Ah yes, the entrance exam. Going to be a great day for Midoriya as you can imagine XD. Whatever will happen?
Also, thank you to everyone who is returning! I took my grandmother to the doctor and he thinks she might have cancer, so, I put my writing on hold again.
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What I've Done
Chapter 17
*Midoriya's POV; UA Entrance Exam*
Watching Inko this morning is the equivalent of watching a train tilting dangerously, seconds away from an inevitable and catastrophic wreck. She's already burned three separate attempts at hot breakfast and doesn't seem to realize that Naomasa and I have already resigned ourselves to eating cereal. Pitiful—well-intentioned—but, pitiful.
I won't step in to alleviate her nerves though. Not only do I not feel qualified, but Tomura made it very clear to me that I was one false step from being removed from this assignment altogether. It would be unwise for me to help someone unnecessarily.
In any case, Naomasa eventually gets up to soothe Inko, giving me a nod to go and get my things since it's about time for me to leave. I suppose for a stepdad, he's not so bad. My biological father was gone so frequently before Tomura took me in that I can't remember really anything, but I have some base feeling that he wasn't good to Inko like Naomasa is, wasn't attentive.
"Honey, Katsuki is here to walk Izuku to UA for their entrance exam," he hums in a low whisper, quiet and patient so as not to set off Inko's unstable emotions.
Before she can react, I step outside of the doorway, figuratively setting a boundary that she can't pull me back over, though her eyes betray that she'll still try to some extent. Like a rabbit darting to a kit-filled burrow, she pounces, grabbing me tightly.
"Oh, Izuku! Are you sure this is what you want, sweetheart?" she whimpers, convinced beyond reason that her tears will somehow change my mind.
Despite my nod that it is, in fact, still my intention to go to UA she doesn't let go. Her body shakes against mine, sniffling wisps of fearful dread ringing against the shell of my ear. Naomasa holds her waist and tugs gently when it becomes clear she doesn't have the strength to pull away herself, guiding her back into the apartment as my escort and I leave.
Bakugo asks me if I feel any different while we walk, to which I disappointingly shake my head. Perhaps it's childish fantasy, but I'd been expecting to feel a rush of power the moment All Might's hair dissolved in my gut last night. There was no epic lightning storm or sudden burst of muscle though... Not even a meager zap from static electricity. For all I know, I could be walking into this exam as quirkless as I've always been, weak and pitiful for all the candidates and proctors to see.
"Is that normal, you think?" I question, desperately trying to alleviate the creeping anxiety that grows like vines around my heart and lungs. "That I don't feel different?" He doesn't have an answer for me for some time, an edge of uncertainty visible in his contemplative expression.
"I guess it is, Deku... Unless I'm actively using my quirk, I don't even think about it. It's just kind of there."
There's truth to that analysis, at least for eighty percent of the population. But how could Bakugo really know? His quirk didn't manifest until he was four, but it had been there in his genes. Physical power had always been a constant in his life. It hadn't been in mine.
"Don't worry about it, Deku." He adds, sensing my continued unease. "You're the 9th wielder, right? This transfer shit has worked out every time before you and All Might has seen it in action firsthand. He knows what he's doing."
Everyone always thinks they know what they're doing until failure proves them wrong. Those at the 'top' seem to believe they're immune to this timeless trap, that it somehow can't happen to them. But it can and it does. All Might should never have entrusted this power to me, his judgment is flawed. Hindsight will be 20/20 when the world disintegrates under Tomura's palms, but this mistake cannot be undone.
"Hey, aren't those two the kids that withstood the sludge villain? Their names are Bakugo and Midoriya, right?" An examinee mutters the moment Bakugo and I make it to the campus. His friend is quick to confirm, speaking just loud enough to draw attention from other students. "Yeah, they're the real deal."
The immediate increase of eyes flickering our direction makes me agitated in a way it never has before, especially when I hear various murmurs of praise about my actions being heroic. I stumble ungracefully from the assault on my nerves, tripping over my discordant feet. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Bakugo lurching, his reaction a fraction of a second too slow to successfully catch me. Damn. I'm going to faceplant in front of all these people.
But the pain and embarrassment of smashing my nose into the brick doesn't come and I find myself floating horizontally in Bakugo's arms. Following his gaze, I find a small girl smiling at us kindly while asking if I'm alright. Once her fingertips touch together, the weightless sensation in my limbs releases. Her power must have something to do with gravity.
"I stopped you with my quirk. I'm sorry I didn't ask first, but... I figured you wouldn't mind me catching you." She explains, taking my blank stare and Bakugo's annoyed suspicion in stride. "Isn't this like, way nerve-wracking? Well, guess I'll see you two inside, bye!"
I stare at her back when she turns and skips ahead of us. Though I have little knowledge of its facets from our brief encounter, I can't help but consider the potential of her quirk. Master would like a power like hers.
My mouth dries immediately at the thought, a desert of discomfort pouring like sand down my rapidly clogging throat. All I can think about now is her smile contorted in agony as Master places a hand on her head.
"What is it, Deku?" Bakugo questions, bouncing his eyes between me and the girl. "What's wrong? What are you thinking?"
"She shouldn't have shown me her quirk," I state without thinking, immediately wishing my mouth would just glue itself shut for a while. "B-because we're her competition, I mean."
Bakugo's face becomes even more concerned. "Heroes are competitive, sure, but anyone who gets into the UA course knows the difference between that and being cutthroat. Someone that would just let you fall and hope you get hurt in the process is a villain, Deku."
Not true. Stepping on fellow heroes is the essence of hero culture and the indoctrination begins at the very end of junior high. From there it's a constant rat race that only a handful manage to succeed in, and the Pros that claw their way to the top are ruthless in their pursuit.
Bakugo is exactly the type of person that would watch a person fall and hope they were injured... he'd probably be the reason they were falling in the first place. And yet, that 'villainous' behavior is what will ultimately make him so successful as a hero...
"Hey, come on..." he calls while rubbing at my rigid shoulder, trying to show support despite my quiet disagreement. "Let's get going, okay Deku? We don't want to be late."
Bakugo looked nauseous the moment he realized that we wouldn't be in the same exam grounds, but it's probably for the best. He would no doubt hover over me like I'm in need of his protection and ultimately cause us both to lose vital points. Also, it would be traumatizing if, for whatever reason, One For All didn't manifest properly, and my childhood bully witnessed such a failure.
This fear is only amplified by my never-ending anxiety of failing Tomura. The combined thrumming makes me feel faint, especially with the dizzyingly tall and towering gates glaring down at my meek, worthless self. What am I going to do? I have no idea whether All Might's quirk transferred properly or what it will be like using it.
No, I have to stay calm. Work the problem and analyze what I do know—or at least what I can reasonably assume is correct. It's possible that my power will present entirely different than it did for All Might, as none of the past users had his brute strength or speed. But, neither he nor I had quirks that could be enhanced like the first users, so it isn't unreasonable to think that we simply manifest the raw power that has been stockpiled.
Master All For One has never used the full extent of his power when training me as the shockwave alone would be a death sentence. It follows that the quirk I ingested will grant me the same 'hurricane of pure force' as All Might called it. Leading with a heavy-handed attack would likely just cause calamity in this urban setting and potentially kill my competitors, which wouldn't earn me a spot in the Hero Course. Somewhere between twenty and forty percent total capacity is what Master determined to be non-lethal, so I'll base my attacks on that percentage as well, beginning at the low end to be safe.
Sizing up the group, I notice the gravity girl from earlier. Once again she doesn't attempt to hide her unease and blatantly attempts to calm her anxiety in front of the rest of us. Bakugo seemed genuine when he insinuated that hero course students are good people, but I know that's fantasy. The poor girl won't make it in this profession if she keeps acting like this; a powerful quirk doesn't matter if you're too soft to use it.
"Go! Go! Go!"
Okay, I can do this. Twenty percent. I wait for everyone to get a fair distance ahead of me out of caution before attempting to activate my power, willing it to life. The rush I'd been expecting to feel earlier zigzags across my legs but it doesn't feel good at all. My bones feel like they're close to breaking even though I'm positive I've capped the output at twenty percent.
Doesn't matter. Move.
Bodies that had been so far ahead suddenly fall behind my line of sight, leaving only those with speed-type quirks able to keep up. The robots aren't difficult to find and once I see them in person my fear of failing is quelled; They're small enough that I could have taken them down without a quirk.
My arm fairs even worse than my legs when my quirk activates for a punch. In terms of strength and durability, the lower body can generally tolerate more; something I should have thought of the moment my legs started to hurt.
With so many injuries during my training, I have a pretty good understanding of what different types and levels of pain mean. My right arm is fractured, but it isn't completely broken yet and can still be used.
I've been hurt much, much worse, and kept going for far longer than this exam is going to last. Even if that weren't the case, however, I doubt I could stop. Every wrenching crash of metal, smoking and hot beneath my fist drives me forward; for the first time in my life, I'm defeating my opponents without extreme struggle.
I'm going to get into UA and complete my mission after all. If this is what twenty percent can do, my maximum will be even stronger than All Might's—Stronger than Master All For One. After all these years, I'm finally going to be a tool worthy of Tomura's affection. He'll be so proud of me!
Shouts are quick to distract me from my endorphin-drenched thoughts, reminding me that these little scraps aren't the only robots in the exam. The Zero-Pointers must have shown up. With their immense size, it doesn't take me long to see what has everyone running like cowards.
There isn't any reason for me to deal with a bot that doesn't earn me points, especially since I can say with certainty that twenty percent isn't near enough to take one down. The rest of the valuable robots are somewhere behind the behemoth's body and I intend to hunt down every last one.
It punches the ground as I prepare to circumvent it, sending dust and debris flying. The dirt-thickened air and rubble turn out to be helpful rather than hindering, as I can conceal my movements. But then I hear a familiar, feminine voice whimpering in pain, and my body freezes. Gravity girl.
My task isn't to save others. I'm not a hero and since this is an exam rather than true combat, she shouldn't truly need saving. The school will step in even if I don't, won't they? Or maybe another applicant?
During the brief period in which I hesitate though, visibility improves enough for me to see my competitor. She's pinned by a fallen rock, flattened to her stomach despite how she struggles to free herself. The smiling face she'd worn earlier is destroyed now and replaced with a haunting mix of fear and pain just like I'd envisioned earlier... And all the other 'hero students' are running. They left her there.
The desire to serve Tomura and prove myself to him is a raging wildfire in my sternum, but as the seconds tick by without any sign of UA staff, it temporarily yields to frigid ice flooding my veins. The heroes are leaving her there too.
Just like with the sludge villain, I find myself rushing forward to help. This time I don't temper One for All and, unsurprisingly, my legs shatter the moment I spring from the ruined asphalt, wiggling painfully behind me. It's far too late for me to back out now though; I might as well destroy my arm while I'm up here.
Despite the immediate and horrendous pain, my stomach twists with excitement for the damage I'm about to cause and it isn't unfounded. The sky-scraping robot rebounds from my fist, crashing backward in a whirlwind of fire and debris. This is what it means to have true power.
Unfortunately, what goes up must come back down.
I have the points I need to pass this part of the exam and I had no difficulty with the written portion. If no one steps up to help me—and I doubt these 'heroes' will—I'll just break my other arm to slow my fall. It's all about timing. I just need to wait until the last possible second and then—
'SMACK'
I'm momentarily stunned by a stinging slap across my cheek, but it doesn't take long for me to realize who it's from. For the second time today, I'm made weightless. If I weren't in so much pain I'd have to laugh... Bakugo is going to lose his mind when he finds out I got hurt saving this girl and he wasn't by my side.
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Thank you for being patient! I hope you enjoyed the update. Leave me a comment/review! :)