Chapter 7: Hero entrance exam
Location: Takoba Beach Park
Izuku breathed in the early morning air, far cleaner now than it had been in a long time, as the last traces of the festering dump that had once infested Takoba was being hauled away and in its place was nothing but nice, soft sand. The sun was just beginning to crest the horizon now, creating an aurora of colour across the misty ocean water that stung his eyes even as he forced them to see. And just as it heralded the beginning of a new day so too did it herald their entrance exam. Tsuyu and Mineta were with him, each to either side and each having a similar expression of satisfied accomplishment.
After their fight with the reapers; the encounter had shown them the cold truth of the kind of villains they could end up one day facing. And that lesson had pushed them even harder and farther than they ever thought they could. Each one acting as the others voice of encouragement and together they had improved upon their quirks by leaps and bounds.
Thankfully though they'd had no situations to truly use them; it seemed that the reapers had decided to leave this part of town alone after the scuffle, leaving the people safe and them without any distractions.
Izuku gave a contented sigh as he stared into the crystal blue water, the rhythmic lapping of its waves no longer accented by the rustle of plastic bags and the clattering of glass bottles.
"Not bad" Izuku sighed as the trio admired their handiwork. "Good job cleaning out the water Tsu" he complimented as she nodded her head, just as engrossed in the sight as he was.
"Alright that's enough staring, let's get going" Mineta said, being the first to break from the sight.
Izuku was surprised by this, even after training for so long Mineta had always been the first to suggest taking a quick break or cutting the training an hour early. He had trained hard certainly but old habits die hard.
Giving his friend a curious look the shorter boy smacked his fist into his open palm, a fire of determination burning in his eyes.
"After all the training we've been doing, I'm pumped for the exam." He said, shadowing boxing the air. "Besides it's not like we have all day"
Izuku agreed with him but there was one thing he wanted to know first.
"Before we go I kinda wanna ask you something" he said, looking back at their resident frog girl; who was looking decidedly less frog then when they had first met as she looked at him with crystal eyes that he enjoyed looking at more and more.
"Why do you want to be a hero" he asked, genuinely curious over her reasons for all of this. What drove her, what goal laid at the end of her road that was so important that she would take the path of a hero?
"I mean I already know why he wants to be one" he said with a smile, thinking about how many times Mineta had talked to him about all the girls they were going to get once they went pro.
Tsu looked back to the ocean and was silent for a moment, an unreadable expression in her eyes and making him think that he crossed some sort of line.
"Freedom" she finally answered and her silence showed that she wasn't interested in elaborating.
That answer surprised Izuku; he had never pictured her to a free and wild kind of person. Though again he wondered whose freedom she was talking about and what they would be free from.
But as the questions formed in his throat, he kept himself silent. It was not his place to ask for details and he knew well about keeping somethings private.
"To freedom then" he said encouragingly as he lifted his fist into the air.
"To girls" Mineta cheered raising his own fist and though it took a second; Tsuyu also lifted her fist into the air to, a small smile on her face.
"And to making it all worth it" he finished, and with one final glace back to the ocean they left Takoba and marched to their destinies.
Location: UA
"Woah"
It was the first word that sprung into his mind but it did not even come close to doing it justice as Izuku stared at the large gold plated letters of UA academy. All around them they could see and hear the crowd of kids like them, either hero hopefuls preparing for the exam or those that already wore the uniform watching as the newbies poured in with knowing looks of glee and pity for what they were in for.
"It's bigger than I thought it would be" Mineta gasped, as the two boys stood side by side as their eyes desperately tried to take in everything that there was.
"What did you expect; it's the most prestigious school in the country. All Might, Endeavor, Best Jeanist they've all come from here" Tsuyu admonished looking out at the school, her eyes growing hard with focus as she looked over the academy.
Tsuyu was right; it was the most prestigious and that also meant it was the most competitive, that fact weighing heavily on his shoulders. Even with all their training there had to be hundreds of people here, to be able to beat them all…
"Out of my way Deku, you too shorty" a voice growled as the trio turned around to see the familiar dusty blonde hair of Katsuki Bakugo, hunched over and sneering at the two of them like a junkyard dog as he stalked closer.
"If you get in my way, I'll kill you both" he threatened, lips tightened into a sneer as he walked by, keeping his eyes straight and not even bothering to look at them. Izuku, who not long ago would have flinched at the threat, maybe even stutter out an apology and retreat back into his shell. But after everything he had been through; the blast, the reapers, his argument with his mother and the knowledge of his own temporary death, he didn't. He just watched him go, without saying a word.
"So that's your bully" Tsuyu asked Izuku; pointing and accusatory finger at katsuki's back, her brow furrowing as she stared at it.
"Yeah" he sighed, memories of the past resurfacing. If he managed to get in he had no doubt Kacchan would as well, he might have been an overaggressive asshole but he was anything but incompetent.
"I didn't think he'd be so in your face about it" she said, eyes growing narrow as memories of her own entered her mind.
"He's never been one for subtlety" he admitted, exhaling through his nose and shaking his head in resigned acceptance as a subversive thought entered his mind.
"You guys go on ahead, I'll catch up" he breathed, looking up at the letters of the school.
Both Tsuyu and Mineta looked at him with surprise but didn't really see a reason to question it, so they left Midoriya alone with his thoughts. And in that solitude did the thought speak and give voice to his hesitation.
"I could leave right now" the niggling little voice in his head said; so full of fear, fear of failure, fear of all of this being for nothing, fear of his own motives of even being here.
"No; I can't" he answered back, pushing the thought back. "Not after everything I've been through, not after all of the training and not after what Moya had told me about the Ray Sphere and the First Sons. I will win, I will become a pro hero, avenge their deaths and make those bastards pay" he ordered, to that pathetic voice of opposition, mentally strangling it and hoping it would be silenced forever.
Eventually the thoughts did leave like darkness dispersed by fire, but it was still there just beyond the fires light, leaving him alone for now with only his goal. He was here and he was going to succeed; and as he took his firsts steps to do just that he tripped on his own feet, the ground rising to meet him as only one thought passed through his mind.
"For Fuck's sake"
But just as his face was about to kiss the dirt he was overcome by strange feeling of weightlessness that made his mind swim. Surprised by the sudden change in momentum, Izuku flailed around slightly as he tried to right himself.
"Sorry" he heard a voice say as he felt a pair of hands grab him and place him feet first back on the ground. Turning he saw a young girl around his age with short brown hair and hazel eyes.
"I know we're not supposed to use our quirks yet but it seemed like it would be bad luck to trip on your first day" she said with a wide smile that slowly become one of surprise as she kept looking at him.
"Wait! You're him, the guy from the video" she gasped, eyes going wide with excitement as several others heard her and turned their heads.
"Oh my god he is" he heard another voice say as more eyes fell on him.
"I heard he's Ms. Charge's son" another said as Izuku groaned internally at the mention of that video.
While it did eventually get taken down, due in no small part to the fact what he had done was blatant vigilantism but that didn't happen until it had racked up several million more views. And nothing on the internet is ever truly gone as by the time it was taken down it had already been shared on multiple sights, ensuring it was never going away.
"Yep, that's me" he smiled anxiously, face red with embarrassment as one or two people began snapping pictures of him.
"I…I'm sorry but I got to get going" he stammered out as he quickly walked away not wanting to get mobbed and needing to focus on the task at hand, leaving the crowd and the girl who saved him behind. He didn't even get her name.
It didn't take long to regroup with Mineta and Tsu and trio made their way to the orientation room, sitting all together as Izuku could notice eyes on him before the lights dimmed and the room was rocked by an ear splitting voice.
"HOW'S EVERYBODY DOING!" he yelled, pumping his fist into the air like a DJ at a concert.
To which the room responded with dead silence, all except Izuku himself.
"Oh my god, its present mic" he said in a whispered squeal of fanboying delight. He listened to his radio shows almost every day and he didn't think he'd ever get to see him.
Present mic then went on to explain the practical part of the exam which would involve a ten minute practice battle against robots ranging from one to three points.
"Sensei, on the printed copy it shows images for four robots not three. If this is a mistake it looks poorly on the educational integrity of this school" a young blue haired boy with glasses said, standing up straight as an arrow and with light shining on him he seemed to not care at all for the disruption he was making.
"And you" he said, turning and pointing a finger at Izuku which shocked the young man.
"You shame this bastion of heroism with your presence. A vigilante with no regard for the law such as you has no place here. Worse still is that you would distract students that wish to be true heroes with your constant mumbling. You should leave and never come back" he demanded; staring daggers at the green haired boy.
Izuku was left dumbfounded by the absolute lack of self-awareness this man possessed. This man's outburst over something the teacher was probably about to explain had distracted more people than his mumbling could have ever hoped to. And who was he to tell him he could not be a true hero as images of Bakugo saying similar things flooded his mind.
But his friends were in no such position for silence.
"Your yelling disrupted the teacher; you should be quiet and let him talk" Tsuyu countered leaning in and letting a drop of anger coat her words.
"Yeah Midoriya fought real villains while you were busy polishing your glasses, who the hell are you to judge him" Mineta yelled, not letting anyone so something negative about his friend.
Thankfully though the teacher was able to wrangle the argument down, and explained that the forth robot was worth zero points, made to be an obstacle and that it was best to run away.
After that they were all given a card detailing which combat zone they were assigned to.
Midoriya had zone B
Mineta had zone D
And Tsuyu zone E
"Even though we were right next to each other we all got different zones" Izuku complained as he stared at his card. He was hoping the three of them could work together so that they had a higher chance of all of them getting in.
"Probably so that friends can't work together" Tsuyu answered.
"Well no matter what happens, let's give it our all" Izuku said as Mineta and Tsu nodded in agreement and gave each other. As the trio began to filter out to the their spate buses Mineta called out to Izuku.
"Half as long" he said.
"Twice as bright" Izuku answered.
Location: Zone B
Midoriya could only marvel at the size of the mock city they were going to use and the fact there were several of them on UA boggled his mind. The walls alone that surrounded it must have been at least a hundred feet tall.
There were around twenty other people here and as the stretched and prepared they all gave him wary looks that unsettled him. Then though he saw the girl from before that had saved him from tripping over himself and remembered he hadn't thanked her.
But not before he could even take his first step to approach her did he feel a hand land on his shoulder. As he turned around he was unfortunately greeted by the face of the guy from orientation and from the look in his eyes he seemed like he was on the warpath.
"She seems to be preparing, I think you should leave her to it" he said, hand still clasped around his shoulder. As before with Bakugo now with this new guy where once he would have shied away now he could only feel indignant rage as he smacked away the taller boy's hand.
"What is your problem" he demanded, drawing the attention of everyone else.
"As I said, I will not allow a vigilante to besmirch this academy" he staring down his nose at Izuku.
At that, Izuku had just about had it with him. He was not about his moral character questioned by a man whose mouth was too big for his brain. But just as he was about to give this guy a piece of his mind.
"ALRIGHTY EVERYONE! YOU GOT TEN MINUTES, GET GOING!" present mic yelled as the blue haired boy along with everyone else ran. Leaving Midoriya with his anger, anger he decided he was going to take out on the robots as he charged behind the pack.
Looking up at the powerlines that ran throughout the city he decided it was time to reveal one of his new abilities. Leaping high he latched onto one of the electrical poles and climbed it in seconds. Taking only a moment to steady himself he jumped onto the power line and introduced his induction grind.
Remember his time training on the metal rails of Takoba he leaned forward, electricity lapping at his feet as he sped across the power lines, picking up more and more speed until he saw his first two targets. A one and two point robot who's red eyes glared at him with mechanical intensity as they readied their weapons. The robots fired, machine guns whirling to life as a barrage of rubber bullets sprung forth. Izuku for his part unleashed his second ability, calling to mind his attempts to mimic Tsu's power as a large shield of electrical energy erupted from his palm. The robots had their attacks completely nullified as the projectiles disintegrated on contact, their mass turned to energy that made Izuku feel like he like he had just drank several energy drinks. As their guns ran empty Midoriya deactivated his polarity wall and reached for his waist where his electro whip hung. Unfurling it in one smooth motion he let his electricity flow into it, its form crackling with singular purpose. Pulling his arm back he sent the tip of his whip right into the head of the one point robot, the whip extending like a metallic worm. The energy of the whip condensing into a single point as it connected, the sound of a thunderclap echoing out as it shattered into pieces.
But as he turned his hand to destroy the two point, he found himself temporarily blinded by a shining beam of light the scrapped the bot in one hit. This sudden lack of eyesight made the young boy loose his balance as he fell of the power line, stopping his descent as he latched onto the line with his one free hand.
"Thank you mon ami, we make a great team. Au revoir" he heard a flamboyant voice say as he just caught the image of blonde hair before whoever it was turned a corner, leaving him alone in the street.
Izuku cursed under his breath as he hoisted himself back onto the powerline. Not wasting anymore time he used his radar pulse and continued on, keeping up the pressure, using his radar pulse to find and take out any robots others might have missed until he came to a large intersection with several other participants facing a group of robots.
Izuku took what shots he could, aiming for the heads and anything that looked volatile on the robots bodies as one of the two point robots vibrated furiously before exploding.
Not letting up he spotted a three pointer that had the body of a spider and many glowing red eyes. He watched as it zeroed in on him and unleashed a barrage of missiles at him.
Bringing his hands together he reeled them back, feeling the energy grow in his palms as he pushed his hands forward and unleashed a shockwave of energy, the rush of electro-kinetic energy redirecting the missiles back at the unprepared bot. The missiles smashed into its form; gouging into its metal skin as the machine sputtered and sparked and as Izuku finally got close enough he jumped covering himself in electricity and unleashing a thunder drop on top of it. Crashing into its armored frame and plowing straight through it.
"That makes thirty two" his breathed, trying to take in air as he ran out of the smoldering wreck of the machine. Looking down at his shoes he felt a wave of relief as he saw no sign of melting. After using those powers though he was feeling drained and as he was about to absorb some energy from a nearby electrical source the ground began to shake with buildings crashing down.
Plumes of smoke began to fill the street as the massive zero point robot peered over the buildings and people began to scream and run. But Izuku stood their eyes going wide and frantic as memories of the blast washed into him. The heat, the scream and the smoke he was so caught up in the memories he almost didn't hear the pained scream of a girl.
Though frightened he saw her, the girl from before that had helped him. Her legs were trapped underneath a piece of debris and the treads of the massive bot were rolling closer by the second. His fear fought with his instincts in that moment, telling him to run away, that there's no way the school would let a person die. But as he saw the fear in her eyes, the pain in her grimace as the wight of the concrete bared down on her he made up his mind and swallowed his fear.
Izuku felt all the electrical energy coursing through the bot, but he knew he couldn't absorb it all in time to stop it from crushing her which left him with only one option as clouds began to form in the once blue sky. He had only ever used it once before and that time it left him completely drained but he couldn't see any other way.
As more frightened people rushed by him he raised his hands up and gathered all the electrical energy in his body and as he did he felt all the electricity around him, in the robot, in the people, in the air and in the sky as the lights of the false city flickered and flared and the surge of power that was about to be unleashed. He felt his energy connect with it, add to it and direct it and like pulling open the flood gates the clouds roared with thunder and opened like the mouth of a dragon in a downpour of rapid and continuous blue lightning strikes as he brought his hands down like a hammer bathing the newly darkened streets with their light. The lighting speared right into the top of the robots head as it sputtered and sparked, arcs of electricity slithering across it's body as explosions rocked its insides, the molten lance piecing it from top to bottom before erupting in a massive explosion that rocked the buildings; its metallic skin glowing at the seams before it was blasted apart.
But Izuku couldn't relish in his success; he couldn't even turn to see if the girl was okay. All he could do was fall.
Location: Zone D [Earlier]
Mineta was sitting forward, fingers interlocked as he stared off into space, his body lightly rocking as the bus drove them to their exam area. He wouldn't admit it but he was nervous without Midoriya there to watch his back. They had always been together since they were kids, brothers in all but blood and his absence was getting to him.
Steeling his nerves he remembered why he was doing this, as he imagined all the girls they were going to get once they went pro. Once he aced this exam him and Midoriya were going to get all the girls, it was going to be a veritable buffet of bombshells. He could see it even now in his mind's eye; beautiful, bountiful and bouncy as far as the eye could see.
Or at least that was what he told himself as the events of the last few weeks left the grape haired boy with a lot to think about. He'd had an idea in his head about how being a hero was supposed to be; go in, beat up the bad guys and get the girls. But that blast had shown him just how bad a villain can be and though he never said it, he too had second thoughts about being a hero after his interview with the police. The thought of going up against a villain capable of such destruction sent fear straight into his heart. And when the reapers had shot Midoriya; watching his best friend fall back on the pavement nailed it home for him. One false step, one wrong move and that's that, no money, no parties, no fangirls, nothing, nothing but a six foot hole to lay in forever.
And that was what made him respect Izuku so much; always thinking of others before himself, no matter how much danger he put himself in. And that was why he ultimately decided to keep trying to become a hero; Izuku was more of a hero than he could ever be. But he would try and hopefully he could become the hero Midoriya thought he could be.
But as he was deep in thought he was pulled from them when he could hear the snickering, as he looked into the eyes of a boy and girl, giving him jeering and mocking looks as they looked over what they must have thought was a weak little man, not even worth being considered a threat to their chances of getting in. He would make them regret that assessment as they all gave him the same look.
"Hey, you're that vigilantes sidekick aren't you" came the voice of the tall, muscular boy with hair that reminded him of a bullet.
"Not even a good sidekick it seems; couldn't even stop your buddy from getting blasted" he mocked as Mineta balled his fist, giving the smug prick a glare which only seemed to egg him on.
"Not like what he did was all that impressive. Nothing I couldn't have done. With this" he bragged as he hoisted a massive rifle in his hands.
"One lock of hair and those villains would have been done for" he grinned as his self-satisfying rant was cut off.
"Pride is a sin, you'd do well to rid yourself of it" a calm, voice said, interrupting the man as they both looked to see a young girl with vine like hair. Her posture was straight, eyes closed and hands together in prayer.
"What did you say" he asked incredulously as the girl finally opened her eyes to reveal twin pools of jade as she looked up at the man without a hint of anger or annoyance.
"When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom. And I believe it would be wise to sit down" she said calmly, leaving the man to glare at the woman in impotence before huffing off back to his seat.
Mineta was left stunned as he looked back at the girl. He had never been defended by a girl before and definitely one that was as much of a looker as she was with clear, flawless skin and eyes you could get lost in. Mineta could only mouth the words "thank you" as the vine haired girl nodded her head with a small smile and closed her eyes once more.
"Was this the start of his popular phase" he thought to himself as the idea brought a devious smile to his face before it was cut off as he noticed the man sitting next to him who held what he thought looked like one of the gas masks used in world war one. His eyes were a mixture of all consuming panic and frightful intensity as he kept his eyes focuses on… the douche with the gun?
"Hey, you alight" Mineta tried to ask placing a gentle hand on the brown haired kid's shoulder. This seemed to knock the boy out of his internal world as he whipped his head around, his eyes hard as ice.
"What do you want" he barked defensively pulling himself away from his grasp.
"Woah, you just looked stressed out" Mineta said lifting his hands in a disarming gesture as the boy's shoulders eventually slackened and turned down to look at the red lenses of his mask.
"It's none of your business" he growled as Mineta internally groaned at having to deal with another guy with a pissy attitude.
"He not know what to do" a feminine voice said as Mineta looked further down the line to see another young girl sitting on the other side of the sullen boy, her blonde hair revealing her foreign heritage. The girl also had two horns on her head and hooves instead of feet. "His quirk gas, robots no work"
The boy looked like he was going to say something to the girl, but settled for a look of annoyance as he scowled and Mineta breathed through his teeth, a look of understanding.
"Yeah, I can see how that might be a bit of an issue" he said with a tense smile, though the boy didn't respond, leaving the smaller boy with his thoughts one last time.
Eventually they did get to their zone and filed out, Mineta giving himself a few last calming breathes as he took of his shoes, to the amused looks of some of his fellow competitors. He just smiled back as the door opened and the exam began.
Quickly he found him at the back of the pack but he had prepared for that as he tossed one of his balls on the ground and hoped on it. The purple ball give him all the bounce he needed as he sprung off it, sailing through the air and tossing a ball where he was going to land and repeated the process.
As he bounded of the second ball he recalled fondly of the time him and Izuku had a sleep over. They had gotten it into their heads that it would be a good idea to cover the floor in his balls and put a blanket over it to make a trampoline. It had worked, almost hit their heads on the ceiling but it worked, but it did end up staining the blanket… and the floor.
That memory had been the driving motivator for him learning how to do this as he knew that he would have to overcome the physical disadvantages of his body. And he had eaten enough sand in his attempts to learn this that he was not about to fail now.
Not long after he found his first bot, acting quickly he tossed a ball in the path if its wheel, stopping it instantly with the sudden change in speed and making it fall forward and smash its head on the concrete.
Letting himself have a moment of joy at his first victory, he continued on hopping from ball to ball and immobilizing any bots he came across, he even managed to save a girl almost as short as him with brown hair that obscured her eyes as he flashed a confident smile to her as he bounced away.
"Oh yeah, popular phase is a go"
But as he continued on he heard a scream and the sound of a gun from close by. Quickly he jumped over and was greeted to a street that was filled with a thick purple mist. Not trusting the gas Mineta jumped from his ball to the ledge of a nearby building and tried his best to look inside. Through the mist he could see the form of a massive three point robot, a robot that was sporting a massive gaping hole in its head. But along with it there were several other, more human shapes.
'What had happened, had that robot done this, or was this someone's quirk' these thoughts puzzled him as he heard two familiar voices, though they were familiar for two entirely different reasons.
One was the pro hero midnight, whose voice he could easily recognize from all her interviews, while the other was the much more recent voice of the gas mask kid from the bus. From here he could tell they were having some sort of argument that lasted for a few seconds more before the young boy took off running and as he jumped out of the cloud of mist he saw him carrying… the rifle of the dude from before.
Midnight didn't seem to take off after him so he figured that whatever happened, it wasn't too big a deal. Though as he looked closer he could see the shape of the vine shaped hair, lying motionless amongst the smoke.
He didn't need to see if the girl was okay, he still had time to go find more bots and he was sure that the teachers wouldn't let someone get seriously hurt.
"But what would Izuku do" he thought and he already knew the answer as he took in a deep breath and launched himself into the purple mist. Had it been any other time, he might have ogled and drooled over Midnight's flirtatious outfit that hugged her sensuous curves and left little to the imagination, but instead he only paid it a passing glance as he hoisted the unconscious girl over his shoulder and bounced back out onto the roof of another building.
Placing her down lightly he looked to see if there was anything obviously wrong with her but he couldn't see if anything was happening inside. Placing his ear close to her mouth he breathed a relieved sigh as he heard her breathing. That relief was short lived as the girl gasped and knocked her face into his as she coughed out the gas.
The two each rubbed the spot their faces connected as the two looked at each other. Mineta pulled between the pain and the sheer glee that had unintentionally gotten his first kiss. Sure it was technically on the ear but he was not about to complain.
"Um hi again" he said; cheeks now a deep red as he tried to explain what had happened to her.
"I'm going to try and grab the others still in the mist so…" he tried to say before the girl brought he hands together once again, confusing the boy before he watched her hair lengthen and become a rolling wave of vines that began to flow over the roofs edge.
Not even a few seconds later, he saw the forms half a dozen other people being hoisted out of the mist, their bodies wrapped up in the vines. And Among them was the familiar horse like legs of the horned girl, wearing the gas boy's mask.
"Woah" Mineta whispered when the once blue sky began to be filled with dark clouds and the sound of thunder. Both students from their position on the building could hear the thunder getting louder before the sky split open and one word escaped Mineta's lips.
"Izuku"
Location: Zone E [Earlier]
Tsuyu sat silently in the bus, her mind had been laser focused on the task at hand. Any worries she might have had, had been left at the gates. She had far too much riding on this to be bogged down in them. But it seemed the universe wouldn't let her have a few minutes of quiet as the harsh steps of a certain sand blonde boy walked up to her, his eyes a tempest of rage.
"Hey Kermit" the blonde boy growled, his knuckles white from how hard he was squeezing them. "What the fuck were all of you talking about?"
Tsuyu looked up at the man, her placid facing growing a hint of annoyance at hearing his voice again. She knew what he was talking about and she had put two and two together on why this prick had been bullying Izuku for so long. The idea that a "weak and quirkless" Izuku could be a vigilante probably felt like acid to his ego. And better still, he didn't know the how. He hadn't learned that his former victim had gained a quirk and that prompted her to do something she did not do often.
Smile
"I don't know what you're talking about" she lied, letting the petulant douche seethe as trails of smoke began to leak between his fingers.
"You know exactly what the fuck I'm talking about. That bullshit about that Deku being a vigilante!" he roared, nostril's flaring like a bulls as he leaned in closer in an attempt to intimidate her.
"Oh yes, that" she gasped, feigning sudden recollection. "Haven't checked the internet lately have you?" she said, her smile turning into a full Cheshire grin.
He looked like he was about to lose it, his fuse on its last few strands before both heard the sound of something sliding and a girl with pink skin and whiteless eyes appeared beside Tsu waving a phone in her hand.
"I thought I recognized you, you're the girl from the video" the girl said, her bubbly voice filled with an enthusiasm that either didn't know or care about the conflict she had stepped into.
Bakugo barely had time to yell at the interruption before his words ground to a halt as the impromptu trio watched the video play. The three of them getting a nice replay of everything that had happened, but Tsu's attention wasn't on the video, she had seen it enough times to have it burned into her memory. No she watched Bakugo whose face had turned from rage to utter disbelief.
"Remember the blast? The one that granted people quirks" she said to the blonde as a look of horrific realization spread itself across his face, the left side of his face twitching ever so slightly.
"He's got a quirk now, and he's going to be a better hero than you could ever hope to be" she stated with as much venom as she could pump into those words which seemed to make him enter an almost cold rage as she began to see the heat radiate around him as he slowly walked back to his seat.
Watching him leave Tsu turned to the new girl on front of her.
"Who are you" she asked as the girl gave her a sly smile and offered her hand.
"I'm Mina Ashido, nice to meet ya" she said as Tsu looked at the hand for a moment before shaking it.
"Tsuyu Asui, and thank you" she said as Mina relaxed, giving an exaggerated stretch as she slouched into the seat.
"No problem; if there's anything I hate, its bullies" she affirmed, giving Tsu another large smile to which she gave a small one in return. The rest of the trip was done in a comfortable silence between them.
But by the time the door of the bus opened, the inside had become a sauna as everyone poured out to into the fresh cool air.
The last to leave was Bakugo whose body almost seeming to glow under his clothes as he stepped off the bus, the metal almost seaming to bend under the dual assault of the heat and his weight.
Everyone avoided the blonde as if he were a raging fire as the door began to open. The blonde had been the first to act, not even waiting for it to fully open as he launched himself with a large explosion, clearing the gate and leaving the edges of the metal gate red hot.
Stunned for only a second the rest of the contestants hurried forth, doing their best to avoid the hot metal.
Tsu took off running letting her new found strength fill her legs as with a single hop she jumped sixty feet into the air. All that training had done wonders for her body, she felt stronger than she had ever felt before. And from her vantage point she could see her first targets, first there was a one point bot and a two point robot that had the body of a scorpion. Landing with a loud boom that didn't hurt her at all as she readied herself, remembering her training with Izuku, pooling the water at the tip of her finger until the pressure became too much and a stream of high pressure water sliced across the bot, cutting it clean in two. The one pointer seeing its comrade fall charged her, firing off a barrage of rubber bullets. In response Tsu created a shield of water in front of her, the bullets deforming the shield only to fall to the ground as the surface tension held.
The robot did not let up as it finally closed the distance, aiming to crush her with its massive arms. Tsu for her part pulled her hands back, the water flowing with it as she threw her arms forward, the shield reforming into a net that launched the bot into the side of a building. The robot, unable to break the surface tension of its prison eventually shut down.
Taking in a breath she forgot to take she moved forward, feeling only a small sense of thirst as she took down any bots she came across, though they were far fewer than she had expected. But she didn't need to wonder why for long as the heat grew and she found more and more puddles of melted metal and asphalt that she guessed were former robots.
Then she felt the ground shake as a deafening explosion rocked the building she was standing on. The explosion was close and while a part of her didn't want to get involved Bakugo didn't seem to be the kind of guy to care about collateral damage.
With another large hop she was blasted by a fresh wave of hot air that made it hard to breathe. As she landed she could see it; all across the street were pools of former robots as some of her fellow contestants struggled through the heat, some faring better than others, spending more time fighting the heat then fighting what few robots were left.
And at the head of this was the walking heatwave Bakugo, a look of pure fury ripped across his face as he blasted another bot, the white metal sloughing off like melted ice cream. Where before he simply looked like he was glowing, now he most certainly was, as his skin burned bright like metal in a forge. This was bad, Bakugo was not going to stop and some of these people might get seriously injured, she had to do something.
That was when she was again greeted by the voice from before, though now her bubbliness had been severely reduced.
"Looks like Blondie's about to blow" she said, nonchalantly sitting on the balcony and seemingly handling the heat far better than everyone else.
"We need to get everyone out of here" Tsuyu said, scanning the street for anything that could help.
"And how's your plan for doing that" she questioned, leaning in.
Just as Mina asked the question, she spotted it, a fire hydrant. She didn't know how lifelike these cities were but she had seen real lights in the building and if the school had enough money to spend on electricity for these mock cities, hopefully that would extend to working water.
"You see that fire hydrant over there" she asked as Mina nodded her head.
"I need you to gather everyone up in the center of the street, once you do I'm going to open it" she explained.
"You think a little water is gonna stop him" she questioned, pointing a finger at the lunatic as he destroyed another robot with a feral roar.
"We don't have time, just trust me" she pleaded as the clock was ticking down.
"Alight, alright I'ma get to it" she said; throwing herself backwards over the railing and shocking Tsuyu for a moment before the sound of sizzling filled her ears as the girl covered her hands in acid and thrust them into the side of the building, slowing her decent.
She watched as Mina slid from place to place like a figure skater grabbing a person after the next and getting them all together. It wouldn't take long now and with a deep breath Tsu shot across the street and right next to the hydrant. With one swift kick, she smashed the hydrant clean off with a loud clang, letting loose a geyser of water that was already turning to steam. The ground shook once more as a zero point robot showed itself, peering over the buildings around them. Throwing her hand into the raging torrent she commanded it to obey her as the chaotic rush became one fluid stream. Hopping on she rode the wave to the growing pile of people and used the water to grab them, catching their bodies in the wave as she sped off.
Mina was with her once more, the surface tension never faltering and allowing the girl to coast on the wave with the others as she gave her a congratulatory thumbs up. Tsuyu returned it then looked up as she saw the sky had begun to darken and the sound of thunder filled the air.
"Izuku" she thought, but before she could think of anything else a flash of light brighter than anything she had ever seem erupted behind her, making the street look for a moment like the inside of a light bulb.
She turned her head around and her voice caught in her throat as she watched the head of the zero point robot fall; the upper half of its body reduced to slag as the head splashed and sank into the molten lake that had been its legs.
"Holy shit"
Location: Exam Observation room
Amazement buzzed in the room as the teachers watched as not one but two zero pointers were completely destroyed. All Might the symbol of peace stood in his striped yellow and black suit as the teachers talked amongst themselves. All Might couldn't help but feel a sense of pride and admiration as he watched Izuku Midoriya. The boy had gone through things no child should ever have to go through; but to see him hear after everything and to see him doing so well and save that girl made the huge smile all the wider.
Though one seemed far less enthused as the pale and skinny form of Shota Aizawa whose long scarf hid everything below his yes which stared hard at twin screens showing each of the boys.
"Something troubling you" the large muscles man said.
"He shouldn't have been allowed to attempt the exam" the man said, pointing at the green haired boy behind his greasy hair.
"What do you mean, you saw what that kid could do" his loud mouth friend present mic said, looking at him like he had lost his mind.
"You've seen the video" the tired man answered back.
"We have all seen the video Aizawa but we must take it all into perspective, after the blast some heroes either retired or started avoiding certain areas" came the posh voice of principle Nezu. "It was only a matter of time before people started taking their security into their own hands"
"Besides, as far as I know he was never charged and was let off with a warning" Present mic pointed out.
On the surface Aizawa would agree with Nezu, the weeks after the blast having been a nightmare with hundreds of small time gangs making power moves all across japan, using the chaos as cover and making night time heroes like himself work twice as hard.
But he still could not accept it, while what the boy had done, might not have been wrong morally, it had still been illegal.
"What will we say our school stands for if we allow a known vigilante in" he argued.
"Our school will stand for the reasons it has always stood for; the same reason we are still running this school and training children to one day become heroes after the most deadly terrorist attack in Japanese history. Hope; this school is a beacon of Heroism, while its doors remain open the public has hope that things will get better and with the rise of more villains in the wake of that atrocity we are going to need people like him" the principle said, his rousing speech he received nods of approval from his fellow faculty members.
Aizawa narrowed his eyes as again he could see no obvious objection he could make without sounding unreasonable. He was right, the people needed hope and even now there had been a noticeable drop in applicants for the hero course this year, to such a degree that there were serious talks about combining the two first year classes. They were in no position to be picky.
"Seems like you're outnumbered Shota" Present mic playfully jeered.
"And what about him" Aizawa said, pointing at explosive blonde. "He pretty much disabled everyone in his group. Should we just forget it happened because he's powerful" he said, wondering what the mouse would say to that.
"Ah yes him" the mouse said clearing his throat. "I believe given the circumstances that anyone incapacitated by another's quirk regardless of which zone they were in should be allowed to retake the exam if they are physically able to do so" he explained, hoping that making it more all-encompassing would allow for an easier acceptance.
"And as you said, what the young man did was unacceptable so we shall deduct a fitting amount for every person he disabled" he finished as the teachers nodded their heads in agreement of the reasonable idea.
"Fitting amount" Aizawa thought to himself.
Reasonable and non-committal, the perfect way to pretend you're taking others into account while still being allowed to do whatever you want. It was so good that Aizawa almost didn't notice the nervous twitch of the mouse's eye.
Almost.