"Hey, Deku, what do you think All-Might was talking about back there?" Katsuki asked as the five friends approached the exam hall.
"Well, when you think about it, we were lucky to be blessed with powerful Quirks in a district that otherwise doesn't have strong anomalous forces."
"And I was lucky to have a potent Object of Power," Mayumi added.
"But at the same time, we mastered our Quirks through hard work and determination, so us being here... We earned this ourselves." Izuku said. "In that way, we could be considered deserving."
Suddenly, Izuku tripped over a crack in the pavement. Before he could hit the ground, he got stopped in mid-air. Everyone looked and noticed a cute girl with a brown bob cut, her hand on Izuku's backpack.
"Are you okay? That could have been a nasty fall."
"Uh...whu...?" Izuku asked, completely transfixed.
Mayumi giggled while Katsuki, Ben, and Morimoto all smirked. Izuku's biggest weakness had always been cute girls. It was nearly impossible for him to talk to one.
"I stopped you with my Quirk. Sorry I didn't ask first, I thought it would be a bad omen if you actually fell." The girl said.
"N-No, you were just helping..." Izuku mumbled. "Though I would've been fine if I fell either way."
"Are you nervous about the exam? Cuz I sure am." The girl said. "Anyway, guess I'll see you inside."
As she walked off, Mayumi gave the still-flustered Izuku a pat on the back as Katsuki, Ben, and Morimoto all finally bust a gut laughing.
"Call me crazy, but I think you finally managed to talk to a cute girl that wasn't me or your mom. Definitely an improvement." Mayumi said.
The exam orientation was being overseen by Hizashi Yamada, also known as the Voice Hero: Present Mic. Needless to say, Izuku geeked out something fierce since he was a huge fan of his radio show.
"WHAT UP, WHAT UP! HOW'S EVERYBODY DOING?! CAN I GET A 'HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEY'?!"
"HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEY!" Ben cheered before realizing he was the only one who did so, sheepishly sitting back down.
"I LIKE YOUR STYLE, KID!" The Voice Hero beamed, flashing two finger guns Ben's way before continuing. "ALRIGHT, LET'S GET DOWN TO BUSINESS! THE PRACTICAL EXAM HERE IS GONNA CONSIST OF 10-MINUTE MOCK BATTLES IN SIMULATED URBAN SETTINGS! THERE ARE SEVEN BATTLE ZONES IN TOTAL FROM A TO G!"
Izuku and his friends looked at their cards and found that they all had different battle zones. Izuku had Zone B, Katsuki had Zone A, Ben had Zone C, Morimoto had Zone F, and Mayumi had Zone G.
"So they split us up so we can't work with friends. Must be why Asahi-Sensei suggested we train individually as well as together." Morimoto noted.
"NOW YOU'LL ALL BE FACING THREE TYPES OF ROBOTS WORTH A DIFFERENT SERIES OF POINTS BASED ON THEIR DIFFICULTY! SHRED THOSE BOTS HOWEVER YOU LIKE BUT FRIENDLY FIRE IS A BIG NO-NO AND WILL RESULT IN IMMEDIATE DISQUALIFICATION! TRUST US, WE'LL KNOW!" Present Mic continued.
"Excuse me, but I have a question!" A young man with glasses suddenly stood up and raised his hand, the spotlight shining on him.
"HIT ME!" Present Mic said.
"The printouts handed when we came in listed four types of faux villains! If this is an error on official UA materials, it is shameful! As exemplary students, we expect the best from Japan's most notable school!" The boy then pointed at Izuku. "And YOU! You've been muttering this whole time! It's distracting! If you think this is just some pleasure joint, then leave immediately!"
"Shut the fuck up, you damn pretentious asshat!" Katsuki snapped as he stood up. "If you were really paying attention as much as you say, then you'd realize that the damn nerd was analyzing everything Present Mic was saying!"
"And to be honest, I think you are being a bit more distracting than him. I mean, most people didn't notice his muttering until you pointed it out, which was really rude by the way." Mayumi spoke up next. "Meanwhile, you just decided to start lecturing our exam proctor without letting him finish what he was saying, which was also pretty rude."
"Also, how do you know he's not taking this seriously? Maybe muttering helps him focus, which means that you were disrupting him by interrupting it." Ben added. "Also, if a little muttering is enough to distract someone, are they fit to be a Hero?"
"ALRIGHT, SETTLE DOWN!" Present Mic called out, playing peacemaker. "YES, THERE IS A FOURTH TYPE OF VILLAIN BUT IT'S WORTH ZERO POINTS! NADA! ZILCH! YOU'LL FIND ONE IN EVERY BATTLE CENTER AND YOU CAN SMASH IT UP IF YOU WANT TO, BUT IT WON'T ADD UP TO YOUR SCORE!"
"Well, at least that'll provide some excitement." Ben chuckled.
"ALRIGHT PEOPLE, THAT'S ALL FOR TODAY! JUST REMEMBER THESE WORDS AS YOU GO OUT; NAPOLEON BONAPARTE ONCE SAID THAT A TRUE HERO IS ONE WHO OVERCOMES LIFE'S MISFORTUNES! NOW LET ME HEAR A PLUS ULTRA BEFORE YOU GO!"
While there were other hero academies in the world, none were as prestigious, or as successful, as UA High School. Its alumni was a regular who's who of legendary heroes, such as All-Might, Endeavor, Regenizard, and Endo Hound. While there was no official rule regarding such, it was generally accepted that becoming a top hero in the world required graduation from UA.
Right now, Izuku was waiting to be let into Battle Zone B for his practical exam. The written portion had been easy, and he wouldn't have been surprised if he was given top marks. He and Katsuki always scored high on their tests up until the end of junior high. Mayumi had also been taking the entrance exam for the Support Course as well.
Izuku had slipped into a light green tracksuit and was now standing with several dozen other candidates outside Zone B, one of them being the girl from before as well as the young man with the glasses.
"Time to go beyond. It's time to show what years of training can do. Wait for me, guys, we're getting into UA together!"
Many of the other students were talking among themselves about how the urban environment looked like a whole city. Izuku then noticed the girl who had helped him back outside the exam center. She looked nervous, so he decided to go over and give her some encouragement, only to be stopped by the glasses-wearing young man.
"That girl looks like she's trying to focus! What do you intend to do? Distract her and harm her chances of success?!"
Now Izuku was a very sweet, even-tempered, and mild-mannered kid. However, right now, he was looking at this guy like he was the biggest fucking idiot in the universe.
"I'm intending to encourage her. She helped me out when I wound up tripping right at the front gates." The green-haired boy sighed. "Do you always expect the worst in everyone? Why are you even trying to become a Hero?"
The young man flustered. "I am here to carry on the noble legacy of heroes that has been in my family for generations!"
"Legacy doesn't mean anything in UA. You need to become a hero on your own merit, or you won't get very far." Izuku pointed out.
He didn't know that he was being observed by two specific individuals; a blonde-haired young man with a large belt around his waist, the buckle centered around his belly button, and a young man with lightly tanned skin, crimson red eyes, and spikey black hair with red tips.
"Seems at least someone understands what this school is looking for." The second boy calmly noted.
The first boy nodded. "Oui."
"AND START!" Present Mic suddenly called out from a nearby tower. "WHAT ARE YOU KIDS WAITING FOR?! THERE'S NO COUNTDOWN IN REAL BATTLES! THE EXAM STARTS NOW!"
Izuku was off like a shot, followed by the boy with spikey black hair rushing alongside him while speeding along on high-tech skate jet shoes.
Meanwhile, Mayumi was getting ready for her own exam, limbering herself up before noticing someone out of the corner of her eye; a downtrodden boy who looked a lot like Izuku. His hair was black, he had a bang over his right eye, and he was also paler. With all that and his red eyes, he looked like she thought Izuku would look like if he had albinism and went through an emo phase.
"Hey, why so down?" She asked as she made her way over.
The Izuku clone looked at her confused, before deciding that this was happening and he might as well go along with it.
"Well, my Quirk allows me to edit and temporarily strengthen the Quirks of others, but that wouldn't really help here. Adding my scrawny physique to that equation, and you can see why I'm not exactly excited about this situation."
"How about we make a deal?" Mayumi said. "I destroy all the robots, and you help anyone around us who needs help!"
"And how do I benefit from this?"
"I have it on good authority that there is a secret point system based on rescuing others."
The Izuku clone blinked, seeming to contemplate the offer and information he got before nodding his head.
"Do you think you can actually destroy all the robots?"
Mayumi turned her right arm into its Buster Cannon mode and pumped it like cocking a shotgun.
"Just watch me."
The boy looked at her before looking at his hand and clenching his fist tightly.
"This better be worth it. I have to become a Hero...for you, Katsuo."
Ben was casually tossing a ball of earth and fire mixed to make magma between his hands, humming a small tune to himself before noticing a peculiar individual; a very short petite childish boy with fluffy pink hair and baby blue eyes.
"Huh, what's a kid doing here? Or does he just have dwarfism? Probably the latter."
He then got into a stance as the winds began picking up around him, intent on boosting himself forward as soon as the gates opened.
"Let's do this thing."
Nearby, a girl with tan skin, red eyes, abundant spikey black hair, and a tall athletic build was grinning as she seemed to get on all fours like a wolf, an excited growl rumbling from deep in her throat.
Morimoto was taking deep meditative breaths before looking at his hand as it shifted between solid metal, a wolf's head, a plume of smoke, and a crab claw before back to normal. He always liked shifting different parts of his body to calm his nerves when he was anxious.
With a Quirk like his, Morimoto could pretty much turn into anything in existence. The only drawback was that he could not turn into another person. Despite this, he was proud of what he had and knew he had what it takes to become a Hero.
He briefly noticed a girl with pale skin, black shoulder-length hair with red highlights, wide eyes that were a mix of blue and green, and a small calm smile on her face. Morimoto didn't know why, but something about the girl felt odd...or maybe it was the long prehensile whip-like black rat tail coming out of her backside.
He'd have to dwell on things later. Right now, the exam has already begun. Transforming his lower half into that of a horse, Morimoto galloped onward while turning both arms into swords.
As Izuku ran through the streets, he soon found his first target, a one-point robot. As he dodged the first attack, he noticed a switch on the robot's back.
"So they make sure the robots can be disabled even if an examinee doesn't have a Quirk capable of outright demolishing them. But why aren't there simulations of people to rescue? That's a big part of being a Hero too. Oh well... Time to put my training with One For All to use!"
He flipped in midair, bringing the heel of his right foot down on the robot's head.
"MANCHESTER SMASH!"
Another robot came up behind Midoriya, only for it to be blasted apart by the blonde man, a laser shooting out of his belt. Before Izuku could thank him for the save, he saw a three-pointer barreling down on them and grabbed the man to get him out of the way.
"CHAOS SPEAR!"
The boy with spikey black and red hair threw a bolt of golden crackling energy at the robot, punching through it like a massive bullet and smashing it into the nearby building.
"Merci!" The blonde boy commented. "We make an excellent team!"
"Eyes up and keep focused." The black-haired boy gruffly said.
As the three of them continued to search out more targets, they all helped out a number of other examinees, which caught the attention of the young man with the glasses.
"I'm sure the others are grateful for your help, but shouldn't you focus on trying to score as many points as possible?"
"Heroes are meant to save people. That should be ingrained in anyone learning to be a Hero." Izuku pointed out. "In fact, I'm surprised there aren't any people or dummies to simulate that."
"That is odd..." The black-haired young man noted. "But perhaps the school has its reasons, like how they didn't mention the zero-pointer until it was brought up during orientation."
Ben surrounded his left arm in a massive gauntlet of stone and crushed a two-pointer under the rocky fist. He then jumped back before noticing the little pink-haired boy taking a large inhale and sucking up multiple robots that he seemed to have destroyed.
With cheeks cutely puffed up like a chipmunk, the boy turned and spat out the contents of his mouth in the form of a giant star, which punched through a three-pointer robot and sent it crashing into a pair of one-pointers.
"Huh, that's a pretty neat Quirk. Reminds me of this one video game...wait, could it actually be...?"
The tall tan-skinned girl roared as she took on the form of a large azure-furred werewolf, slashing apart multiple robots surrounding her with her claws, which left trails of lunar light behind. She then pounced on a three-pointer and tore into it with her jaws.
"Okay...don't get in that chick's way..." Ben muttered before holding his hand behind his shoulder and firing a sharp stream of water from his index finger, which cut through an approaching two-pointer.
Morimoto turned his legs into springs as he bounced up high before shifting his fists into anvils as he dove down and smashed a three-pointer underneath him. He then looked up to see the girl from earlier destroying every robot that entered her field of view, her hands turning into eldritch claws as her feet seemed to have turned into black talons, her teeth were razor-sharp and her eyes were glowing lime green.
"Guess when she's in action, she loses herself to the thrill...duly noted."
A one-pointer tried to strike him but his whole body turned into unbreakable diamond as he turned around and shifted his arm into a bazooka, which he aimed at the offending robot.
"That wasn't very nice, was it?"
Mayumi was moving swiftly, running and gunning with her Light Buster, a Buster Cannon she got from copying Dr. Light's Quirk, Light Up, which allowed him to project light to see in the dark or even create balls of light to illuminate distant areas.
She also sprouted wheels on the soles of her feet to move around quickly. Behind her, the Izuku clone was making sure people didn't get caught in the crossfire of any destruction left behind, even using his Quirk to boost their own so they could get more points for themselves.
"Heroics and Support...what a pair of choices I've made." She thought to herself. "In fact...I think I have an idea for my first invention for the Support Exam."
Meanwhile, the teachers were watching the students in the various battle zones on a large bank of monitors. Principle Nedzu, a rodent-like animal with the Quirk High Spec, which gave him an unparalleled amount of intelligence, observed the exam.
"They don't know how many villains there are or where they are, so they use everything they have at their disposal to find targets. Some use overwhelming power, others use intelligence gathering, and still others unbridled speed. Some simply remain cool under pressure as they search. The best use a combination of all of these."
"But of course, fighting villains is only half the exam. We didn't tell the students about the other half because after all...their actions in that regard must be genuine." Serpenshia noted. "Fortunately, we do have a few promising students in that regard as well."
"What I'm more worried about is the fact that our 'esteemed' principal decided that this year's Hero Course classes should have 24 students each rather than the normal 20." Grumbled a man with a disheveled appearance.
"Oh, pish-posh, Shota. There are so many hopefuls this year, I just couldn't stand around and let their talents go to waste." Nedzu chortled. "But the real test is still to come."
He opened a glass case guarding a red button, then slammed his paw on top of it.
Sudden explosions caught everyone's attention as Izuku was the first to notice the giant robot.
"IS THAT THE ZERO-POINTER?!" He screamed in disbelief.
"It's...bigger than I was expecting." The black-haired boy with red highlights noted dryly.
"Mon dieu...!" The blonde boy cursed.
The zero-pointer's attacks were already causing the students to panic and scatter, some ended up getting trapped or left behind, causing a few to stay behind and help them.
"There's only two minutes left. They must have unleashed this villain to really test the candidates." Izuku noted.
"Ow!"
Hearing the familiar voice, Izuku looked and saw the girl from before, her leg trapped under some rubble. And she was uncomfortably close to the zero-pointer, in danger of being crushed under its treads.
Without even thinking, Izuku rushed to where the girl was, One For All charging through his body harder than ever before. The muscles in his legs then coiled tightly as he crouched down before rocketing into the air.
From his seat, Serpenshia smiled.
"The zero-pointer may not give any points to the villain score, but that doesn't necessarily mean it shouldn't be fought, contrary to what the proctors say to the examinees. For that mighty beast can provide opportunity. A chance for a young up-and-comer to show what he's really made of. Isn't that right... All-Might?"
He looked next to him, and it turned out All-Might was sitting there as well.
"Indeed. Young Midoriya is showing the true character of a hero. Not running when another is in danger, but facing that danger head on."
"So that's your chosen successor, eh? Well, he's certainly been proving he deserves the honor. And now it looks like he's fighting the zero-pointer to rescue that trapped girl." Nedzu noted. "Honestly, I should've expected you'd pick Tony's son as your protege. After all, the two of you go way back."
"And he's not the only one, it seems." A sultry woman with voluminous purple hair noted as she saw the other screens.
Sure enough, Katsuki, Ben, Morimoto, and Mayumi were taking on the zero-pointers in their zones as well; Katsuki barreled straight into his zero-pointer with the force of a rocket fired from a bazooka while Ben thrust both hands out and harnessed Magnetism to cause his zero-pointer to collapse on itself. Morimoto combined both his arms into one giant cannon and fired a massive payload that tore a gaping hole through his zero-pointer. Finally, Mayumi boosted into the air with rockets in her soles before turning her arm into a jet-powered hammer that she used to smash down on her zero-pointer.
After reaching high enough into the air that he was flying face-to-face with the zero-pointer, Izuku pulled back his right fist, bones and muscle tissue shifting and forming around it like an eldritch gauntlet, much like his father would do when he performed his Keter Strike special move.
"KETER SMASH!"
The girl looked on in awe as the powerful punch smashed the zero-pointer right in the face, its head getting blown clean off. However, that had been more power than Izuku was used to, and he wound up falling uncontrollably.
"Aww crap, this is gonna hurt!" He said, hoping he'd be able to adapt his body to take on a more soft consistency so he impacted gently-
*SLAP*
The girl had gotten up and slapped Izuku across the face, letting him fall more gently without needing to adapt his body. He noticed that she had reached a piece of debris, likely when she saw he was falling and was using it to levitate.
"R-Release...!" She said with much effort as she pressed her fingertips together, causing Izuku and all the other floating objects to land on the ground.
As the girl released her power, she suddenly gained a nauseous look on her face as she covered her mouth before heaving out rainbows. Izuku briefly looked away to give her privacy before picking himself up as he walked over.
"You okay?"
"Yeah... I'll be fine...Overusing my Quirk tends to make me nauseous. I have a high tolerance for motion sickness, but not an immunity."
Izuku smiled. "That's the second time you stopped my fall. Even knowing I would come out alright, you still tried to help me."
"That's what a Hero does, right?" The girl said with a smile of her own.
"AND THAT'S TIME!" Present Mic's voice was heard, announcing the exam was over.
"I think we'll both be okay. I overheard you saying you got twenty-eight points. I have about seventy-five myself." Izuku said.
"That was pretty reckless of you." The boy with black spikey hair said as he came over. "I'm Leden Ultimave, by the way. Just call me Le"
"Nice work, everyone. Anyone who has any injuries, I'll be sure to get to each of you." A short old lady said as she came in.
"I know that mademoiselle. She's Recovery Girl, the heart of UA." The blonde boy noted.
Recovery Girl looked Izuku over. "I'm not seeing any signs of physical injury on you, young man. Some sort of self-healing Quirk, no doubt, since you were seen in the thick of it."
"Got it from my Dad." Izuku chuckled as the old heroine looked the girl over next.
"You, on the other hand... I'll need to take a look at your leg, make sure there aren't any fractures."
Recovery Girl was the school nurse, and her Quirk, Heal, worked by applying her lips to an injured patient, using their body's natural energy to repair damage. As Recovery Girl used her power on the girl, Izuku was approached by the glasses-wearing boy.
"I don't think I introduced myself. Tenya Iida."
"Iida, huh? You related to Ingenium?" Le asked.
"Yes, he is my older brother." Tenya nodded. "I must admit, I'm embarrassed at being reminded of how a real Hero should act. That said, you were quick to rush in to save that girl."
"I'm honestly beginning to suspect there was a hidden parameter we weren't told about," Le noted. "As Midoriya said earlier, it's strange that they had no simulations for rescue scenarios."
"With the points she's gathered, my daughter is sure to get in." Nedzu happily said as he looked over the girl who had been in Morimoto's zone.
"Ah yes, Tsumi Shudai." Serpenshia noted. "It's rather odd she turned down the offer for the Recommendation Exam."
"Well, she simply wished to cut it more loose compared to how the Recommendations take their exam." The principal chuckled.
"With her Quirks, she has a veritable onslaught of powers," All-Might noted before frowning. "Then again, so do Young Gato, Young Toriokoyoshi, and Young Tanaka."
It still felt weird for All-Might, knowing exactly where Tsumi came from, as well as the fact she actually had multiple Quirks instead of just one. Then again, she was one of the only good things to come from HIM.
"Speaking of Gato, that kid in her zone who looks almost like Midoriya..." The disheveled man noted as he looked at the screen for Zone G. "Something feels off about him."
"Ah yes, Akatani Mikumo." Nedzu noted. "His Quirk, Quirk Crafter allows him to take, give, sense, and fuse Quirks, or simply take parts of one Quirk and add it to another. He also has the ability to boost a Quirk's power, though the note he sent me said that this was the result of fusing his Quirk with that of his brother, who died due to an accident."
All-Might shuddered, unpleasant memories filling his head as he listened to what Nedzu said. He still vividly remembered that day and even though his comrades had told him not to blame himself due to it being out of his control, he still held deep regrets over what had happened.
"But wait, I heard on the monitors that he said his Quirk only allows him to edit and temporarily boost Quirks. Why did he lie?" The woman asked.
"That was his personal request he made to me and I am respecting it," Nedzu said. "I expect you all to do the same for the time being."
A week later, the test results came in the mail. To Izuku's surprise, the letter included a hologram projector, where All-Might stepped into the frame.
"BOO-YAH! I AM HERE, ON LIVEFEED!" He announced. "Sorry I wasn't able to contact you at all this week, but Asahi spoke to me about what had happened during the exam. I was buried in paperwork since I'm actually going to be a teacher at UA starting this year. What does that mean for you, you might be wondering? I think you'll be quite pleased, Young Midoriya that you officially earned seventy-five combat points, the second highest after your friends, Young Bakugo, Young Toriokoyoshi, and Young Tanaka, who all tied for second."
Izuku beamed. "Awesome! Looks like I made it!"
'That number alone would get you into UA without issue, and as a top student, no less!" All-Might continued. "But the practical exam is not graded on combat alone. You must have noticed it, yes? The fact that there were no rescue simulations, despite this being an exam to get into a hero academy. Well, there's a reason for that. We can't just offer simulations for rescues, otherwise, we can't be sure the rescue was for selfless reasons!"
He showed images of Izuku's actions, saving people and encouraging others to do the same. It was honestly mind-blowing.
"I did all that...?"
'You not only acted selflessly to save others, but you inspired your fellow examinees to act as real heroes! The UA faculty was practically begging you to be a student here!" All-Might said. "Altogether, you earned a grand total of eighty rescue points, the highest out of all the examinees and even blew my old record out of the water! This puts you in the number one spot for this year's exam!"
"Holy crap, I beat All-Might's score...!"
"Oh, and in case you were curious... The girl you helped, Ochako Uraraka. She also earned a substantial amount of rescue points, forty-five in total. What really clinched it for her was when she saved you!"
Izuku checked the scoreboard next to All-Might. He was in first place, Katsuki in second, Ben was in third, Morimoto was in fourth, Mayumi was in fifth, and Ochako was in sixth.
"I did it... I DID IT!"
"Welcome, Izuku Midoriya. This is your Hero Academia!"
And so we've covered the Entrance Exam! And it seems we have a few extra Hero hopefuls this time around. Here's a list of who is who and where they originate from:
-Wankuro Nikaido from wmtay2's Izuku's Pet Nomu.
-Leden 'Le' Ultimave from Kyodon's I Don't Run An Orphanage!
-Tsumi Shudai from Fanatical_fiction's Morality is subjective, is it not?
-Kirby Hoshiboshi from a fanart of Kirby if he was a character in My Hero Academia.
-Akatani Mikumo, Izuku's beta design.
These characters will all have prominence in the future. Look forward to seeing them in action!
Also, in regards to Morimoto's Morph Quirk, I took cues from Eve Nueschwanstein's powers from the anime NEEDLESS mixed with Metamorpho from DC Universe and Mikitaka Hazekura from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. He cannot shapeshift into other people like Himiko Toga and he can't shapeshift his whole body into animals like Beast Boy, though he can still shapeshift parts of his body into animal parts.
Other than that, the possibilities are endless!