot on her back. She dodged just in time as Izuku caught the ball on its rebound.

"Shiketsu, we're aware."

Camie blinked. "Man, you and your GF are totes keeping it cool under all this pressure."

"We're the successors of All-Might and Celestia," Twilight said. "You can probably guess how big a deal that is."

"And I could sense you but I couldn't see you," Izuku added. "I'm guessing your Quirk must be illusion-based."

Camie gasped in shock. Indeed, she had used her Quirk, [Glamour], to hide in an effort to take down Izuku and Twilight. Realizing how outmatched she was, she used her Quirk to cover her escape.

"I bet even Trixie would love that Quirk," Twilight noted before she and Izuku realized several examinees appear to gang up on them. "Looks like they're lining up."

Izuku nodded as lightning crackled around him. "Well, they're excited."

Shoto was in the factory area with Momo, Tsuyu, Junko, and Flash.

"There's currently 53 examinees who have passed so far!" Sitch announced. "Anyone who still needs to earn points now's the time to pick it up! Meanwhile, 238 examinees have failed!"

"We each just need one more point to make it to the next round, guys!" Flash said.

"Something's off about the math, though," Momo noted. "Unless some people decided to take out more than the required two to pass."

"Knowing how crazy Quirks are, that's a distinct possibility," Junko admitted before sniffing the air. "Heads up, we got company."

Shoto heeded Junko's warning and launched a stream of flames, frying an incoming ball to ashes.

"Not bad."

The group turned to see several examinees dressed as ninjas.

"Wow, talk about Highly Visible Ninjas!" Flash noted.

"Seems like there are targets for everyone to pick out," Shoto said. "I'll make sure they don't try and scatter."

He created an ice tendril that froze the opponents' legs in place.

"Don't get so cocky! We prepared for this!" The leader in red barked as he tossed a metal nut that grew in size, only for Flash to turn his arms into magnetic gadgets that froze it in place.

"Todoroki, it's made of tungsten!" Momo noted. "They must have been targeting you specifically!"

Shoto closed his eyes, then smiled. "Good thing I'm not alone here then."

"Oh, we aren't alone with these punks..." Junko grinned, baring her fangs. "These punks are alone with US!"

Tsuyu grabbed some of the tungsten objects with her tongue and flung them right back at the examinees while Flash repelled the ones he had magnetized.

"This would have been more difficult alone, but with you two here, I feel like this will be even easier," Shoto noted.

Momo then got a call on her earpiece, which everyone in Class 1-A had courtesy of Mei.

"Some of the others are in a tight spot. I can go and help them."

"That's cool, we can handle things here!"

Flash's back opened up vents as fog suddenly became pouring out, shrouding the entire area.

"Where did they go?" the leader in red said.

Flash skated back on high-tech roller skates coming from the soles of his feet as he made his way to a nearby tanker that Tsuyu and Junko had perched themselves on.

"This environment was designed to be as realistic as possible, so this has actual gas in it. Not as potent as the real thing, but it should still explode nicely when Todoroki's flames hit it." Tsuyu noted.

Flash smirked as he turned his arm into a high-tech drill and used it to puncture a hole in the tank.

"All clear!"

Shoto nodded, having positioned himself on the pipes nearby as he launched a quick flame burst, detonating the tanker and leaving the ninjas sprawled on the ground, quickly trapped with an ice coating.

"Fresh catch of the day!" Junko ginned, licking her fangs.

After eliminating the ninjas, Shoto, Flash, Tsuyu, and Junko started walking.

"Well, that was fun, but what now?" Tsuyu asked. "I have a hard time believing that was all to the exam."

Their targets suddenly lit up blue as Sitch's voice came from speakers inside them.

"Students who have passed should congregate in the anteroom."

"That answers that," Todoroki said, "Here's hoping everyone else is doing well."

Inside the anteroom, Shoto spotted Inasa speaking with another examinee who passed.

"Yeah! I think Stampman is a pretty hot-blooded hero! Shame he's pretty low in the rankings, though..."

"He got the top score among the recommended students at UA. So why did he withdraw his application?" Shoto pondered.

Inasa noticed Shoto staring at him and narrowed his eyes, his usual friendly face becoming more stoic and cold. Tsuyu actually felt a shiver run down her spine and Junko whistled.

"Huh, that guy doesn't seem to like you, Todoroki. What did you do, kill his puppy?"

Inasa suddenly made his way over, his cold gaze trained on Shoto specifically.

"Your eyes are different... I remember they looked a lot like HIS...I turned down my application because I didn't want to be reminded of that. But you've changed now."

Shoto grit his teeth, easily deducing that Inasa was talking about his father. Junko just laughed as she got in between them.

"Easy, hot stuff. Endeavor has his haters but is it really fair to take it out on his son?"

"Sorry 'bout that." Inasa apologized. "I've always been someone who's unafraid of most things. It's part of why I look up to people with hot-blooded passion in their hearts. But when I tried to get an autograph from Endeavor, he brushed me off. When I looked at his eyes, I saw they were uncaring, hateful, and bitter. Those were the eyes of someone who wasn't a true hero."

"That sounds like him, to be honest..." Shoto admitted. "But...he's different these days."

"I noticed," Inasa said. "As I said, your eyes are different from his now when they originally were. I guess you managed to start thinking like a true hot-blooded hero now."

The Provisional License Exam is underway and yeah, I eliminated Yo Shindo early because to be honest? I don't like him.

[BIO TIME]

[Inasa Yoarashi]

Hero Name: The Hot-Blooded Hero: Gale Force

Quirk: Whirlwind

Quirk Description: Inasa is able to manipulate the air around him. He is able to manipulate gusts of wind with little to no movement from his body at all, letting him create strong gales and small tornadoes that he has full mastery over. Great winds may be used to propel Inasa, the people around him, and different objects all at the same time.

[Yo Shindo]

Hero Name: The Tremoring Hero: Grand

Quirk: Vibrate

Quirk Description: Yo can generate vibrating shockwaves, which can travel through virtually any medium. Yo most notably uses this ability to shake things he touches with his hands. Yo can also control the speed and strength of his vibrations, including how long the intervals are between tremors. Vibrating most objects vigorously will cause them to break apart and when used on the ground, can create small controlled earthquakes.

[Shikkui Makabe]

Hero Name: The Hard Hero: Mr. Smith

Quirk: Stiffening

Quirk Description: Shikkui can harden any non-living thing he touches. He can harden something as soft as a rubber ball to become as tough as concrete, to the point where it can break through solid rock if thrown with enough force.

[Camie Utsushimi]

Hero Name: The Vibe Hero: Illus-o-Camie

Quirk: Glamour

Quirk Description: Camie can create visual and auditory illusions through a mist-like substance she breathes out of her mouth. Said illusions can reach an impressive scale, enough to fill a large room.