*Izuku Age 6*
"Alrighty kids, gather around." Doing as the instructor said, the class of six-year-olds hopped out of their seats and to the open area in the corner. They formed the shape of a large crescent around the well-dressed man. Their teacher had told them that this person was a guest in today's special activity. He had addressed himself as Liyamo and was a sort of psychologist.
Apparently, he was here because it has been a newly declared project for kids with newly developed quirks to be taught about self-control and a clear mental state.
Most likely due to the fact that so many villains have been arising and will only continue to grow unless kids with powerful quirks aren't tempted by the path of villainy.
Young Izuku Midoriya sat within this group of children as they listened to the man tell them of the basics of his profession and what they would be doing.
Although, Izuku had his attention divided between the man's teaching and the blond beside the greenette. They weren't nearly as close to one another as to when Izuku had sat down next to Kacchan as he scooted farther away just a moment later.
Izuku didn't like that his friend has been ignoring him recently. Well, 'recently' is a very loose term in this situation as it had actually been for the past 2 years. It was greatly troubling to the boy as he just wanted to hang out with Kacchan again without the blond and some of the other kids calling him names.
His attempts at repairing their fragile friendship has proved fruitless results and even seemed to make it worse. Rather than trying anything today, Izuku just wanted something to distract himself.
"With meditation, you can clear your mind and achieve a state of inner peace. People all around the world use this technique to relieve stress, calm yourself in situations that would usually have the opposite effect, and even find answers that wouldn't normally present themselves in any other case."
That sounded interesting.
Izuku was now listening intently at the words that the man spoke. The explanation he gave intrigued the black-eyed child that filled him with excitement. He always loved trying new things and this 'meditation' sounded fun. If it really did what Liyamo said it would, then it could possibly help him out with his current problem.
"Alright now, are we all ready to try it out?" His question was answered with nods and a few replies; all of which meaning that they prepared to try this new experience. "Okay. First things first; get real comfy. Relaxing your mental state requires a comfortable physical state."
Izuku shifted lightly in his crisscross position and laid his hands nicely in his lap. He felt hurt to see Kacchan scoot farther away in the corner of his vision but kept his eyes on the instructor.
"Good. Good. Close you eyes and try to think of either nothing or something that makes you calm and relaxed." Doing as the man said, Izuku dropped his eyelids over his void-like eyes; cutting off the world around him from sight and extinguishing the glow of his pupils.
When he closed his eyes, his vision didn't turn black like everyone else's; not quite anyway. Instead, it was more green due to the trapped illumination that his irises provided.
Next, he tried to think of things that suited Liyamo's request. Izuku wasn't sure what he meant by 'clearing his mind' so maybe he'll try thinking of something nice. Thinking of his mom wouldn't work since that made him happy. The image of All Might in his head couldn't do either.
The boy searched his mind for anything that fit that description.
Something that made him calm.
There were a few things, but most of which sounded silly or were normal.
It had to be meaningful in some way.
The waves of his memories flowed by as he surfed along his life experiences. The entire contents of his mind flashed with one idea after another.
Izuku was so in-depth with his own thoughts that he hadn't realized the instructor had spoken again. He didn't even hear Kacchan next to him growl with frustration that 'this was stupid', and 'it didn't work'.
The greenette took no notice how his heartbeat slowed to a melodic rhythm that fell in place with his automatic breaths.
He especially didn't realize that his body was no longer twitching from his quirk.
'Being a hero?'
The singular idea popped into his head.
It was the greatest goal that he thought life had to offer. It was something he lived everyday in the hopes that it would bring him one step closer to accomplishing his dreams.
Just saying the words fills him with excitement and joy.
But in this moment, it brought him peace of mind.
Reassurance.
Clarity.
The world around him faded to nothing. There was no sound to combat against the dead silence. The pressure from the air around him that Izuku never knew was there lightened.
And for some reason, the rug he sat on felt weird. It was… prickly.
Izuku graced himself with sight once more by opening his eyes to try and readjust his position as the rug beneath him became uncomfortable.
Only… he was no longer sitting on a rug… but rather on grass. The patch of grass he sat on was the target of his shocked expression. His wide eyes matched with his agape mouth and just stared at the ground beneath him.
He slowly leaned over and extended a hand. Grabbing hold of a singular blade, he plucked it straight from the dark dirt.
It was in fact real.
Wasn't it?
He felt the texture, so it had to be.
But… it just didn't make sense.
Green pupils slowly trailed from the piece of grass in his hand to the ground. Then, he searched upwards.
A forest.
A dark forest.
It was hard for Izuku to make everything out that was displayed before him. He knew that he saw trees, bushes, and some other plants of variety. The dark atmosphere mixed them all together into a messy silhouette that felt drained of any color.
The only light he saw came from above.
Izuku was surrounded by a pale light in the small clearing he found himself in. Looking up, he found the moon hovering high. It was completely full, yet it seemed so dull of its usual shine. Overhaul, this strange and unfamiliar place was dead silent, dead of color, dead of movement, and dead of anything alive other than himself.
"Hello?"
The boy's call was much quieter than the amount of effort he put into it. His low shout was nothing more than of regular speaking volume.
"Hello!?"
Despite the greater attempt, the mere yell didn't even arouse an echo. So, it was official.
He was alone. This place of his imagination was his to explore be himself. Well, might as well make the most of it.
Izuku stood as he remembered the itchy sensation that the spiky grass brought. He quickly brushed off his legs before taking another look around. Was there some sort of purpose to this place? Was this the 'relaxed mental state' that Liyamo spoke about?
And if so, how was it supposed to help him?
Maybe he needed to work for it? Answered just don't present themselves, they're found.
After coming to that conclusion, Izuku picked a random direction and headed that way.
A noise that didn't come from his soundless footsteps stopped him.
Was it from one of his classmates? Did they somehow come here too? Why didn't they answer him?
Was it even a classmate?
Izuku spun in an instant towards the sound that was strangely clear.
It was impossible not to spot it the moment he did. The radioactive green stood out to visibly in the dark flora surrounding it. The glow of its eyes was the only light to kill the dull moonlight.
The eyes that peered from a dark spot in the tree line were Izuku's own.
Multiple questions arose within his mind; each were born from overwhelming curiosity and wonder. The instructor said something about inner peace. Does that also mean finding your inner self? Was this second pair of eyes that matched the greenette's a duplicate of himself that resided in his figment of imagination?
"U-uum… Hi?" His greeting was at a volume that Izuku made sure could reach the ears of the second presence. However, there was no response. Not even a reaction. The boy tilted his head in confusion. Surely, they must have heard him.
Maybe he needs to get closer.
Izuku altered his path towards the green eyes. They were locked deeply into his own and hadn't moved aver since their gazes met. With each step, the distance between them shortened; Izuku showing a friendly smile all along the way.
It finally got to the point where only 10 feet separated them. Izuku still could not see that figure of the second pair of green eyes. The deep pit of shadow they stayed put at was too dark to make anything out.
Not even the glow of the eyes gave anything away.
They were now only a few feet away. Izuku slowed his pace as to not make himself seem dangerous. He didn't want to scare his self-conscious. Or would that be scaring himself?
Questions for later.
"Hey, you don't have to hide. I'm Izuku. Although, I'm pretty sure you already knew that." His sentence ended with a light giggle. "Do you have a name? Or do you want to be called Izuku too?" There were still no replies to anything that he has said. The eyes continued to stare. "Am I really that shy?" He punctuated with another giggle as he rubbed the back of his head with a hand.
Still no reaction- wait.
There was a reaction.
Izuku felt excitement pool into him as he saw the eyes lower themselves just slightly. This was it; Izuku was finally getting an answer.
The answer was a strange one as the boy thought he heard what could only be best described as a demented growl that barely reached his ears.
Then, the eyes went up. In a smooth motion, they rose higher into the air to the point that Izuku had to crane his neck all the way back to hold the gaze. It was until now that Izuku realized one detail he shouldn't have missed.
The eyes were identical to his; a perfect match actually. Except for one thing.
They were much more spread apart to fit onto a normal kid's head. If this was supposed to be Izuku's inner-self, then way did it have a greater eye-span and why did it now tower of over him?
An unexplainable feeling of fear washed over him in that moment. Everything in his body quickened significantly. His breathing, heartrate, the newly found adrenaline that rushed through every vein in his system, all of it.
The eyes that stared down at him were no longer enchanting.
They were horrifying.
Nothing in front of him could be explained within his young mind. All he knew that he was scared and that he wanted to leave.
The only problem was that he could not move. Besides the dread that shook his body like a leaf in a hurricane, he was frozen still.
The last thing he heard was a second haunting growl.
The last thing he saw was the moon glistening off several massive fangs.
The last thing he felt…
Was death.
"Aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!"
Izuku's nightmare was replaced by colorful shapes around him, yet he continued to scream. His bloodcurdling yells echoed through the halls of school and turned several heads. His classmates all jerked from surprise and saw Izuku laying on his side while holding himself tightly.
The Instructor and the class teacher both stopped what they were doing and hopped into action; both kneeling beside the balling greenette who started to freak out for no apparent reason.
Just like the rest, Katsuki Bakugo watched with stunned expression as they witnessed the class weirdo go into a full panic.
Tears flowed relentlessly down his face past his tightly shut eyes.
Izuku didn't go back to the woods for the next 3 years.
..............................…
One week.
One week until the entrance exam at UA.
Was Izuku nervous? Not quite yet, but he could feel the anticipation slowly building. All he had was one shot to prove that he wasn't weak or useless. There was no room for mistakes or flaws. Just one could result in total failure.
Was he confident? The old rusted car that was torn and smashed to pieces beyond recognition in front of the boy filled him with it. Despite the major drawbacks it brought, his quirk gave him power. The number of broken objects and dumped items around him was the result of that.
Izuku diverted his attention from the car to the large structure behind him. Using his quirk on his right foot, he lost the feeling of the warm sand and instead with an invisible strength.
The blur of his straight back-kick was followed by a loud shriek of shredding metal. Peering over his shoulder, Izuku saw the busted refrigerator with his skeletal foot embedded directly in the middle of the top door.
The activation of his quirk in his other foot took no longer than a second before leaping off the ground while using the leverage of the stuck limb to twist himself midair. The momentum of the action and the swing of his wide kick summoned an even louder crash than before from solid bone against metal as the kitchen appliance was knocked away with the force and fell to the ground with a booming thud.
Its impact with the sand stirred a miniature explosion of light brown that slowly dissipated into a cloud of falling particles. Izuku stood from his landing position to watch the process. Once the sand subsided enough, the boy re-approached the refrigerator; his feet sinking deeper into the sand with not as much area to hold him up.
When he got close enough, he flung up his right leg with surprising flexibility to execute a devastating axe-kick down onto the bottom door. The bare bone of his heel busted right through the thin cover as it gave way to the stronger force.
With one foot nearly buried in the sand and the other standing on a shattered fridge door, Izuku thought to himself. He took one last deep breath before coming to the decision of taking a short break. Izuku hopped up on the other side of the fridge that wasn't damaged and pulled up his legs that were now normal with him into a lazy crisscross.
His arms were pulled back as they held him up in the backwards leaning position. The view of the newly setting sun met his figure. The warm orange rays were able to overpower the glow of his eyes but held no power in lighting the voids in his sockets.
Based on the angle of the burning star, it was nearing the final hour of which Izuku had before going home. The very same cycle that has been going on for the last 3 months after the greenette found this place; Dagobah Beach.
Regardless of the literal trash dump condition it was in, it had proved to be a perfect place for his next level of training.
For a good portion of his life, Izuku had worked on improving the control of his quirk as well as the strength of his body. The results of those years could be seen in his well-built frame that had a small shine from the sweat. Only a light set of personal gym clothes hid most of his chiseled body. However, actually utilizing his quirk was something he couldn't do very often during that time.
Doing it at home wasn't the best as Izuku knew his mother wasn't exactly on good terms with his strange power. Going to any gym that allowed quirk use was too expensive and gave similar reactions.
That was why he was thrilled to finally find a place that he could go all out and put his training to the test. It was almost too easy to find free tutorial videos of martial arts and combat techniques on the internet.
The one that Izuku specializes in becomes a brutal dance of harsh strikes when paired with his quirk. The best way to describe it is to hit first and hit hard.
The beach has been his personal punching back for the last few months and it has given promising results. Objects that ranged from soft cloths to massive hulks of thick materials have been at the receiving end of abilities to perfection.
Yeah, three months isn't much to actually test these moves, but it faired to be rather easy as he's been closely analyzing these sorts of things for nearly a decade.
The continuous hold to control his quirk, the years of tough body building and training, a short stack of books of picking apart his strange abilities as well as others, it's all coming together.
Izuku closed his eyes and took a satisfying breath through his nose. After letting it back out, he uncrossed his legs and used his arms to push him forwards just a nudge before tucking them to his chest. In the moment that he was rocked forward onto his feet, he kicked off and arched his back to fall into a fluid backflip.
His figure was airborne for only a moment before he landed perfectly on the other side of the refrigerator with his feet bracing the sand gently.
He didn't take any time to enjoy the expertly executed stunt as he instead raised his left hand. The very tips of his fingers withered away for his bones to be kissed by the orange light of the sun. This part of his quirk was easy enough, but the next part needed some extra effort.
A second of concentration brought forth the ends of his bones to elongate and become pointed into vertically cut blades. Along with the change came the usual feeling of resistance of his quirk squirming before subsiding under the harsh leash of Izuku's control.
A few wiggles of his fingers before the teen reached over to the other side of the fridge and dug in his bones into the metal for grip. When his other hand braced against the edge of the side he was one, Izuku gave one large tug that overpowered the weight of the fridge as it now rested on his right shoulder.
Both his legs shook every so slightly from the massive increase of weight but were far from giving way. His steps were solid as he walked over to the slowly growing pile of trash he had accumulated along with the many others.
"I sure hope you aren't using your quirk to do that."
Izuku both tensed and jumped at the voice that emitted from his right. The fridge he was holding was directly between them so Izuku could not have seen whoever it was that has discovered his secret spot.
Turning himself with the large appliance still on his shoulder, he spotted the source of voice. Leaning up against a stack of tires with his arms crossed was a man.
"Because that would be illegal."
'Sheesh. He looks like he doesn't even need a quirk like mine to show his skeleton.' Izuku thought to himself as he inspected the sickly thin man with semi-long blond hair that had two long bangs hanging past his shoulders in funny angles. His smirk really wasn't one that of someone who just caught someone with their hand in a cookie jar but rather a hint of impressiveness and even excitement if you looked close enough.
Izuku was honestly too busy studying the popping details of the man that he hadn't heard his last statement. Instead, he was somewhat fixated on the blonde's eyes. Not quite like his own in regards of the deep voids that rejected any form of light, but still deep enough to create an overlapping shadow that made his bright blue eyes more vibrant.
"Uhhh… hello?" The man must have realized that Izuku was too caught up in his own thoughts to respond and opted to snap him out of it.
It worked as Izuku blinked away the thoughts refocused on the second occupant of the beach. The greenette gave a brief glance to his left hand that still had his bone claws and back to the man.
"Uh, no." It was for some reason at that moment, the door that Izuku had kicked decided to fall out of the fridge and onto the sand with a thump. Izuku spared another glance to his metal betrayer. The blond man raised an eyebrow at the not very believable answer as he could also see Izuku's morphed fingertips.
The boy didn't know what he was expecting, but it sure wasn't to hear a laugh from the man. As he seemed to find the encounter humorous, Izuku just stood there awkwardly to himself; still holding the big ass fridge that was starting to make his legs burn.
"Hahaha… ah, what are you doing here, kid?" After the short period of laughter, the man questioned Izuku while uncurling a hand to gesture to the beach around them. The boy in question took that as his cue to turn and continue walking back towards the pile he was originally going to before answering.
"Well, you see…" His sentence was cut short when he let out a grunt from setting down his hull on the mound of trash's edge. A quick side clap of his hands to brush off any sand and setting them on his hips before he turned back to the man. "I'm working." His final answer sounded questionable before ending with confidence.
The man's raised eyebrow was accompanied by his other as he didn't seem to be too convinced.
"You're… working?" The blond made sure to display his suspicions as he repeated the word.
"Yep." The p in his second answer was popped with the same amount of confidence as before.
"With whom?" A smug smile lightly graced the man's lips as he saw Izuku lost a small amount of his own.
"What?" There was noticeable nervousness in the boy's reply.
"Who are you working for? Employees of a company aren't allowed to use their quirks unless they are given a business license that has been approved by both the company they are working for and the Quirk Control Committee as long as it's used for their job only." The man could see Izuku grow more and more nervous the further he explained. It was actually quite comical on his end.
"Uuuumm… I'm working for…" Izuku gave one last attempt to pull of a good enough lie by shrugging his shoulders and giving a weak smile once more. "Myself?"
Whether it was the right answer or not, it was met with laughter from the man once more. Izuku knew at this point he was basically caught and opted to just stuffing his hands in his pockets.
When the man's amused state ended, he brought up both arms in a dismissive gesture along with his head.
"No need to try that hard for a lie, young man. You're not in trouble. At least not with me anyway. Just tell me what you're really doing out here." The posture of the man became more friendly and relaxed as he was done teasing the boy. Said boy also looked to relax as he even seemed to reciprocate some of the humor from before.
"Hehe, well… I guess I'm doing two things at once. I'm mainly using this isolated beach to train myself. At the same time, I'm trying to get this place a little cleaned up." The man nodded at his first answer and looked around when he gave his second.
He looked over the compacted piles of trash that he could tell were made up of a lot of broken parts along with some gouge marks that resembled the boy's claws.
"So, you are the one who's been tidying Dagobah up. I've realized about over a month ago that that trash has been moved around but haven't been able to find who's been doing it." The man said with obvious satisfaction of finally finding the mystery person behind the cleaning.
"Eh, sort of. I've managed to gather it all together into piles but haven't actually cleaned anything. All the trash is still here. But without any way to get it out of here, it's gonna stay." Izuku has tried to find ways to get rid of the trash in the meantime of training. Most of those ideas weren't plausible as he had no way to haul these ridiculously large piles of garbage to the nearest legal dump. For now, all he could do was continue to make these piles until someone decides to take them away. "Wait… you come here that often? Why?" Izuku couldn't understand why anyone would want to come here other than to add to the piles.
"Well, same reason as you. Not to train my quirk but to do something about this trash. I remember this place when it used to be spotless and could see the sunset while laying in the soft sand. I've been wanting to do something about it for a while now but haven't exactly found the time to do it." Even though his blue eyes looked into Izuku's green, they were seeing the nostalgic memories that the beach brought. The boy could almost feel the emotion in the man's words. After all, he knew what he meant.
Izuku turned to look back over the ocean. In his entire field of vision, the sand past the walls of garbage was mainly clear that met the water's tide. Above the rippling water of the vast sea, its surface reflected the sun's gentle light.
The greenette has seen this sunset many times for himself. If it weren't for the littered pieces of trash and the wrinkling smell of it all, Izuku would have been able to easily agree with the blonde's words.
His green eyes turned back to the adult that had also set his sight on the view. Then, they trailed over the man's frame; thin and frail. It was hard to believe that he said he was going to try and clean the place up with that body.
'Oooh, what the hell.'
"Hey." Their colorful eyes met once more as the man adopted an expression of curiosity as to what Izuku had to say. "*sigh* If you're gonna try to clean this dump then you're definitely going to need help. I already have this place arranged for transfer. If you can get me something to ship all this crap out of here, then I'll gladly lend you a hand." Izuku found himself giving a smile to the man. It was kinda hard not to when the man's eyes shone with great gratitude.
There was also something else that Izuku couldn't quite place but ignored it.
"You're serious? You'll actually do that?" Izuku was a little off taken by the blonde's burst of excitement. It was as if he was hoping he would offer but wasn't expecting him to actually do it.
"Yeah, sure. I'm busy most of the week because of oncoming finals. I also can't do it this weekend since UA's entrance exam is happening. But after that, I'm free whenever." The greenette explained with a hand on the back of his neck and his eyes averted for no particular reason. When he looked back, he saw that it seemed everything he said made the man more in awe.
"I guess I should have known you were aiming to be a hero with your training. And UA, nevertheless. You have very admirable goals, young man. If that's the case, then how about the weekend after this? Saturday evening after one o'clock? I have a pretty heavy-duty truck that we can use to transport all this to the dump." At the man's proposal and set time, it was the boy's turn to look astonished.
"Wow, really? That's actually perfect. And yeah, I'm free next Saturday." The relief could be heard in the boy's voice as he was excited to finally rid the beach of the unwelcome filth. It was mixed with curiosity when the man walked up to him. Before he could ask, a hand was extended towards him in a friendly gesture.
That was when Izuku realized he was asking for a handshake. The boy took it with a firm grasp that caused the blond to smile wider.
It must have been infectious because Izuku felt a smile slipping onto his own face.
"I am grateful that you are willing to put time and effort into this. It is a good trait that all heroes should have." The words of the adult grew Izuku's smile even more.
Before it quickly dropped.
"Oh, wait! What time is it!?" Izuku went into a sudden panic as his arms went into a frenzy searching over his body. The blond was taken aback by this startled action as he watched for a moment being the greenette pulled out a phone from one of his few pockets. There was a brief moment where he looked at it before his green eyes get wider. "I'm so sorry for cutting this short like this, but I really need to get home! Thank you and I'll see you that time!" Izuku shouted the end of his statement as he gathered his things and sprinted off with surprising speed.
All of this was witnessed by the amused eyes of the blond as he watched him go.
"That boy really is something." His low voice was filled with curiosity and a bit of amazement. After all, that was the second time that he's met this black-eyed child, and each time, he's offered his assistance with no reward that was also unnecessary. If that wasn't a sign of selflessness, then he didn't know what was.
Years that he's been searching for someone, and this kid with every quality so far that he approved of just fell into his lap. Not to mention that the boy's quirk was much more powerful than he initially thought. It was far too early to decide, but he couldn't help that his hopes were high.
He looked out to the ocean one last time. If this worked out, then he would get the chance to relish the sight once more. A bright reflection brings his attention to the ground below him.
The fridge door that dropped when the greenette was carrying it.
The blond chuckled to himself before leaning over to pick it up. It was heavily disfigured and beyond repair; the large indent in the middle made sure of that. He walked over to the broken refrigerator of which it originally came and set it gently on top.
A nod of satisfaction signaled that he was ready to leave the beach himself.
Something caught his eye for the second time.
The man stopped mid-step and jerked back to what had signaled his mind. Just around the corner of this specific mound of trash, there was a large object. Walking around to get a better look, he saw that it was a large metal sheet of some sort. It seemed like it used to be part of a billboard sign or something.
For that past month that he's realized that someone has been moving the trash on the beach, the man has also found the markings they've left behind. Broken parts, dents, indentions, bent scraps, and the strange claw marks that he's no been able to identify to the bone claws of the boy.
A lot of these marks could be found on this singular sheet of metal.
But there was one in particular that stood out.
The set of five claw marks were over five feet long and wide enough to clear the man's whole body.
..............................…
Friday…
The very last Friday before the singular event that could completely alter the fate of Izuku Midoriya. Tomorrow is UA's entrance exam. So, Izuku was really starting to feel a bit anxious; not that he showed it though. No, in front of the judging looks of his classmates, he shows his very real conviction.
He has full intent to prove them all wrong in just one day. He'll crush the exam unlike how they've tried to crush his spirit all those years.
His life-long dream of being a hero is brighter than ever and no one can snuff it out.
Not even the blond that's currently following him home.
"Oi!" Izuku was just nearing his home when Bakugo finally called out from behind him. The former let out a groan as he debated stopping or to just keep walking. "Don't go to UA!"
That got Izuku to stop real fast as he whipped around to glare at the blond. His red eyes weren't as hateful as they usually were but rather more instructive. The scowl that Izuku thought to be permanent on the explosive teen's face was more neutral. Not even his normal slouched over posture was present. It wasn't threatening, just strong.
Besides that, Izuku was still pissed that Bakugo is still trying to talk him down from this.
"Why the hell are you so dead-set on making me not go!? You get to waltz up there and show off your power, so why can't I!?" Izuku kept his anger inside but his voice gave it away. Bakugo was visibly surprised by Izuku's unusual hostility. Both teens took steps towards each other until only barely 5 feet stood between them.
"Deku, I don't know what the fuck you're thinking that going to a hero school is a good idea with that quirk of yours." The fact that the blonde's statement was genuine just kept rubbing Izuku the wrong way.
"And I don't know why you still think that I'm weak or useless. You have no idea of the struggles I had to push through to get to this point and you have even less knowledge on what I can do." His words were sturdy that made it sound impossible to argue with.
"I'm not talking about you being weak anymore." A little bit of Bakugo's scowl returned; as if saying the sentence was hard for him to admit. Izuku's reaction to the statement was what one would expect. Stunned. "You made that pretty fucking obvious back behind the school. But that's not all, is there?"
"What the- "
"You can't control your quirk, can you?" Once again, Bakugo raised his voice as his red eyes narrowed into the bright emeralds of Izuku's voids. "That shit wasn't you; I could tell! I figured it out; why you never used or showed your true quirk to anyone! It turns you into a god damn monster; doesn't it!? That's why you're twitching all the damn time!" The blond was full on shouting now. He did little to hide the accusing tone in his questions.
"Yeah, alright! Just completely ignore everything that happened before that! When you ran around like a lunatic using your quirk to harm a classmate simply because your ego is bigger than any explosion you could ever make! You say I can't control myself!? You wouldn't know what control is if it slapped you around like a ragdoll!" Izuku spat venom for the teen that actually had the gull to try and fault him for what happened those many months ago.
"Besides that!" The comeback came through clenched teeth. "If you went fucking crazy because of me then what'll happen if you go up against villains, Deku!? You're a danger to yourself and everyone around you! Quit trying to play the hero like you were born for it! You were born a fucking freak, and that's all you ever will be! You hear me, damnit!?" When Bakugo was finally done, Izuku was looking at the same old bastard that has been terrorizing him for years.
His demeaning scowl has made its appearance to be the cherry on top of his intimidating form. Arms were raised of their pockets and fingers curled as they usually did when the blond wanted to use his explosions on his target.
All it did was piss Izuku off even more.
The greenette's only answer was to lower his head to where his hair shielded the upper half of his face. His lips were pulled into an evident scowl that was beginning to match Bakugo's. Both his hands were balled into fists that squeezed uncomfortably tight.
"Well!? You gonna answer!?" Bakugo shouted one last time to the black-eyed teen.
The blonde's attitude halted when a sense of fear invaded his mind. His widened red eyes saw Izuku's tense state drop all at once. The shorter teen suddenly looked relaxed.
Bakugo had no time to question it before Izuku raised his head once more to become trapped in the greenette's intense eye-contact.
For the third time, Bakugo witnessed black trails claw their way out of Izuku's eyes.
"…You know…I think I finally get it." There was no longer any anger in his voice but rather an eerie calm. "After all, since when the hell do you care for or about others? The only person you give a damn about is still yourself." Bakugo couldn't help that he felt stuck in place as he was forced to hear the greenette's words. "And you especially don't care what happens to me unless it has anything to do with UA and heroes. Which means… "The blond felt his heart skip a beat when the creepiest smile laid upon his freckled face. It was nothing more than small tugs on the edges of his lips, but it felt like so much more.
"You're afraid. You know that I can get into UA but you're too prideful to admit it. You would rather try to bully me into submission. That's all you ever do; use your quirk to satisfy your needs and get your way. For the past ten years, you tried the same thing. Well, guess what." Izuku closed the short distance between them and gripped onto Bakugo's collar as he wasn't wearing a tie and pulled him close before he could react. With the small amount of space between their faces, a shadow developed over the both of them; causing Izuku's glowing irises to shine brighter. "I may have trouble sometimes controlling my power… but never have you had any control over me."
The hand that gripped the blonde's shirt shoved him away and nearly caused him to lose his balance. After suffering an embarrassing stagger, he was able to rebalance himself and look back to Izuku.
The cracks around his eyes were gone without a trace. The fierce aura he had was gone; as if it was never there. But the look he had was ever present.
Giving one last second to glare at Bakugo, the black-eyed teen turned and walked away.
..............................…
The rest of the day blurred into night. Izuku was too distracted and focused at the same time pay much attention to anything else. The sequence of getting home, washing up after the day, eating dinner, doing some studying, and finally heading to bed all felt like one.
But now, Izuku felt like he was living in every second.
After all, it was sort hard to completely hold back his eager excitement when he kept looking at the big golden words of UA right in front of him. His quirk was jerking around inside his body as if it were excited too but Izuku brushed it off.
He's come too far to back down. Failure was not an option. Whatever the hell the entrance exam is, Izuku's going to pass without a cinch.
"If you want to be a damn hero then quit standing around like a dumbass." Somehow, Izuku expected those exact words from Bakugo as he passed to his left and hissed the insult. The greenette noticed that the blond didn't even look him in the eyes.
"If you want to be a hero then get rid of that distasteful personality." The black-eyed teen remarked just as quickly before Bakugo tensed with fury. He has said it loud enough for a few others around him to turn their way and give curious looks.
"…Tch." In the end, Bakugo simply clicked his tongue and moved on.
Izuku decided to stand there for another second to put enough distance between them. He was feeling good and didn't want his child-hood bully trying to mess it up.
Once he concluded that it was good enough, he went to take a step.
"Oh-wahh!"
The surprised shout directly to Izuku's right would have normally caused him to flinch out of him own surprise and see what had happened.
His quirk had other ideas apparently.
In a violent burst, his right arm shot outward which he then felt a sudden pressure collapse onto over a majority of his limb.
'Aw crap, I'm not even in UA yet and I'm already hitting people!' That was the only logical thought that Izuku could come up with as the split-second situation digested in his mind.
Nearly as fast as his arm shot out, Izuku twisted his head to the right to find out just exactly what did happen.
And so far, it didn't look all too promising.
From what he could tell, a girl was using his arm as a second source of support. Both her feet were way behind her center of balance; almost as if she just stopped walking and let her upper body fall forward or she tripped. His bet was set on the latter as she looked to be confused and then dumbfounded to see that she hadn't completed the fall.
Brown eyes that matched her bob-cut hair style looked down to his arm that held her up. One of her own arms was slung over to hang free while the other had braced against his forearm.
Izuku was just about to ask if she was alright before he thought he saw the hand that was touching him glow pink at the ends of her fingertips.
"What th-whoa!" Izuku wasn't able to finish the sentence properly before his surprised shout and sudden fall cut him off. It was as if his weight was fractioned; becoming but a rock to a boulder. However, the weight from the girl still on his arm had caused him to plummet forward with the other teen in tow.
It was thanks to his years of catching himself that Izuku was able to react fast enough to reach out with his left and meet it with the ground first. At times like these, Izuku was grateful for his heightened strength.
Despite his seemingly unbreakable bones, falling face-first into the concrete ground below didn't sound that fun on his nose.
That was when the girl came crashing back down on his. Rather than landing on his outstretched arm this time, she must have instinctively pulled herself to whatever she could find; that being Izuku entirely. She landed almost directly onto his back where a sound of her breath being knocked out of her from falling onto the sturdy surface.
'I'm beginning to wish that my quirk did simply hit someone so that I could just apologize afterwards and be on with it. This is ridiculous!'
Izuku was once again grateful for his ability to hold himself up as the other student squirmed on top of him.
"O-oh! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to just fall on you like that or use my quirk on you! Are you okay!?" Her voice was apologetic and full of concern.
"I'll be doing splendid when you get off." Izuku kept his small amount of annoyance hidden as the situation was no one's fault and just dumb luck. She exclaimed her discovery and bounced off him at once. The weight that was holding him done was gone… and was most of his strangely enough. He felt immensely light but was still connected to the ground. Apparently, his odd state was even stranger to the girl as she watched him stand perfectly fine. "Uuuum, is everything alright?"
"I…I'm not sure. I thought I used my quirk on you which means that you're supposed to be floating around with zero-gravity. How are you still on the ground?" Her question was half to herself as she was filled with curiosity.
"I do feel strange. Like I'm much lighter." Izuku's answer caused her brown eyes to widen with awe. "But I would appreciate if you would turn it off. I don't want to be overshooting things when I take the exam." An apologetic whine could be heard from the girl as she realized that she had left her quirk activated.
"R-right, sorry!" She apologized once more before connecting the tips of her fingers together to make it look like she was meditating of some sort. Izuku noticed the cat-like pads on the ends of her digits before another glow of pink could be seen.
And just like that, gravity took hold of him. It felt as if the pressure on his body became heavier and fixated onto normal levels.
"Well, that was a series of unfortunate events." The greenette stated while tidying himself up.
"All of which were my fault. Again, I'm sorry." With her excitement having died down, her attitude lowered significantly. "I kinda overheard a bit of the conversation between you and that other guy so I was distracted and ended up tripping. Guess that's what I get for not paying attention where I was going." A wobbly smile came over her face as she nervously rubbed the back of her head.
It was pretty obvious that she was nervous and her near fall definitely made it worse.
"Eh, don't worry about it. No one was hurt. We should probably get going though." Izuku looked around to see that there were hardly any other people out here and the ones that were had given him the other girl a strange look; an indication that they had witnessed the whole interaction.
"We?" She asked confused.
"Well, yeah. You're going for the hero course too, aren't you?" His simple statement caused the girl to blink before nodding.
"Y-yeah, but how did you know that?" The brunette asked another question.
"With a quirk that lets you defy the law of gravity; it would seem silly to not try to be a hero." Izuku's answer was genuine. The ability to make anything weightless was useful in so many ways.
She looked a bit taken back by his answer before a real smile stretched her lips and her permanent blush brightened.
"Yep. That's why I'm here. If you're trying for the hero course as well, then maybe I'll see you there." A new excitement filler her as a bubbly smile looked more comfortable on her expression.
"Perhaps." Izuku replied.
"Well, good luck!" She announced before turning towards the front entrance and jogging to the doors. Izuku reciprocated the gesture just before she got out of range and watched her go.
She seemed nice enough and didn't react in any bad way towards his appearance. Despite meeting the kind person, there was something else on his mind.
Raising his left arm into view, he furrowed his eyes at the strange occurrence.
It had reacted before he even knew what was going on.
That was too much of a coincidence to be ignored. Not to mention that girl's quirk had a strange effect on him that apparently has never happened to anyone else. He once again chalked it up to the odd-ball qualities of his own power.
Izuku dropped his arm back to his side and walked toward the building.
..............................…
"WHAT'S UP, EXAMINEES!? WELCOME TO MY SHOW TODAY FOR THE YEARLY UA ENTRANCE EXAM! CAN I GET A 'HEY'!?"
There was not a single sound that responded to Present Mic's attempt to get a reaction from the hundreds of teens in front of him. Izuku was one amongst this collective silence. He would prefer to keep people's eyes off him and rather at the hero they were supposed to be paying attention to. The same hero that had kept up the awkward period of silence for a few consecutive seconds waiting for a reply that name came.
"WHEW, TOUGH CROWD WE GOT HERE. WELL, IF THAT'S THE CASE, THEN WHY DON'T WE JUST JUMP STRAIGHT TO THE BASIC RUNDOWN OF THE PRACTICAL EXAM!? ARE YA READYYYY!?" Izuku wasn't entirely sure if that second question was rhetorical or not, but he decided to stay quiet just like every other single person in the stands.
But even so, Izuku listened to the hero's instructions of the mock battle they were to be put in. I was basically a giant free-for-all where they were put into a faux urban city to be put up against 'villains' of various difficulties and points. The easiest being one point, the medium being two, and the hardest being worth three points.
The 'villains' they were going up against?
Robots.
Izuku's face was neutral but he was inwardly smiling. That meant he didn't have to hold back against a real person. However, with a quirk like his, the situation was a double-edged sword. He could attack the robots as much as he liked without restraint for his output. But that also meant he couldn't let loose of his mental hold.
His quirk would for sure try to use the surrounding excitement to rile itself up and attempt another break on its leash.
Izuku could not let that happen. With so many other applicants around him, there would for sure be the risk of it attacking a fellow examinee rather than the machines built for the exam. If that were to happen, then he would be immediately disqualified due to the set rule of only attacking robots.
After passing this written test, all he had to do was use his quirk to an extent and take out as many 'villains' as possible. Izuku's long since learned that he can bash and cut through metal easily enough. His above average strength and speed will greatly help him in his chase.
He only has ten minutes to earn points and pass the exam.
That's more than enough.
..............................…
At battle center B, a portion of the students from the testing room all stood together at the base of two massive doors. Behind the excessively large entryway was the constructed urban city that Present Mic mentioned in the explanation. That's also where the examinees will find the robots; aka, mobile tickets to their way into UA.
Izuku stood among them. Just like everyone else, he was in an athletic suit of sorts. His being a simple pair of gym clothes similar to the ones he wore to the beach. A sleeveless shirt that lightly hugged his body as to not have any hanging bags get in the way. The same style applied to his short.
He did not wear shoes as he didn't want to mess up his favorite and only pair if he needed to shift his lower legs. The plan was to mainly use his arms, but he had to be prepared.
In the meantime of waiting for the signal to charge into the city, the greenette took to stretching himself out. It was a way for him to collect his senses and calm himself.
Once that was done, he took the last preparation of the exam.
Both his arms raised at the elbow with his palms facing him. The black-eyed teen thought for a moment before activating his quirk. Starting from his fingertips, everything besides his bones peeled away in a sickening display of all his muscles, nerves, blood, fat, anything that wasn't a smooth white surface of his skeleton just melted away.
The process went continued up his arm and stopped just short of his elbows. Once that was complete, then came the harder part. There was more effort put into his concentration as the skeletal limbs underwent a transformation.
As they've done many times before, the ends of his digits grew into blade-like points. The collagen frame thickened which Izuku just thought it made them stronger rather than sturdier since he's never been able to break a bone before in his life. The same growing process came to his knuckles as they formed small tipped ends that pointed up his arm.
When the change finished to Izuku's liking, the whiplash of his quirk struggling with control rippled throughout his body. The teen was able to easily counter it, but that didn't mean he liked to all the time. Even so, he was finished and ready to take on this test.
Or so he thought he was.
"GOOOO!"
Everyone tensed in their spots as they looked to the source of the familiar shout. On top of the overseeing tower at the edge of the zone wall was Present Mic.
Before himself or anyone could question that command, Izuku was suddenly off balance when his leg jerked out from under him; forcing him to step forward. The actions had led him to facing the open door of the battle sight.
That was when Izuku realized that the hero was serious.
The greenette took off without a second thought; leaving behind the other students who were still trying to figure out what was going on.
As he raced out the doors, he heard Mic continue to shout at them.
"COME ON, LISTENERS! YOU CAN'T EXPECT THERE TO BE A COUNTDOWN FOR EVERYTHING; ESPECIALLY VILLAIN FIGHTS! GO! GO! GOOOOOOOOOO!"
Izuku knew that he was right. If he's going to pass this exam flawlessly, he'll need to think of it like a serious situation.
And the first one was right in front of him.
A two-pointer.
A spider-like robot with a tail that looked like it could shoot something out of it. Izuku could easily see the weak spot at the base of its thin neck.
The greenette's prediction was right when the end of the mechanical tail aimed directly at him after a robotical voice could be heard saying 'target acquired'.
"You picked the wrong target!" There was no use in talking back to the lifeless machines, but it felt nice to say it after ducking beneath the rubber ball that shot at him like a cannon ball. Not enough to kill someone but can for sure hurt like hell.
He kept up his charge towards the two-pointer after dodging a second one and leaping forward after getting within range. Izuku's right fist was aimed for the neck that showed no signs of dodging itself.
Just as he expected, his skeletal arm smashed straight through the metal carapace. Based on the resistance and dexterity, punching the robots would be no harder than busting the trash at the beach. Izuku extended a leg and leapt off the top of the dying machine.
The ground beneath the teen closed in as he landed effortlessly. Without even looking back, he heard the robot fall to the ground with a loud thud accompanying the sounds of circuits dying.
"Two points… time to get more." Izuku blasted forward in a sprint when he also heard the rest of the examinees closing in behind him. He was going to use his short head-start to his full advantage.
A pair of one-pointers approached from an intersection of the road. They both locked on Izuku if the brighter glow of their red eyes was an indication. Their source of mobility were large wheels that have them high speed but unstable balance. Both their arms were equipped with large shields as their only weapons.
The closer robot took a downward swing at the greenette. All it took was a mere jump upwards for the boy to dodge the attack and take another leap off the provided surface. All it took was a second for his raised foot to reveal bone and strike directly onto the head of the robot with an axe-kick. The metal crumbled under his power and fell immediately.
Green eyes then switched to the second robot just in time to have his point taken away.
A tall boy with glasses and a well-built frame flew right into the one-pointer's chest with a brutal kick of his own.
'The rest are catching up. I'll need to be quicker.'
Izuku hopped down from his target's fallen body and continued on.
His next opponent was another two-pointer. The two of them locked eyes the moment Izuku rounded a street corner. Just as the first one, it launched rubber balls at him with dangerous speeds. The robot's efforts were fruitless as each one missed the evading greenette.
All Izuku did to take this one out was to dash underneath where it could not see him and rake his right set of claws down its chassis. The attack was deep enough to hit critical systems and cause it fall.
"Five points. I need more."
The sounds of combat could now be heard all around him. Crashing metal and groaning mechanics of the 'villains. Even some explosions from some of the other examinees going all out to get whatever points they get a hold of.
The smell of sweat and oil was all around from the all-out battle between man and machine.
Izuku saw the three-pointer before it saw him. It had its back turned towards him that provided the excellent chance of a quick kill.
A haste slash at one of its legs proved the necessity of the robots having weaknesses as the three-pointer tipped and fell to the ground.
"Hostile inbound. Engage self-defense proto-"
The automated voice of the robot was cut short by a shriek of ripping metal as a skeletal hand plunged its claws into its head. The greenette grabbed whatever he could find and yanked. The number of wires and mechanical parts in his hand was a sign of the 'villain's' defeat.
Multiple sources of noise came from behind Izuku as he spun to face a duo of two-pointes and a single three-pointer.
A grin tugged at the corners of his lips.
"Now that's more like it."
..............................…
"With no knowledge of how many 'villains' are present or their location, it is clear that the students have to use whatever skills or abilities they have at their disposal to earn points." The principle of the #1 hero school of Japan; Nezu sat in the observation room along with the entire staff of said school.
All of them watched diligently at the many screens before them. Each focused on a certain center or a specific student. Several performed with average capabilities, but the teachers were able to make out a few that stood out from the rest.
"While some might specialize in information gathering" The screen with a boy who had six arms came to the center of attention. "There are plenty who use speed to pull ahead of their peers." Another boy with engines in the calves in his legs gained the focus of the teachers. "But let us not neglect the ones who are able to remain calm under pressure." A third boy with bright blond hair and support item around his waist was strangely smiling into the camera on-screen. "And of course, there is always ones with raw power and combat ability that make it to our exams." Katsuki Bakugo could be seen standing in the middle of a grave of broken bolts and charred metal.
"But there will be ones that show uniqueness." Nezu pointed out the last screen that had caught his eye. The teachers followed his gaze in time to witness a male teen with messy green hair trapped between two three-pointers. Most thought that the kid was about to have the floor wiped with him, but only a very perspective few could make out his grin.
One of the robots went in for a hit but was easily evaded by the boy. The missed attack then hit the second three-pointer instead which was taken advantage of as he quickly finished it off before ending the other with a singular powerful strike.
"Quite the interesting group of children we have this year." Midnight wasn't wrong in her statement but made it sound much more inappropriate than necessary.
"Maybe so, but there's still plenty of time left. Let's see how they react to the real test." A man said from within the group as they eagerly pressed a singular button on the control panel before them.
..............................…
"Watch out!" Izuku managed to jump in the way just in the nick of time. His left arm held back the shielded arm of a one-pointer that was previously aimed at the girl sitting on the ground beside him.
With a fierce backhand, he swats the arm away before the other shield came his way. Rather than blocking, Izuku used his claws to sever the arm as it passed by. He grabbed the dismembered chunk and flung it like a frisbee at the robot's wheel.
The force behind it caused it to drop like it just had a rug pulled out from underneath it. The one-pointer wasn't able to regain itself before a skeletal fist slammed down onto its head.
Izuku pulled his arm out of the fist-shaped hole and turned to the girl still on the ground.
"Are you alright?" He asked while offer the backside of his hand near his wrist as his bladed fingers had a much easier time ripping flesh than metal. Izuku was surprised in a delighted way that she actually grabbed hold and pulled herself up.
"Yeah. Just got a little overwhelmed there. Wasn't expecting to fight robots and all. Thanks." She spoke in between breaths but put on a smile.
Izuku simply gave her a nod before rushing off elsewhere.
It was a couple minutes later before he was nearly forced to the ground. Everything around him shook with such violence without stop. The best way to describe is that a meteor just crashed into the site. A few other people around him were having similar problems of keeping their balance.
Then, a booming metal groan echoed throughout the city.
From the sound originating behind him, Izuku spun in place to lay his eyes off the biggest god damn robot he's ever seen. Completely towering over the buildings like a kid playing with their dollhouse, the zero-pointer caused damage to the city just from being there. It had simply appeared from nowhere; most likely underground and wasted not a single second in demolishing its surroundings. It only needed to menacingly roll down the street with its massive treads to rupture broken windows and cracks in the buildings.
The two massive arms that swiped away at anything that stood in its path just made it worse. Showers of devested concrete littered the streets along with the broken bodies of the other robots.
Izuku was really the only one to observe the details as everyone else opted to running away on the spot. The greenette glared with half-closed eyes and crossed arms at the scene he was watching.
"Alright, UA. We know you have money, but this is just excessive." The teen finally came upon the decision to leave and search for any last enemies that some people might have missed. He was comfortable with his score of being somewhere in the fifties but just wanted to be sure.
"O-o-ow!"
Izuku wasn't even able to take one step before he felt his entire body lock up. Whether it was from his quirk or his own body, he didn't know. But what he did know was that leaving was no longer an option.
He spun again to have the zero-pointer in view once more; the hulking machine bringing devastation to everything around it. His wide black eyes trailed to the ground before it.
In the midst of the debris and crumbling concrete was the same brown-haired girl he spoke to at the entrance. Her previous cheery expression was morphed into pain and fear. The reason for this was explained as his glowing irises landed on the chunk of rubble holding down one of her legs.
She was pinned. Trapped with nowhere to go as the zero-pointer came closer.
Like someone flipped a switch, Izuku was filled to the brim with power. Oily-black cracks sprouted from his fierce eyes. The activation of his quirk pushed further up his arms until they stopped just short of his shoulders.
Both his legs blew up like bombs as his flesh was ejected from his bones. Izuku didn't even feel the change happen but he was suddenly standing on triple-jointed legs. Much like a dogs, his legs grew a second heel that morphed his leg frame to digitigrade. His toes all grew and spread apart to take a similar sharp pointed design of his fingers.
While Izuku wasn't able to inspect it, the feeling of four objects coming out the back of his head was evident.
He knew that he was taking a huge risk by letting his quirk out this much, but he wasn't sure he had much of a choice. A thrilling energy surged through every inch of his body; skeletal limbs included. There was definitely no going back from this.
Izuku set his eyes on the robot rather than the girl. Approaching her could prove problematic for both of them.
With speed he's never achieved before, Izuku launched from his spot towards the zero-pointer. The world around him was an absolute blur as the large machine came within reach in just seconds.
A perfectly timed jump sent him soaring through the air and at his target. The thick armor of the machine caved under the force of Izuku slamming against the bottom connector of its treads. Both his clawed feet and hands dug effortlessly into the weaker material. The greenette used both his hands to tear open a large hole into the interior of the robot.
Pulling himself in, he got to work shredding every single mechanical system in sight. His aimed fury sliced electrical systems and ravaged connected cogs. Every colored wire was torn under the cruel sharpness of his digits.
Meanwhile, on the outside of the rampaging zero-pointer, people took notice of the machine's odd behavior. It looked like it was suddenly struggling with itself; glitching out and having a breakdown.
He girl directly beneath this display was the only one to have seen Izuku zip past her in a blur and invade the robot's inner systems.
When the first explosion rung out from the behemoth's body, everyone was beginning to realize that someone was fighting against that thing. More metal groans came with the disfigured movements. Soon enough, the entire robot was suffering mass damage as mechanical meltdowns resulted in a collection of more explosions blasting from within its shell.
The reactions became more violent with each bomb going off; the waves of chemical fire reaching all the way up to its chest.
For a moment, they stopped…
Everything seemed to freeze in place.
Just for a second.
A thunderous boom of a deafening detonation went off from within the zero-pointer's head. The sheer force of it thankfully knocked it backward rather than forward.
"Look!"
From within the crowd that watched the destruction of the towering robot, a single person pointed out a figure in the air. Leaving behind a trail of smoke from the final explosion in the 'villain's' head was a person.
Everyone witnessed Izuku plummet hundreds of feet from the air. Many panicked but none could try to stop the human comet from closing in on the ground.
It looked as if he was trying to land it. His arms up and his legs tucked in. There was no possible way for anyone to survive that fall.
You learn something new every day.
A loud crash of breaking concrete came the moment Izuku braced the ground. A spider web design etched itself into a large radius around him and even cratered the street under his impact. He sat crouched there with all four of his limbs inches buried in the concrete.
It took several deep breaths before he could pull himself out and stand.
The examinees were flat out shocked to see the greenette raise himself from the ground. His skeletal limbs were dripping with oil and grease but were otherwise unmarked. His clothes were a different story as most of his shirt was ripped and charred. His shorts weren't too far behind but were still decent enough.
Any of the teen's skin was crystal clean; not a smudge, not a mark.
The large figure of the falling robot behind him finally fell to the ground; causing an unsettling ripple throughout the faux city.
The radioactive glow of his irises stared back at the wide-eyed students. The intimidating aura they immitted made several teens take many steps back.
In an instant, it was gone.
Izuku did a 180 and ran back for the base of the zero-pointer. Along the way, he could feel the power surge within him fading away like a dull adrenaline. His physical appearance didn't change but he could feel internal shifts that left his somewhat sluggish and exhausted. However, Izuku's job wasn't done just yet.
The brunette was in view and she should seem him approaching. While there was still signs of pain, it was overruled by amazement and shock.
The greenette didn't so much as say a word before crouching down at her side and gaining grip on the large slap of rubble that was pinning her down. If Izuku had done it a minute ago, it would have been effortless. But now, his current state required a hefty lift that caused the boy to grunt with strain.
With a final push, he shoved away the concrete chunk which resulted in a freed examinee. Said examinee looked nothing but grateful.
"Guess this is the second time you've helped me." The girl joked with a shaky voice but still held its appreciation. She was sitting herself up when she heard a thud next to her. Seeing what it was, she saw Izuku looking half unconsciousness while laying up against a flat surface of a concrete wall. "H-hey, are you okay!? I know I already asked that earlier, but you don't look too good this time!" The brunette scooted over to where she was next to the heavily breathing boy.
"Yeah… just… tired. Give me… a minute." With his simple request, Izuku felt his limbs shift. The bones returning to their normal shape and then being coated back by the rest of Izuku's body. The strange sensations on the back of his head sunk back into his head and vanished. All the while, the girl watched with curiosity at this transformation. The last to go were his cracked eyes. Black trails finding themselves back home in his sockets.
"…Thanks for helping me out… again." She made sure to give the other teen some time to recover before saying anything. "I got in your way twice. Sorry." Her gratitude fell as well as her view which went to her ground.
"Got in my way? I don't know about you, but I would much rather blame the big ass robot that was just wrecking the whole place than someone who just as much as a victim as I was." It was easy for Izuku to see the look of unexpectation on her face.
"My, my. You two really got it rough, huh?" Before the girl could reply, their attention was caught by the voice of an approaching person. They both sighted the short form of an elderly woman.
"Recovery Girl? What are you doing out here?" Izuku questioned the hero's appearance out here on the field.
"The exam's over, dearie. Didn't you hear that loud cockatoo screaming a minute ago?" Her response had led both teens to realizing that they have indeed missed the announcement of the end of the exam.
"Guess we got a little caught up." The brunette said sheepishly with a hand on the back on her neck. For a reason that they would learn in a moment, Recovery Girl grinned at them.
"I can see that. But please not on school grounds, okay kids?" Her teasing remark caused the two to realize their closeness and sent the girl into a red-faced rambling while Izuku did feel an amount of embarrassment but had a much easier time hiding it. "Hehehehehe. Anyway." She finished her sentence with a big smooch on the brown-eyed girl who was still composing herself.
It would seem the sudden heal of her body had managed to bring her back.
"Oh, wow! Thank you! That feels much better… whoa." Her thanks came to a slow halt as the hero's quirk took its toll.
"What about you, young man? You need me to kiss anything better?" Recovery Girl asked after looking to Izuku.
"No thank you. I'm able to heal myself. Although, I would still like to have some gummies if you don't mind." Izuku asked for the pieces of candy after seeing the hero handing some over to the girl.
"Oh, no problem. Here ya go. Now, both of you get on out of here. This place needs to be cleaned up."
"Yes, ma'am." The brunette hopped up from her spot along with Izuku and the two walked back to the site exit.
"Thank you again. I don't know what I would have done if you weren't there." Izuku looked over to his walking buddy.
"Really, don't mention it. Any sane person would have done the same thing. I saw that you were in trouble and I acted; simple as that." Izuku said the truth and nothing but the truth. He was just a little annoyed that he was the only one to have turned back to help a fallen examinee.
They were both now at the exam's exit. It appeared that they would be going separate ways from here.
"I'm Ochako Uraraka by the way. I hope to see you in the hero course." It was finally that Izuku learned of her name as he gave a hint of a smile.
"Izuku Midoriya. I hope for the same thing." He gave a wave that Uraraka sent back and the two teens went home. The place that they would wait for the next two weeks to receive the letter to UA.