Izuku Midoriya had hoped that there would be at least one familiar face within the group heading to his testing site. Someone like Itsuka so that they could stretch together or Tsunotori so that they could have a chat. Stuff that might help ease his nerves. But, alas, the universe was not too kind to the boy as the only familiar face he saw was the blue-haired teen that had scolded Tsunotori.
As Izuku began to stretch his legs he momentarily considered approaching the taller teen. To simply explain what had happened this morning and perhaps then he could help arrange a proper apology from him. However, upon looking at the stony and harsh expression the boy was giving off the teen decided against it. This teen had already shown that he was easily triggered into thinking the worst about others around him. Odds were that if Izuku did walk up to him the other teen would loudly chastise him.
Maybe after the exams when everyone wasn't as stressed he'd…wait a moment! The bespectacled teen's legs had exhaust vents in them! Seeing them brought Izuku's mind to the Ida family and the Turbo Hero: Ingenium! Was this guy related to them or something?
As the young Midoriya's mind began to spiral into his analysis mode on the possible Ida boy's quirk, the door to the testing area opened. For a moment, no one made a move as they all just stared at the empty city within.
"Come on! Come on! What are you all standing around for?" yelled Present Mic from up above. Almost as one, the students turned their attention upwards to find the man looking down at them just to the side of the gate with a manic smile on his face. "There are no countdowns in real life! The test's already begun!"
With that, everyone began to run right into the city at top speed. Some like the maybe-Ida boy shot past the rest with amazing speed leaving the rest of the group far behind. Then there were people like Izuku who, thanks to his intense workout regimen, managed to stay in front of the pack without feeling winded.
It didn't take long before the first robotic villain was spotted. A one-pointer robot came out of a nearby alley up ahead, looking like it was ready to take down all the students by itself. Upon seeing it, there was a moment when Izuku felt fear touch his heart. After all, this was a machine built to test them. To fight them. But the holder of the Divine Dividing pushed down that fear the same way he did when he was jumping from rooftop to rooftop with Mrs. Kendo.
As the teens behind him began screaming dibs on the metal foe, Izuku sped up to his max running speed. Though he did not immediately activate Divine Dividing, Midoriya's eyes began to scan his target to find its weakness. While fighting a robot without one's quirk might be considered very foolish the green-haired teen knew he needed to do this. Needed to confirm that, in case Divine Dividing didn't work on machines, he still stood a chance in this exam. That as well as something a bit more personal. A part of him needed to know that if he had entered into this exam without any real power, be it a quirk or a Sacred Gear, that he still stood a chance at being a hero.
By the time Izuku was right in front of his foe, the green-haired teen had settled on his target. With all his honed reflexes, the teen bent his knees before leaping up into the air and curled himself into a ball as he began to spin around. Quickly gravity called him back to earth, the teen sticking out a leg as fell and slammed it right into the neck of the machine. Upon contact, a cracking noise filled the air before the robot hit the ground with its lights dimming into nothingness. It was down. Izuku Midoriya had received his first point.
However, there was no time to celebrate his victory. He had won nothing more than a single battle while the war raged all around him. The other students knew that as they were already moving deeper into the city as they looked for more robots to fight. So Izuku wasted no more time as he began to look for another robot to defeat.
He didn't have to search for very long as the tank-like three-pointer robot came crashing through a wall right in front of Izuku. Acting on instinct, the green-haired youth leaped back just as the machine turned to face him while firing several rubber bullets from its back. While Midoriya managed to avoid the majority of the attack, one of the projectiles grazed his leg with enough force that it ripped right through his pant leg while leaving a deep red mark across his skin. Letting out a hiss of pain, Izuku lunged over to the side to avoid getting hit again as his eyes scanned the machine. Sad thing was that this one didn't have such an obvious weakness as the first and its body looked like it was made of much thicker metal. Perhaps with time, he could uncover the hidden weak spot. But time was the one thing he did not have in abundance at the moment.
'Guess now is as good a time as any to see if this works.' With that thought, Izuku activated Divine Dividing. Instantly he felt the power in his left hand begin to pool, the blue gem forming for all the world to see. But then it vanished! No, wait! It moved! That power shot through his arm, into his shoulder, and then settled into his back. For a moment, Izuku was confused as to what was happening to him. Then from his back sprouted two white wings, each one holding four 'feathers' made of bluish energy for a grand total of eight. Unable to help himself, Izuku stood there as he marveled at the change.
"What…What is this?" asked a bewildered Izuku.
The three-pointer responded by firing at its target once more. Again, Izuku leaped to the side only to see that both his speed and leap had increased. Almost like he was flying. Well, he did have wings now.
'Congratulations partner!' came Albion's voice within Izuku's head. 'It seems like all your training has paid off, your body is now capable of handling the first stage of Divine Dividing. Now you can make full use of your new abilities!'
'New abilities?' asked Izuku internally, shooting forward towards the three-pointer to quickly make contact with it.
"Divide!" cried the green-haired boy aloud.
Midoriya once more felt a surge similar to when he used Divine Dividing on Bakugo nearly a year ago. He could feel the power coursing through his being, the machine's strength and speed being added to his own. Only this time it didn't feel as fleeting as that first time. With wide eyes and a rush moving through his systems, Izuku jumped onto the machine's back where he then sent a downward kick right into the back of the three-pointer's head. As Midoriya had expected, this one was a bit tougher as it needed a second kick before the head would break off from the rest of the body. And while this was going on, Albion spoke.
'Yes,' was Alibion's reply with Izuku somehow getting the sense that the dragon was nodding. 'Since you are a little preoccupied I'll keep this simple. The wings on your back aren't just for show. Nay. The energy that you have stolen from your foes shall be spread throughout the feathers and any access energy will be released from the tips. Just think of it as storage that you can use to keep yourself stronger longer with a built-in run-off system. But be warned, if you drain too much energy with no way to release it then you shall have to endure the strain that comes with it. These wings will also grant you flight.'
'G-Good to know,' thought Izuku.
Glancing around, Izuku found that he was alone. The streets seemed utterly devoid of any of the foe villains. However, he could hear the sounds of crashes and explosions off in the distance. No doubt the others were racking up a good deal of points. If Izuku wanted to pass this exam, then he would need to hurry up.
Bending his knees, the teen prepared to take off into the sky at full speed without really thinking about it. This, sadly, proved to be a mistake as Midoriya became nothing more than a green and blue blur rocketing through the air while screaming like a madman. His hands thrashed in front of him while the world rushed past him, the buildings he passed blending together. He felt himself going up, down, twirling in the air so fast that he could vomit at any moment, and so much more. New fear swiftly came to life knowing that if he didn't get control of this soon then he might meet his end by crashing into the street or into one of the mock buildings.
Finally, with a herculean effort, Izuku put all his focus into stopping. And it worked! The teen stopped instantly with no whiplash. He hovered in the sky, panting while doing his best not to look down.
"That…was…a…stupid…idea." As Izuku panted each and every word, he realized that before he could do anything else he would need to get the hang of flying. Not just so that he could continue the exam, but also so that he would not become a splat upon the ground. Since time was a factor Midoriya knew he had to make this both quick as well as effective. After taking a breath, the teen leaned to the left to see what would happen. Thankfully he did move in that direction. So Izuku decided to experiment a bit more as he leaned right, forward, and backward finding himself moving in that direction. Ok! He could work with this.
Now that Izuku had the basics down, the teen began to move downward toward the faux city below. Albeit a bit slower this time, his speed was more akin to a sprint than the super speed he had been going mere minutes ago. Yes, Midoriya knew that he was running out of time. However, he also knew that if he did anything like that again then all he would accomplish would be wasting more time! Later he would begin to practice more with his wings, learning how to fly and how to fight with them. But for now, he had to focus on the test right in front of him.
It didn't take long for Izuku to find more robots. Three of them: two one-pointers and a single two-pointer. Still in the sky, none of the metallic foes had noticed him. A factor that Izuku would capitalize on. Wasting not a single second, Izuku shot down towards the ground while looking like he was doing a flying kick. One aimed right for the center of the two-pointer. The blow landed, the machine's parts flying all around before either of the other two machines could even turn around. Swiftly Izuku shot toward one of the one-pointers to make contact.
"Divide!" yelled Izuku.
A smile appeared on the teen's face as his Divine Dividing took effect once more, the robot slowly turning to look at him. Or, rather, where he had been as Izuku was already above the two machines. An axe kick was sent down into the arm of the drained one-pointer robot, severing it completely as the green-haired youth then spun around in the air so that his opposite heel would connect with the robot's neck. Crack went the neck of his robotic enemy, its body slumping to the ground as Izuku managed to just barely grab hold of the severed limb before it hit the ground. The last one-pointer charged forward with its arm pulled back yet Midoriya was faster. Gripping the metal arm with both hands he swung it right into the midsection of the faux villain. A loud clang echoed through the air as metal embedded into metal while sparks began to fly. Not another second was wasted as Izuku kicked the makeshift weapon in deeper, the robot powering down and earning the teen another point.
Upon realizing that all of his foes were down for the count, Izuku took off to look for more villains.
Then, after a few more minutes, the ground began to shake.
'What's going on here?' That thought echoed through the young Midoriya's mind as he took to the sky, the ground shaking at an alarming rate. Then there were the students whose screams of horror occurred mere moments before the teen spotted them racing through the streets. It looked like they were scrambling to get away from something.
Theories of what was going on flowed through Izuku's mind as easily as a river. Was it an earthquake or some other natural disaster? Or was there a gas line underneath the city that ignited after one of the students used their quirks to destroy a robot? Maybe even someone's quirk going out of control? Whatever the case, the airborne teen flew out into the middle of the street and looked at what the others were running from.
What he saw caused his eyes to widen while a feeling of utter insignificance overtook him! It was the zero-pointer! The sight of it boggled the mind, nearly causing Midoriya's mind to crash and reboot! It was larger than life as it peered down at the fleeing students from above the buildings with its giant metal head. Giant metal claws crashed into the buildings around it, breaking them apart with no effort at all as pieces fell to the earth below. How thick did the school have to make its metal frame in order to keep it from falling apart?
Instincts told the teen to flee, that he stood no chance against such a foe. The rational part of his mind agreed as it began to lay out a plan: while everyone else was running for their lives he could take advantage of the situation to find more points. Turning, Izuku was about to do just that had it not been for the sound that his ear barely caught.
Turning his head, Izuku saw rubble moving on the street and…was that a person underneath? From where he was, he couldn't properly identify who it was. But he could make out the figure of something that was clearly human. A human life that, if someone didn't do something soon, would be snuffed out by the approaching zero-pointer.
Clenching his fists, Izuku's mind began to race faster than ever before in his life. He had to do something. If All Might was here, he could have solved this easily. The mighty symbol of peace would have appeared in front of that person in an instant, throwing off the rubble before punching the giant tin can. But could Izuku do any of that? He could try flying down there and saving whoever it was, but what would happen if he or she was pinned down with something or if the rubble was too heavy to move? What if that thing began to fire some sort of projectile that knocked him out as well? What if the zero-pointer began to speed up and crushed the two of them before making its way to the rest of the students? Could he take the robot on with Divine Dividing? So far, the other robots hadn't given his Sacred Gear too much trouble. But something told him that a machine like that would have a lot more power. If he did use Divine Dividing and he couldn't handle it then that would be it. And even if he could, he doubted that he could destroy that thing with a punch like All Might! Even if he punched it over and over again a million times all he would get would be bloody knuckles and broken hands. So what could he…
Just then, the words of Mr. Kendo cut through his panicked thoughts. He remembered how the man had told him about his greatest handicap: himself. For, at that moment, he had allowed his fears to get to him. Had allowed himself to start thinking like the old Izuku Midoriya who wanted to be so very much like All Might. But…he wasn't that person anymore. Now, he had his own wings to soar through the air. Literally. He had all the tools he needed to succeed. He just needed to figure it out.
So, after taking a breath, Izuku flew through the air a bit faster than before towards the head of the giant robot. Once he got close enough, the teen spun in the air and sent his heel right into one of the eight red eyes of the zero-pointer. Upon impact, the lens cracked in a spider web formation. Taking half a second to admire his handiwork the green-haired teen moved back before beginning to circle around its massive head like an annoying fly. From time to time he would deliver a kick here and there against its metallic shell knowing it wouldn't damage it. But the point of this wasn't to damage it.
The Divine Divider knew he was taking a risk with this plan, hoping that this machine was programmed to attack the nearest student or the one who proved to be more threatening. But as long as he got it to focus on him then the rest of his quickly-made plan would, in theory, work.
After the third pass around its head, the zero-pointer's arms moved as if to swat the teen. Something that the teen easily dodged, zipping to the side as he saw the metal limb coming a mile away. A second arm tried capturing him within its clutches only to be met with the same result. Briefly, Izuku wondered if this was what it would be like to fight someone with a Gigantification quirk.
With the zero-pointer's focus now on him, Izuku got it to turn its back on the helpless victim on the ground as well as the other students taking the test. Slowly it followed the green-haired teen with the glowing wings who dodged each of its arms with ease until they were far enough away. Then came the more dangerous part of Izuku's plan. After dodging one last swipe the Divine Divider landed on the attacking arm before looking up at its head while trying, and failing, to smile smugly. Well, it didn't take long for the shadow of a metallic claw to surround the teen. A moment later, it came crashing down creating a scrapping noise that could be heard all over the testing area! All in the effort to eliminate the annoying 'fly'. Only its effort was in vain as Izuku easily flew out of the area of impact. But the zero-pointer didn't let up as it slid its clawed hand down the arm toward where Izuku was.
The Divine Divided waited till the last moment before flying up and over the mass of metal to see the damage the machine had done to itself. That's when he saw it. While the armor plating on the giant was thick and no doubt strong, the force it had used was enough to dent and break off parts of the shell on its arm. Heart pumping faster the teen spotted several holes that looked big enough for him to enter! And, much like how a virus enters the human body through a cut, Izuku flew into the inner workings of the zero-pointer. There, he began to break everything he saw with ease as it seemed like the people who made this never considered the possibility that someone could get inside. Explosions both large and small erupted all around him as the teen made his way deeper inside. It was only when he noticed that everything was powering down that he exited the now-still machine.
For a moment, he stood there gazing at his work. His accomplishment using his own skills. A laugh escaped his lips as he felt the same pride he had when defeating the one-pointer. A part of him felt like celebrating the fact that he had defeated the foe that so many others had run from. More importantly, he had saved the life of that person.
Speaking of which, Izuku turned his head to see that whoever was in that rubble was still there as there had been no one else around to help. Without really thinking about it, the green-haired teen flew down to where the person lay finding a pretty girl with short brown hair whose face broke into a smile the moment she saw him land. But as he began to lift the debris off of her Present Mic announced that the exam was over.
A couple of hours later, a cleaned-up Izuku Midoriya was walking away from the school with Itsuka Kendo next to him. As they made their way to the train station the two talked about how they did in their exams, Itsuka explaining how she grabbed robot after robot with her large hands before either crushing them or simply throwing them at other robots. A smile appeared on Izuku's lips as he listened to her words intently, while his eyes watched as her face lit up with fiery excitement. A passionate flame whose color he believed matched the color of her hair. He was almost ashamed to admit that he hadn't done nearly as well as she had, barely scraping up a dozen or so points before the zero-pointer showed up. Then…
"Oh my God Izuku! You took down that giant?!" exclaimed Itsuka, her eyes shining with amazement. "I didn't even think that was possible when I saw it!"
That caused the young Midoriya to chuckle at that, scratching the back of his head.
"To be honest, I don't think I would have been able to do it if it hadn't been for what your father told me back when I started," he admitted. "And I don't think I would have been able to get as far into the exam as I did without the trying the both of you gave me." The boy paused, looking at his orange-haired friend with a slight blush on his face. "Remember what you asked me back when I first started at your family's dojo? About hating myself? I guess I really did back then. I just thought I had to be something completely different to save people and bring smiles to their faces. That how I was had nothing to offer. But now, because of you and what happened today, I can say that I don't feel like that anymore. Because I was able to save that girl with my own skills and I made her smile. All I really needed was the confidence."
Itsuka smiled back at Izuku, a slight blush on her face from the praise.
"Thanks, but I really didn't do all that much," she said before her face turned more serious and worried. "But…what are you going to do now?"
"I'm going to keep trying to become a hero," Izuku said instantly as he had already thought about this while he had been changing. "U.A. isn't the only hero school out there. So I'll keep working hard so that I can get into a good one. Then, maybe I'll see if I can transfer so that I can join you at U.A."
Again, Itsuka smiled at that while moving a bit closer to the boy who had become a close friend.
"Say, we still have some time before our train arrives," she said. "How about we take a moment to celebrate? I saw this little coffee shop near the train station this morning that looked nice. So let's go there and give a toast to a job well done!"
Smiling, Izuku nodded.
A few weeks later, Izuku was in his room holding an envelope from U.A. No doubt holding his test scores as well as his rejection letter. A part of him didn't even want to open it, instead wanting to focus on the exams for Shiketsu, Ketsubutsu, and Isamu. After all, what was the point of reading something when you already knew what it said? Then again, he was curious to know how he did on the written exam so maybe it was worth opening. Perhaps he could see where he needed to focus his studies for the other hero schools.
Taking a deep breath, Izuku opened the envelope to find not a sheet of paper but a disk that landed on the ground with a clang. Then, as the teen blinked in surprise, the device lit up and projected the image of All Might himself.
"I AM HERE! AS A HOLOGRAPHIC PROJECTION!" declared the projection.
Izuku stumbled back at the declaration of the number one hero dressed in a pin-stripped suit. What was going on? Why was All Might doing this?
"Now, Izuku Midoriya, I shall be giving you your test results," continued All Might without giving a single answer to the questions going on inside Izuku's head. "For the written portion of the exam, you scored fairly high."
Izuku watched as All Might stepped to the side as a screen appeared next to him. On it was a picture of the broccoli-haired teen along with his name. Below that were his scores on the various subjects of the exam. As he looked over them, a smile appeared on his face. All Might was right, he had scored high. Sure, none of them were perfect but they were close. And at the bottom of the exam, it showed that he had placed fourth in this portion of the exam.
"You should be very proud of this young man," spoke All Might again after a moment. "But, we both know that it's the practical that you are really interested in. For that, you scored a total of eight villain points."
A soft sigh escaped Midoriya's lips, his shoulders slumping slightly. Only eight points. That was slightly worse than what he thought he had gotten. Figuring that there was really no point in hearing anything else, the teen got up to turn off the projector only to stop when he heard what the number one hero said next.
"Frankly, it's not a very impressive score when compared to the other examinees.," the tall man said. "But fear not for there were other factors involved with this exam! Behold as I show you a video!"
Izuku froze as All Might pulled out a remote from nowhere, the image of his test scores being replaced with something else. It took the teen a moment before he recognized the scene: it was of him and Tsunotori right before the exam. When he had helped the American girl find the way to the school. But, what did that have to do with anything?
"The truth, Young Midoriya, is that the exam started before you even reached the main gates of the school," explained All Might. "Cameras were placed throughout the city, watching to see what our new potential students were like when they thought we weren't watching. What you did for this girl, who was a stranger in our country, showed us just who you really were. A person who is willing to help another, even if it does not benefit you in any meaningful way. Even if it might hurt you in the long run. That is true heroism. And for this small act, you were rewarded eight rescue points by our principal!"
The screen then changed again, showing Izuku leading the zero-pointer robot away from the injured girl.
"You then stood up to a foe much greater than yourself during the actual exam," explained All Might, his voice brimming with pride as he spoke. "Even though you were low on points, you still chose to help another. This act of self-sacrifice was witnessed by a panel of judges who decided to award you with the maximum of sixty rescue points. Thus giving you a grand total of sixty-eight rescue points. That, combined with the eight villain points, gives you a total score of seventy-six points for the practical."
Tears filled Midoriya's eyes as he fell to his knees, looking up at the scoreboard that now appeared before him. There he was, scoring right below Bakugo.
"Welcome Young Midoriya, to your Hero Academia."