12: Roaring Starting Line

True to Toshinori's word, both Izuku and Hitoshi were plunged head first into combat training while also working on Hitoshi's frail form. Every day for the remaining days of January the three of them were either at the man's personal gym practicing forms of mixed martial arts, and muscle strengthening. Izuku would come home tired, but not exhausted. Toshinori knew better now than to push the boy too far.

Meanwhile, taking Mitsuki's advice, Inko herself hit the gym with her friend and foster daughter in tow. More than once, Himiko worried that the woman was going to kill herself with how hard she had started to work, but her friend was with her through it all.

By the end of the month, she was looking rather healthy, while both Izuku and Hitoshi looked...Himiko had to remind herself that one of them was actually her foster brother for the time being. Mei worked on several inventions that would get her into the Support Course rather easily, and Hitoshi no longer looked like a twig.

Like Izuku, his arms had bulked up considerably, only with Izuku the verdette's frame seemed to be more lean than his violet-haired friend's. He was no less strong, however, as during their training Izuku had proven to have a very mean left hook.

Finally, in the middle of February, the time of the entrance exams for U.A. arrived.

Toshinori escorted the trio to the gates of U.A., a proud smile on his face, "You've all done wonderfully up to this point," he said to the children, "I couldn't be prouder of any of you, though I feel like I should've been able to do something more for you, Young Hatsume."

The crosshair-eyed girl just gave him a grin, "Aw, don't worry about it," she said dismissively, "If it wasn't for you, I probably never would've met Izuku, anyway, so thanks for that!"

The man just chuckled before turning to the two boys, both of them with Proto-Tools mounted on their shoulders, "You two look like Pros already," he said while the boys just smiled, "Just remember: use your heads, use your training and you won't fail."

"Yes, Sir," Hitoshi gave a short bow, "Thanks for everything."

Izuku nodded, "Yeah, thank you for taking a chance on us."

Toshinori just shook his head, "I meant what I said, Young Midoriya, and now I can extend that same sentiment to you, Young Shinso," he smiled at the boys, "You will be Heroes. Great Heroes." He smiled teasingly, "Greater than All Might ever was at this age."

Hitoshi just chuckled, "Now that's going too far, Mr. Yagi." He said, choking up a little at the man's kind words while Izuku was slightly tearing up, knowing that the man really meant what he said.

Meanwhile, Himiko and Inko were going through something similar, "Nervous?" The woman asked of the blonde girl.

"A little," she admitted, "Are you sure you don't want me in the Hero Course?"

"Are you sure you don't want to go to the Hero Course?" Inko countered with a slight smile, "I don't mind that you want to go in for General Studies, Dear, not at all." She shook her head before she reached over and took the girl's hand and gave it a comforting squeeze, "But this is the start of your life, Sweetheart, not mine. If the General Studies Course is what you want for yourself, then that is what you need to take." She said, casting a glance over her shoulder at the trio speaking with Toshinori, "Just like Izuku wants to be a Hero, if you want a normal life, then that's fine. I can't and won't force something you don't want on your shoulders."

Himiko gave her a little smile, "You know...I wish you were my real mom." She said before hugging the woman, "I think...I wanna try out for - "

"MOVE IT DEKU!" Both of them jumped as they heard the loudest voice either of them had ever heard.

Inko had a frown on her face as she turned and saw her best friend's son stalking forward, of course he had plenty of room to move around the group, but he seemed intent on plowing right through her son and his little group. "I am not letting him get away with that today of all days!" She grumbled and bustled forward, purse brandished like a weapon.

"Dude, seriously, take the stick out of your ass and go around us," she heard Shinso groan as the blond boy turned his snarl on him, "We're weren't even bothering you and you just come up here like you own the place."

Toshinori looked like he was ready to intervene since the boy didn't seem to remember him in the slightest. A good threat now would probably curb that attitude of his. But the blond had already started gearing up to snap at Shinso when the boy was suddenly lifted from the ground and pulled away from the group. "WHAT THE HELL -?!"

He was brought face to face with a very, very angry Auntie Inko, "You say one more word, young man, and you, me and your mother will be have a very long talk about your rude, violent and disrespectful behavior." She said evenly calm. She then set him back on his feet with her Quirk, "There now, there's no one in your way, not that there was before, so be on your way." She made a shoo-shoo motion with her hand, "Go on! Scat!"

Katsuki glared at her, looking behind her for a moment and saw the nerd reaching for something on his wrist: he was finally ready to fight if the blond said anything to his mother. But the boy wasn't stupid. His mother made it no secret that if something happened to her friend on his account, then there would be hell to pay. Plus, he wouldn't go against his own mother, anyway.

He turned around...and came face to face with another bug. But this bug decided to sting him.

SMACK

Quick as a whip, Himiko Toga slapped the blond clean across the face. Dazed, confused and now growing even angrier, the boy snarled at her. But not before the girl flashed some very sharp looking fangs at him while looking at him with the coldest eyes he'd ever seen, "Don't even think about hurting my mom...or my brother." She brushed past him, "See you in the Hero Course, asshole."

Katsuki walked away without another word his cheeks glowing red...but not because he was angry. [How...where the fuck did...who the fuck...] His thoughts were all in a jumble as he staggered toward the school.

Meanwhile, Himiko was nursing her stinging hand, "Jeez! I didn't think I hit him that hard!" She whimpered as she waved her hand to dull the pain while Mei and Hitoshi were cracking up. "Come on, guys, it's not that funny!"

"It's hilarious!" Mei guffawed, her arms wrapped around her stomach, "Oh, gawd, did you see his face? Priceless!"

Hitoshi held out his fist to the girl, who tentatively bumped knuckles with him, "Nice work," the boy grinned at her, "Maybe he'll think twice before trying to mess with us again."

Izuku, however, was freaking out. "I can't believe you did that!" He stammered, "I can't believe you got away with it! He's blasted people for way less!"

"Sorry," Himiko mumbled, "I just didn't like the way he was snapping at you guys like that." She shrugged, "Reminded me of what my dad used to do to me."

Toshinori chuckled, "I think you did wonderfully, Young Toga," he smirked at her, "Might be the reality check he needs...if not, then this school is gonna eat him alive." He then started moving them toward the school, "Now go on, off with the lot of you! The exams should be starting soon!"

"And Himiko, Dear?" Inko said, causing the girl to hang back. Inko then took the girl's face between her hands and kissed the top of her forehead, "Good luck in there, Miss Hero." Himiko beamed at her before following after her friends as Mei and Hitoshi slung their arms over hers and Izuku's shoulders.

Inko smiled fondly as she watched the group enter the building. "I never thought I'd see the day my son could smile like that," she said as she watched the smile on her son's face, "And it's all because of that little gadget on his wrist."

"Not so," Toshinori said, "That boy has a natural ability to attract others to him." He told the woman, "He would have been surrounded by these people even if he didn't have the Ultimatrix." He said, thinking of what could have been if he had passed his Quirk onto the boy. He could easily see a great Hero rise through the ranks if he had offered the boy his Quirk, but he also saw the dangers if could pose.

He had come to care for the boy as more than just a student. The girl, Ashido, had mistaken him for his son, and he made no move to correct her. [I do think of him like he's my own at times,] he thought with a smile, his eyes slanting toward Inko as she dabbed at her eyes with a tissue. [If only I could - ]

His phone started buzzing in his jacket pocket.

{Where are you?} It was principal Nezu, {You're going to be late for the main event!}

"Oh, dear," the man mumbled before turning to the woman, "I'm sorry to leave you, my dear, but it seems that I'm needed inside the school."

Inko nodded, "Alright," she smiled, "I have something to attend to with Mitsuki, too...but please, do keep an eye on things?"

Toshinori nodded, "Of course," he smiled, "I...we could meet up afterward for - "

"Only if the children are allowed to come along." Inko said rather quickly. She felt bad because the man seemed hurt for a moment, but even after all of the time spent with the man, she still wasn't ready to see him as a romantic interest.

"I was going to suggest taking the kids out for burgers, actually," Toshinori rubbed the back of his neck, his cheeks flushed.

"O-oh..." She almost sounded disappointed: the fact of the matter was that she was rather disappointed that he wasn't asking just her out. But she could understand wanting to treat the children after the day they were about to have.

Before either could respond, his phone buzzed again, "Oy vay, I'd better get going," he muttered, looking back to her, "Good luck with whatever you and Mrs. Bakugo are up to."

"Thank you," the woman said, flustered as well.

The man wandered off slowly, leaving Inko feeling...

She didn't really know.

Shaking her head, she turned to leave, [I have to get a handle on this,] she thought to herself, [He's a nice man, and it's obvious that he wants something more than our friendship.] She sighed, not really paying attention to where she was going. [My therapy sessions have been going so well, but I - ] She was jolted out of her thoughts as a small body came into contact with her. "Oof!"

"Ow!" The person she had bumped into yelped.

Inko blinked in shock, "Oh, I'm so very sorry, I - Oh, Miss Ashido!" Inko yelped in alarm as she saw the girl rubbing backside where she had landed. She reached out with her Quirk and lifted the poor girl off of the ground, "Oh, my dear, I'm so sorry," the woman bemoaned as the girl was set back on her feet, "I don't know what's gotten into me today. I can't seem to keep my wits about me."

"Mrs. Midoriya?" Mina asked as she was set back onto her feet, "Oh, no, I didn't hurt you, did I?"

"Of course not, Dear," she waved off her concerns, "I'm the one who should be worrying about hurting you! I'm much bigger, after all."

Mina giggled, "Nah, I'm pretty sturdy," she said proudly before giving the woman a small smile, "You know you look really good. You've trimmed down since I met you!"

"Oh, I wouldn't say that," Inko said with a hint of embarrassment before she checked the time, "Oh, dear, you should get going before the testing starts!" She said as she ushered the girl along, "I wouldn't want you to be late on my account!"

"Oh, er, right," the girl stammered as she hurried along, "Sorry for bumping into you!" She called back.

Inko just waved as the girl ran into the building. "Hm, she's such a sweet girl." She sighed as she turned to leave. She had to meet up with Mitsuki for a short workout at their gym; she was quite determined to lose another size or two.

僕ぼくのヒーローアカデミア

The written testing areas for the Hero and Support Courses were different for each course, so Mei had to split from the group early on so that she could meet up with Power Loader. As for Izuku, Hitoshi and Himiko: the trio were all sat in front of Cementos as they took their tests. Izuku caught sight of Katsuki toward the front of the class, but the boy never paid him any attention. Instead his eyes landed on Himiko.

For a moment the boy worried that his former friend might try to get some form of payback on the girl he now called his sister before the boy in question turned away with a hint of red on his face. Izuku almost thought he was seeing things. Katuski Bakugo: blushing? Impossible.

Speaking of blushing, Izuku was doing plenty of that since a certain pink-skinned girl was sitting next to Himiko. Mina hadn't seen him, yet, but he suddenly felt a huge amount of guilt, and no small amount of stupidity weighing down his shoulders: he had never called or sent her a text once since he got her number. He shook his head, determined to speak with her after the test was done.

Thankfully the written test was relatively easy, even without the use of Grey Matter, so Izuku was confident in his answers. Hitoshi on the other hand was having a much harder time. Though, as time progressed he seemed to get into a better mind set as his answers began to come more easily.

Himiko never stopped smiling and humming while she filled out her test sheet. After about thirty minutes, she raised her hand, "Mr. Cementos?"

"Yes, Miss Toga?"

She held out her test sheet, "I'm done with my test, and I'm pretty confident in my work," she told him, "Is it alright if I turn it in and head to the next testing sight?"

Cementos smiled at her and accepted the paper, "Go right ahead. The hallways are marked so that you won't get lost on your way." He smiled and gave her a thumbs-up, "Good luck, young lady."

"Thank you, Sir." She got up and gave a little bow to him before waving at Izuku and Hitoshi before leaving.

Cementos chuckled and looked at the rest of the class, "If there's anyone else that's confident in their work, you may turn in your test sheets and move on to the next area."

Unsurprisingly, Bakugo got up to hand in his sheet and left the room. Izuku looked over at Shinso, who gave him a firm nod. Before Izuku got up, a taller teen with dark blue hair and glasses got up to hand in his sheet, Izuku followed closely behind him.

"?!" The wordless gasp caught his attention, causing him to turn for the briefest of moments to see Mina looking in his direction. The surprise on her face melted away into a shy, cute smile as she lifted her hand to wave at him. He gave a small shaky smile in return and waved back. Hitoshi caught his eye with a huge cat-that-got-the-cream grin on his face.

Without another word, the boy turned in his test and walked out into the hall.

As the hour wound down, the next area filled up with hopeful students. Hitoshi found Izuku and sat down next to him, "How did you do with the written part?" He asked as Izuku worried his lip, "I know that I passed, but just barely."

Izuku nodded, "I did fine, but it's the practical that I'm worried about," he sighed as the students kept filing in. "I know that it's combat oriented, but I don't know how we're supposed to do it."

"Shooting targets?" Shinso shrugged before patting his shoulder, "Come on, we'll do fine. Mr. Yagi trained us really well, you especially, and you've got one heck of a punch even without your Quirk going for you."

Izuku smiled and bumped fists with him, "Thanks, Shinso."

"Any time," Hitoshi nodded, "Where's Toga, anyway?" He asked as he looked around for the blonde girl, "I haven't seen her since she left earlier. Didn't she decide she was gonna take the practical exam for the Hero Course, too?"

That was a good question.

Izuku knew that Himiko wasn't the social butterfly that she wanted to be since she normally stayed pretty close to himself or his mother whenever she set foot out of the apartment. She was just now getting used to Hatsume and Shinso being friendly with her. So it was quite a surprise to see the girl in one of the lower rows sitting next to a couple of girls who were chatting with her quite happily.

The look on the girl's face seemed to be strained, yet he knew enough to see that she wasn't completely uncomfortable with her situation. He was glad that she seemed to be coming out of her shell and was making a few friends. Not unlike himself.

He gulped, however, when he saw another girl take up the seat next to her. It was Ashido again. She seemed to greet the girl in a very friendly manner, that huge ever-present smile on her face. [I wonder,] Izuku thought wistfully, [If she'd ever smile at me like that?]

Hitoshi then nudged him as the last of the students arrived, "Head in the game, Midoriya." He said as one of the teachers stepped up onto the stage, "Things are about to get real."

Present Mic was the one to step onto the stage, a massive grin on his face as he spoke out, "Hey, all you listeners, thanks for coming out!" He said loudly, even without his Quirk activated, "Can I get a YEAH?"

Shinso clamped his hand over Izuku's mouth before the boy could do exactly what Mic wanted, "Don't do it." He grumbled...only for a petite shout of "Yeah!" to come from below. Both boys looked down to see Himiko standing up with her fist pumping the air.

"THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKIN' ABOUT!" Mic shouted happily. "Now all you guys and gals are probably wondering what we're gonna throw at ya for the practical, right?" He asked before continuing on, "Wonder no more, little listeners, because our practical exam consists of a straight up robo-beat down!" The screen behind him lit up and showed three shadowy imagines that also appeared on the pamphlets that were sitting in front of the students. "As you can see from the screen and the pamphlets in front of you, there are three robots that are worth anywhere from one to three points each."

Izuku looked down at his sheet, "Huh?" He muttered out loud, "But there's four of them, not three?"

"Misprint?" Shinso suggested.

"To pass this exam, you will all have to go up against these robots, and smash, smash, smash your way to victory!" Mic went on, "With each robot you break, your chances to be accepted into the Hero Course goes up. Get enough points, and you're in!"

"Sir?" Hitoshi stood up with his hand raised, "Could I ask how many points we need to pass?" His question was met with mutters of agreement from the rest of the students hoping to pass.

Mic made a tsk gesture, "Sorry, little listener, but we'll be keeping the exact amount to ourselves." He said, "And the reason for that is so that we as your teachers get to see the best you have to offer, instead of letting you lose your mojo after hitting that point cap. So, even if you think you passed you'll have to keep on struttin' your stuff until time runs out!"

"Okay, thank you, Sir, and sorry for interrupting." Hitoshi sat back down, nervously fiddling with his Proto-Tool.

Izuku chuckled and patted his shoulder. "I have a question," said the blue-haired boy he had noticed earlier, "On the print out you gave us, there appears to be a fourth robot that you've yet to explain. If this is a misprint then it is a horrible oversight by the faculty. "

"Whoa, whoa, hold on little listener," Mic said, keeping the cheer in his voice. "I was about to explain that. That fourth robot is this schools boss robot. However, this one is worth absolute zero points. The Zero Pointer robot can be a challenge, however, so it's best that it's avoided."

"Thank for explaining, Sir," the teen said before he turned around and pointed an accusing finger...right at Himiko. "And you! You've been snickering this whole time!" Himiko yelped and pointed at herself a moment later, "It's distracting to the other students! If you're not here to take this test seriously, then you shouldn't be here at all!"

Himiko looked really uncomfortable, "Sorry..." Her face was beet red with humiliation.

Izuku and Shinso's blood boiled.

"Hey!" But it was Mina that stood up to the teen, "You leave her alone, Mister! Everyone here's nervous enough without a stick-in-the-ass turd monkey like you making it worse!"

"Wha - ?! Turd monkey!?" Sputtered the teen.

"And I'd really appreciate it if you left my sister alone," Izuku spoke up, gaining the teen's attention, "She's shy enough as it is."

Himiko looked up at him appreciatively while the stiff teen just gaped at them.

"Alright, alright, that's enough with the chest beating ballyhoo," Mic said to defuse the situation, "Moving on, we've taken the liberty of setting up several areas for the practical exam to take place. You should have a designated area listed on your print out."

Izuku looked down at his print out, "I'm in area G."

"I'm B." Hitoshi muttered, "They probably wanna keep friends and students from the same schools from helping each other." Izuku nodded to his logic while his friend gave him a look, "Good luck out there."

Izuku nodded, "You, too."

僕ぼくのヒーローアカデミア

Himiko had never been so embarrassed in all of her short fifteen years. The practical had started out fine and dandy, she had even managed to chat with a few other girls that were hoping to get into the Hero Course like she was...but then that loud-mouth with the flagpole up his ass had called her out for her nervous giggles!

Thank God that Ashido had been there to bail her out of it!

And then there was Izuku practically glaring the guy down to leave her alone! It felt like someone had just wrapped her in a warm, fleece blanket. Now she was faced with another dilemma: she, Izuku and Hitoshi had all been sent to separate areas to fight in!

"This is not good," she mumbled as she hugged herself nervously, looking down at her sharp nails, "Okay, there's no need to panic." She told herself, "I'm strong. I know that much, and I'm quick so I can move around these things pretty fast." She said before taking a bottle of pills out of her pocket. They were blood tablets that she used for emergencies. While she couldn't use them to transform, they did give her a slight boost in strength like whenever she ingested normal blood. Plus she was feeling hungry.

She popped one into her mouth and swallowed quickly so no one would see blood dribbling out of her mouth when it dissolved.

"Pep pills?" Asked a voice from behind her almost making the poor girl choke.

Thankfully the pill was down before that happened as she turned and found Mina standing there, "Oh, you're in this area, too?" Himiko asked, glad to have a friendly face near her.

Mina smiled at her, "Yeppers, I'm here." She grinned before giving the blonde a concerned look, "Uh, I know it's none of my business, but are you okay, Sweetie?" She asked, motioning to the pill bottle, "I mean...those aren't...like, you know...drugs?"

Himiko looked at her, "What - ? Oh, no way!" She stammered, "These are just for my...well, I guess they're for my stomach?" She wasn't really lying. She was already feeling better now that she'd had one.

"Oh, good," the pink girl sighed, "I thought that jerk from the hall might've pushed you over some kind'a edge there for a minute." She said with a little less worry in her voice.

Himiko blushed, "Yeah, that was really embarrassing," the girl sighed.

"Hey, don't sweat it, I was the one making you laugh, after all," Mina shrugged, "So, yeah, sorry about that."

Himiko giggled, "No, it's fine, really, I was totally freaking out until you started chatting with me." She said as their group gathered outside the gates of the testing area. "I'm not really good with people, yet, but you really brought me out of my shell."

Mina beamed at her, "I can get along with most anyone with an open mind," she giggled before tucking a fluffy lock of hair behind her ear, "So...that guy with the green hair...that was your...brother, right?"

Toga smiled at her, "My foster brother, yeah," the girl nodded before remembering, "Oh, no, he never called you, did he?"

"Yeeeah, no..." she said, sounding a little upset, "I guess I was a little too forward, or - "

Himiko shook her head, "No, it's nothing like that," she told her, "Izu's even shier than I am." She explained, "Especially around girls he likes," she said with a small smile toward her, making the girl's cheeks turn lavender, "Plus, he doesn't have a lot of confidence in himself, but that's a work in progress."

"Really?" Mina seemed to perk up at that, "You think he'd - "

The gates started opening up in front of them. Up on the wall a speaker blared out, "Well, what are you waiting for?!" Present Mic's voice roared out, "There's no one-two-three-go in this school! Get moving!"

A breath later both girls found themselves in the middle of a stampede as the other students rushed in to start earning their points. "Hey!" Himiko shouted, "No shoving!"

"Watch where you're touching!" She heard Mina shout angrily. "Ow! My nose!" Himiko looked back and saw the girl holding her nose, blood dripping through her fingers.

Himiko immediately felt her hunger for blood flare up. [Oh no!] She looked away and started shoving her way through the throng of people in order to get away from the girl before she caught her blood's scent. [Oh no, oh no, oh no!] Suddenly, it hit her like a freight train: the warm, sweet, savory scent of her blood called out to her like an oasis. [NO!] In a sudden burst of speed and strength, she lept up and over the stampede of students and away from the far too tempting scent of fresh blood.

She landed and ducked into an alley, digging her pills out of her pocket, and scarfed down a handful of them. [Keep it together, Himiko,] she snapped at herself, [It's just a little blood! You can handle this! Keep it together!] Her eyes were welling up with tears as she gulped down the dissolving pills, thick red liquid spilling out of her mouth.

Her eyes seemed to glow as the blood pills filled her. It wasn't enough. Just the lingering scent of Mina's blood was driving her nuts with hunger, bringing out her savage side. Over to her left she heard the sound of an engine before spotting one of the robots that she was supposed to destroy. [Good,] the girl thought with a sense of relief, "Now I have something to vent on." She licked her lips before she attacked the Three Pointer.

僕ぼくのヒーローアカデミア

In the observation room, Toshinori was watching the ensuing chaos of the practical exams with worry. His eyes were on the young blonde girl that was having trouble with her need for blood, "Nezu, those blood tablets were a good idea," he muttered as they watched the girl desperately trying to control herself, "But I think we're going to need another solution."

Next to him, Vlad nodded, "She's acting like a recovering addict." He noted as she savagely attacked any of the mechanical menaces that came near her, but he also noticed that she was actively avoiding any of the students, "But she's obviously conscious of her actions, and she's trying to avoid any sort of temptation. But I can see the struggle."

"The poor girl," said Recovery Girl, "When she's enrolled, we'll need to see about helping her with that."

"Agreed," Nezu nodded, noting that she had already collected the required points for her to pass the exam, but he also took notice of something else. "She's also actively helping the other students. Did you notice that?" He asked of the shabby teacher next to him on the right.

Aizawa nodded, "I did," he muttered, "For someone with such an addiction, she's doing quite well. How many Rescue Points has she gotten?"

"A solid thirty," said Midnight, "At this point she's got seventy-eight points in total with Combat and Rescue Point combined." She looked over at Toshinori, "All Might, how are the two boys doing?"

Toshinori looked over at the screen that showed Shinso using the Proto-Tool as a rifle, "He's doing well." The man said with a proud smile, "He's got more Rescue Points than he does Combat Points, though. Not a bad thing per se: he'll definitely need some more work if he gets the required points."

"And Midoriya?" Vlad asked.

The teachers' eyes all turned to the screen that showed the young man. All Might chuckled. "Oh, he's doing just fine!" He laughed.

僕ぼくのヒーローアカデミア

"That makes twenty," Izuku said in his new voice while he looked at the molten remains of the robot he had just destroyed. The form he had chosen wasn't the most dangerous, but it was the most versatile in his arsenal. His body was now composed of a super hot inner plasma body covered by dark reddish brown volcanic rocks. His feet had a slight oval-like design with only two toes and one back toe. His head was also made of fire while his collarbone resembled a volcano which generated a fiery "hair" that covers his head, leaving his mask-like face visible with no nose or ears.

Another One Pointer suddenly appeared in front of him. He held out his hand and fired a torrent of flames at the machine. The fire grew so hot that the robot was incinerated into molten slag.

Heatblast: This plasma-based alien is a living breathing volcano! He can produce and control existing flames, adding them to his own firepower, or extinguish them at will. He can also fly by using geo/pyrokinetic powers surf on volcanic rock, or by using his flames as propulsion. His fire is so hot that it can even burn underwater, and survive extreme cold for short amounts of time, but enough time in the water will extinguish his flames, and he can't burn crystal based materials such as Petrosapiens or fireproof substances in general. Plus, his fiery body makes it super easy to find him in the dark.

"Okay, better keep moving," he said to himself before tapping the symbol on his chest and returning to normal. He ran down the street and turned a corner, finding an absolute mob of students locked in combat with several robots. Thinking quick, he dialed the Ultimatrix into Upgrade and transformed. He then molded himself onto the nearest robot that had been taken down, a One Pointer, and crafted into a more animal-like shape. "This is more like it!" He ran off on all fours, the sides of his body opening up to reveal missile launchers.

There were a few stragglers that hadn't joined the mob, yet, which gave him perfect targets. He fired his missiles, and destroyed a group of four. Two Three Pointers, a One and a Two Pointer. "And that makes thirty!" The Galvanic Mechamorph was pleased.

僕ぼくのヒーローアカデミア

Toshinori chuckled at the boy, "He's doing well," he said, "He just passed the thirty point marker."

"He's being rather subdued isn't he?" Midnight asked, "Aren't those forms powerful enough to do more damage than that?"

Nezu nodded as he recalled reading the boy's notes on the alien forms, "Indeed they are, and I believe that his lack of force is due to the massive collateral damage he could cause if he went all out in that area." He said, "You should know from how he hesitated to use his most powerful form against Cementos when we were testing them. He is quite reluctant to cause casualties."

"I remember," Midnight nodded, "And with so many students within close range, he wouldn't just cause casualties, he'd cause a massacre." She sighed, "That boy may be dangerous, as Aizawa said, but he certainly has a good head on his shoulders if he's holding himself back in this mad-dash situation."

"And that is something that we should be thankful for," Aizawa said he said as he watched the transformed teen snatch another student way from a downed robot that threatened to fall on him, "Nezu, add five Rescue Points from me onto his count."

"Five?" Power Loader laughed, "That was worth at least ten!" He said, "That's my vote. That robot could've caused some serious injuries if it had fallen on that poor kid."

Toshinori shook his head, "It was kind'a sloppy, so seven from me."

"Now now," Nezu chuckled, "Tallied up, he has more than enough to pass," he looked over at Power Loader, "Majima, I think it's about that time, isn't it?"

Power Loader checked his watch, "Ah, you're right." He grinned beneath his helmet, "Alright then, now we get to see who the real Heroes are." He chuckled almost manically as he took a remote control from his seat and pressed the large red button in the center.

僕ぼくのヒーローアカデミア

Across the six testing sights, the ground began to rumble as the streets of the fake cities opened up, allowing the giant mechanical monsters within to be set loose. In Himiko's area, the girl had calmed down from her blood induced aggression, but the hunger was still biting at her. Thankfully the robots had provided a good outlet.

When the ground started to shake, however, all thoughts of sating her gnawing hunger was thrown out the window as she looked down the street, thinking that one of the larger robots had caused damage to one of the buildings.

She wasn't wrong.

However the robot that she saw was nothing like what she was expecting. "Oh, you have got to be kidding me!" She yelled as she turned to run...only run smack dab into the last person she needed to right now.

Mina had come blundering out of an alleyway, and slammed right into her. Her nose and face still smelled so sweetly of blood that Himiko felt her mouth water almost immediately. "Toga?!"

"Ashido, we have to run!" Himiko shouted as the Zero Pointer neared them. She took the girl by the hand and started running with her. "Come on!"

"Wait a minute!" Mina shouted as she pulled out of her grip, "There's still people back there!"

Himiko stopped, her body growing cold. She looked back over her shoulder at the feet of the robot, seeing at least a dozen our so students running right out from under it. She bit her lip, thinking about what she should do. But Mina had already turned and started running toward the fleeing students to help. Izuku would never forgive her if she just stood by and did nothing. "Dammit!" She started running toward the robot.

Meanwhile...

"Come on! Move your asses!" Hitoshi shouted as he took shots at the giant machine, hoping to buy some time for the others to escape. He spotted a boy that looked like a praying mantis helping a girl with green vines for hair, "Hey, you need any help?!" He shouted out at the pair.

"We're fine!" The mantis shouted back, "But someone's caught under some rubble back there!"

"Alright, I'll take care of it!" Hitoshi didn't even need to think about it. He ran toward the area where the monster had crashed through, "Hello! Can anyone hear me!" He yelled, "Shout if you can hear me!"

A small hand poked out of a pile, waving him down, "Here! I'm over here!" It was a girl's voice that was shouting at him, "I can't get out!"

"Standby mode," Hitoshi muttered to the Tool and placed it back on his shoulder as it compacted back down. He crouched down as he reached the pile and found very petite girl with brown hair trapped under a large slab of concrete, "Alright, are you in any sort of pain? Any trouble breathing at all?" He asked when he saw no sign of blood except for some minor cuts and scrapes.

"I can hardly breathe, shroom!" The girl whimpered, "Please! I don't wanna die, shroom!"

Hitoshi got to work. The concrete slab was just barely propped up on another piece below it. [She must be caught on something,] he thought as he moved to try and lift the slab, "Alright, I'm gonna try to lift this now." He warned her, "If you feel at any time that you can move, crawl out if you can. If you can't just stay put, and I'll keep trying."

"But the robot, shroom!"

He looked over his shoulder at the gigantic machine. It didn't seem to be paying attention to them as the massive treads it moved with rolled beneath it, "Don't you worry about that oversized toaster," Hitoshi said, sweating a little as the machine was passing them by, "It looks like it doesn't actively target people." He knelt down and grasped the concrete, "Ready?" The girl nodded at him, "Okay, one...two...three!" He planted his legs, lifted with all his might.

The slab moved, but the girl didn't. "I still can't move, shroom," she cried, "My leg's caught on something, shroom!"

Hitoshi didn't answer, fearing any lapse in concentration would cause him to lose his grip, and crush the girl. His arms were burning, and his legs were screaming in protest as he lifted the slab higher. Finally the heavy slab crested, and started to fall opposite of him. Once it was out of his hands, he knelt and checked the girl over.

He found that another smaller slab was pinning her left leg down, making it impossible for her to escape. "Okay, you're gonna be fine, now." He assured her before calmly reaching down to remove the block, and help her to her feet. She yelped as she tried to put weight on her leg. Hitoshi cursed himself for not checking to see it was injured, and knelt down in front of her, "Hop on," he commanded.

With a small whimper, the girl complied, wrapping both arms around his neck. Gyuun His face burned as he felt something pleasantly soft press against his back. [Ignore it. Ignore it, Shinso,] he chanted in his head while the girl settled on his back, [Cute girls do not like creepers. Don't be a creep. Don't be a creep!] He stood up, his hands tucked under her knees, [Damn, she's so light.]

"I'm sorry, shroom," the girl mumbled, "I'm pretty heavy, aren't I?"

Hitoshi shook his head, "Nah, not a bit." He smiled over his shoulder, "Now come on, let's find you some help."

Inside the observation room, many of the teachers were applauding the young brainwasher as he carried the girl to safety. Meanwhile, Himiko and Ashido were doing their best to direct the fleeing students in their area. Fortunately the two girls realized that the monster machine only had one gear: forward.

Even as it smashed and crashed through buildings, if you stayed out of its way, then you were safe. Unfortunately, panic tended to overrule anything resembling reason, and the two girls trying to direct the crowd were having hell doing so.

"Stop pushing!" Mina shouted as one student barged past another, knocking them to the ground. She helped them up, sending them on their way, and tried to keep the crowd moving. Himiko was in the same mess that she was as she helped a girl up from getting shoved out of the way by someone trying to save their own hide.

"Keep it moving," she told the students, not truly paying attention to the robots. If she had been, then she would have seen the large Three Pointer sneaking up on her and taking aim with its weapons,"Get into the allies, it won't follow you! Just stay out of its direct pa - ahk!" She felt a sharp, blunt blow to her back as she was propelled forward right into the path of the Zero Pointer, her head cracking down onto the street, and blood pooling beneath her brow.

"Toga!" Mina rushed forward and grasped her under the shoulders. "C'mon, girl, don't you cop out on me now!" She cried as she dragged the girl to safety. But she was moving too slow with the girl in her arms, even if she was small in frame. The Zero Pointer was coming toward them at a frightening pace.

"Get outta here," Himiko whimpered.

Mina glared at her, "Like hell I am!" She threw something from her hand as the Zero Pointer's foot came toward them. "Close your eyes, honey!" She pushed Himiko's face into her bosom while the girl cried and the monster stepped on them.

As darkness came over her she expected to be crushed...however that never happened.

Daylight came again as the Zero Pointer stepped again, revealing a hole melted into its foot where they had found safety. She looked up at Mina, who was now grinning at her with glee on her face as well as relief.

Inside the observation room, Toshinori was on his feet applauding the girl, "Well done! Well done indeed!" The man shouted happily as he smiled at the scene in front of them, "That girl is going to go far once she's gotten her license!"

Midnight laughed as the two girls got to their feet, Himiko leaning on Mina for support, "That they will," she said with a smile, "In fact, once the internships come up, I think I'd like both of them as my apprentices!"

"A wonderful idea!" Toshinori grinned in agreement. "They could learn a lot from you, Ms. Midnight!"

Aizawa frowned as his comrade fawned over the acts of Heroism, but his eyes were still on the green-haired boy as he transformed again into the burning alien, Heatblast. The Zero Pointer in his area was just as much of a spectacle as the others, but this one was causing more damage because some of the students had provoked it into attacking in all directions. It was supposed to move forward unless attacked, and on that note, it was supposed to be an unstoppable force for rookie students like these children to fear and not even think about going against.

But...

Mina Ashido had damaged one.

Hitoshi Shinso had stared one in the face, and not even flinched as he rescued a student.

And now Izuku Midoriya...was staring one down as though he -

The he looked closer, "There's a student right under that thing!" He rose, "Majima! Shut it down!"

"Right!" Power Loader said before pressing the kill switch...and again...again...and again. "It's not responding!"

"Oh, my -!" Recovery Girl was up in an instant running for the door, "I need to get down there!

Toshinori transformed into his muscle form and picked her up, "I'll escort you!" He said as he placed the woman on his shoulder.

"Wait!" Midnight shouted, "Look at Midoriya!"

All turned their gazes back to the screen, and saw the blazing form of Heatblast glowing dangerous hot.

Out on the field with Izuku, the boy-turned-alien was not just thinking of the robot, but the girl beneath its feet as it moved forward, "Come on!" He ground out as his body glowed with heat and the surrounding street started to melt, "Come on! Hotter! Go even hotter!" His yellow flames shifted to white...and then began to turn blue, "Come on!" Behind him, the blue haired boy that had called out to Himiko watched in shock as the fiery being melted the asphalt beneath his feet.

"What is he doing?" He wondered out loud before looking toward the giant's feet, catching sight of the girl, "Oh no -!"

With the roar of a jet engine, Heatblast shot off of the ground like a ballistic missile, rocketing toward the Zero Pointer. "ON THE SPOT SPECIAL MOVE!" He thrust out his arms in front of him, "FINAL BURST!"

The burning pyronite soared over the stunned girl, her eyes wide with awe as he slammed into the giant mech, crumpling the outer shell, and pushing it back with tremendous force as a small explosion went off from the impact as the crumpled metal gave way to the heat, melting away. Heatblast then blew right through the machine and out the other side, but not before the intense heat coming from his body set fire to the inner workings. Flames as hot as a volcano spread through the Zero Pointer, melting the insides into molten metal while it poured out of every crack and crevice.

[Damn!] Heatblast saw the molten metal pour from the dying machine, while the girl was still trapped. He blasted back to the ground and made a quick change to Fasttrack, blurring across the street and scooping the girl up just before a stream of molten metal splashed down on her.

BEE-BEE-BEE - "Ah, nuts!" Fasttrack yelped as the Ultimatrix ran out of energy. - BWOOO

In a flash of green the feline speedster was gone replaced by plain and ordinary Izuku Midoriya trying to put on the breaks (very large emphasis on trying here). He was already speeding away from the burning machine, so when he tried to stop, not only did it not work, but he tripped, forcing himself to tuck and roll so that the girl in his arms wouldn't get hurt. Fortunately the boy from before was there to stop them.

He sped up to them and stopped their advance with engines coming out of his calves. [What speed!] The teen thought as he stopped the green-haired teen, [He was moving faster than anyone from my family!]

"Are you two alright?!" The teen asked.

"Ow...yeah, but I'm really - Ulp!" The girl started before she turned green and vomited (thankfully missing her savior) while Izuku groaned, his eyes swirling around dizzily.

"D-d-don't take me out c-c-coach," the boy muttered.

A horn sounded overhead, "And that's the game, Listeners!" Present Mic called out, "Time's up! If any of you have any injuries, please head to the infirmary right away, please, and if you need help, be sure to ask for it."

僕ぼくのヒーローアカデミア

Fortunately or unfortunately, Izuku, Hitoshi and Himiko were all in the infirmary afterward.

Izuku for a slight concussion thanks to his Ultimatrix timing out at the absolute worst moment. He was holding an ice pack to his head. The girl he had saved, Ochako Uraraka, was being treated for severe motion sickness. Hitoshi was there for a few minor scrapes and bruises, while also keeping the young girl he had rescued company while Recovery Girl worked on her injured leg.

Himiko also had a slight concussion from landing on the street too hard, and had a bandage wrapped around her head with an ice pack of her own against it. She was also sucking on a straw from a styrofoam cup so no one could see the blood inside (Vlad had made sure to give several bags to Recovery Girl just in case). Mina Ashido was also present for a broken nose. The only one of the group not present was -

Mei Hatsume came into the infirmary looking like she'd just been dumpster diving."Man, you guys look crap," she said loudly: they all looked at her pointedly as she also had a few minor burns on her face and hands. She took one look at her friends and grinned, "So, how'd it go for you guys?"

Izuku moaned in pain.

Himiko held her head, "So loud!" She moaned with Mina rubbing her back.

"D'ere, d'ere, sweetie." Mina said with her nasally voice. Her nose was bound up at the moment, so she sounded a little off.

"What the hell happened to you?" Hitoshi asked since he was the only one in any shape to actually inquire. "What did you do? Blow up the classroom?"

Mei rubbed the back of her neck with her tongue sticking out playfully, "Yeeeah, I kind'a did, ehehe?"

Hitoshi looked at her. Izuku actually sat up, giving the girl a look that said "seriously?" before falling back onto the bed with a groan. The brainwasher shook his head, "My god, why can't I have normal friends, and not these whacked out maniacs?"

Mei giggled, "Aw, you love us and you know it!"

"That line is gonna get old one of these days!" Hitoshi growled a little too loudly for the foster siblings, both of them groaning pitifully. "Er, sorry guys."

Recovery Girl chuckled, "You kids these days," she shook her head, "You should all count yourselves lucky. The Zero Point robot in Mr. Midoriya's area malfunctioned quite badly." She said as she looked at the poor girl holding her stomach, who looked remarkably like the girl whose leg she was working on, "If he hadn't destroyed it, I'd shudder to think what would have happened to you, young lady."

Ochako just smiled shakily, "Y-yeah, I almost b-bought the farm out there," she said as she gave her savior a small smile. "Thanks a lot, by the way."

The boy in question just shook his head, "I'm just sorry that I almost screwed it up so badly," Izuku muttered, "I didn't think that I'd heated the robot up so much that it actually caught on fire."

Hitoshi grumbled, "You and your mutations." The boy pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Wait," Mina said, looking at the boy, "I thought you were some kind'a four-armed strong dude?"

Ochako shook her head, "No, he...actually, he changed from some burning guy to this blue, furry cat thing that was really fast!" She said a little loudly in her excitement.

"My head," Izuku and Himiko moaned as the girl's voice worsened their collective headaches.

The girl blushed, "Oops," she pressed her fingers to her lips, "Sorry." Unfortunately for her, her Quirk activated and caused her to lift off the bed, "Oh, oh no!"

Mei cackled loudly, setting off another round of hisses and pained moans.

僕ぼくのヒーローアカデミア

Ultimatrix Playlist #1:

#1 - Fasttrack

#2 - Water Hazard

#3 - Ultimate Echo Echo

#4 - Four Arms

#5 - Grey Matter (Cameo)

#6 - Heatblast

#7 - Upgrade

#8 - Big Chill

#9 - Diamondhead

#10 - ?

Ultimatrix Playlist #2:

#11 - Blitzwolfer

#12 - ?

#13 - ?

#14 - ?

#15 - ?

#16 - ?

#17 - ?

#18 - ?

#19 - ?

#20 - ?

LOCKED - ?

LOCKED - ?

Author's Note: The entrance exams are finally done! And Izuku's initial Playlist has only one alien left to be revealed! In the next chapter we'll see the return of Paradox as well as the first upgrade to Izuku's Ultimatrix, as well as the next tutorial.

Now this chapter was a little bit more focused on Himiko Toga, and her struggle to not let her Quirk control her actions. Plus we got to see Hitoshi shine a little. Mei...well we all know that she likes to blow sh*t up.

If ya wanna see more, ya'll know what to do! Adios Amigos!