Caiden Debeltz (guest): Thank you!
Coach Blahk: I'm glad you enjoyed the references. I highly recommend watching Spy X Family because it's such a fun show. As for the hints, I try to make sure nothing comes out of left field if I can help it.
Gamelover41592: Here's another one.
LEGOBRICK13: *Pats head* Don't worry, there's no Pink Grease Demon... this chapter. Izuku and Rin will have words about their different viewpoints in due time, but we need to get through this test first. The other Eden students all but pulled from other shows are Taiga from Toradora, Ishigami from Love is War, and Kerori from Iruma-kun. The Misami twins are theoretical children of Misa and Light from Death Note as well.
Monkey D. Conan: Sorry, all of that information will have to wait until after the exam.
Movieboy66: This chapter has a little more action than the last, but next chapter will start in the pan, so to speak. The answers for your questions and speculation will have to wait until after the test, though.
Pirohiko-Baltazar: Which one do you think is more likely?
SeanHicks4: I'm not really a fan of the last couple games to be honest. I much prefer the philosophical back-and-forth of the earlier games over the RPG-style newer ones. They lost the point of the originals in my opinion and would have done much better if they were marketed as spin-offs. Assassin's Creed games aren't Assassin's Creed unless you play as, you know, an Assassin (in my opinion). Thus, the different focus.
zakan: Here's more!
Chapter 47:
Provisional Exam Start!
The day of the Provisional Hero License Exam came before Izuku felt ready, but he forced those feelings down. Between the UA Entrance Exam, the USJ incident, the Sports Festival, his first kill, and his first Hero Course finals, he was old hat with feeling unprepared and pulling through anyway. Still, that barely helped his nerves as he played with his fingers and tapped his feet on the bus growing steadily closer to the testing site. He wasn't the only one, both 1-A and 1-B in the seats muttering to each other or lost in their own thoughts.
"Alright, everyone, shut up and listen," Aizawa announced, his voice shutting down every noise in the seats. "We're getting close to the testing site, so it's time for you all to focus. In case you've forgotten, the Provisional Licensing Exam happens twice a year, once in August and once in February, and the test itself rotates between one of five pre-structured tests. Students, however, are only given four chances throughout their schooling to pass, and once you do, your provisional license will last until you either receive your full license or you reach the age of 20, at which point it expires and you would be out of luck. There are four testing sites —two for first-years and first-time takers, one for second-years, and one for third-years— and your classes will be divided so you do not have to compete against each other."
Students visibly relaxed, smiles passing between them.
"Don't relax," Vlad King grunted leaning on a seat back on Aizawa's opposite side. "Just because you aren't against each other —currently— does not mean this will be easy for you. UA is one of the five most famous Hero schools in the country, but the Provisional Exam is taken by every Hero-hopeful your age, and some of them have grudges."
"The Provisional Exam," Aizawa picked up, "is a chance offered to students beginning their second semester and is repeated as necessary into the start of their third year. If a student fails the exam there, they have no other chances and are kicked from their course, no matter which school. UA requires its students to participate in every test they can until they achieve their license while other schools make the test optional their first few semesters if their students do not feel ready. As a result, there are some who do not take the test until their second year, and you all will be competing against some of them. Ideally, each and every one of you should pass on your first try, but I don't think we'll see that."
"Aizawa-sensei?" Tsuyu asked, her hand raised. "What's the passing rate for the Provisional Exam, ribbit?"
"Anywhere between 15 and 20 percent."
"What‽" most of the students gasped. Izuku crunched the numbers in his head.
"If we averaged that for the 40 students here," he muttered aloud, "then only eight of us would pass in the optimal scenario."
"That's about right," Vlad King admitted. "There's typically more synchronicity in classes, though. A high pass rate or everyone fails tends to be the most common results. That being said, UA students tend to hit the low side of this their first try and the second on their next attempt."
"That would be the results of the 'UA Crush' Aizawa-sensei warned us about, I suspect," Shoji commented.
"Correct," the teacher in question nodded. Vlad King turned wide eyes on the man, surprised that he'd actually mentioned anything. "Can anyone recall why this is? Perhaps someone from 1-B?"
"The Sports Festival," Shishida of 1-B answered, a finger on his hairy chin. "UA is the only school that televises theirs. It is an exceptional fundraiser, but it would have also revealed our Quirks to all who watch. Any competitor with half a strategic mind would hedge their bets against students from a prestigious institution like UA."
"Well said, Shishida," Vlad King said. "We are not allowed to tell you any more about what tests might await you. Rather, we've been left just as much in the dark, but your abilities have been made known to the world and now you have to deal with that handicap." The buss rolled to a soft stop, its hydraulics hissing as the front lowered slightly. "1-A, I think this is your stop."
Izuku stood only to pause when he felt someone grab his arm. He looked down to see Hiryu Rin glance at Pony quickly. Izuku nodded, just enough for the Chinese-born student to see. Rin let go.
Aizawa was the first one out the door, the man waiting on the sidewalk as his students followed him out the door. A massive stadium, larger than even UA's, towered above them. Other exam hopefuls in dozens of different uniforms walked past, not giving UA's unmarked bus another glance as they focused on their own nerves.
"1-A," Aizawa began as the buss drove away, the Underground Hero and Master Assassin hidden in plain sight gesturing to the stadium. "Welcome to Takoba National Stadium, testing site one."
"It's huge!" Kaminari gasped, leaning back so far that he nearly fell over and would have it wasn't for Jiro and Kirishima's timely intervention.
"Bro, anything could be waiting for us in there!" Kirishima grinned. "Do you think we'll have to fight a pro Hero?"
"I really hope not," Toru commented, rubbing her shoulders with her invisible arms.
"Though I revel in umbral shadow, the darkest void of ignorance causes one's skin to crawl," Fumikage commented.
"It what?" Pony blinked.
"We can do it, everyone!" Izuku promised, stepping into his role as Vice-Representative. "The pass rate might be low, but we'll push through because we've been trained for this!"
"Izuku is correct," Momo nodded. "Compared to the USJ, this shall prove easy."
"We can totally do this!" Pony nodded. "School moto: Plus—"
"ULTRA!" a voice screamed, UA students jumping away from a person who had snuck into their midst. He was tall with short, black hair hidden under a police-like hat with a stylized S over the bill. His clothing was simple, a white button-up and black slacks.
"You know it's rude to intrude on other schools' pep talks," a tired voice sighed, four others in the same uniform as the loud student stepping over. Izuku's eyes widened slightly as he recognized two of them, having seen one as recently as last week.
The one who had spoken had purple hair falling from his hat and was of average height, nothing overly defining him.
The girl at his side tilted her head so one eye shown from under her own hat. Dirty blonde hair spilled from her hat as she stood with her hands behind her back. She wore a black skirt rather than pants and looked almost disinterested.
The third was the shortest of the group, coming only to Purple-Hair's chest with a cat-like face. His rust-colored hair stuck out from every side like a lion's mane, and his mouth seemed perpetually open to show the fangs of a carnivore.
The last of the group rivaled the loud student in height and was covered in hair just a little lighter than the girl's, only one dark-pupiled eye showing through all the hair.
"WHAT‽ AH, YOU'RE RIGHT!" the loud student yelled. His hands smacked against his thighs, his body turning at the waist to bow with such force that his forehead smashed into the concrete. "I AM SO, VERY, EXTREMELY SORRY!"
"Bro, what…?" Kirishima blinked.
"Pfff!" The girl's serious expression broke, one of her hands rising to her mouth as she turned away. "Ahahaha!"
"Who is this guy?" Kaminari questioned. "He's way to enthusiastic. I don't trust it."
"Those uniforms," Jiro blinked. "I know those."
"UA in the East," Bakugo picked up, his eyes narrowing, "Shiketsu in the west."
"THAT'S RIGHT!" the tallest Shiketsu student confirmed. "I APOLOGISE FOR INTRUDING ON YOUR CHEER BUT I JUST LOVE UA SO MUCH! PLUS ULTRA! I COULDN'T HELP WANTING TO PARTICIPATE IN YOUR CHEER AT LEAST ONCE! I AM SO EXTREMELY HONORED TO COMPETE AGAINST SUCH CAPABLE STUDENTS!" A vein in his temple burst, blood leaking down from his hairline.
"You're bleeding, ribbit," Tsuyu offered.
"You're way too hyper, Inasa!" the Shiketsu girl laughed. "You're, like, totally going to knock yourself out with stunts like that! Hahaha!"
"You're too loud," Purple-Hair muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose. As a result, he didn't see the girl of their group sneak forward and grab Izuku's hands.
"What's up, cutie?" she asked with a wink as Izuku got his first face-to-face with the auburn-haired girl since she knocked him on his ass in basic training when they were Novices together months ago. They hadn't gotten a chance to talk when she was bringing Mentor news of All For One's death, after all. "Name's Camie Utsushimi, but you can call me Camie. I remember seeing you in the Sports Festival. Wanna, like, go out some time?"
"I-I-I-I-I-I—" Izuku stuttered.
"Dude," Kaminari gasped. "I want whatever Midoriya's having to get all the attention."
Jiro stabbed him in the ear as Camie smirked, certain eyes in the UA crowd narrowing at her.
"Utsushimi!" Purple-Hair yelled. "Do not fraternize with the enemy!"
"But Seigi~" Camie pouted. "Shiketsu doesn't let us date within the school, so I have to, like, outsource and stuff."
"I have told you not to call me by my given name!" the boy —Seigi— yelled. "Your actions besmirch the name of Shiketsu!"
"You're too uptight, Seigi—"
"My name is Shishikura!"
"—You need to take, like, several chill pills."
"As long as they aren't suppositories," Mina whispered to Kirishima, the redhead trying to hide his giggles with a cough. "He's already got a stick up his ass."
"How rude!" Shishikura gasped as Camie burst into her own giggles. "I demand an apology!"
"We should get moving," the smallest student commented, his voice little more than a hoarse whisper. "This conversation is pointless and we don't want to be late to the test."
"Leono's right," the hairy student said, grabbing the loud one —Inasa— and Shishikura by their shoulders. "Again, our apologies for intruding, UA."
"Later, cutie!" Camie blew Izuku a kiss as they walked away.
"I'm so jealous," Sero commented. "Why do you have such game, Midoriya?"
"Uhhh…" Izuku blinked. Tsuyu smacked him in the back of his head with her tongue, causing her fellow spy to flinch. "Ow! Hey!"
"Who was that guy?" Toru asked.
"Inasa Yoarashi," Aizawa answered, wholly ignoring the idiocy of the Apprentices and Initiates now that the latter were gone. "He applied to UA and earned the highest score on the recommended test, but he turned down his acceptance for some reason and went to Shiketsu instead. He'll be a dangerous opponent. Don't drop your guard around him, or any of the other students for that matter."
"Yes, sir!" a number of students replied.
"Well, well!" a voice called, dragging attention away from the building. Izuku saw Aizawa's shoulders tense as he flinched and, if he didn't know the voice, he would have thought his teacher hated the speaker. "Look what the cat dragged in! I'd know that scowl anywhere! Eraser, I didn't expect to see you here!"
"For heaven's sake," Aizawa moaned, dragging a hand down his face. "Why did she have to show up now? I was hoping she'd be at the other site."
"Don't ignore me, Eraser!" Emi, dressed in her Hero costume, quickened her steps to slide to a stop beside her secret beau, checking his hips with her own. She pulled out her phone before he reacted, taking a picture of them both. Izuku presumed it was for Eri. "Come on, how about it? You, me, romantic dinner tonight?"
"I will not dignify that with a response."
"Haha!" Emi laughed, smacking his back. "You sure don't crack! That's what I love about you!"
"Eeeee!" Mina and Toru squeaked. "Aizawa-sensei does have a girlfriend!"
"That—!" Aizawa sputtered, his acting phenomenal. "Joke, clear up this misunderstanding at once!"
"Alright, alright," Emi waved off. She knelt, holding up a hand to hide her mouth from Aizawa, a twinkle in her eye. "Truth is… Eraser and I have been madly in love since we met on the streets years ago."
"Joke, that is not what I said! Don't confuse them! You make sound like we were some street bums!"
"Well, you do dress like one! Haha! Let me revamp your wardrobe!"
"No."
"Oh, that's adorable!" Mina gasped.
"Class," Aizawa sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "This is the pro Hero Ms. Joke. We used to work for underground agencies close to each other, so we tended to run into each other on the job."
"It was love at first sight!" Emi put in, hugging herself and swaying slightly as if she were remembering a fond memory.
"It was not," Aizawa refuted, causing Emi to laugh again. Izuku and Tsuyu suspected they were dancing around the truth as best they could without actually revealing anything considering how much Emi did not want to keep up this appearance.
"You two seem close," Tsuyu commented, throwing fuel on the fire with a smirk.
"As two young Heroes thrust into danger, striving to make a difference in the world, a beautiful, mutual love bloomed!" Emi grinned.
"That's not how I remember it," Aizawa grunted, his voice layered in sarcasm.
"I do miss your witty retorts!" the female grinned, smacking him on the arm. "Come on, Eraser! Let's get married! Our kids would be adorable!"
"I'm not sure I want to see Aizawa-sensei with a kid," Ojiro stage whispered.
"I heard that!" the dark-haired teacher grunted as Emi laughed again.
"Your students sure have you pegged, Eraser!"
"I don't want to hear that from you, Joke." He rubbed his head. "If you're here, then that means—"
"Yup," Emi grinned. She looked back as another group of uniformed students approached, their outfits consisting of grey polos and navy-blue slacks. "Students from Ketsubutsu Academy. I teach the second years, but they aren't the only ones we have here."
One tall student stood out from the group beside another who appeared to have a blue exoskeleton. Ono Yuifum grinned at the group of UA students as the smaller Ketsubutsu students whispered to each other. Izuku didn't see the other Ketsubutsu Assassin spy, so he must be at the other site. One student, a boy with shaggy black hair, hurried forward to shake hands with those who accepted or were too confused to react.
"Name's Yo Shindo," he said, shaking Izuku's hand. "You guys are practically famous after the Sports Festival! I can't want to see how we measure up!" He moved toward Bakugo, the blond batting the offered hand aside.
"I don't like you," the explosive teen growled. "You're too nice. Stop pretending. Your words and your fake smile don't match your eyes."
Shindo's gaze hardened.
"Dude, don't be like that!" Kirishima said. "Sorry about him. He can be… difficult."
"Did you forget already?" Bakugo growled, a plain-faced boy with long black hair and a blonde girl stepping away from his tone. "We aren't here to make friends. These fuckin' extras are trying to butter us up so we drop our guards and become easy pickings."
"I'm afraid Bakugo might be right," Izuku muttered, their classmates turning wide eyes on the verdet at his agreement. "The exam is a competition and we're already at a disadvantage. We can't afford to relax."
"Ha!" Yuifum laughed. "They sure got you pegged, Shindo-senpai!"
"See?"
Yuifum stepped forward and offered his own hand. "Hi, I'm Ono Yuifum, a first-year at Ketsubutsu. Let's have a fair competition."
"Izuku Midoriya," Izuku replied, glad he could have such topside meetings with at least some of his fellow spies. Emi's eyes widened slightly. "No hard feelings, right?"
"Stop lollygagging," Aizawa grunted. "1-A, grab your cases and get moving. You're wasting time."
"Yes sir!" The students left those from Ketsubutsu behind, Izuku glancing back to see Yuifum laughing at something Emi said, the older probably now suspicious the redhead's allegiance. Three other Assassin Hero students had he already seen today, but how many of their peers were Templars? The question needled at Izuku's insides even as he held the note Yuifum had passed him with their handshake.
The boys and the girls separated as they approached the changing rooms, said spaces with available lockers and changing areas. Izuku moved to one of the changing cubicles as soon as he could, his eyes instantly moving to the note.
Beware of Shindo. Targeting UA, very charismatic. Suspected T. Other K.A. M.I.A.
'Missing?' Izuku thought at he rolled the tiny note into a cylinder and swallowed it, destroying the evidence of its existence. His movements became automatic as he donned his Hero costume. 'What happened? Was he found out and removed? I haven't seen any news about it or statements from Ketsubutsu about any missing students.'
And what of the other students he'd seen so far? Were any of them Templars? What information did is fellow spies have? How many were at this site and how many at the other? Those answers may need to wait.
Izuku finished quickly, the cubicle fining a new user as soon as he stepped out. The verdet shrugged it off and used his Eagle Vision to find an empty locker, registering his Hero moniker, school, and a pin number to secure his belongings before vacating the changing room and heading for the exam room.
"This place is packed!" Ochako gasped, her and the other UA students practically lost in a sea of other examinees. "How many people do you think are here?"
"At least three," Kaminari offered, only to get an earphone jack to the side of the head for his answer. "Ow, hey! I'm right!"
"Yeah," Jiro waved off. "With the same amount of accuracy as saying, 'less than a million.' Certainly not helpful."
"It wouldn't have scored you points on an exam, ribbit," Tsuyu commented.
"Hey, give him a break," Izuku chuckled, Kaminari turning thankful eyes on him. "We all know math is hard for Kaminari, after all."
"Midoriya!" Kaminari gasped, betrayal written across his face as others laughed at his expense.
"That caught me off guard!" Kirishima laughed. "I didn't think you had that sort of thing in you, Mido-Bro!"
"Well, you know me," the verdet waved off. "I'm just full of surprises."
"As long as you turn those surprises against other students and not us," Shoto shrugged.
"I promise. Scouts' honor."
"Japan doesn't have boy scouts."
"As far as you know." The class chuckled at their banter, Bakugo sneering at the childishness. Izuku closed his eyes and focused, allowing his senses to spread as he activated his Eagle Vision once more before he lost the chance to scout things out before the test.
The world around him became a sea of white and red, his classmates a calming blue. He shifted his mindset from Hero student to Assassin Apprentice as more color drained away. Classmates ignorant to the greater battle like Sato and Kaminari lost their blue glow while suspected enemies like Momo, Aoyama, and Pony turned red, each only dimly glowing as any hostility they may have was not focused on him or the Assassins in the moment.
Several figures glowed in the crowd, Yuifum alone and most others in pairs. There were a few others scattered around —typically one per lesser school— but a red outline above sent a chill through his bones as the speakers released a round of feedback.
"Alright, settle down," the tired-looking blond man said, the bags under his eyes prominent enough to see even from the distance. Izuku blinked his Eagle Vision away as the man yawned, his red glow fading. "My name is… is Yokumiru Mera… and I'm from the Hero Public Safety Commission. I'm in charge of your test here today." He leaned on one elbow, propping his head on his hand. "Listen, Heroes react to situations as soon as they happen. No information, no prep time, barely any forewarning. Heroes have to be quick if they want to help and, in the competitive nature of today's world, even faster if they want to break even the top 100." He yawned again. "All that said, I guess you all still need to know what the goal is and how to get there."
A massive screen buzzed to life behind him, its images changing to provide visual to Mera's speech.
"Each of you will be given three of these balls," he said, holding up an orange ball about the size of a fist, "as well as three targets. The targets go somewhere on your body or costume, wherever you want as long as they can still be reached from the outside. When a ball touches a target, it will light up red. If all of your targets are hit, you're out. Now for the numbers. There are 1,580 of you in this room now. Only 500 of you will move on into the second test."
"That cuts down the numbers to a third already," Sato commented to his classmates. "No wonder Aizawa-sensei said the highest pass rate was around 20%."
"There are two ways to pass the first part," Mera continued. "If you want to move fast and get out, then you can pass by getting two other competitors out and then hurrying to the antechamber. You only get one of those by landing the hit on an examinee's third target, even if you didn't get the first two. Once you've taken your opponents out, your targets will turn blue. Nail two and get to the antechamber and you're safe." Mera yawned again. "Alternatively, you can play the waiting game until there's only 500 left. More time-consuming, but it's a viable option for Heroes that aren't battle-focused. Yes? You have a question?"
"YES SIR!" the recognizable voice of Inasa Yoarashi yelled from somewhere ahead of them. "WHAT IF WE GET MORE THAN TWO‽"
"You can go for more if you want," Mera waved off, "but as long as you're in the field, you're at risk. You can get two hits but still get out if someone nails you before you reach the antechamber. That make sense?"
"YES SIR! THANK YOU, SIR!"
"I'm so tired," Mera sighed, rubbing his eyes. Izuku shifted slightly, feeling like he was moving when there was no indication of such. "Alright, the balls and targets will be passed out now. Do your best, or whatever. Let's get this over with."
Izuku accepted the targets and balls he was handed by a plain-looking HPSC employee, placing the targets on his front like his classmates. For 1,580 people, the distribution took a surprisingly-short amount of time, Mera tapping on the microphone as soon as it was complete.
"Alright, you all have what you need, so we can start the test." There was a hiss as the ceiling split, the walls coming apart at the corners to reveal the open sky. At some point, the room in which they stood had moved to the center of the arena, the metal walls and ceiling cracking the earth as they smashed into it. Landscapes of vastly-different types stood in a ring around an open area. Mountains, a small cityscape, rivers and waterfalls, a factory, a desert, and more were presented to the Hero-hopefuls. "You can choose wherever you want to go. If you're out, raise your hands to show off your red targets and no one should attack you on your way to the ejection zone. Break any of the rules and you'll be ejected immediately. You have one minute to prepare."
The screen behind him turned into a timer, a massive 60 beginning to count down as Mera and the other HPSC workers were whisked away.
"Everybody, run!" Izuku ordered, already disappearing into the crowd. "Don't get caught!"
The verdet sprinted for the cityscape, his dark costume blending into the shadows of the rocky terrain. Each second the clock counted down was punctuated by a resounding BONG!, each one getting louder than the last.
"Izuku, ribbit!"
The boy turned back to find Tsuyu. Iida, and Shoto on his tail.
"It would be safer if we worked in small groups!" Shoto called, using his fire to keep up with his faster classmates.
"I guess that's fair!" Izuku replied, slowing down just a touch so the others could catch up.
"What's your plan, Izuku?" Tsuyu asked.
"I was going to use the cityscape to hide and snipe a couple points from the shadows. That and pulling out fast is my best bet for advancement."
"If what Aizawa-sensei told us it true, then other schools will target us," Iida commented. "Perhaps we could use this information to our advantage."
"We can set a trap," Shoto nodded as they reached the city. Izuku threw his rope-dart upward, the point digging into the wall near the top of the closest building. The retractor in his bracer whirled, dragging him upward. Tsuyu matched his pace with her powerful legs while Shoto grabbed Iida and launched the two upward with his ice. All four landed on the roof as the exam officially began.
Almost instantly, the stadium shook.
"What was that?" Iida questioned.
"Someone's Quirk if I had to guess," Shoto replied, glnacing back at the center of the arena. a dustcloud covered nearly the entirety of the rocky area. "Whoever did it is very powerful."
"We don't have time to think on it," Izuku warned. "We can't stay in the open. We have to keep moving."
"Let's find a window overlooking an alleyway, ribbit," Tsuyu suggested. "Our trap will be more effective if we limit their escape routes."
"For all of us to advance, we must overpower a group of eight or more," Iida said. "Or we can perform two traps on two groups of four."
"Something's not right," Shoto muttered. "I hear something."
"Get down!" Tsuyu tackled Izuku, Iida and Shoto jumping back as a giant screw nut cracked the roof where Izuku had been standing. The pair of hidden spies rolled, landing on their feet as their eyes moved to a group of students on the roof of a taller building.
"Looks like our prey has come to us," the apparent leader commented, his costume even more reminiscent of the ninja of old than Izuku's, only his was in red. The rest of the group were dressed in similar, each with their own color. Izuku flashed his Eagle Vision only for his eyes to widen, the students on either end of the group —one in pink and the other in purple— glowing blue as opposed to the others' dull red.
"Tsu," Izuku hissed. "Either end."
"I know," she replied as a cloud rose from the student in pink and the tail of a scorpion waved behind the one in purple. She dared not say any more with what they knew or suspected with Shoto's honed hearing.
"A group of ten," Shoto said from the other side of the roof. "Looks like we don't need to worry too much about our score after all."
"You UA kids sure are cocky," the guy in red commented, bringing up a hand with nails between his fingers. "Too bad you ran into us. Seijin has something to prove."
"You sure talk a big game for a wannabe ninja," Izuku commented, his smirk plain to see even with his eyes shaded. He pulled out his bo with an impressive spin, its ends crackling with blue electricity. "Let's see if you can back it up."
"Get them!"
Growing nails, a torrent of water, and a blast of sand (coming from Red, Black, and Blue, respectively) rained down on the UA students. Izuku and Tsuyu leapt backward as a veritable glacier grew between Shoto and the oncoming attacks, shielding him and Iida. The legacy student launched over the ice, releasing a ball from his hand to kick it, his engines roaring. The ball turned into a blur of orange, Red Ninja sputtering as it impacted one of his targets with enough force to send him skidding backward. Said target on his stomach turned red.
"Hey, back me up!" Red Ninja yelled, his classmates answering his cry. Two in yellow and green ripped appliances and tubes from the rooftop and threw them at the UA students with force similar to strength-enhancing Quirks. Shoto stomped, sending another wave of ice out to catch the attacks before swinging his hands together.
"Midoriya!" he yelled as steam filled the surroundings. Izuku pressed a button on his bo as he activated his Eagle Vision, the steam doing nothing to inhibit his Isu sense. His bo twisted into the weapon Mei had called her experimental Edison, the verdet shoving its hard stock against his shoulder and taking aim. He pulled the trigger.
A bolt of blue electricity shot from the weapon, his aim true through the steam and striking the Blue Ninja. She let out a scream.
"Suna!" Black Ninja yelled. Water launched from the gloves on her hands. "I'll get you for that! Torrent Flow!"
"Ribbit!" Tsuyu jumped into the water as Izuku dodged, the girl swimming up the current even as Shoto renewed the steam in the air. The current was less than nothing for the frog-girl's swimming ability, the Assassin Apprentice popping out of the water before her target knew to cut off the attack. "Surprise!"
"What‽" Black Ninja couldn't react in time as Tsuyu's tongue shot forward, pinning her opponent's arms to her side, leaving her targets open for Tsuyu. "No!"
"Mizuni!" Red shouted as a second classmate of his fell in the obscuring haze. "Shit, they're picking us off like flies! Subako!"
"I'm trying!" the student in pink answered. "The steam is messing with my beebies, though! It's like fog! The cold is making them think it's early morning!"
"Figure something out!"
"I believe you should practice what you preach," Shoto commented, appearing as if from nothing in the steam. "You should practice without your sight, too. It's apparent you can do nothing blind."
Izuku and Tsuyu exchanged grins and silent chuckles as Red's panicked yelling as he tried to fend off Shoto's attack.
"We only need eight," Tsuyu commented quickly, the pair stacking the unconscious Suna and Mizuni against a wall, their targets all glowing red. "I'd rather leave Mure and Sasori a chance to pass the test, ribbit."
"We'll see what we can pull," Izuku replied, looking into the steam. "Iida's fighting the strength-enhansing guys while Shoto's holding off Red and some of the others. The rest are looking for a chance to jump in. Looks like we can break them into groups of four and let ours get away if we play our cards right."
"I'll go help Iida, ribbit. Good luck."
"Don't need it. Don't scare Subako too badly."
"I'll try, ribbit." The pair bumped the backs of their hands together without thinking about it before they split, Izuku pulling himself upward with his rope-dart while Tsuyu took off toward the alley where the male verdet had indicated the strong pair were trying to box Iida in.
Izuku's eyes locked onto Red's red outline through the steam, a grin coming to his face as he stabbed one of his orange balls with his rope-dart. He ran in, swinging the weapon around as Red backpedaled from an ice battering ram (complete with a ram's head). Izuku's ball landed, smacking a target low on Red's leg.
"Shit!" the Seijin student yelped when Izuku's bo caught his leg as the verdet ran past, tripping him. His limbs were trapped in ice in a second. "Shiiit!"
"He's all yours, Shoto!" Izuku called. "I've already got one!"
"HOLY CRAP!" Mera's voice yelled over the speakers. "ONE GUY JUST TOOK OUT 70 PARTICIPANTS AT ONCE! THAT'S CRAZY! I'M DEFINANTLY AWAKE NOW!"
Izuku couldn't let the announcement distract him, flipping backward as a giant scorpion's stinger impaled the roof where he'd stood.
"Checheche!" Sasori Koya chuckled, the four-armed, purple-clad boy hunched over and his dangerous tail waving as he faced Izuku. The verdet could not see the other boy's mandibles through his mask as the clicked with his mirth, but he knew they were there due to his Mutation-type Quirk: Scorpion.
"Shoto?" Izuku called.
"Yeah?"
"Can you handle those two? I think Purple over here is gonna give me trouble."
"Leave it to me. I'll save you one."
"Thanks."
"You sure have a lot of nerve talking like I'm not here," Koya said as Shoto renewed the steam in the air.
"I just needed to make sure we aren't interrupted," Izuku replied with a grin, the ends of his bo drawing patterns of blue through the air. "You sure you want to do this?"
"What better chance to test myself than against a UA semi-finalist? I'm Sasori Koya, first-year at Seijin."
"Izuku Midoriya, first-year at UA." Izuku shot forward, batting away Sasori's tail as it came for him. "I'd shake your hand, but my bo will have to do!"
"That's my kind of greeting!" Sasori raised his two left hands, catching the weapon. Izuku didn't stop, throwing his rope-dart with the ball on the end directly at the Seijin student. He didn't count on that working as more than a distraction, the verdet spinning forward to plant a kick in Sasori's chest.
Sasori, however, had four arms to defend with. Two caught the bo, one the dart, and the last Izuku's foot.
"Not bad," the scorpion-boy grinned, Izuku's eyes widening as Sasori dragged him upward over his body and down on the other side. The UA student coughed red as his back crashed into the roof with enough force to dent it. Sasori cackled. "Checheche!"
"You're… strong," Izuku coughed. "Too bad you don't have all the information you need."
"What are you—"
Izuku pressed a button, his bo shifting into Edison as Izuku wildly aimed and fired. Sasori backpedaled quickly as three different bolts of electricity practically chased him, giving Izuku the breathing room he needed to pull himself up.
"So that's what got Suna," the heteromorph commented to himself. "Well, I bet you won't be much of a problem without your—"
Another blast of steam blotted out the sun, turning the world around the two students into nothing but a white mist. Izuku grinned at he vanished into it, leaving Sasori twitching at every moved pebble.
"Where are you?" the Seijin student called, lashing his tail through the steam in vain.
"I am everywhere," Izuku muttered. Sasori spun, stabbing his tail toward the voice over for the hair on the back of his neck to stand. He threw himself to the side, barely avoiding the bolt of electricity that came from behind him. "Everywhere, and nowhere."
"You sure can be scary when you want to be," Sasori admitted, trying to keep the waver out of his voice. Izuku's ball-capped dart smacked him in the shoulder, turning one of his targets red. "Shit!"
"You better run now, Koya," Izuku warned. "That is, unless you want to be my second."
"I'll win next time," the scorpion-boy promised. He ran, charging out of the steam and across the rooftop. Izuku watched as Mure, too, fled from a lost fight with Iida and Tsuyu, the two Assassin spies of Seijin taking to the adjacent rooftops.
"Midoriya?" Shoto questioned. Izuku turned to find the two his dual-haired classmate had been fighting —wearing orange and light blue— trapped up to their necks in ice. One of his hands burned, clearing the pathways they would need to hit their targets. "Where did the other one go?"
"He got away," Izuku shrugged. "I decided to let him. No point it taking away more chances to pass than we have to. I trusted you'd be able to handle these two."
"Well… thank you for the vote of confidence."
Izuku stepped over, he and Shoto simultaneously tapping their second victims' third targets. The UA students' targets, in turn, turned blue, signifying they would pass if they reached the antechamber.
"Let's go get Tsu and Iida," Izuku suggested. "They should be done by now. We can hurry and be done with this test."
"You will hear no objections from me."
End of Chapter 47
And so, Izuku's run of the Exam's first test is over quickly! Unlike Canon, where Shoto rather easily defeated all the Seijin students by himself, they confronted a group of four and had their asses handed to them even faster. I recognize the parameters of the exam are the same but the pass numbers are different. In Canon, the numbers are lowered due to the Stain incident and Kamino Ward. Here, neither happened, so the numbers are normal.
What do the exams of the other UA students and Assassin spies look like? Who will pass and who will fail? What happened to the other Ketsubutsu spy? Will Emi get that date she's been looking for? Tell me what you think!
Read and Review!
-SwordOfTheGods