Chapter 2: Entrance Mayhem?
…
"That…was a lot easier than I thought it would be." Ben whispered to himself.
Once the written exam had ended, Ben followed the directions of the staff and arrived in front of a double door. To the side it simply stated "U.A. Academy Hero Course Exam Orientation". He expected the written exam to be difficult, and even as he was glancing around the classroom he was assigned to during the test, he could see many of the other Examinees having trouble.
He guess he really did have Momo to thank though. The material that was on the test was nothing he had ever seen beforehand. Heck, technically before this, he was still at an elementary schooler's level of learning, so he was more than thankful for his mistress' tutorship over the endeavor.
As he entered the room, he could see Uraraka waving over for him. Ben walked inside and seated himself on the available seat. He took a look at his surroundings and was reminded that it looked somewhat similar to a college lecture hall, albeit far dimmer than usual. He had seen it once before when he went on a field trip, but proved to be a mindless interruption.
Students began taking seats left and right, chatting among some friends that they either made a long time ago or just today. As he looked around, he could feel his shoulder being tapped. He blinks once to see Uraraka smiling at him sheepishly.
"Ah… How did you do on the written part?" She asks. Ben shrugs in response. "I think I did alright."
"To be honest, I thought it would be more difficult." He admits, surprising the girl a little. "Was the English or Math section more difficult for you?"
"Oh, definitely Math… I forgot about the variable substitution parts…" She chuckles nervously. "I don't think I failed though at least!"
"Well, as long as you pass, right?" Ben smiles a little.
"Hey, it's starting!"
That whisper caught their attention within the silent room, causing them to turn towards the giant screen in front of the hall. It turned itself on to reveal the standard U.A. Logo for all of the entirety examinees to see. The lights around the hall flicked on like clockwork, until it revealed a man standing on the podium.
He was a tall, slender man with long, spiky blond hair and a small mustache. He wore a pair of headphones with the word "HAGE" written on the headband and a pair of sunglasses. Ben assumed that he was also a Pro Hero, as his outfit was a bit bizarre, consisting of a black jacket with an upturned collar that was complete with studs. He sported a tan, studded shoulder pads, black pants with a red studded belt, black boots, and black fingerless gloves. His neck was also completely covered by a directional speaker.
"For all of you examinee listeners tuning in… Welcome to my show today! Everybody say, "HEY!"!"
The man crosses and swings his arms out for the rest of the audience to respond. Uraraka looks around with an awkward expression growing on her face as everyone remained silent. Putting his ear to the crowd, he maintained his smile regardless of the non-responsiveness of the examinees.
"…What a refined response." He chuckles. "Fine then, I'll quickly present to you the rundown of the practical exam!"
'Well, it's about ti—'
"Are you ready?! YEAAAAAH!"
…
…
…
Once again, the silence of the audience fills the room. Ben groans a little, but then begins to hear Midoriya murmuring some stuff from a row below him. Bakugo, who was sitting next to him, was trying to ignore his rambling while a tick mark appeared on his forehead.
"Oh God…! It's the Voice Hero, Present Mic! Oh my gawd…!" Midoriya gleams. "I listen to him every week on the radio!"
"Deku." Bakugo utters.
"All the teachers at U.A. are Pro Heroes!" The green haired teen continues.
"Shut the hell up!" The blond barks.
"Anyhow… As it said in the application requirements, you listeners will be conducting a ten-minute mock urban battle after this!" Present Mic yells. The screen behind him shifted to show the building they were in, splitting off into seven different colored boxes.
"You can bring whatever you want with you. After the presentation, you'll head to your specified battle center, okay?" He points his fingers out. Silence followed once more as Ben dug into his pocket, and brought out a small pamphlet that he was given. He and the rest of the crowd ignored the next loud "OKAY!".
As they began to read off the information placed onto it, Ben scanned for his test location that was listed down, with it saying Battle Center G and identifying his number as 1210. The screen once more shifted and gave view to a rather compact city, however alongside it were three silhouettes.
"Three different types of mock villains are stationed in each battle center. You earn points for each of them based on their level of difficulty." He begins to explain.
"So, hit and run tactics, huh?" Bakugo narrows his eyes.
"Your goal, dear listeners, is to use your Quirks to earn points by immobilizing the mock villains… Of course, attacking other examinees and any other unheroic actions are prohibited!" Present Mic continues.
Before he could continue on with his explanation, Ben and Uraraka could see a hand being raised. He had a clear and leveled voice as he opened his mouth. "Excuse me! May I ask a question?"
Present Mic nods, pointing at him as a spotlight shines above the questioner's head. "Okay!"
"On the printout, there are four types of villains. If this is a misprint, then U.A., the most prominent school in Japan, should be ashamed of that foolish mistake!" He loudly proclaimed. "We examinees are here in this place because we wish to be molded into exemplary heroes!"
'Well, that at least sounds a bit norma—"
"And in addition… You over there, with the curly hair! You've been muttering this whole time. It's distracting." He called out towards Midoriya. "If you're here on a pleasure trip, then you should leave immediately!"
Ben's neutral expression dropped to a frown. Did he really have to be rude for Midoriya's admiration? He narrows his eyes a bit as he opens his mouth. "Would it kill you to calm down a little?"
"What?" The young man blinked, not expecting someone to talk back to him. He and the rest of the crowd turned to Ben, with Uraraka glancing about in worry.
"B-Ben!" She tried to calm him down.
"He's just excited to be participating in this exam and is just admiring the Hero presented in front of him. You didn't see anyone else bothering to speak out about him, meaning that they didn't really care." Ben looks down at the man, who was revealed to be a lean build individual with glasses and black hair.
"B-But it's just rude. Can't you feel a little bit of annoyance to his murmuring in a place of instruction?" He counters.
"Yes, but it's better to not cause a scene by calling him out, because it ends up creating things like this." Ben immediately shoots back, making the man sweat a little. He wasn't wrong, after all.
Present Mic's smile dimmed for a second before returning back. "Okay, okay, Examinee Number 7111, Number 1210. Thanks for the great message, but let's get back on track." He then said, allowing a fourth silhouette to take shape. The man identified with Number 7111 sighs a little as he sits back down, with Ben folding his arms in a semi-stubborn matter. Uraraka sighed in relief as things started to go back to normal.
"The fourth type of villain is worth zero points. That guy's an obstacle, so to speak. There's one in every battle center—an obstacle that will go crazy in narrow spaces. It's not impossible to defeat, but there's no reason to defeat it either." Present Mic began once again.
The previous silhouettes made sense before in Ben's mind, measuring battle capabilities by totaling the points earned, but when a single obstacle exists that you don't have to nor have any incentive to fight exists, the only thing that he could assume was… To test the disengaging or retreating capabilities of examinees. Weed out the hard headed and foolhardy examinees right off the bat that were too greedy with the way they were doing things.
However, to do either of those, the fourth mock villain must have had a massive amount of strength or some other kind of threat to warrant examinees to the point of them having to avoid them.
"And so, I recommend that you listeners try to avoid it. That's it from me!" Present Mic concluded. Ben glanced around as murmuring started to go around the room. This time, the man in glasses had no excuse to call anyone out, as a question of curiosity made its place.
"However, before you leave… I have a gift to bestow upon every single one of you!" He halts them. "It's our school motto!"
"Motto? I wonder what it is." Uraraka wondered out loud. Midoriya and Bakugo seemed to know what was coming up though as she and Ben looked down.
"The hero Napoleon Bonaparte once said: "A true hero is someone who overcomes life's misfortunes…"." He begins.
'That actually sounds quite the respectable thing to s—"
"…Go beyond."
"?!" Ben blinks as Present Mic's eyes could be seen from his sunglasses. Immediately afterword, the screen behind the Hero changed to that of an extravagant phrase. Tension could be felt from every examinee as the signature words of U.A. exploded into view…
"PLUS… ULTRAAAA!"
Ben was admittedly a little speechless. He would not be able to forget that quote, even after months had passed. As everyone else agreed with a dazzled expressions growing on their faces, Present Mic grins as he points to everyone once more.
"Now everyone, good luck suffering!" He jokes.
Despite the less than encouraging parting words, Ben let a small smile take hold on his face as he and the rest of the audience began to leave the room.
…
"…Big." Was all Ben could say after around half an hour.
He stood in front of a pair of giant steel gates with a number of other students, barring his way into the large faux city. Even from outside he and the others could hear the sounds of the mock villains resonating from within.
Battle Center G had slightly less people around, most likely due to being one of the last centers. It was where all the remainder went after the other centers were full, but…
Inversely that would mean that there were slightly less villains to deal with within the city itself, in order for the Battle Centers to not show favoritism. Competition for points would be fiercer, Ben realized. And with that in mind, he decided to get a look up at his competition as he tugged on the outfit he changed into for the exam. It consisted of a green one-sleeved long shirt that covered his left arm, primarily to hide the Omnitrix. The rest of the outfit was that of black shorts with knee guards, keeping the same black and white sneakers he wore before.
He saw various things: such as a Quirk that allowed one to grow spikes from their body, thorns for hair; one of them had earphone jacks on their ear loops. Ben was mildly surprised with the selection, but his attention partially glanced over to a girl with orange hair tied to a ponytail that rested on the side of her head, as well as green eyes. She wore a black and blue tracksuit as she stretched her arms, before…enlarging them.
'That looks like the stereotypical power a normal superhero would have…' He commentated. '…Why does that remind me of an old cartoon from long ago?'
"Um…are you staring someone beyond me?" The girl suddenly asked, looking a tad bit miffed but putting on a slight smile. She also seemed awkward though, probably because they were somewhat next to each other.
"Oh, my bad." Ben apologized. "I was just curious about the various Quirks. It was just that yours didn't seemed to be noticeable until you enlarged your fists."
She smiled, softening a bit. "That's fine. Most people usually have Quirks that are definable by visual effects. Quirks that work with simple body enhancements a little uncommon after all, especially if they don't change your body by much." She allowed her eyes to roam his body, widening slightly.
"Hmm, are you a foreigner? Can I ask about your Quirk?" She then asked.
Knowing that the question was going to be asked sooner or later, Ben made sure to prepare for such a contingency. Simply raising a hand, he raised an eyebrow. "My quirk just lets me transform my body. Simple things like changing my exterior and the like." He replied with a small smile.
She widened her eyes at the sudden sight of it, "Oh, that's pretty useful. You could probably use that in order to blend in with a crowd if you were on a stealth mission." She stated.
It seemed that her earlier wariness was caused by his expressionless look towards the area. He supposed that it was sensible, letting people know your Quirk somehow had a soothing mental effect. Not that many people notice it, but when people know what your Quirk was, they gained an opportunity to allow topics to open up between the two, without making it awkward. This increased interactions between both parties.
"I've been told that." Ben admitted with the scratching of his head. The girl giggles as they begin to hear the sound of the gates.
"Well, good luck. Here's to hoping we both pass!" She says as she lets a fist out in front of her. Ben responds with a nod as they do a fist bump.
Walking together to the front, the crowd of students stood ready for the start of the exam. From atop a nearby tower, Present Mic stands ready as he activates his Quirk. Ben all of a sudden got a weird feeling in his chest as Present Mic opened his mouth to yell.
"OKAY, STAAAAAART!"
Suddenly, the colossal door that was previously shut had opened without anyone knowing whatsoever. Despite this sudden occurrence, it didn't bother the young Omnitrix wielder. The moment he heard Present Mic's voice shout out through the speakers, he was already in the mock city, dashing along with the crowd.
He had fought against aliens, against beings that broke the expectations of humanity, situations where a split second decision could mean the difference between life and death. So by the time the rest of the examinees noticed Ben within the city, he had already gone for his left arm, not even bothering to look at was happening as the Omnitrix activated.
Blinding everyone, they all gasped to see another crystalline humanoid like Chromastone once the usual flash vanished. However, he was obviously shaped differently from said alien. His body was composed of durable pale green crystals. He sported four crystal shards on his back and had a sharp head, wearing a uniform which was black on the right half and grey on the left with a black patch on the left shoulder where the Omnitrix symbol was.
Lifting his right arm up, it morphed from a large fist and into a slick green blade of crystal. Glaring at the mock villain in front of him with a cold face, he sliced in half without hesitation, cutting it from its waist. Everyone could only stare in as the robotic body that used to whole laid on the ground in front of him.
"…Let's go!" The orange haired girl yells as she punches one villain away. Everyone snaps back to reality, running along and into different directions. It appeared that Ben had struck them silly, but the result that they were looking for was passing, and not even an awe impressive transformation would stop them from proceeding.
Present Mic stood from his position, humming in interest as he talked into a radio. "Well, Ground G has officially started. You guys getting this?"
…
Slice after slice, smash after clash, the green alien known as Diamondhead continued his onslaught of mock villains as he swung his dual blade arms midair, slicing apart three additional villains in quick succession.
'Another three points.' He silently notes as he landed. He had gotten up to 21 points in total as a result of eliminating seven Rank 1 mock villains, 4 Rank 2 villains, and 2 Rank 3 villains.
So far, he had not encountered the Class Four villain. He wondered if anyone else did, but judging from the lack of screaming of people, he thought wrong. Despite his head start into the Exam, he noticed that the villains were more widespread and based on his observations, actively seeking those whose Quirks caused a larger commotion. His projection of weapons and augmentation of body physiology, while superb in dealing with the machines, did not cause enough of a commotion that would draw in the villains.
Within the city, there were no other examinees around him, all having moved further into the city. This was to be expected, as most of them ran straight towards the center. Diamondhead, on the other hand, stuck to less easy to ambush areas and destroyed villains that wandered the outskirts with quick and deadly moves.
In the Null Void, it was kill or be killed, eat or be eaten. His experience in the place greatly enhanced his hunting instincts, which served him well so far. But since this was an exam constructed to bring out the special abilities within its participants, Diamondhead had finally figured that if he were to continue like this, it wouldn't end in a satisfy-able ending.
Clearly that plan wasn't working so he decided to amend it by venturing into the center as well. 'Time to move in then.' Hopefully he could earn some more points by—
"AAAAAAAAH!"
A scream drew his attention. His eyes widened slightly as he turned to the direction it came from. Without hesitation, Diamondhead jumped into the air and shot out crystals from his palms. He was smart enough however to know that there were cameras keeping an eye on him, so he made sure that his movements wasn't too crazy. As he was about to land, the crystals grew out form a crude slide, using momentum to leap further and faster into the city.
Sliding into another corner after surfing on a slide of crystals, he immediately took note of what he saw. The person who had earphone jacks was currently paired up with another person who had a tail with a hairy tip.
"That's a biiiig villain!" The earphone person, revealed to be a girl, yelped. "How are we supposed to beat it?!"
"We're not!" The tail man yells. "It was an optional thing to defeat, remember?"
Their combined movements were a little sluggish and no matter what they weren't moving from their spot from the giant foe they were facing. Instead, their arms were raised, eyes focused and bodies ready to move at any second. But why though?
Diamondhead wondered why for a second, before getting his answer the moment he laid eyes on what was behind them.
They were defending a fallen examinee, the orange haired girl to be exact. Her ankle had been twisted, with a bad bruise on the lower part of her leg as she struggled to get up.
"Uuurgh…" She groans. "You two, just leave me…"
"No!" The tail man yells. "The rules said not to harm a fellow examinee, but there's no rule that said we could help!"
'Help...? Oh, how stupid of me!' Diamondhead mentally face palmed. That was odd feeling he had during this entire test. The presentation that Present Mic gave out said that people could gain points by defeating villains…
But there was in fact an alternative way. He said that no unheroic acts were allowed, which meant willingly abandoning allies was a very big no in the schools books. Meaning that there was another method in gaining points, this particular method being Protection. Acts of Heroism would grant points too, but the majority of the examinees were too clouded in their heads with looking for points that involved neutralizing enemies. That must've been the reason for including the Class 4 villain, in which Diamondhead could assume was the one in front of him.
Understanding the situation, Diamondhead smirked. Bolting forward with mild reinforcement in his legs, he surprised the three examinees as he skidded in front of them, slamming his palms into the ground. A moment later, a mound of crystal could be seen trapping the villain's legs.
"Sorry. Thought I could help." Diamondhead says as he turns around. "You guys alright?"
"It's all good." The girl said, giving him a thumbs up. "Any longer and we would have been toast!"
"I agree. That was some nice timing." The tail man says as he goes for the orange haired girl. Her eyes widened a little upon recognizing Diamondhead.
"Oh, it's you!" She smiles. "Thank you..."
"Save the thanks for later." Diamondhead says though. "We gotta take care of this one first."
"Should we though?" The earphone girl asks as the tail man secures the orange haired girl into a nearby building entrance and joining back.
"This is the Class 4 villain. If we let it run rampant, it'll only cause more havoc and become a threat for everyone else. We have to take care of it now." He calmly says. The villain was starting to break out of his prison as they went on.
"Well then, any ideas?" The tail man proposes.
The Petrosapien remained silent for a moment, taking a second to look and analyze his opponent. After realizing something, he turns to the duo with a nod.
"…I have an idea." He says, turning to the tail user, and then to the ear-jack girl. "How hard can that tail hit? And you, what does your Quirk do specifically?"
"Me? My Quirk allows my jack-shaped earlobes to be inserted into all sorts of objects and channel the sound of my heartbeats into them. I have custom speakers used to amplify that specifically." She answers.
"Enough to break metal if I hit hard enough. Why?" The other one answers next. The crystal alien simply nods once again as he turns towards the villain, who was just about to break out.
"You'll know what to do. Follow my lead!" Diamondhead smirks as he begins to run off towards the villain. The two couldn't believe what he was doing, but began to follow him regardless.
Breaking free of its crystal trappings, it was the only thought that ran in Diamondhead's mind as he saw the giant lumber-like structure above the buildings, a colossal hand raised and smashing through buildings like they were nothing but paper. The giant villain was obscenely larger than the other three mock villain models, and was powerful enough to destroy buildings, and above all it was dangerous.
Dodging a smashing blow to the ground by rolling, the Omnitrix dial flashed green, blinding the two behind him as a new creature replaced him, causing them to drop their jaws.
Replacing Diamondhead was a, blue, lizard/fish-like creature. His arms were fairly long, with three-fingered hands and short legs that ended in stumps. He had four shark-like fins and sharp teeth. Having small, squinted green eyes and a black stripe around his eyes and face, behind his eyes were pronounced scales and what appeared to be gills. Wearing black clothing which covered most of his body, a white shell was seen covering his chest as the Omnitrix dial was located on his left hand.
"Okay… First, a gem guy, and now a blue lizard? What the heck kind of Quirk do you have?!" The jack girl yells out as they avoid the blow as well.
"Never mind that!" He yells in response, opening his mouth and aiming it at the arm that was still in the ground. Firing a long-range freeze ray that isolated its target in ice on contact, the two blinked in shock as he began to run on all fours.
The villain struggled to get its arm out from its frozen prison. Following the blue alien's lead, the earphone and tail pair began to skate on an icy path he created from his ray. He continued to plaster the gigantic construct with ice as they circled around it, jumping along with the duo behind him as the villain released a volley or missiles from its canister located on its back.
"Go for its legs!" Ben yells as he releases another ray, freezing both legs as he swung his open mouth across. The two quickly run in, narrowing through a rubble of debris before sighting their targets. The tail man yells as he jumps, spinning in the air multiple times before slamming tail as hard as he could into the frozen limb.
Breaking in one foul blow, the earphone girl quickly joined up. Plugging her jacks into the amplifiers on her forearms. She then slammed the amplifiers onto the villain's legs and channeled a powerful heartbeat through them that shattered the ice, effectively destroying the other leg. With none of its legs present, it began to slowly fall, crashing into few buildings as it fell onto its back.
"Hell yeah!" She screams with satisfaction.
"Nice! Now get back!" Ben yells. The two quickly disengage as the blue alien gallops in, creating a final, giant ice slide that he began to ride. As his allies landed, they turned to see him flung into the air.
"Now what?" Tail Man yells.
Ben floats above the body of the fallen villain. With its final free arm, it attempts to go and release one last smack, but luckily for the shape-shifter, his reflexes allowed him to blast the arm with another ray, skid down on it, and then push off to dive right at down the center. He grins with a cruel smile as he blasts it right in the center of its cold exterior.
"Drop dead!" He yells as the Omnitrix dial flashes. Everyone who happened to watch as a green flash replaced the blue lizard alien with that of a creature resembling a humanoid dinosaur.
He was around 12ft in height, possessed hard, brown skin, and a sort of beige color towards the center of his body. Having Stegosaur-like feet, a long brown tail, he wore a black and white uniform, with the Omnitrix dial located on his right shoulder.
"Jesus!" Both of the two yelled in shock. The gigantified Ben grunted as he rocked his fist back, tearing straight threw the ice panel that his previous form created. A loud explosion was heard from the center as he then jumped out, with sparks and smoke soon coming as a result of multiple explosions coming out from the remains.
Landing next to the two, he dusts himself off from the rubble that got on him. The two were nearly speechless as they looked up to his face. Ben merely gives them a smile as another flash reverts him back to Ben.
"Lovely." Ben attempts to joke. "Nice job."
Raising a hand, the two were then released from their shocked state, giving Ben a high-five in response.
"Oh, I don't think I ever introduced myself." Tail Man chuckles himself out from his surprise. "I am Ojiro Mashirao. My Quirk is the utilization of my sturdy tail."
Ben nods. He and Ojiro then turned to the girl next to them, who sheepishly rubbed the back of her head. "I don't know whether to be amazed or scared! Ah, whatever, you're pretty cool. Name's Jīrō Kyōka!"
"Ben Tennyson." Ben introduces himself, with his two new acquaintances being a bit surprised.
"Hooh… I thought you looked like a foreigner." Jīrō admits. "Your Japanese is pretty good."
"Yeah, I get that a lot." The green eyed youth scratches his cheek. Jīrō and Ojiro look at each other, before giggling a bit.
"Huh? What's so funny?" Ben inquired. The Tail user merely shook his head. "What?"
"Ah, it's nothing serious." He tells him. "It's a just a little funny to see such a person so enthusiastic about combat to be a little awkward."
"Awkward is an understatement!" The earphone jack user snickered. Ben rolls his eyes, but nevertheless smiled as he began to turn around.
"Well, let's continue. Shall we?" He says. The two stop their humorous reactions to snap back to place, nodding as they all went in different directions.
…
The Staff Department of U.A Academy kept their eyes leering on all the monitors, evaluating examinees alongside their coworkers. Nezu sat with a smile in the middle of the crowd, with Toshinori beside him.
The skinny blond was quite surprised with this generation's line up of Quirks, although one of them, a man with black hair and what seemed to be bandages worn like a scarf thought otherwise. None save for a handful of examinees were even worth looking over in his opinion. However the handful he had in mind were among the top of the crop so to speak. He was Aizawa Shota, otherwise known as the Hero; Eraserhead.
Shoji Mezo, a student in Gallery B displayed maneuvers that amplified his resourcefulness of his Quirk usage to detect villains and exterminate them through brute strength and technique. He was among the few in his mind that got his attention.
Asui Tsuyu, while not his top pick, did not exhibit hesitance in dealing with villains, remaining level headed and calm enough to deal with situations as they rose up in her eyes. Though Aizawa was not sure whether she was calm due to her physiology of being like a frog, or just from the calm nature of the girl herself.
Iida Tenya, the student who called Midoriya out. A built textbook student that excelled in physical activity due to his Quirk. Instead of going for a vantage point and eliminating the targets, he ran off into the thick of things and analyzed situations on the fly. Dealing with anything that come his way by using his mobility and quickly moving to the next he can locate, made much more viable due to the speed at which he could run.
Then there was Bakugo Katsuki, the explosion boy. It suited his name. The obvious impression he first thought of when he looked at him was similar to what Ben thought: Rude. However despite those flaws there was no denying the skill and pure innate battle instincts that overflowed him as he was dealing with mock villains. Using his Quirk that created explosions to cause commotion, he kept drawing in more villains, and repeated the cycle to quickly gain points. It didn't really sit well that the brat seemed to be cursing a bloody storm just from the way his lips moved, but he supposed that this day's generation was different in terms of sociability.
'But, in all of that…' His eyes narrowed as he turned to the screens broadcasting Gallery G. The examinees that were thrown in there were somewhat lesser than the other battle centers, and in honesty, Aizawa wanted to evenly split all the examinees across the battle centers. Due to a time constraint though, they were unable to, which meant that there was more of an opportunity to specially record and track the examinees that were currently fighting.
While Ojiro and Jīrō for example were adapted at using their Quirks to suit the situation around them, the one and obvious person that he, and now Toshinori and the rest of the group with him, was clear. Ben Tennyson, the unknown Shape-Shifter that suddenly appeared.
"…Was there any news of individuals who could transform?" He asks everyone.
"Not that I heard of, Eraserhead." A Hero beside him spoke out, addressing him by his Hero Name. A person resembling a humanoid block of cement with black eyes and gray hair tied into a ponytail was the one who answered. His body shape was evenly blocky all around his body, and his lips were pulled upwards. His hero costume consisted of a sleeveless brown suit that included yellow stripes, shorts, and an elongated collar. He also sported gray shoes with yellow soles.
"It's remarkable though." Another Hero called out. He was a slender man with dark hair and glasses. He had large blank eyes and trademark exposed teeth. His Hero costume consisted of a tan trench coat that covered most of his body. Underneath was a skin tight, black suit with several gold stripes rising up from underneath his trench coat and disappearing under his helmet. His helmet was black and with a gold jaw guard that ended in a circle-shaped hinge joint where his ears were. Another frame came from the hinge, going over his cheek bones and meeting on his nose.
"He looks a bit young though." Toshinori tilts his head. "…Mr. Principal, don't tell me this was the person you were accounting for on our last meeting?"
"Maybe. Maybe not." Nezu simply says. "Just watch. I have a good feeling about this kid."
Aizawa thought otherwise with a suspicious look on his face. Already he could tell that Ben didn't seem to be a normal kid. The moment the exam started for Gallery G, the boy rushed right in without hesitation and had cleaved through a mock villain with ease, practically with no effort. It was a bit surprising that he had practically no emotion as he did so, reminding him vaguely a little about himself in regard, but...
'…What has this kid gone through to be so deadly?' He asks himself. Aizawa kept an eye on him throughout the practical exam, noting on how he had weaved around villains and struck them down before moving around the area with as little judgement as possible.
He was not roaming aimlessly either, unlike the other examinees. He positioned himself away from corners and alleyways, areas where he could be ambushed, however it did not seem to be on purpose, more likely a force of habit from training or the like, most likely the latter on his part. Ben had battle instincts and a level headed attitude, an admirable outlook to have during a multitude of situations, though he seemed to be a little too headed.
The brat had stared at objects that could cause death in the face, but regardless of that he took care of them with as careful precision and effort required, although it was not surprising to see that he was calm in the face of the minimal threat that were the mock villains. Even displaying some of unusual cooperation skills when he teamed up with Ojiro and Jīrō for the 0 Point villain was a bit of a surprise to him and some of the staff.
"Why haven't we gotten records of someone with abilities like his before?" Aizawa asks again. "I don't even think he's shown us half of what he can do. And also…that Midoriya kid. The one with the green hair."
Toshinori froze a little as he said that, though only Nezu seemed to have notice.
The moment the zero point villains appeared was when, the literal beat dropped. On two separate battle centers, Midoriya Izuku on one, and the surprise transformer in the other. Midoriya suddenly had leaped from the ground and smashed the zero pointer onto the ground with one solid and killer punch to the face. However in doing so he had shattered his arm and legs. Luckily he was saved by the girl he tried saving, whom was Uraraka, however that luck was not something he should be relying upon. It was abnormal; someone with a self-harming Quirk or even one that they couldn't control well would obviously be a liability in their future. They'd both be unreliable and short-lived career-wise. However, it didn't seem to be the case when his fellow peers voted on his performance.
Ben on the other hand…he could have dealt with the zero pointer on his own, no doubt about that. He had displayed enough of his forms and their abilities to dictate that he could've easily tore a hole straight through the gigantic villain if he wanted to. It seemed like he was trying to hide his abilities, most likely as to prevent any unnecessary attention from him and the staff. It was a little weird though, as the whole point of this exam was to show off your Quirk and your ability to act in a mock situation.
By now, the Exams had ended moments after. He watched as a fellow staff member, Recovery Girl, healed Midoriya of his injuries. He wanted to scout out both galleries, but he had no way to help other than to escort students out from the cities if he were to do so. He wasn't really allowed to leave the booth anyway, due to the fact that he had to grade the examinees.
Aizawa sighed. Instead of prattling on with his monologue observations, he should've been busy checking through the written exams at the moment, but here there were situations just begging of an individual of his caliber to investigate…
On the brighter side though, due to his actions the two boys had earned a substantial amount of rescue points from their actions, though Midoriya's were a little more suicidal than Ben's. They would pass and be handed off into his class, which meant…
He would be having a crazy year this time around…this didn't bode well for his psyche. Knowing this, Aizawa turned to the exit.
'…I'm going to be pulling an all-nighter, aren't I?' He grumbled as he dragged his body out from the booth.
…
"Are you alright?" Momo asks. "You seem to be a little more happy than usual."
"Oh… How so, Yaoyozoru-san?" Ben asks as he takes off her sweater for her. The Creation User smiles as she pokes his cheek.
"You've been smiling a little more often." She answers him. Ben blinks, touching his own face in regard for what she said.
"Really now? I haven't noticed…" He admits. "I guess because of the recent amount of action I've been involving myself in, I've been able to express myself more openly."
"You're telling me. I asked the Principal to send me the footage of the practical exam, you know. You're quite the fighter, I have to say again." She smiles. "Although I could tell that the Null Void still has affected you a bit."
"And probably will for the rest of my life." Ben says as he closes a hand. "It's an icky feeling that'll be with me. It's become a part of my life."
Momo smiled a little, patting his head in response. Ben's eyes widened a little until she finished. "Yaoyozoru-san?"
"I didn't say to get rid of it though. It's made you the person who you are today. Never forget the person you are. Don't try to be someone you aren't, even if it may seem to be a good idea to do so." She reassures him. Ben blinks, in confusing in how to answer her little inspirational talk.
A week had passed since his partake at the Hero exam, meaning it was now early March. His thoughts were swimming and he couldn't quite shake the feeling of excitement, like Momo pointed out. His first scenes of action after a while since leaving the Null Void, on the ground of Earth. Even if this place wasn't exactly like his own, fighting on familiar turf made him a little better.
Some interesting things had happened since his coming into the city and participation. After around a day or so, a police investigator had arrived at the Yaoyozoru household. To Ben's surprise, the man was Quirkless, which reminded him of investigators from his own world. The policeman, who was named Tsukauchi, explained his reason for approaching the household. Apparently, the presentation of Ben's alien forms had intrigued much of the staff members when he partook in the exam. He was hoping to maybe get some information to where the origins of his "Quirk" came from, but Ben quickly answered that it was a family secret.
The second was of the news of his own passing. The exam results explained what counted toward his end crediting; Villain subduction, Heroic assistance, as well as other factors. It surprised Momo that heroics were to be a part of the exam, being noted as Rescue Points. Ben found out about it partway due to Ojiro's wording of the situation back then, but he should've paid a little more attention to Present Mic's explanation. He said that un-heroic acts were to be unforgivable and unaccountable towards their grading, but he never said anything else about being heroic.
And with the results came a letter, which was also a hologram to Ben's surprise. An envelope came a week after the exam as promised. Ben obtained said letter during his morning run of chores, and immediately showed it to his mistress. The first thing they saw were the results themselves, and then the letter, which was from someone that made Ben frown a little.
It was as said as Nezu appeared in the hologram in his office:
Hello, this is Nezu. If you've received this letter, you've passed the practical and written exam. Good work!
So… You managed to pass the exam through a combination of villain points and several rescue points. In total it should be thirty four villain points from the destruction of the mock villains, and those added to the total of thirty six rescue points. Ten points came from helping out the examinee that was with those other two students, and the remaining were from collaborating yourself under pressure to act alongside those two examinees.
Add all that together and you got seventy points in total, putting you as one the top of the examinees.
Personally I believe that it you could've performed better, but it seems that you were trying not to associate much attention to yourself, which is understandable in your case. I'm a little sucker for interesting scenes though, so your several minutes of acting out with those two was taken into consideration. Not that you cared about that anyway probably, which I know you didn't. He he.
As such, you're being placed into the Department of Heroes, in Class 1-A. Prepare request for a design for your Hero costume and submit it to the official school website section specifically for you before classes start. If you don't, you're using the Physical Education uniform! Don't slack off now, and have a good rest of your day.
That is all. The staff and I are looking forward to welcoming you to U.A. in April!
Ben held the letter and began waving it around to see if he missed something else, but handed it Momo to see if she found something he missed. The letter was just so…Nezu-like, so to say.
Ben sighed and walked to the dining room table with Momo. "Well, let's just eat for now. We can design the costumes later."
Momo nodded, placing it in her pants pocket as he brought several trays of food. Over the course of living here, he had learned much from the other maids to the point of being capable of performing culinary arts, something that the Omnitrix wielder began to take great pride in for some reason. Perhaps because he was too reminiscent of his grandfather's bizarre way of cooking.
"Congratulations for getting in though, Ben." Momo added with a smile.
Ben could not help but smile in return, "Thank you, Yaoyozoru-san."
Despite the silliness of Nezu's letter, he was perfectly fine with how everything went. Now if only he was told about designing a costume sooner though…
…
"The left button is for left clicking. If you want to do specific things like copy and pasting, the right button is for that." Momo instructs.
Ben sat over a desk with his mistress beside him, both of them currently overlooking pieces of paper filled to the brim with designs while looking on a computer.
After dinner had finished, Momo decided it was best that they both worked on the costume. Despite what anyone else would say, it was good for any one Hero to have their own, unique appearance. Any glaring features in the designs would be key for identifying a specific Hero after all.
Ben was wondering if he even needed a uniform though. His alien forms automatically generated uniforms of their own that correlated to Ben as a whole, so it was the question in mind. Momo managed to convince him that it was the first form, his human form, which people would be recognizing first before he transformed since his "Quirk" was still classified and labeled as "Transformation".
"Well, the Omnitrix already generates a uniform for your transformations, correct?" Momo asks him once more. Ben merely nods in response. "Then we need something that correlates to those then."
"The color schemes of my alien forms are in direct sync to the Omnitrix's color scheme. The white, black, and green colorations are what give the design to the creatures that I take the form of." Ben explains. "Depending on the species, it could accommodate a uniforms to various lengths."
"Such as?" Momo gestured him to continue.
"Some aliens don't require clothing, as it may inhibit their ability to perform. Others may be able to wear a full suit. If you watched the footage, you could see that those three forms were like that. Diamondhead's was a half and half body suit that only covered up to his torso and not his arms. Arcticguana's trait is being able to use a beam of ice, so it'd make sense to cover up as much as possible."
"And the last one? That humungous, dinosaur looking transformation…" Momo shuddered a little upon remembering the sheer size of it.
"That was Humungousaur. I tend to classify names I give my aliens based on their traits. Humungousaur has the ability to sextuple in size, so the Omnitrix provides a uniform that is able to adapt to his changes." He finishes his explanation.
"I see…" Momo muttered, humming a bit to herself, but blinking as if she had a brilliant idea, "You're a fighter capable of adapting to practically any kind of situation, so how about…"
"What are you suggesting, Yaoyozoru-san?" Ben asks. Her eyes glistened as she pointed a finger at him.
"Let's add a bit of utility to your human form then. Maybe a pocket for bandages and pain relievers? You already excel at combat, so why not focus on support then for your human form?" She suggests.
"Support? Hmm…that would be smart to have. Being a Hero isn't always about gallantly facing a villain and fighting a battle." Ben says.
"That's right. A Hero not only fights to protects, but also stays to support." Momo smiles.
Ben scanned over the base design, trying to find something to add after discussing these few previous ideas. There was already boots meant to traverse in multiple substances, for convenience sake and for better footwork should the need arise to fight in his human form. There were two pouches attached to the main jumpsuit that could be used for carrying supplies that were located on his hips. Should the need arise…there were also slots located on his shoulders that would contain substances meant to subdue criminals. And also…on the back, there was an additional function.
"Well, I'll be working on the designs with my Quirk. Anything else you wanted to add before I finalize the prototype?" Momo asks her butler. Ben thinks about the idea for a second, before grabbing a piece of paper.
Sketching out another idea, after around five minutes or so, he handed the sheet to his mistress. The first thing she thought to react to be was how detailed he was about the design he wanted for this specific object…no, not object. Weapon. This was a weapon meant for his human form, in order to correlate to her suggestion. She gives the boy a surprised glance, before nodding.
"I'll see what I can do. You should sleep. In all seriousness, you're going to need all the rest you can get." She says. Ben raises an eyebrow, but nonetheless leaves her alone to go to his own room. Momo waits for him to go out, before turning back to her work.
Having him sleep early would benefit his performance in the long-term effect, especially since there would likely be something planned for the students when they arrived at the school. Momo knew that Ben was a night walker, but sleep was really going to be important these upcoming weeks.
And perhaps it was best to just let him deal with that; after all, he was strong enough to pass whatever test they had, but she wanted to make sure.
She held the design in her hands and blinked at the colorization.
Maybe she could do a little something here? A little black and white was too bland, so maybe…
A peacekeeping look of green? She smiled at the thought of that as she placed a pair glasses on her nose bridge. She was going to have a blast at designing this as she took her shirt off…
...
It was now the first day of school. Momo had woken up early as usual for her morning training of 6:30. Ben however, was different. He had gotten up so early in fact that the sun had yet to risen. He always had a habit to wake up during obscenely early hours from his time in the Null Void, but it was particularly true in this case seeing as he had slept in a location that was much more comfortable than anything he could've obtained in that damned space of red and black.
He had made breakfast before the rest of the house had awakened and packed a boxed lunch in his bag for himself and Momo. It was all done in a leisurely pace, seeing no reason to rush himself. After all, the trip to the school building itself wouldn't take so long, as Momo arranged for a car to drive her there.
However, Ben didn't want people to get the wrong idea. He knew how his mistress had tried to make friends that saw her for the person she was, not for the person that had things. After much persuasion, she decided to let him arrive separately from her.
After he had finished prepping for the day, he returned to his room, gazing upon his uniform that he and Momo obtained a few days prior. The standard male uniform consisted of the following: a light grey suit over a white dress shirt and dark green dress pants, along with a red necktie. The suit displayed a varied detailing of navy blue marks on the cuffs, parts of the collar, as well as the shoulder area. Ben wore his usual black dress shoes from his butler outfit, as the school had no regulations on footwear. He decided to bring his sneakers though.
Walking out to the hallway of the second floor, Ben looked up. The trapdoor that led to the attic and to the roof was visible, with an idea growing in Ben's mind to pass the time. Climbing off to the roof, the morning sun was just about to go over the horizon, meaning that it was now 6:30. Checking the Omnitrix, the time was right on schedule as he began to hear footsteps around the entire household.
'Well, good morning to everyone.' Ben smiles a little as he lays down, his eyes looking up towards the sky. The mornings were typically pretty hectic, but since he woke up early to do everything, all he heard was the sound of the trapdoor opening half an hour later.
"…Ben." Momo calls out to him. He opens a single eye as he sits up, before turning to face her.
"Good morning, Yaoyozoru-san." He greets her.
"Waking up even earlier than usual and leaving no one to do the morning cooking? You must be feeling quite energetic then." She commented, walking out onto the rooftop with her own uniform on.
"Sorry. I felt pretty good as I woke up." He apologized honestly. "It's a brand new day, a brand new term… It's been almost three years since I've attended a school."
"Well…" She mused, taking note of the sincerity with not so surprising ease, "Since I was sleeping like a baby, I would say that you did a good job with preparing everything without waking us up."
"Well, that's good. Have you eaten yet?" He then asks. "I prepared a high carb meal today. I have a feeling that we're going to be doing physical work today."
"Yes, and it was very good!" She grins, patting his head. "Now then, shall we depart?"
"Remember what we said, mistress…" Ben then gave her a look. Momo pouts a little, before sighing. "I'll be leaving first then. It's Class 1-A, right?"
"Yes. Do you have everything you need?" She reminded him. He nods in response. "Good."
"Then, may you have a safe trip, Yaoyozoru-san." Ben says as he stands up. He picked up the backpack he prepared, slugging it around his shoulders as he began to run off.
Jumping off the roof, Momo covered her eyes momentarily as the flash of the Omnitrix came into view once more, this time replacing Ben with a creature resembling a humanoid manta ray. He was red in color, with two black lightning bolt-like stripes coming down from his shoulders. He had yellow horns extending from his nose, gills underneath his arms and yellow patagia which he used to fly when he leaped off from the roof. Wearing a full body uniform of black and white, the Omnitrix dial was located on his chest between the stripes.
Seeing the flying alien going off into the distance, Momo smiles a bit as she slaps he cheeks. "Alright! Time for the Orientation!"
…
The standard time for most classes in Japan were quite early. Compared to the time schedules held back within his own country, the United States of America, these early times made it practical for every student to manage their time with due care.
Back when he was younger, Ben was like a typical kid his age. Wake up almost late, do a little mediocre in school, messing around with kids his age, etc. The Null Void changed everything though, but it didn't seem like all the changes were bad in a way, such as when he arrived at U.A.
Class sections were categorized depending on the student's performance in the practical and written exam, their preferred goal, and class size. Class 1-A and 1-B were for the Department of Heroes, in which those who passed the exam and were leading towards the path into becoming a Pro would go to. Students would learn everything they need to know to become excellent heroes in service of the community, and work towards the qualifications necessary to be allowed to use their Quirks in public spaces.
For those who didn't qualify for the latters, the Department of General Education was the area down below. They focused more on education itself, with those pursuing for college and other future education following this route. Those who had high grades could potentially be transferred into the Hero Department. These included Classes 1-C, 1-D, and 1-E for the first years.
Lastly, there were the other two Departments: Support and Management.
Support could easy be interpreted. Developing support equipment that helped heroes out on the battlefield, with a workspace stocked to the brim with all sorts of executive tools, the department provided an unmatched creative environment for those who chose to go into that Department. The classes in this section included those from Classes 1-F, 1-G, and 1-H. The Department of Management focused more on founding and managing hero agencies to executive producing heroes. These sections were focused on Classes 1-I, 1-J, and 1-K.
However, even though he gave himself plenty of time to arrive, saying that he arrived early was an understatement to a point. Not a single student was even present by the time he approached Class 1-A, which was labeled by a giant brown door with its initial colored in a blood red bordering. There was also a back door located a few meters off.
"Well, easy does it…" Ben shrugs as the door opens for him. He walks inside, the view full of the room being presented to him.
It actually took a while to locate the floor and specific room and area, but Ben was honestly feeling relieved. The classroom wasn't anything over the top, nor was it as grand as the auditorium from the orientation.
It was humble and welcoming, with a…tad smell of freshness to it? To allow students reprieved after being sent through rigorous training to be happy about their placement into this class perhaps. Whatever the case though, it certainly didn't feel like the typical classroom from elementary environments of his past.
There were supposed to be 20 seats for each first year class, but Ben noticed a 21st one located all the way in the back. It was probably because of Nezu's involvement with his placement that this seating chart was a little off, which actually made the young Omnitrix wielder a little interested.
Shrugging once more, he sat down at said seat, placing his bag by the hanging strap located on the side of the desk. Getting into a comfortable position, he then looked over at the clock that hanged over the entrance of the room, before closing his eyes. It was now 7:40. Classes would start at 8.
From underneath his sleeve of U.A.'s uniform, the Omnitrix's hourglass glowed. Several green data screens began to form, circulating around Ben's head as text and images started to fill in the displays.
'…Master Control Access.' He mutters in his mind. Immediately, the screens began to dilate and spin rapidly.
This continued on for a few minutes, until Ben's eyes opened at the sound of the doors opening once more, the screens disappearing immediately. Revealing the honor student that wore glasses reminded him of Issei, who stared at him with minor surprise. "Oh? A student who appeared earlier than me… Wait, you are…" he muttered, before shaking his head and walking towards him.
"Greetings." Ben sits up. "I think we got off onto a bad start at first. My name is Ben. Ben Tennyson."
"Ah… Hello there, Tennyson-san. I am also sorry for my behavior from before. I'm from Somei Private Academy and my name is Iida Tenya. I hope we can get along." He smiled as he walked towards him, exchanging a handshake with the Omnitrix wielder. "I'm a little surprised that you're a foreigner though."
"…I get that a lot." Ben repeats to the umpteenth time.
Iida smiles again, but then looks at where he sat. "Why are you sitting all the way in the back for? Pardon my suggestion, but it would most likely help if you were to move up."
Ben shook his head. "It's fine, Iida-san. Let's just say I had to catch up to even take part in the exam, making myself having to learn more than what was necessary. I should be fine if I take regular participation into account for the classes." He said, giving his reasoning. "The less studious should be up front."
Iida looked somewhat surprised at those words, however he simply nodded with a smile. "I see, you're quite nice to consider the matter of your peers around you. Let us both do well then."
"Yeah." Ben replied, watching as he walked away and seated himself near the exit of the back door, which was seat number four. The seats were labeled starting from the front door and moving down towards the bottom. It was near the back as well, but considering his tall body and sturdy posture, Ben wasn't surprised that he was placed there to uphold the chance for his future classmates to get a better look on the board.
As time started to pass, more and more students started to fill in the room and its seats. Ben and Iida would occasionally greet and exchange a bit of information with their new peers. As no one knew each other much, it was suitable for everyone to talk.
Well, it didn't actually matter right now, because once class started all of them could introduce each other. All classes started out with that activity anyway so it should be fine, at least what Ben remembered from his own time in school.
Naturally, Ben's eyes wandered around to study the appearance and possibly the Quirks of his fellow classmates. He could see all his peers from where he sat, so he just simply stared at each individual for small while. There was a guy that had tape like dispensers on his elbows that were easy to identify through his uniform, a guy with a bird head, and a guy with multiple limbs attached together with webbing. Although some of them had strange appearances, there was no doubt that their placing here meant that they qualified to be Heroes.
He took this information relatively well, even after learning the the fact that there was a second class with relatively the same amount of students too. If he was measuring this correctly, there were over forty teenagers that had earned the right to be nurtured into Heroes. It certainly would be interesting to see how all of these individuals would grow as they progressed through this school.
Some of the individuals were those that Ben had recognized. The two, Ojiro and Jīrō, smiled at him and spared no time walking towards him. "Ben, it's good to see you."
"Likewise, Ojiro-san." Ben exchanges a handshake with him. "It's good to see you too, Jīrō-san."
The two began to dwell in some sort of talk until class started. However, right as they were about to get into a good part, the slamming of feet could be heard. Jīrō was the first to turn, with the blonde and brunet following suit.
'…What now?' Ben groaned internally. Was there someone already causing troub—oh, exactly as he thought. He hated the Universe for giving him the correct answer.
"Do not put your feet on the desk!" Iida's voice could be heard as he yelled.
Instantly, the class's attention was drawn away and instead transferred to two specific people. One was Iida, who seemed to be glaring and barking with a professional posture, and the other was…sitting with his legs on his desk. He looked rather familiar to Ben, recognizing him the moment he…
"Hah?!" Bakugo growled out, sending Iida a nasty glare. From where Ben sat, he and the others could see the two perfectly in sight, with the brunet sighing.
'This guy again…' He blinks in annoyance. If he was here, no doubt that this class would be lively. Whether that was a good or bad thing, it was leaning in a well-known direction already.
"Don't you think that it is rude to the U.A. upperclassmen and the people who made these desk?" Iida berated. Bakugo rolled his eyes.
"Not one bit! What junior high did you go to, you side character?" He taunted with an arrogant smirk that was reacted with a scandalized face from Iida.
Ben frowns upon recognizing the angry blond. Whether he was arrogant or if it was pride, he wasn't surprised that he made it into the class. His Quirk, which matched his name, was probably the other thing that made him stick out.
Iida reacted with shock for a moment, but calmed himself down to reply. "I attended Somei Private Academy. My name is Iida Tenya."
"Somei? An elite then, hmph." He grunted, not even bothering to introduce himself in turn. Judging from the way he sneered with arrogance at everyone else in the class, he had absolutely no intention to do so. "Looks like I'll have fun crushing you!"
"What!?" He blurted in shock at the words of his fellow classmate. "Do you truly aim to be a Hero with that kind of attitude? Kids would cry if you swore at them like that!"
The rude teen already grew bored of Iida and gazed away rudely with a snort. However that rude gaze seemed to focus onto a certain brunet. Naturally curious despite the distaste of each other being made clear, Iida followed with his gaze. "Ben?" Iida muttered, and in turn the entire classes did the same, finding a young man.
"Hey, looks like Midoriya's here." He simply smiles. Everyone else then turns to said green head as he appeared at the door. This then caused that same young man to panic at the sudden spur of attention.
The boy in question, seemed to be trying to gather himself to greet them but fell short when Iida left and walked towards him. No doubt being subtly glad that he was away from the rude teen.
"Good morning!" Iida greeted, "I am from Somei Private Academy–"
"Uh…! The nervous teen interrupted.
"–and My name is…" Iida trailed off, no doubt being caught off guard by the interruption. In doing so he stopped his movement and remained frozen like a statue, most likely processing what to do next.
"I'm Midoriya. Nice to meet you again, Iida-kun." He greeted with a friendly yet awkward smile. Iida seemed to gather his bearings, but fell silent in silent contemplation.
"Midoriya, you realized there was something more to that practical exam, didn't you?" He declared, surprising some students with the new information, "I had no idea… I misjudged you. I hate to admit it, but you are better than me! I apologize for my rude remarks during the orientation!"
"A-Ah… I-It was nothing, honestly!" Midoriya smiles nervously, before turning back to Ben. "Oh hey! It's you!"
"Sup." Ben raised a hand.
It appeared that Midoriya, and a few of the students in the class including the rude teen were confused somewhat. They remained silent in hopes of learning why and what they were missing.
Ben was not so confused. He already learned of the rescue points system by himself. However from the faces that those few students told him that they had managed to pass the exam through faux villain points alone.
Especially Bakugo, who looked the most confused. No doubt had thoughts in his head that tried to figure out something he missed in the exam. It was from his face alone that Ben could tell why.
'Hah, bullies will be bullies.' He smirks as he leans his chin on an arm.
He had passed with just the villain points, and only villain points. How many villain points, Ben assumed that he was at the top for that category given his destructive Quirk. If he learned to adjust his attitude, then the rude teen could become a Hero worthy of being praised upon.
It appeared that with his focus on the blond teen, Ben had missed the arrival of the last missing student, Uraraka. She was about to enter the room when—
"Go somewhere else if you want to play at being friends."
And then a drowsy voice interrupted their antics. Ben actually stood up upon hearing this…ominous tone. It reminded him…of a certain alien warlord.
While the bubbly girl's demeanor changed into a silent panic, Midoriya on the other hand had peeked over her shoulder downwards to…see Aizawa laying on the floor in a sleeping bag, a dull, yellow one at that.
'…Is that a sleeping bag?' He, Uraraka, and Iida sweat drop in shock. Aizawa remained in his unanimous position, not even blinking as he did so.
"This is the Hero Course." He says, unzipping his bag a little to suck on a small plastic juice pouch in one gulp. The three remained shocked long enough for him to stand up, exiting the bag completely.
"Sheesh, it took you eight seconds to completely shut up." He grunts. "Time is an essence, kids. You lot need to learn more about courtesy."
'Ha, talk about blunt.' Ben chuckles inwardly before blinking.
'Wait, this is our teacher? Is he a Pro Hero too?' Midoriya blinks in surprise.
Stepping into the classroom, he gave each and every student a once over. Ben noticed that his gaze lingered on him for a little while longer than the rest of the students as the trio that remained standing returned to their seats.
"I'm your homeroom teacher, Aizawa Shota," He said lazily. There was no emotion in his voice, save for the few traces of subtle twitching his eye seemed to have. "Nice to meet you."
Everyone else seemed to react a with a little awe and/or shock as he then reached into his sleeping bag, pulling out a uniform that consisted of a short sleeved navy blue shirt with a white stripe and red trimmings, and pants of the same nature. This was the physical education uniform
"Alright… This is going to be sudden, but put this on and move along out to the P.E. fields." Aizawa blinks slowly as he gives everyone a uniform. Momo and Ben looked at each other, with his mistress raising an eyebrow.
'I guess his gut feeling was right.' She thought.
Ben didn't have a good feeling about this though. Since this outfit was short sleeved, that meant that the Omnitrix would be exposed. He just prayed that Aizawa wouldn't question him about it…
"Wait, what about the entrance ceremony?!" One of the students, Kaminari Denki, asked. He was ignored though.
…
"Okay… So we're going to be doing a Quirk Apprehension Test." Aizawa suddenly says. Everyone reacts negatively as they all gathered outside after dressing into the P.E. uniforms.
"Wait! What about the entrance ceremony? What about the orientation?!" Uraraka yells in question.
"That's what I was asking earlier!" Kaminari yells in agreement. Aizawa sighs though as he turns his back to everyone.
"If you're going to become a Hero, you won't have the time to be attending lively events like those." He explains. "This is a place meant to train future Heroes, after all. That's what U.A.'s selling point is; our unrestrictedness."
'Yeah… But aren't there Heroes that do attend to those types of things in their free time?' The brunette sweat dropped. The rest of the students seemed to had agreed with her with similar facial expressions as he turns to the series of track lines in front of them. They seemed to be distance markers for some sort of throwing activity.
"You see these things here, right? You've guys should've been doing these things since junior high." He points down to them as he holds up a tablet like device to them filled with various trial like activities.
"Physical fitness tests where you weren't allowed to use your Quirks." Midoriya says. Ben raises an eyebrow in interest. "Nowadays, Japan still uses statistics based on scores gathered from tests like these to conduct averages."
"That's right." Aizawa replies, turning to Bakugo. "Bakugo, you were at the top of the results for the practical exam, yeah?"
The blond raises an eyebrow to that, but nods in response. "What was your best result for the Softball Throw in junior high?" He then asks.
"…67 meters." He answers. Ben calculates the distance from meters to feet, as that was the system they used in America. Of course, he had learned that the customary thing to do was use meters and the likes for measurement.
'Approximately 220 feet.' He resulted.
"Alright, now try to use your Quirk while doing so." Aizawa proposes as he takes out a softball. "This ball will survive through pretty much anything."
Bakugo takes the object from his hand, looking down at it before walking over to the next circle over. Snorting, he sent a threatening glance at Midoriya. He then stepped into the chalk drawn circle.
"You can do whatever you want as long as you stay within the circle." Aizawa instructed. "Hurry up. Give it all you've got."
With a calm intake of air, Bakugo stretched his throwing arm and stared ahead. "Alright then…" Stancing his body like a professional baseball player, he swung his body back for a second before he rushed his entire body forward—A murderous overlapping his face as he did so. Ben could feel the slight amount of blood…no, this wasn't bloodlust in anyway. This bully had no idea what bloodlust was like.
"DIE!" He screamed as he threw the ball, blasting the surprisingly intact object high into the air with a well time explosion. It soared above the low clouds and drifting in the sky, only to impact down to the earth like a little bouncy ball several seconds later.
Ben watched Midoriya shudder a little. From what Bakugo said, it seemed to be a trait mark phrase of his. As the ball came down, Aizawa recorded the distance, revealing it to be a screaming 705.2 meters long.
"Knowing your maximum is the most rational way to form your foundation of being a Hero." He explains. Everyone seemed to have begun to get excited for this, even Momo as Ben glanced in her direction.
"But… over 700 meters? Damn, that's far." Kaminari chuckles nervously.
"But this looks super fun now!" Another student, Ashido Mina yelped. She had pink hair and skin, with her sclera being black and her irises yellow. She had a pair of yellow "horns" protruding out of her head.
"Yeah! We can finally use our Quirks for something fun!" A male student, Sero Hanta grinned. He had black hair, with his elbows now exposing his cylinder like shape. "This is what it means to be in the Hero Course!"
"…Fun, huh?" Aizawa mutters. Ben and Midoriya notice his change in tone as everyone ceases to smile in excitement. "You lot all have three years to become Heroes, and that isn't long. You really think you'll have that kind of mindset for that entire time?"
Everyone gulps, which satisfies Aizawa's answer. With a growing smile, he says something atrocious.
"Alright then. Whoever comes in last place in all eight of the tests will be judged…to have no potential. They will be punished, with immediate expulsion."
…
…
"HUH?!"
While everyone else reacted with stunned looks, Ben cups his chin in suspicion. It didn't make any sense to do such a thing. What was he trying to do? What reasoning could he have to have pulled that out of nowhere? Was it because everyone was treating this lesson as a joke? Ben knew how hard it would really be to be out in the field, but they had three years. More than enough time for them to all mature.
There was no need for that punishment, so why?
Aizawa glanced around, seeing more of his students hyping themselves up, but for a desperate look on their faces. Instead, they were hyping themselves to not fail, to not face the bottom of the barrel and to not allow their dreams to be crushed. In fact, from what he could see, Midoriya seemed to be having a panic attack, grasping at his hand in worry. It wasn't just Midoriya, but one of his students seemed to be pretty calm in all of his sudden proposing.
Ben was honestly sure he was going to pass if he used his forms for most of the tests, and for the ball throw he already had a specific one that was perfect for that situation.
His primary goal was to pass, but not to stand out that much. Already he could tell that Aizawa was giving him a look that wasn't friendly to say the least. That, and even if he was last in most of the tests, if he managed to beat the person in last and barely pass, he should've been fine.
The rest of the students continued to mumble and jitter, but it was then that Aizawa raised his voice again. He wanted to continue this façade for a little while longer, this time in hopes of trying to get Ben under the pressure as well.
"We're free to do what we want about the circumstances of our students…" Aizawa declared, raising his hands and clearing away the hair that covered his face. Staring at it, Ben and the rest of the students saw the sadistic delight he would be drawing from the following hours.
"Welcome! This is U.A.'s Hero Course!"
Ben grinned, something that Midoriya and some of the other students noticed as he cracked his knuckles.
'Alright then… I accept.' He declared.
…
"Natural disasters, big accidents, and selfish villains. Calamities whose time or place can't be predicted. Japan is covered in unfairness. Heroes are the ones who reverse the situations. If you're with your friends at Mickey D's after school, too bad. For the next three years, U.A. will do all it can to give you one hardship after another…"
"Well now…" Ben mumbles with a smile.
"Go beyond. Plus Ultra…right? Show me then."
He taunted them, beckoning the students to take a step further with his finger, a sickeningly sadistic smirk once more taking shape. It was made all the more daunting once they realized he had used the schools own motto as justification for this madness.
"Overcome it with all you've got." He says…
…
…
…
Test One: 50 Meter Dash.
Moving onto the track part of the fields, a robotic recorder was positioned at the exact end of the lines.
"On your marks…" The little robot voice echoed "Get set…"
Iida lined up for the first test alongside Asui Tsuyi, a girl that exhibited frog like actions. Ben could only sigh in silent contempt as he waited for his turn. He still could not wrap his head around what Aizawa was planning, but he was nonetheless excited for action now.
"GO!" It then released an audio track of a gunshot.
The sound signaled them to start. As soon as they did, Iida had bolted from his starting position at a speed that made him seen faster than the world's fastest sprinter in his own world. It shouldn't have really surprised him, seeing as this world was infected to the brim with supernatural abilities, but Ben knew that Iida was a person who trained.
3.04 seconds, that was Iida's score. Asui's frog like jumps also granted her enhanced speed, giving her a time of 5.58 seconds. As Iida ceased the use of his Quirk, he turned around to give himself an evaluation.
'Third Gear, huh? That's how fast I can get with 50 meters.' He noted.
Iida's Quirk was called Engine, which granted him high running speed through the engine-like protrusions manifested around his calves, which he could activate at will. And Asui's was most likely the obvious out of everyone's; being officially identified as Frog-Form.
"Well, like a fish in water for him…" Aizawa comments on Iida's performance. "Next pair!"
Uraraka and Ojiro were the next to partake. Ben noticed that she tapped the various things that were on her body, particularly her clothes and shoes. That gave him that the idea that her Quirk was…
'Gravity nullification… Zero Gravity.' He mused, explaining her Quirk. 'She probably has a limit to the amount of weight and duration though.'
Another false shot initiated the starting. Ojiro made use of his tail by bouncing off like a ball, with Uraraka running to the end like a normal person. Even with her clothes weighing nothing, she still got a 7.15 second time, while Ojiro was a 5.49.
It was interesting to see how his classmates' Quirks worked. Despite what everyone thought, Ben could see this as something to be excited for honestly.
…
The next participants were Mina and Aoyama Yuga. The latter possessed a slim body and slightly long blonde hair, along with long eyelashes and bright eyes, giving him the appearance of a young prince. Ben noticed that he wore a ring-shaped buckle.
As the fake gunshot fired off, he jumped and suddenly fired a laser from his stomach. Yes, his Quirk was a Navel Laser. However, Ben timed that it only lasted for around a second. Mina blinked in confusion as he landed on his back as she dashed passed him, beating his own time by around half a second.
"…My tummy hurts when I shoot it for more than one second." He smiles. Everyone face palmed at his acclaim as the next pairs went up. It went all the way until it was finally the last of the class: Bakugo, Midoriya, and Ben.
'Alright… The three Musketeers… Let's see what they got.' Aizawa narrows his eyes toward Ben.
"On your marks…"
Aizawa did not let his sadistic smirk fade. He had been through a literal mountain of paperwork, so he was more than happy to take some of this stress on his students. Since U.A. was that kind of school, his actions would mostly overlooked, so long as the results they produce were what they wanted. This was also partly the reason that U.A. had been given a substantial amount of monetary benefit. They got results, so they got more in return.
What wasn't so simple however, was the fact that the ongoing trio walked onto the path, ready to take their turn for the fifty meter dash. Aizawa wasn't sure whether he enjoyed the look that took shape in his eyes as Ben got ready.
'What is that brat planning?' He looked at Ben. He took a moment to look at Midoriya too, who was shaking a little.
"Get set…" The robot continued on.
Bakugo grinned as wiggled his fingers. Midoriya could see the anxious look on his childhood friend's face. However, as he turned to Ben, he, Aizawa, and the rest of the students could see him simply standing on the starting line.
"Oi… I never asked this before until now… But why is a damn foreigner here in U.A.?" Bakugo barked at the standing Ben. Midoriya shudders a bit as Ben looks down at him, a glare of his own forming.
"Because I applied to this school, passed the Entrance Exams, and thus earned the right to be there. Isn't that obvious, jerk face?" He said coldly. "You don't have to be Japanese to be attending a school in Japan, you know."
"B-Ben!" Midoriya blinked in shock.
"Why you LITTLE—"
"GO!" The robot shot its fake shot once more. Bakugo growled harshly as he turned his face back to the front, immediately blowing a packet of explosions behind him.
"SHAKLAKAAAAAAA!" He roared.
Dashing off as well, Midoriya could only concentrate on his acquaintance as he began to fly off in front of him. He was about to glance over at Ben, only to be blinded by a green light. Everyone covered their eyes for a second as Midoriya and Bakugo kept going.
"DIE, DIE, DIE—What?!" He gasped, suddenly seeing another flash of green, and Ben across the finish line.
Silent stares, jaws dropped, sweat dripping from their brows, mostly from those students who were watching. The class that had been somewhat taking things slow and serious, were now all solely focused on the reality of the situation. But now, all of sudden…
As the two finished crossing, they could only stare in confusion at the person who stood with them across the track line. They were confused; how did he cross the finish line in such a speed? They blinked, waiting for the robot to record their times. Aizawa was particularly shocked at the results as it sounded them off for everyone to hear. Momo was the only one who wasn't as shocked, although she showed some degree of surprise.
"Bakugo Katsuki: 4.13 seconds!"
"Midoriya Izuku: 7.02 seconds!"
"What the hell time did you ge—"
"Ben Tennyson: 0.00…"
"Zero?!" Iida yelled. "That's impossible!"
"No…that robot is the best recording utility we have." Aizawa answered. He gave Ben a glare as he looked at the robot.
'Gonna have to go for extreme slow motion.' He noted. Aizawa sighed as he took slow yet heavy steps towards the gymnasium, "That's everyone, right? Move to the gymnasium for the Grip Strength Test."
Aizawa ignored the slight and subtle stares that the rest of the students gave out. This was only going to become more interesting.