Once More (My Hero Academia)

36: The Crushing of U.A.

The announcer mentioned a few more rules, including how people from the same school couldn't take points from each other -- probably to prevent weaker candidates from passing simply because they were teammates with stronger candidates. Not that it applied to Izuku, anyway.

"Finally, if all your points are taken away, you are eliminated. There are 831 candidates... Er, actually, that number was updated..." the announcer squinted at her script, "There are 832 candidates at this test site. The first 300 students to pass part one will move on to the next phase."

"That's ... Almost 40%," Izuku mumbled, "Right... Because before All Might's retirement, the passing rate was much higher."

After the announcer finished, the room was full of chatter and schools huddled together to discuss strategy. People from the Public Safety Commission walked around and passed out testing equipment.

"Thank you," Izuku said when he received his gadgets. He slipped on the two silver wristbands, their small lights unlit, and attached the two damage trackers to the sides of his legs.

Then, with a loud rumbling noise, the right wall of the orientation room opened, first revealing a thin rectangle of harsh sunlight, then slowly expanding to display the full view of the site.

Some candidates watched with anticipation, others grew restless.

When Izuku's eyes adjusted to the light, he took in the scene and tightened his fists.

For Eri.

•••

The woods were silent. Izuku stood alone at the designated spot for U.A., enveloped by the whispering of leaves and the gentle sway of branches. The dappled sunlight filtered through the canopy, casting shifting patterns of light and shadow upon the forest floor. He was close to the edge of the woods, and past the trees, Izuku could see the nearby cityscape with tall glass and concrete buildings.

Suddenly, Izuku's wristbands vibrated, drawing his attention. Expectedly, four of the ten lights on each wristband lit up in a soft white glow, like eight small diamonds glinting in the sunlight.

Then, a large beep sounded through the speakers, "FIRST TEST, BEGIN."

He took a deep breath, then strolled toward the border between the forest and the city.

Any moment now.

As anticipated, Izuku heard the slight rustle of leaves and saw a shimmer of orange from the corner of his eyes. He whipped his body sideways, dodging a zigzagging orange laser beam, which sliced through a tree next to him, splinters flying.

Immediately, he threw his arm forward, a tendril of darkness shooting ahead and fastening around an exposed arm. With a tug, Izuku yanked the poorly hidden candidate towards him and used the person as a human shield to block an incoming rainbow-colored arrow. The arrow disappeared into a puff of rainbow smoke before hitting the candidate, so just as Izuku guessed, these people were from the same school.

There was no point for the others to hide now. More candidates emerged from behind trunks and shrubs, a swarm of hero costumes and attacks that swerved and shifted among the trees.

Izuku dodged another rainbow arrow and leaped over a swirling white disk, then darted away as a large spike of rock pierced upward from the ground.

Close-range fighters charged toward him but he was impossible to catch, a blurry green image flying from tree to tree.

Izuku considered just diving in and attacking. There were plenty of people here and more than enough points to pass. However, he still had no gauge of how much force he needed, and he didn't want to hurt anyone unnecessarily.

Then, he stopped on a clearing beyond the last few trees of the forest sector, the mock city buildings towering on the other side. He looked around.

The group chasing him in the forest stepped out of the trees and stopped a couple of feet away, also noticing what was on the other side -- another group of candidates, clearly an assembly of multiple different schools, emerging from the city sector and blocking Izuku's way.

Izuku spun around slowly, assessing his situation. At least fifty people surrounded him, and there might've been more among the trees and on top of the city buildings. They all stared Izuku down like a mob of hyenas closing on their prey.

"Well, well, isn't it the famous U.A. first-year?" Someone called from the crowd. Izuku wondered why they didn't just attack. They probably found the idea of a singular, first-year U.A. candidate amusing.

"Don't know if you heard of this before, newbie," someone else said with a voice filled with mock pity, "but there's an opening tradition for this test. It's called 'the crushing of U.A.'"

To the taunters' dismay, Izuku smiled at the scene. Suddenly, he felt as if he was standing alongside his 1-A classmates again, surrounded by opponents yet fearless. Everything almost felt normal, as if he was again fighting with the sole purpose of following his dream.

Izuku's smile vanished, and the haunting heaviness returned.

Getting his license... Becoming a hero... It wasn't merely a dream anymore. It was also his duty... that he carried alone.

Izuku raised his gaze. The people closest to him flinched back.

The ground beneath him reflected the emerald blaze of his quirk. He clenched his fists.

"Bring it on."