Chapter Text
Stepping up to UA was nerve wracking, to be sure. Izuku swallowed around the lump in his throat as he looked up at the shining building - his dream school! He was actually here! He took a deep breath, stepped forward to chase his dreams…
...and started falling face first into the pavement. This is it , he thought, this is how my life ends.
He felt his arm getting yanked a bit, startling him out of his existential crisis and he looked up as he stumbled to see a big grin full of pointy teeth.
“Woah there, man! Wouldn’t want you falling before the exam! That feels like bad luck, and that's super unmanly!”
Izuku blinked as the boy helped him back to his feet, still smiling. “I’m Kirishima Eijiro,” he continued, “nice to meet you, bro!”
“Oh,” he startled, “I’m, um, Midoriya Izuku. You-you too! Thanks for catching me.”
The redhead laughed. “No problem, man! It wouldn’t be very manly of me to let you fall, and I’m aiming to be a hero after all.”
Izuku blinked again before stuttering, “Oh, m-me too! Maybe I’ll see you in the hero course.”
Kirishima’s grin got even wider, allowing full view of the shark teeth. Izuku’s eyes zoomed in on them, already wondering if they had something to do with his quirk. Perhaps it was a mutation? Maybe they came with enhanced jaw strength, or they were harder than regular teeth.
“Yeah, that would be totally awesome! Best of luck, Midobro!”
He was snapped out of his musings by the nickname as the boy began walking again, before calling out, “You-you too, Kirishima!”
Damn , he thought, he gave me a nickname and I couldn’t even think of one to call him back. Is this what having friends feels like?
He hurried to the testing room for his written exam, feeling strangely light. If the rest of the examinees were as nice as Kirishima, then maybe this wouldn’t be so bad!
“Haah?! Deku, what the hell are you doing here?”
And he spoke too soon.
He hurried to his seat, sparing Bakugo a glance before glancing back at the pro hero who was proctoring their exam.
“Kacchan, I’m here to take the exam…”
The blond boy sneered. “I can see that, shitface; but what does a useless fucker like you think he’s doing, trying for UA? I thought I warned you.”
Izuku pursed his lips.
“The exam is starting, Kacchan.”
“Tch, whatever. You won’t be getting in anyway.”
~~~~~
Izuku breathed a sigh of relief while he stood with the other examinees waiting for the practical exam. The written portion had gone fairly smoothly, with a few essay questions about quirks and quirk laws. Even if he didn't feel confident on the rest of the exam, he was certain he had those sections down pat, and now all that was left was the practical portion of the exam...not that that was any less nerve wracking. If anything, this was going to be worse. Despite his ten months of hell training, and the fact that he had gotten All Might’s quirk, he hadn’t had the opportunity to use it yet. As much as he loved All Might, his explanation on how to use it was...sketchy at best. Suffice to say, Izuku was not keen to mess up in what would arguably be one of the most important tests in his life, and the warning that if he wasn’t prepared that his limbs could blow off wasn’t doing him any favors in the nerves department.
Ectoplasm finished explaining about the exam and asked if there were any questions when Izuku heard a mutter beside him that broke him out of his spiralling thoughts.
“Ah, man, I was zoned out.”
He looked over to see the boy who had spoken, a blond boy with a streak of black in his hair, looking sheepish. Izuku glanced around before leaning over.
“How much did you miss?”
The boy looked surprised for a moment before yellow eyes met green and he smiled softly. “Uhhh, all of it?”
Izuku blinked.
“Oh.”
“Yeah,” the boy chuckled, “I was so nervous I forgot my ADHD meds this morning and I really shouldn’t have.”
“...There are robots, four types, worth one, two, three, and zero points. I think they’re all marked. We’re supposed to destroy them.”
The boy stared for a moment before breaking out into a grin. “That makes a lot of sense! Thanks, man!”
Izuku smiled softly and looked away right as the doors opened and Ectoplasm called for the start of the exam. He gave a wave to the yellow haired boy before running off with the crowd.
~~~~~
He mentally signed his will. His All Might collection should be auctioned off to help support his mother, and his notebooks should be burned so that no one could get their hands on them. Honestly, no one needed to see how much he nerded out over heroes. He wished Kirishima, at least, luck in getting into the hero course, because if a nice boy like him couldn’t make it, then the state of society would deteriorate significantly.
He ran some more, ducking around corners, desperately trying to find a single robot. There were so many cool quirks that he had seen - no, don’t get distracted Izuku, it’s already been three minutes according to your watch and you haven’t even gotten a single point.
He spun around another corner only to collide with a body also going at breakneck speeds. The two recoiled off of each other, and the other kid got their bearings first.
“Sorry about - oh hey, it’s you!”
Izuku shook his head to clear the pain to see that he had collided with the yellow haired boy from before, before looking past him to see a three pointer preparing to attack. He yelped and grabbed onto the boy, pulling him back around the corner just as the laser cannon went off.
“Holy shit, thanks! That was kind of terrifying! I’m Kaminari Denki!”
Izuku took a shuddering breath before looking at him in confusion. “I’m...Midoriya Izuku? No, this isn’t the time, what’s your quirk so we can take that three pointer down, before it catches up?”
“Oh, yeah, my bad. I call it Electricity!”
Izuku’s eyes lit up. “Wow, that's pretty perfect for this, since we’re fighting robots!”
He scratched his head. “Eh, not really, it takes a lot of charge to take them out and if I go over my limit I get...kind of stupid.”
“What?” He crinkled his brow, momentarily ignoring the thundering that was steadily approaching. “I don’t know a lot about robotics, but it can’t take more than, what, 400? 500 watts to short circuit them?”
“Well, yeah, but my electricity loses power the farther the distance it has to go.”
“Then just...touch it? Or use metal as a conductor?” He blinked rapidly, quickly waving his hands. “I, I mean, I don’t mean to tell you how to use your quirk, after all you’ve had it since you were four or five and I’ve just met you, I didn't mean to assume, I’m sorry, I’ll-”
“Wait, I didn't even think of that!” He looked around and chewed his lip worriedly, peeking around the corner at the three pointer. “I don’t think I can get close enough to touch it without getting blasted though, and I don't see anything metal around…”
Izuku peaked around the corner himself. “I think I can distract it if you try and get close. Plus, I see a downed pole just past it if we can survive this.” He glanced shyly at the other boy. “Do you...want to try it?”
Kaminari grinned. “Hell yeah, man, sounds like a plan! Are you sure you’re ok with being bait? Do you have, like, a speed quirk, or something?”
He smiled nervously. “Let’s just say I have a lot of practice running.”
Without another word, he darted out of the alley, waving his arms at the three pointer. It immediately locked on and shifted its gaze to him, laser powering up. His eyes widened and he took off, running around it in a circle so it wouldn’t move as much. He saw a flash of yellow out of the corner of his eye as the first laser fired and he picked up a bit more speed, feeling the all too familiar explosion just behind him.
Just as he heard the laser powering up again, he heard a zap and it sputtered out. He slid to a stop, catching a dazed looking Kaminari grinning at the smoking husk of the robot. He jogged over, worried that the boy wasn’t moving, but as he approached, he was met with a beaming smile.
“Mido, that was so cool! I didn't even consider touching things, I just assumed I would have to hit 'em with lightning!” He scratched the back of his head sheepishly and eyed the smoking heap. “I think I went a little overboard though, I’m not used to dealing with small amounts of electricity.”
Izuku giggled a bit. “How much did you end up using?”
“Like...a thousand.”
“O-okay, yeah, you might want to cut that in half.”
He grinned at the green boy again. “Just like you said, huh? Thanks for your help. I would have been a goner if you hadn’t pulled me around that corner, and now I have a new strat for raining hell on these machines!”
Izuku smiled before startling, glancing down at his watch again. “Oh no, there are only five minutes left! I haven’t even gotten a single robot!”
Kaminari’s smile fell. “Shit, dude, sorry, I took up your time. You’ve got this! Don’t give up, and go get ‘em!”
Izuku smiled and nodded before taking off again. It felt good to help out the boy from before (and now he had a name, plus he knew his quirk, and it was really cool), but the test was halfway over and he hadn’t managed to get a single point. He thought back to what he had told Kaminari earlier, eyeing a destroyed two pointer, and pursed his lips, a plan forming.
The two pointers looked almost like scorpions, but with four legs and two tails. One ended in a rather sharp and sturdy protrusion - not enough to cut people, but if enough force was applied it could probably puncture the hull of the other robots around. And, even luckier, this two pointer had that tail separated from its body. It was heavy, sure, but he had lifted refrigerators before, a few minutes of lifting and swinging this would be nothing.
He found that it bent in one direction and not the other, so he could level it like a lance and it would be straightened out by its own weight, or he could use the bending side to flick it like a whip. He didn't have any practice with a whip though, so it might be better if he just used it like a lance. Still, as a bludgeoning weapon it wasn’t too bad.
He heard a yelp from another street over and whirled around to find three one pointers converging on...nothing? Wait, no, he could see shoes moving around. Maybe some sort of invisibility?
He was getting distracted. Izuku shook his head and ran forward, lining up the improvised lance with the closest robot. With a crunch, it rammed it’s way through the hull and the robot sputtered to a stop. He quickly ripped out the lance just as the other two turned towards him and he swung, knowing he wouldn’t be able to get both if he just wanted to stab them.
The first robot’s torso was shredded by the pointed end, but the other was too far away and merely got nicked, punching it back slightly. Izuku’s arms ached; he had overestimated how heavy this thing was, and the quick changes in direction he was putting on were straining his arms, but at least it was still a nice burn and not a dangerous one. Yet.
He tried to get out of the momentum of the swing as the one pointer swung it’s guns on him but he stumbled. His eyes widened and he tried to leap out of the way, but then the robot suddenly powered down. He blinked, surprised, before he remembered the invisible person.
“Are...are you ok?”
A girl’s voice bubbled from behind the robot as he saw the shoes come back into view. “Am I ok?! Are you ok! That was so cool! You were swinging that around like boom! Pow! Like it was nobody's business! Just how strong are you?!”
“Oh, uh, I-I’m not, it’s really not, oh jeez..”
She laughed lightly and he felt a hand on his shoulder. “It’s all good! But yeah, thanks! And good luck on the rest of your test, Mr. Hero!”
Izuku jumped as the hand left him and the shoes went down the street. “Oh, uh, yeah! You-you too!”
He took a deep breath and adjusted his grip on the tail, setting his jaw. Three minutes left…
~~~~~
This couldn’t be real.
How much money did UA have? The zero pointer was taller than most of the buildings, meaning it was at least 15, no, 20 stories tall! Izuku was not keen on getting close to that monstrosity of a robot, and it looked like the other examinees had the same idea. There was only a minute or two left before the exam ended, and the giant robot wasn’t worth any points either.
He swung his weapon at a two pointer at the same time that Kirishima drove a sharp looking fist into it. A hardening quirk of some kind? That’s really cool , Izuku thought to himself as Kirishima shot him a grin before they both kept running.
Suddenly, from the direction of the zero pointer, he heard a scream and a sharp zap! The smell of ozone filled the air and Izuku glanced back to see Kaminari standing in front of the zero pointer, thumbs up and blank expression on his face, the corpses of a two pointer and a three pointer nearby.
Why wasn’t he moving?! Izuku thought, torn between running and grabbing his maybe-friend. Suddenly, their previous conversation flashed through his mind.
“...if I go over my limit I get...kind of stupid.”
Taking another glance at his empty face, Izuku’s heart sank. He had gone over his limit and was not in the right state of mind to run from the zero pointer. Sure, UA probably wouldn’t let him get crushed, but that thought didn't enter into his mind as he grabbed the tail one more time and ran back.
He heard Kirishima give a yell about why he was running back, but he just leveled the lance and planted his feet, feeling the power of One for All coursing through his arm.
“PLUS…”
He used his momentum and the lance shot forward, piercing the hull of the zero pointer.
“...ULTRA!”
His arm fell to his side and he looked at it with dizzy eyes. It was turning a purple color and with a wince, the pain caught up to him. Yep, definitely broken. But hey, it didn't explode, and that’s always a plus.
He bit his lip to stop the tears from overtaking him as he turned to Kaminari and wrapped his left arm around the boy, dragging him away. He spared a glance at the zero pointer that had reeled back a bit from the impact, tail still lodged in it’s chest, but it was slowly starting to right itself, despite sparking dangerously at the entry site. He had to get Kaminari away, and fast.
Suddenly, there was another person at Kaminari’s side, holding him up as well, and Izuku cast a tired smile at Kirishima, who looked worried.
“Midobro, your arm…”
“AND THAT’S TIME!!!!!”
The voice of Present Mic rang out across all of the exam sites, signaling the end of the exam before Kirishima could say anything else and Izuku just smiled.
“It doesn’t matter, I got him out.”
He could tell the redhead was still worried, but they both made it back to where Recovery Girl was looking over people for injuries. They set Kaminari down on a seat, the boy still being out of it, and Kirishima waved at him with a smile before heading out - the boy wasn’t injured, afterall.
Izuku plopped down beside the blond boy, gingerly settling his arm and trying not to wince. After the adrenaline completely wore off, the pain was excruciating and he had to grit his teeth to stop himself from crying out every time it moved.
When Recovery Girl turned to him, her gaze sharpened and narrowed and he gulped and smiled weakly.
“Young man, what on earth were you thinking? You broke every bone in your arm, you realize that, right?”
“I do, I’m sorry. Kaminari overused his quirk and couldn’t escape on his own, though.”
She pursed her lips before giving him a kiss on the forehead. He winced as the bones realigned themselves and the swelling and purple color went down, but he sighed as the pain went down with it. She produced a sling from her bag and fitted it around the arm.
“I don’t know what Toshinori was thinking, clench your butt cheeks and yell smash, how ridiculous. I’m glad you didn't get seriously hurt, but you’re using too much power and it’s breaking you. Don’t take your arm out of the sling for two days and even then only if you feel no pain at all. Are we clear?”
He smiled weakly. “Y-yes, ma’am. Um…”
She handed him some gummies and raised an eyebrow. “Yes, young man?”
“...may I have your autograph?”