02.01.2023
It is I, the Absolute Madman, some of you may know me, some of you may not, but after reading my stories you are never gonna forget me!
It is with utmost pleasure that I welcome you at the start of a new adventure, one that you, the people, have voted for over a month ago.
Now enjoy reading as I stumble whilst trying to come up with some religious-sounding mambo jambo to set the mood!
The Lord bestowed his gifts upon his children, but also gave them free will to do with them as they pleased. Some shied away from the Lord's way and started using those gifts for their selfish gains, often resulting in the innocent being hurt. Thankfully there were also the kind souls which decided to use the gifts they received to protect those that couldn't protect themselves.
One Ibara Shiozaki, born with a very versatile Quirk and brought up in a very religious household, knew that she could do much good with the gift that was bestowed upon her by the Lord so she strived to become a role model that others would look up to, a shepherd for the innocent to follow. It may sound like heresy to the truly fanatical believers but to her and her parents it simply made sense and felt… right.
The pursuit of her dream helped her navigate through her childhood and teenage years with ease as she remained pure and untainted even while those she considered to be her close friends fell into debauchery. She didn't hold it against any of them however, for the Lord gave them free will for a reason, and so trying to force someone to change their way of living would be like going against their Father's wishes. And openly defying the Lord was not something that Ibara was planning to do in her life at all.
Ibara did her best to resist all the temptations that life threw her way, she didn't evade them mind you but confronted the problems as they emerged, becoming an assertive young woman that quickly became known for being kind and helpful while at the same time stubborn in her beliefs. It helped her gather a small flock of friends which she cherished very much, but nothing could last forever and her choice of career definitely didn't favor maintaining such bonds over a distance, even a relatively short one. She didn't think that her friends would simply cut her off, but was prepared for the fact that she wouldn't be able to see them nearly as often as before.
'Why is that?' you wonder? Well, that's because Ibara Shiozaki, whole-heartedly devoted to lending her hand in the fight against evil, set her sights on the best Hero School in the country - U.A. High School - where people learned how to use their gifts for the greater good.
U.A. High School was the most prestigious Hero School in Japan and one of the most famous in the world so getting in was no easy feat, but Ibara didn't let that stop her. She focused on her studies, even when others told her to relax and remember to pace herself, and also on improving the control she had over her gift.
Vines was a very simple Quirk which turned her hair into thorn-covered vines that she had a full control over. She didn't understand her gift at first, but as she got older she started learning more and more about what she could and couldn't do as well as what she should look out for. As it turned out the thorns could be removed if she remembered to take good care of her hair and after some trial and error she was able to make her once rough and pointy hair under control and make it feel and behave just like normal hair without the vines losing any of their strength. And what strength they had!
Ibara was easily able to lift things which would normally be too heavy for her if she used her vines, something that she learned very early and kept in mind ever since. But despite having all that strength at her disposal, she found the possibility of using brute force simply appalling. Hence why she decided to focus her training on improving and fine tuning her control over the individual vines instead. It had the additional benefit of practically granting her many new limbs which she could use to move stuff around. This took some serious concentration however, but that's why she was here - U.A. had both the facilities and faculty to help them nurture their gifts, so she was sure they'd be able to help her grow.
But for that to happen she'd need to get into the school first and foremost. She passed the mock written exams with points to spare so she wasn't worried about that part. What she was worried about was the practical part of the Entrance Exam which was a total mystery and could pretty much entail anything as U.A. liked to change it every year so that potential students couldn't prepare for what precisely they'd have to do to pass.
Ibara took a deep breath and exhaled slowly before finally stepping through the massive gate and entering the school grounds of U.A. for the first - and hopefully not last! - time in her life. Every choice she's made in the past led her here and now that she got this far she would make sure that she passed.
Her confidence was disturbed just like her sense of balance and she found herself quickly approaching the ground face first.
Before she even had a chance to prepare for the impact however, she felt something else entirely. An arm had snaked its way underneath her, essentially stopping her momentum mid-fall. She was definitely startled by both the fall and the unexpected rescue, but was still aware of what was going on around here.
Her savior righted her back up and she heard them speak up before she had a chance to see them.
"I hope you'll excuse me suddenly grabbing you without permission M'lady, but I believe that letting you fall would've been an even greater evil. Also, pardon my boldness, I happen to have a soft spot for damsels in distress."
Ibara quickly got over the initial scare and turned to thank her savior for the timely rescue but found the words stuck in her throat as soon as she laid eyes on the man before her.
His dark green hair was wild but looked strangely in order and didn't seem unkempt or anything of the sort. He was a fair bit taller than her so she had to look up, but once she did she couldn't look away, fully captivated by the intensity of his vibrant green eyes which seemed to burn with righteous fury. She may have added that last part, but for a split second she could've sworn that that's exactly how they looked.
"Is everything alright ma'am?" He asked courtly, his way of speaking reminding her of her father, who had a thing for theatrics, immediately. Yet she felt as if that was simply how he usually chose to act and wasn't just putting on a show.
"Y-Yes, I'm quite alright thanks to your intervention." She answered, stuttering at first but quickly getting her suddenly spiking nerves under control.
"That's good to hear. I'd love to stay and chat a bit longer, alas I believe that both of us have places to be. I do hope that we'll at least get to see each other in the future." The man said before bowing in a very exaggerated manner with his left foot sliding backwards and his entire frame bending at a ninety degree angle.
After that he took his leave, vanishing quickly in the crowd of students that somehow managed to not disturb their little moment, although his above average height as well as his hard to miss hair color made him stand out from time to time.
Ibara soon shook off whatever was left of the encounter and focused back on passing the entrance exam before merging with the waves of students.
The first stop of every student that aspired to join the prestigious school that was U.A. was the massive auditorium where Present Mic as well as the Principal himself explained how the exam will look like. The written part was easy to understand as there wasn't much they could change about it other than questions. The practical part was the real kicker.
This year's challenge turned out to be entirely combat focused with no other objective besides destroying robots which would grant them points upon their demise. Ibara was glad to have as versatile Quirk as she did, especially when she heard some pretty negatively loaded whispers all around her from people that probably didn't get as lucky as she did. Whilst Ibara's compassionate side was wholeheartedly with those that were out of luck here, she also knew that everyone had to deal with hardship in their life and it's what you do in the face of overwhelming odds that defines who you are.
Ibara had caught herself looking around the auditorium several times during Present Mic's speech, hoping to at least catch a glimpse of the gentleman she met at the gate. Granted they were in quite a rush, but she was still disappointed that she didn't even ask for his name so that she could thank him properly. Unfortunately she didn't spot him anywhere so he was either sitting somewhere behind her or was so far away that even his hair blended with the crowd of students that filled the auditorium to the brim.
What she did spot however was one overly obnoxious and clearly overzealous blue-haired man that had interrupted Present Mic's explanation and practically demanded that something be cleared up and even threw words like 'disgrace' and 'incompetence'. His actions basically screamed Pride! And also meant that even Ibara, not one to judge books by their covers or practice prejudice, instantly labeled him as someone she'd rather not associate with.
Thankfully Present Mic seemed much more forgiving than she was and answered the blue-haired man's question, stating also that he would explain everything in due time so they could hold their questions for later.
After Present Mic finished his speech - without any further interruptions - he wished them good luck and then they were escorted to their respective classrooms where they'd be taking their written exams.
Ibara had the questionable pleasure of being placed in the same classroom as the overzealous blue-haired guy from the auditorium, but he fortunately stayed silent and focused on taking the test instead of disturbing the other examinees. She probably would do well even if he was trying to distract them, but for the less studious of their group it could be the difference between passing and failing right then and there.
What surprised her was the fact that the blue-haired guy was the first one to finish and return his answer sheet to the member of the faculty that was overseeing their exam. Ibara heard some whispers about how he must've given up, but she knew better as he had to pass her on his way to the teacher's desk and she, completely by accident mind you!, managed to get a quick glance at his answers, finding that they had the exact same answers locked in, at least for the few questions that she managed to spot as he passed by. This meant that this guy was either very smart or that she got most of her answers so far wrong. She quickly crossed the latter possibility as she studied way too hard to make such simple mistakes so she deduced that aside from being annoying he was at least a hard-worker. Ibara found herself respecting his intellect, but it did nothing to offset her initial opinion of him.
A couple more students finished their exams - not all of them as confident in their answers as the blue-haired guy was - before Ibara finally got up and returned her own answer sheet. There was still some time before the written part was scheduled to end so she decided to have a little stroll around the school grounds as Present Mic stated earlier that they were free to explore in their free time. Of course for security reasons they wouldn't be allowed to explore everything, but that was not a problem for her as she already knew where she'd spent the entirety of her break.
Although U.A. was a Hero School first and foremost, it also had the facilities for different departments besides Heroics, those being Support, Business and even General Studies. It was expected that attending such a renowned school would certainly put stress on the students so the Principal made sure to designate areas for relaxation that could help combat the aforementioned stress.
One such area was a beautiful garden with various flowers, some not native not only to the area but even Japan as a whole!, trees, a mix of gravel and flagstone paths as well as a small pond with crystal clear water.
Ibara absolutely loved parks, flowers and basically plants in general. Whether it was because of her Quirk or just something she genuinely enjoyed of her own volition would remain a mystery, but she didn't really care about the origin of her fascination. Back home she and her mother tended to a quite small, but still beautiful flower and vegetable patch that they took great pride in. Not the sinful kind mind you! Just the normal pride at your own accomplishments.
She wandered up and down the paths but quickly realized that she underestimated just how much there was to see and with her time running quite low already she was forced to cut her exploration short and head towards the place that they were to gather at for their practical exam.
Ibara once again caught herself searching for the unmistakable green hair of her savior but just as before was unable to find him. There was a slim chance that he simply didn't finish his written exam yet but as more and more people approached she found a pit start to slowly form in her stomach.
She couldn't dwell on it for too long however as in a matter of minutes Present Mic appeared once again and explained that the practical part of the exam will take place in several battlegrounds spread around U.A. and that the easiest way to reach them would be to take the buses which had rolled up during his explanation.
Ibara was one of the first ones to board the bus that she was assigned to and she took a seat in the second to last row. Her eyes darted over the students that boarded the bus after her and she was definitely not thrilled by the fact that the blue-haired guy was traveling with them. Her sentiment seemed to be shared by a few other examinees as she heard someone behind them groan out something along the lines of 'not this guy again'. Talking in a less than favorable manner about someone behind their back didn't sit well with Ibara but she ended up agreeing with whomever was seated behind her.
The bus was almost full when she finally caught sight of the one person she was looking for throughout the day. Her savior, the knight in shining armor without a shining armor, was the last person to board the bus as he had made sure to let all the ladies through first.
The seat next to Ibara was unfortunately taken by a petite purple-haired woman that had headphones on and was probably trying to calm her nerves with music so Ibara couldn't wave the green-haired man over, but that was not a problem. They were heading to the same battleground so she was sure they'd be able to meet up before the practical exam starts.
Finding the man turned out to be far harder than it had any right to be given that they were traveling on the same bus. By the time she finally exited the bus however the entire place was absolutely swarmed with examinees which made finding her savior nearly impossible.
Ibara eventually gave up on that fruitless endeavor and decided to step off to the side for a moment to say a quick prayer before the practical exam started.
She found solace in the shade where she hoped she wouldn't distract others from their preparations and clasped her hands together, starting the quiet prayer. It was cut short however as the very familiar sound of pretentious screaming reached her ears.
Normally she'd ignore it and go back to her prayer, but this commotion was bound to disturb other examinees or put them on edge which could negatively impact their performance and she couldn't let that slide.
Ibara made her way through the crowd that had gathered around the ongoing shouting match and was finally able to see what was going on.
To nobody's surprise, one of the involved people turned out to be the blue-haired guy from earlier.
"- if you'd go as far as to cheat and steal a place from someone that earned it the right way, then you might as well turn back now, as someone like you is simply not fit to be a hero!" He screamed whilst doing some very elaborate, but ultimately stupid-looking gestures with his hands. Almost as if he didn't really know what to do with them and just decided that flailing them around is the best thing to do.
Ibara's eyes moved in the direction that his index was pointed in an accusing manner and found all of her thoughts grinding to a halt when she immediately recognized the blazing emerald eyes and the dark green hair.
Although she knew who he was she had to admit that he looked different than he did when they first met a couple of hours ago. Mainly, now he was carrying a massive sword that seemed heavy and looked very dangerous but upon closer inspection was pretty blunted all around.
She watched the green-haired man take a deep breath and puff his chest out just a bit before finally responding to the accusation.
"I'd have you know that anyone could submit a request to bring an essential or complimentary piece of equipment if their Quirk required them to have one to use it properly. I saw a gentleman wearing a belt around his waist which was specifically designed to limit the severe drawback of using his Quirk, so would you have him removed from the premises as well?" He asked in a loud voice that was vastly different from the chipper and even tone that he used when addressing her in the morning.
"W-Well, I can certainly understand his need for support equipment since, if what you said is to be believed, it was designed to offset the side effects of utilizing his Quirk, but how does that apply to you? You are carrying an ordinary sword!" The blue-haired guy faltered at the start but quickly gathered his thoughts and formed a counter-argument.
"Ah, but it is no ordinary sword. I'd have prefered to avoid revealing my abilities, but I cannot leave this conflict unresolved. Behold!" The green-haired man yelled out and tightened his grip on the handle of the sword that he was using as a can up till now.
The blade of his weapon started glowing immediately and a golden hue covered it in a matter of moments, transforming the rusty-looking sword into a majestic and ornate piece of equipment.
Everyone around him took a step back in awe as they admired the sight, but Ibara was by far the most surprised one of them all as for a split second she saw wings of golden feathers unfold behind the man as his blade emanated the warmth that was akin to that of the One who was The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit.
"This 'ordinary sword' as you've called it has been passed down to me like a torch that pushes against the darkness of the world, giving warmth to those that need it and showing those that are lost a path for them to follow! That is what I swore to become, a shepherd for the lost lambs." The green-haired man spoke with such vigor and charisma that no one dared interrupt or even question him.
As the star-struck crowd continued to be star-struck, the green-haired man looked over their heads, spotting something in the distance as a gentle smile graced his lips, his previous intensity and passion evaporating like morning dew in the summer heat. With one swift and impossibly graceful move he sheathed the sword into the appropriately sized sheath on his back - the golden light dying out in the process - before he started walking forwards, the crowd parting before him like the Red Sea did before Moses.
"Now if you'll excuse my sudden departure, I believe the exam has started and seeing as I intend to pass it I'll take my leave now. Best of luck everyone and may the hand of God be with you!" He shouted over his shoulder and then started running towards the giant gate which they didn't even notice had opened.
Yet even as that realization slowly set in, no one moved a muscle. Not until Present Mic's voice came over the speakers.
"What are you lot standing around for?! There are no countdowns in real life and that guy is getting more and more ahead of y'all the longer you wait!" He shouted in his usual boisterous voice and all hell broke loose.
People started yelling, screaming and shrieking in panic as they rushed towards the mock battlefield to start gathering some points, the sight that they'd witnessed just moments prior erased completely from their minds. Except for one person.
"We are kindred spirits!" Ibara realized in joy. "It is surely a sign from the Lord that the path I've chosen IS the right one afterall!" She celebrated mentally as she followed the crowd through the gate. "I can't wait too see what wonders we will be able to perform when we join forces!"
Not bad, eh? I surely fuckin' hope so!
I was debating whether or not I should try and cram the entire Entrance Exam into the first chapter, but decided against it so that I can flesh it out more instead of doubling my usual chapter length for no real reason whatsoever. Rest assured though that the next chapter will have action in it and a clear demonstration of what Izuku Midoriya is capable of right from the get-go.
Have a great day and come back either on Friday to catch some more Stranded or next Monday if religious mambo-jambo is the only thing that catches your eye!