Chapter 51: Halfway there
Himiko jumped onto the back of a one-point robot, quickly thrust her knives into the exposed vents, cut the wires, and felt it collapse underneath her. Hopping off in a smooth motion, she watched in satisfaction as it crumbled into a pile of scrap.
Smiling triumphantly, Himiko darted down the streets as she continued her search.
"Let's see, that makes… sixteen points… not enough…"
Suddenly, the five minute timer rang out, and she stopped in her tracks. It was halfway over already? She thought she was doing so well!
Looking down at the knives in her hands, she felt her grip tighten on the blades.
"If I'm going to become a hero, I need to go all out. Just like Izu and Ocha!"
Looking around, the street she was on was devoid of targets, broken shells of robots serving as a grim reminder of how far behind she was. Shoving her doubt down, she dashed across the street and down an alleyway. She cleared it in seconds and whipped around the corner. There she saw another student had engaged a pair of robots and appeared more than capable of handling them.
The pair of 2-point robots that were heading toward him from behind, however…
Himiko quickly pivoted and charged toward the action. She let her feet carry her toward the robots until she reached the three-pointer the student was fighting. At the last moment she jumped, landing on the slope of its back. Racing forward, she ran between the pair of missile launchers and jumped a second time, using her added height to leap over the hero student. She didn't have time to turn around, but from the metallic screech and explosion she heard behind her, she assumed the student took advantage of the confusion to destroy the robot.
But that wasn't her concern.
As she got close to the first two-point robot, she casually flipped the knives in her hand so that the blades pointed downward before she thrust them toward the optical sensors. With a satisfying crack she heard the glass casing shatter as her knives pressed inward, cutting wires and destroying sensors. Using the knives for leverage, she pulled herself upward, landing on the robot's back as it began to fall over. Retrieving her knives, she jumped off the collapsing robot onto the back of its companion. Aiming for the exposed wires at the base of its tail, Himiko slashed away until the tail went limp and collapsed behind the robot, becoming an anchor. Smiling, she finished severing wires until the robot collapsed under her.
"Thanks for the help," the student on the ground called out as Himiko regained her footing.
"It's what a hero would do!" Himiko replied with a fanged grin.
The other student smiled back before she took off. Himiko ran in the opposite direction. She had to find more robots!
Aika felt good as she ducked into an alleyway to take a short breather.
"Man, I'm glad I got all that practice in. Singing nonstop for so long is hard." Aika looked down at her hands, coated in oil and dust but otherwise unharmed. "But it's paying off! Now how many points did I get…" Aika paused as she mentally added them up. "Thirty-five so far!"
She practically jumped out of her skin when she heard the five minute buzzer.
"Oh no! Halfway done already? That means I can only get seventy points total! Is that going to be enough?"
Taking a deep breath Aika closed her hands into fists. "It has to be! Mido and Raka are trying to change things for the better. I need to show the world that I'm good enough to stand beside them too!"
Steadying her breathing like she had practiced, Aika began to sing an old standby and took off running. She tried to listen to the sounds of robots, but it was hard to pick out noises over the sound of her own voice. She couldn't wait until she had a proper hero costume where she could get headphones to help with that, but that was future Aika's problem.
Fortunately as she sped down the streets, she heard a series of explosions loud enough to be heard clearly despite her song.
Jackpot!
Smiling, she turned and bolted toward the source of the noise.
It appeared that she wasn't alone. Multiple robots converged on the explosion as well. With a fierce smile, she balled up her fist as she began to overtake a one point robot, punching right through the metal as if it was little more than tissue paper before continuing onward toward the source of the noise.
As she got close, her eyes grew wide as she spotted a pile of robot corpses littering the street, while robots continued to converge on one location - the source of the explosions.
Oh no! That student's in trouble! I'd better save him.
Determination fueling her heart, Aika charged the crowd of robots, hoping that clearing out some of them could give the student a chance to escape, especially since she'd earn a nice chunk of points along the way too!
As Aika approached, she leaped into the air onto the back of the three-point venator robot. Winding her fist back, she unleashed a punch right into the missile rack of the robot, causing a massive explosion as she detonated the missiles.
Unfortunately for her, while she was relatively impervious, physics still applied to her, and she found herself thrown forward by the force of the blast, landing in the middle of the ring of robots. Her next words came out choked and strained, but by this point, she was used to singing through such things; in fact, her teacher emphasized the importance of that because it could mean the difference of life or death. Dangerous situations like this were when she needed her quirk the most, after all.
Rising to her feet, she suddenly heard explosions much closer to her.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Katsuki yelled as he set off another explosive warning.
Aika rubbed the back of her head as she gave him a sheepish look. Apparently the explosive blonde from the start wanted to be in this situation?
Katsuki sent off another massive explosion, destroying a two-point Imperial robot that had gotten close. "Get the hell out of here, and don't you dare think about destroying any of these robots! These are mine!"
Aika's face twisted into a scowl.
Fine, if you don't want my help I'm leaving!
But she wasn't gonna go quietly. There's no way she was letting him hog all of these points to himself!
Turning around Aika planted her feet before she threw out a punch to destroy an Imperial robot that had gotten too close before she took off in a run. She already heard Katsuki's protests behind her, but she smashed her way through a pair of one-point Victory robots to escape the circle. She grinned at an approaching Venator robot and jumped in front of it, once again scrambling to the top to punch the missile launcher. This time she was better prepared and let the explosion launch herself skyward.
Kyoka held up the steel pipe to block the massive stinger of the two-point robot. She was so focused on taking out a three point robot guarded by a pair of one-point robots that a two-point robot managed to sneak up on her and she barely caught the attack in time.
"Sensei would be so disappointed in me," Kyoka spat out, mostly to herself as she strained to hold the stinger in place. Meanwhile, she threw her jacks forward, the pair of appendages buried themselves in the robot's thick hide before she used her quirk to destroy the robot.
"Alright, that's twenty-five points for me."
Kyoka didn't need her enhanced hearing to hear the loud buzzer going off, warning her that the test was halfway over.
Planning her next move, she examined the nearby buildings before selecting a particularly tall one across the street. Smiling, she ran over and inserted a jack into the exposed steel, closing her eyes and listening. By using the building as a conductor, she was able to hear noise from most of the surrounding area, and thanks to her training, she was improving at filtering out noises to pinpoint the important ones.
"My leg is caught. I'm stuck!"
Kyoka frowned. Someone was in trouble? She knew the test was meant to be a free-for-all, but something didn't feel right about leaving another person trapped like that. Especially not with those robots in the area. If they were caught by one of them…
Better to help.
After guessing an approximate location, Kyoka's eyes snapped open as she took off to find the trapped girl. She ran across the streets and alleyways, only slowing down enough to destroy a pair of one-point robots standing between her and her destination.
"Can somebody help me?" a girl's voice called out as Kyoka approached.
Kyoka was thankful for her enhanced hearing when she found the girl - or more specifically found a gym uniform seemingly moving on its own. "Your quirk makes you invisible?"
"Yep!" The girl let out a frustrated sigh. "Right now I wish it was anything else though. I'm glad somebody found me though!"
"What happened?" Kyoka said as she moved closer, trying to get a better look at the debris.
"I was trying to sneak around one of those big three-point robots to help someone, but it caught me! I managed to avoid all the missiles, so they took out the building instead and here I am."
"Don't worry, I'll get you out," Kyoka said confidently, finally approaching the debris. Using her pipe as leverage, she managed to push the largest rock up and she saw the school uniform crawl out.
"Thanks for the help," the girl replied, dusting herself off. "I didn't know how long I was gonna be trapped there!"
"It's no problem! We're all trying to be heroes, right?" Kyoka gave her a small smile. "Good luck on the rest of the exam!"
"You too!" The girl gave an exaggerated wave before taking off.
Kyoka waved with her earjacks before plunging them into one of the remaining walls of the building. She had to make up for lost time.
As Nejire climbed again, Tamaki initiated his own attack. A wave of tentacles flew toward Izuku and Ochako.
Grabbing Izuku's hands, Ochako swung herself around so that the soles of her shoes were pressed against Izuku's before she launched herself off of him. Glancing back, she confirmed Izuku was already moving in the other direction. She returned her focus to the wall in front of her. Stretching her hand out, it smoothly collided with the wall and let out a cloud of smoke. She launched herself toward the ceiling.
Looking across the room, she saw a green streak bounce off the floor and around the room. His training under Gran Torino emphasized speed and misdirection. He hoped to confuse his opponents before landing a decisive blow.
Unfortunately, from what Izuku had told her about Mirio's training, Ochako doubted he'd be able to land a successful hit against him. At least not without taking a blow in return, which would end the exam for her.
How could they handle this?
Taking a risk, Ochako carefully calculated her next jump as she raced toward a side wall, launching off of it and directly toward the three second years.
"What do you think you're doing?" Tamaki asked as he threw out a wave of tentacles toward Ochako.
Grinning, Ochako quickly pressed her hands together, letting gravity's pull reassert itself as she dropped beneath the tentacles. Flipping in the air, she landed on the ground with a heavy thud, only to realize that Mirio was once again missing.
Crap! Where'd he go?
Making a split second decision, Ochako hopped to the side, feeling the vibrations in the air as she narrowly avoided Mirio's fist as he came out of the ground. "You're good!"
"Thanks." Ochako flashed him a bright smile.
The words were barely out of her mouth when Izuku's emerald form slammed down on top of Mirio. Or rather, attempted to. Mirio's intangible form was already falling into the ground with a chuckle. "Oh my, you almost had me there!"
"Izu!" Ochako shouted, launching herself forward. Wrapping her hands tightly around her boyfriend, she removed both of their gravity, speeding up their forward motion as they narrowly evaded a combination of tentacles and spiral waves.
"Thanks for the save, Ocha."
"Don't thank me yet," Ochako replied as she launched them toward a far wall. "I thought for sure you had him!"
"Me too, I guess Nighteye's been taking his training seriously."
"So what do we do?"
Izuku had a thoughtful expression as he examined the three, trusting Ochako to dodge the projectiles and give him a chance to analyze the situation. "We still don't know what Suneater is fully capable of. So far he's only had to rely on squid tentacles, letting Nejire and Lemillion lead the attack. He's the one I'm most worried about."
"Not Lemillion?" Ochako asked in disbelief.
"Lemillion's the biggest threat," Izuku confirmed. "However, we can easily avoid him for as long as we need to if he's alone. But with Nejire and Suneater capable of attacking us at long range, we are forced to divert our attention-"
Izuku's hand suddenly shot out as he used Blackwhip, quickly diverting their course as Mirio flew past them. Wrapping his arms around Ochako, he used Float to speed them up.
"Thanks for the save, Izu."
"Now that Lemillion's on the roof, we have a chance to take out one of the others," Izuku said softly as he kicked off the wall, aiming for the ceiling right above where Nejire was floating. "Do you trust me?"
"Do you have to ask?" Ochako smirked.
Izuku shifted slightly, allowing Ochako to take the lead. "When we hit the roof, start using smoke and send us straight down."
Ochako didn't acknowledge his words, because none were needed. She started using Smokescreen the moment she saw Mirio's face phasing through the ceiling. It wasn't as helpful as she would have liked. One For All made them stand out like a beacon, but it bought her the fraction of a second she needed. Bending her legs when she landed, she coiled like a spring; her body tensed up until she did as she was told, sending them straight down toward Nejire.
Nejire was fast, already raising her arms to launch a flurry of Wave Motion energy toward them, but Izuku was faster. Without warning, a horde of Blackwhip tendrils sprang out of the smoke, battering Nejire aside… and exposing Tamaki.
Ochako flipped the pair of them so they were upright and touched her hands together, restoring their gravity. With a single nod from Izuku, she let him go, preparing to launch herself skyward again.
Izuku, meanwhile, used flight to shift his course slightly, aiming an axe kick directly at Tamaki. The older student was fast, turning his hands into shells to use as shields, but it wasn't enough. Assisted by gravity and momentum, Izuku's kick overpowered the older student's defenses, sending him to the ground. Not giving him a chance to recover, he called upon Blackwhip, grabbing Tamaki and sliding him across the arena toward the exit.
Ochako smiled at her boyfriend as she landed, looking skyward. Nejire was already recovering, but she didn't want to risk the older girl landing a hit on Izuku. Calculating her trajectory, she used her quirk on herself in one smooth motion and launched herself skyward, aiming slightly above the floating student.
"We're not done yet!" Nejire shouted as she fired a barrage of Wave Motion energy at Ochako, who simply smiled. Once again releasing herself from her quirk, she began arcing downward… directly toward Nejire.
"Got ya!"
"Oh, clever!" Nejire smiled as she cut her own flight, allowing herself to fall as well. Ochako sailed harmlessly over her head. "It's not enough to stop me, though!"
Ochako landed and twisted her body as she slid around the ground, her hand trying to break her momentum. "But we're still here!"
In the blink of an eye, Izuku was by her side. His arms wrapped around her and launched them both skyward as the spot Ochako stood on exploded.
Chapter 52: Two Minutes
"It seems we have quite the promising batch of recruits this year," Kan said as he observed the monitor.
"It's almost unfair that we are letting those three take the normal exam," Aizawa said.
"Come now," Nezu chided Aizawa, bringing up the image of Tenya Iida as an example. "Those three aren't the first students who had received more training before the exam, and they won't be the last."
"I know," Aizawa sighed as he looked at the monitors. He knew he should be putting more attention elsewhere, but he was focused on the three girls who had become Eri's surrogate big sisters.
I hope you six can actually achieve your dreams and don't get buried like Oboro was.
Nemuri checked the clock and smiled, giving Aizawa a sideways glance. "Time to focus, the real show is about to begin."
"Of course their ability to fight is only part of it," Nezu said as he opened the hatch protecting a large red button and pushed it. "The true test begins now. Let's see how these students respond when their back is against the wall."
From the safety of the control room, they couldn't hear it, but beneath each training ground, large elevators began to operate, delivering a massive Executor robot to the surface of each training ground.
Kyoka heard the buzzer ring out as it announced the two minute warning. Tilting her head skyward, she practically felt the silence hanging in the air. A momentary reprieve as students everywhere paused to assess the situation.
And underneath the silence, something else. Quickly dropping into a crouch, Kyoka jammed her earjacks into the ground and gasped at what she heard. There, beneath the training ground, was the loud grinding of machinery operating.
"What's that?" Kyoka murmured to herself.
She didn't have to wait long for her answer; as one set of machinery stopped, another started. Then she felt the rumbling under her feet. Pulling her jacks out of the ground, she looked around. She certainly didn't need her enhanced hearing to hear the explosions nor the sounds of buildings collapsing as metal slammed into concrete.
"What's that?" someone yelled out.
"Look at the size of that thing!" another student exclaimed.
Whirling around, Kyoka finally saw what they were talking about. The zero-point robot.
"Would've been nice if they told us how big it was," Kyoka muttered under her breath as she examined the pipe in her hands. While it was helpful in fending off attacks against the smaller robots, it felt miniscule and ineffective against the mammoth machine. Shaking her head, Kyoka tapped her forehead with the pipe. "If I can't face this, then what am I even doing here? My parents, my friends, everyone - I can't let them down!"
Steeling herself, she walked over to a building and plugged her earjacks in. She immediately grimaced as the noise of the zero-pointer threatened to overwhelm her, drowning out practically everything else. But she had to focus! There had to be something out there!
"I don't even know if this will work." Among the din, Jiro picked up a familiar voice. "Jack-girl, if you can hear this, we need help! Students are trapped in a collapsed building! I'd get help, but well - you saw me! I need you to bring help. Ok ok - don't worry! I'll get you out of there. Hey, can anyone hear me? Jack girl - can you hear me? I don't even know if you can respond so I'll just keep yelling for as long as I can…"
Kyoka felt her jaw tense as she pushed through the headache already forming. If I'm going to be a hero, I'll have to deal with worse. Pinpointing the source of the sound, she pulled her jacks out with a gasp and quickly stuffed them into the padded collar of her shirt to give herself a temporary reprieve from the noise.
Quickly gazing around, she spotted another student nearby - a tall boy with multiple arms and a mask that covered his nose and mouth. From the looks of it, he was suffering a similar sensory overload that she was. Jogging over to him, she waved her arms in an attempt to get him to focus. "Hey, I need your help!"
She caught the moment of surprise in his eyes before he shook his head to clear it. To her surprise, he didn't speak directly. Instead a mouth appeared on one of his arms and he spoke through that. "What kind of help? Don't tell me you're thinking of taking that thing on!"
Kyoka's eyes went wide. "No, nothing like that!" She tilted her head in the robot's direction. "That thing's collapsed a building and some students are trapped, I need some help getting them out."
"We have to get past that thing?"
"Yes." Kyoka steeled herself. "Are heroes allowed to run away just because they're scared?"
The student shot another hesitant glance toward the robot before he looked at Kyoka, resolve also building in his eyes. "You're right. Lead the way."
Flashing a grateful smile to the student, Kyoka took off running toward a side alley. He easily kept pace and followed her as she slid out the other end and took off running. A pair of one-point robots stood in their way, and they didn't even bother to slow down as they each chose one and smashed through them. Moments later, they passed the zero-pointer and dashed down another alleyway, emerging in the wake of the robot's path.
Kyoka quickly surveyed the area before she pointed with her pipe. "There!"
With a nod, the other student took off and Kyoka followed, seeing a now-familiar floating set of clothes as they approached.
"Heyyyy! You heard me!"
"Barely," Kyoka remarked. "It was like picking out a voice in a hurricane."
"You actually heard her?" the student asked in surprise.
Kyoka flashed a confident smirk. "I've been training to isolate and pick out noise. It's going to come in handy."
"I guess I'd better start that," the boy mused. "It sounds handy."
"Talk about training later!" the invisible girl said, pointing to a pile of debris. "We need to clear this first! I saw some students run into that building to take shelter, but then the entrance collapsed when the zero-pointer came through."
Kyoka looked at the debris then back to the other students. "Well, what are we waiting for?"
Working quickly and efficiently, the three pulled rocks, beams, and pipes away. It didn't take long for them to open up a hole and make contact with the three students inside, and with their help, they soon had a hole wide enough to pull them out.
"Thanks for the save," one of them gratefully said as they grasped the large boy's massive arm, using it to steady themselves as they came out of the entrance.
"I know we're supposed to be competing against each other, but I couldn't just leave you trapped in there!" the invisible girl said. "Who knows how long you would have been stuck in there!"
Kyoka opened her mouth to respond, but then they heard the loud buzzer announcing the end of the exam. Looking at her companions with a weary smile, she dropped the pipe from her hand, thankful for her training and years of instrument lessons building up the callouses on her hand. "And that's a wrap."
Helping the one injured boy, the six made their way toward the exit of the training grounds.
Himiko raced through the streets, scanning for more robots when she was suddenly halted in her tracks by the sound of a buzzer.
"Shit! I've only got two minutes," Himiko exclaimed, mentally tallying her points. "And I don't think I have enough…"
She didn't have time to worry about her total, however, when she felt the ground quake beneath her. Looking around frantically, she quickly identified the source - the titanic zero-pointer robot.
"Damn it Izu, why didn't you warn me how big it was," Himiko cursed under her breath. It certainly was something to be avoided, but judging from how big it was, that would still prove to be a challenge. "Think Himi. What would Izu do? Probably something that would get Ocha to yell at him." She giggled at her own joke, her face screwed up in concentration.
What would piss Emily off the most?
The answer to both questions was obvious - an attempt to bring the robot down.
Himiko gave a pained sigh. "Izu is never going to let me live this down."
Looking down at her knives, they suddenly seemed small and insignificant in her hands. Sure she's taken down a bunch of robots with them, but they all had weak points.
Wait! That's it!
Himiko's face split into a grin. They had to have some sort of weak point on the thing. Examining the machine, she decided it was probably near the top where its 'head' was. But how to get up there?
Himiko looked around for a solution, her grin turning predatory as she noticed one of the other examinees standing there, paralyzed in fear. A short girl with long blonde hair, large blue eyes, and a pair of horns that sat atop her head. Earlier, she saw that the girl's horns were strong enough to lift the robots in the air - which meant they'd be more than capable of lifting her own lithe frame.
Racing over, she grabbed the other girl's arm, causing her to jump in shock. "Hey, how far can you shoot your horns?"
"Why?" the other girl asked suspiciously.
Himiko pointed to the zero pointer. "I need to get on top of it."
"You what?!" the other girl exclaimed, certain she heard Himiko wrong.
"Yep!" Himiko chirped. "I think I can stop it, but I need to get on top of it first!"
The other girl put an index finger to her lips as she seemed to weigh the decision before deciding at worst she wasted a precious few seconds to help Himiko. And since the robot was worth zero points, it didn't matter if she destroyed it or not. Bobbing her head, she looked Himiko in the eyes. "Okay. I shoot, you grab my horns."
"Got it!" Himiko replied, grinning. As she felt the thrill settle in, she started to realize how Izuku must feel when he does his crazy schemes.
Taking a deep breath, the other girl aimed her horns near the head of the zero-pointer and fired. Himiko reacted instantly, her honed reflexes letting her easily wrap her hands around the horns as she found herself airborne. She felt a thrill run through her as she watched the training ground get further away. And the robot got much closer.
As she approached, Himiko felt herself slowing down slightly and suspected that was part of the other girl's quirk - she'd have to thank her later if she ever saw her again. Taking a deep breath, she released her grip, dropping onto the titanic head of the machine. Looking over the edge, she saw the same thing in all of the other training grounds - a massive robot rampaging through. Idly, she wondered if anyone else would attempt an assault on the robot or if suicidally crazy ideas came with her now-green hair.
Keeping a low profile to minimize the risk of falling, Himiko searched around for something, anything that could be a weak point. It took her a few seconds, but she eventually found familiar yellow-and-black stripes outlining a square of space. Smiling, she quickly went over and began feeling around. It didn't take long for her to find a depression. Inserting her finger and tugging caused a panel to slide away, revealing a small handle. Her smile broke out into a full grin; she pulled the handle and was rewarded as the square opened up, revealing an access corridor.
"Of course something this big would have something like this!" Himiko said triumphantly. Even though she didn't watch many science fiction animes, the ones she did always had the heroes sneaking around in cramped corridors and hidden tunnels on ships, so it would make sense that giant robots would have them too!
Himiko grabbed the ladder that revealed itself to her and quickly slid down it until she ended up in the 'heart' of the robot. There, she saw a small panel filled with controls and readings that were meaningless to her. The many exposed wires behind the panel, however… With a manic smile, Himiko drew her knives and slashed the wires, watching as sparks flew and lights flickered.
She felt a sense of satisfaction as the robot grinded to a halt… only to immediately have that sensation replaced with panic when she felt the robot starting to tilt and sway.
"Shit!" Himiko swore before she turned around and grabbed the ladder, pulling herself up as quickly as she could.
The square of light was quickly growing in size when she felt an explosion below her. With an uncharacteristic yelp she clung tightly to the ladder, biting her lip hard enough to draw blood as she tried to keep herself from falling down. Seconds later, she breathed a sigh of relief, quickly hauling herself out.
As she poked her head out, her fears were confirmed as she saw the robot falling over and rapidly gaining speed as gravity asserted its dominance over the immobile form. Flipping herself out, she clung to the ladder like a safety net as she frantically looked around for a solution that didn't involve her splatting against the pavement.
There!
There was a nearby office building that she was going to pass really close to. It would be risky, but the odds were better than getting thrown into the ground. Taking a deep breath, she released her grip on the handle and slid down the robot. As she neared the lip at the end, she kicked off, launching herself at the glass windows that made up the side of her building. Ducking her head and wrapping her arms around it, she felt herself slam into the wall.
Fortunately the gambit paid off, and Himiko felt the glass shatter all around her, sending her through the window where she rolled unceremoniously through the office until she slammed into a desk.
"Ow."
Dragging herself upright, Himiko could feel numerous tiny cuts all across her body, and she knew she would be nursing a massive bruise later. "Maybe I can visit Recovery Girl before I leave?" she asked nobody as she nursed her side.
Walking back to the window, she surveyed her handiwork. The robot lay on its side, a large cloud of dust settling around it. It was then that the final buzzer sounded, announcing the end of the exam.
Without anything else to do, Himiko let herself collapse, sitting down in the middle of the broken glass. She knew she needed to eventually leave, but as the adrenaline drained out of her, she didn't trust herself to stand right now, let alone walk.
"Maybe I'll leave the insane heroics to Izu after all."
Aika was riding the explosion upward when she heard the buzzer go off. At the same time, her view in the air offered her a clear picture of a massive zero-point Executor rising out of the ground.
Holy crap! What am I supposed to do against that?!
The distraction cost her, and she was unprepared for the landing, smashing into the ground. Once again thankful for her quirk, she paused her song long enough to stand up and dust herself off.
"Well, nothing's broken! Any landing you can walk away from…" Aika said nervously as she rubbed the back of her head. Opening her eyes, she saw the massive robot rumbling toward the main plaza.
"It must be going toward the other students! But what can I do against something like that?"
Aika groaned in exasperation until she saw a large pack of robots heading in the same direction. "Oh no! Everyone's gonna be distracted by the big guy. Someone could really get hurt if those robots run into other students." As she worried, she felt a piece of a puzzle click into place. She snapped her fingers. "Of course! I could do what Blasty did! If I distract them, I'll keep the others safe! And earn some more points in the process!"
With a fierce smile, she punched her fist into her palm. "Alright, let's do this!"
Aika ran toward the robots, singing at the top of her lungs as she activated her quirk for hopefully the final time. It did the trick, and a pair of Imperial robots began to turn around to face her. Refusing to back down, she planted her feet and threw a punch, her fist impacting the metal and causing it to collapse under her assault as the first robot exploded. It did the trick, and the remaining robots began turning toward her.
Bring it on! I'm not scared of a few robots!
Aika stood there, dancing between the robot's limbs and attacks as she launched her own counterattacks, trying to be as loud and obnoxious as possible. It was less efficient than her previous battles, but if she destroyed the robots too quickly, they might ignore her and attack the other students. In many ways it was practice for singing at a concert. If she wanted to be a famous singer, she needed to be able to keep all eyes on her, after all.
It was harder than she expected, each second stretching on for an eternity as the timer counted down, but Aika refused to back down! She failed to get into UA in both Izuku and Ochako's previous timelines, but both of them worked hard to help her this time. She refused to let them down!
As the crowd of robots grew thick, she became more aggressive, throwing out a flurry of punches and elbows in an attempt to shatter as many robots as she could. She lost count of how many she took down, but it didn't matter - she had achieved her goal and pulled a large crowd of robots, she just had to hope that she bought the other students enough time.
After what felt like an eternity, the final buzzer rang out. It was like a switch was flipped as the lights on the robots grew dim and they stood down. Aika watched cautiously as the robots all began backing away and turning around, leaving her alone surrounded by a circle of scrap - the remains of their fallen brethren.
Breathing out a huge sigh of relief, Aika collapsed to her knees. "That was hard work!" Her face scrunched up in concentration as she tried to add up how many robots she destroyed. With an exasperated groan, she admitted defeat. "It's no use, I can't remember past fifty-five points. I just hope I have enough points to offset the written exam!"
"Wow, you two are amazing!" Nejire exclaimed, a serene smile on her face as Izuku and Ochako landed in front of her.
"Thanks!" Ochako flashed a bright smile. She knew the other girl was probably reaching her limit after that last barrage of attacks - they just had to hold out a little bit longer!
"We should train together sometime," Mirio said from behind Ochako.
"Only if we get into UA!" Ochako reminded as she ducked underneath Mirio's blow, a green glow emanating from her hand and cracking the concrete beneath her as she used her quirk to drastically increase its gravity. "Why don't you be nice and back off?"
Mirio chuckled as he adjusted his footing, but it gave Ochako the moment she needed to take off. "Sorry, they told us not to hold back. Now I can see why!"
Instead of going upward, Izuku launched himself forward, aiming at Nejire. Without hesitation she took off, using her Wave Motion to carry her upward and out of Izuku's reach. "What Mirio said! You two are giving it your all, and we are too!"
Raising her hands, Nejire fired a blast of energy at the wall where Izuku was aiming for, damaging it. She had gotten better at predicting their movements and had adjusted her shots in an attempt to slow them down, forcing the pair to split up. But Izuku was learning too. Throwing out a tendril of Blackwhip, he pulled himself upward, landing just above the damage before he jumped to the floor and finally upward in a series of maneuvers to correct his trajectory.
Ochako met him on the ceiling and wrapped her arms around him before the pair took off. With the amount of damage and debris around the arena, it was risky for them to be together, but it was one they were willing to take.
"You think there's enough debris?" Izuku asked as he surveyed the ground around the arena.
"Yep!" Ochako flashed a cheery smile. "You ready?"
"Mhm." Izuku bobbed his head.
Without another word, Ochako let go of Izuku, the two slightly separating as they approached the ground. As expected, Nejire shot a Wave Motion blast at the ground, exploding the area Ochako was aiming at. It would be enough to throw her off if she was planning on using the ground as a springboard, but she wasn't. Smirking, she flipped herself over and landed on the ground in a crouch, smoke expanding outward as she touched the ground with both hands.
A pulse of pink light spread out from her hands, using her quirk to remove the gravity through the ground in an area around her. An evolution of her quirk thanks to One For All's influence. Ochako had discovered that she can chain zero gravity through objects, affecting everything in an area with her quirk without having to touch each object individually. After she had discovered the evolution by accident, she had begun to train it, developing new special moves to use both by herself and when partnered with Izuku.
"Izuku," Ochako called out. "Combo attack: Shooting-"
"-Stars," Izuku finished as he slammed into the ground behind her and unleashed his tendrils of Blackwhip. Using the quirk, he swatted the air, launching all of the projectiles toward the waiting Nejire and Mirio.
Both second-years were caught by surprise as they watched the debris come flying at them. Nejire raised her hands and launched Spiral Waves at the debris, but their curved nature wasn't enough to stop them as she found herself getting pelted by the debris. Mirio tried to relieve his partner by phasing through Nejire and taking the brunt of the blows for her, which proved to be his undoing.
In the instant Mirio felt the first rock hit his chest, a pink comet came flying out of the smoke, punching him in the chest and knocking him backward, landing into Nejire and sending both flying across the room.
At that moment, a loud buzzer rang out, announcing the end of the exam. Ochako relaxed her stance as she turned and saw Izuku emerging from the smoke, a large grin on his face. Her grin grew to match his own as she jogged over, pulling him into a hug that he quickly reciprocated.
"Ow, you pack quite a punch," Mirio said as he walked back to the center, his arms wrapped around Nejire as the two supported each other. From the other side of the room, they watched Tamaki emerge from the control room alongside Nighteye and Ryukyu.
"Thanks," Ochako said cheerily. "I've had to train a lot to control the amount of gravity behind my attacks."
"No wonder they called us in," Nejire remarked as she stared at the two in awe. "You two would have destroyed the normal exam."
"Precisely," Nighteye interjected as he joined the four students. "And even with the restrictions placed on them, they have shown themselves to be promising students."
"Imagine if they learned under you, Sir," Mirio said as he turned to his mentor.
Nighteye pinched his chin as he appeared to think about that. A ruse, Izuku assumed, but important nonetheless. Bobbing his head, he looked at his student. "Perhaps I may make an offer to one of them when it comes time for internships. What do you think, Ryukyu?"
"I'm wondering why wait." Ryukyu smiled at Ochako. "I might talk to Nezu about offering one to Uraraka as soon as school starts."
"Really?" Nejire asked, looking at her mentor in excitement.
"I- you don't have to do that!" Ochako protested, raising her hands defensively.
"Oh this is so exciting!" Nejire floated over to Ochako and wrapped her arm around the brunette's shoulders. "You can be my kouhai this year!"
Mirio laughed at the antics of his friend before he turned toward Izuku. "Well I guess that makes you my kouhai then!" He gave Izuku a bright smile and a thumbs up. "What do you say?"
Izuku felt an excited grin spread across his face. Mirio's personality was always infectious, and he had admired the older student in the past - even if he didn't get to spend much time with him due to the loss of his quirk. Even with the added knowledge he had, he still felt like he could learn a lot from him. "That sounds great!"
"Well then," Nighteye began, "it appears your test is concluded. We will give our report to Nezu, but I suspect you two won't have anything to worry about."
"How'd you think everyone did?" Ochako asked Izuku as she stepped out of the locker room.
"Why don't we go find out?" Izuku replied as their hands found each other.
The pair fell into an easy pace as they navigated the familiar halls of UA to its exit and stepped out into the afternoon sun. Along the path, they noticed small groups of students clustered in twos and threes talking about the exam as they looked around.
"There!" Izuku pointed when he found the familiar color of Montross uniforms crowded around a bench.
The two made their way over to their friends, hearing Aika's voice as she excitedly recapped her own exam.
"And before I knew it I was surrounded by robots! But I kept singing up until the very end!" Aika said proudly.
Jiro smirked at her friend before she turned to see Izuku and Ochako. "There you are. We were wondering what happened to you."
"We had to fight some second years," Izuku began to explain.
"Wait, you fought other students?" Aika asked.
"Mhm," Ochako said with a weary smile. "We had to survive as long as we could. But we did it!"
"Sounds rough," Kyoka said sympathetically. "But I can see why - you guys would have destroyed those robots!"
"Speaking of," Aika said as she turned toward Himiko. "Tell them what you did!"
"Do I have to?" Himiko asked. When she lifted her head, Izuku noticed just how tired she looked.
"What happened to you Himi?" Izuku asked, suddenly concerned. "Did Recovery Girl have to use her quirk on you?"
"Yes." Himiko glared at Izuku. "This is your fault."
"My fault?!" Izuku took a half step back at the accusation.
"When I saw the zero-point robot I asked myself 'What would Izu do?'-"
"Oh no." Izuku paled.
Beside him, Ochako burst out laughing. "You didn't!"
"I did!" Himiko chirped. "And I succeeded! But well-" Himiko felt her permanent blush spreading. "-the fall kind of sucked."
"Oh no!" Izuku exclaimed. "What happened?"
"I managed to land in a nearby office building, but it still hurt." Himiko frowned. "Considering how tired I am, I must have cracked a few ribs or something."
"Still puts you ahead of Izu," Ochako smirked.
"Wait, what?!" All three of the other girls suddenly stared at Izuku with laser-focus.
"Ocha-" Izuku whined.
"Sorry Izu, time to fess up."
"What happened?" Aika asked.
"Yeah, tell us Midoriya," Jiro crossed her arms.
"Umm…" Izuku looked around to make sure nobody could hear him. "I actually destroyed a zero-pointer but well… I kind of broke both of my legs and my right arm in the process? And I almost died if it wasn't for…" Izuku's eyes drifted over to Ochako, hoping they would get the point.
Himiko groaned. "I should have known." Pushing herself upright, she wobbled unsteadily until Aika came up beside her, allowing her to steady herself. "Let's go, Emmy's waiting for us at the cafe and I could use some caffeine right now."
"Are you sure you don't want to go home?" Izuku asked.
Himiko winced. "No, I'm not ready to face mom until I've regained some energy."
Izuku shot his sister a sympathetic look, trying his hardest to ignore the laughter from his girlfriend as the five of them left the school grounds to celebrate finishing the exam.
Chapter 53: Exam Results
"Katsuki, you got a letter from UA," Mitsuki Bakugo called out when she heard her son enter.
"Hell yeah!" Katsuki bellowed triumphantly. "Time to see my first place score!"
Ever since his encounter with that slime villain ten months ago, he had been training himself hard. Whenever he could, he worked on improving his body and his quirk. There was no way he couldn't have scored anything less than first!
Grabbing the sealed envelope from the counter, he bolted for his room, slamming the door closed. He tore the envelope open to find a holographic message disk, much to his excitement. He set it on his desk and pressed the button to activate it. A grin appeared on his face as he saw none other than All Might standing there smiling at him.
"Greetings, young Bakugo! I Am Here… to discuss your exam results!"
Bakugo watched with a fierce smile as All Might went over the boring written exam. He had scored in the top two percent of scores, which was a little disappointing but not surprising, and then All Might began talking about the part that really mattered - the practical portion.
"And during the practical exam, you scored an impressive sixty-four villain points!" All Might proclaimed proudly. "Unfortunately, due to your focus on the villains above all else, you didn't gain any additional hero points, leaving you with a final score of sixty-four. It is still an impressive score, enough to earn you ninth place on the entrance exam!"
"Ninth place?!" Katsuki exclaimed.
With a dramatic sweep of his arm, All Might showed Katsuki the leaderboard. His eyes went wide as he scrutinized the scores.
Izuku Midoriya - 129 Points
"I didn't even see Deku there! How did he get more points than me?!"
"Congratulations!"
Elsewhere in Mustafu, at a local Quirk Fried Chicken restaurant, six friends were holding an impromptu celebration after five of them received their own acceptance letters to UA.
"I still can't believe I did it!" Aika squealed, tightly clutching the disk in her hands.
"I'm impressed that you managed to tie with this Kirishima person for third place," Jiro admitted, a note of fondness in her voice. "Bet that made up for the written portion, huh?"
"Yeah yeah, don't remind me - Oh yeah!" Aika turned toward Izuku and Ochako. "Can you tell us about our classmates?"
Izuku and Ochako shared a nervous glance, quickly engaging in silent debate before turning back toward their energetic friend.
"I think you'll get along just fine with Kirishima," Ochako explained. "He has a hardening quirk just like you, actually. Although he doesn't sing - instead his body becomes hard and rocklike."
"Eww." Aika made a face. "I'm glad my quirk works just by singing!" She exclaimed as she puffed out her chest. "Plus, it lines up with my goal to be a famous singer and idol in my spare time!"
"You still think you're going to have spare time?" Emily raised an eyebrow.
"I found a bunch for us this last semester," Himiko teased, earning her a glare from the blonde.
"You know what I meant! Idol work is hard and time consuming - a full time job!"
"I'll find a way!" Aika punched her open palm with her fist.
"The rest of us didn't do half bad either!" Himiko pointed out smugly.
"Yeah, but at least we didn't need to get the high score to compensate for our written exams," Jiro said playfully.
"Ehehehe." Aika rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "It worked. That's what matters, right?"
"Yep!" Ochako nodded cheerfully. "We managed to get Shizu into UA. That means we can do anything!"
Despite Aika's weak protests, the other five shared a laugh at that.
"UA is sneaky though - not telling us about those Hero Points," Jiro remarked.
"It makes sense," Emily spoke up. "What would be the point if you knew about them ahead of time? Aizawa does it all the time in his class - you need to prepare for unexpected situations."
"Doesn't that break your trust?" Jiro asked. "Having a teacher lie to you and hide information?"
"Yes," Emily confessed, "but Aizawa does take his homeroom duties seriously. Even if we don't trust him, he still tries to ensure our needs are taken care of. From what I hear, Kan does too!"
"Does the fact that you babysit Eri change anything?" Ochako asked curiously.
From their many conversations, she had a better experience with the homeroom teacher than Izuku did, and they both knew this version of Aizawa was, thankfully, closer to hers than the version Izuku remembered. That didn't change the fact that Eraserhead the hero and Aizawa the father figure for Eri were vastly different from Aizawa-sensei, the homeroom teacher.
"Nope," Emily declared smugly. "He basically treats me like two different people. It's for the best, really!"
"At least he doesn't treat you any worse," Himiko added as she leaned into her girlfriend. "Some bullshit about showing everyone you don't have special privileges."
"Nope!" Emily wrapped her arm around Himiko as she stole one of her fries, much to the other girl's protests. "His 'Rational Logic' may be frustrating in class, but it does have its benefits!"
While the others descended into conversation, Izuku looked over to Ochako and dropped his voice, speaking in hushed tones so only she would hear. "With Shizu and Himi making it in, that means at least two students didn't make it in. Plus, I never made it into the hero course in your time."
"I know," Ochako said solemnly. "Do you want to talk to Nezu about it?"
"You know me too well," Izuku teased with a playful smile on his face. Ochako giggled. "Think we can go talk to him?"
"Mhm." Ochako looked at their friends. "Tomorrow though? Let's celebrate everyone getting in today."
"Okay." Izuku rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry, I'm getting ahead of myself."
With a grin, Ochako bumped his shoulder with hers. "That's why I'm here - to keep you out of trouble."
"What're you two whispering about?" Himiko asked pointedly.
"Ocha's just wondering how I managed to get more points than her on the exam," Izuku answered, earning a glare from his girlfriend.
The other four students laughed before the conversation shifted to their future plans. Now that they had been accepted into UA, all of their dreams felt much more real; the excitement was palatable.
As Izuku and Ochako approached Nezu's office, they heard the door unlock.
"Come in!" the principal called from the other side of the door. While the trick often spooked other students, the pair had spent enough time working with Nezu that the trick no longer worked. They didn't even stop as they entered. "I wasn't expecting to see you two so soon. Congratulations on passing the exam."
"Thank you," Izuku said. "And well, the exam's actually why we're here."
"We did the math," Ochako began, "and with Himi, Shizu, and well… Izuku, all passing the entrance exam, that means some of our classmates didn't make it."
"Ah yes, the consequences of you changing the future," Nezu noted as he hopped off of his chair. "I suspected you would be worried about that."
"You did?" Izuku asked in surprise.
"Indeed! This was the first time you were forced to make a decision like this - knowing there is only room for thirty-eight more hero students, do you let events play out like they did, or do you help your new friends from this timeline instead."
"I guess I never thought of it like that," Ochako said. "We just helped because it was the right thing to do."
"It may have been, but there are repercussions," Nezu explained.
He pressed a hidden button on his desk. They heard the door lock behind them as he walked over to his hidden safe. Unlocking it, he took out a pair of folders and placed them on the table. "The contents of your original class rosters, as well as the new roster for class 1-A. Class 1-B remains unchanged."
Picking up the roster, Ochako immediately noticed and felt the loss of her rival from the list. Head snapping up, she looked at Nezu. "Inasa Yoarashi isn't going to be here?!"
"I'm afraid not." Nezu let out a sigh. "There was a disagreement between him and Shoto Todoroki during the recommendation exam. Despite being the highest scoring student, he declined our invitation, stating that as the cause. It is a shame. He is a very passionate young man. It is unfortunate that he decided to go to Shiketsu for his schooling over his opinion of one student."
Izuku shook his head sadly. "Shoto…"
"Hey, we'll knock some sense into him!" Ochako's smile brightened. "You've got practice now! And I'll help in any way that I can!"
"Thanks." Izuku smiled at Ochako before turning his attention back to the roster. "The other two students missing are Minoru Mineta-"
"Ugh, good riddance." Ochako made a face.
Izuku gave her a sympathetic look before looking back down. "And Hanta Sero."
"They placed thirty-eighth and thirty-seventh in the exam, respectively," Nezu elaborated. "Mineta did not score any Hero points, which may have put him over the top, and Sero had a mixture of both, but when his score was averaged with his written exam results, he fell below the cutoff line."
"What will happen to them?" Izuku asked.
"I believe they will both be fine," Nezu assured them. "While most schools aren't willing to share their rosters even amongst each other, those two have placed as high as they did at my school. No matter what their second school of choice is, they should have no problem placing within the top ten of the entrance exam, if not taking the coveted first place spot for themselves."
"If they applied to other schools," Izuku muttered, thinking about his own application.
"I can confirm they have," Nezu said. "Their application sheets both listed multiple other schools on them. So I believe that even if they are not at UA, they will be in good hands and will be able to pursue their dreams elsewhere."
"Speaking of pursuing dreams," Izuku tentatively started, "what happened to Hitoshi Shinso?"
"Oh, hmm." Nezu's voice got quiet.
He should have expected Izuku to ask about the indigo-haired student, but for some reason, it had slipped past him. Yet another one of his flaws that he would have to seek to rectify. Recalling all of the files of applicants, he quickly brought up the mental image of Shinso's file and reviewed it.
"It appears that your attempt to help fell on deaf ears," Nezu explained. "He didn't act particularly heroic, earning him no bonus points, and he didn't have any training to help him defeat the robots the same way your sister or other applicants did."
"Oh." Izuku's face fell.
"I'm sorry Izu," Ochako murmured.
"It's ok, I just-" Izuku forced a tight smile on his face. "I hoped it would work, you know?"
"Indeed, it would have been another data point of interest," Nezu agreed. "But despite your efforts, some things just cannot be changed."
"I'll… keep that in mind," Izuku said.
Ochako silently squeezed his shoulder, offering him strength. He responded with a small smile, silently thanking her.
"Well then, is there anything else you need?" Nezu asked the pair.
"No sir!" they both replied.
"Very well, I believe we are done here then." Nezu retrieved the folders and sealed the safe. "I can't wait to see you back here in six weeks to begin as students. I hope you find this first year to be much more pleasant than your last one."
"Us too," Ochako said.
All For One sat, enjoying a quiet moment of privacy; his fingers traced across the page of the comic book until he heard a beep informing him of an incoming call.
"This had better be important, or else," he growled as he turned his chair to face the computer, pressing the button with more force than necessary. "What is it?"
"Sir," the fearful voice of a middle aged woman came across the line. The parent of one of the children he had ordered to take UA's entrance exam, he recalled. "W-we have good news."
"Excellent," All For One said with more cheer than necessary. "What do you have to report?"
"Our son, Yuga, has been accepted to UA, as you requested."
"Wonderful!" All For One gave a bright smile. "It seems I had chosen correctly with the quirk I gave him. Please pass along my congratulations."
"W-we will sir," the woman said. "And there was something else."
"Oh?" All For One asked curiously.
"It's about the admission letter - All Might was the one who told our son the results!"
"All Might you say?"
"Yes! Apparently he is going to begin teaching at UA next semester and wanted to tell the students first."
"That is good news. Thank you for sharing it with me."
"Of course, sir!" the woman replied a little too quickly. "Do you have anything else for us?"
"Not now. Tell your son to keep an eye out for anything… interesting when he gets to UA and keep me informed of what he finds."
"We will! Goodbye, sir."
"Goodbye, and congratulations again - your son must be quite talented to have passed UA's admission exam."
When the light on the phone went off, All For One sighed and set his comic book aside as he pressed another button to contact Dr. Garaki. All Might teaching at UA meant he had finally chosen a successor. While it would explain some of the strangeness that had occurred recently, it didn't account for all of it, and he only had six short weeks to plan his next move.
"Freedom!" Aika cheered as their group gathered, having survived their final day of middle school exams.
"Be glad you didn't have to take those twice," Himiko complained as she crossed her arms. "I'm done with middle school."
"It was worth it though, right?" Izuku asked hopefully.
Himiko gave her brother a fond stare. "I guess I can't complain."
"So can we talk about hero costumes now?" Aika asked.
Jiro laughed before poking her friend's shoulder with an ear jack. "You've been excited about those ever since we got our paperwork."
"I have!" Aika said. "I've been thinking about them for weeks! But you've insisted we study!"
"We still need to pass, you know," Ochako reminded her.
"Aren't we getting close to the deadline though? I want my costume to be ready in time!"
"We'll have them ready," Izuku assured her. "But that doesn't mean we can't talk about designs in the meantime?"
"Traitor," Ochako said playfully as she nudged his shoulder.
"Yay! You're the best Midoriya!" Aika cheered.
"If you want, you two can talk costumes," Kyoka said. "We're going to go to Karaoke instead."
"You know I invited Emmy, right?" Himiko asked, a too-wide grin on her face. The American girl couldn't hold a tune to save her life, trying to substitute skill with pure enthusiasm. Emily horrified Kyoka enough that she tried to get her banned from all future trips to a karaoke bar, but she was outvoted.
"Ugh, nevermind," Kyoka dismissed, shuddering. "I guess I'm talking costumes with Mido and Aika instead."
After the group was done laughing, they packed their bags and departed, ready to celebrate clearing the final hurdle of middle school.
A week later, Izuku and Ochako waited in Tokyo Airport alongside Toshinori. The three stood in front of the international arrivals gate, waiting when they heard a familiar voice.
"Uncle Might!" Melissa called, seconds before she jumped at Toshinori. His reflexes kicked in, and he deftly caught her, spinning her around before setting her down next to him.
"Melissa, it's good to see you! Where is David?"
"I'm back here!" David called from several meters away, keeping watch over a small pile of luggage. "Mel left me with everything so she could say hi."
Toshinori laughed. "Of course she did!" Glancing at the three students, he walked toward his old friend to give them a moment to themselves.
"Welcome to Japan!" Ochako greeted cheerfully.
"Hopefully things will be happier this time," Izuku said in a sorrowful tone.
A flash of sadness crossed Melissa's eyes but she buried it. "Don't say things like that. The future's what we make of it right?"
"You're right." Izuku gave her an uplifting smile. "S-sorry."
"Don't be." Melissa shook her head before surprising both of them with a hug. "The past is the past. Now, we're going to build a great future!"
"That sounds nice," Ochako agreed as they separated before giving her a thumbs up. "I'm counting on you!"
"I won't let you down!" Melissa shot a glance back at her dad and Toshinori before returning her gaze to the pair. "Also, I think I need some time away from I-Island."
Izuku and Ochako followed her gaze and bobbed their heads in understanding.
"As long as you're ok with another scientist's daughter hanging out with us," Izuku said sheepishly.
"Right, Emily came from I-Island," Melissa snapped her fingers. "That'll be ok. Windsong doesn't have any ties with Shield Industries so everything will work-"
"You don't know how competitive she is," Ochako cut in with a shaky smile. "Really I don't know how Himi puts up with it."
"She wants to be a hero though," Izuku pointed out. "Since Melissa's in support, maybe that'll be enough?"
"Well, I'm sure it'll be okay!" Melissa exclaimed, quite unsure. "Besides, maybe we can come up with some gear together! Izuku said she likes talking about quirks and support gear, right?"
"Yeah she does," Izuku affirmed.
"See, it'll be fine!" Melissa beamed. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed her dad and uncle had finished up. "But first let's find some dinner, even though it was a chartered flight, it was long!"
"You sure you don't want to move into your apartment first?" David asked as he came up, followed by Toshinori.
"Absolutely!" Melissa took a pair of bags from her dad. "It'll still be there after we've eaten."
Without another word, the five departed the airport, loading all of the bags and cases into the back of a van helpfully provided by Might Tower before beginning their journey back to Mustafu.
"That's your costume design?" Emily stared incredulously at the page.
"Do you have a problem with it?" Himiko asked with a fake sweetness in her voice, knowing it would annoy her girlfriend.
"It makes you look like a vampire princess!"
"Exactly!" Himiko gave Emily a fanged smile. "And I don't want to hear it, miss 'I look like a scientist because of my parents.'"
Emily sputtered and glared at her girlfriend, knowing Himiko had a point. Finally sighing in defeat, she grabbed the paper from Himiko as well as a pen. "Fine, but we're filling your coat with as much support equipment as mine carries."
"Fine by me! You can also help me figure out where I want to put all the hidden pockets for my knives." Emily choked on air, causing her girlfriend to laugh. "Oh come on! You knew that!"
"I wasn't expecting you to hide them!"
Aika and Kyoka looked at the two girls and laughed nervously before they both turned toward Melissa.
"Hey Shield, can you help me out?" Jiro asked. "Mido had some ideas for support gear for me, and I could use your opinions."
"Me too!" Aika said. "I need some help with my designs."
"Hey-!" Emily looked up from her page to glare at Aika. "I gave you those designs!"
"Y-yeah, but you're busy…"
"I can help!" Emily insisted. "Just- let me finish Himi's first!"
Melissa gave Emily a sympathetic look. "I'm not going to barge in on your work, don't worry."
"Good." Emily tried to sound defiant, but the slumping of her shoulders gave her away. "I still haven't forgiven Izuku and Ochako for signing an exclusivity agreement with you."
"In our defense, we did that while you and Himi were on your first date," Ochako pointed out.
"Right," Himiko said as she wrapped herself around her girlfriend's arm. "We were having our shojo manga encounter, remember?"
Emily responded with a pout. "Fine, I'll forgive you for distracting me that day. But only because you're cute." She leaned forward and kissed Himiko before returning her attention to the paper with laser-focus.
"How's your costume looking Ocha?" Izuku asked as he leaned into his girlfriend to see her paper.
"Do you like the design?" Ochako asked him, dropping her voice so Emily wouldn't hear. "I'm trusting Melissa with all of the support gear, but I wanted something familiar."
"I know what you mean," Izuku said, as he examined the design of Ochako's outfit. It was primarily white-and-black with pink accents, in stark contrast to the costume he was most familiar with. But it still felt very Ochako. "I like it."
"Good!" Ochako chirped, rewarding her boyfriend with a kiss on the cheek. "Now show me your outfit…"
All of them continued for several hours, making sure their costume designs were perfect - better than perfect, because Izuku and Ochako knew what was coming, and insisted for everyone to be prepared to face the trials ahead.