Chapter 7
Izuku sat within the large auditorium along with what felt like thousands of students, all of them looking towards the podium, now that the written exam was finally finished. An exam with a difficulty that lived up to the school's reputation. Nothing about the test was standard, with nearly every question being written in a way to trip or misdirect the students into answering it incorrectly. Thankfully, Izuku did not rush himself as he read and reread each question multiple times until he fully understood what was written. However, some students did not fare so well in this section as their now empty seats showed. A few of the more brazen students had tried to cheat, easily being caught by the teaching staff patrolling the aisles before being led out of the grounds. As for the rest, well, they left of their own accord once they realized that the test was far too difficult for them to even hope at completing correctly.
As he sat there, his test turned in, Izuku scanned around to see if he could find any familiar faces. Or, at least, the backs of their heads. Sadly, the only one he found was Kacchan. Not that he had to look far as the exploding teen's assigned seat had been right next to Izuku's. Thankfully, the ashen blonde hadn't done anything threatening to Izuku beyond giving him a sideways glare as he took the test, grinding his teeth in frustration the entire time.
What was sad was that, try as he might, Izuku couldn't find the pretty brown haired girl named Uraraka.
Before Izuku could think about it any longer, the lights of the auditorium suddenly turned off causing a bit of a stir among the students. The voices quickly went silent as a spot light illuminated the podium where a new figure stood. Izuku's eyes widened as he instantly recognized the man. Really, who couldn't look upon the stylish leather outfit, the multidirectional speaker attached to his neck, the shades, and the blonde hair that shot straight up?! It was the voice hero: Present Mic! At once Izuku's hands flew towards his mouth to keep the teen from squealing with joy at seeing his morning DJ, stars and rainbows appearing around him!
As for Kacchan, Izuku only barely noticed the look of disdain he was getting from the explosion quirk user.
"What's up U.A. candidates? Thanks for tuning into me, your school DJ. Come on and let me hear ya!" said Present Mic, his voice full of energy and excitement as he spoke the same way he did on his radio show! As much as he wanted to shout, to answer Present Mic's call, he simply couldn't remove his hands from his mouth as he began to mumble with a flow of excitement. As for the rest of the room…crickets could be heard chirping.
Slowly, Present Mic turned his head to the side as the chirping continued. Looking at a student with a cricket quirk, one that gave him legs just like the insect, the heroic DJ lowered his shades to give the student a disapproving look. With an embarrassed blush, the student stopped.
With the room now silent, Present Mic turned to the rest of the assembled students. "Well now, with the written exam all down let's get to the main show and talk about how this part of the exam is going to go down. Are you ready?!" The man's energy boomed, raised his hands high into the air as he gestured to all to cry out if they were ready.
Silence was the only thing to greet his ears. Not that he seemed too affected by it.
"Like your application said, for the remainder of the exam, you rocking boys and girls will be doing mock battles in super hip urban settings. After I drop the mic, you will all be heading to your designated battle zones. Do you dig me?" More silence filled the room, the student instead focused on flipping over cards that had been placed in front of them to see where they were going.
"I see," said Kacchan, his voice causing Izuku to jump a little. Turning, he saw that his childhood friend was looking over at his card. "They're keeping us apart so we can't work together."
"You're right," said Izuku as he looked at the two cards, comparing them. "Our exam numbers are right next to each other, but they have us split into different combat areas."
"Get your eyes off my card," snapped Bakugo. "Damn, I was really looking forward to crushing you."
Meanwhile, the large screen behind Present Mic lit up displaying what Izuku assumed was a model of the city they would be fighting in. "Ok. Ok. Let's check out your targets! There are three types of foe villains in each battle center. You'll earn points based on their level of difficulty so choose wisely. Your goal in this exam is to raise your score as quickly while shredding these villains like a mid song guitar solo! But check it, make sure you're keeping things heroic! Attacking others is a big U.A. no-no."
"Excuse me sir," came a stern and annoyed voice from the crowd. "But I have a question."
"Hit me," replied Present Mic, pointing in the direction the voice came from. At that moment, another spotlight began to shine down upon one of the students in front of Izuku. From what the green-haired teen could see, the speaker was a tall boy with blue hair. Also, he was just able to note the rims of the boy's glasses poking out over the boy's ears. As for his clothing, the teen wore a uniform that resembled something more akin to a business suit, giving the impression that he was from a more elite private school.
"On the print out," began the teen as he held up a sheet of paper. "You listed four villains, not three. With all respect, if this is a printing error on official U.A. materials, it is shameful. We are exemplary students. We expect the best from Japan's most notable school. A mistake such as this won't do. Additionally you with the unkempt hair." Suddenly, the teen turned and looked right in Izuku's direction while pointing right at him. "You've been muttering this entire time. Stop that. If you can't bother to take this exam seriously, then I suggest you leave. You're distracting the rest of us."
Face flushed with embarrassment, Izuku placed a hand on his mouth while sinking a little in his seat. Now there were plenty of people looking in his direction.
"Alright, alright," said Present Mic, waving a little to get everything back under control. "Examinee number 7111, thank you for calling in with your request. The fourth villain type is worth zero points. That guy is just an obstacle we'll be throwing in your way. There's one of them in every battle center. Think of him as more of an obstacle or hurdle to avoid. It can be taken down, but there's really no point. I recommend to my listeners that you ignore it and try to focus on getting to the top of the charts!"
"Thank you very much," said the blue haired teen as he bowed, the spotlight on him vanishing.
From there, Present Mic continued to explain how the practical exam would work with Izuku still holding a hand over his mouth and his head slightly lowered. Because of this, he was unaware that at least one person was watching him with a frown on his face.
-x-
Once Present Mic had finished, or 'signing out' as he put it, a redheaded boy named Kirishima moved with the crowd out of the auditorium and into the massive hallways of the school. However, unlike the rest who were heading down to the locker room to change into something they didn't mind getting dirty, he found a place along the wall. Leaning against its surface, arms folded against his chest, the teen watched as students milled out. There he remained, motionless except for his eyes which swiftly took note of each student's features, until he spotted the one he was looking for.
"Hey buddy," he said, his voice as firm as his body when his quirk activated. At the same time, he placed a hand on the shoulder of the blue haired examinee who had asked the question during the exam. The blue haired teen turned his head to give Kirishima a look of utter annoyance. "I'd like a word. In private."
For half a second, the teen said nothing as he looked at Kirishima. An eyebrow raised while his lips pressed together tightly. For a moment, Kirishima thought that this guy would tell him off or just walk away. But, thankfully, the blue haired teen just gave a small nod before allowing himself to be led away. Not far from the crowd, just a little down the hallway away from the sea of student hopefuls so that they could get a little privacy.
"Very well, I'm here. What was it you wanted to talk to me about? Make it quick, the exam is going to start soon" demanded the blue-haired boy once they stopped, adjusting his glasses a little as he spoke. "Because, if this is some attempt to sabotage me through intimidation I'll-"
"Funny, I was about to accuse you of the same thing," interrupted Kirishima, his expression serious as he looked at his fellow examinee. This caught the blue-haired boy's attention, the shock of this statement being so powerful as to cause him to stumble backwards a bit as if he had been struck.
"I…How could you accuse me…," stammered the blue-haired examinee, stumbling with his words.
"You did it back there with that green-haired kid, remember?" pressed Kirishima, a scowl on his face. "What you did, calling him out like that in front of everyone. Did you do that because you thought he was an easy target? Trying to sink his confidence by humiliating him in front of a crowd? If that's the case, it wasn't cool. Not manly at all."
"He was distracting everyone with his mumbling!" stated the blue-haired teen, placing a hand over his heart as he looked Kirishima in the eye. "As I said, many of us are exemplary students trying to reach the pinnacle of heroic education. To allow such behavior of a disrespectful student cannot be allowed to stand!"
"That's assuming that he's not an exemplary student," Kirishima said before shaking his head. When he looked at the blue-haired teen again, his expression softened somewhat. "Look, I get it. We're all a little nervous right now, you know? I mean, who wouldn't be? Only thirty-six of us are going to get into the hero course. We're all hoping that we can impress the staff here with our quirks, to show them what we can do. You'd have to be super confident or crazy not to feel even a little nervous. Maybe it was why that guy was mumbling; just a nervous habit of his when he's stressed. Or maybe he was just going over what he was hearing, not realizing other people could hear him. All I know is that you seemed to be the only person who had a problem with it. Not the people sitting next to him. Not the people sitting around him. Not Present Mic. Just you."
"I…," began the bespectacled teen, his face showing he was clearly taken aback by this. But Kirishima wasn't done as he placed a finger on the other teen's chest.
"If that mumbling was really bothering you that much, then you should have pulled that guy aside and talked to him without causing a scene. It's the manly thing to do," said Kirishima as he locked eyes with the blue-haired teen. "Look, we're here to become heroes. They're supposed to be the people who help others. Protecting them and lifting them up, not knocking them down. At least, that's the type of hero I want to be." Kirishima then lowered his hand, walking past the blue-haired teen as he continued to speak. "I think you need to think about what kind of hero you want to be. And if it's the type to lose his cool and shame someone for doing something as minor as mumbling, then I think we're not going to get along very well."
With that, Kirishima walked away to join the rest of the students leaving behind his fellow examinee alone with his thoughts. Both of them unaware that their entire conversation had been captured thanks to the hidden cameras above.
-x-
As the students milled out of the building, Ryoko materialized high above the school. Dressed in her red and black skin tight bodysuit, she floated there looking down with a hand on her chin and a sly smile upon her face. And upon her head was Ryo-Ohki holding a small green flag in her paws that had Izuku's face on it. The cabbit danced upon Ryoko's head, waving the flag around as she sang a song in various meows.
"You know he can't see you, right?" said Ryoko in an amused tone before her eyes shifted back towards the building. "Most advanced, secure school in the world. Give me a break! It was barely even worth the effort to slip past its security network." Her yellow eyes then turned to the crowd of students. "Whelp, time to go to work. Ryo-Ohki, give me three screens."
Upon hearing this command, Ryo-Ohki dropped the flag on Ryoko's hair as she gave a mock salute. The gem on the cabbit's head began to glow for a moment as three large, rectangles appeared in front of her. Smiling, Ryoko waved her hand outward from right to left causing the screens to come to life, each one showing different images. In the middle one was Izuku, her smile faltering slightly as she watched him make his way onto one of the many buses below. His movement was a little stiff, cheeks tinted slightly red as he glanced around him.
"Well, wonder what happened to him?" asked Ryoko aloud as she moved so that she was now in a crossed legged sitting position, her head resting on her palm as she looked at the screen. As if in answer, Ryo-Ohki let out several loud mews. "Failed the test? That seems unlikely given how much he's been studying. More likely that blonde brat had something to do with it. Speaking of which…"
As Ryoko's words trailed off, the other two screens came to life. Only, they weren't showing just one person, Rather, they were segmented into dozens of smaller windows with each one showing a single student. Some of the pictures were larger than others, like Baka-go's, which Ryo-Ohki had added in stink lines coming out from all over his body. Then there was the brown haired girl with the permanent blush who had come to her little brother's rescue. The rest of the images all showed other notable students who caught the alien's eye for one reason or another. From a pink girl with horns, a boy with a mask covering his face while having a couple extra arms, a girl who looked a little like a frog, clothing moving all on its own, and a boy who looked like a mantis. All of their images were being captured and displayed before Ryoko's eyes.
"Now, let's see if I can find another diamond on this hillbilly planet," said Ryoko as she grinned with glee. "After all, my little brother might want his own crew."
-x-
A short time later, Izuku found himself standing in front of a massive gate. As he waited for the gates to open to reveal the fake city on the other side, Izuku's eyes marveled at the group he found himself surrounded by. Some of them were stretching as well, while others were busy showing off support gear that they believed would give them an edge in this exam. Seeing this, Izuku recalled that examinees were allowed to bring such equipment as long as it was homemade or was necessary for their quirks. How did they make them? Was it hard? Was it expensive? How did those tools work with their quirks? What were their quirks? There were a few people around him who had mutations, some minor while others were harder to ignore. Wait, if he kept up with the group then he would be able to see their quirks in action. And he didn't have his notebook! No, no, no, no! This was bad, so very bad. Could he remember everything he saw? No, wait! This was a timed test where every second counted! He didn't have a moment to waste on quirk analysis.
Suddenly, a hand was placed on Izuku's shoulder. Being so caught up in his own thoughts, the sudden touch caused him to jump and hover in the air as he turned his shaking head to look at who the hand belonged to. When Izuku turned his head, he saw to his shock and horror that it belonged to the guy who had scolded him not too long ago. He was wearing a skin tight outfit that stopped right around his knees.
"I thought that was you," he said, though his voice seemed a little off to Izuku. Not nearly as rigid as it had been back when Present Mic was explaining the rules. "I could hear you muttering from-"
"I'm sorry," said Izuku quickly, backing away from the teen and turning around to face him. Hands waving in the air frantically, Izuku wanted to do his best to convey an apology. The last thing he wanted was to be chewed out in front of this group. Nor did he want to say anything that might cause an argument or a fight as he was sure doing something like that would be frowned upon by the staff here. Best just to apologize and avoid any conflict before the test began. "I had no idea I was saying all that out loud. I-If it was bothering anyone I didn't mean to so-"
"No," said the blue haired teen, his eyes widening as he looked at Izuku. "I mean, yes it was a little…but that's not why I…you see I…" As the taller teen paused for a moment to take a deep breath, Izuku's movements slowly began to cease. He watched as the teen before him then lowered his head before speaking in a much softer tone. "It was not my intention to cause you any further discomfort. I only wished to apologize for my previous behavior back in the auditorium. It was…wrong of me and inappropriate to scold you in front of everyone in such a manner."
"No, no. It's fine," said Izuku as the teen suddenly bowed at a ninety degree angle. "I know it's a bad habit of mine and it annoys people. I should have caught it sooner." Izuku then smiled before holding out his hand, the other teen looking up slightly while still bowing. "Let's start over. My name is Izuku Midoriya."
For a moment, the other boy just looked at Izuku's outstretched hand as if he found this strange for some reason. But before Izuku could start to sweat or anything, his fellow examinee began to smile as he straightened up. "Yes, a fresh start. I am Tenya Ida. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."
As the two shook hands, a thought ran across Izuku's mind. Tenya Ida. Ida. Where had he heard that name before? It couldn't have been at school so was it in the news or something? Or maybe he was…A gleam from something close to the ground suddenly caught Izuku's attention. Looking down, the green-haired teen saw that it was the sun shining off the shiny exhaust ports coming out of Ida's back legs. A mutation of some kind? Probably to help him move faster or make his kicks…more…powerful…
Izuku's eyes widened as his mind went to work. Exhaust ports plus the surname of Ida! That could only mean one thing!
"Are," began Izuku as he paused to gulp in excitement. "Are you related to the pro-hero Ingenium?"
That got Ida's attention as his eyes widened, taking his hand back quickly though not in a hostile manner. "Oh, I…ah," he began, glancing around to see if anyone else was watching the pair. Izuku glanced from side to side as well, seeing that all of the other examinees weren't paying them any attention. Ida lowered his voice to a whisper, "I was hoping that no one would find out. But if you were able to deduce that, then lying to you would be pointless. Yes, Ingenium is actually my older brother."
"Wow!" cried Izuku as quietly as he could, stars filling his eyes as he wished more than ever he had his notebook with him. "You must be so proud of him. He's really popular and last I heard has about thirty sidekicks working under him."
"You are indeed correct. He carries with him the pride of the Ida family and honors the hero code," said Ida, smiling as he nodded his head. But, as he said the word 'hero' the smile dropped. "And, as much as I wish to follow in his footsteps, I fear that I have already faltered. My elder brother would never have approved of anyone talking the way I did back there. Without a shadow of a doubt he would be gravely disappointed in me if he ever found out."
"I know what you mean," said Izuku with a smile, scratching the back of his head as he looked up towards the sky. "My big sis wouldn't be happy with the way I acted back there either."
"Oh?" said Ida, raising a curious eyebrow. "Is she a stickler for etiquette when listening to an educator?"
Unable to help himself, Izuku let out a snort. "No. She'd be more upset that I didn't try to defend myself. Yell back or something like that." Izuku then paused, seeing the shocked look on Ida's face and quickly brought up his hands. "S-She means well. She's just a little more…aggressive at times. I just, you know, didn't want to start a pointless fight in front of a hero like Present Mic. Plus it was partially my fault anyway"
"I see," said Ida, his smile slowly returning as he nodded. "From the sound of it, you look up to your sister the way I do my brother."
"Yeah," said Izuku, clenching his fist without realizing it. "I don't think I'd be standing here without her help. Or, at the very least, I'd be scared out of my mind."
Ida nodded once more before suddenly making a chopping motion with his arm. "Then let us make our older siblings proud as we give this exam our all!"
"O-Ok," stammered Izuku. He watched as Ida continued to chop at the air like he was some old-fashioned robot toy, slowly realizing that he wasn't so bad. Sure he looked scary at first, but looks can be deceiving. He was just a very serious guy.
"Midoriya!" came a sudden, cheerful voice from behind Izuku. Turning around, he saw that it was Uraraka waving wildly at him as she approached with a smile. A sight that made him blush wildly!
"H-Hey Uraraka," stammered Izuku, his blush growing as he awkwardly waved at her.
"Midoriya, do you know this girl?" asked Ida as he looked from Izuku to Uraraka.
"Oh, hi there," said the brown haired girl as she stopped in front of the pair, a bright smile still on her face as she looked at Ida. "I'm Ochaco Uraraka."
"Y-Yeah, w-we met at the entrance," stammered Izuku, mentally chiding himself for it. After spending ten months with Ryoko he would have thought talking to any girl would be a piece of cake. Then again, he had stammered like an idiot when he first met the space pirate so maybe in time he would-
Just then the doors opened, revealing the city to the group.
"Alright ladies and gentlemen, your test starts now!" came the booming voice of Present Mic. However, no one moved as they looked up, spotting the voice hero up on the wall looking down at them. "What are you all waiting for? There are no countdowns in real life! Come on, the clock is ticking!"
By the time Izuku looked back down he was just in time to see a mass of people rushing forward into the city. Realizing that he was going to be left behind, Izuku lifted off of the ground and moved as quickly as he could into the streets of the false city. Thankfully, he wasn't too far behind as he could still see many of their backs. Better yet, many of them looked like they were getting closer as he picked up speed. So, if he kept up this pace he should be able to-
Izuku's thoughts were cut off as a robot burst out of the wall in front of him, eyes widening in shock as he stared at it. A part of his mind analyzed the robot in a millisecond, noting its green armored yet slender body that traveled on a single wheel and had two arms like appendages on either side. He didn't need to see the one painted in white on either of its plated arms to know that this was a one-pointer. However, something caused his body to freeze up as he floated there watching as it swung its mobile limbs to the side to strike him. Maybe it was the shock from how quickly it had appeared in front of him. Or maybe it was the reality of the situation, that for the first time he wasn't fighting Ryoko who would, eventually, stop if he ever got too hurt. There was a chance that one of these things might actually kill him. That he was in danger.
With that thought, Izuku felt the cold metal making contact with his side, before being forcibly slammed into a brick wall with enough force that debry and a dust cloud concealed his body.
-x-
At the same time, Ryoko watched everything that happened as she sat in the sky in her crossed leg position as a small smile appeared on her face.
-x-
The one-pointer turned on its lone wheel while at the same time pulling back one of its metal arms, aiming it in the middle of the spot it had slammed the green-haired teen into. But before it could deliver another blow, a beam of blue energy struck the robot from behind with so much force that its metallic body was shattered.
"We make a…good…team," came the voice of a boy, his voice accented with both Japanese and French. Yet the boy's words trailed off as the smoke began to move away from Izuku's body, revealing for all around to see what had happened. The one-pointer, while being the weakest, had slammed Izuku into the wall with enough force that he had become embedded within it. Cracks could be seen around the imprint of the body, the material around the teen being the only thing keeping him from falling as he stared out with wide open eyes. "Oh. Je suis desole."
"What?" asked Izuku, his mind suddenly catching up on everything that had happened while his nerves reported to the brain the pain he was in. Which, strangely, wasn't much. Slowly, Izuku pulled his limbs out of the wall, ignoring the multilingual blonde stepping back as he inspected his limbs. The sleeves of his jogging suit were ripped, showing off his bare flesh which wasn't bleeding. Once he was finished looking at his limbs, his hands began to pat down his chest and hips while removing himself out of the wall. The teen could hear parts of the structure crumbling down behind him, but he didn't look back as he was puzzled by his own lack of injuries. Honestly, his clothing had taken more of a beating than he had.
Quickly taking off his jacket, Izuku examined the back. It had been entirely torn to ribbons, making its purpose mute. All it took was a quick glance to see that it was dirty, with chunks of stone embedded within it…but no blood there either. This should have been good, no, great news for Izuku. But it didn't make any sense! Sure both the blow and the impact had hurt…but not as much as he knew it should have. He should be a bloody mess right now with his chest crushed under the weight of that metallic blow. His back should be dripping blood while he coughed out the life fluid. So why after all that did he feel ok?
The sound of movement caught Izuku's attention. Looking up, he saw that the blond haired French teen was still looking at him. But, he wasn't the one who moved.
"GET DOWN!" Izuku shouted in a panic while his finger began charging, his jacket tossed to the side before pointing in the direction of the blond. Said boy jumped to the side just before a thin beam of green light shot out of Izuku's finger and hit the one-pointer robot that had approached the pair. The contact was brief, barely even singeing the machine causing a light curse to escape from Izuku. Gritting his teeth, he began to fuel a constant stream of power into the finger, firing blast after blast at a rapid pace. Slight dents appeared on the metal monster and small spots of black began to pepper the machine's green coating. But Izuku didn't stop, holding onto his wrist with the opposite hand to keep firing as the foe villain approached him.
It was only when Izuku struck the one-pointer in its glowing red eye did the machine stop. Arms falling to its side and smoke rising up from its now empty socket, the machine then fell over with a thud. There was no fanfare, no loud explosion or even an announcement that he had gotten a point. Just a fallen robot that both he and the possible French teen stared at.
Well, until they heard Present Mic calling out the time. Then the two stopped their gawking, parting ways without a word as the blond ran down the street while Izuku went to the fallen one-pointer.
"Ryoko was right, these beams are only good for destroying smaller things," said Izuku, his mind working overtime in order to make up for the moment he had wasted as he picked up one of the fallen arms. Charging his finger again, he began to blast parts of the arm that connected to the protective metal shield attached. With each blast, more of the metal gave way while his mind went over what he had learned so far. He was more durable now, more than he realized. At least enough to survive a one on one encounter with a one-pointer. His lone attack for now didn't do much damage to them on its own, but at least he had an idea where to hit. The one-pointer's weak point was the red glowing eye. Perhaps that was how people with weaker quirks could stand a chance. But, those alone wouldn't be enough. He needed another edge.
And this robot was going to help him with that.
Once the metal was off, Izuku found an area near the middle that he could grip onto so that he could hold it like a shield. Not wasting another moment, Midoriya took off with his limited flight as he headed down the opposite street he had seen the blond haired teen run down. If that robot had come down this way, there was a chance that others would be there as well. Meaning more points for Izuku to get.
He didn't have to wait long as he spotted two more robots ahead of him. One was another one-pointer while the other was the scorpion-like two-pointer. Both machines turned to look at him, the red lens that were their eyes glowing as they locked on target. The one-pointer charged at Izuku so fast that its lone tire screeched against the pavement, while the other robot pointed its twin tails as the flying green teen. Izuku didn't hesitate nor did he freeze this time as adrenaline pumped through his veins. The arm holding the shield raised it to block his face while his other hand pointed a finger at the one-pointer. Shots were fired from the two-pointer first as red beams collided with the shield, the force of which nearly knocked him backwards. Izuku didn't want to think about what would have happened to him if they had made contact, instead focusing all his attention onto the one-pointer and firing several shots aimed at its eye. The first two missed, one missing the head completely and the other hitting the neck. But from the third shot onward Izuku's aim was true as the glass lens shattered, taking down the machine.
Rather than slowing down or stopping, Izuku continued his charge at full speed towards the two-pointer who raised one of its mechanical legs to protect its face. That was just one problem facing the green-haired teen since he had seen that this foe villain had at least four eyes. Would taking one of the eyes out work? No time to think. No time to test that theory. All Izuku could think of was pulling back the hand that held onto the shield as he got close to the two-pointer. With all the swiftness he had, he got to the machine's side before it realized he had, he slammed the metal in his hand into the face of his enemy with all his might. Thankfully, this paid off as his impromptu weapon managed to pierce the hull of the robot causing sparks and smoke to rise before it went limp. Once it was down, Izuku flew backwards so that he could more easily pull his shield out, beginning to pant a little.
Flying off, Izuku made more mental notes. The two-pointers were tougher. They were slower, but they had long range attack abilities that could cause him problems should he ever be taken by surprise. They also seemed to be smarter as that one tried to protect itself. And from what Izuku could see in that limited moment, the armor was perhaps thicker as well.
Honestly, he didn't want to think of what would happen should he face several two-pointers at once. Or, even worse, a three-pointer. As it stood right now, his best option was to keep moving. To find more one-pointers and lone two-pointers.
Eyes scanning around him, Izuku noticed something down an alleyway that caused him to make a swift U-turn. There, standing in the middle of the alley, were four more one-pointers looking like they had been programmed to wait and ambush their prey. Perhaps waiting for Izuku to get some more distance before coming at him from behind. But now that they had been discovered, their eyes began to glow red as Izuku gripped his shield tighter.
-x-
"It seems we have quite the promising group of students this year," said a voice from within a dark room. This person, this hero, was not alone as many others sat in chairs with their eyes glued to a number of screens showing the young examinees in the course of this final test.
"Clearly the examinees have no idea how many villains are present or their location," said Nezu aloud, his teacup in his paws while his eyes flickered from screen to screen. "They have limited time and must cover a vast area in order to hunt down as many targets as they can. Some are using their 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 is power and combat ability." At this point, Nezu paused to look at the screen showing the teen who was currently leading the pact. This student, a boy named Bakugo, could be seen panting as he smiled savagely within the center of the smoldering remains of several of the robot villains. The boy's quick was powerful, very powerful as he had gotten to this point on villain points alone. But, that anger and his constant outcries of 'DIE!' worried the headmaster.
Shaking his head, his gaze turned to another screen that his guest had been watching. "But there is something also to be said about being resourceful," he said gently.
At those words, the Number One Pro-Hero jumped slightly as he looked down at the mouse-bear like creature. "That is true," agreed All Might as he turned his skeletal head to look back at the screen showing Midoriya. The young lad was charging at several one-pointers, the first being taken out by Midoriya spinning his body around once he got close enough so that the metal he salvaged collided with the foe villain's neck. What surprised Nezu a little was that the boy didn't slow down as he pointed a finger on the opposite hand to fire several beams of green light at the next one-pointer to take it out. Doing all this while seemingly flying through the air. Or, hovering slightly off the ground.
"I will admit, I was worried at first," said All Might, watching as Izuku took down the last one-pointer before heading off to find another. "It looked like he was done for after freezing up when he saw that one-pointer." Then a smile appeared on the gaunt man's face as he saw Izuku slamming his 'shield' into the face of another two-pointer. "But it looks like he's proving me wrong. Now that he has an understanding of what he's up against he's adapting in order to rise to the challenge."
Nezu nodded, sipping his tea while he thought about it as well. The boy had persistence. How many times had he seen applicants crumble when they saw that their quirks weren't strong enough to take down a robot with one hit? Or would just lay there, defeated, after one hit. But, what interested Nezu was the way the boy acted after that hit. Midoriya's face and body language screamed surprise. Had he not known he could do that?
However, Nezu didn't dwell on it for too long, instead calmly setting down his teacup while reaching towards the large red button. It was completely within the realm of possibility that this was an aspect of the boy's quirk that he simply didn't know about. After all, how many times is a person slammed into a wall by a robot?
As Nezu pressed the button, a grin appeared on his face. One that was both excited…as well as sadistic.
-x-
Back in the false city, Izuku was flying out of an alley as one of the heads of a one-pointer flew through the air behind its decapitator. Now back on the main street, the green-haired teen could see other examinees as they had gathered in what seemed like a large plaza. All of them were in the process of destroying various robots at a pace which, frankly, seemed unreal to Izuku. Many of the robots just seemed to explode, with only the brief moment of Ida being seen before becoming a blur once more. Then there was Uraraka, who from a simple touch levitated a couple into the air before pressing her fingers together and shouting 'Release!', causing the metal monsters to fall back to the ground. If it were not for the fact she looked like she was about to puke, she probably would have continued.
As much as Izuku wanted to marvel at the display before him, he knew he had to keep moving. He was behind and needed to make every villain point count. Thankfully, there was still time before the exam ended so if he continued to move through the alleyways he could find more one-pointers as well as a couple two-pointers. Every bit helps.
Yet, before Izuku could turn, the entire city began to shake as something rose from the ground. All of those taking the entrance exam remained frozen as they looked up to see a sight that might just haunt their dreams for the rest of their lives. It was the zero-pointer! It stood larger than the buildings around, its massive rectangular head looked down upon all of the students in a manner that reminded Izuku of a horror movie. Like this robot was looking at them while trying to decide who to kill first. He was grateful that it didn't have any teeth or could let out a piercing screech.
-x-
Ryoko stared at the screens before her, her eyes wide was she looked at the giant robots displayed in various angles from each of the testing grounds. Was she shocked by the level of technology on display? Oh heavens no! From what she had seen, it was still below the stuff she had when she was a little girl. And she had been dirt poor! Was it the size and danger they presented? Well, maybe. She knew she could easily handle these things, but those guys down there...she placed their odds at about 50-50. No, what had her shocked was something far different.
"Where did they get the money to make all of them?" she asked, looking up at Ryo-Ohki who poked her head down from Ryoko's hair. "This is supposed to be a school. Tuition can't be that high!" She then let out a gasp. "Are they pirates as well?"
-x-
The giant machine took a single step towards the students, the force shaking the streets and buildings. As Izuku stared up at the towering zero-pointer trying to make sense of what he was seeing, he could see other students running away out of the corner of his eyes. Present Mic had told them that this thing was an obstacle, that there was no point in trying to fight it. And he was right. There was no point in one person trying to fight it! Not because it was worth nothing, but because nothing they had could do anything to it! No doubt the metal used to construct it had to be thicker, more reinforced in order to handle the weight meaning that you would need some serious power to damage it. Serious power that he doubted any of the people taking this exam had! Maybe if he could phase through the shell, he could attack it from the insides. Or maybe if he could fling those energy balls they would have the power to do real damage. Or if he had the sword he could-
Another step of the machine shook Izuku out of his thoughts. Shaking his head as the shadow of the zero-pointer surrounded him, the teen turned to go. What was even the point of trying to figure out how to beat it? It was worth nothing. He just had to keep reminding himself: it was just a distraction. Probably thrown into the exam to cause a panic so examinees would be too focused on running away to continue gathering villain points or something. So, rather than getting lost in his panic, Izuku just had to ignore it and find more villains to-
"Oww!" came a voice over the rumbling footsteps of the zero-pointer. A voice that Izuku recognized! Turning around, he spotted the owner: Uraraka. His eyes widened when he saw her, dropping his makeshift shield to the ground and ignoring the loud clang it made, as he realized that her foot caught in some rubble in the middle of the street. That was bad, but what made it worse was that the zero-pointer was walking directly towards her.
Izuku felt his heart pounding in his chest. He could see her eyes filled with fear, tears leaking out as she tried her best to claw at the ground in a desperate attempt to escape. His hand trembled, power rushing towards it and pooling into his grasp like it had this morning. Unbeknownst to him, his eyes began to glow green slightly while his pupils became thin slits as the power in his hand continued to grow.
-x-flashback-x-
"Come on Izuku! Harder! You need to try harder!" yelled Ryoko. Izuku could only grunt, eyes closed tightly with his hands and teeth clenched tightly as he focused on lifting himself higher into the air. But no matter what, nothing he did would lift him higher into the night air instead keeping him a foot off of the forest floor where they were currently training. He could feel his sweat running down his face as Ryoko circled him in the air.
"I'm…t-trying," Izuku managed to grunt out before his breath left him and he landed onto the ground. His legs felt shaky, so much so that he nearly doubled over to hold onto his knees. Instead, he looked at his shaking hand with his focus on one of his fingers. The now familiar green lightning began to dance around it, causing the teen to frown in both frustration and worry. "I just don't get it. Did something go wrong when you gave me this borrowed power? Ryoko, do you-" Izuku was then cut off as a fist collided with his face, knocking him to the ground. Honestly, he didn't need to look up to know that Ryoko was floating above him with her fist still outstretched.
"Izuku, I want you to get this through your head: your power isn't borrowed," said Ryoko, annoyance ringing through her voice as she crossed her arms. "My powers are still with me and as strong as ever. They're not going anywhere. Think of the device I used as a tool to copy my abilities and paste them into you."
"But," began Izuku as he sat up, the pain in his cheek already fading as he looked up to the alien girl. "Then why can't I get any higher off the ground? And why is my energy a different collar than yours?" As he said this last part, he glanced down at his finger as he thought about it. If the powers had been copied and pasted, then shouldn't the energy he was using be the same color as Ryoko's? Since the color was different, wouldn't it stand to reason that the powers were different as well? Maybe weaker?
"Ahh, you're not getting it," groaned Ryoko before letting out a sigh. "Look, right now you are more like my race right now. Meaning you have the ability to generate the same type of energy that I use. And since that energy is coming from you there's a good chance that it would be a different color." Izuku blinked at this. "With my people, the color of their energy varies from person to person. Some believe that the color reflects what type of person you are. They have an entire color chart explaining what each color means, but I never bothered to learn that crap. I have red energy, you have green energy, and that's that. No need to make things more complicated than they need to be. Personally, I think the theory is a load of bull."
At that, Izuku blinked as his curiosity grew. Ryoko's people could fire different colored beams? This was the first he had ever heard of it. Was it like a sort of heat index where lighter colors, such as blue and white, were considered hotter or more powerful? Maybe it was just a color esthetic. That was the impression he got from what Ryoko had told him. After all, his hair was green and his eyes were green so, wouldn't it make some sense that his energy was green as well? Also, members of her race believed that the color reflects the type of person you are? That would certainly be interesting to learn more about. Pity she didn't know what they all meant. Honestly he wished there was another alien like Ryoko around so he could better compare the two and-
"Hey, stop the mumbling," said Ryoko, breaking Izuku from his thoughts. The alien teen then let out another sigh before giving him a softer look. "Anyways, the way you've been thinking about your powers could be the source of this mental block of yours. That they aren't really a part of you, just a tool for you to use or can be taken away. Until you can push past that, you won't be able to get into the right mind frame."
Izuku nodded as he sat up a little straighter. That made some sense. "Ok, then what are you thinking about when you throw those energy balls?" he asked. Perhaps if he got a good frame of reference, it might be easier for him to figure it out!
Ryoko grinned at him with a look of pride, showing off one of her fangs in the process. "I just think of destroying something that's annoying me," she said with a laugh, Izuku slumping a little. Honestly, he should have seen that coming.
"Phasing?" he asked, hoping he could get something more helpful.
Ryoko merely placed her hands on her hip, throwing her head back as she laughed. "Ha! Think you can keep me out?"
"Flying?" he asked, feeling his eye twitching.
"The rush of freedom!" cried Ryoko, pumping both fists into the air as she said this.
"…Teleporting?" he asked slowly, his body slumping at Ryoko's simplistic answers.
"Ooh! I wanna go there!" laughed Ryoko, pointing in a random direction with one hand while the other was placed above her eyes as if to block out the sun. In the end, the scene made her look like an excited tourist.
"The sword?" he asked, doing his best to keep the frustration out of his voice as none of these felt really helpful to him.
"The sword?" repeated Ryoko as she looked at him. Either she didn't notice his current state or she chose to ignore it as she smiled brightly. "That's the easiest. Whenever there's an obstacle standing in your way, picture your dreams. Grab hold of them tightly and then use them TO CUT IT DOWN!"
-x-End Flashback-x-
In a flash, Izuku closed his palm tightly with the energy still within it as he lunged towards the giant robot while screaming. What was his dream? To be a hero! To be like All Might, the type of person who can save everyone around him with a smile on his face. And right now, that robot was standing in the way of his dreams! It was going to hurt Uraraka!
Within a second, Izuku found himself at the feet of zero-pointer before suddenly turning upwards to fly up its chest. His throat was quickly becoming soar as he screamed so loudly that it could be heard throughout the testing ground. Not that he could really hear it in that moment with his heart pounding in his chest and the wind whipping through his air as the young Midoriya shot upwards along the robot's body. Never once did he slow down, not even when the mammoth sized eyes of the robot were right in front of him. Gritting his teeth, Izuku stabbed him fist forward right into the first red lens as he continued upwards. Higher and higher he went, the sounds of something exploding right below him. But Izuku didn't stop until he noticed the city vanishing out from the corner of his eyes. He began to feel heat below him as the robot began to explode in his wake! But Izuku didn't stop for a moment, he just continued upwards to the robot's head. The machine moved its arm to swat him away, but Izuku was like a fly to it as he dodged the metal limb while scarring the machine's face.
It was only when the machine was no longer in view, with the heat no longer below him, did Izuku stop his screaming and finally take in his surroundings. He was floating there, high in the air with the cityscape all around him. Everything looked a little…different. Not really smaller but it was beneath him. And the sky seemed to have a different shade of blue as the clouds now seemed just a little bit closer.
An explosion below caught his attention. Looking down, he saw that it had come from the zero-pointer. There was a cut that went from the lower part of its head, running upwards to the top. Sparks and explosions could be seen coming out of the wound inflicted upon the now still metal behemoth, each one causing another one to occur that was larger than the last. Soon chunks of metal were flying off of the zero-pointer as the entire front of its face exploded, reeling it backwards and away from Uraraka.
Taking a deep breath, Izuku smiled as he turned his attention to the world around him. He had thought he knew what Ryoko was talking about when she mentioned the rush of freedom. Oh was he wrong. He was no longer bound to the ground, capable of moving in any direction he wanted. Upwards, downwards, left, right, side to side. He could just soar through the empty sky for as long as he pleased, going wherever he wished without having to stop for traffic or wait on a train. He didn't even feel the pull of gravity on him, trying to return his feet to the earth!
Then, Izuku saw it. In his hand was the thing that destroyed the zero-pointer: an emerald colored saber. There were three parts to it, the first being a small bit of green just below the bottom of his fist. On top of it was a cool emerald orb that hovered there and, right above that, was the blade. Izuku found himself staring at it as tears began to form in his eyes. His heart leapt as he looked into the most entrancing, most wonderful shade of green he had ever seen. And as he looked into it, there was not a doubt in his mind any longer that this was it. This was his power, a thought that brought him peace.
As Izuku stared at the blade, the adrenaline in his system began to fade and with that loss of energy he began to fall back to the ground below. Yet, his eyes were still drawn to the blade until finally he was surrounded by the darkness of unconsciousness as he plummeted.