Our first day back in class started with a bang. Our provisional license exam was coming up; only fifty percent of us would pass. To prepare, we were each tasked with coming up with our own ultimate move!
Aizawa, Midnight, Ectoplasm, and Cementoss accompanied us all to the TDL, one of the many training facilities at UA. Oddly enough, this one shared the same acronym as Tokyo Disneyland... I was starting to notice a pattern with these naming schemes. I guess sharing an acronym with Disneyland was appropriate, though. The massive, sprawling gym was like an amusement park with different terrains and obstacles.
As Cementoss used his Quirk to build the terrain, Iida's hand shot up.
"Excuse me! Why do we need to learn ultimate moves for the provisional exams?"
Midnight stepped forward. "Because part of the testing is to ensure that you can prevail in a battle. Every pro hero needs a move that can decisively end a battle."
"Yes," Cementoss added. "An ultimate move is consistent as well. Consistency is important when working on the front lines."
"Additionally, your ultimate move doesn't need to be an attack," said Ectoplasm. "Take Iida's Reciproburst as an example. It's an ultimate move that relies on speed, which can be used in diverse contexts. A move like that meets the requirements that we are looking for."
So some of us have already used ultimate moves... I wonder...
I thought about my fight against Sandman. When I thought about Jirou getting harmed by him, something came over me. I activated a power that I didn't know I had. It was as if my entire body turned into a bolt of lightning.
I explained what had happened at camp to Electoplasm, or at least, one of his clones that was assigned to me. "There was a villain who had a sand Quirk, basically, he could turn his body into sand and make constructs. He nearly killed me, but when he threatened to kill one of my friends, I suddenly felt as if lightning was coursing through every vein in my body. It was all so sudden; everything happened in a flash of five seconds. In the end, my body was glowing for a second or two before returning to normal."
He hummed curiously. "Interesting. Yes, this is a common occurrence. Oftentimes, a hero unlocks latent abilities during high-stress moments due to the adrenaline coursing through their body. Think back on that feeling and try to replicate it."
"Yes, sir," I said. I clenched my fists, planted my feet, and began emitting electricity from every pore in my body. I thought about Jirou, Midoriya, Momo, and the others. I pictured them being harmed by villains. I imagined that if I didn't activate this power right that second, they would die, and it would be all my fault. It was working; my entire body was being charged with electricity; however, something wasn't right. I was trembling uncontrollably, and the sensation wasn't the same. I didn't feel lightning in my veins; instead, it felt like my heart was expanding and was ready to blow.
"Ectoplasm... I'm losing control!"
"Cementoss!" he yelled, just before my body erupted. Cementoss was able to cover my entire body with a bowl of concrete, absorbing the blast before it could harm anyone. The entire TDL went silent. I guess my attack must've caused quite the commotion.
I can't remember much of what happened next. I woke up to my friends and the teachers all huddled around me, my body weak.
"What happened..." I asked.
"I think you short-circuited, dude. Sort of like me." Kaminari said.
"Except he doesn't become an idiot like you; he just passes out," Jirou added. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah... I'm fine. I feel strange, though. Like a battery without any charge." I tried to summon just a single joule, but nothing happened, just a pathetic whimper of a zap comparable to electric gum.
"That's because you used one hundred percent of your power..." Midoriya told me.
"Young Midoriya is right on the money. If it wasn't for your natural durability, you might've caused some serious damage to your own body. I guess your Quirk and Midoriya's are rather similar, huh?"
What All Might meant was that my Quirk shared similar rules to One for All. Naturally, in a fight, I always hold back since I don't want to kill anyone if I don't have to. That means until now, I hadn't ever used one hundred percent of my power. Or perhaps, against Sandman, I did use one hundred percent, but my adrenaline kept me going. Back then, that's how it was for Midoriya, too. His body was broken, yet he still fought.
"Come, Young Morales. Let's get you checked out at the nurse's office," All Might told me. Kirishima and Midoriya helped me back on my feet and propped me up until I was ready to walk. Then I walked with All Might to the infirmary. As we walked, he had more words for me.
"Looking back, I realize that you and Midoriya use your Quirks so similarly."
"Probably because we're both big fans of you, All Might."
All Might smiled. "I appreciate that. However, I think you two could learn a lot from each other, rather than trying to fight like me. I heard from Ectoplasm what you were trying to accomplish. I won't give you the answers, but you should watch Midoriya closely. You might learn something."
As Recovery Girl gave me an emergency check-up, All Might's words echoed in my mind. What did he mean by that? Did Midoriya level up when I wasn't paying attention? I was all the more anxious to get back out there and master this technique before Midoriya could surpass me again. However, that wasn't going to happen.
"It's just as I thought," said Recovery Girl. "Every time you use one hundred percent of your power like that, your heart stops for a moment, blood stops pumping into your brain, and you pass out. There's no telling what kind of damage you could do to your body if you continue down this route. My advice to you is to scrap that ultimate move and try something else. Unless you want to die of a heart attack."
"It's that bad?"
Recover Girl nodded. "And because you used one hundred percent, your body is going to need extra time to charge. If this were to happen in a real fight, you'd be killed. No more training until tomorrow."
For the rest of the day, all I could do was watch as my friends improved their Quirks. God, I hated it. Bakugo and Todoroki were making strides, especially. Everyone else was figuring things out, but even so, that's progress.
It felt like an eternity, but the next day came, and I was ready to rejoin the class. I started small by naming the moves that I could already perform.
"I call this one, Venom Punch!" I said as I coated my arm in electricity. "Depending on how much energy I put into it, the more damage I can do!" I punched through one of Cementoss's walls, decimating it as if it were made of graham crackers.
"Good, good. And you said there was a variation of it, correct?" Ectoplasm asked.
"Yeah, it's called Venom Beam. I learned it during my internship, but I want to practice and refine it. I basically do the same thing, except I shoot a beam of electricity forward, like this!" I reeled my fist back before throwing it forward, shooting a beam of electricity into another concrete wall. It created a dent, but it didn't destroy it like my punch. "See? It's too weak."
"You're looking at it all wrong," Ectoplasm told me. "You're sacrificing power for range. All things must have a trade-off. It might not be destructive, but it can stun enemies, buying you enough time to get in close."
"So, you're saying I should combo them together?"
"Exactly. Like a one-two punch."
I could barely hear him over one of Bakugo's explosions, which shook the entire gym. I glanced over, seeing a piece of debris hurdling toward All Might. If he could still use his Quirk, it wouldn't have been a big deal, but he was just a normal guy at this point. I immediately stepped toward him, but a green, electric streak cut me off.
"What the hell!?" I watched as the green lightning bounced off the walls until it reached the debris. It came to a stop, and I realized that it was none other than Midoriya, reeling his foot back before obliterating the debris with a single kick.
The way his body shone was exactly how I remembered my body appearing when I fought Sandman. This must've been what All Might was referring to when he said to watch Midoriya closely. When Midoiriya landed on that same leg, it showed us all that he did it without using one hundred percent of his power.
As he aura farmed with his glowing body, I ran to him as fast as I could. "Midoriya! What the hell was that!?"
Midoriya perked up while the others gathered around him.
"Oh, it was my new technique. Thanks to these iron soles in my boots, I'm able to kick things without injuring my legs. Iida's also shown me how to move my body better."
"No, dude. Not that part. Your body. The way it was glowing. What is that?"
"I learned that during my internship. I call it Full Cowling. Basically, I'm able to use only a certain percentage of my power throughout my entire body. I usually shoot for about ten percent."
"It's really awesome," I said awkwardly, embarrassed about what I was going to ask next. "Do you think you could teach it to me? Please? Or at least tell me how it's done?"
Before he could answer, Class 1-B entered the gym. Their teacher was trying to kick us out, since it was about time for them to use the gym. Meanwhile, Monoma, the annoying one from Class 1-B, mocked us by saying only fifty percent of us will pass. I think he's too much of an idiot to realize that applies to him as well.
"Luckily, we'll be taking the exams on different days, so both classes won't be competing with each other," Aizawa mumbled. I'm almost certain I saw Monoma let out a sigh of relief before he put on his annoying act again.
"So sad! I guess we won't be facing each other after all!" Monoma said, waving his arms like some psycho.
Weirdo...
That night, I went to Midoriya's room to ask for some advice, but he wasn't there. The other guys were asleep, so I didn't bother asking any of them. The girls usually hung out in the lobby right before bed, so I thought I'd ask them if they saw him.
Using my radar sense, I could sense all of the girls and another person a bit further away; I figured that must've been Midoriya. His heart was pumping fast, which meant he must've been training. Strangely, his heart wasn't the only one pumping fast; there were quite a few.
As I turned the corner to the lobby, I could hear Ashido saying something about boys and crushes. Uraraka was blushing as she floated in the corner, her heart racing. She was definitely thinking about Mirdoriya.
Jirou and I made eye contact, and her face turned so red that I could see it from where I stood. This compelled the other girls to turn around, including Momo, who I also caught blushing. Both she and Jirou sat with racing hearts as the concept of love was brought up the moment I walked in.
What was strange, though, was that I could sense another heart racing as I steadily approached. They were too bunched up for me to know who it was.
"Hey, girls. Have you seen Midoriya?"
"He's outside," Uraraka answered quickly, compelling the other girls to start teasing her.
"Someone's keeping tabs on her booooyfriend!" Ashido sung.
"Wh- No, I just happened to see him out of the window just now! I swear!"
"Thanks," I said before swiftly attempting to walk past them. However, I was stopped by Ashido, who grabbed my wrist.
"Hold it, Spider-Boy. We're playing truth or dare," she said with a sly, yet radiant smile. "And it's your turn."
"What? I'm not even playing." I told her.
"Oh, c'mon!" she said. Then all the other girls egged me on. I didn't have a choice...
"Fine. Dare," I said. I thought they were going to just dare me to do something silly, and I would be on my way, but I was dead wrong.
"I dare you to kiss someone," Ashido ordered me. The other girls were shocked; not even they expected her to go this far.
"No. Way." I told her before walking out of the lobby and onto the front lawn. The moment the door closed behind me, I could hear them bickering through the walls.
I found Midoriya looking at his notebook while throwing a bunch of kicks. He was so locked in that I ended up startling him when I called his name.
"Midoriya," I said. "Teach me Full Cowling. I'll even accept you simply telling me how it's done, or just a piece of advice if you don't want to share your secrets. I'll take anything."
"I don't mind putting you on the right track. But I won't teach you everything. It's not because I want to keep secrets, but because I think it's valuable for you to figure out how to do it your own way. At least, that's what All Might told me when I asked him for advice. Is that okay?"
"Yeah, it's more than okay, bro. Like I said, I'll take anything."
"Okay. I just picture myself as a pastry in the microwave. For me, I was only heating one spot of the pastry. Now, I use my power to heat the pastry as a whole. That's why I called it Full Cowling."
"A pastry, huh? Hmm..." I did as he said, I imagined myself as a pastry in a microwave. "I can see myself as a plate spins me around as my body begins to heat up and then... Pop! My body explodes, and my innards start spilling out..."
Midoriya yelped and took a step back, his eyes trembling. "That's a bit graphic, don't you think?"
"Sorry," I said. "But I need to find out how not to make the pastry explode, right? I guess by turning down the wattage... But then what's the microwave? Wait, shouldn't I be the microwave?"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Recovery Girl told me that my heart would explode if I used my Quirk incorrectly. So the pastry is actually my heart. My body is the microwave. All I have to do is activate the microwave, my entire body, but with enough energy that the pastry gets cooked, but it doesn't explode!"
I clenched my fists, planted my feet, and began emitting electricity from every pore in my body. "All I have to do is find a wattage and keep my body there. I guess about this much." My body started to glow as I capped my energy output at around ten percent, copying Midoriya's strategy. "And now, I just have to focus on keeping the microwave running while keeping the pastry intact!"
Crackling golden and blue lightning bolts emitted from my entire being as Midoriya and I shared a smile. Finally, I was able to maintain my form.
"Wow, that was fast! Do you have a name for it?"
"I'm only using about ten percent, but my enemies won't know that. How about Maxed Out?"
Midoriya's eyes lit up. "So cool..." he muttered.
I noticed that some of the girls were looking at us through the window, impressed by our forms flashing in unison. Seeing them made me want to show off a bit, especially since I could see Jirou and Momo among them.
"Hey, Deku. Why don't we see whose form is better? Just a quick little sparring session."
Midoriya smiled, getting into a fighting stance. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't wondering the same thing."
"You're gonna have to keep wondering," said Aizawa. Midoriya and I jumped; we didn't even notice that he was standing there.
"How do you always show up out of nowhere!?" I asked him.
"Do you kids not realize that there are cameras all over the outside of the dorm. I was out on patrol nearby when I got the notification on my phone that there were people detected outside. Of course, it's you two troublemakers. Go to bed. Now."
"Yes, sir..." we said simultaneously.
As we headed inside, we shared a glance. Without words, we both agreed that this spar would happen sooner rather than later; we were counting on it.