Chapter 9

The rest of the school year seemed to go by quickly. Besides, I finally reached the point of having the second-highest grades in my school. Which was a shock, but I did a lot to come close to Kacchan's scores. Speaking of Kacchan, he seemed to be ignoring me. Not once since my birthday did he speak to me. He didn't even react when the test scores came out.

I was able to clear the beach without much trouble, but it still was a lot of stuff. And the day before the UA entrance exams, I decided to finish clearing the beach. As the sun rose, I couldn't contain myself as I cried out. I finally did it!

As I rushed to UA, I was still in shock over the fact I had to swallow hair to get All Might's quirk. I'm unsure if I would ever recover from such a strange sensation going down my throat. And as I neared the UA entrance is when my nerves finally caught up to me. So, I started to slow down as I admired the view. "What the hell?"

I looked behind me and saw Kacchan. As I watched him walk in my direction, I couldn't help but feel paralyzed to the spot. That was until he went past me. "Good luck today."

Kacchan looked over his shoulder at me. "I don't need luck." That's when I couldn't help but notice the way he was walking. Usually, he held his head high, but today he seemed to hunch a bit. Was he also nervous? But I shouldn't worry too much. After all, it's Kacchan. He'll pass and get into UA. Now I just have to focus on myself getting in.

…

As I ran to the entrance, I couldn't help but spot a green hair boy. At that, he was just standing there. That was until he tripped, and I rushed over. Using my gravity quirk, I was able to stop him from falling. "Oh. Thank you." The way he smiled had my heart racing. He looks so cute, especially with those freckles of his.

"No problem." We soon walked into UA together and followed the signs to the grand hall. While we walked, I couldn't help but look at the freckled boy. He had this large smile as he looked at the hall in amazement. I hope we both pass the exam and we could get to know each other.

When we got to the grand hall, we went our separate ways to find a seat. That's when I saw him sitting two rows ahead of me. At that, he was sitting next to the blonde boy I had seen him talk to earlier. They seemed to be talking among themselves while Present Mic explained the two parts of the exam. As I listened to the explanation, I couldn't help but watch the green hair boy.

The written part of the exam was easier than I thought. But now, the real challenge came. As I took deep breaths to calm down, I couldn't help to overhear a commotion behind me. When I looked, it seemed to be the green hair boy being yelled at by some other guy. I tried to hold back from giggling out loud. They looked so funny.

…

Even though I knew I would see Deku today, I tried to stay focused. After that day on the roof I haven't been able to look him in the eye. Not like it would matter, but I'm still blaming myself for everything. "Good luck today." Hearing him say that to me had my heart racing. But I can't let this affect me.

"I don't need luck." Even though I said that I was still grateful to hear Deku wish me luck. Especially with the morning I had. My nerves were on fire to where I had woken in a sweat. It didn't help that I also threw up before getting ready for today. And as I walked to the grand hall, I kept trying to calm down so I didn't sweat. It's not the time to accidentally activate my quirk.

Following the person's instructions at the grand hall door, I found myself sitting next to Deku. As much as I wanted to avoid him today, I was again grateful. For some reason, I calmed down enough to stay focused. And while Present Mic spoke, the nerd couldn't control himself. Now, instead of nervous, I was just annoyed.

As I got ready for the challenge behind those doors, I just couldn't stop smiling. And when that bell rang, it was on. With a strong boost from my quirk, I was able to jump past all these losers. Not even a foot into the exam grounds did I spot my first victim. He was the height of one of the small buildings. Now how would I get to his head?

Seeing how this place had lamp post, I climbed on one as I watched this damn mech come towards me. Using quick secession of explosions, I was able to get on top of the nearby building. I then ran up to the mech and jumped on the shoulder. Then with more quick blasts aimed at the neck, I was able to explode the head. With one down, it became second nature as I dismantled one after another.

When the timer was up, I wanted to keep fighting. "What a rush!" If this is what awaits me at UA, then I can't wait. As my heart raced and my breath was hard to catch, I couldn't stop laughing. I finally got a challenge after so long. I never want to get rid of this feeling. It felt more empowering than beating up weak extras. Weak?

That's when I remembered where I was and what I had to do. As I looked at the pile of rubble I created, I couldn't stop smiling. Once we were given the ok to head home, for some reason, I decided to wait at the school entrance. I don't know what I was thinking, but I just couldn't stop myself from watching everyone walk by. That was until I saw Deku. At that, his arms were bandaged up. What exactly happened? But at least he was alive. With that, I finally headed home.

As I sat in my room, I recalled how the exam went. Even though I was able to take down all the robots, I couldn't help but notice a few of my mistakes. "I need to get faster and stop thinking so much." I then looked over to my All Might doll. Before long, I lay on my side as I spoke to him. "Deku was bandaged up. What do you think happened?" Taking a deep breath, I hugged my doll. "Could it be something to do with that secret he's been keeping from me? I wonder what it could be." I held my doll to my face. "If he doesn't get into UA, I'm going to make him tell me. But I doubt that weak, quirkless, nerd will get into UA. What do you think, All Might?"

I just stared at my doll as if it would actually answer me. Which had me chuckling. No matter how old I got, this doll was my only true friend. I hugged my All Might doll and tried to go to sleep. Come morning, I had to deal with the aftermath of pushing myself a little too hard. This never happened when I did practice runs, but this was different. For once, I was truly sore. And as I walked into the kitchen, I saw dad.

"Where's the old hag?"

Dad looked over at me and was smiling. "She's still sleeping. Today we have an off day. So, what are you in the mood for this morning?"

"Spicy miso soup." Mom finally came out of her room soon after I had sat at the table. It was somewhat rare for all of us to be awake this late in the day. Let alone eating breakfast together on such a day. So, I did my best to enjoy this small moment. Even mom seemed more rested than usual and had a smile on her face.

…

When I got home after the exam, I was shocked to find out mom was home. And here I was hoping to be alone, so I didn't have to deal with her questioning me. But that went out the window the moment mom saw me. "What happened? Is everything ok? Where were you today?"

Putting on my best smile, I tried my best to calm her down. "Everything is fine, mom. It's just a few scratches from that training I told you about." As I nervously laughed, I just hoped mom wouldn't ask any more questions. But at last, she kept pushing. "Mom. I swear, I'm ok. This isn't that bad. I can handle myself."

"Midoriya Izuku! Don't you lie to me!" That's when the angry tears started to show themselves. I tried to put my hands up in defense as I stepped back. But I soon found myself backed into a corner as mom screamed at me. "My baby is hurt, and you won't even tell me why! For goodness sake, Izuku! I'm worried. As your mother, I need to know what's happening with my baby!"

Hearing those words had me feeling a certain burning sensation that I had been fighting back. I know I shouldn't scream or argue with my mom. Arguing doesn't solve anything, but it was difficult to not say something. But the more mom screamed, the harder it was to not get angry. "SHUT UP!"

The shock on mom's face was nothing new. But I just can't take it anymore. "Izuku!" Mom's face soon changed to anger as she slapped me. "That is no way to speak to your mother, young man!"

"Maybe if you acted like a mom, I wouldn't have screamed! Now leave me the hell alone!" With that, I stormed over to my room and locked the door. I was just so done. The moment I was in my room, I couldn't hold it in anymore and punched the wall. I'm just so damn tired and frustrated. But no way in hell would anyone understand that. For the rest of the night, I stood in my room and cried.

Come morning, I was surprised to see mom was still home. She was just sitting there, staring at the breakfast before her. I sat across and tried to take a deep breath. I still was in disbelief that I snapped at my mom. "I'm sorry, mom." She didn't say anything or looked at me. "I didn't mean what I said yesterday."

Still not looking at me, she began to eat. "Where were you?"

I wasn't ready to tell her yet. "Training."

"You never did tell me what type of training you do?" That's when mom looked at me. "And you never explained why you wanted to change your diet. This isn't like the quiet Izuku I know." And there it was.

"I'm not a kid anymore, mom. For goodness sake, I'm 14. At that, I'm turning 15 this year. I can't be your little boy forever, mom."

"Shut up!" As I watched her cry out her anger, I couldn't stop feeling guilty. "The Izuku I know wouldn't hide things from me. Especially after I told you to stop bringing home junk."

I slammed my hand down on the table. That got mom to look at me. "Junk? That was an action figure that was a gift. And then you threw it out all because you weren't the one to buy it! Not to mention, whenever I brought home a drawing that I did, you would trash it. The only thing you let me keep is whatever you bought me!"

With that, I stood up and left the kitchen. As I walked to my room, I could hear her behind me. "We're not done talking!"

"Well, I am!" I slammed my door and locked it. Then I started to change into my parkour clothes. I just can't be home right now while feeling all this. As I walked out of the apartment, I took one last look into the kitchen. There mom was eating and crying. As guilt tried to take over, I walked out.

As I wandered the streets to the nearby park, I was surprised to cross paths with Kacchan. He seemed to be on a walk of his own. So, I decided to walk the other way. I was in no mood to be around people. "Nerd?" Shit! I looked back and saw that he was looking my way. With that, I started to run.

As I ran to the nearest busy street, I tried my best to not bump into anyone. I'm sorry, Kacchan, but I just want to be left alone today. To my worse luck, the cross light was on stop. And so I looked to see if I was being followed. When I saw that Kacchan was right on my tail, I panicked and ran into traffic.

Trying my best to dodge the coming cars, I made it to the other side. With a deep breath, I kept running. I needed to keep going. And just when I was nearing the park is when Kacchan appeared before me. "What the hell, nerd?" I tried to run the other way, but he caught me by my shirt.

"Let me go, Kacchan." Instead, he dragged me to the nearby ally and tossed me at the dumpster. "Kacchan, please. Just leave me alone!"