Chapter 33: The Quiet Before the "Boing"
[A/N: Only one chapter yesterday! I was going for two, but the "repurposing" of the costume happened ahead of schedule and, well... I got distracted. Consider my soul healed and my motivation restored for the next update!]
[Izuku Midoriya POV]
The pencil lead snapped. Again.
"If the kinetic energy output of the Zero-Pointer is proportional to its mass, then a concentrated blow to the central processor—no, wait, Sunny said the central processor is usually protected by three-inch plating, but what if I use the 'Egg' method but instead of a microwave I think of it like a pressure cooker? No, that's worse, that's much worse..."
I stared at my notebook. My handwriting had devolved into a series of jagged, vibrating lines that looked less like analysis and more like a cry for help. I looked at the strand of hair sitting in a jewelry box on my desk—All Might's hair. Then I looked at the door, where I could hear the faint sound of a slide-whistle coming from Sunny's room.
Forty-eight hours.
In forty-eight hours, I have to prove I'm not just the "Quirkless Kid" or "Sunny's Brother." I have to be a Successor. My stomach did a somersault that felt suspiciously like a 100% Smash. I'm going to fail. I'm going to fail All Might, I'm going to fail Mom, and I'm going to be left standing on the sidewalk while the Chaos Crew marches into the future without me.
I need to do another set of pushups. I've done three hundred. Let's make it five.
[Katsuki Bakugo POV]
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.
The punching bag in my room wasn't just dented; it was smoking. The scent of burnt caramel was so thick I could taste it.
"Die," I grunted, slamming a right hook infused with enough juice to level a lamppost. "Die. Die. Die."
My palms were raw, but I didn't stop. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw that shitty video of me in the bunny suit. I saw the way the Gag-Boy looks at me—like I'm a side character in his personal Saturday morning cartoon. And I saw Deku. Deku, who was actually growing for once.
The UA exam isn't a test; it's a declaration. I'm the best. I'm the King. But why the hell are my hands shaking? It's just an exam. It's just a bunch of robots.
"Stop it," I snarled at my own reflection. "If you lose to a nerd and a cartoon, I'll blow you to hell myself."
I swung again. The bag finally burst, sand pouring out like a countdown. Two days.
[Aqua POV]
"Mother! I require more 'Holy Grapes'! My divine essence is being depleted by the sheer stress of existence!"
I sprawled across the sofa, my hair draped over the side like a blue waterfall. I haven't even looked at the study guide. Why should I? I am a Goddess! The admission board should be kneeling at my feet, offering me champagne and tax exemptions, not asking me to solve for x.
"Aqua, dear," my mother called from the kitchen, sounding far too calm. "Don't you have to practice your water manipulation for the physical portion?"
"Manipulation? I don't manipulate water, I am the water!" I wailed, kicking my legs. "Besides, Sunny said he'd handle the 'vibe' of the exam. If the robots try to attack me, I'll simply file a divine complaint with the universe."
I looked at the clock. The numbers were ticking. Each second felt like a debt collector knocking on my door. What if the water at UA is... tap water? I can't survive on that! I'm doomed! I'm the most beautiful, most talented, most unemployed goddess in history!
[Momo Yaoyorozu POV]
I sat at my mahogany desk, the structural schematics of a high-density captures-net displayed before me. My recommendation was already processed, my seat at UA secured by both merit and pedigree.
And yet, the silence of the Yaoyorozu estate felt... suboptimal.
"The lack of auditory chaos is statistically significant," I whispered, tapping my chin.
I found myself looking at the 'Chaos Crew' group chat. It was a deluge of nonsensical stickers and Bakugo's various threats of homicide. I should be focusing on my final pre-entry thesis, but my mind kept drifting to a certain boy in white gloves.
I am concerned. Not for myself, but for the structural integrity of the exam itself once Sunny and the others arrive. Will Izuku be able to maintain his composure? Will Mina's acidity levels stay within safety parameters?
"Nonsense," I murmured, straightening my posture. "They are individuals of exceptional, albeit unorthodox, capability. I must remain the anchor of 'Structure' for when they inevitably break the reality of the campus."
I adjusted my tea cup. It was 0.5 centimeters off-center. I didn't fix it. It felt like a rebellion.
[Kyoka Jirou / Denki Kaminari / Mina Ashido POV]
(In a Three-Way Video Call)
"AND THEN," Mina shouted, her face so close to the camera she was just a pink blur, "I told the guy at the store that if he didn't give me the neon-yellow duct tape, I'd melt his shoes! It's for the costume, guys! The 'Calamity' look!"
"Mina, we don't have costumes yet," I (Jirou) sighed, leaning back against my amp. I was twirling my jacks around my fingers so fast they were humming. "And stop yelling. My ears are literally vibrating."
"She has to yell, Jirou! It drowns out the sound of our impending social death!" Denki (Kaminari) chimed in. He was currently wearing a colander on his head for some reason. "I tried to study English today and I accidentally short-circuited my toaster. I think I forgot how to say 'Hello' in Japanese, let alone English."
"We're gonna be fine!" Mina cheered, though her eyes were darting around her room like she was looking for an exit. "Sunny's gonna be there! He'll just... I don't know, turn the robots into marshmallows!"
"He can't take the test for us, Mina," I said, my voice dropping.
The silence hit the call for exactly three seconds.
"WHATEVER! FIRST ONE TO THE ARCADE AFTER THE EXAM BUYS THE BURGERS!" Denki screamed.
"YOU'RE ON, SPARK-PLUG!"
We laughed. It was too loud. It was way too loud.
[Mei Hatsume POV]
"More power! It needs MORE POWER!"
The screwdriver was a blur in my hand. My 'babies' were laid out across the workshop floor, their internal gears singing a song of beautiful, mechanical destruction. The UA exam isn't an exam—it's a trade show! Ten thousand eyes on my inventions!
"If I can just stabilize the 50-ton output on the hydraulic legs, Sunny won't even need to use his 'Toon' tricks!" I cackled, a smudge of grease across my forehead.
I looked at a photo of the Chaos Crew pinned to my wall.
"Don't worry, babies," I whispered to the machines. "In two days, we're going to show the world that 'Physics' is just a word people use when they aren't smart enough to build a better reality."
[Fumikage Tokoyami POV]
The shadows in my room were restless.
"The abyss stares back today, Dark Shadow," I muttered, sitting cross-legged in the dark.
"I'M HUNGRY, FUMI! AND NERVOUS! LET'S GO GET AN APPLE!" Dark Shadow wailed, manifesting from my chest and pacing the ceiling.
"Silence. We must commune with the impending storm," I replied. But my hand was clutched tightly in my cape. The 'Chaos' Sunny brings is a light that burns, but the 'Reality' of UA is a cold, hard darkness.
What if the darkness is too much? What if we are found wanting by the scales of fate?
"TWO DAYS!" Dark Shadow screeched.
"Yes," I whispered. "Two days until the revelry in the dark begins."
[Sunny Midoriya POV]
I was currently standing on the ceiling of my room, wearing a tuxedo and juggling three sentient chainsaws and a rubber duck.
Vrrr-vrrr-QUACK-vrrr.
"Okay, script," I muttered, my eyes spinning in opposite directions. "The pacing is tight. We've got the training arc finished, the beach is clean, and the 'Successor' subplot is simmering nicely. But something's off. The tension is too high. The fourth wall is starting to sweat."
I snapped my fingers. [POP!] The chainsaws turned into bouquets of sunflowers. I landed on the floor with a squeak of my shoes.
I looked at the wall shared with Izuku's room. I could hear his frantic muttering. Across town, Bakugo was probably exploding a pillow, and the girls were pretending they weren't terrified.
Being the "Director" sucks sometimes. I can edit the world, I can ignore gravity, and I can pull a mallet out of my pocket that can level a building—but I can't edit the fear out of my friends' hearts. That's their character development. And I hate it.
I walked to my window and looked at the moon. It looked like a giant wheel of Swiss cheese tonight. I reached out, grabbed a slice of the moonlight, and turned it into a small, glowing coin.
"Two days," I grinned, though it didn't feel as 'Boingy' as usual. "Time to see if this show gets renewed for another season."
[Himiko Toga POV]
"Himiko, darling! Would you like some more red-velvet cupcakes? They match your lovely scarf!"
I looked at my mother. She was smiling. It was a wide, bright, perfect smile—the kind Sunny 'edited' onto her 10 years ago. She was wearing a bright red scarf, and my father was in the corner, humming a happy tune while he polished a set of red plates.
"No thank you, Mommy," I said, my voice sounding small in the 'Technicolor' kitchen.
"Are you excited for the big Hero test?" my father asked, ruffling my hair. "Our little girl, a hero! It's so... normal! We're so proud of how normal and happy you are!"
Normal.
I felt a cold shiver crawl up my spine. I looked at my hands. They were clean. No blood. No 'secrets.' Just a girl in a suburban house with parents who loved her because the world had been told to love her.
I stepped out onto the porch. The air felt heavy, like it was waiting for a punchline that wasn't coming.
The exam is in two days. Izuku is going. Bakugo is going. Even Aqua is going. They're all going to be Heroes. They're going to be 'The Good Guys.'
And me?
What happens when the 'Script' moves to UA? What happens when Sunny is surrounded by better people? Stronger people? People who don't have 'Hungry' thoughts?
I clutched my elbows. The thought I'd been trying to drown in strawberry milk finally surfaced: What if he doesn't need me anymore?
Without Sunny, the 'Red' in this world goes back to being scary. Without him, my parents go back to being beige. Without him... I'm just a monster in a school girl uniform.
I didn't want to hurt anyone. I didn't want to feel the 'Stab-Stab' itch. I just wanted to hear the [BOING] again. I wanted to know that even if the world changed, the sunshine wouldn't leave me behind.
I looked down the street toward the Midoriya house.
"Sunny-kun," I whispered.
I didn't grab my knives. I didn't grab my mask. I just started walking. I needed to see him. I needed to see him right now.
I needed to know that the comedy wasn't over.