Chapter 62 - INTERLUDE 9: PUBLIC EXAM(3 in 1)

Two months later, at 8h40, a young blonde-haired boy could be seen walking with a mean expression. 

It wasn't that he was angry. It was basically his default look.

As he walked, he could hear the voice of those background characters talking about the incident with the sludge villain and how incredible his quirk was.

Those praises didn't please him. They pissed him off!!! The thought about that f.u.c.k.i.n.g nerd saving him pissed him off so much.

He put his hands in his pocket and continued to walk with anger brewing in his stomach, that was when he heard it

"Hello!, Kacchan!." 

This voice, he could remember it hundreds time, he turned while screaming,

"WHAT THE F.U.C.K DO YOU WANT YOU F.U.C.K.I.N.G N...erd?"

His voice died down as he had to look up to the green-haired guy in front of him,

"Deku?"

"Hello, kacchan. It has been some time since the last time we saw each other."

The first thought that went through Katsuki's head was: who the f.u.c.k are you?

The second thought, Am I dreaming?

The third: Is someone playing a prank?

In no instance did he ever think that it was truly deku that was standing in front of him.

After another two months of intense training, Izuku now stood at a solid 177 cm. 12cm taller than he was 10 months ago. Bakugo though, stood at a solid 174 cm

Izuku, let out a bitter smile at the reaction of Kacchan before saying.

"It's really me."

Anger rushed down Katsuki's head. What the f.u.c.k? What the actual f.u.c.k?

"YOU!!"

He sent out a fist without thinking. Frankly, he didn't intend to hit Deku, he just wanted to scare him a little. But then,

(Huh?!)

The sky and the ground were reversed.

Boom!!!

(Shit!!)

The pain finally made him snap out of his daze. He was thrown? By deku?

"KACCHAN!!! Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean to do this. Please forgive me. Are you alright?"

Those words nearly made something snap-in Katsuki. But he had enough good sense to not fight with his quirk here,

"DON'T TOUCH ME!!"

He swatted Deku's hands that were trying to help him before getting up and sullenly walking away. At that moment, his head was boiling hot, but at the same time completely cold.

It wasn't that he didn't see Deku change. But perception is a funny thing. When you see someone gradually changing, you cannot feel those changes. It's only when you do some time before seeing him again that you can feel how much the person changed.

He didn't know what prompted those changes in Deku, but one person flashed through his mind. A white-haired, red-eyed kid.

-----

"*Sigh*"

Izuku sighed while looking at the departing back of Kacchan. He really didn't mean to put Kachan down. During his training, sometimes he would be attacked even if he was eating or washing. Being able to react was a must. He also learned some aikido with Malicia.

Still, to think that he could do this.

(Was Kacchan always this small?)

The thought went past his mind before being discarded.

He looked at his hands with wonder. During his training, he never really felt strong. He was basically the punching ball of the team. He remembered how Himiko-san beat him down like nothing. He didn't know what her quirk was, but he was sure it was related to invisibility.

He clenched his fist,

"I'm different from before."

"Ano...Are you alright?."

"Hum.."

He turned and saw a girl standing in front of him,

(Cu-Cute!!)

He couldn't help but blush. The girl was a little short but she had a very feminine build. She had brown curved shoulder-length hair.

Izuku blushed a little before asking while scratching the back of his head

"Sorry, what do you mean?"

"Ah, sorry if I misunderstood. It seems like you're fighting, so I asked if everything was alright."

"This, no I mean, no-nothing happened, he is a friend from middle school. I mean not really a friend but you see."

He waved his hands in fl.u.s.tered way.

The more he tried to explain, the more incoherent he becomes. Finally, he simply stopped talking and hides his face with his two hands

(So embarrassing!!!!)

"Ahahaha!! You're weird!!!"

(Her way of laughing is so cute!!!!)

"I see! Still, you seem pretty strong. You must be confident in yourself."

"Uh?"

"In my case, I'm pretty nervous. Let's do our best. See ya!!"

She began to run ahead while waving her hands, a large smile on her face. Izuku looked at her, with a transfixed expression.

Finally, a dork like expression appeared on his face.

(I TALKED WITH A GIRL WHO ISN'T VIOLENT!!!)

He nearly cried at this beautiful thought. After months of training with Miliena and Malicia as well as his occasional meeting with Himiko, he began to wonder if all the girls in this world were sadistic and barbaric monsters.

(THANK YOU!! THANK YOU!!! THANK YOU!!!)

He thanked all the gods for not creating such a nightmarish world.

---

"For all of you examinee listeners turning in, welcome to my show today!"

In a barely lit room, the brightest source of light was a very large screen on a podium. On the podium, a man stood with his back facing the examinee seated in the room. Finally, the man turned and said,

"EVERYBODY SAY HEY!!!"

"...."

The silence that greeted him was deafening.

Still, the man, Present Mic, as if used to such reaction, didn't lose his smile and continued his presentation,

"Then I'll quickly present the rundown on the practical exam! ARE YOU READY?"

"..."

"Kyaa! it's the voice hero: Present Mic!"

Izuku was sitting alone and watching this scene with stars shining in his eyes while muttering about how fan he was of Present Mic and about all the pro-heroes working in UA. He was a fan of the voice hero. 

At the same time, he was daydreaming, Mic was still talking,

"As it says in the requirements of the application, you, listeners will be conducting ten-minute mock urban battles after this! After the presentation, you'll head to the specified battle center, OKAY?"

After that, he began to explain the points system. After finishing he added,

"Of course, attacking other examinees and any other unheroic actions are prohibited!" 

The sole reason they allowed the recommended examinee to fight each other was because each of them was basically trained since young. As such, they had a clear understanding of their power. 

Most of those participating in the public exam, however, didn't receive such a systematic training, making the risk too high.

"MAY I ASK  A QUESTION!?"

"Okay!"

A projector shined on the students who raised his hand. It was a tall guy, with black hair and a pair of glass giving him an intellectual look despite his bulky frame.

"ON THE PRINTOUT, THERE ARE FOUR TYPES OF VILLAINS. IF THAT IS A MISPRINT, THEN UA, THE MOST PROMINENT SCHOOL IN JAPAN, SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF THAT FOOLISH MISTAKE…"

Izuku paid attention to the rant of this guy while frowning a little. It was pretty rude for a middle-school student to speak like this to a pro-hero. 

"...IN ADDITION, YOU OVER THERE, WITH THE GREEN HAIR!!"

"Ah?"

Why did this crazy guy talk to him?

"YOU'VE BEEN MUTTERING THIS WHOLE TIME. IT'S DISTRACTING. IF YOU'RE ON A PLEASURE TRIP, THEN YOU SHOULD LEAVE IMMEDIATELY."

Izuku paused. Those words re-playing in his mind. Truthfully speaking, Izuku was a pacifist and a shy young man. He hated physical altercation and thought that people should be talked to before acting. What's more, despite his training, he still keeps some bad habits and his instinctual fear towards Kachan. But he wasn't the coward he was anymore.

If this glasses guy had simply complained about the noise, then he would have understood. But doubting his dedication to being a hero?

Izuku stood to his full height while his usual dorky expression was nowhere to be seen and replaced by an extremely serious and dignified expression.

He first bowed towards him and said,

"If I really disturbed you, then I am sorry. I will stay silent for the rest of the presentation. But…"

He raised his head and looked at the glasses boy with a face so full of wrath and anger it sent a shiver to the spin of most of the examinee watching him. After a few seconds, he opened his mouth and said with biting cold words

"...Never put my dedication into question. You neither have the right nor the ability to do so. What more, rather than asking such a rude and stupid question, it would have been smarter and more polite to wait for the hero Present Mic to finish his presentation."

After saying his piece, he slowly sat back and ignored the glasses guy.

"YOU!!..."

" Aie! Aie! Aie!, enough wasted time;"

Present Mic calmed the situation before continuing his explanations and by doing so spoke about the 0 point giant robots.

The glasses guy, seemingly still angry at Izuku's words, but understanding the truth in them, simply swallowed his anger before apologized to Present Mic and sitting down.

----

(Huge!!!)

Izuku looked with astonishment at the large structure standing in front of him. Just how vast was U.A for a city to be built in it? 

Izuku and the other examinees were standing in front of a very large bronze door. They all discarded their middle-school uniform for clothes that allowed easier and larger movements. Some even wore special equipment related to their quirk. One rather weird and eye-catching guy was wearing what seemed like a rather large belt.

He took a deep breath before firming his expression,

(It's time to show everything I got from my training during those ten months.  I will become...The hero I always dreamed of being.)

An unprecedented feeling of calmness washed over him. He remembered what the cute girl told him this morning,

----

"I see! Still, you seem pretty strong. You must be confident in yourself."

---

He looked at his clenched fist. Confident in himself? No truthfully speaking he wasn't particularly confident. 

He didn't believe in himself. He believed in those who believed in him.

That's why he was so calm. Those ten months of training were done with the careful planning of a group of pro-hero. Those same heroes said that he was ready. As such he believed that he was ready.

While looking around he saw the cute not far away from him. Since he was by himself, he decided to go say hello to her. Of course, if she was trying to concentrate he wouldn't bother her.

Just as he was beginning to walk towards her, he felt a presence behind him before a hand was placed on his shoulder. He nearly acted on instinct before remembering what happened this morning with Kachan.

He slowly turned and was faced with the rude guys from this morning. He decided to ease the tension a little. He didn't like useless conflicts,

"Oh! You're here too?"

The guy didn't answer but simply pointed the cute girl with his chin before explaining,

"That girl appears to be trying to focus. What are you doing here? Are you taking the entrance exam to interfere with everyone else?"

Izuku swatted the hand on his shoulder before facing the guy. In the past, he would have had to look up to this guy because of their difference in height. Now though, they basically stood at the same height.

"Firstly, you're right that I shouldn't bother her right now. My bad. But once again stop judging my resolves and looking down on me. You do not know me, nor do you know the struggles I went through to get here. Of course the same goes for me." 

He stretched his hand before smiling

"I'm Midoriya Izuku, you can call me Izuku. My dream... is to become a hero. What about you?"

The boy hesitated a little a the odd reactions of Izuku. But he followed strict rules. Since this green-haired boy presented himself, he had to do the same.

"It seems we really had a misunderstanding. Mainly on my part. Happy to meet you Izuku. My name is Tenya Iida. You can call me Ilda. My dream is also to become a hero."

After this, even though they didn't continue their discussion, the tension between them was visibly completely drained. 

After calming the situation with Ilda, Izuku began to breathe deeply but slowly. In his chest, his heartbeat was slowly becoming more powerful. Then,

"Okay, START!!"

The moment those words sounded, Izuku felt like the world was in slow motion.

-------FLASH

Izuku couldn't help but shudder when he thought back to what happened the first time he used One For All.

The damage he ditched was without a doubt incredible. But the price to pay was as large. Nighteye analysis had been right. NO! His analysis was nothing more than a minimal estimation.

One For All becomes stronger, and not just by a little. All Might had been the longest user to date. The time he cultivated One For All allowed it to become something two or three times stronger than the one he got from the previous user of One For All.

The backlash from using One For All at full power was awful. All the bones in his hand broke like a twig. Thankfully he was already used to broken bones so it wasn't a big deal. The problem as always didn't rest on the wound itself but the healing.

Anyways, in order to allow Izuku to not become a wreck after just one punch. They consulted Gran Torino, the one who understood this power the best before helping Izuku come up with this technique.

Rather than using all the power in one go, Why not use it little by little? 

It hadn't been easy, he cried, screamed, but still, he held on. 

Finally, after two weeks of hard work, he finally succeeded.

[Full cowl]. A technique that was created with Sebastian and Gran Torino's help.

Now, he would show them. 

-----------FLASH

"Okay, START!"

"FULL COWL: 5%"

The reaction was immediate. He didn't wait for any other explanation. Red vein-like marks began to form on his body. Green lightning began to flicker around him.

Power began to flow through his body. It was so exhilarating. He felt stronger, faster, sturdier. 

It took a long time to explain, but everything happened in the blink of an eye. The moment Present Mic gave the start, Izuku was already in the city and destroyed one robot

(Good, already 1 point. I can do it.)

----

(You can do it, Midoriya-Shonen)

All Might was watching the stream from the monitoring room with the other professors and clenched his fist with jubilation. Watching Midoriya zip around and destroy robots one after another really put him at ease.

"In this practical exam, the examinee has not been informed of the number of villains or their locations. Their times are far more limited than the one given to the recommended. Information gathering, mobility, discernment and pure combat ability. These basic abilities needed to keep the peace in the streets are tested her."

All Might listened quietly to Nezu monologue.

"Still, with the already excellent batch of recommended students, this year seems very promising."

"Well, we won't know for sure yet. Their true test has yet to come."

They all watched as one of them activated the zero points giant robot. The moment the city began to change, Midnight turned her attention toward All Might,

"I heard your nephew went missing?!"

All Might stilled a little before sighing,

"Not really. Even though it has been one week since he went away, he always contact us at least once a day."

Midnight let out a sigh of relief hearing this.

"She personally didn't like the kid. But she was first and foremost, a professor and a hero. She would never wish for anything to happen to him."

Still, she was really worried about his murderous tendencies. She wanted to ask All Might if there was an increase in the death rate of criminals since the kid went away, but she was tactful enough to not say something so stupid.

BOOOMMM!!!

She put back her attention to the screen and saw a very incredible scene. A green-haired kid literally flew and punched the 0 point robot into oblivion. 

---

A few minutes ago,

Deku destroyed a robot with a punch, before using it as a stepping stone and launching himself through the air and destroying another one with his knee.

Despite having received some basic martial art training during the two months preceding the exam, he still didn't have a fighting style for himself. He wanted to copy All Might, but it was very hard to do so when he could only use a small percentage of that power.

Suddenly,

RUMBLE!!!! RUMBLE!!!

The earth began to shake. Slowly, the shadow of a giant robot covered the fake city,

(Huh? Isn't it a little too big?") 

The robot began to advance and crush everything on his way, then,

BOOM!!!!

A simple punch from it shattered the concrete, creating a large cloud of dust. Izuku watched calmly and began to analyze the situation. He was far enough from the robot, so avoiding him wasn't a problem.

Still, for most others, it was a very large threat. He watched as most of the other examinees began to flee.

An overwhelming threat. How people act after they've seen this show their true nature. For Izuku, one thought floated in his head,

(Could I destroy it?)

"LESS THAN TWO MINUTES LEFT!"

Hearing this, Izuku sighed and gave up on this thought before turning back. He already destroyed a very large number of robots. But destroying more wouldn't hurt. It was better to be cautious.

"Ow!!"

This cry made him stop in his tracks. He slowly turned around and saw a scene that chilled him.

There, under the rubble, was the cute girl. He blanked out a little. At that very moment, hundreds of thoughts went through his head.

The distance between the two of them was too wide.

The rubble would definitely slow him down if he tried to save her.

The distance between the giant robot and her was too short.

He thought back, to what Present Mic said

("There's absolutely no merit in taking on that faux villain.")

UA would never leave an examinee to die.

She would face no risk except for being a little scared. 

So, he should just turn back and let the pros do their job…

…

….

AS IF!!!

The decision was instantaneous. 5% wouldn't be enough? He wouldn't be able to save her fast enough? Then…

He just had to go ALL OUT AND  DESTROY IT!!!

"FULL COWL: 100% "

He used all of his power and jumped. 

The concrete crumbled under the force of his jump. 

The robot tried to stop him, but he easily went through the gap between its finger. 

Finally, when he reached the head, he concentrated all his power in his fist, and punched,

"SMASH!!!!!!"

BOOOMMM!!!

---

"It hurt!"

Ochako Uraraka was trapped under the rumbles. She was really unlucky. Her quirk [ZERO GRAVITY] gave her the power to nullify the effects of gravity on solid targets causing them to become weightless and float. 

The only problem was that she had to touch her target with her fingers for it to work.

Right now, in her position, if she tried to move, she would definitely break her leg. 

Still, better a broken leg than being transformed into meat paste. She was sure that UA wouldn't let students die, but accidents happen. She didn't want to gamble with her life. She still had to help her family.

Just as she was about to act, she saw a scene that stunned her.

The boy from this morning was running towards. 

(He wants to help me?)

She was thankful, a lump of emotions blocked her throat. In this situation, under such a danger. She wanted to tell him to go back, that he didn't need to to do so, but just as she wanted to tell him,

Her mouth hung wide open,

All the pain was momentarily forgotten, she watched as the boy jumped and reached the head of the robot. She didn't know exactly how tall it was, but it should be more than ten meters tall. (32.8 Foot.)

She didn't have the time to calm her heart when she saw the third scene, 

BOOOMMM!!!

A punch.

All it took was one simple punch to completely destroy the robot.

She could even feel the shock wave from here. It was so big that even the rumbles trapping her foot were blown away.

She slowly got up and watched him slowly float in the air. 

(He was really cool.)

She never saw a quirk so powerful. 

(When he lands, I need to properly thanks...uh?)

---

Izuku watched as the robot was blown away by his punch. Truthfully speaking, punching a robot into oblivion really felt good 

*Sigh!*

He looked at his right arm and two legs as gravity began to reclaim him.

Despite his high-intensity training, his body still couldn't adapt to the full power of One For All. 

Until now, his maximum and controllable output was 10% with 15% being usable if he was ready to suffer a little.

He sighed. Well, he wasn't that worried.

Firstly. Even though the giant robot gave no points, he had destroyed enough robots to be logically qualified. 

Secondly. From what Miliena-Sensei and Sir Nighteye told him, Recovery girl was working in UA, so he didn't have to worry about his wound. The most important was that: HER HEALING DIDN'T HURT!!!

Finally, it wasn't the first time he fell from such height. Kuroha and he nearly got killed when Kuroha tried to learn how to fly by himself. 

While he was coming closer and closer, he idly wondered what happened that day. When they feel, they landed at different places. Kuroha still refused to tell him where he fell.

(Hum… It should be about now.)

He began to gather power in his intact arm. Right now, everything was a question of timing. He just had to…

SLAP!!!

(huh?)

A slap? What happened? 

He was… Floating?

He began to look around before his sight finally fell on a girl

(The cute girl.)

She was floating on a piece of robot. 

"Release."

He landed.

So her quirk allowed her to make things float?

He raised his head. He may have been able to save his life. But not being forced to break another limb was welcomed.

"Thank...You?"

He watched as the girl that helped him barfed her breakfast. Was it weird that he still found her cute? Well, at least she looked safe and uninjured.

"TIME'S UP"

A loud sound resonated through the fake city. The practical test finally ended.

Izuku forced himself to turn and fall on his back. 

He looked at the wide blue sky with satisfaction. 

All his hard work. All his pains. All his suffering. All he did was for very moment.

Now…

---

"NOW EVERYTHING BEGAN!!! MIDORIYA-SHONEN."

Izuku scratched his head with a bashful expression. He was now back at the beach with All Might.

He looked at his hands and feet with wonder. Recovery Girl was really amazing. She healed all his wounds in a flash. 

Still, being kissed by an old woman felt really weird. Of course, it beat feeling the high level of pain he was subjected to during those few months of training.

He also thought about the cute girl and the rude guy. No, Uraraka Ochako and Tenya Iida.

They exchanged numbers after all that happened. Weirdly, Iida praised him for having discovered the hidden points of the test. He didn't really understand what he was talking about, but this guy was weird so it didn't matter.

He couldn't help but let out a goofy smile.

(I have the number of a girl in my contact list.)

Finally, he inhaled a deep breath before discarding all useless thoughts.

He clenched his fists. He didn't need to know his results. He was sure that he was accepted. All Might was right. 

Entering UA was merely the starting point. Now, everything began.