"What the hell is he?!"

"All he did during the Sports Festival was get his ass kicked!"

"This is bullshit! He has wings now?!"

Saiki couldn't keep the satisfied smirk off his face as he twirled and evaded every assault against him. Taking point as a massive distraction that the students of other schools simply couldn't ignore. Flying right in among them, disrupting any attempt to focus on the 'easy targets' of his classmates. Pfft. As if. After all they had been through, none of them were easy targets.

But pissants like these didn't deserve a chance to get lucky.

"Damn UA!" one of them shouted, holding onto his last ball as he fired air bullets from his mouth. Bullets that Saiki didn't even bother dodging as he approached at high speed. This was the one that decided to talk the hardest shit. All Saiki did was get his ass kicked? Back then it was true. He couldn't deny that. But a nobody like him didn't get to take shots like that without having to back it up.

Shoulder, opposite outer thigh, belly. Not bad positions for targets. Required vastly different angles of attack for someone to tag all of them. Not being a moron wouldn't save him though.

The little punk saw it. There must have been a tell. Saiki wasn't playing around with this one. He knew full well that the bug-winged student was aiming for a kill. To his credit, he did the smart thing. He turned tail and ran.

Not that it would save him.

With a powerful beat of his wings, Saiki launched himself at the unfortunate opponent and grabbed him by the midsection, dragging him up into the air.

"AHHHHHHH! GUYS! HELP!"

"Nobody to help up here," Saiki told him, rolling back to toss the boy upward. Narrowing his eyes, he aimed carefully, watching the boy tumble. Throw, bounce, catch. Throw, bounce, catch. Throw, bounce– "Ah, damn it!" he complained as his ball bounced oddly and flew to who knew where. But the damage was done. The pissant was beaten, taken out of the exam. Mercifully, Saiki swooped in and grabbed the loser before he could fall. "Be grateful you're not strong enough for me to try my super moves on."

"Screw you, asshole!"

"Don't be sore. Just make sure you suck less for the next exam." Guy had a half-decent quirk. He'd probably be able to leverage that if he worked hard.

Maybe.

Dumping the guy on the ground, Saiki got right back to playing interference, flying with his arms folded over his chest for the sake of prudence. He lost a ball but really he only needed one. Having more seemed a measure for the sake of examinees destroying them. Dozens had been ruined in the assault on UA, Saiki taking out more than a few himself.

He swooped through the entire exam centre, batting balls away from a harassed Ojiro and Hagakure.

"Ah, thanks Saisei!" Ojiro called up, hesitatingly adding, "G-Golden assist!" he exclaimed with a thumbs up.

Saiki blinked, watching the tailed boy do... Was he wearing sunglasses now? Yellow ones?

"Ojiro, you look like such a hero!" Hagakure gushed.

"Needs work," the blonde boy admitted, but stomped his foot as he slapped another ball away with his tail. "But soon I'll be GOLDEN!"

... The absolute worst thing Saiki could do would be to laugh. He wouldn't go so far as to say it was the hardest thing he'd ever done to hold it in, but it was up there. "Keep at it!" he managed to say before flying away where his guffaws wouldn't be heard.

His flight path took him past Todoroki who was taking five guys on at the same time. He was also doing fine, the prick. So Saiki left him be. Katsumi glared at him until he winged away. He wouldn't interfere in her performance anyway. They were competing, after all.

Iida and Aoyama on the other hand... Aoyama looked to be in a bad way, but Iida fixed him with such a death glare. Obviously his assistance wouldn't be welcomed.

On the one hand, a hero helped even when they weren't wanted. On the other... This wasn't about being a hero. Or rather, he was helping because he wanted to. He wanted all the shit they had gone through together to pay off. But if some people didn't want his help, wanted to stand on their own, that was more than valid. Iida's look probably wasn't coming from that desire. Less wanting to stand on his own, more would rather stand on his own than get help from Saiki. But if that was how he wanted to play it.

-(-)-

Aoyama watched the green dragonfly disappear over the edge of the canyon he and Iida had holed themselves up within. Watched Iida watch him fly away. "That is a shame," he spoke in a strained voice, even as he tried to maintain his preferred level of elegance. The horrible cramps in his stomach making the task more than difficult. "Saisei's assistance would have been very helpful at a time like this."

"We don't need the help of someone like him."

"Is it so simple for you?" The blonde hero who couldn't stop twinkling asked. "To see someone who doesn't measure up to your standards, your idea of a hero, and dismiss them entirely?"

The running hero simply named 'Tenya' glanced back at his classmate. "Anyone can be a hero," he stated with certainty. "Acting appropriately for the benefit of others while obeying the law. That's all it takes. He doesn't qualify."

Aoyama was sure that was meant to be reassuring. Confirming that he met Iida's standards while Saisei did not. What Iida didn't know was that Aoyama also didn't meet those standards. As a result, the attempt to lift his spirits fell dreadfully flat. "It's funny," he let out a chuckling groan. "I remember someone else with such strict standards for heroes." But he thought better of saying who. Bringing up that name would not help his case. Not with Iida. "Sometimes those criteria don't all line up just right. Is it wrong to break the law to save others?"

"Yes." The answer came immediately, as expected of the rigid Iida. But after giving such a firm answer, doubt flitted across his face. "At least, it should incur punishment. Our system of laws exists for a reason."

"It does. But it isn't perfect." The existence of heroes as a profession happened because of a failure of the system. It couldn't handle a world full of quirks. Heroes rose up and became a stopgap measure that was easier to maintain than reshaping all of society. It wasn't infallible. Aoyama was sure Iida knew that. "Doing what's right, above what's physically, socially and legally safest. That is the core of what heroes are."

"That's what vigilantes are," Iida corrected irritably.

"They used to be one in the same. Hardly a surprise that the definition gets blurry." He rose from his slump against a rock, standing on unsteady legs. "The one thing core to all of it. Saisei has that. The will to protect people. To save people."

"Recklessly and carelessly." Iida argued. "The system exists for a reason, so that recklessness doesn't make things worse. Like Saisei did at the training camp."

Aoyama walked forward, toward a raised outcrop in the canyon. "He put himself at risk. Put himself in danger. And he saved a child's life, as well as Midoriya's. That's a hero, isn't it? Take everything else away... That's the essence of a hero."

What Aoyama had always wanted to be. What he wished he could be. Instead of what he was.

He stepped onto the outcrop. Bent backward to point his navel to the sky.

-(-)-

Saiki couldn't pass everyone. Hell, being fair, he couldn't pass anyone. They had to do the work themselves. There would be a point that despite his intentions to support his classmates, he would need to pass for his own sake. He wasn't that selfless or stupid to pointlessly sacrifice his own advancement for them.

"Sixty-four students have now passed... "

That point may have arrived. It was time to find some poor chump to fail and secure his spot to advance. Flying lower to more carefully search, he kept his eyes peeled as he flew through the rocky outcrops. Looking for any sign of another examinee.

Which was why it was completely baffling when he felt a sudden weight drop onto his back. A body adjusting its position by swinging around his legs. "Boop!"

Alarmed, he heard the ping before he felt the pressure of two balls clicking against his chest. The target on his left and right pectoral lighting up red. But with that, he had the chance to deny her a complete victory. Grabbing her hands to hold them there.

"Uh-oh!" a voice sing-songed in his ear. Female, peppy and sinister. "What now, huh? Let go and I might just tag that last target!"

"How the hell didn't I sense you?!" He had been watching! He had been careful!

"Asking a girl to reveal her secrets on the first date? How bold!" the girl, and he could feel it was very definitely a girl, giggled in his ear. "But that's okay! I want to know all yours too!"

So she wouldn't tell him. Her quirk, maybe. "Be that way." He didn't know how durable his assailant was, but she had to be decently strong to pull a stunt like this. Tilting his wings he sent himself into a spin. A horizontal pirouette as he drove himself toward the ground, timing it so she would hit first. Her grunt of pain was good. He had held back for her sake, but better she didn't come out unscathed. He rolled and skidded across the dirt, locking his eyes on her form.

Her very curvy, shapely form. It was the girl from Shiketsu. The one who wouldn't stop staring at him.

"Ooh, so cruel!" she moaned. Her head coming up to reveal her delighted grin. "I like that!" She giggled as she ran at him, her movements a little unsettling as she came in close. She tried to slip around him to evade his counter. To his surprise and concern, she managed to partially succeed, rolling with a punch that clipped her shoulder to twirl around his back. Her giggles continued to ring in his ears as he felt something jab the back of his neck. Pain. Just... Just the smallest amount. Barely enough to register for him at this point. But it also signalled she had managed to break the skin with whatever she had done. That was enough playing around. Slapping her with his wings to distract, He grabbed whatever place he latched onto and threw her over his shoulder, slamming her into the dirt again, then pinned her down. Locked down all of her limbs as she lay flat on her back.

"Shoot, I wanted to play a little more!" she moaned in disappointment, pouting. Before the grin came back. "Well go on, hit me! I'm beaten! Have your wicked way with me!" Her body rolled a little, presenting her targets. One on each breast and one very low on her abdomen.

Some of these entrants were weird. "Aren't you trying to pass?" He kept himself alert for an ambush. She did it, someone else could.

"I did," Her eyes drifted down from his, drawing attention to the two lit up targets on his chest. "But hey, if I fail, this is still interesting! This was such a nice date! I hope we can have another real soon!""

"... Whatever." Taking one of her balls, he tagged her targets one by one, finishing with the one just above her womanhood. She moaned as he tagged all three targets, his own lighting up blue for his second takedown.

"Wanna take things a little further before you go?" she offered with a little wiggle, pulling down the zipper of her skintight clothing. "I don't mind."

"I'm not a quick enough shot that we'd be done before the exam ends. But hey, I'll take a rain check." A hot piece of ass was a hot piece of ass, no matter how crazy.

She grinned up at him, her smile a little too manic, a little too wild in the eyes. "I'll hold you to it."

Putting the strange girl out of his mind, Saiki moved away, flying upward and toward the antechamber where the passing examinees were being directed. In such a rush to put her unsettling nature out of his mind, he didn't even get her name.

Down on the ground, the strange girl continued to giggle to herself. Pulling out a half-full vial of red liquid to inspect it. She licked her lips, imagining just how it would taste. She couldn't wait to try it!

-(-)-

Saiki stared, barely comprehending as the monitors showed the complete devastation of the exam centre they had just traversed. The fairly normal (if sparse) city district, mountains, rivers and so on summarily and casually destroyed. Just for the sake of being as close to real world conditions as possible.

"It's just like Kamino," Izuku breathed.

Pushing away that particular memory, Saiki decided to focus on something more mundane. "Holy shit the HPSC have a huge budget." And then the monitor showed a horde of mostly small people venturing into the ruins as the representative running the exam explained their role. To act as bystanders and victims of a disaster, there to be rescued by heroes. "Man, hero training can be weird sometimes."

Once again the room fell open, leaving the examinees standing on an island of safety in a zone of total destruction.

Saiki, along with many of his classmates, blinked or otherwise expressed their confusion as the older students who moved on to this phase of the exam were instantly in motion. Organising a safe zone to bring the wounded and establishing triage protocols.

Things the first years hadn't entirely learned to do yet.

But, one thing that didn't require quite so much specialised training. They could go out, they could help, they could save people.

Saiki looked to the boundaries of the exam centre. It was big, but not unreasonably big.

"Alright, we'll split into teams!" Momo declared, taking charge of their class as she tended to. "Search and rescue! Remember, the safety of civilians is our priority so be quick, but careful!"

"Mo– Ah, Creati," Gah, her hero name sucked but whatever. "Can you make signal flares?" Saiki asked.

"Sure."

"Hand them out to the teams," he suggested. "I'll be overhead," he said louder. "Find anyone critically injured, send up a flare and I can come pick them up, get them back here fast and with minimal aggravation." The ability to fly and also carry enormous weight without issue was perfect for this situation.

"Perfect!" Suddenly several flares burst out of her cleavage to be snatched by her hands and passed out to the others. "Get going."

Saiki couldn't hide his surprise at her bossing him around, but that was the difference between being on the job and in their private lives, he guessed. With a smile, he took off, launching up over the ruined buildings, keeping a careful eye out for any sign of movement, people or 'blood'. Expecting the others would be making steady progress through the area, he pushed himself further forward. Ranging ahead, knowing the others would be at his back.

With the exception of Iida he amended as he spotted a dust cloud being kicked up along what used to be a road.

Finding his first victim he put all of those miserable, miserable times in fast food service to good use. Plastering a smile on his face and told her he was there to help!

"What, are you giving me my fast food order?! Get that customer service smile off your face! I'm scared, dammit!"

On the other hand, would they fail him if he were to give the 'victims' a real concussion to worry about? After all, it would just be in the interests of making it a more realistic, true-to-life experience. For the sake of the exam, of course.

The exam progressed, going back and forth to the safe zone with the 'injured'. More than one more of them complaining about his 'fake-ass customer service smile'.

It was as he was transporting a 'critical' patient that he got fed up with it.

"You're not working at Smile Burger, kid! You're a hero!" the examiner muttered as she was carefully carried to the safe zone. Saiki flying as evenly and steadily as possible.

"You're the third person to say that. I can't magically get better at it. So unless you've got some advice that can help, examiner," he paused, putting his 'fake-ass customer service smile back on, "Please try not to talk, ma'am! We'll get you to a doctor right away! Everything's going to be okay!"

"Hmph," the older woman grunted. "... You ever feel scared, kid?" she asked. "Like your whole world was falling apart? Something terrible happened and you don't even know how to process it yet? When all you can feel is the fear, the despair, the desperation for someone to come along and make it better." She watched his face. "Hm. Looks like you have. It's not just a smile, kid. Doesn't even have to be a smile and it sure as hell shouldn't be that smile. It's about presence. Showing people that you have everything under control. That they can rely on you."

Show he had things under control. He hadn't felt like that in a while. Maybe I-Island was the last time, before everything went to hell. Fear... He remembered fear. He remembered Kamino. He remembered when he had been terrified out of his mind. And he remembered the people who came to rescue him. Katsumi hadn't looked in control. Neither had Izuku. Best Jeanist was enigmatic. And Mirko.. She looked cocky like she always did. He remembered knowing just how dangerous All for One was, and how he wished he could convey that to the heroes quick enough for it to matter. They shouldn't have felt confident. They should have been terrified out of their minds.

But... Even if he had told them... Nothing would have changed, would it? They were still heroes. They had to make people feel safe, no matter how much danger was around.

He closed his eyes, and when he opened them, he wasn't wearing a fake, plastic smile. Instead, it was an expression that was far more natural on his face. A confident, even cocky smirk. Like someone who felt he had the world figured out, and was just proving it to everyone else.

"Cocky jackass, huh?" the 'critically injured' woman murmured. "Bet you're a hit with the girls. Well, whatever works."

"Thanks," he said with just a flicker of a fuller, more genuine smile.

"But don't fly with your eyes closed. Minus points."

"Geh!"

Dropping the woman off, he heard the explosion before he saw it. A hulking figure leading a dozen men through a broken wall into the exam centre. Were villains really attacking again?!

Yes and no. Gang Orca, the number ten hero entered the fray, posing as a villain. Saiki quickly flew over, seeing that one kid from Ketsubutsu, Todoroki, Izuku and the loudmouth from Shiketsu standing off against him. The Ketsubutsu kid used his quirk, some sort of earthquake power, to disrupt the villains' movements.

The winged hero frowned. He would be able to help here, but he was also one of those best capable of rescue operations. He clucked his tongue. "Do you got this?"

"I have the situation well in hand, Saisei," Todoroki told him. "Go."

Saiki remained hesitant, but out of the corner of his eye he saw another signal flare, making the decision for him. Todoroki was a good match against a whale anyway with his fire quirk. "Beat him or don't, just don't let him get to the safe zone."

"Of course."

It was a decision Saiki would think and rethink once the exam was over. He continued ferrying civilians back to the safe zone until the very end of the exam, at which point he would learn just how badly Todoroki had messed up. No matter how many times he reconsidered, he couldn't call his decision an incorrect one. He had trusted Todoroki, had trusted one of the most capable students of 1-A, and Todoroki had dropped the ball.

It wasn't incorrect. But it certainly made for an unsatisfying end to the exam. Feeling like he had made a mistake, no matter how certain he was, no matter how many times he insisted to himself that he hadn't.

-(-)-

Once again out of costume and back in uniform, the examinees who had made it through the second exam were gathered together to hear the results. The same pitiably tired official explaining how the evaluations were determined. A point system, each entrant starting at one hundred and losing points for mistakes or failure to perform appropriately as a hero. Those falling below a certain threshold failing the exam.

"Those students who passed will see their names on the screen behind me, displayed in alphabetical order."

The screen blinked to life, displaying a grid of dozens of names.

"Yes!"

"Alright!"

"Yeah!"

Cheers of success began rising out of the crowd as examinees found their own names.

Saki scanned the board, checking off a few names he wanted to see up there. Noticing one entirely deserved omission. And–

"GOOOOOL-DEN!"

He turned, seeing Ojiro shouting his joy for all to hear. Had he been like that the entire exam? He was still wearing the sunglasses. Well, so long as he was enjoying himself. Whatever worked for him. Shaking his head, Saiki returned to looking for his name.

And there it was. Saiki Saisei.

"Next we'll be handing out printouts of your results, so you can see where you succeeded and where you need to improve."

Saiki took the sheet without a word, his eyes glancing over it. Personal conduct. Uninspiring presence. Mild dangerous conduct (flying). A lot of fairly minor things, and the advice of that one old lady would probably help him fix some of it. But at the same time, a lot of what he was doing was fairly straightforward stuff. Stuff that was important, but wasn't that complicated. Really, the places he felt he most needed to improve were in all the things the second and third year examinees were doing. But that would all be in the curriculum at UA in the future.

He had passed.

He smiled. And that meant there was only one thing to do.

Katsumi Bakugo looked over her results with barely contained rage, reading out all of the many, many infractions she had received. So what if she told some guy dressed as a kid to walk his own damn self back to the safe zone?! He was fine and it was like a hundred yards away!

"Ooh," she heard an unwelcome voice right next to her ear. "Fifty-two points. That's low. Just squeaked by, huh? Well, I'm sure you'll do better in future. And at least you passed... By the skin of your teeth."

"Saisei...!" she growled through gritted teeth.

"Wanna know my score?" he asked.

"Screw off! Three! Whatever!" she grumbled, and shouted. Really switched from one to the other a couple of times. Her anger directed inward and outward. Inward for not being a proper hero figure, proving Best Jeanist right. Outward for Saiki being a smug jackass about it.

For all involved, the exam had been a frustrating experience, but for most of them it was a satisfying one. Even for those who didn't pass.

Some time later, the students filed out of the examination centre, licenses in hand.

"Kintaro, huh?" Saiki asked Ojiro. "Pretty big name to live up to."

"Just gotta live up to the GOLD standard!" Ojiro answered, only to catch himself. Taking off his sunglasses he almost seemed to shrink back to his usual self. "Sorry. Hagakure said I should just, uh, live it up. And say gold a lot, like a catchphrase. It's uh," he continued, rubbing his neck awkwardly, "It's actually kinda fun to be that shameless."

"Hey, you don't need to justify shamelessness to me," Saiki laughed, admiring his own license.

Saiki Saisei. Flygon.

"Why do I feel like I've seen that name before?" Ojiro asked.

"Shut up." Flinching at his own knee-jerk reaction, he quickly backtracked. "Sorry. I suck at names. Copyright on it's dead anyway so screw it, it's mine now. Nintendo can kiss my ass." Eyes brightening, he grinned as he saw someone in particular. "Hey Katsumi!"

"What?" she grumbled at him.

"Come on, let's see it! Your license!"

"Why do you care? It's the same as yours!"

"Oh, come on! We both know you changed your hero name!"

The explosive girl sneered, pouted, then pulled out the license she clearly wanted to show off anyway. "Here."

Taking it in hand, he found it difficult to keep the grin off his face. She had changed her name alright. Not only that, she had taken his suggestion. Glancing at her, he could see the blush she was trying to hide by looking away from him.

Katsumi Bakugo. Bombshell. She clearly didn't get the meaning of the English term, beyond the very obvious meaning. Namely that it was a word to describe a stunningly attractive woman with a killer body.

"It's a great name," he said, handing the license back to her. "Do your best to live up to it."

"Whatever. Eat a dick."

"Still your job."

"Kiss my ass!"

"Maybe if you're good."

"UGH!"

-(-)-

A/N: So. Been a long time. That would be for two reasons. First, I'm not exactly encouraged to post on this site with reviewers being kind of jackholes (not so much for this story. Even the people who don't like this one whether for discomfort or dissatisfaction are polite enough about it. But on other stories). Second is that thing the site decided to do where they don't send e-mail alerts unless you opt in. A very stupid policy from my perspective but... Whatever. I don't run the site. I don't know the details. Maybe it made sense to them.

But, a random person asked me to post a new chapter of this as a birthday present so... Here you go, bud! I'll be posting what I got for all the other stories I've been posting here over the next, I dunno. Week or so? I'm not sure how many chapters I have of each story.

This chapter seen (very) early compared to this site by my generous supporters on THE GREAT FORBIDDEN P! FEAR THE P! LOVE THE P!