Summary: A day goes bad to worse for 14 year old Izuku Midoriya, as he wakes up trapped in a computer simulation with nine different Horror games. The only objective given by the madman who locked him in? Beat all nine games, or be deleted.
A year later, a very different Izuku shows up at the Gates of UA to take the entrance exam.
What horrors has he faced?
Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17292761/chapters/40672001
Words count: 256,190
Chapters:53
Chapter 1: Zero-Day Patch
Uraraka Ochako rushed up the front steps of UA, heart thumping in her chest.
'Today is the day! The first step! All I have to do is pass the entrance exam. I can do this. I know it!'
Pumping herself up, she jogged down the path to the building, her eyes flashing over the people who were walking with her. From attention-grabbing blonde spikes, to pink skin, and even a towering teen with six arms.
And then her eyes passed over him and something deep in her skull tingled, a warning. Instinct, flickering on and making her notice the teen walking ahead of her.
He looked almost fragile. Short, thin, and most of his form hidden by a dark tan jacket with a fake fur collar that reached halfway up his cheeks, revealing only the barest smattering of freckles. He had earbuds in, his loosely spiked green hair falling to cover the rest of his face from the cheekbones up. Aside from the loose black slacks, and tan jacket, the only thing visible about him was the long boxy case slung over his shoulder. Likely tools or gear for the physical exam; if she was right, they were allowed if built by the applicant.
Beyond that was something about his stance. He moved with a weird silent grace, his steps surefooted. There was a tension to his frame, though.
As she jogged by his eye darted her way, deep fathomless green and black focusing on her, before flicking back forwards.
She wondered why she felt like she was being acknowledged, and then dismissed.
Breaking free from her thoughts, she passed the teen, hearing the faint bassbeat of his music as she passed within reaching distance.
'Why did he look familiar…. Dammit, I can worry later. Exam now!'
"No built-in cheat of a Quirk, no hero here to save you, and a drive to be somebody. Oh, you will work wonderfully."
"What? Sir… Who are you?"
"Heh, kid. Because the world isn't ready, and I'm tired of waiting. I want to see it. The end of all my work."
"What is it!? What do you want from me!?"
"I want you to become a survivor. I want you to win."
Tenya breathed deeply and slowly as he listens to Present Mic explain. However, he was interrupted from his thoughts by a very faint almost imperceptible sound from the side of the room. A slow repetitive sound. A rasp, metal on stone, he believed.
It took a few seconds for him to identify it, but when he did he frowned. A figure to the side, sitting on the very end of the very back row, a blade and sheath half-drawn in his lab, though the shape was too far and too awkwardly angled to make out. At the very least he could say it wasn't a katana. A ring with a flat stone plane sliding over its edge. If not for his acute hearing, he may have even missed it under Present Mic's voice. And if he could hear it, he guaranteed that most of the other people near the teen would also hear it, possibly drowning out the Instructions! What a diabolical plan to get a one up over the competition! In fact, Mic's words offered another question!
He stood up and offered his insight to the examiners.
"May I ask a question!? There appear to be no fewer than four varieties of faux villains on this handout! Such a blatant error, if it is one, is highly unbecoming for U.A., Japan's Top Academy! We are here to be molded into model heroes after all!" And then he turned his attention.
"And you, with the sword! Do you think this is a game!? Your maintenance is distracting and should have been done earlier!"
Cool sharp eyes looked up from under limp black and green hair, and the blade in his hand was closed with a smooth rasp of leather and wood on metal. "Apologies. It's a nervous tick of mine. I'll refrain." the words were soft and calm, but clear and easy to hear.
Accepting such a reason, Tenya focused back on the examiner, as the 0-pointer was revealed and explained.
For some reason, he couldn't help but feel cool sweat along his spine, as if he had just had a close encounter with something dangerous.
Later, as he readied for the exam, he couldn't help but seek out the green haired teen.
It took several moments, but there, in the shadow of the wall next to the gateway, stood the teen. His jacket was unzipped, revealing a tight black shirt, laced with what looked almost like rips made of metal. Hanging from it was black straps leading deeper into his jacket, where a myriad of shapes was hidden under the loose form.
And at his side, was the sword. It was clearer now, the long fairly wide blade, and the wide blocky crossguard.
Iida considered confronting the teen once more, berating him for off putting the other exam applicants with his demeanor, when the shout of "GO" from Present Mic grabbed his attention.
By the time Mic had finished yelling about how there were no countdowns in real life, the teen with green hair was gone.
And a downed 1 pointer rested in the street past the gates, far ahead of the rest of the examinees rushing that way.
"It's quite simple. There are 9 games I've loaded into the simulation, each one designed to teach you skills and force you to think… creatively."
"Complete every game, and you get to leave."
"And the world will get to see exactly how effective my designs are."
Aoyama grunted as he fired once more, another robot shattering under the force of his laser.
It had to be the tenth or so, most of them the higher value 2 and 3 pointers; and he still had plenty of time.
However, as he jogged forwards to search for a new target, he heard the whine of engines and turned a corner, to see a pair of 3-pointers charging the same green teen who had been singled out during the explanations.
He stood, sword held in his right hand as the two robots closed in. Taking a deep breath, Aoyama began to ready his laser once more before the teens left hand raised, and two shots rang out, the sound of gunfire startling the French teen.
He barely had time to register the matte black gun in the teen's left hand, held back and away from the 3 pointers charging him, and instead at the bot that had been flanking him, which was now smoking from a cracked lens in its 'face' and leaking oil from a hole punched through its chassis.
As the other robot grew closer, the gun was swiftly holstered, vanishing in the depths of the tan jacket, and the green haired teen stepped forwards.
A swinging robot fist, fast and strong enough to crush through cars and buildings, but missing green hair by over a foot. The teenager had stepped in closer than the fist was passing and brought his blade up and around, left hand supporting the right through its motions, moving faster than Aoyama could trace.
As he did, the gears and wiring of one shoulder flashed with sparks, wiring severed before he lunged up and off the knee of the robot. The blade pierced through the neck of the beast, through cables and wires, and was torn to the side, leaving the robot to twitch before slumping, disabled.
In all, both take-outs took less than ten seconds from start to finish. Aoyama had barely had time to gather his nerves from the sound of the gunshots before it was over.
Green eyes met blue, and the mysterious green-haired teenager pivoted and leapt down from the bot, before heading further away.
"Perhaps I should hunt down some less… contested points. Yes, that will be for the best."
Aoyama took a turn away from the young man with a sword, focusing back on his own task.
"Is that the kid." A tall man wearing loose dark clothes watched the screens, glancing down at the suited animal next to him. "The simulation survivor."
"It is. His application was quite interesting, I must say. Particularly when you consider his absence from schooling for the last year. The fact he managed to pass the practice exams sent to him is remarkable."
"Hmmm. He's skilled. What about his mind."
"There lie the problems. Isolation. Trauma. Stress and anxiety are all through the roof. But… he does seem to have a handle on it. Coping mechanisms and an understanding of his own triggers to a frankly wonderful degree."
"Hmmph. Send in the 0-pointer. I want to see how he reacts."
A button pressed, and the rumble of the robot moving echoed through the observation room.
Aizawa kept his focus on the green haired teen.
' Show me your potential, Izuku Midoriya.'
Uraraka gasped, dropping the robots around her, and panting from exertion and fighting off a wave as nausea.
"Tw…. Twenty-eight!"
She began to advance, running deeper into the city, before the ground rumbled.
"Wh-" She glanced up eyes widening as she took in the massive form of the robot that was grasping the building.
In fact, she was so distracted she didn't see the falling debris about to bury her.
But then a hand grasped her shoulder, and she felt herself get pulled. She recognized it as something almost like a judo flip, dry and sure hands gripping her arm and shoulder as she was pulled back and swung around from the collapsing building. She left the ground just as the impact of debris shook her out of her stupor, but by the time she was about to say something she was on the ground over three meters away from the impact, having been sent sliding across the street.
"Hey. You can nullify gravity, right?"
That voice was calm and smooth, and she glanced to see the teen she had noted on the way in. he stood, arm still holding her back behind him as he focused on the massive robot tearing through the area. His sword was sheathed at his side, and he was rummaging inside his jacket for something with his other hand.
"That thing's gonna cause more problems and damage than leaving it solves. I need to either stop its movements or kill it. Mind using your quirk on me for a minute?" he glanced back over his shoulder, eyes gleaming with intent.
"Uh, yeah. Here!" she tapped his arm, and suddenly she could feel the faint lift of pressure from his grip on her shoulder, fighting back the surge of nausea that it sent through her.
"Thanks. Hold it for about 30 seconds if you can. Sorta want to land after this."
And then he was gone, leaping up at an angle and, surprisingly given how hard she knew that sort of control in zero-gravity was, landing in a window frame several floors up across the street, and then leaping from there to the opposite side of the the damaged building the 0-pointer was crashing through.
She lost sight of him, the robot already moving and causing more damage to the street, kicking up dust and smoke from its actions. Any other applicant nearby had long since vanished from the scene, and with nausea racking through her skull, she could barely stand straight as she jogged away from the robot, before grabbing a nearby car for balance. Glancing around. she tried to find the teen so she could let him down from whatever he was doing—wait, was he on the robot's shoulder?
He was.
Standing braced to the neck of the 0-pointer, he was shoulder deep in what looked like a maintenance panel, sparks flying as he sabotaged it. Yanking back, he came away with a length of cable wrapped around his arm, and the robot began to shudder, sparks shooting from several joints as it seized up and shifted awkwardly, one arm suddenly falling limp and dragging the robot across the intersection away from her as it swung its head back and forth.
Worried, she focused on the teen to see him swinging around from the top of the head, anchored by the cord in his left hand, while a long blocky shape was pulled from under his large jacket with his right, two straps showing it had clearly been cinched tight to his frame under the concealing outfit.
But the profile was unmistakable.
Grabbing the frame of the 0-pointers 'face' the green haired teen swung around, and landed, feet braced and wide, as the double-barreled shotgun in his hand was leveled dead center with the largest of the lenses adorning the robots head.
In the sudden silence, the world quieting as things seemed to slow.
The teen said one thing.
"Bitch."
And then the roar of the shotgun blast and shattering glass echoed through the intersection.
And then the back of the robot began to spark, and smoke billowed out of it.
"What the actual fuck," Ochako whispered, watching the teen leap from the robot even as it collapsed, limbs losing energy as it slumped, the green hair teen sliding the shotgun into his jacket with comfort even under the effects of Zero Gravity, spinning as he coasted away from the now seizure-ridden robot.
Remembering that she was the one doing that, she clapped her hands, the teen dropping the last half foot and shaking out his left arm. He paced his way towards her and held out a hand. Face softened slightly, and an air of contentment around him.
"Thanks for the assist. Name's Midoriya, Midoriya Izuku."
Suddenly it clicked. She knew exactly who this was.
"Uraraka Ochako…. Are you the simulation guy?" she panted, trying to fight back rising nausea.
Smirking, he slid his hands in his pockets, as behind him the 0-pointer tilted over, crashing to the ground.
"I might be."
And then she puked on his boots.
Simulation: Survival
Day 1. Hour 2:12:11
Izuku gasped as he shot up from the white sheets, hand coming up to his neck.
Flashes of memory filled him. A needle, manic blue eyes, the underpass, the rough grip of latex around his neck.
Instead of the comforting room he was used to, with its colorful posters and hero worship clear, this room was… brutal in its simplicity. The bed was larger than he was used to, with a dark grey comforter and white sheets and pillows. The walls of the room were sheer concrete and lit by bars of a recessed white light. A desk was to his left and, halfway across the floor, grey carpet from under the bed gave way to white, square tile.
An open doorway to the far right led into an open space with a tiled wall, and across from the bed on the far wall was what looked like a closet, with curved metal panels acting as doors.
Finally, was a metal door to his left.
Speaking of, he glanced down to see that somehow he was dressed in black loose slacks and a white t-shirt with a green stripe from the collar down over the heart to the waist.
Scrambling, he got out of bed and moved to glance in the tiled room, revealing a bathroom with a shower, before darting to the closed door and looking at it. To his side was an green button. Tentatively, he pressed it, only for the door to open.
Before him, a large high ceilinged area stretched out.
'Brutalist' was his first thought. Large pale concrete expanses for walls and floors. With a glass floor over complex computer electronics in the center, around a raised podium with a reclined seat on it.
The far walls were a massive bank of windows, with a pale white glare filtering through the glass that blocked out any view past it, leaving only the faintest shape of buildings and streets out beyond the room. However, in the center of that wall, the room extended out into what looked like an office area. Desk, laptop, and high backed chair.
"Where am I?"
On the desk, a ringing began.
Suddenly Izuku felt nervous. This was… creepy. He glanced around and tried to find another way out, but besides an opening leading to a kitchen area, a glass conference table with a series of chairs around it, and several scattered white couches.
' What would All Might do?'
Taking a deep breath, he turned and tried to march for the desk, though the clash of his stern march with his short and thin stature was… comical, to say the least.
He looked for the phone, only to see the screen of the computer flashing with an 'Incoming Call' logo.
Tapping enter, the screen went black, before snapping on to show the caller.
Long red hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and skin shallow and pale stretched around thick black rimmed glasses.
"Hello, Mister Midoriya. Pleasure to see you've awakened."
"Wh-Where am I! Why am I here! What is going on!" Izuku shouted, voice cracking from stress.
Lips parted to reveal straight white teeth. "Well, that's quite simple. You are currently inside a computer. Not just any computer either, no… this is a high tech prototype. The first, and possibly only of its time. I call it the Simulation Drive. Your body has been turned to data, and you have been uploaded into the drive. What you see is a complex rendering of a location. In reality, you are in a computer."
Izuku froze, ' in a computer' he blinked and the words just… didn't make sense. There were plenty of stories—fiction—about such a thing, but for it to happen, in real life? It was too absurd, even with quirks!
"See, my dream for three decades now has been to create a way to enter a digital world. I've researched and designed and tested for quite some time… and just as my prototype came to completion, I was fired. My research was taken, locked away… but I managed to keep the prototype. I've been testing it, but I keep running into a problem, you see."
Izuku wanted to scream, to shout. But the words just kept bouncing inside his skull as he stared at the screen in horror.
"Quirks. The power of the people… break the simulation. They are unpredictable, untracked variables. The simulation can't keep up with them. Not quite. So I needed a new target, a new tester… someone quirkless…. Someone with a dream. See, I've heard of your dilemma. You wish to be a hero… Well, I offer you the greatest training possible. The simulation has 9 'games'. Classics from early in the millennia that the system has revamped and used to form its own simulated tests and environments. All you have to do to leave… is complete all 9 games. Each has its own lessons… it's own changes and challenges. But fear not, the world is on your side. As you run through the games... As the simulations play out around you, the world can watch you perform. And who knows, you may even end up with some very useful advice…"
Izuku felt himself go limp, and crashed to the chair heavily, bouncing gently off its springs as he tried to process.
"Now I must leave you. I'll be watching." the glasses came off to reveal pale blue eyes. "Good Luck, have fun!"
The screen turned back, and Izuku stared at it before he spoke.
"But I suck at video games."