(A/N) Hello everyone! Has everyone been as eager for the entrance exam as I have? Well I have good news, I did manage to get two more Beta readers, and I have high hopes for them. They already put in work with this chapter, and I like what I've seen so far, so I am hoping chapters will be posted faster. So shoutout to Zurgboy2 and Gamer_kid1609 for their help with this chapter as well as Silenthorse for his continued help.
"Sir? Excuse me, sir?" Said a female voice.
With a grumble Izuku opened his eyes, his vision blurry as he saw a brunette girl with a bobcut. At first he thought it was Kinoko, but as his vision cleared he saw it was a girl who was blushing for some reason. He sleepily looked around, confused about why he was asleep on a train, and why Mei was asleep with him as well.
"Sir?" Asked the girl again, getting what little attention his sleep-addled brain could give. "Are you by chance on your way to the UA entrance exam?" She politely asked.
"Huh?" He asked, confused at first before his brain could fully process what she was saying. "Oh, um, yeah. Yeah we are." He answered.
The girl gave him a playful smile. "Well then our stop is next."
That jump started Izuku's brain as his eyes shot open wide. "Mei! Mei, you need to wake up!" Izuku nearly shouted as he jostled the girl.
"Nnnngh Izuuuu let me sleep." Grumbled Mei as she dug her face into his leg. She didn't really process the sound of a girl giggling.
"Mei, we're almost to our stop. It's almost time for the entrance exam." Said Izuku frantically.
"Ugh fine." She groaned before sitting up and opening her arms wide. "Carry me please?" She asked.
Izuku smiled at his girlfriend's antics. He took a quick glance at his phone which he found in the seat next to him, seeing they had some extra time. "Yeah sure, but we're stopping for coffee on the way." He instructed as he knelt in front of her, guiding her onto his back.
"Awwwww, you two are so adorable." Cooed the girl.
Izuku blushed at the comment, but smiled gratefully at the girl. "Thank you so much for waking me. I don't know what I would have done if we missed the exam. What made you think that's where we're going though?"
"Yeah, it would have sucked losing your chance at the best hero school in Japan. I'm on my way there myself, and you two look about my age, so I figured it was a safe bet." She said, her tone very friendly.
"Well you really saved us, so let me make it up to you somehow. My name is Aizawa Izuku by the way, and this is Hatsume Mei." He said as he extended his hand to shake hers, being careful not to drop Mei.
"Uraraka Ochako. But there's no need, I just wanted to help." She answered with a friendly smile, only for it to drop as her stomach growled.
Izuku chuckled at the timing as Uraraka's blush deepened. "Let me buy you some food. There's a convenience store on the way that sells good coffee and bentos."
"No no no no no, I couldn't ask you to do that! I'll be fine!" Uraraka said frantically as she rapidly waved her arms back and forth.
Izuku's smile turned a little sad. He knew the pain of being hungry yet having to turn down food. He deeply hoped the girl wasn't experiencing what he did. "I insist. I can't let my rescuer take an exam on an empty stomach. Especially one this important." He told her, saddened a bit more when he saw she looked like she would reject his offer again, but was stopped by her stomach growling again.
Uraraka gave a deep sigh. She really didn't want him to spend his money on her. But she had to think of her future, of her parents. "Yeah, I guess it would be bad." She admitted.
Giving the girl a caring smile, as he felt the train slowing to a stop. "Thank you. And trust me, you'll love the bentos there. Since they're near a college, the place is commonly packed with students." He said as they started getting off the train.
"So how do you know this place anyway? Do you know someone from the area?" Asked Uraraka curiously.
That made Izuku pause. Had he revealed too much? Was it even ok for him to tell people he was the son of a staff member, an underground hero at that? Could he trust this girl with that information?
Well, Mei in her tiredness decided to answer for him. "His mom works at the school." She answered.
Ochako's eyes widened. "Wait! That must mean your mom is a hero!" She said a bit starry eyed. "Which one is it? Midnight? Present mic? Could it be thirteen?" She gasped out.
Izuku laughed at Uraraka's reaction. 'I'm overthinking this.' He thought to himself as he calmed down. "No, none of those. You probably wouldn't know her since she's an underground hero. But the three you named are like aunts to me." He responded.
"Still, that's really cool! I absolutely love thirteen, she's my favorite! You must have gotten a lot of training from them, so you totally have this exam in the bag." She said, still slightly gushing.
"Yeah I did. But for reasons I'd rather avoid explaining, I didn't start training until about a year and a half ago, so I'm way behind most other applicants." He explained, his heart warming when Mei gave him a supportive squeeze.
Uraraka looked at Izuku curiously, wondering what could have happened, but she wasn't about to push his boundaries. The two continued to converse, with Uraraka asking questions about what thirteen is like. She was greatly amused by the story of when Thirteen visited while still in her hero costume, and his cat, Azazel, thought she was a new scratching post. Thankfully, her costume was very sturdy, so there was no damage, but Azazel wouldn't stop clawing and climbing on her until his mom gave her some clothes so she could take off her costume. It became a running joke among the staff to playfully claw at her when word got around.
They also talked about how they were both applying for the hero course, and Uraraka tried asking what the school was like. He couldn't tell her though, since he wasn't allowed to engage in anything at the school that wasn't available to the public. He could only tell her what the teachers and his home life were like.
When they reached the convenience store, Izuku pointed out the bentos for her to choose from while he went and prepared Mei's coffee. Honestly, he found her preferred coffee to be a bit of an abomination. She goes for the strongest she could get her hands on, then puts in a ton of cream and sugar for some extra oomph, but it wasn't his place to judge. He on the other hand just poured his normal strength black coffee.
After the coffee was ready Uraraka walked up to Izuku looking a little sheepish. Taking a look at the bento, he noticed it was their cheapest option. He's had it before, and while it's not a bad choice, it's there for the more cash strapped college kids and clientele. Not exactly for someone taking a physical exam.
It took him a little while to convince her to not worry about price, and that he could afford it. She only relented after he told that it would be best if she was on her A-game for the exam. Izuku even discreetly grabbed some mochi when he caught her eyeing it.
While the clerk was heating up the bento, Izuku set Mei down, and had to guide her hands to the coffee. While Izuku was used to the sight, Uraraka watched in horror as Mei downed the entire large cup of still steaming coffee in one go.
"Ahhhh now that hit the spot." Said Mei as she lowered the cup. The heat alone was enough to wake her up until the caffeine and sugar kicked in. After throwing the cup away, she turned to Izuku, wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a thank you kiss. "Thank you, that is so much better." She said before glancing over at Uraraka. "So you're the girl that helped us out? Well thank you, it's nice to meet you. When you become a hero, come talk to me, I'll make you some amazing babies." She said as she extended her hand to shake, getting way too energetic with it when Uraraka put her hand out.
Uraraka's face turned scarlet while her usual blush was still somehow pronounced. "What? Babies? Are you going to become a breeder? How would that even be possible?" She asked frantically, still trying to wrap her head around what was going on.
Before Mei had a chance to speak again, Izuku put his hand on her head to stop her. "Mei, what did we talk about when it came to your babies and new people?" He asked with a teasing smile.
Mei crossed her arms while pouting. "To make sure they know I'm talking about my inventions first."
Izuku simply laughed and kissed her forehead making her perk back up.
Getting the gist of what they were talking about, Uraraka's blush started subsiding. "Oh, you're a support technician. So, I guess that means you're going for the support course. Aren't you supposed to bring an invention to those?" She asked curiously.
"UA has you bring them in a couple weeks in advance so they can look over them. That way nothing dangerous gets smuggled in. They do the same with any hero applicants that use support tech." Informed Mei.
"That makes sense. Entrance exams are a prime time to attack a hero school." Responded Uraraka as the clerk handed her her bento.
Leaving the store they saw they were pushing it on time, so Uraraka decided to eat while they walked. "So what did you invent if you don't mind me asking?"
Mei put a finger to her chin and hummed in thought while she smiled playfully. "Oh, just something to help with a non-combative quirk." She answered, earning a confused look from Izuku. She didn't tell him what she was submitting when he asked. And she loved talking about her babies. He wondered why she was keeping them a secret now. But he figured she would tell him when the time came, so he didn't pry.
Uraraka devoured the bento, taking little time to eat anything in it. Izuku remembered having to eat like that, so he was concerned. "You seem pretty hungry, did you not eat this morning?" He asked, concerned, trying not to be too nosy.
But it seemed Uraraka was able to catch on. It wasn't the first time something like this had happened. "I did, but it was only a piece of toast. My family doesn't have a lot of money, so I worked part time to afford coming for the test. I just didn't have much left for food." She said, rapidly rubbing the back of her head in embarrassment. While this wasn't a lie, it wasn't the full truth either. She just didn't want to burden someone she just met with the knowledge that small meals were commonplace in her household.
Izuku stayed silent for a moment, reminiscing about all the times he went hungry. He was at least thankful her situation wasn't due to malice, but he still didn't like the thought of her going hungry. "Then I'm glad we ran into you. It wouldn't be fair for you to put in all that effort only to be unable to give it all you got." He eventually responded, giving Uraraka a warm smile which she returned. "Oh, and here. I saw you eyeing these earlier." He said as he held out the mochi he was able to hide thanks to his mom's training.
"Oh, no. You didn't have to do that! You've already given me more than enough." She said, trying to reject the gift despite how much she wanted it.
Mei, already seeing where this was going, let out a loud exasperated sigh, getting the attention of the other two. Before either could say anything, Mei took the mochi from Izuku's hand and put it in Uraraka's. "You are just like this dummy." She said with a smile gesturing to Izuku. "Take it. He got you these because he wanted to, so don't feel bad."
Looking at the mochi in her hand that Mei ensured Uraraka wouldn't let go, she decided it was best to just give in. "Ok, thank you." She said with a small smile to the two of them.
Mei nodded her head once and went behind the two, starting to push them. "Now come on, we have to go." She said a little impatient. Seems the caffeine was starting to kick in.
The rest of their trip was uneventful, as they simply conversed, speculating what the hero exam would be like. By the time they were a couple blocks away from campus, the crowd had started to get thick as thousands of applicants came to take the exam. If Izuku and Mei didn't know where to look for her, they would have easily missed Kinoko.
As soon as Mei called her name, Kinoko ran up to them, giving them both a quick hug and peck on the cheek that they happily returned. Looking over her significant others, Kinoko was quick to notice something. "We're getting an overly caffeinated Mei today, aren't we?" She deadpanned towards Izuku.
Izuku immediately started sweating under Kinoko's scrutinizing gaze. He knew the two of them were in for a scolding from her when they weren't in public anymore. "Yeah, we sorta didn't get much sleep." He reluctantly admitted.
With a deep tired sigh, Kinoko was glad she decided to leave the night before. "Just keep the explosions to a minimum." She told Mei.
"Hey! I'm not that bad." Protested Mei, only to receive a 'really?' look from Kinoko. Even looking at Izuku didn't help as he was giving her the same look.
"Oh fine! I'll be careful!" Mei pouted.
A giggle drew their attention back to Uraraka. "So I'm guessing she's part of your relationship too? Or are there more?" Asked Uraraka a bit teasingly.
Izuku's face turned crimson in an instant. "Nonono, just us three! No one else." Defended Izuku embarrassedly.
During his protests, he missed Mei and Kinoko giving each other amused, knowing smiles. But Uraraka did catch it, figuring they knew something he didn't. She smiled, amused as well.
Mei pulled Izuku off to the side to help calm him down, leading him through some breathing exercises. In the meantime Kinoko walked up to Uraraka. "Hi, I'm Komori Kinoko. It's nice to meet you. How do you know those two?" She asked politely.
"I'm Uraraka Ochako, nice to meet you as well. We met on the train here, they fell asleep so I woke them up just in case." Responded Uraraka.
"Thank you for that. Usually Izuku tends to be more responsible than that, but after the week we had, I can understand it." Said Kinoko with a smile.
"Oh? What did you guys do?" Asked Uraraka. Kinoko's silence and smile was enough of an answer for her. "Ah, gotcha." She said while looking over Kinoko and Mei. "Makes sense."
"Come on, we should get inside." Said Kinoko, noticing that Mei had managed to calm Izuku down. "Don't want to be late for the exam."
The other three nodded in agreement. Turning back to Mei, Izuku wrapped her in a hug. "Good luck on your exam, I know you'll do great." He said encouragingly.
"Of course I will, you on the other hand don't need luck. There's no way they'd turn down someone as awesome as you." She said matter of factly before turning to Kinoko and giving her a hug as well. "And our little badass mushroom will no doubt kick butt." When they separated she waved to Uraraka. "Thanks again for the help! I hope you pass, then maybe we'll be in the same class together." She said casually before starting towards the exam hall for hero students.
'Wait what? Same class?' Thought Izuku, confused, but he didn't have time to dwell on the question. "Uh Mei. That's the hero exam hall. Support course is over there." Said Izuku.
Mei looked back at him with a mischievous smile. "I know." She said simply before continuing to walk off. Izuku could practically feel the gears in his head grinding, trying to figure out what was going on. Mei, however, decided now was the time to tell him as she turned around. "I'm applying to both and will double major. I already have permission to do my support exam tomorrow." She said, giving him her usual manic smile, full of confidence.
"B-but when did you decide this? I don't recall you training for this." Said Izuku frantically, worried about his girlfriend's safety.
"Your mom gave me lessons in secret. I wanted to keep this a surprise. As for when I decided, that's hard to say. Like all little kids, I wanted to be a hero. But after my quirk came in, I focused on my love of inventing. But then you showed me you truly don't need to use your quirk to fight. And with how danger prone your butt is, I decided you needed more than just Kinoko watching your back." Said Mei before turning back around to the school. "Now come on. We have an exam to get to."
Izuku watched his girlfriend make her way to the exam hall stunned for a moment, only to be brought out of it when Kinoko hugged him. "Where's my good luck hug?" She asked playfully.
Izuku chuckled as he wrapped his arms around her. "I think Mei's right. There's no need for luck, you'll kick ass out there." He said, ending with a squeeze.
"You know it." Responded Kinoko with a huge grin. The two separated but held hands as they followed Mei.
Following close behind, Uraraka smiled, finding the three of them to be so cute together. She hoped maybe she could find something like that one day. For now though, it was time for the exam.
Later in the auditorium*
"Uhg my brain hurts." Kinoko playfully complained as she leaned into Izuku's side, her head on his shoulder as his arm wrapped around her. The three finished the written portion of the exam, and were now waiting for the debrief on their physical exam.
"Yeah, that test was pretty tough. I don't even remember learning some of the stuff on it." Said Izuku nervously. He was pretty anxious about how he did. While Nezu did help him cover what he would have learned during his time with Chiaki, there was only so much time in the day. And it turned out, he didn't remember too much of what he learned while in Chiaki's care. Who knew it would be difficult to learn when you're barely even surviving?
"Yeah, well at least it's over! Now we just need to ace the physical and we're in." Said Mei matter of factly, mirroring what Kinoko was doing. She didn't need an excuse to cuddle with her boyfriend.
Next thing they knew the lights shut off, with a single spotlight shining on a podium on stage. Suddenly an explosion of smoke happened on stage, and Present Mic appeared from said smoke in front of the podium. "CAN I GET A YEAAAHHHH!?!" She screamed enthusiastically.
Izuku almost wanted to laugh at the spectacle, but he was used to his aunt's antics. He was also used to participating in his aunt's antics. "Yeah!" Yelled Izuku, Mei, and Kinoko as they pumped their fists in the air. Only to find no one else participated and were now staring at them.
"Cowards." Said Mei casually with a smile, not noticing the blonde a couple rows behind her start to fume from rage at such a statement.
Kinoko was a bit embarrassed, but she knew if she wanted to be an idol, she had to be used to being the center of attention, so she didn't let it bother her. Izuku on the other hand felt mortified. He felt uncomfortable with so many eyes on him.
"NOW THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!" Yelled Present Mic pointing finger guns in the three's direction. This got the attention back on her like she hoped it would. "Now let's get this party started!" Suddenly an 8-bit image of Present Mic in a city appeared behind her. "So here's the rundown. You'll all be assigned an exam site where you'll be conducting mock battles in urban settings where you'll have to take out as many robots as possible in ten minutes. These villains have a point value of one, two, or three, and your goal is to wrack up as many points as possible. But we're here to train heroes ya dig? So no attacking your fellow applicants, otherwise you'll be in for a load of trouble." She said as the image behind her showed the Present Mic sprite taking out robots Mario style.
"Excuse me, I have a question!" Yelled a loud female voice. A spotlight showed the source showing a blue haired girl with her arm straight in the air. Before Present Mic could say anything the girl brought up the instruction sheet in front of her, while pointing at it with her other hand. Even those furthest from her could see how robotic her movements were. "On the printout you listed four types of villains, not three. With all due respect, if this is an error on official UA materials then it is shameful. We are exemplary students, we expect the best from the most notable school in Japan, a mistake such as this won't due." She ranted before pointing a finger toward Izuku, Mei and Kinoko. "And you three, separate at once! Public displays of affection are unbecoming of a hero! If you're not going to take this seriously, then leave now!" She harshly ordered as she glared at them.
With everyone's eyes drawn to the commotion, no one saw the brief flash of fury appear on Present Mic's face. Before she could say anything, Mei spoke up. "Nah, I'm good like this." She said while scooching deeper into Izuku's side, getting a few chuckles from the audience. "Besides, I'm here to learn how to rescue people, not to be the most boring hero in the world. So don't shove your ideals on us." Mei commented off handedly, causing the bluenette to stutter incoherently.
With Present mic, the anger was quickly replaced with pride. She wanted to voice her true feelings on the matter, but she had to stay on point. "Alright examinee number 7111, thanks for calling in with your request. That fourth villain type is worth zero points. There's one in every center and is more of an obstacle you should avoid. It's not that it can't be beat, but there's really no point." She announced as the video behind her showed the present Mic encountering said villain only to run away. She had to use every ounce of professional experience she had to not chew the girl out.
The bluenette bowed at a perfect ninth degree angle. "Thank you very much, you may continue." She said, unaware of the shit she stirred. However, she wasn't the only one with a question.
Izuku timidly raised his hand as he stood up. His anxiety telling him to sit down and shut up, but as he thought about Mei, his mom, and even aunt midnight, he was spurred on. "E-excuse me. Isn't this test biased toward those with destructive quirks? There are many amazing heroes who's quirks wouldn't even work for this." He asked, ignoring the snickers he received from a lot of the other applicants.
Present Mic's smile widened, her pride in her nephew growing. Putting her finger to her ear, she made a show to make sure all the applicants heard, especially the ones laughing at Izuku. "He's right, you know." She said loud enough for the mics to pick it up, silencing the entire audience.
"Hahahahah indeed he is. Looks like we'll be adding the secondary exam this year." Nezu laughed through Mic's earpiece. In truth, the test was biased on purpose, to see if any applicants had the courage to call it out. Though, this was the first time someone did it for someone else.
"Thank you little listener for pointing out our off-key tune. I just got notified that a second exam shall be held for those who want to participate. You shall still be required to perform in the first test, but afterwards, inform a proctor you want to participate in the second exam. But keep in mind, if you do, your score for the first test will be wiped from the charts, but will still be regarded in final assessments. But keep in mind, if your quirk jams well with the first test, and you try to participate in the second, you will still lose your score, and not be allowed to continue." Announced Present Mic, quieting down to let the information sink in.
Many students murmured, obviously not expecting the turn of events. As usual there were many that seemed upset, while many others looked relieved. If only they knew their actions here were also being taken into consideration.
"Thank you, I appreciate all the work you're putting in for us." Said Izuku as he bowed. As soon as he sat down Mei gave him a kiss on the cheek. Both from pride for being vocal despite his obvious discomfort, and for being so sweet.
"It's no problem, we appreciate your rockin 'sound! Well that's all I have for you today. I'll sign off with a little present. A sample of our school motto! As general Napoleon Bonapart once laid down, 'A true hero is one that overcomes life's misfortunes.' Mhm now that's a tasty sound byte." She said, hoping her hidden message got through to her nephew. "Now, are you ready to go beyond? Let me get a Plus Ultra!" She announced. Only for Izuku, Mei, and Kinoko to be the only ones to respond back again. But she didn't care, she was just happy to see those three participating.
Everyone started getting out of their seats, as the three looked at their cards with their assigned exam centers together. "Huh, so we're in different exam sites. Guess they want to avoid people working together for this." Said Kinoko casually.
"Makes sense. Can't judge individual skills if people work as a team." Responded Mei, stretching and popping her back as she stood. "You sure you have enough of a stockpile Izu?" She asked with a teasing smile.
Izuku blushed a bit, but maintained his composure as he smiled with as much confidence as he could muster. "I'm sure the over 220,000 I have will be plenty. But I wouldn't mind a little more." He said, leaning forward.
He should have known to not encourage her.
Yanking on his collar, Mei pulled Izuku into a deep kiss. It wasn't long, but full of passion. "There, now be good and you'll get more later." She said with a smirk.
Before Izuku could respond, Kinoko put her index finger under his chin, directing him to look towards her. The moment he turned, Kinoko planted a gentle kiss on his lips. "Now don't go doing anything reckless." She said with a giggle. The two girls sauntered off towards the changing room, giving their boyfriend a nice view.
Taking a deep breath to calm himself down, he followed after the two, ready for what comes next.
Later at exam site Alpha*
Kinoko stepped off the bus, staring gobsmacked at the giant gate in front of her. While she spent a good deal of time training on UA property. She was only allowed to use the very basic facilities like an empty training room, the gym, or the level one obstacle course when she got permission. This was her first time seeing just how much UA puts into training their students.
"This is one of their training grounds? It's huge. And there's at least six more like it? How big is their budget?" She asked aloud to no one in particular.
"For real fam! This place is lit!" Said a girl right next to Kinoko. Turning to the source, she saw a girl with long dirty blond hair and big full lips wearing a skin tight training tank top, yoga pants, and bright pink running shoes. "No wonder UA is like totally the best around." Said the girl with a friendly smile.
While the girl spoke weirdly, Kinoko was able to recognize it as some really old school slang. Since the girl seemed nice, she had no issue talking to her while they waited. "No kidding, training here would definitely set you up for success. Can you imagine how decked out their support studio might be?"
"They must totally have the most fire equipment out there." She said excitedly, before she started leaning forward, looking at Kinoko inquisitively with her finger to her lip.
"Uh, is there something on my face?" Asked Kinoko nervously.
"You're like, one of the girls who was snuggling with that green haired cutie, aren't you?" The girl asked innocently.
"Yeeeeaaaaah, he's my boyfriend Izuku. Why?" Asked Kinoko, suddenly feeling very defensive.
The girl gasped with a wide smile. "You are so totally lucky. Your bae is like Uber cool. How'd you land a snack like him?" She asked excitedly.
Kinoko could practically feel a giant sweat drop on the back of her head. She wasn't sure if the girl was just overly invasive, or was just very friendly and loved to gossip. Still, she felt like the girl would be fun to hang around. "Yeah, I am lucky. But there isn't really anything I did. I became friends with him and our girlfriend Mei, and eventually the two of us asked him out." Answered Kinoko.
"Ooooooo a role reversal, you totes have to spill the rest of the tea. I'm Utsushimi Camie btw nice to meetcha fam." Said the girl as she extended her hand for a shake.
"Nice to meet you too, I'm Komori Kinoko." Replied Kinoko, accepting the handshake. As soon as she finished her introduction, everyone heard a loud "GO!!!" Everyone looked to the source seeing Present Mic, confused about what's going on. It took Kinoko a couple seconds to process what happened, but as soon as she did she looked towards the opening gates, making a dash for it while everyone stood around lost. Well, all except Utsushimi, jostled from her own confusion when Kinoko released her grip.
Both were through the gate, ready to take first crack at the robots when they heard Present Mic's voice again. "Well!? What are you waiting for!? There's no countdowns in real life! Follow those two!" She yelled, sounding amused. Doing this to the examinees was one of her favorite parts of the exam.
By the time the other applicants finally started making their way into the exam site, many of them shoving other examinees out of their way, Kinoko was already engaging a two-pointer. One of the two tails of the giant scorpion-like robot coming at her fast.
Narrowly dodging the attack, Kinoko wrapped around it, putting her hands on the main body and spraying as many spores as possible.
Kinoko dodged backwards when the second tail came at her, a breeze from the attack reminding her just how dangerous this test was. Out of the corner of her eye she barely noticed the one pointer, one that looked like a humanoid but with a wheel instead of legs, swinging at her.
Ducking under the attack, she focused on the spores she shot out earlier to get them to grow faster. When she heard the familiar pop she quickly glanced at the two-pointer, smirking as she noticed her plan worked. All the mushrooms popping up inside the robot jammed its servos, but more importantly, tore up some of the internal circuitry, causing it to cease functioning. Now that she knew she could defeat the robots with her quirk, she started feeling a bit cocky.
Dodging the one-pointers attacks as she closed the gap, she performed the same trick on this one. Her attention was so focused she didn't notice another one-pointer coming at her from behind until she ran into it as she dodged another attack. Kinoko started to panic a bit when she saw the robot's arms starting to close around her. She raised her hands about to try fighting off the attack when she heard the sound of ripping metal and wires above her, and the robot stopped moving.
When she heard a loud thud next to her, she looked towards the source and saw the head of the robot.
When the body toppled over she turned and saw Utsushimi waving at her. But what threw her off was that she saw three other Utsushimis running around behind her. "Don't overextend yourself fam! Hope we meet again!" She said cheerily to the confused woman, only to turn into a pink mist and disappear.
While still lost on what just happened, Kinoko slapped her cheeks, upset that she already made a mistake. But now was the time to utilize the training Ms. Aizawa gave her. Without wasting time as she saw other applicants running around looking for robots, she determinedly sprinted ahead.
For several minutes Kinoko pushed herself to the limit. The test wasn't long, so she didn't bother conserving energy. Thanks to her training, she could go like this for twenty minutes before she would start feeling fatigued, which was more than enough for the exam. Keeping with her first strategy as she didn't want to waste time with plans that might not work, she took down robot after robot. She was a little upset, she only encountered two intact three-pointers, simple large robots with four crab-like legs and two missile launchers.
Still, she was able to find enough of the others to rack up 36 points so far. She had even helped a couple other applicants along the way. Including a white haired girl who seemed extremely upset with herself.
As the timer ran down Kinoko stopped when there was suddenly a loud rumbling sound, and in the distance she saw a giant robot rising above the buildings. "Yeah, UA has a ridiculous budget." She mumbled in shock.
"Shit!" Kinoko barely heard from down the block around the corner. Without any thought, she booked it towards the voice.
In the back of her mind she thought she recognized the voice. When she turned the corner, she saw several Utsushimis surrounded by about ten robots. From a quick glance it looked like five one-pointers, two two-pointers, and three three-pointers. The Utsushimis looked to be distracting the other robots while one performed a cartwheel into a massive leap on top of one of the three pointers. With the robot's head between her thighs she rotated quickly, removing the head in the process, defeating the robot. Only before she could get off, one of the other three-pointers launched a barrage of missiles at the other Utsushimis, causing all of them to turn into pink mist and fade. While Utsushimi tried to create some distance, it was obvious the robots were going to persist.
Without hesitation, Kinoko made a dash towards Utsushimi as she saw three one-pointers barreling down on her. She didn't have much time to think of a plan, so she settled on using a new trick she learned. It was still hard for her to use it, but it was the best option she had.
Concentrating her quirk through a small point on her palm, she shot out some spores of her own design. Now, as long as she keeps her focus on just a single spore, she should be able to make a single mushroom sprout instantly. That normally wouldn't help at all, except this mushroom was very different.
While Utsushimi looked to be getting ready to fight back, a giant mushroom appeared in front of her, directly under two of the robots, causing them to go flying into the air before crashing into the ground. Without missing a beat, Utsushimi changed her trajectory towards the third. With one smooth motion she dodged to the side, and with a degree of flexibility that made Kinoko a little jealous, brought her foot down on the robot's head, but instead of an impact, Utsushimi hooked her ankle around it and continued it's momentum, driving it into the ground, defeating it.
"Woo! That was like too close. Thanks for the assist fam." Said Utsushimi with an appreciative smile.
"What happened to 'don't overextend yourself?' Asked Kinoko with a playful smirk as she got ready to help with the other robots.
Utsushimi pouted at the response "I didn't expect a second wave of enemies coming out of the building when the giant one appeared." She said as she got ready as well.
The two didn't get a chance to continue as one of the other three pointers launched their own barrage of missiles. The two separated, and went on the offensive. Kinoko barely noticed Utsushimi blowing pink mist, and again there were a bunch of Utsushimi's, and even a few Kinoko's. But she didn't have time to focus on that as a three-pointer was charging her.
Deciding she needed to take care of the robot fast as she saw another two pointer and a one- pointer right behind it. So she planted some spores under her feet and started retreating. Timing the attack, she created another giant mushroom under the three-pointer, only slightly larger this time. Once again the robot was flung into the air, but before it could even reach the ground, Kinoko ducked behind the mushroom out of sight from the other two. Once they passed the mushroom she planted a hand on the two pointer, blasting spores into it, before quickly closing the distance to the other one and doing the same thing. It was harder focusing on two sets of spores, but she managed it and was able to defeat both robots.
Just as Kinoko was about to go check on Utsushimi, a very loud voice echoed through the exam site. "AND STOP!!!" Came the voice of present Mic. Kinoko let out a sigh of relief. She may not be tired, but she expected to be later. It wouldn't be the first time she experienced an adrenaline crash after all. Quickly she went to check on Utsushimi, finding her sprawled out on the ground. Worried, she rushed over to make sure she wasn't injured, but at a glance she seemed fine, just exhausted.
"That was like, one hell of a test. You were legit out there." Said Utsushimi when she saw Kinoko approaching. Kinoko smiled at her and offered her a hand up, which she took.
"You were amazing out there as well Utsushimi. I've never seen anyone move like you. Plus being able to make copies of people is an amazing quirk." Praised Kinoko.
"Nah, my quirk only creates illusions. Any I desire. But robots are a lot harder to distract, so I stuck with people. I'm just relieved they didn't have heat vision." She said with a laugh. "And call me Camie, it's much cuter."
"Only if you call me Kinoko." Responded Kinoko with a smile.
"Deal." Replied Camie happily. "We should totally exchange numbers."
From there the two chatted as they exited the site, which Kinoko found Camie to be really nice and fun. She hoped the two of them passed, so they could easily hang out again.
earlier at exam site Beta*
Mei practically bounced in her seat as she waited for everyone else to get off the bus. She had to present the driver with a form to retrieve the weapon she was authorized to use. All the security measures they take around support gear did annoy her, but she didn't complain as she understood their purpose. After presenting the form, Mei gushed at the panel it was hidden behind on the side of the bus, because even with her vision, she couldn't even tell it was there until the driver used a fingerprint scanner that was also expertly hidden. The level of technology almost made her salivate.
After the driver handed her the case and wished her luck, she giggled maniacally as she jogged next to the gate, where she would leave the case during the exam. As she opened the case her excitement increased as she saw her baby. Granted, she still had some improvements she wanted to make, but for now it would get the job done. Pulling out the massive custom rifle, she ignored all the gasps as she ran through a few safety checks Snipe drilled into her when he taught her how to shoot.
"What the!? You can't have something like that on school grounds!" Yelled a voice that Mei recognized as the blue haired girl from the auditorium. She had to hold back an exasperated sigh, annoyed she got put in the same testing site as her. But at least she wasn't with Izuku. She didn't want to imagine the kind of panic attack the girl would send him into. She decided to just simply ignore the girl and continue doing her checks. The girl wasn't in charge of her, so she wasn't going to waste her time with some high and mighty priss.
"Didn't you hear me?! You can't have that on school grounds! It's dangerous and unbecoming of a hero to have such a thing." Lectured the blunette who was now standing next to Mei.
Now that really annoyed her. "Last I checked, you're not the one in charge here. Besides, I have permission from the school. Or are you saying you have more authority than them?" Replied Mei, her voice cold despite still smiling as she didn't even look away from her baby.
This stalled the blue haired girl, the information a bit too much for her to process. "Well no, but…" The girl weakly started, but was interrupted by Mei.
"That's what I thought. Also, are you saying heroes like Snipe, who happens to be a teacher here, is an unbecoming hero?" Mei continued, as she opened the compartment containing the ammo, seeing a sheet on top saying they were special .22 caliber bullets that when they struck a robot would cause it to shut down, but could still really hurt a person, if not kill. She was a little saddened they were such a low caliber since they won't get as much distance, but she'd make due. Using a feature she was proud of on her baby, she adjusted the rifle caliber. It was designed to work with any caliber of bullet, she simply had to select the caliber on the mini computer she put in it.
"But that thing is dangerous and could kill someone." said the blunette, seemingly unable to think of a response.
Mei counted the rounds she was given, seeing they provided 40, plenty to get through the exam as long as she made her shots count. "So are quirks. I have no doubt at least half the people here could kill someone with their quirk before they knew what was happening." She said, starting to load up her clips, storing the extras in a bandolier she found stored in the case as well. She ignored the uncomfortable squirming from many of the other applicants she caught from the corner of her eye.
"That's true…. just….." said the blunette, the defeat thick in her voice. It seemed she was out of arguments.
Mei aimed the rifle at the wall away from everyone, checking to make sure the feel was right and everything was adjusted properly before she loaded one of the clips and stored the rifle on her back. After finishing, she finally looked towards the bluenette who was a good head taller than her, looking like the wind was knocked out of her sails. "Maybe next time, you won't be so judgemental. Your beliefs aren't the golden standard. And if you keep this up, I can guarantee you will be an extremely unpopular hero if you even get that far." She said, giving the girl an unimpressed look. Admittedly Mei doesn't care about the girl, and would have happily ignored her if she hadn't tried scolding her and her significant others earlier.
The girl didn't have a chance to respond as Present Mic's voice was heard. "Go!!!" She yelled, sounding a bit too eager.
Mei didn't even hesitate as she quickly ran through the still opening gates, leaving everyone behind still confused. She barely took a few steps before she used her quirk to look for robots down the street, seeing six were in range. Four one-pointers, a two-pointer, and a three-pointer. She quickly skid on the kneecaps she wore for this, grabbing her rifle and stopping in a kneeling position, quickly taking aim. She was able to get two shots off instantly, and a third a second later when she heard Present Mic's voice again. She only paused for a second before taking the next three shots after realizing what Present Mic was saying had nothing to do with her. After firing the final shot, she was upset with herself when she saw she missed the two-pointer that was 100 meters (328 feet) away.
She never got the chance to take another shot as the rest of the applicants started rushing into the exam site, making it too risky to fire. So she settled for the early seven points, and started running again. She had hoped to create a bigger buffer because she had to waste time running up a building. It was annoying because she had a baby that would have gotten her to the roof fast, but applicants were only allowed one support item, so she had to settle for only her rifle. It took her over a minute to find her way to the roof, where she wasted no time going to the edge, lying down and using her quirk to find more targets, rather than wasting time looking down the scope.
She was quickly able to find a few prime targets that didn't have any applicants nearby. She hoped her earlier missed shot was due to error and wasn't her rifle, otherwise she would be screwed. Squeezing the trigger as she aimed at a three-pointer, scoring a direct hit. Quickly aiming at another two robots she fired two rounds, only hitting one missing a two-pointer, but this time she could tell it was her error. Taking a deep breath she went over the advice snipe gave her.
"When using a rifle, and you're firing on an unsuspecting target, it's better to take your time ensuring you'll hit, rather than firing rapidly and alerting your enemy." Echoed Snipe's voice in Mei's head.
Going through the motions, she took a couple deep breaths. If she didn't calm down, she would only waste bullets. When she steadied herself she aimed at the same target, seeing it was coming her way. But since she was on the roof, she had plenty of time before it reached her. Following the two-pointer, she predicted where she needed to fire and pulled the trigger.
Hit.
Smiling, Mei went back to looking for targets. A couple she saw earlier were already destroyed by other applicants, with the last being another two-pointer engaged with another applicant with purple balls on his head. She didn't like taking the risk but she saw the applicant on his butt backing away. Being extra cautious she aimed as far away from the applicant as possible before firing a shot.
Hit.
The two-pointer stopped as it ceased functioning, the applicant looking around trying to figure out what happened. Mei kinda felt sorry for him, but if he's hesitating during a test, he'd only be a hindrance in a real fight. Taking another quick look, Mei didn't see any more targets in range. It was time to put Ms. Aizawa's training to the test. She had to go roof hopping.
Flipping the safety on her rifle she ran towards the next building. Using her rifle as a pole vault, she slammed the butt of the rifle into the ground. When she started launching herself off the rooftop, the recoil dampener that turns into a spring when the safety's on gave some extra oomph to her jump. She easily cleared the gap and did a cartwheel Ms. Aizawa showed her to land safely. Somewhat clumsily she transitioned back into running, already planning her next jump.
The exam continued on like that, with Mei running from rooftop to rooftop, making shots every now and then, even helping three more applicants who got too cocky and almost got hurt due to their recklessness. While doing so she made mental notes on what improvements or adjustments she needed to make on her baby, and where she needed more training. She was quickly seeing the value of being able to field test her babies personally. So far she had only missed 3 more shots, and was down to her last eight bullets, but was able to get 47 points in.
As Mei aimed another shot, she was thrown off balance as the building she was standing on started rumbling. It didn't take her quirk to see the behemoth of a robot that was ascending over the rooftops. It just so happened to be doing so just a couple buildings down. Pointing her rifle at it she fired a shot only to be horrified when it didn't work. "Shit!" She yelled as she felt the ground beneath her shift. She did NOT want to be on this roof if the building was about to collapse.
Running in the opposite direction from the zero-pointer, she felt the roof start to incline. Running as fast as she could, she slightly misplaced the butt of her rifle, causing it to launch her slightly off target. She was able to clear the gap, but her landing was a bit rough, causing her to hit her head. Feeling a bit disoriented she was unable to run, and her quirk was even out of whack.
But thanks to that, she saw in the distance the bluenette girl running away from the zero-pointer, ninety degrees from the direction she was running. Just as she was able to recover, she caught a glimpse of a one-pointer moving fast towards the direction of the girl. And based on both their speeds, they would intersect. She didn't know the girl's combat capabilities, so she wasn't about to risk her getting blindsided. Aiming her rifle in the direction of the alley just before the street, her only chance to safely fire a shot. Ignoring the continued rumbling she breathed deep, calculating when the one-pointer would appear in her brief window of opportunity, A sweatdrop going down her forehead. *BANG*
Hit.
"Hell yeah!" Cheered Mei. She saw the blunette continue to run, seemingly unaware of what just happened. Suddenly the rumbling got worse. While the Zero-pointer was facing in the direction of the blunette, its arm swung back and rammed into the building she was standing on, taking out a big chunk. The building started collapsing fast. "Shitshitshitshitshit." She rapidly fired off, as the building quickly started toppling over. She had no time to make it to the roof she planned on, so she had to improvise and fast. There was no safe ground for her to land on in the direction the building was falling, but if her calculations were correct, she had one option available to her.
As the building toppled with Mei still on top, she timed her movements carefully as she ran in the direction of the topple. Using the spring in her rifle, she launched off the roof and quickly moved it in front of her as a shield, crashing through a window of the building across the street. She managed to pull it off without cutting herself as the windows were easy break safety glass, but she landed roughly hurting her shoulder. There was no way she would be able to accurately shoot anymore. But for now she had to continue running. She wasn't going to risk being in another collapsing building.
Thankfully the building stayed intact when she heard Present Mic yell. "STOP!!!" But while the exam was over, Mei refused to stay in the building longer than necessary. It was only a couple more floors before she burst through the front door. Quickly assessing the scene, Mei noticed that none of the other buildings looked at risk of collapsing. But still not taking any risks, she still walked down a couple more blocks before stopping and sitting down with a huge sigh. She was exhausted, carrying around the rifle was taxing. So her first order of business when she got the chance was to make it lighter, especially since the weight aggravated her hurt shoulder. She knew she would have to see Recovery Girl after this, but for now she was going to unload her rifle, get out of here, and check her rifle for any damage.
Earlier at exam site Delta*
Izuku was nervous. No he was beyond nervous. Was he ready? How disappointed would everyone be if he failed? Would they get rid of him if he did? Is the 227,692 attar he collected going to be enough? Sure it's far more than he's ever had previously, but this was the UA entrance exam!
Izuku shook his head trying to get those thoughts out of them. The entire bus ride here he was doing breathing exercises so he wouldn't freak out, but he was barely holding it together.
Out of pure luck he was able to spot Uraraka. But seeing as how she was doing breathing exercises too, he figured she was nervous like he was. He'd had many people help him in the past when he was nervous, maybe the two of them could help each other out?
As Izuku walked up to Uraraka, he caught glimpses of some of the applicants giving him dirty looks. He figured they know who he is, but his family taught him to ignore those types if they aren't causing problems, they're not worth worrying about. "Hey Uraraka. Nervous?" Asked Izuku, despite already knowing the answer.
Uraraka jumped a bit startled. She had been so focused she never expected to hear someone calling her. When she saw it was Izuku she smiled, happy to see him. "Hey Aizawa, so we're at the same exam site? What a coincidence. But yeah, I am. Who wouldn't be? We're about to compete with thousands of other people for a spot at the greatest hero university in Japan." She said, her nerves becoming more and more obvious.
This activated Izuku's hero mode. Despite his own nerves, he wanted to help Uraraka, she was too nice to let nerves do her in. "If you would like some advice, there was something I was once told that's helped me in the past." Said Izuku kindly. Uraraka didn't respond, but the attention she directed towards him told him to continue. "Focus on the task in front of you. Let everything else fade. Don't worry about why, that can come later, because what's in front of you is what matters right now." He said with a nostalgic smile as his mind drifted to when Hound Dog gave him that advice right before his first test flight.
Uraraka listened with rapt attention, watching as he smiled and his mind drifted elsewhere. Smiling as she could tell he was thinking of a happy memory, she mulled over the words. She saw their value. It was true. Why she was taking the test didn't matter right now, it was only a distraction. "That's some good advice. This person sounds wise." She said with a friendly smile, her nerves having calmed down. She had to suppress a giggle when Izuku was obviously dragged out of the memory and remembered where he was.
"Huh? Oh, yeah she is. She's given me a lot of advice for as long as I've known her. I owe her a lot for all the help she's given." He said, his gratefulness obvious in his voice. Turning towards the gate, he realized that was the advice he needed as well. "And it looks like I owe her another one." He mumbled, barely loud enough to be heard, making Uraraka's smile grow. "I should probably get ready, don't want to waste precious exam time." He said, as he started taking off his tracksuit jacket.
"Wh-what are you doing?" Asked Uraraka a bit flustered as she saw his bare arms for the first time, and the skin tight shirt he was wearing left nothing to the imagination.
"Didn't want to destroy my jacket." He said simply just before he channeled his attar, growing his wings. He was glad Powerloader made him a bunch of workout shirts that accommodated his retractable wings as he would have been way too embarrassed being shirtless in front of so many people. And with how much attar he has, he didn't have to worry all that much about how long his wings stay out. He was worried about how Uraraka would react to them, but he couldn't worry about that right now.
"Wooow so that's your quirk? Those wings make you look tough." Praised Uraraka. She actually did like the wings. While she did enjoy all things cute and adorable, one thing people found a bit weird about her was her enjoyment of things that looked tough and strong. Despite her goal to become a rescue hero, she loved how combat heroes could make people smile, and how strong looking heroes made people feel safe.
"Part of it, but I don't want to reveal the rest of it right now." Whispered Izuku. Uraraka accepted the answer, believing he didn't want to risk other applicants interfering with him. But the truth was he didn't want to cause a potential ruckus if one of the people who glared at him wanted to act how so many people he's met in the past have acted.
Unfortunately someone still decided to confront him when they saw his wings. "Oh unholy demon! How dare you taint these hallowed grounds with your presence!" Yelled a female voice.
Instinctively Izuku tensed up, ready to be beaten and verbally attacked. He wasn't even able to look towards the person who yelled out of fear.
"Hey, there's no need for that. He's just here to take the exam." Argued Uraraka somewhat weakly as she had no clue why this girl started yelling.
But the girl didn't even pay Uraraka any mind as she stomped in front of Izuku and started jabbing a finger in his chest. His panic was reaching such heights, he barely processed that instead of hair, the girl had vines growing out of her head. "I should have known when you and those other sinners acted so shamefully earlier, but those wings are proof you are a servant of the devil." She scolded.
This only served to confuse Uraraka even more. It was obviously just his quirk, so how did the girl make such a leap in logic? She could see Izuku seemed to have frozen at the confrontation and could even hear other applicants snickering to themselves and making rude comments.
"Dude, you see that guy getting scolded by the chick? He looks ready to pee his pants." One applicant laughed.
"No kidding. And you see those wings? Must be his quirk. No wonder he cried about the exam if that's all it does." Mocked another.
Many other applicants were making similar comments, and it was making Uraraka mad. Izuku hasn't done anything to anyone, he didn't deserve being treated like this. And the girl was worse as she continued giving a tongue lashing that he just took. She watched as Izuku shut his eyes tight, mumbling something inaudible, wanting to do something to stop this. But her nerves were stopping her. What if she made things worse? She didn't want to be responsible if she made things more difficult for Izuku. Besides, what could she even do to remedy this situation?
As Uraraka internally battled herself, Izuku was doing what he could to tune out everything around him. He could feel his panic growing as the girl yelled at him, calling him a demon, telling him he had no place here, while he overheard the occasional comment from the other applicants, all seeming to just write him off and laugh at him. He kept reciting a mantra Hound Dog taught him, trying to keep himself centered. The only thing he wanted to hear was…
"GO!" Came the voice of Present Mic.
That was enough of a cue for Izuku as his body started moving on instinct. Despite the panic he still felt, he channeled attar into his legs and wings, helping him launch off the ground. Continuing to channel more attar into his wings, using them to launch him forward. But due to his lack of focus he put in too much, creating a large gust of wind in the process. Thankfully he also instinctively started channeling attar into his eyes, making him able to process everything despite his speed.
The panic Izuku was feeling was very slowly dwindling, as he caught sight of several robots. Not currently having the mental capabilities to plan his course of action, he just let his body act for him. Channeling attar into his hands, he started using one of the tricks he learned a few months ago. By using more attar he's able to gain a degree of control over the energy his quirk produces. The more attar used, the more control he has. In this case, by using those abilities he wrapped his hands in the energy, vaguely shaping it into a sword. It didn't look pretty, but as long as he supplied it with enough attar, it allowed him to cut through anything. Only problem was that like his wings, doing this required a constant stream of attar to maintain, and if he didn't supply enough to the quote unquote blade itself, it would disappear mid cut. But the cutting power this gave him without having to use something as dangerous as his beam outweighed those cons.
Still pumping more attar than he intended, Izuku slashed at the first robot being a three-pointer. Only to land and quickly dash to the next target and slashing that one, followed by the next, and the next, and the next. Before he knew it, he had stopped and turned towards the five robots he attacked, somewhat expecting them to come after him. But none moved, instead, one right after the other, the slice he made becoming prominent as they all fell into two pieces. He was surprised enough by what just happened that he didn't think about counting his points. Instead, he focused on the other applicants, seeing some of them being slack jawed at witnessing him take down 5 targets in just a couple seconds.
"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR! THERE'S NO COUNTDOWN IN REAL LIFE! FOLLOW THAT GUY!!!" Izuku heard his aunt Mic yell. In the back of his mind, he could tell she was proud of him. For now, that was enough to get him back in action.
Now that he was able to think more clearly, he controlled his flow of attar, pumping more to his eyes, slowing his perception further, while putting less in his muscles and wings. With that done he tapped into OFA. At this point he could still only control 1%, but it was still a strong quirk even at that low of an amount. This allowed him to continue the same speed he had previously while using less attar. Using both together was still a challenge, but he'd gain a good amount of skill doing so. Even getting to the point that he was able to shut off OFA if anything felt off.
As the other applicants started pouring into the exam site, Izuku ducked down a side street. Mostly in a search for more robots, but mostly he wanted to avoid that vine girl, so he hoped to disappear before she could attempt anything.
Flying down the street, Izuku sliced any robots he came across, while preparing another trick he learned. As he went, anytime he prepared one of his orbs using fifty attar each. He'd then release them, but not by launching them at an enemy, instead he controlled their movements and had them follow him. Whenever he would spot an intact robot in one of the alleys or streets, he would launch an orb at it.
Admittedly he wouldn't see the results of his attacks, as while he was able to focus on the task at hand, the worry and panic he still felt spurred him to just keep moving.
There was a problem though. He was burning through attar fast. He's sure he'd only been in the exam site for less than a minute, but he'd already burned through over 10,000 attar. While his initial attack was a big contributor, creating and controlling so many attacks, while still using more to maintain speed was a huge drain on his supply.
Since he had such a good head start, Izuku figured he ended up deep enough in the mock city that the girl wouldn't find him. And sure he had a rather large stockpile of attar, but burning through it recklessly could spell trouble. Keeping OFA going and his wings out, Izuku shut down the rest of his quirk as he continued looking for more enemies. He may be comfortable with how he's currently done, but that didn't mean he'd risk failing by slacking off.
Looking towards the sky and seeing there seem to be no other applicants that can fly, Izuku decided to take to the air and get some aerial superiority. As he took to the sky, he was surprised to see several robots also slowly ascending a few blocks. They weren't told they could fly, and there were no obvious signs on how they were. Suddenly all of them dropped, crashing sounds could be heard. It must have been someone's quirk, he would love to ask the user about it at some point.
Gliding through the air, Izuku examined every nook and cranny he could. After launching a fifty attar attack at a two-pointer and it being damaged but still functioning, he realized how badly he messed up in his rush. No doubt he gave other applicants some easy points.
Panic slowly started setting in when he happened to spot the vine haired girl again. She was engaged with a couple two-pointers and a one-pointer. He managed to keep his panic in check enough to admire her quirk. The vines on her head grew rapidly, and it seemed she has some degree of control over them, allowing her to wrap up all the robots and crush them at the same time. Looking like she started praying, she didn't seem to notice four robots converging on her location, which would end with her getting surrounded.
Of course Izuku wasn't going to let that happen. Preparing 4 orbs using a hundred attar each, he launched the attack simultaneously. And while three of them were hit and defeated, a three-pointer saw the attack, and launched missiles to intercept his attack. Despite each attack having more than enough power to destroy a missile, the fact that his attacks dissipate at first contact with anything was problematic. As soon as his attack was blocked, Izuku had to contend with several missiles coming his way. Using single attar attacks he was able to stop the missiles. But by the time he did, the three pointer continued its original course and was already behind the girl.
Having heard the robot's steps, the girl swiftly turned around, spotting the three-pointer about to run into her. She didn't have enough time to stop it before it hit her, she wasn't even sure she had the time to dodge out of the way unscathed. But something fell out of the sky on top of the robot, destroying it instantly. Was this divine intervention? Looking up towards the sky, she spotted the demon from earlier looking in her direction, only for him to quickly fly away. She glared towards him, hate and anger towards him still in her heart, as well as confusion. It didn't take a genius to know he rescued her. But the question was did he do it on purpose, and if he did, why? Was it part of a plot to corrupt her? Well no matter, god will punish him, for now she had an exam to finish.
As he wiped the sweat from his brow, Izuku sighed in relief. The girl obviously saw him, but he managed to help her and get away before she could engage him. This test was ending up far more stressful than he hoped.
Moving to the other side of the mock city, Izuku continued taking out robots as he went. Leaving the ones other applicants were already engaged with alone. It just didn't feel right stealing those points when they put in the hard work. But he did make sure to assess the situations before leaving them to their battles, stepping in whenever he saw an applicant in danger. Most of the time leaving them to claim the points. Sure it was risky in terms of the exam, but it's just who he was.
As the test went on, a realization occurred to Izuku. Where is the zero-pointer? Wasn't there supposed to be one at each site? Did someone defeat it? He's seen a lot of powerful quirks from the other applicants. He'd even spotted Uraraka at one point, discovering she was the one who dropped the earlier robots.
Right as those questions popped into Izuku's head, he saw the cement at one of the intersections crack, and even start to rise as he heard rumbling. From out of the ground he saw two huge robotic hands come out of the ground and start lifting a giant robot that dwarfed the skyscrapers. He recognized the robot looked a lot like the image of the zero-pointer, but one thought ran through his head. 'No wonder uncle Powerloader and uncle Cementoss get so much overtime.' He thought as he watched the zero-pointer use the building to further help it out of the ground.
His aunt Mic's advice to avoid the robot was sounding pretty enticing right now, but first he had to make sure the other applicants got to safety. Lowering himself closer to the ground, he started his search nearest the robot as they would be in the most danger, and to his horror, he found someone. The initial scream was what drew his attention to Uraraka who looked like she might have her foot pinned under some rubble. What's worse is the zero-pointer was moving in her direction, and some rubble from a nearby wrecked building fell directly above her.
Without wasting a second, Izuku pumped a ton of attar into his wings, rushing to save Uraraka. He pumped in so much he caused a small sonic boom. He was so focused on saving Uraraka that he didn't notice a vine haired girl watching his actions.
Continuing to pump attar into his wings, he quickly made a plan, as he didn't have much time to solve both problems. Despite not knowing if it would even work, Izuku pumped even more attar into one of his wings, using it to wrap around the falling rubble. But instead of catching it, he rolled, added to its momentum, before launching it directly at the head of the Zero-pointer. It didn't cause much damage, but he achieved his goal of stopping it in his tracks when the zero pointer recoiled.
Unfortunately, all that did was stall it, as it quickly recovered and continued moving, and it was close to running over Uraraka. He needed to destroy the thing, but almost anything he could do risked hurting other applicants, so he was left with only one option. He just wished it wasn't. He didn't have much chance to practice this move, heck he only learned about it during his week at the Hatsume's due to its high attar cost.
Keeping attar needs in mind, Izuku landed directly in front of the Zero-pointer, retracting his wings the moment his feet touched the ground. While at the same time, pumping tons of attar into his arms, pushing back the zero-pointer, successfully halting its advance just a few feet from Uraraka. The strain was great as he was using the minimum attar cost he felt he could get away with. And even with the help of OFA he was still burning through attar fast. If he was going to defeat this thing, it was now or never.
Not wanting to risk his attack being too weak he pumped every drop of attar he had into his hands. From there he had to manipulate the form and shape of the energy, making it big enough to encompass the whole robot. Now all he had to do was apply pressure, and scream the name Mei suggested for dramatic effect. "MERCILESS COLLAPSE!!!" He yelled, activating his attack.
Everyone in the mock city could hear tons of metal start groaning and ripping as the zero-pointer started collapsing in on itself. Uraraka watched with her jaw slack as she saw the robot bend and shrink. She was further surprised when the wheels lifted off the ground a bit, but didn't fall back down. For four seconds, the zero-pointer shrunk and shrunk until it was at about 4/5th of the original size. And a loud crash was heard as it fell back to the ground, creating a large dust cloud.
Uraraka was scared when she couldn't see Izuku, unsure if he was hurt or not. Doubling her efforts to get free so she could check up on him. But before she could Izuku appeared, several sparks coming off him and breathing heavily. "Are you ok Uraraka?" He asked, deeply worried as he assessed the situation. His adrenaline was pumping so much he didn't even stop to wait for her answer before starting to move the rubble off her foot. He sighed in relief when he saw it wasn't completely crushed. Though if she was pinned, he figured there is a high chance that it's broken. So he quickly scooped her into his arms to take her to Recovery Girl to get healed.
"STOP!!!" Yelled Present Mic just seconds after Izuku started running. Hearing her voice, he realized he had completely forgotten he was even taking the entrance exam. But that wasn't relevant right now, he had to get Uraraka healed.
"Um, A-Aizawa. Where are you taking me?" Asked Uraraka shyly.
Mentally facepalming, Izuku realized he missed a crucial step in all of this. Talking to the person he's trying to help. "Oh! Sorry, I was just taking you to Recovery Girl! I assumed your foot was injured by the rubble. But I guess I got caught up in the moment." He admitted embarrassed.
Uraraka smiled up at Izuku, it was true, her foot was in a lot of pain. She actually worried she lost her foot, and even still is worried it might be permanently injured or need to be amputated. But for some reason she couldn't explain, she felt like everything was okay, and would continue to be okay. This guy who she only met today, had saved her. When everyone else ran away to save themselves, he ran towards her to protect her. Wasting his valuable time rescuing her, risking his spot in UA.
"Oh goodness, what do we have here?" Said an elderly female voice. Izuku was relieved to see Recovery Girl who was checking up on all the applicants. Of course she knew what happened, she got a play by play from Eraserhead over her mic. She sounded both extremely proud, and exceedingly worried. And to tell you the truth, she wanted to scold Izuku for his recklessness, but she knew it was her being overprotective. She hated seeing anyone hurt, but being a hero is dangerous on its own, and a little recklessness is required from time to time. She just wished it didn't involve endangering so many students.
"Some rubble landed on her foot. It doesn't seem crushed, but it might be injured." Izuku answered, mentally facepalming again as he realized he never asked if she actually was injured.
"Yeah, my foot hurts pretty bad, I can't even wiggle my toes." Said Uraraka, unknowingly preventing Izuku from a great deal of embarrassment.
"Oh dear! Here, set her down so I can take off her shoe and check the damage." Instructed Recovery Girl, which Izuku promptly complied. Being cautious, she removed the shoe and before she could even remove the sock she could see the obvious swelling. Years of medical experience allowed her to not wince at the sight of Uraraka's foot when she did remove said sock. It had swelled to at least twice the size, and was already a dark shade of purple. "You poor dear, let me fix you right up." Kissing Uraraka's leg, she got the usual sigh of relief from the pain disappearing she had come to expect. "Now would you please take her to my office? I want to further examine her foot to ensure it's healed properly." She instructed Izuku.
"Of course!" Izuku answered with a smile, happy that Uraraka had recovered. Without thinking, Izuku picked Uraraka back up the way he had earlier, getting a squeak from her as she wasn't expecting it. At first she wanted to protest and tell him he didn't need to carry her. But stopped as she secretly enjoyed it. Something about being carried like this by him made her feel warm inside, and judging by Izuku's smile, he didn't seem to mind. And with what she had planned, she doubted she'd ever see him again, so she laid her head on his shoulder, enjoying the treatment she's receiving for what she believed to be the first and only time.