One For All, And All For One

The Entrance Exam

One for All and All for One by CelestialBronze1299

 
Chapter 5

The Entrance Exam

Word Count: 5519

It. Was. Huge.

There was nothing else Izuku could use to describe Ground B, or Present Mic had named it, Ground Beta. It was a literal city enclosed in a fifty-foot wall. It had skyscrapers, parks, apartments, everything. Izuku had wondered why it had taken half an hour to travel to the arena, but now, looking at the sheer size of the place, he was amazed U.A. could even build seven of these.

The students had split among the different training grounds, but there were still hundreds of students at Ground Beta. Izuku looked around, taking in the scene. A boy with multiple limbs was stretching carefully while another boy with an odd mirror in his stomach seemed to physically sparkle. Some flexed their muscles, others pulled on their equipment, but every single student was preparing for the arduous task ahead.

Every student except for one, at least. Izuku couldn't contain his nervous trembling, his determination replaced with terror. The severity of the day had finally gotten to him, and his mind was filled with doubt.

Can I really do this? There are so many people, who've trained for so long, what do I have on them? He grabbed his face, shaking the fear out. All Might believes in me, I can't let him down!

Looking over the crowd, he spotted the nice girl who had caught him before orientation. He brightened up, remembering that he had to thank her for saving him from embarrassment. He started towards her when he felt a firm hand clamp his shoulder.

Izuku turned backward and found himself face-to-face with the strict blue-haired boy from earlier. He was now giving Izuku a stern look, causing Izuku to wither.

"That girl is trying to focus," he stated, lifting his gaze to the girl who was now tapping her neck in deep concentration. "What do you think you're doing here? Are you simply taking the exam to hinder everyone else?"

"U- Um…," Izuku shrunk further against the boy's harsh stare as the crowd started to notice the commotion.

"That's the guy who almost tripped in front of the school, right?"

"Yeah, he's the guy that got called out in orientation."

"Oh well, guess we have one less person to worry about."

The boy let go of Izuku and continued his preparation, but the snipe had hit its mark. Izuku was brought straight back to middle school, where everyone had teased him for being Quirkless, where everyone had laughed at him and pushed him around. Nothing has changed, has it? Izuku's thoughts threatened to spiral even further, but before they could, he heard a familiar voice ring out above the muttering.

"Clumsy boy! Hey!"

He looked up to see the nice girl walking up to him, waving with a smile on her face. She slowed her pace, standing in front of Izuku, who was gradually turning red.

"Cool, we're in the same arena! The exam seems really hard from what Present Mic had said, but, you know, I've been working hard! I know I can do this. It's going to be hard, but I'll do my best!"

The crowd of students briefly gazed over the interaction before going back to their individual conversations. The stern boy seemed to not notice the two, stretching his calves and for some reason drinking orange juice. The girl herself didn't notice Izuku's embarrassment or nervousness, continuing her airy chatter.

"Anyways, what's your name? I never got to ask you before I walked off. My name's Uraraka Ochaco, by the way," she babbled, wearing a smile so bright Izuku almost had to close his eyes.