Minutes ago…
"Clearly, the examinees have no idea how many villains are present, or their locations. They have limited time, must cover a vast area, and hunt down every last target.
Some use information gathering abilities to plan out strategies, while others rely on speed to pull ahead of their peers.
Of course, remaining calm under pressure can be a huge advantage as can pure power and combat ability. The most successful students use a combination of all these tactics. They're the ones who rack up the highest scores."
The panel of judges, consisting of twelve renowned Pro Heroes that would serve in some capacity as UA teachers, sat together in a small, dark room facing a giant monitor that covered the entire wall, listening to the wise words of Principal Nezu. The monitor itself was pocketed with about twenty smaller screens, each broadcasting drone footage of each individual examinee.
Aside from the big screen, each judge also got a smaller, handheld screen from which they could switch between examinee feeds depending on who they wanted to inspect more closely. It didn't take long, though, before all judge's eyes were glued onto the same feed on the screen. Well, all except for one.
From the corner of the room, Toshinori, the Number One Hero known as All Might, ignored the cheers and awes from the other judges as he glared down nervously at Izuku Midoriya's feed on his smaller individual screen.
"Come on, kid. Don't give up," he was saying under his breath, his bony jaw and veiny fists clenching. "There's still time…"
From beside him, a beautiful woman with blonde hair leaned over to nudge him with her elbow gently, tucking her hair behind her ear with a finger.
"Toshinori, are you seeing this? This kid is incredible!" She said, pointing to the big screen.
"Mhm…" Toshinori responded, not taking his eyes off his smaller screen.
Eighteen shot him a side glare, annoyed at being ignored. She glanced down at his screen to see what examinee had become the center of his attention. In the video feed, the green haired boy trembled as a one point bot rushed at him and would've crushed him, had it not been for a ray of brilliant blue light that shot out from the hands of the star examinee that the rest of the judges were watching. The ray pulverized the bot before it reached Izuku, who cowered behind the spray of smoke and mechanical parts.
"Ugh, poor thing," Eighteen's voice dropped to a discreet whisper, shaking her head. "It's like he's completely paralyzed. If your protege doesn't hurry soon, he's going to fail the exam."
All Might's head jerked up and he brought a finger to his lips, shushing her.
"Hey! Hey! Don't talk so casually about One for All," he hissed in a low voice so that nobody else could overhear. "Not everyone knows about that, yet. I don't want anybody to think I'm going into this teaching gig with favorites."
Eighteen's eyes widened and she covered her mouth.
"Dammit, Toshi, you could've told me that before, you know!"
They looked back at the other judges, but luckily, everyone was cheering and commenting on the other examinee on the screen and had not heard Eighteen's remark. They had centered and enlarged the feed of the examinee in a green track suit, who was tearing through waves of bots with relative ease.
"Would'ya look at that," Snipe was saying. "The kid's got impressive skills."
"Yes," Cementoss nodded. "His movements are tactical and planned ahead. The way he positions himself in the battlefield; it just screams experience."
"Mmmh," Midnight moaned in admiration. "And his leadership skills! I do admire an assertive man who's capable of taking control."
For a moment, the student's fluid and powerful movements caught All Might's eye. Toshinori couldn't put a finger on why, but a bead of sweat began to form over his hairline. Those moves, that sheer power... The boy blasted off from the ground and attacked a three point bot, tearing off its metal appendage with his bare hands and using it as a bat to pummel three other bots to pieces. All Might's eyebrows furrowed.
There's something… familiar about that kid… But… What is it?
"Yeah, well there's still plenty of time before it's over," Snipe said, pressing a red button on the dashboard in front of him. "The real test is yet to come. Let's see how they react." The ground rumbled around them. Despite being at a safe distance, hundreds of meters away, they could all still feel the effect of the Zero Mecha roaring to life. In the screen, the gigantic metal monster's red eyes activated, searching out the most populated areas.
"Now, things get interesting," Toshinori commented. "A person's true character is revealed when they're faced with danger." Suddenly, a mighty metallic fist flew down, pulverizing buildings and roads that stood in its way, raining havoc around the examinees. Some of the examinees tried to help those that had been caught within the collapsed area, but most fled. Even the upstanding Tenya Iida ran, leaving behind Midoriya and the blonde examinee that had been caught under rubble, even as she was pinned directly under the Mecha's path.
Nobody else seemed to move. Midoriya even fell onto his backside and began to crawl away with tears. Eighteen was watching Toshinori's feed and shook her head when she saw that.
"So, is it set in stone, then?" she whispered with crossed arms, bringing All Might's attention back to their conversation.
"Hmm? Oh, uh- Well," All Might scratched the back of his head and looked away. "Yeah," he confessed. "I kind of already passed One for All on to him this morning."
Eighteen stared at him and breathed out an exasperated sigh.
"I wish you would've taken my advice and chosen a successor after you got to know your students a little better. It's only logical, you probably could've found someone a lot stronger. The boy looks like he's terrified of his own shadow."
Stronger… All Might sighed. He conceded that naturally, powerful Quirks drew the most attention of the judges, as they were deemed as having the most potential for greatness in the future. But it wasn't about the strength of your Quirk that made you great. No, not physical strength alone.
Toshinori had learned this from very early on in his Hero career. What made you truly great was the strength of your character, and how you chose to use your gifts for the betterment of society as a whole.
"Power alone is nothing without heart, compassion," he said, finally. "I wanted to choose someone who would understand the value of the power I'm passing on to them – as well as the burdens that came with it. I needed someone who would be able to truly appreciate the gift of One for All, and would not let its power go to waste."
He looked back down and smiled proudly at the terrified Midoriya, reliving the memories they created together in the past ten months, as well as the bond of friendship they'd forged.
"That's why I'm not giving up on Young Midoriya just yet, even with less than two minutes left on the exam. Maybe he's not as powerful as his peers yet, but he has something in him that not everyone has – heart. He is a noble young man with a self-sacrificing spirit. He proved that to me when he risked his life to save his classmate from a supervillain attack, despite not having any powers at the time. Then time and again, he proved his willingness to go beyond his limits during our ten months training together. So I stand by both, my decision and my faith in Young Midoriya. I know that one day, he's going to be the greatest hero this world's ever known."
"Well, if you're dead-set on the boy, that's your decision. As hardheaded as you can be, I know better than to try to change your mind. But if we're looking at the world's next greatest champion, I think he's going to have stiff competition."
"Why do you say that?"
Eighteen laughed, giving him an incredulous look.
"Toshi, you really aren't paying attention to the scoreboard, are you?"
"The score-?" Toshinori's eyes grew wide. "A hundred and seventy-seven villain points?!"
"And counting," Eighteen chirped. "I think Nezu just said he's doubled the previous highest score in the history of the school."
"No kidding!" Toshinori said. "He's already scored higher than I did!"
Eighteen stretched her arms behind her back.
"Yeahhh, I can't help but take a little credit for this one. I interviewed him, after all. And get this, he's an idealist, just like you, All Might!"
Those moves… that strength… the speed…
Toshinori was sweating profusely now. His heartbeat was so loud in his ears that it almost drowned out what Eighteen was saying.
What's gotten into me? Why is my skin crawling?
"You like Midoriya, huh?" Eighteen went on, oblivious to Toshinori's reaction. "Well, if I was a betting gal, which I am, my money is on Gohan."
What did she just say?! "G-Gohan?" Toshinori gasped. A floodgate of memories had suddenly opened up, washing over Toshinori instantly. "As in, Son Gohan?"
"Run… Gohan! Run!"
"Toshi?" Eighteen lifted an eyebrow. "Why do you sound so scared? What happened to that big smile of yours?"
"Is that fear I sense in your voice? Aww, what happened to the smile? Don't you know that such a delicious Quirk should be shared? And now, you're mine!"
Toshinori felt a tightness on his chest. Eighteen looked at him with sudden alarm.
"Toshi? What's wrong? You're freaking me out, man!" she said, her voice raising. Around them, the teachers turned to see what the commotion was. Toshinori stood up from his seat shakily and made his way to Principal Nezu.
"Principal Nezu, please forgive me," he said. "But we have to stop this exam right now!"
"What? What are you talking about, All Might," Vlad King growled. "Sit down, you're blocking my view."
"I'm sorry, but please, listen to me, we have to stop the exam now! Those kids don't know how much danger they're all in!"
"There's nothing to worry about, All Might." Nezu said in his soothing voice. "We have Recovery Girl standing by. Any injuries sustained will be treated immediately."
"Yes, I understand, but…"
"All Might, this is a serious exam," said a long-haired, haggard tall man who was standing behind everyone. "Right now, twenty potential students depend on us to examine them and assess them accurately. Your outbursts are hindering our ability to focus."
"But Aizawa-"
"If you're not going to trust us to know what we're doing, or our examination processes, and take this exam seriously, then I suggest you find another career."
Toshinori clenched his jaw tightly.
"Of course," he bowed and returned to his seat. "I apologize."
As he returned to his seat, his eyes were glued to the ground. How? How is he here? After everything they did to suppress those Saiyan genes… How was he able to tap back into his powers? And if he loses himself to rage, then… nobody would be able to stop him.
But Aizawa was right. He was a UA Teacher now. He had a job to do. And if anything did get out of hand, at least Aizawa could erase his ki Quirk. There was at least that…
Toshinori breathed in a calming breath and exhaled. Beside him, Eighteen was staring at him. Slowly, the tension in the room lifted when suddenly, the crying, green-haired boy got up, ran towards the Zero Mecha with a ferocious look in his eyes and leaped hundreds of feet into the air, power engulfing his legs and right arm.
Chapter 7 – Gohan's… a nerd?! UA Test Results are in!
SMAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSHHHHH!
Gohan was helping the pretty blonde examinee get back onto her feet when they felt the force of the blow, so powerful that it sent the Zero Pointer reeling backwards, exploding as it fell straight towards Gohan's friends. No!
Above them, Midoriya had shredded his legs and his arms and was shouting as he plummeted down to earth. The girl he had just saved looked back up at the boy who saved her. "Go, help your friends!" she yelled over the roaring sound of careening metal and explosions. "I'll save Falling Boy!"
Gohan nodded and blasted off into the sky, placing himself protectively between his friends and the giant falling bot. He looked back at the students on the ground behind him. Ochaco was down on her hands and knees behind a rock, sick to her stomach. Eijiro, Kyoka, Tokoyami and the voice guy were helping other students who were caught in the debris from the Mecha's initial attack. They all froze when they looked up and saw the giant robot crashing backwards towards them.
From the corner of his eye, he saw the blonde girl twirl a red pole in her hand.
"Extend, Power Pole!" She yelled, and the red pole instantly grew in size. Placing it on the ground, she grabbed onto the top of the pole and rode it up into the sky towards the falling boy, catching him from his fall. At least he's safe, Gohan sighed. Good.
He quickly scanned the area and there just wasn't any more he could do to get his friends to safety. No… I'm going to have to stop the bot with my own strength. But… am I even strong enough?With no other choice, Gohan widened his arms, palms out and flew straight towards the burning heap, catching it in mid-air.
What was left of the Mecha landed on his hands, sending shock-waves of pain down Gohan's arms as his wrists shattered.
"AAAAAARRRRRGHHHH!" Gohan cried, but held on. The mechanical monster creaked and groaned in protest, its fall slowing down, but not stopping. Gohan ignored the pain in his wrists, pushing back with every fiber in his body, willing for the power to stop in midair. But the mecha was just too big.
I.. I can't… it's too big...
Piccolo's words from the day before rang in his ears.
"Can't is nothing but a four-letter word. You have to pour every ounce of soul into it."
Gohan gritted his teeth and pushed himself even harder. His arms began to shred under the insurmountable weight of the bot. After using so much of his gathered ki during the Practical exam, he was well past his limit. The nausea was present again, but it was by far overshadowed by the screaming pain that was down to his elbows now.
You're almost there! Keep testing your limits and then go beyond!
Gohan practically willed energy to gather around his palms. His body screamed in protest, but he ignored the pain. He couldn't stop now, he couldn't let the pain overtake him. He turned back to his friends. By now, the large robot had driven him to within six feet from the ground below.
"Run, you guys!" Tears were flowing from his eyes. His body had reached far past its limits by now. "Run!"
And suddenly, the weight began to lessen. Gohan looked to his side and Ochaco was holding onto the foot of the robot. Her face was scrunched in pain as she tried to activate her exhausted Quirk on it. It was working, but she just wasn't strong enough to hold onto such a huge object.
Next to him, Kirishima slammed his hardened body against the metallic foot. Kyoka aimed the amplifiers on her boots and unleashed her sound waves, tearing off loose pieces of the robot, lessening the weight. Even the blonde girl from before, who had rescued Midoriya and handed him to Iida, came to help, jamming the red pole between the ground and the bot. "Extend, Power Pole!" She yelled. Immediately, the red pole burst in size, crushing against the side of the bot and slowly pushing it back up.
Finally, Tokoyami unleashed Dark Shadow and the creature grew twice its size, extending its wings and pushing back against the robot.
Gohan looked over at his new friends with painful tears in his eyes. With the remaining strength he had, he gathered his ki in his hands, forming the blinding light into the largest orb he had ever created.
"You guys," he smiled. "Thank you. Now let me finish this. KAAAAMEEEEHAAAAMEEEEHAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
The Kamehameha Wave shot against the metallic hull with a high pitch whine and shot out forward. Wider. I need to make the beam… wider!
Gohan's elbows snapped and broke under the pressure as he poured even more power into his beam. He gritted his teeth but gave one final push. The wave was so wide it sent the remains of the Zero Mecha into the sky, incinerating it to ashes and blowing it completely away.
As Gohan's body fell back to the ground, Dark Shadow caught him and gently brought him back down towards them.
I've got you," Tokoyami said. "Just hang on."
Dark Shadow gently laid Gohan down on the ground. Ochaco crawled over to his side with a worried look.
"Gohan… are you alright," she gasped weakly. Her own arms trembled, unable to support herself. Before he could answer, she collapsed on his chest. Gohan heard more than saw the voices of the examinees around him that had witnessed the entire thing.
"And… that's it!" Present Mic called out. "Time's up!"
A loud alarm bell rang and with that, the exams are over. Slowly, Gohan slipped into unconsciousness.
(...)
That last thing he remembered was the scent of Ochaco's sunkissed hair and the feel of her… lips? Gohan blinked as her lips pursed around his cheeks, giving him little butterfly kisses.
"Ochaco," Gohan said, feeling the slight tickle of her lips on his skin. "Ochaco, wait." Suddenly, he was awake.
"MMUUUUUAHHHH! Gimme some sugar," the old woman was saying as she kissed Gohan's cheek tenderly.
"Ahhh! What the-," Gohan tried backing away, and realized that he was laying in a bed in the nurse's office. The nurse was a sweet, little old lady with wrinkles around her eyes that became more predominant when she smiled.
"Aw, cheer up, sonny," she said. "You won't be hurting for much longer. Granny's kisses always make the pain go away."
Gohan stirred, feeling a strange sensation around his arms, legs and back, similar to the what he felt when Dende healed him.
"Was that your power just now?" he asked, rubbing his newly healed wrists. A light scar had formed around them, marking the place where they had splintered during the exam.
"That's right. Recovery Girl, at your service. Here, have some jelly beans." She dropped a handful of colorful Jelly beans in Gohan's hand. "They'll help you recover a bit of your stamina as well as boost your body's healing."
"Great, thanks!" Gohan said, popping all of the beans into his mouth at once. "Boy, I'm starving!"
"Yes, that's only natural. Your body is using up your reserves of stamina to finish healing itself, you may find yourself feeling a bit sluggish. Are you feeling well enough to stand?"
Gohan pushed himself up from the bed and tried standing up. He was a bit dizzy, but for the most part, he was able to stand straight.
"Well, good," Recovery Girl said. "If you're able to walk out on your own, I'd appreciate the bed space. There were quite a bit of injuries from the Practical exam."
"The practical," Gohan said to himself. "Right. Did we pass?" Recovery girl shook her head.
"You'll have to wait for the results to come in to know for sure," she said. "But from what I saw from you, I wouldn't worry too much. The last time anybody showed such an amazing display of power in the Practical Exam, he went on to become the Number One Hero."
"All Might," Gohan rubbed his chin. Finally, I'm going to get a chance to talk to him. He picked up his things, thanked Recovery Girl and walked out of the nurse's office. Sitting in the waiting area was Ochaco. Her tracksuit jacket was tied around her hips, and a large gauze was taped to her cheek. She was staring outside the window at the destroyed remains of Ground Beta. As Gohan walked up to her, he remembered how amazing she had been during the Practical exam, how she had fought on against the mobs of bots, even when he couldn't be by her side, and he especially remembered how she bravely threw herself under the Zero Mecha to try to help Gohan keep it from falling on top of the other examinees.
This girl is amazing, Gohan thought to himself. As he approached, she looked over to him and Gohan caught a brief glimpse of sadness in her eyes before they brightened and shined upon seeing him.
"Hey," she said, cheerfully. "You're finally up!"
"Have you been waiting long for me?"
"Don't worry about it," Ochaco waved dismissively. "Besides, I had to get checked out, too. How are your wrists doing?"
She tenderly cupped one of Gohan's large wrists in her small hands, passing her thumb over the lightly scarred tissue. The touch felt foreign to Gohan, but he found that he kind of liked it.
"Much better," Gohan nodded, closing his hand up. "Recovery Girl healed them almost immediately."
"Same," Ochaco said, with a sheepish smile. "I had a few cuts and bruises, but I was in and out in only a few minutes.
"Good," Gohan said, blushing slightly.
"Yeah," Ochaco smiled.
"Urara-chan?"
"Hmm?"
"Can I have my hand back, please?"
Ochaco's face reddened like a tomato and she instantly jumped back. Gohan giggled at her innocence.
"So listen," he said, brushing the back of his head with his hand. "I'm starving. You wanna get something to eat before heading home?"
Ochaco smiled widely, but something caught her eye and her smile faded.
"Hey," Gohan said. "What's wrong? You look so sad."
Ochaco didn't look up.
"I'm just worried about… something else," she said with a sigh. "Listen, Gohan."
"Yeah?"
"You were pretty amazing back there," Ochaco looked up with a sad twinkle in her eyes. "I know that you'll make a great Hero one day."
"Is something on your mind, Ochaco?" Gohan asked. "What's wrong?"
"Sorry, I'm okay, really, I am," she said, wiping her eyes. "It's just that, well, just in case... you know, in case I don't make it into the Hero Course with you… Promise me you'll keep working towards your goal, okay?"
Gohan stared at her for a moment, unsure why she was acting so serious all of a sudden.
"I promise," he told her. "But why does this feel like a good-bye?"
"There's something I have to do," Ochaco said, gripping her jogging pants tightly. "You go on ahead. I know they'll be closing the gates soon and I don't want you to get in trouble for waiting around for me."
"Oh…" Gohan blinked. Obviously, there was something that was making Ochaco very upset, but she was trying hard to put up a brave face for him. He decided not to pry. "Well, okay. See you on the first day of class, then?"
Ochaco looked away for a moment to clear her eyes.
"Yeah," she said with a sad smile. "See you there."
As Gohan left the building, Ochaco made her way through the entrance of UA, looking around one last time. Now that all of the examinees were gone, it looked so much bigger. For a moment, she thought about turning back and going after Gohan. She had accumulated plenty of points and was positive that she had passed. Even so, the thought of the green-haired boy failing the exam and getting seriously injured just to save the blonde girl… it just wasn't fair. Who had she saved? His heroism was something that she still lacked, so how could she take a spot in UA while he failed?
She was prepared to donate all of her points to him, even if it meant having to put her dream of being a hero on hold for now, even if it meant having to go back home and tell her mom and dad that their sacrifice had been in vain, and even if she never got to see the good friends she was making, again.
After searching the building for half an hour, looking for the teacher's lounge, she finally found it. To her surprise, though, Present Mic told her that it was unnecessary to give away her points, since Midoriya was 'charting well on his own.' Apparently, there was more than just one way to score on the test. Relief flooded through Ochaco, and the guilt she had been feeling lifted off.
I should congratulate him the next time I see him, Ochaco thought to herself as she exited the building. The courtyard was quiet. Ochaco had kind of hoped that Gohan had stuck around so that she had someone to walk with her back home, but according to one of the janitors picking up the trash in the courtyard, Gohan was long gone by now.
The other students that she had met, Kirishima, Jiro, Koda, Tokoyami and Melissa Shield, had also left a while ago.
I guess it's just me and my thoughts, Ochaco thought, stuffing her hands in her pockets. Her stomach growled, but she knew she didn't have any money to buy food. She would just have to wait till she got home to eat.
By now, the skies were orange, bringing on the afternoon and the janitors had to reopen the gates to let her out. As she passed through the gates, she caught sight of a familiar figure leaning against the cement walls that surrounded UA, reading a book.
Her heart fluttered. He waited for me!
"Watcha reading there, Gohan?"
"Urara-chan, hey!" Gohan said, earmarking the page he was on and closing the book.
"Nice to see you smiling again! Oh, this is one of my favorite books. The Republic by Plato."
"Wow," Ochaco remarked as they started walking down the road together. "I never took you for a book worm. No offense."
Gohan laughed.
"None taken and yeah, well, see my… uncle has a huge library back home and ever since I picked it up, I haven't been able to put it down. Anyway, how did it go back there? Is everything alright now?"
"Yeah," Ochaco smiled from ear to ear at something Gohan couldn't see. She clasped her hands together behind her back and skipped by Gohan's side as they began walking together in the cramped sidewalk. "Everything's perfect now."
"Great! Well, how about we get something to eat. I am famished!"
"Same," Ochaco said with a laugh as the two walked down the street into the sunset together.
By the time they reached Musutafu, night had settled in, bringing the cold with it. Gohan and Ochaco joined a family that also lived in the same apartment building, and they all walked home together. Even though they were now in a group, Gohan still kept his eyes open in case there were any thugs or muggers around. Thankfully, they made it to the apartment safely and as they said their goodbyes to the family, they made there way up to Ochaco's doorstep.
"Man, I wonder how long we'll have to wait for our test results," Ochaco was saying. "I lost track of how many points I had before the Zero Point villain showed up. And hey, how crazy was that move by Falling Boy, huh?"
"Yeah, who knew Izuku was so powerful? It's just too bad he didn't get a single point," Gohan said, keeping his hands warm in his pockets. The night had fully set in and the February cold was making itself present with every breath they took.
Ochaco looked down at the ground, her hands gripping her sweater.
"Yeah, I felt really bad about that so I… well… I tried giving him my points."
"You did? Why?" Gohan raised an eyebrow. "But isn't getting into the Hero course your dream, though?"
"It is, it really is," Ochaco nodded. "But I felt so sad because he sacrificed so much. If he hadn't stopped to help Melissa, he could've had a chance to get more points. I just felt like it wasn't fair."
Gohan stared at her. Of course he had been amazed by the guy's impressive feat, but more than that, he had been moved by his self sacrifice. That kid had something that not very many people have. And Ochaco was the only person to recognize that.
Gohan smiled and ruffled her hair.
"So that's what you were doing after the exams, huh? You're such a pure soul, Urara-chan. We don't deserve you."
Ochaco stuck her tongue out at him and swatted his hand away playfully.
"Anyway," she said. "Mister Present Mic said that he was scoring just fine on his own, but wouldn't tell me any more than that. I guess we'll just have to wait until they send us the results to find out how we did, huh?"
"Even though he got zero points? Unless there were other parameters to the test… Well, I wouldn't worry about it, though," Gohan stuffed his hands back into his jacket pockets. "We did the best we could and kicked some serious butt. Don't worry, we've got this. In a few weeks, we'll both be learning Hero stuff!"
"I hope you're right, but I'm not so sure."
Gohan smirked at her humility.
He pulled a hand out of his pocket.
"Let me see your hand," Gohan held his hand out.
Ochaco's face flushed.
"M-My hand?" she stammered. "Why?"
"Just let me see it."
Ochaco slowly reached out to him and Gohan took her hand in his. From his right pocket, he produced the permanent marker from the written exams and scribbled something on her wristlock. When he was done, Ochaco looked down at it.
He had signed his name on her wristlock, along with his cell phone number.
He gave me… his... phone number! Suddenly, Ochaco wasn't cold anymore.
"If you ever need anything, I want you to call me," he told her. "Anything at all. Us poor people have to look out for each other, right?" He thumbed her nose.
"Okay. I will," Ochaco smirked. "I'll probably just text you, since my phone has limited minutes, anyway."
"Will you sign mine?" Gohan asked, holding his arm out. Ochaco nodded quickly, taking his hand in hers and scribbling her name. His hands are so warm...
Urara-chan.
"Perfect," Gohan smiled.
"So," Ochaco said, lost for words. "Umm…"
"Ochaco."
"Hmm?"
"One day, you're going to reach your dreams. One day, you're going to be a great Pro Hero, a happy and compassionate Hero that saves others with kindness. And you're going to give your parents the comfortable lives they deserve. And when that happens," he held the wristband up. "I'll be able to say that I was the first to get your autograph."
He hadn't noticed the large tears forming in Ochaco's eyes.
"Oh, Gohan," she threw her arms around him. The two hugged for a moment that felt like it lasted a while to Gohan. Her warmth made him instantly forget about the cold February night.
"Thank you so much," Ochaco said. "It's funny. I feel like I've been saying that all day today. But I mean it, thank you for everything. I'm so lucky I met you."
"Give yourself some credit, too, Ochaco." Gohan nodded. "You're pretty cool. Especially how you helped me hold up all the weight of the Zero Mecha. If it hadn't been for that, we would have been in serious trouble!"
"I couldn't watch you get hurt," Ochaco said, eyes shining and the bridge of her nose blushing.
"Well, then I owe you one, huh?"
A short silence fell between the two as they looked into each others eyes.
"Well…" Gohan broke the silence. "You'd better head inside. It's getting really cold and I don't want you to get sick."
"Right, okay," Ochaco said, opening the door and heading inside. "Gohan?"
"Yeah?"
"I hope we get to be classmates this year. It'll be nice to hang out at school."
Gohan smiled and gave her a thumbs up.
"I'll be around," he said before levitating into the sky. "Good night."
"'Kay, Night," Ochaco said. She waited as Gohan floated the air for a moment, neither of them wanting to break the eye contact. Finally, Gohan waved and turned in midair, blasting away. Alone again, Ochaco finally closed the door.
One Week Later…
The days passed by quickly after that. To help him pass the time, Gohan kept up a regular patrol route with the help of Dende. It was risky work. On more than one occasion, he had almost been caught by the Pros. But what kept him going was seeing the crime in Namek plummeting. He knew that eventually, he would have to expand his patrols to cover other cities that needed help with crime.
Crime in other major cities was still on the rise because of All Might's increasing absence.
For now though, he was done.
Gohan moaned, enjoying how the warm water from the shower ran down his growing body. As the weeks passed by, his muscles were beginning to fill in his clothes, and he made a mental note to himself to buy more clothes soon, before classes started.
His thoughts drifted back to the UA Exam, and how he could not stop the falling Mecha on his own. If it hadn't been for Ochaco and the others stepping in, they would've gotten hurt badly. True, Recovery Girl would have been able to heal them, but if this hadn't been a test, and if Ochaco's life had been on the line, would he have been able to act fast enough to save her? No matter how much he pushed it away, there was one thought that kept rising back up from his stomach to haunt him.
The 32 lives that were snuffed out by the villain three weeks ago…
I have to get stronger, Gohan told himself. Right now, the best way to do that is UA.
As he finished his shower and toweled off, he thought about Piccolo's words.
"You cannot save everyone every time. But this is why you can't let your emotions get the better of you. You need to keep your rage in check. With a calm mind, you must always have a plan before you act, otherwise you'll just be putting more lives at risk."
He's right, Gohan thought as he slipped into some comfortable shorts and a tank top. He was still drying his hair when his phone began to buzz wildly. He picked up the phone to see several excited messages from Ochaco.
Gohan! – 8:30PM
Gohan! – 8:30PM
Gohan! – 8:30PM
Gohan! – 8:30PM
Guess what?! – 8:30PM
I PASSED THE EXAM! – 8:31PM
Wow, congrats! he texted back. I knew you could do it, Urara-chan!
Ohmigosh! – 8:33PM
Finally! – 8:33PM
I was starting to think the worst – 8:33PM
Y'know, since we didn't get an answer for two weeks – 8:33PM
And then they sent a letter with a projector disk – 8:33PM
And All Might appeared to tell me I passed! – 8:33PM
I scored 28 Villain Points and 35 Rescue Points – 8:33PM
I can't believe I made it! – 8:33PM
Ahhh I'm so happy! – 8:34PM
I can't wait tell Mom and Dad! – 8:34PM
Gohan stood there in the middle of his bathroom, grinning as he read her texts. For the next few minutes, Ochaco continued to blow his phone up with excited texts and emojis. He genuinely felt happy for her. Ochaco was a good girl with a kind heart and an unselfish dream. She deserved this.
The girl was still shooting off texts.
What about you? Still no results? She asked.
Nothing yet. Still waiting. So lame, Gohan responded.
You killed it in the exams, Ochaco replied. I'm sure you'll be just fine. Oh, and sorry for blowing your phone up just now. Just super excited!
Gohan smirked.
No worries. I'm glad to see you're so happy. It's kind of cute.
You're kind of cute, she responded without soon as she pressed send, Ochaco panicked. Her face flushed red and she almost fell off of her bed.
"Oh no! Oh no!" She wildly tapped away at the End button, exiting the texting app. "Ochaco you big dummy why did you say that?!" she slapped her cheeks.
Immediately, a new text arrived.
"Ahh!" Ochaco threw the phone across the room and threw the covers over her bed, afraid to read Gohan's response.
Back at the Lookout, Gohan was already brushing his teeth when his phone vibrated with a text message. He dried his free hand with his shirt and opened the message fully expecting it to be from Ochaco, but it was actually Dende.
Hey, man. You just got a letter from UA!
Gohan's heart started to pound excitedly against his chest.
This is it, he thought. The moment I've been waiting for.
He pocketed his cellphone and made his way downstairs to Dende's office. Dende, Nail and Mr. Popo were waiting for him.
"Gohan, good evening!" Mr. Popo greeted him warmly.
"Hey, Brat," Nail said cooly, crossing his arms and smirking at him. "Bet you're really excited, huh?"
"Hey, guys!" Gohan said with a wide smile. He brushed his damp hair back with his hand, reaching forward to take the envelope from Dende. "To be honest, yeah, I'm really excited. I've been waiting for this day for a long time."
"Isn't that nice," Nail teased, dryly. "Well, open it up, already."
"Right," Gohan held the letter in both hands like a holy scripture. He tore the seal off of the envelope, removing its contents.
He shook the envelope, expecting a projector disk, like Ochaco had said, but the envelope only contained the two pages. The first page showed Gohan's overall score.
"Okay, these are my test scores. Wow, check this out, Nail. 210 Villain Points," Gohan announced proudly. "And 186 Rescue Points. I guess what Piccolo said is true – I am pretty strong!"
"Not to mention humble" Nail chortled, dripping with dry sarcasm. He took the exam results from Gohan. "So does this mean you're in, then?"
"No clue," Gohan shrugged, unfolding the second sheet of paper.
"I guess we'll find out… here. Let's see..." he said, silently scanning through the short message on the second page. After a few seconds, Gohan's eyes dropped to the floor. A sinking feeling developed in his chest. No… this can't be right.
"Well?" Nail said, arms crossed. "What did they say, Kid? Are we in?"
Gohan didn't look up or respond; his eyes were glued to the floor.
"Gohan?" Dende said. "Gohan, what is it?"
Gohan's eyes narrowed, looking up at them with a tightened jaw.
"They want to meet with me first thing tomorrow morning," he said in a low voice, crushing the letter in his hand.
"...to explain why they're rejecting my application."
Ending Song:
"Re:Make" – One Ok Rock
The morning sunlight poured through the window of Ochaco's room. The covers on the bed shuffled and Ochaco poked her head out, yawning loudly and rubbing her eyes. Her flip phone laid across the room, waiting for her, as if it was daring her to open it up and read Gohan's text. Ochaco groaned when she remembered what she had said the night before.
I didn't even get a chance to tell Mom and Dad the good news, Ochaco thought. She had been too scared to see how Gohan reacted to that last text. Well, what's the worst he could say, right? He's a good friend, that's all. I mean, everyone likes cute things, right? Like puppies and flowers and babies... Anyway, he's the first that said that I was…that I was kind of...
Heat rushed up to her face again and she slapped her newly reddened cheeks, reaching down and picking up the cell phone. Sure enough, she had a notification for a new text message.
Ochaco breathed in and out and opened the text message.
Text Message Limit Reached. Unable to Send Message: "You're kind of cute."
Please Add Minutes and Try Again – 8:38PM
Ochaco groaned in both relief and frustration at the same time.
All Might:
Booyah! I am All Might and The Preview is Here!
Gohan got the highest exam score in the history of UA Academy. Then why the heck did his application get rejected?! Sorry, kid, this is for your own good! But can he make a believer out of me? Gohan… let's talk about what happened to you and your dad. There's a reason you're still alive… and a reason why you cannot be allowed to use your powers.
Next time: The Day Has Come! A Stunning Revelation?!
Go Beyond! PLUUUUUUS ULTRAAAAAA!