Ch. 12: U.A. Entrance Exam (Part 2)
Izuku raced into the Battle Center, hoping to run into some Villain Bots to smash. He didn't have to look for too long when a One-Pointer and a Two-Pointer set their sights on him.
["Target acquired! Commencing attack!"] The robots said as they moved to attack their targets. However, the Devil boy's reflexes were too quick for the fake Villains. In addition, Rias had enabled him to use Promotion for the exam and he was going to make the most of it.
'Promotion: Rook!'
[Boost!]
Izuku quickly activated Boosted Dragon, summoning his wings that carried him over the Villain Bots. Then he fired a Dragon Shot at the One-Pointer, smashing it to bits. Afterward, he tore off the Two-Pointer's tails and used one to impale it through the face, disabling it.
"Three points. Not a bad start," Izuku noted. Then, he noticed some more robots in the distance and flapped his wings to fly after them.
Meanwhile, Eijiro was up against two Two-Pointers. Both mechanical menaces aimed their stinger tails at Eijiro, but he hardened his body for defense, and the robots were unable to put a dent in Eijiro's rock-hard body.
Then, Eijiro took his turn on the offensive by first punching into one of the bots, tearing a hole through its chassis, and then he sidestepped a blow from the other one before taking out its optics with a few punches.
"That's four points!" Eijiro celebrated before noticing a One-Pointer. "Make that five!" Eijiro rushed at the easy-level enemy and reared back his fist.
However, the moment his fist connected and smashed the robot to bits, he noticed that another teen had also smashed the robot, leaving it difficult to determine who actually dealt the final blow. His body had a gray metallic appearance to it, and then he deactivated his Quirk. His messy hair was still gray, his eyes were surrounded by a thick and jagged tan-colored substance which were seemingly his eyelashes, he seemed to have no eyebrows, and sharp teeth lined the inside of his mouth.
"HUH?! WHO THE HECK ARE YOU?!" Eijiro and the steel-Quirked teen asked in unison.
"I ASKED YOU FIRST!"
"NO, I DID!"
"STOP COPYING ME!"
"ME?! YOU'RE THE ONE COPYING ME!"
"STOP IT!"
"STOP IT!"
As the two continued to argue, shouting more exact lines as they did, they failed to notice a Three-Pointer heading their way, but it was quickly frozen in place before getting flipped over by Orihime, who was in her Okuchi no Makami form. This got the two to stop arguing and notice what had just happened.
"If you two wanna keep arguing, it's fine by me… But that just means more points for the rest of us," Orihime advised before heading off to find more enemies.
"OH CRAP! SHE'S RIGHT!" The boys once again synchronized, which they noticed, but they chose to ignore it and went off in opposite directions.
Chacha sped off into the make-believe city, looking for robots to smash. Her rabbit-like attributes, plus the Knight aspect that came with her Queen Piece allowed her to gain a headstart on the others.
Then, a Two-Pointer reared its mechanical mug to rush at her. ["Meatbag annihilate."]
Chacha quickly came to a stop and jumped over the technological terror as it tried to lunge at her. Then, Chacha's hair turned white and grew longer, along with her tail and ears, the fur around her neckline became thicker, her fingernails grew into claws, and her irises and sclerae turned light and dark red respectively.
Before the robot could try to attack again, it was instantly smashed into scrap by a single kick from Chacha.
[Chacha Akaninjin, Quirk: Wererabbit. Not only does she have rabbit traits, but she can also take on a more ferocious-looking form that grants her extra strength and speed.]
"Not a bad warm-up," Chacha smiled at her handiwork before noticing more robots in the distance and sped off.
Meanwhile, Mina had borne witness to Chacha's handiwork. "Man, she looks like she's got this in the bag!" Then she was confronted by three One-Pointers. "Then again, I've got a pretty neat trick myself!" Mina grinned as she turned to face the robots and sprayed them with her acid, causing them to start dissolving.
["Elimina-"]
["Target acq-"]
["Prepare for-"]
The robots tried to finish as they melted down into metallic puddles.
"Aw yeah! Three points, baby!"
"Double Jumbo Fist!" Itsuka struck a Three-Pointer with two enlarged fists, dealing a severe blow to it and rendering its systems offline.
Nearby, Asia was up against a One-Pointer and a Three-Pointer.
["Commencing attack!"] The bots announced as they lifted their arms to pummel Asia.
However, Asia transformed her hair into vines and entangled the Villain Bots before lifting them into the air and dropping them.
"That's four more points," Asia said.
"How are you holding up, Asia?" Itsuka asked.
"Just fine. I was a bit worried when they said we'd have to fight, but I'm relieved it's only against robots," Asia said.
"Good. Now we just gotta keep up the good work and we'll be in the Hero Course in no time," Itsuka said.
Then, the girls heard a pained groan nearby. It came from another examinee whose foot was stuck underneath some rubble. Itsuka and Asia went over to help him out; Itsuka and Asia used their enlarged hands and vines respectively to lift the rubble.
"You okay?" Itsuka asked. Then, Asia used Twilight Healing to heal the boy's ankle.
"Whew, thanks. You're both lifesavers," the boy thanked before heading off.
"DIIIIE!"
Katsuki Bakugo unleashed an explosion that blew apart a Two-Pointer. Then without much delay, he unleashed another explosion to launch himself toward more robots leaving the gathering of extras behind to eat his dust. The physical exertion, combined with the heat from the explosions, worked in his favor as that allowed him to produce more of his nitroglycerin-like sweat for more explosions. Then as the mob of six One-Pointers all blindly rushed at him, he made a maniacal grin.
"Burn, ya bucket of bolts!" Katsuki swung his arm downward to cause the ground below to erupt. However, there was a reason he aimed for the ground rather than the robots directly: the smoke from the explosion not only served to block their vision but also to leave them in a coughing and wheezing fit, allowing Katsuki to deal with the One-Pointers without interruptions.
With the defeat of all those One-Pointers, that was another six to his score, not that he was keeping track, nor that it mattered. After all, he would undoubtedly beat the highest number of robots and have enough points to pass the exam at least twice.
Then, Katsuki flew up into the air with his explosion, getting a leg up on all the extras, as he roamed the model city in search of other robots to send to robot hell.
Then, he noticed a Three-Pointer in the corner of his vision, but before he could even react and go after it, someone else beat him to it.
*Zap!*
A bright green energy beam shot out and blasted the robot right through the optic and the head, disabling it.
Katsuki looked up to see the girl from the lecture hall who came to Deku's defense against Four Eyes's criticism. Not only was she floating in midair, but her jet-black hair had turned snow-white and her icy blue eyes were now glowing green. Her skin was slightly tanned and a thin white glow enveloped her body. Her blue headband was swapped with a black one, and she wore a black jumpsuit with white elbow-length gloves, collar, belt, and thigh-high boots.
"Guess you didn't see that coming, did ya?" The girl made a witty banter at the wreckage of the Three-Pointer. "'Kay, that makes it 29." Then her legs morphed into a ghost-like tail as she flew off to look for other robots.
Katsuki was annoyed that a kill had been stolen from him right under his nose. However, that just made him determined to be quicker to kill those bot bastards on sight. With that, he detonated another explosion to blast off and go find other robots that he could take out his frustrations on.
Back with Izuku, he had defeated quite a number of robots by this point. However, he hadn't really been keeping score as he figured it might slow him down. As he looked up from the pile of scrap metal that was once a robot that he just scrapped, he noticed the brunette passing by. 'Her again!'
She pressed her fingertips against several downed robots, with the fingertips giving off a pink glow as she did so. Then, the robots started floating up into the air. "Now, release!" She brought her fingertips together, then the robots immediately crashed to the ground. The girl showed signs of exhaustion, evident by her heavy breathing as she turned around to look at her handiwork. "That should be at least 28 points."
Meanwhile, the glasses kid sped forward, using the engines in his calves to boost himself towards a Two-Pointer, which barely had time to look up before it got wrecked by a dropkick from the boy. "That puts me at 45!"
There were more shouts of examinees declaring their total score, along with arguments about kill-stealing.
Currently, U.A.'s Hero staff were in a surveillance room, monitoring the progress of the examinees.
"Clearly, the examinees have no idea how many Villains are present or their locations. They have limited time, must cover a vast area, and hunt down and hunt down every last target. Some use information-gathering abilities to plan out strategies. While others rely on speed to pull ahead of their peers. Of course, remaining calm under pressure can be a huge advantage, as can pure power and combat ability." Principal Nezu commented as he observed various examinees such as a young man with six arms attached to each other by a webbing of skin, the glasses-wearing engine boy, a flamboyant blonde who shot blue lasers from his navel, and Katsuki. "The most successful students use a combination of all these tactics. They're the ones who rack up the highest scores,"
"Hmm. I'd say this year's group looks promising," the R-Rated Hero Midnight commented.
"Yeah. Both unique and strong," Toshinori Yagi, a near-skeletal blonde man added.
"There's still plenty of time before it's over. The real test has yet to come," the cowboy-themed Hero, Snipe said as he pressed a button labeled "YARUKI SWITCH." "Let's see how they react."
Throughout the Battle Centers, a rumbling was felt in each area as the ground shook.
"Whoa! What's happening?!" Asia asked.
"I'm guessing it's something big," Itsuka said, then she noticed a big shadow behind them. "And that's an understatement!"
The white-haired girl had currently turned intangible to fly through the buildings to save time going around them when she noticed everything around her shake.
"What was that?" She stuck her head out through the wall to see, and what she saw surprised her. "Whoa. Now that's an obstacle."
"Is that even allowed?" Mina asked as she stared up in the distance.
"U.A. really doesn't pull its punches, does it?" Chacha commented.
Dust kicked up into the air and windows started cracking as a giant shadow loomed over the examinees.
Izuku and the other examinees looked upward to see the Zero-Pointer, also known as the Executor, a massive robot that stood even taller than the buildings. It looked down upon the frightened teens with its eight red optics as it grabbed the rooftops for some extra intimidation factor.
**********Flashback**********
"Think of it as a hurdle you should try to avoid. I recommend, my listeners, try to ignore it and focus on the ones toppin' the chart!" Present Mic advised.
**********End Flashback**********
Izuku's jaw dropped. 'U.A.'s definitely not messing around! Plus Ultra, I guess?'
The Zero-Pointer brought its enormous fist down on the road, causing a thick dust cloud that enveloped the unfortunate examinees, forcing them to shield their eyes and mouths. The examinees all began tailing it out of there, including the engine kid as he passed by Izuku.
"Less than two minutes remaining!" Present Mic announced.
Hearing this, Izuku turned to run. 'That big one is worth 0 points! I should just get as far away from it as possible and find other smaller Villains!' He was about to spread his wings to take off when…
"OW!"
Izuku turns back to see the brunette with her leg pinned by some fallen debris. She tried to get up and run but failed to do so as the rubble was too heavy, and to make matters worse, she was right in the path of the Zero-Pointer, which would no doubt crush her if it continued on without stopping. He then remembered how she had saved him earlier when he tripped.
**********Flashback**********
"I'm sorry I didn't ask first. But I figured you wouldn't mind me catching you," the brunette said.
**********End Flashback**********
Izuku raced towards the girl, fully intent on saving her from the giant robot. Realizing that he wouldn't be able to lift the weight off the girl and get her to safety before the massive machine flattened them, Izuku decided to go for the machine.
Spreading his wings, Izuku flew up to the robot's face. With the Boosted Gear equipped on his left arm and plenty of energy gathered, he got ready for a punch. "DRAGON SMASH!"
[Explosion!]
With one swift punch, he unleashed all the energy built up inside the Boosted Gear at once, obliterating the Zero-Pointer's head. The rest of its body soon followed as it started breaking apart before the whole thing exploded. The brunette, the glasses kid, the other examinees, and the U.A. staff all stared in awe as Izuku pulled off such an unbelievable feat.
"I did it," Izuku slightly winced at the small pain in his left arm. He likely overdid it a little for his current limit, but right now, he was just happy that he was able to save the girl.
He then descended to the ground as the girl used her Quirk on the boulder pinning her down to get free. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, thanks. I guess we're even now," the brunette replied.
"And that's set. TIME'S UP!" Present Mic announced, bringing the mock battle to an end. An alarm rang throughout the faux city as the remaining robots stopped functioning.
The glasses kid then noticed everyone muttering about Izuku's attack, basically about how they were surprised he had that kind of strength. However, he, on the other hand, was thinking something else. 'They're all missing the point. Don't they see what he did? He did it to save that girl. He must have known how little time was left, how many points he needed to pass. But despite those concerns, he didn't hesitate.' He then clenched his fist as he remembered how he just ran like everyone else, not even bothering to try and help. And how he belittled Izuku during the lecture hall. 'If this hadn't been an exam… Then, of course, I would have done the same thing!' Then, he realized something. 'Wait! The exam! The judges! They saw that!'
"Very nice! Good work, all around!" The friendly voice of Recovery Girl got everyone's attention. "You're Heroes in my eyes. All of you!" She then handed some gummies to an examinee. "Here, reward yourselves. Have some gummies!"
"Oh. Thanks."
"Yes, yes. Don't eat them all at once. Okay?"
Recovery Girl then made her way over to the brunette who was being helped by Izuku.
"Give me some sugar," Recovery Girl puckered her lips and kissed a bruise on the brunette's leg, to her surprise.
"Um, what's she doing?" An examinee asked.
"You're watching a school nurse in action," the navel laser boy replied. "The Youthful Heroine: Recovery Girl." Then, the bruise on the girl started healing. "Her Quirk is a très awesome boost of healing power. She's the only reason U.A. can hold these reckless exams."
Soon, the bruise was completely gone, almost like it was never there, though the brunette couldn't help but feel kind of tired.
"Alright. You'll be fine now. Anyone else injured?"
Meanwhile, the glasses boy continued his pondering. 'I wonder… What if the exam has other parameters I didn't take into account?' Then, he turned to Izuku. 'It's possible!'
After the exams were done, everyone met back up in the ORC room.
"So, how did it go?" Akeno asked.
"Pretty well, I'd say," Itsuka replied.
"It was only against robots, though I still felt bad about using violence against them," Asia admitted.
"It was a cinch for me to just melt them with my acid," Mina added.
"I ran into this dude who kinda copied my lines, but I didn't let it distract me," Eijiro claimed.
"The Zero-Pointer was a shock, but I'm just happy I was able to beat it to save that girl," Izuku said.
"A girl, you say?" Mina asked, her interest piqued. "Tell me, what was she like? Was she your type? Did she thank you with a kiss?" The interrogation/teasing began.
"A-A-Ashido, please stop!" Izuku's face turned bright red. Asia pouted in envy, and Rias couldn't help but send a weird look their way, though she didn't know why.
"Anyway, I believe they should have your results ready in about a week. But still, I'm sure you guys all passed," Rias said.
"Yeah. No need to worry. I'm sure the results will be here before you know it," Yumi said.
She was wrong.
It was a long, stressful week as the Hero Course applicants anxiously waited for their exam results to arrive. Some combat training with Yumi, and occasionally Koneko, did take their mind off things for a little while, but still, it was a long amount of waiting. Izuku had noticed that there wasn't much news about All Might, nothing much about fighting off Villains, rescuing civilians, or even just the small jobs. That was weird.
And eventually, the moment of truth arrived.
"The letters! Izuku, Asia, they came! Izuku, Asia, look! You've got letters! They're here! Your test results! From U.A.!" Inko fumbled as she showed Izuku and Asia the acceptance letters which were both sealed with a red U.A. emblem, confirming where they came from.
Izuku and Asia took the letters to the former's room and closed the door while Inko and Hisashi waited from outside. Izuku sat at his desk and lit his lamp with Asia right beside him. They were going to view Izuku's letter first, which sat in the middle of the desk as the teens mentally prepared themselves.
"Well, here we go…" Izuku gripped the envelope and tore it in half, then a small disc-like device popped out. After the disc landed on the desk, it started projecting a holographic screen, and Izuku and Asia heard a booming voice they were not expecting to hear.
"BOOYAH! I AM HERE AS A PROJECTION NOW!" All Might was on the camera, dressed in a yellow business suit that somehow managed to contain his burly physique.
"Wait, All Might?!" Asia asked. Naturally, she had gotten to know a lot about Japan's No. 1 Hero from Izuku, and she had become a big fan of his as well, though she never expected to see him in this scenario.
"ALL MIGHT?! OHMYGOSH! IT'S HIM!" Izuku's fanboy side took over before his rational thought took back control. "But wait! This is from U.A., isn't it?!" Izuku double-checked the seal on the envelope to make sure he had the right letter.
"I know I've been reclusive this past week, but with great power comes a great amount of paperwork!" All Might then paused to clear his throat. "My apologies, young man. The truth is, I didn't come to this city just to fight Villains. You're looking at the newest U.A. faculty member!"
The two couldn't believe their ears. All Might, working at U.A.?! "He's seriously going to be working at U.A.?!" Asia asked.
All Might nodded as if he was answering Asia's question. Then, a hand tapped him on the elbow, getting his attention. "Huh? Yes, what's the matter? Who's showboating? Oh, sorry, I'll wrap it up. Wait! I have to do how many of these things?!" All Might then sighed as he turned his attention back to the camera. "So… moving on! You've done quite well in the written test, which would qualify you for General Studies. But that's not what you wanna hear, is it? Now, moving on to the practical exam…"
Izuku and Asia tensed up as they waited with bated breaths.
"With combat points of 33 Points, you've earned yourself plenty of points to pass the exam!"
"YES!" Izuku celebrated. Asia joined in his joy by hugging him.
"But wait! The good news doesn't end there!"
"Huh?" Izuku and Asia stopped celebrating to listen to All Might.
"But before we get to that… Here, look! A short clip for your viewing pleasure!" All Might turned to a screen bearing the U.A. logo and pressed on a remote, causing the screen to change to a video recording of the brunette girl trapped under the rubble, and Izuku destroying the Zero-Pointer to save her. "You have great power, but it's your actions that inspire others."
Izuku felt a bit of pride hearing those words from All Might.
"And that's why I am here… Y'see, the practical exam was not graded on combat alone," All Might explained. "How could a Hero Course reject someone who is committed to saving others no matter the consequences to himself? After all, that is what makes a Hero. And that's what my alma mater is all about. Training those who would risk their lives for the greater good. So we have Rescue Points! A panel of judges watches, and they award points for heroic acts beyond just fighting Villains! IZUKU MIDORIYA, 60 RESCUE POINTS!"
Then, in addition to Izuku's 33 Villain Points, 60 Rescue Points were added to his score, bringing the total to 93 overall.
"Congratulations. With your total points, you've surpassed all the other examinees into first place!" All Might said.
"Is this some kind of joke?" Izuku asked, hardly able to believe what he just heard. He scored first place on the practical! That means he got more points than Kacchan!
"Welcome, Izuku…" All Might reached out a welcoming hand to Izuku. "You're now part of the Hero Academia."
With All Might's final words for him, Izuku started crying tears of joy before quickly wiping them.
Next, it was Asia's turn to view her letter. Her envelope contained the same holodisc as Izuku's, and it was generally the same message: All Might greeting her and telling her she did well on the written exam and then giving her score on the practical which came down to 30 Villain Points and 42 Rescue Points for a total of 72 points overall, which was more than enough to pass, earning her a place in the Hero Course as well.
Izuku and Asia looked at each other with proud smiles as they hugged each other in celebration of their accomplishments.
Outside the room, Inko nervously paced back and forth while Hisashi stood calm, confident that his son and adopted daughter both made it.
Then, the door opened, and said boy and girl stepped out, both flashing a bright and worry-free smile.
The smile got the message across all too clearly. Inko got tears of joy forming in her eyes while Hisashi gave a warm, proud, fatherly smile.
"I knew you'd make it. I couldn't be prouder of you kids," Hisashi said, his feelings clear.
Ink's reaction, however, was more visibly emotional. "MY BABIES MADE IT INTO U.A.!" Inko shouted as she grabbed Izuku and Asia into a hug before letting the waterworks run, sending out sprays of tears from her eyes.
"Mom! You're gonna flood the apartment at this rate!" Izuku tried and failed to calm down his mother.
"Please, mother! There's no need to cry!" Asia said.
"I'M SORRY, I KNOW! BUT I JUST… I'M… I'M SO PROUD OF YOU BOTH!" Inko said.
Izuku and Asia gave in and returned the hug as Hisashi joined in.
"Mom, Dad. Thanks for all your support," Izuku said.
"Yes. We love you and we always will," Asia said.
"And we'll always be here to support you and love you as well," Hisashi said.
"Yes… And nothing… will ever change… that," Inko managed to say between her sniffles.
Chacha's Quirk, Wererabbit, is based on the Sulong transformation, though there are major differences such as not needing the full moon, and the fact that it's not as lethally life-draining.
Also, here's the Top 10 list of the exam scores:
#1: Izuku Midoriya- Villain Points: 33, Rescue Points: 60
#2: Katsuki Bakugo, Villain Points: 77, Rescue Points: 0
#3: Dani Fenton- Villain Points: 42, Rescue Points: 34
#4: Eijiro Kirishima, Villain Points: 39, Rescue Points: 35
#5: Asia Argento- Villain Points: 30, Rescue Points: 42
#6: Chacha Akaninjin- Villain Points: 46, Rescue Points: 20
#7: Itsuka Kendo, Villain Points: 25, Rescue Points: 40
#8: Tenya Iida, Villain Points: 52, Rescue Points: 9
#9: Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu, Villain Points: 49, Rescue Points: 10
#10: Ochaco Uraraka- Villain Points: 28, Rescue Points: 30
So for Dani Fenton, she's not based on the female clone/cousin of Danny Fenton/Phantom, but rather a gender-bent version of him. I was inspired to include her based on Amethyst-Ocean's Danny Phantom- GB collection, which you can find on DeviantArt, just look up "Amethyst-Ocean DeviantArt" and you should be able to find her. In addition to that, she's done all other sorts of Danny Phantom fanarts. And I can certainly vouch that they're worth checking out.
Also, just so you know, Dani's powers are from a Quirk rather than being ghost powers, and she won't have all the powers that Danny has right away for balancing purposes, though there will still be a few of them she won't get at all. Another thing, don't expect to see the other DP cast that often.
And with that, there's something else to be taken care of before we get to U.A. which you'll find out in the next chapter.
See you next time. Go beyond! Plus Ultra!