Just as the test started, most of the 1A students found themselves besieged by many other students from other high schools, with Ketsubetsu Academy leading the charge.
"If a nail sticks out, then I'll hammer it down!" shouted Shindo as he threw his ball at the general direction of 1-A, which was swiftly followed by a barrage of balls from all those joining in to crush U.A.
Izuku quickly twisted his arm, letting it corkscrew back a bit while pushing One for All into it.
'Time to test out this move All Might taught me,' grinned Izuku as he swung his fist upwards for a corkscrew uppercut.
Nebraska Smash
Izuku's uppercut created a huge tornado, sucking up the balls into it. The few that went through were promptly blocked or dodged by everybody else's ability.
"Everyone, be careful!" shouted Izuku as the others nodded in confirmation.
Shindo frowned, knowing that the U.A. students would've been difficult to tag, but not this difficult. Still, it just meant he would have to change plans. After seeing his classmate fail to hit a target with another combination, Shindo decided if they were too strong together, he would just need to split them apart.
"Get back," Shindo ordered his classmates as he put his hands on the ground, focusing on his quirk, Vibrate, "Maximum Force. Tremoring Earth!"
Just moments before he did so, Kyoka had turned around towards the source, her eyes narrowing. On her face was a scouter that was connected to her ears. With it, she could hear vibrations coming, and the scouter helped pinpoint where it was coming from. An invention from Mei and Melissa combined, it was already calculating the frequency of the vibration.
"Get back, he's trying to separate us!" shouted Kyoka as she jammed her new bracelets into the ground, her earphone jacks being plugged into it.
Heartbeat Counter
With the frequency of the vibration being calculated, Kyoka's Amplifier Jack began to create soundwaves of the opposite frequency, canceling out Shindo's attempt to separate them. While Kyoka supplied the power with her already fast-beating heart, the scouter and bracelets help modify to the frequency needed.
Shindo grunted as he felt his super move being countered, growling in anger as he looked up.
"Don't look down on me!" shouted Shindo as he pushed forward with more power.
Kyoka frowned as she felt the vibrations pushing further in. While Shindo's had a constant frequency, Kyoka could only do so at her own heartbeat.
"Careful, I can't hold him back much longer!" warned Kyoka.
"Group up!" ordered Momo as she shifted herself to Kyoka to help protect her from stray attacks.
The others quickly did so, moving into groups they knew they could work best with. Soon enough, Shindo's attack got through, separating them into smaller groups, though the U.A. students were prepared.
"Damn, that didn't go as planned," grunted Shindo, feeling the aftershocks, "They're definitely not the same as before!"
"Still, it'll be easier to pick them out now," suggested Tatami, looking around.
Suddenly, they saw Denki land right in the middle of a closely clustered group of people that was rather close to them too.
"Hope you're ready, because here come the aftershocks!" grinned Denki as electricity began to crackle all around him, "Indiscriminate 1.3 million Volts!"
The shock took out a whole hero course class from another school and some other strays, and almost got Shindo and his group if Shindo hadn't quickly used his quirk to raise up the ground to shield them from the shock.
"He's open!" shouted Itejiro Toteki, using his quirk Boomerang to target Denki's targets. However, just as he threw his balls, he noticed an arm coiled around Deni's waist. In an instant, after Denki had finished his attack, he was pulled back to safety.
"Electric Human Yoyo!" grinned Izuku as he pulled Denki back to him, floating in the air via Ochako's quirk. The tracking balls came flying towards them but were intercepted by Hanta's tape and Hitoshi's newest weapon, the capture scarf.
"We should retreat," suggested Shikkui Makabe, a blue-skinned individual, "Especially with him there now."
Shindo could only nod in agreement as his team quickly pulled back to avoid the incoming U.A. students. With everyone starting to flail about and struggle, they just needed to use the opportunity to regather and strike back at the most opportune moment. A few moments later, Izuku, Hitoshi, Hanta, Denki, and Ochako passed the first part of the exam.
Katsuki scoffed as he finished up the bragging idiot that was from Shiketsu High School. Eijiro had been ready to charge in and most likely get captured if it hadn't been for Mina stopping him. As a result, Katsuki didn't have to worry about friendly fire as he blasted the purple hair idiot that he, as usual, never bothered to learn his name.
As the other examinees were finally set free, one of them panicked upon seeing U.A. that he directed his quirk into the ground, causing an explosion as well as a chain reaction that caused the bridge they were all standing on to crumble.
"I'll kill him!" shouted Katsuki in anger as he quickly angled his explosions so he could land onto the ground without any problems, rolling behind some debris.
Gathering himself, Katsuki had been ready to dive out when a familiar voice called out to him.
"Yo, Bakugo!" called out Eijiro as he slid next to Katsuki, "Glad I managed to find you. What's the plan?"
"The plan is I go out and murder them all!" growled Katsuki, his fingers already wriggling in excitement.
Eijiro nodded as he silently grabbed a ball, his hand slowly moving towards Katsuki's target. His facial expression seemed to change as he got closer and closer.
Suddenly, Katsuki turned around, slapping the ball out while also grabbing Eijiro by his shoulder guards. In an instant, he pulled Eijiro into a kiss.
"Mmmffff!?" shouted a muffled Eijiro in shock before Katsuki pulled away. His next sentence, however, explained everything.
"Take off that shitty disguise. I know it's you," ordered Katsuki.
'Eijiro' blinked a few times before his features suddenly began to melt. Soon, the fake Eijiro melted into a nude Camie Utushimi.
"Fufu, how did you know I wasn't your friend?" asked Camie, "And how could you just kiss someone you didn't even know? What if it was him? Are you gay?"
"Shut up and take off that disguise," ordered Katsuki once more, suddenly appearing in front of Camie and pulling her cheek, "I told you, I know it's you. If you want to become my woman, then try harder….. spiky buntails."
Camie stilled at that, remembering those specific words back at Kamino Ward.
Flashback
Katsuki pushed Himiko to the side, rushing at Shigaraki. As he did so, he whispered into her ears, "If you want to be my woman, then you'll have to try harder…. spiky buntails."
Flashback ends
"How did you know?" asked the disguised Himiko, pushing Katsuki off.
"Bitch, you think I can't tell who you are in disguise?" snorted Katsuki, "It doesn't matter what you do, I can easily tell."
Himiko was slightly awed and scared that somehow, Katsuki could instinctively tell who she was even with her quirk, Transform. Her quirk allowed her to copy whomever's blood she drank down to the tiniest detail.
"So, what brings you here?" asked Katsuki, "It can't be to just see me."
"Maybe," flirted Himiko, "Can't I come to see you?"
"Doubtful," snorted Katsuki, "Now spill or I will turn you over to the authorities."
"You'll have to force it out of me!" grinned Himiko as she moved forward with her hands out, trying to scratch Katsuki's face.
The speed at which she came from did slightly surprise Katsuki, but he managed to almost dodge it. A small scrape managed to cut his face, leaking a bit of blood as he took a step back. His eyes narrowed as he noticed Himiko seemed delighted at the sample of blood she had before racing through the possibilities. Ochako had told them that Himiko seemed very attached to blood, as her weapons were syringes that were capable of drawing blood out of her victims.
"You use blood to transform, don't ya?" grinned Katsuki, causing the disguised Himiko to look shocked, "It's obvious once you get the proper information together. Don't know how you managed to get some of Kirishima's blood, but that's how you can transform into him."
Himiko hissed, still in Camie's naked body form, when suddenly, a stream of acid came shooting forth.
Himiko backflipped, dodging the stream of acid trying to chase her before rounding a corner of a building and disappearing from sight.
"Bakugo!" shouted the real Eijiro as he stopped in front of him, with Mina landing behind him, "Who was that? And was she naked that whole time?"
"Nothing to be concerned about," grunted Katsuki, eyeing Eijiro before noticing one of his targets was lit, meaning he had been hit, "You get jabbed somewhere?"
"Yea, how'd you know?" asked Eijiro, "One moment when I landed, there didn't seem to be anyone, the next moment, that girl from Shiketsu stabbed me with something while hitting my target. I couldn't even sense her."
'That explains how she got some of his blood,' noted Katsuki.
"Uh guys, hate to interrupt, but we're surrounded," noted Mina, causing the boys to look around to see they were, indeed, surrounded.
"Looks like all the small fries decided to come out to give us an easier time killing them than trying to track them down!" grinned Katsuki as small explosions crackled in his hands.
Some of them started to hesitate, seeing Katsuki's face grinning maniacally. However, it was too late for them to back off now. With a roar, they all charged in.
A few minutes later, Katsuki, Eijiro, and Mina were walking out of that fight, having passed the test.
The other members of 1A were quick to pass not only because of the upgrades provided by Mei and Melissa, but also for the fact that they were able to maintain communication with each other thanks to Momo creating the communicators. Soon, they were all in the anteroom, quickly resting and replenishing their strength while also describing the battles they had fought.
Katsuki glanced around before noticing Camie. None of the Shinketsu students seemed suspicious at all, meaning either she was the real one or Himiko could really mimic someone's personality. To be honest, the only reason he even suspected that Himiko was nearby was because of the small tic she had. Every time she got excited, she would slightly bite her lips with her fangs. Not to mention that look in her eyes.
'Whoever said that the eyes are the window to the soul was fucking nuts, but pretty accurate,' hummed Katsuki to himself as Camie seemed to refuse to look at his direction.
Shrugging, Katsuki decided to kick back and see what the next test would be about.
After the 100th examinee passed, the rest of the examinees were quickly evacuated within minutes. Right as the last one exited, the surrounding area that was once the battleground promptly exploded, creating a disaster area for the rescue test.
An announcement came up, explaining about the test and how the Help Us Company, or the HUC, would be disguising themselves as normal injured victims scattered throughout the battlefield. The points system was explained, and a ten minute warning so people could finish using the restroom, etc.
"Midoriya…," whispered Tenya as he stared at the screen.
"Yea, this might have been modeled after Kamino Ward," nodded Izuku.
"Back then, we were focused on getting you two far away from the villains and staying out of the pro's ways. But there were so many casualties in the midst of it all that we didn't realize," breathed out Tenya.
"We'll have to do our best," stated Izuku before waiving Momo over, "We'll have to plan this out. Momo, can you make sure each one of our classmates gets a communicator?"
Momo nodded, starting to create them off our arms while filling up on lipids.
"Should we continue as a group?" asked Tenya.
Izuku frowned, trying to think of a reason why they shouldn't when Shoji piped into the conversation, "I've been hearing some chatter, but it looks like people are planning to split up into small groups. Perhaps we should do the same to cover more area."
"That is a splendid idea Shoji," acknowledged Momo, "This is a rescue operation, and most of the examinees here are older, and thus more experienced than us all. They may have had simulations closely related to this and its proper procedures while we were more focused on how to treat a rescue victim."
"There is a map here!" declared Tenya as he pulled a map of the battlefield from somewhere, gesturing to each different location.
"We can plan who should go where based on our abilities and quirk," hummed Izuku.
They soon made quick plans and spread the word, passing communicators around to their classmates. Katsuki had to be convinced heavily to put on a communicator before he relented after hearing they weren't planning to group up like the first exam.
"Excuse me, Bakugo," greeted Nagamasa Mora, the leader and class representative of the Shinketsu group, whose hair covered his whole body, "Did you see Shishikura, whose eyes looked like slits?"
Katsuki didn't recognize the name, but he did remember beating up someone with slits for eyes wearing a Shiketsu hat. Figuring that it was him, Katsuki scoffed before replying that he did.
"That's what I thought," sighed Nagamasa, "I think he probably acted rudely. He must have offended you in some way. He does have a tendency to impose his own values upon others, and so he probably couldn't help himself after seeing you, since you're pretty famous. I, myself, along with my classmates, would like to build a good relationship with U.A. So I do apologize on his behalf."
Although his apology seemed heartfelt, the students of 1A couldn't help being suspicious. U.A. and Shiketsu were technically rival schools, after all. Just as they all turned to leave, Shoto couldn't help but stop Inasa, asking if he had done something to him.
Inasa paused for a second before turning towards Shota, his eyes full of disdain at Shoto.
"Oh?" drawled Inasa with a sarcastic tone, "Well, I'm sorry, son of Endeavor, but I hate you guys. You've changed a little back then, but your eyes are the same as your father's."
The attitude that Inasa displayed against Shoto seemed to be a complete 180 to his usual behavior that it surprised Shoto. Before he could even respond, Inasa was called back by Nagamasa.
"Todoroki," Izuku called out to Shoto, shaking him out of his shock, "Someone you know?"
"I guess?" blinked Shoto, his eyes never leaving Inasa's back, "But from where? I don't remember him."
"Is it possible it was from the recommendation exams?" inquired Momo, "Aizawa-sensei did say that Inasa was the top student to be admitted to U.A. by recommendation, only to turn it down. There were several locations for the recommendation program, so I don't remember seeing him there at my testing. Furthermore, I was accepted via academic along with Honeki, while you and Tokage via practical. Tokage did mention though that she only got it because the original owner declined. It must have been because of Inasa's refusal."
"Sounds more familiar now," grunted Shoto as the memory seemed to be just almost in reach. Before he could push further, the bell began to ring, signaling the beginning of the second exam. They all quickly pushed their thoughts away, for now, focusing on the exam. Mera quickly gave a more detailed explanation of the exam as the room the examinees were in began to open up like before.
"Start!" barked Mera, causing all the examinees to rush out.
Shota held his breath for a second before letting out a sigh of relief. He had been worried that his class would group up in mass again as they had before. Their training hadn't covered the distribution of roles in a massive disaster area. Instead, they seemed to have learned or decided to follow their upperclassman's example of splitting up, even partnering up with other examinees to help and learn.
"Hoo, looks like your students aren't doing too bad despite being in their first years," commented Emi, "But we'll see how they handle injured bystanders."
Izuku decided to head towards an urban area along with Ochako, Momo, Hanta, and Rikido. It was there they encountered their first victim, a seemingly young boy crying about his grandfather. Izuku made the first mistake of asking where, only to be harshly lectured and given a quick lesson about what to do.
Izuku's mind could only flashback to Kamino Ward, where he remained in police custody for safety while the other heroes began to mount the rescue efforts. He remembered a situation where Kamui Woods had managed to rescue a young girl crying for her parents. Instead of asking where, Kamui Woods quickly calmed the young girl down, making sure she wasn't injured, before bringing her to a first aid station.
'How could I forget!? I watched Pro Heroes performing rescue operations in front of my own eyes!' scolded Izuku to himself, shaking his head to regain control of himself.
Deciding to follow his inspiration and mentor, Izuku gave off a smile, "It's all right now!"
Seeing Izuku trying again, the HUC member restarted his crying once more, acting as a young child in distress.
"Don't worry, we'll save him!" consoled Izuku before turning to the others, "I'll take him to the first aid station. You guys go ahead."
The others nodded and continued deeper into the urban area. With Ochako's knowledge from being the daughter of a construction company, they were bound to be most effective in the urban area.
Izuku carried the victim to the first aid station, and was ready to bolt back to the area after ensuring the victim was safely transferred when he and the other examinees heard and saw an explosion close to them. Looking over, Izuku saw the current number 10 hero of Japan, Gang Orca, stepping out of the explosion with dozens of people dressed in black tight costumes.
"Villains have appeared and started pursuit. Hero candidates at the scene should continue their efforts while also suppressing the villains," announced Mera, causing quite a few of the examinees to shake in their shoes.
"Even pros would have trouble in this situation," commented Shota as he stared out the arena, "They're really stepping it up."
With a grin that seemed to belong to the face of a villain, Gang Orca ordered his 'grunts' forward while charging in himself.
Izuku quickly began to analyze the situation before putting his finger to his comms.
"Everyone, the first aid station is being attacked. Momo, continue the rescue operations with the others. Todoroki, Bakugo, head over to the first aid station to help fight off the villains. Anyone else who's available, come assist. It's Gang Orca."
"Roger/Don't tell me what to do, Deku!" replied everyone. Nobody complained about the orders, as they knew Izuku, Shoto, and Katsuki were the monster trio of 1A, and thus the most suitable to fight against villains.
"Evacuate everyone to safety!" shouted Shindo as he charged forward towards the villains, "Get them away from the villains as far as possible! I'll keep hammering away at them with tremors at one-second intervals!"
Activating his quirk, he began to shake the earth, causing many of the grunts to stumble. Shindo had hoped that with this, he could hold back and maybe even defeat some grunts. He, however, overestimated himself when Gang Orca suddenly appeared in front of him, completely unimpeded by his attack.
"Weak!" shouted Gang Orca as he was about to fire a shockwave at Shindo.
Suddenly, Izuku grabbed Shindo away with his outstretched arm, pulling him away just in time to dodge the worst of Gang Orca's attack. Emi could only breathe a sigh of relief that her precious student had been saved from the worst of the attack.
"Nice work on saving your fellow student, but to only have two rearguards when there's this much difference in ability?" taunted Gang Orca, "You're really underestimating us here."
Despite saying this, he was wary of Izuku. The boy had been a target for a reason, and despite being recaptured by the scariest villain he had ever met, Izuku had escaped relatively unharmed. Not only that, he had managed to fight back whatever All for One was doing to him and injured him. There had to be a special reason why he was a target, and he had an inkling it was related to All Might. His own inquiries to this had been met with silence and a warning not to go deeper unless All Might permitted it.
Before Gang Orca could proceed further, he sensed an attack coming towards him. Redirecting his attention to it, he saw a wave of ice coming towards him before instantly destroying it with his quirk, creating a shockwave to break it. Before he could even say anything, he heard explosions in the air, followed by….
"DIE!" roared Katsuki as he fired a chain of explosions at Gang Orca.
"Hmph, annoyance," grunted Gang Orca as he cleared the smoke with another shockwave.
"Midoriya! We're here to help!" shouted Mashiro as he, Fumikage, and Mina arrived.
"Help with the evacuation. We're going to delay them for the while. Once you get them to a safe distance, come back to help. Mina, stay with the survivors. We can't be too sure there won't be any other surprises." ordered Izuku as he helped Shindo up.
"Shit…. that freaking hurt," grunted Shindo, shaking his head to clear it up, "I can continue."
"Shindo, we already have Bakugo and Todoroki handling Gang Orca for a while. Can you use your quirk on his minions?" asked Izuku.
"I can't pinpoint my aim if that's what you're asking," replied Shindo, putting his head on his hand, "I can control the range, but I can't control where I want the earth to shake. If you just want the minions, Gang Orca can't be in between us, otherwise, he'd just blast me with another shockwave. I can't exactly move when I use my quirk."
"Then we'll have to jump over them all," frowned Izuku, "I'd ask Bakugo or Todoroki to do crowd control as their quirks are more suitable for that, but heat is the best way to combat Gang Orca."
Suddenly, a gust of wind blew most of the minions away from Gang Orca, driving them further away from the first aid station.
"A villain attack!? You guys have prepared some pretty hot developments!" grinned Inasa, floating up in the air.
His face changed when he saw Todoroki, whose face also had the same reaction.
"Just my luck, you're here too," grumbled Inasa.
"That's my line," grunted Shoto in annoyance as he turned his attention back to Gang Orca, who was swiping at Katsuki, "Why don't you help evacuate the first aid station? That'll work well with your quirk. Leave this to us."
Inasa growled at this dismissal, looking over to Gang Orca, who had managed to slam Katsuki with a well-timed clothesline. Before Gang Orca could paralyze him though, Katsuki managed to blast his way away from him.
Both boys saw this as an opportunity and attacked. Inasa sent a gust of wind while Shoto fired a stream of fire at Gang Orca. However, their attacks interfered with each other, diverting them away from Gang Orca.
"Why'd you use your flames?! Heat makes the wind rise, making it unstable for me to control!" shouted Inasa.
"Because the ice was blocked earlier!" replied Shoto, his temper starting to show through his usual cold behavior.
The two began to argue in front of the fake villains, causing Gang Orca to raise his eyes. To think they would argue in front of him while taking a test.
'Teenagers,' sighed Gang Orca before having to duck under Katsuki's attempt at attacking him.
One of the grunts raised his shooter at Shoto and fired a cement blob while he was distracted. Shoto was almost hit if it hadn't been for Izuku shoving him down.
"Argue later and focus on the exam!" shouted Izuku in anger, "Whatever grudges you two have, save it for after this is over! Heroes don't let grudges interfere with their work, especially if it can cost people's lives!"
Shoto and Inasa looked at each other before agreeing to push down their differences for now. Inasa especially felt ashamed that he had acted so irrational when it came to Shoto. He realized that by doing so, he had been closer to being the thing he hated, being someone like Endeavor.
"Yoarashi, push the remaining minions to the right side, away from the others evacuating the injured. Todoroki, create an ice wall to separate Gang Orca from the others so they can't interfere. You two can team up with Katsuki to deal with Gang Orca afterward."
"Why should I team up with him!" growled Inasa, "His fire will divert my wind away!"
Izuku smiled as he patted on Shoto's shoulder, "True, but that's only if you two attack like before. Wind can fan the flames, but only if you do it right. I trust you two to be able to handle this. Heat is his weakness."
Inasa couldn't help but feel his blood passionately boiling at this. With a quick gesture, he blew all the grunts to the side. Shoto immediately created a giant thick ice wall to separate Gang Orca from his grunts, along with a sheet of ice that covered the ground the grunts were standing on, making them slip.
"Useless!" shouted Gang Orca as he turned his attention to the wall.
"Don't underestimate me, shitty whale!" roared Katsuki as he fired himself towards Gang Orca, "Howitzer Impact!"
Gang Orca tsked as he quickly turned towards Katsuki once more, releasing shockwaves to counter the attack.
Inasa soon landed next to Shoto, trying to push his grudge down for a while before glancing over to Shoto.
"So, how are we going to do this? If we attack like before, we're only hindering each other," asked Inasa.
"Midoriya gave us the hint. Winds can fan the flames….. But exactly how?" muttered Shoto, producing a ball of flame in his left hand.
A small gust of wind blew over the flames, allowing the flames to flicker in the same direction as the wind. Shoto's eyes grew as he figured out what Izuku meant. He had been impressed by Izuku's analysis of quirks when he had shown him one of his analysis notebooks, but to figure a combination for the both of them within mere minutes was terrifying.
"Create a tornado to surround Gang Orca," ordered Shoto.
Inasa bit down a retort before asking exactly what that would accomplish.
"Once you've created the tornado, I'll supply the fire. Use your wind to scoop up my fire into the tornado," finished Shoto, "Surely you can control your wind like that, right?"
Inasa's eyes widened before grinning, "Alright, now that's going to be HOT!"
Katsuki grunted as he was pushed back, wincing in pain. His trump card had been pushed back with the number of shockwaves Gang Orca had fired, and almost paralyzed him. As he landed, he felt his legs go numb and began to fall, only for a gust of wind to push him back on his feet and away.
"The hell?" shouted Katsuki before a giant tornado surrounded Gang Orca.
"Hmph, if you're hoping to blind me, think again," scolded Gang Orca, using his sonar abilities to track where Inasa was. He soon discovered that Inasa was standing right next to Shoto, who had just held up his left hand.
In an instant, Shoto began to create a giant pillar of flame for Inasa to scoop up and pile into the tornado, creating a flaming tornado.
"Shit, that's where the boss is!" shouted one of the grunts as they witnessed the fiery tornado, "The boss is like an orca, so he's super weak to drying out!"
"There's a giant ice wall, we'll need to go around to help him!" shouted another, "Focus on Todoroki when you get the chance. Use the cement guns on the ground to create some foothold!"
Suddenly, the ground began to shake violently, causing them to stumble. They looked up to see Shindo with his hands on the ground, creating the tremors.
"They're all distracted. Do whatever you were planning to do!" shouted Shindo as he kept it up.
One of the grunts then noticed a shadow next to him, quickly looking up to find the source. There, he saw Izuku all coiled up almost into a ball that looked ready to spring out.
Izuku landed in the middle, bouncing once onto the ground before releasing his attack.
Dubai Smash
A barrage of fists and kicks seemed to fire from the center of the body, almost like an explosion from a firework. None of the grunts were able to react in time, due to Shindo constantly shaking the ground underneath them.
"Yo, we're here to help…. Oh looks like you guys finished," commented Mashirao as he arrived with Mina and Fumikage in time to see bodies flying all over the place.
Meanwhile, inside the fiery tornado, Gang Orca could not help but be impressed. The two boys that created this attack had been on the verge of failing due to arguing with each other, in front of a villain no less.
'But then that boy intervened,' mused Gang Orca as he grabbed a water bottle out, pouring it over his body, 'Not only did he manage to calm the situation down, I have no doubt he helped create this plan.'
"A prison of fire and wind. It's a pretty good idea, one that would make a normal villain give up," complimented Gang Orca with a smirk, "But what if they didn't? After playing a hand, you need to be planning the next one!"
Gang Orca released a shockwave upwards strong enough to disperse the tornado and fire before firing another one in rapid succession at Shoto and Inasa. The two boys had been too focused on their attack that they barely had time to react. Shoto threw up an ice wall to protect them, but the attack slammed through the wall and into them. It wasn't a full-on paralysis, but it was enough to rattle their brains, causing them to sink to the floor.
"Don't think I've forgotten about you," said Gang Orca smoothly as he turned towards Katsuki, who had rushed towards him with a giant blast as soon as the tornado had dispersed, "I've been keeping track of you the whole time!"
He blasted another attack, only to look in surprise when Katsuki blasted himself up into the air before he even fired. Moments later, he heard something land right behind him. Looking at it, he saw a small red disc before noticing a few more lined up towards him.
"Looks like you're soaked in water now!" grinned Denki as he pointed his finger at him, "And you're nicely lined up now."
Denki fired a concentrated voltage of lightning into the first disc, which kept traveling through the discs before passing right through Gang Orca, shocking him enough to stun him.
"Alright, now DIE!" roared Katsuki as he was ready to fire off another chain of explosions.
Suddenly, the alarm blared in the arena, causing them all to pause. Or in Katsuki's case, fall on his face.
"Ahem, at this moment, all HUC members who were deployed have been rescued from the danger zone. This might seem awkward, but with this, all provisional licensing exam procedures have been concluded. After we tally the scores, we will announce the results here. Any of those injured should report to the infirmary. The rest of you should change and stand by," announced Mera.
"God damn cock blocking as-" shouted Katsuki, only to be muffled when Eijiro and Izuku managed to grab him and start pulling him away.
Gang Orca could only chuckle at this. Had the exam gone longer, there would've been a chance that even he could've been defeated, even without the restrictive protector.
'This new generation…. is going to be quite a sight to see,' mused Gang Orca.
"We all passed!" cheered Mina as she scanned through the list and quickly found all 21 student names on the list.
Mera had explained the criteria of the point system and how each student was evaluated based on how many mistakes were made in a critical situation. With a lackadaisical flourish, he pointed to the screen where the names of those who passed would be posted upon.
"I passed," hummed Shoto to himself, thinking he should've failed with his argument with Inasa.
Shortly after, handouts were distributed to each student, each one containing the breakdown of the student's score, with an explanation that anyone below 50 points was a failure.
Izuku looked at his score and smiled. He had gotten 90 on his score, his main flaw being when he didn't follow the proper protocols in the beginning and his way of reassuring his victim of being overly repetitive. He was complimented on his decision on helping guard the first aid station, calling over reinforcements, as well as dissolving an argument before it could go too far.
"Looks like I owe you, Midoriya," commented Shoto, looking at his own results.
Izuku leaned over to where Shoto was looking at his results to see that he had barely scraped by with a 52.
"I lost a lot of points by arguing with Inasa. Luckily, you were there to stop it from affecting us too much," explained Shoto.
"Any idea why you two were arguing?" asked Izuku.
"Something about me being like my father," winced Shoto, "I feel like he met me before coming to this school…. and he's probably met Endeavor as a fan. My old man never liked fans, never hosted any sort of signing event as he deemed it irrelevant."
Katsuki was fuming that he only got 65 points. The criticism on his paper stated though he could make snap judgements correctly, his attitude fully pulled him down, especially when he snapped or barked at the victims.
Mera soon concluded the exam, explaining a bit more about how those who failed were able to attend supplemental classes with the chance of gaining a provisional hero license.
As they all began to walk out, Shoto was once again confronted by Inasa. Shoto warily eyed Inasa, wondering what he was planning to do next.
Inasa, being rather straightforward, immediately bowed his head so hard that his skull cracked the pavement.
"I'm sorry!" apologized Inasa, "Due to my rash actions, I almost caused you to fail. I am glad to see we both passed, but it does not excuse my behavior! I was too narrow-minded!"
"Enough," sighed Todoroki, "In all honesty, it was most likely my old man and my fault that you dislike us. Being raised under his rule….. was not the best. You told me that I had my father's eyes. Do I still have them now?"
Inasa looked up from his bow straight into Shoto's eyes, staring at him for a good minute before replying.
"No….. at least, not as much now," admitted Inasa, "Something's changed."
"A lot has happened," replied Shoto before glancing over to Izuku, "You should be thanking him too. If not for him, we would've failed for sure."
"You're right!" exclaimed Inasa as he marched over to Izuku, who had been talking with Tenya and Denki.
"Midoriya! Thank you for your help!" shouted Inasa once more, bowing so hard that his skull hit the pavement once more, surprising Izuku as his passionate apology.
"It's no problem, but more importantly, are you all right?" asked Izuku hurriedly, "Your head is bleeding!"
"Hahah, don't worry about it! The blood just shows how heated this apology is!" cheered Inasa as he raised his head, "But to worry about my well-being instead shows how compassionate you are! Though everything does seem to be getting a little woozy now. Anyways, thank you for stopping me from being the person I hated the most! Now I have to go!"
Inasa left, stopping in front of Shoto once more.
"Perhaps we can start over?" suggested Shoto, putting his hand out for a handshake, "Shoto Todoroki. No hero name decided yet."
Inasa took a look at the hand before shaking it, "Inasa Yoarashi! Hero Name: Gale Force! Nice to meet you! In the end, it seems like I still don't like you much, so apologies in advance! Bye!"
On that note, Inasa rushed back to his classmates.
"Yo, Hairy man. Where's Big Lips?" demanded Katsuki as he nonchalantly walked up to Nagamasa.
Seiji, the purple-haired teenager whom Katsuki personally destroyed, was almost foaming at the mouth at the disrespect Katsuki was displaying, only to be held back by his classmates.
Nagamasa, however, seemed to take no qualms about his behavior, instead focusing on the question instead.
"Big lips? Oh you mean Camie? She said she wasn't feeling well and took a taxi home first," responded Nagamasa, "Why do you ask?"
Katsuki merely shrugged and just walked away, leaving Nagamasa slightly confused.
'Wonder if he has a crush on her or something,' pondered Nagamasa as he turned to leave.
'Now I think about it, Camie's been acting weird…. Well weirder than her usual self in the past three days,' thought Nagamasa.
It would be several days later before Shinketsu High was thrown into an uproar about the truth of Camie.
Toshinori sighed as he took a step out of Tartarus. He had gone to see All for One in hopes of seeing if he could wheedle out information about Shigaraki from All for One, but the villain remained elusive in his response. Instead, All for One tried to shake Toshinori up by predicting the current situation in society. While accurate in his prediction, Toshinori wasn't as afraid for the future as All for One thought he would be.
"Just as you've 'entrusted' your legacy to Shigaraki, I've entrusted mine to my successor. However, the key difference here is that you've never really entrusted anything to anyone, while I believe in mine," stated Toshinori, standing up to finish the conversation.
"Ah yes, the boy. Tell me, do you realize what truly is in that boy?" asked All for One, "What he currently hosts?"
"It's a dream you'll never achieve," smirked Toshinori, shocking All for One, "I'm well aware of the other being inside besides One for All. In fact, I'm betting it's what forced you out, along with One for All."
As Toshinori began to leave, he left one last remark, "By the way, how's your left arm?"
All for One growled as restrained himself from jumping up at the window. Of course, considering how tightly bound he was, along with the 24/7 monitoring, there wasn't much he could do.
As Toshinori left with the doors closing, All for One could be seen still bound….. missing the lower half of his left arm.
The damages done by Izuku when he crushed and burned his left arm, followed by Toshinori crushing it even further with all his strength, made it impossible to repair the damages. Not only that, none of the doctors were exactly willing to put their careers on the line to save the most notorious villain in Japan. After assessing the damages, which included crushed bones, frayed nerves, broken blood vessels, etc, it was concluded that amputation would be the safer option.
Toshinori hummed a small tune, wondering if he had learned it from listening to Inko's choice of music, as he entered the car with his friend, Detective Naomasa. After discussing a bit about their future plans, Toshinori felt his phone ring, and quickly picked it up to reveal Izuku with a photo of his provisional license, meaning he had passed the exam. Smiling at the photo, Toshinori closed his eyes to relax.
"You look like a proud father who just learned his son passed his exams with full marks," remarked Naomasa, causing Toshinori's eyes to open up with a crack.
Toshinori slowly turned his head towards Naomasa, his neck seemingly creaking like a wooden doll, as he saw Naomasa sporting a trollish grin.
"I've heard some rumors from Nezu about you getting rather close to your successor's family. What made me more suspicious was the day you appeared at Tokyo Disneyland. I even found pictures of you at the park in your current form, walking with your arms linked with another woman. After a little digging, I found her identity to be Midoriya's mother. Seeing how close you are to the family, would it be a fair guess that you look to the boy as your son?" concluded Naomasa.
Knowing that he couldn't lie to the detective thanks to his quirk, Toshinori took the only plausible solution to this. He huffed and turned his head towards the window, keeping quiet while pouting during the whole ride.
Back at the U.A. dorms, both 1A and 1B were celebrating their success at 1B's dorm, as both teams had everyone passing. Monoma had tried to brag that 1B had a higher total score compared to 1A, only to be viciously reminded by Yui and Itsuka that he barely passed his due to his 'pompous' attitude.
"Everyone! While it is certainly heartwarming that everyone has passed and certainly a good reason for celebration, I must remind you all that school starts tomorrow! So we should turn in early," announced Tenya.
"BOOOO!" shouted quite a few students, resulting in food being thrown at Tenya for reminding them about school.
While Tenya dodged the variety of food being thrown at him, Izuku sat with Itsuka, chatting with some of the 1B students to build up some camaraderie between the two classes. It was here that when Izuku went to grab something to drink, Katsuki walked past him.
"Oy, go out front later," grunted Katsuki, "We need to have a talk about your quirk."
Izuku froze up for a second before narrowing his eyes and agreeing with a nod.
However, the meeting did not go unnoticed.
Later at night
Izuku and Katsuki were walking a bit away from the dorms despite being past curfew.
"Where are we going?" asked Izuku, only for Katsuki to ignore him.
They soon reached Ground Beta, where Katsuki finally turned to face him.
"What is this about?" asked Izuku once more, getting annoyed at his silence, "If you're not going to say anything, I'm heading to bed.
"Your stretching quirk," started Katsuki, "How'd you get it?"
"I told you, late bloomer," Izuku replied tersely.
"Bullshit," spat out Katsuki, "Your quirk's nowhere even close to auntie Inko or your shitty dad, and I know she'd never have an affair. The blonde girl with glasses said she was quirkless too, only to suddenly gain a quirk, but can't swim. Same thing happened to you, back in second grade, didn't it? I remember you skipped swimming classes all the time, with a note stating you couldn't swim due to a medical reason. Yet in first grade, you were fine in the wading pool."
Katsuki's eyes narrowed before continuing, "It was that weird swirly fruit, wasn't it? That's how you two got your quirks."
Izuku stiffened at this accusation, unable to truly deny it. Of course, Katsuki would be familiar with the fruit and make the connection. He had been the one who forced him to eat it in the first place.
"But you can obviously swim now. Meaning something else happened in between. The boss of the League of Villains, that asshole, from what I could tell, could steal quirks and bestow them to others. All those Nomus had multiple quirks in them, meaning quirks can be transferred. All Might knew the villain, and vice versa. The transferral of quirks, meaning All Might is connected to him. At the beginning of the school year…. no, even further back. You got that extra boost in power from All Might, didn't you? It's not a mutation from having a rubber body, nor is it like icy-hot's quirk, it's a completely separate quirk, isn't it?"
"Not to mention when you were kidnapped, you weren't brought over to the shitty villains, but instead to the boss himself. He was really interested in you, and even warped you back to him even when we escaped. The idiot handjob even said out loud that if you didn't cooperate, then they'd take your quirk and give it to somebody else. It's not just about how powerful your quirk is, but instead how it's connected to All Might and All for One. Then he tried to take it from you, only for it to obviously fail. But exactly how is the biggest question. Why out of all the quirks he's taken over the years, is yours the failure? The biggest difference I can think of is the fruit that you ate. There's never been anyone in history that's gained a quirk by a damn fruit."
"The only time you've even been close to All Might is back at the Sludge incident. I don't know how or when, but that's when things changed. When All Might got weaker. Finally, there's his last message after the fight. When he said 'you're next', he wasn't pointing at the screen, was he? He was pointing to you, who was probably behind the camera. I tried to get the answers from All Might, but he evaded the questions. So now I'm asking you."
Izuku held his tongue, trying to figure out what to say. Despite Katsuki's brash temperament, he was tied with him in academics, and just as sharp when it came to details.
"So it's all true then," concluded Katsuki, "You still have a shit poker face, Deku."
"If it is," began Izuku, "What are you going to do about it?"
Katsuki gritted his teeth and clenched his fist for a bit before turning around. With a roar, he fired a giant explosion blast up into the sky in anger.
"Why!?" roared Katsuki as he whirled back around, "Why did he choose you!? How did you grow so much stronger? I thought I could use you to grind myself to make sure you stayed behind me! So how did you pass me so much! So why… Why was I the main reason for All Might's end!?"
Izuku stared at Katsuki, stunned at this admission while Katsuki's voice continued to break.
"If I was stronger… if I hadn't been kidnapped by villains, none of this would've happened! I wasn't even injured or disabled when they swiped me, while you had clearly already fought off one of their strongest attackers. Not only that, but you even fought back against that bastard, crushing his arm. All Might tried to keep all this a secret, so I couldn't tell anybody! I tried to push those thoughts away, but they always keep coming back! I don't know what to do!"
Katsuki had grabbed Izuku's shirt in the front as he ranted, his eyes wandering all about. Before Izuku could respond, a wooden cane smacked Katsuki on the head.
"OWWW, who the hell did that!?" roared Katsuki as he turned around to see Rekai already coming down for another hit to the skull.
Katsuki moved to dodge, only for Rekai to easily redirect her hit to his temple, causing him to stumble.
"Fuck, why are you here, old hag!?" shouted Katsuki while Izuku quickly greeted his master with a bow.
"Was considering putting some sort of suburban training area," replied Rekai, "I had him take me here since he ditched me on our last date night and some leeway to get in here."
"I told you it was an emergency," grumbled Gran Torino as he appeared before them, "You were there, too!"
"Yea, saving your ass," chuckled Rekai, causing Gran Torino to sigh in agreement.
"Wait….. you two are dating?" gaped Izuku, pointing to Gran Torino and Rekai, his head turning towards them so rapidly that he accidentally caused his neck to rotate 360 degrees.
"Sort of, but that's not important right now," shrugged Rekai before directing Gran Torino to calm Izuku down and kneeling in front of Katsuki, "Listen brat, All Might's end wasn't your doing."
"But-" started Katsuki, only for Rekai to rap his knee with her cane.
"He's been injured for a long time. Longer before he met my disciple," said Rekai.
"How'd you know?" asked Izuku as Gran Torino managed to help him unwind his neck back to normal.
"Hard not to when he's hacking up a storm inside," said Rekai, "Not to mention when I felt his pulse through his wrist, I could tell his body was a wreck. But I feel like this story is better straight from the source. So come out already."
They all looked towards where Rekai was pointing to reveal Toshinori walking up to them.
"He, I tried to be as quiet as possible, but I guess it wasn't possible to sneak up with you here," chuckled Toshinori, scratching the back of his head, "Good evening everyone."
"You seem healthier," hummed Rekai putting her two fingers up, motioning for Toshinori to give her his wrist, to which he complied, "Your body flow is much smoother now. Did you have surgery to help repair some of that damage? I can hear your stomach growl now."
"I did, thank you," nodded Toshinori before turning to Katsuki, "I heard everything you've said. It's only fair that I explain everything to you."
Before he could do so though, Rekai coughed, catching their attention.
"Before we do that, perhaps we should do something with our little peeper here," suggested Rekai.
Before anyone could even do anything, Rekai's cane flew out of her hand and into the wall. However, instead of hitting the wall, they could all hear it hit something metallic. In an instant, Gran Torino was standing against the wall, peeling off some sort of metallic robot before throwing it onto the ground before them. Before Katsuki or Izuku could try to destroy it in fear of a spy, the robot shrieked, "Wait, don't destroy it!"
"Wait, Melissa?" blinked Toshinori as he quickly hurried over, stopping the two boys from destroying the robot, "What are you doing with that? Were you spying on the boys?"
The robot slowly managed to reorient its 'eyes' and body to look up to Toshinori, "Kind of? Itsuka and Momo noticed Bakugo passing by and saying something to Izuku. They both asked Kyoka if she heard anything, and she said she thought she heard something meeting up later. So they texted me about it, and I decided it would be a good time to test run this spybot I made. Speaking of which, how did you notice? I created this skin with a holographic overlay to match its surroundings and made sure to make it as silent as possible, putting sound dampers everywhere on this."
Rekai chuckled, "I can imagine so. I didn't actually notice it until a few moments ago. A gust of wind happened to pass by, and with my quirk, I could hear the slight change in the wind. Not to mention when that machine moved, it shifted a piece of the wall, causing it to crumble down to the floor. Not enough to garner most attention, but I had my suspicions there and then. So I threw my cane to make sure. Even if it was just my imagination, I have plenty of boys here that can pick up my cane."
"That's terrifying how you do that," remarked Melissa, "Just means I have some more improvements I need to do to catch up to daddy."
"Good, now I believe Itsuka Kendo is with you?" asked Rekai.
"... No," replied Melissa with a pause.
Rekai merely tapped her cane, waiting for the correct answer before a long sigh came out, followed by Itsuka's voice, "Yes master, I'm here as well."
Both Izuku and Toshinori stiffened at this while Gran Torino decided to pop the more important question, "And how long have you been trailing the two? I'm assuming this contraption also has audio capabilities."
"Since Izuku and Bakugo left," admitted Itsuka.
"And I'm assuming you heard everything they were talking about?"
"Yes," confessed Itsuka.
Toshinori could only give Izuku a deadpan glance, to which he could only reply with a scratch to the head. One for All was supposed to be a secret, as was the devil fruit. Toshinori had managed to keep the quirk a secret for years, confined to only four of his peers, excluding All for One and Izuku. And now, in just a month, three more people pretty much figured out the truth.
"In that case, we should relocate to another room instead of chatting out here in the open. I prefer to be inside where words can easily stray off into other people's ears," suggested Rekai, already heading towards the exit, "I believe the girls should come too, otherwise their curiosity will grow out of hand. That includes the other girls listening in."
Three simultaneous gasps before attempts to muffle their own voices.
"I'm afraid to ask, but how did you know?" asked Itsuka.
"Please, I could hear their breath breathing into the mic besides you," cackled Rekai.
"That is a scary woman you've fallen for, Gran Torino," said Toshinori, using sign language in an attempt to prevent from being heard. A cane beamed him in the head in response from Rekai.
"I heard that!" cackled Rekai as Izuku quickly stretched his arm to bring his first master's cane back.
"Did you really hear those breaths?" asked Izuku in a whisper as he passed the cane back to Rekai. He was well aware of how sensitive her hearing was, and how attuned she was to her surroundings. He only voiced his doubt about the breath and not about Toshinori's attempt to communicate with Gran Torino.
"Pfft, as if," chuckled Rekai, "I called a bluff and they bought it. The same with your other master's attempt to communicate with Gran Torino. I predicted he'd try to do something like that."
Izuku could only sigh while also not looking forward to explaining about One for All and his Devil Fruit.
Izuku looked around the room, trying to calm himself while he served tea to Rekai. Besides him and the others at Ground Beta, Izuku's girlfriends and Nezu had joined in. Nezu had joined to help oversee the meeting as well as to enjoy the small chaos that was about to come.
"These are some quality tea leaves," commented Rekai as she sipped on her tea.
"Thank you! Mother sent some that were almost impossible to purchase here," smiled Momo.
"Too bad it was my student who brewed it. It still needs work," lectured Rekai, smacking Izuku on the shin.
"Well?" grunted Katsuki impatiently, "I'm waiting."
Toshinori sighed before turning to Izuku, "For so many years, I've kept my quirk a secret. How is it that after giving it to you for about a year and a half, the amount of people who are about to know the truth has tripled?"
"I'm sorry," apologized Izuku frantically.
Toshinori sighed, waving it off while ignoring the stink eye Melissa was giving him.
"Where to even begin?" breathed out Toshinori, "I guess I should start off about the villain All for One."
And so, Toshinori, with the help of Gran Torino, began to explain the history of All for One, and the birth of One for All. How it was passed down from generation to generation to fight evil, and how he used it to become the Symbol of Peace. And yet despite that, he still sustained a serious injury that limited his time, though he had believed he had finished All for One, only to be proven wrong. And finally, how he had chosen Izuku to be the successor.
From there, Izuku had to explain more in detail about the Devil Fruit, and how it came to existence. He briefly touched up on how Melissa gained her Devil Fruit, and the cost it came with it.
Finally, both Toshinori and Izuku had to somehow explain that when One for All and Devil Fruit first reacted with each other… it reacted rather violently at first before it synchronized with each other, with the remnants of One for All helping make sure. But in the end, both powers extended passive protections over each other. Izuku could swim, couldn't have his 'quirk' suppressed via machines or other quirks, and as All for One learned, couldn't be stolen.
Silence reigned over the room for a good minute after Izuku finished before…
"Well shit, I literally fed you your powers," cursed Katsuki.
"That's what you got out of all that!?" shouted Itsuka, almost wanting to throttle Katsuki, "What about the fact there's a literal devil inside his and Melissa's body? And the fact that his soul might've been consumed because of your damn ego!"
"He's still standing isn't he?" shot back Katsuki, "You heard what he said. The devil just moves onto another fruit after death."
"And exactly do we know it's telling the truth?" asked Momo.
"Kero, well both Izuku and All Might said to trust them. Not to mention the past wielders of One for All are there to protect him," commented Tsuyu,
"I can't really complain about my 'quirk'," said Melissa as she sprouted hands around her elbows, "I've been able to speed up production on some of my inventions because I have multiple hands on deck that I control physically, unlike some others who need to use robotic attachments."
"Ochako, are you alright?" asked Izuku, noticing she had been silent the whole time, her hair shadowing her face.
Coming up to her, Izuku lifted her face up to see teary eyes. Before he could say or do anything, Ochako leaped out of her seat, tackling Izuku to the floor. However during the tackle, in front of everyone, Ochako planted a fat kiss onto Izuku's lips.
As the two hit the floor hard, though with Izuku taking most of the impact and being made of rubber, they weren't hurt. However, Ochako didn't seem to care as she kept a liplock on Izuku.
"Looks like you missed your chance, Itsuka," commented Rekai, not even seeming phased, "You took too long, and now he's taken."
"No, I didn't! He's my boyfriend too!" shouted Itsuka before realizing what she said, quickly covering her mouth.
A silence that lasted even longer pervaded the area.
"Based on the heartbeats I'm hearing, I'm guessing these three are also in the same boat?" asked Rekai as she jabbed to Tsuyu, Momo, and Melissa.
The accused looked away but were unable to deny that claim.
"Well this is awkward," sighed Izuku as Ochako realized she had fully kissed Izuku on the lips, revealing their relationship as well as the fact Izuku was dating several girls at once. Her face turned crimson in embarrassment.
"I have no idea how to even react to this," said Toshinori with a blank face, "As a mentor, I'm impressed. As the uncle of one of the girls you're dating, I should be angry at this. As a man, I should be congratulating you for being able to woo this many girls successfully without being maimed by the other girls."
"Don't compliment him," scolded Gran Torino, whacking Toshinori on the shin.
"Whatever, if that's all, then I'm going to bed," grunted Katsuki as he began to walk out.
"Bakugo," called out Nezu, who had been enjoying watching the chaotic scene play out, "I don't think it needs to be said that this secret shouldn't be told?"
"Yea, I know. If this secret was revealed, it could lead to disaster," grunted Katsuki.
Though he did feel his burden lighten when Toshinori insisted that he was not the cause for the fall of All Might, it didn't change his goal. He was still going to become the number one hero, even if Izuku had been chosen to succeed All Might.
As he almost reached the door, he paused as he realized something.
"Wait, if that's your real form…. and you've been hanging out with Auntie Inko since back then….. and mom said you're in a relationship with Auntie Inko… holy shit All Might is banging Auntie Inko," concluded Katsuki as he pointed to Toshinori.
Toshinori blushed while Izuku groaned about that. Gran Torino would've made a comment if it weren't for the fact that Rekai had her gaze on him, telling him not to say anything. All the girls blushed at that statement while Nezu could only laugh at it.
"Alright, it's getting late. You can all talk about it another time, but please remember, this conversation must not be known to anyone," ordered Nezu.
Everyone nodded and left for their respective rooms.
Surprise! Himiko Toga goes to see Katsuki instead of Izuku! The reason being is that Toga has no reason to see Izuku. She didn't see him all bloodied up in this story, and never met him during the kidnapping.