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Warnings: Slight SFW, Cursing
5109 Words
"I believe I mentioned this yesterday, but for now, Class 1-A of the hero course will be focusing on getting their provisional licenses." Mr. Aizawa explained, leaning on the counter in front of him.
Still too early in the morning.
"Yes, sir!" the class answered with enthusiasm.
"A hero license bears with it the great responsibility of human life. Of course, the exam to receive one is very difficult. Even the provisional license has only a 50% passing rate each year. That's why today, we will have each of you come up with at least two..." Aizawa began his explanation, but he was interrupted by the door sliding open, revealing Midnight, Cementoss and Ectoplasm.
"... ultimate moves." Aizawa finished.
My eyebrows quirked in interest. Ultimate moves, huh?
"'Ultimate'! This means that this move will give you a sure win!" Ectoplasm's muffled voice spoke throughout the classroom.
"A move so ingrained into your body that others cannot copy it. Battle means seeing how much you can force what you're good at on your opponent." Cementoss' fierce voice explained.
"Your moves will represent you. These days, pro heroes without ultimate moves are an endangered species." Midnight spoke with a pose, as she usually did.
The slightest amount of excitement rushed through my being, as I had before thought of several ideas for ultimate moves. Fortunately, I had a few on my mind already.
"We will tell you more as we go along. We want to proceed logically. Change into your costumes and meet in Gym Gamma." Aizawa ordered, as each student stood up, and took their cases which contained their costumes.
I stepped foot out of the door, to only be joined by Shoto by my side. We walked in a comfortable silence, but the events of yesterday hadn't left my mind. The kidnapping. All Might's defeat. Blame.
Desperately trying to keep my head high, my face was void of emotion, nothing out of the ordinary. But how much a facial expression can hide, is fascinating.
Changing into my hero costume along with all the other girls in a haste matter, they chatted away about their excitement, but their nervousness for the provisional license also made itself to the surface.
"(L/N)-san, how come nothing ever fazes you? You're always full with composure, and it seems like you're barely ever bothered. Aren't you nervous about the upcoming exam?" Yaoroyuzu's voice called from beside me, as she pulled on her costume, which was quite difficult for her, considering her curves that outlined her body so elegantly.
"Hm...I do think a lot about when it comes to exams, especially this one, since this is a major step to becoming a pro-hero in the future. But I rather not flush my mind with failure, but rather replace it with my clear goal at hand, which is becoming someone who saves people from their possible doom. If I think about failure, it balances out with my goal, and I start having disbeliefs, possibly resulting in my actual failure." I spoke my mind, but each word was true.
"Wow... I never really thought about it that way... You're amazing, (L/N)!" Uraraka clasped her hands together, several others joining her.
"But I don't get it, girl. How are you so collected, and unbothered all the time?" Ashido asked, as her fisted palms held her head.
"Well... I guess the past never dies." I finished, as I walked out of the changing room, leaving the rest dumbfounded.
"What does she mean by that?" Tsuyu asked the girls, to which nobody was able to reply to.
— — — — — — — —
"Gym Gamma, also known as the 'Training Dining Land,' or TDL." Aizawa explained, as now the entire class stood in the gigantic training facility.
"I came up with the idea for these facilities. Terrain and other things can be prepared specifically for each student. That's what the 'dining' part refers to." Cementoss explained, as a structure appeared from the ground, created by his cement.
"Do you perhaps already have a few in mind, (Y/N)?" Shoto asked silently from beside me.
"I do. I never really tried them, of course, so I'm excited about the fact how I'll be able to execute those ideas. What about you, Shoto?" I asked, and just as he opened his lips to answer, Iida's hand was raised sky-high, as he interrupted our little discussion.
"Please allow me to ask a question! Why must we have ultimate moves for our provisional licensing exam? Please tell me your reasoning!"
If I could've face palmed myself, I would've. But I ended up doing it mentally.
"I'll tell you everything in order. Calm down. The job of a hero is to save people from danger, like crimes, accidents, natural-disasters, and man-made disasters. The exam to become one naturally looks at how well you are able to do that. Your ability to gather information, make decisions, move, and fight, in addition fo your ability to communicate, draw people to you, and lead— Every year, a different test is used to look at how well you are able to do those things." Aizawa explained.
"Of those, your ability to fight is especially important to your futures as heroes. If you are prepared, you don't have to worry. Whether or not you have an ultimate move will greatly affect whether or not you pass." Midnight carried on.
"Not being influenced by circumstances and being able to act consistently will make you great asset on the front lines." Cementoss spoke.
"Your ultimate moves do not necessarily need to be of the attacking type. For example, (L/N)'s 'hardening' via her shadow particles, which she can place anywhere she desires, is already worthy enough of being called an ultimate move. On the other hand, Iida's Reciproburst. The temporary burst of speed is enough of a threat to be worth calling an ultimate move." Ectoplasm explained, as I was mentioned in the example.
I had no idea my hardening was worthy of calling an ultimate move. I had completely different things in mind, some things way more powerful, than just enhancing the durability of specific body parts or things, by my shadow particles.
"Kamui Woods, who played a big part in the fight the other day, has a move called Lacquered Chain Prison that is the perfect example of an ultimate move. It restrains his opponents before they can do anything." Midnight recalled.
"The training camp was cancelled, but the training you did to develop your Quirks was part of the process to create your ultimate moves. In other words..." Aizawa began, as Cementoss made several tall structures with his cement, Ectoplasm on the other hand making several copies of himself, which stood on top of each of those high structures.
"... until the beginning of the next semester, for the ten days or so until the end of summer vacation, you'll be working out your ultimate moves as you develop your Quirks. You'll be doing intensive training!" my gaze focused on the clones, as I listened to our home teacher's words.
"In addition, you should think about how you can improve your costumes to work better with your developing Quirks. Get through this with a 'Plus Ultra' mentality. Are you ready?" Aizawa questioned, to which we all responded, with our energetic: "Yes, sir!"
— — — — — — — —
Landing on one of the highest structures, a clone of Ectoplasm already awaited my arrival, and as soon as I have, he questioned.
"I heard you already had a few ultimate moves up your sleeve?"
He... heard me? Even though I was speaking in a hushed tone...
"Yes." I answered briefly.
"Well then, try to execute it. What exactly do you have in mind?" his muffled voice questioned.
"So, since my wings couldn't really carry my Quirk, because it had damaged them otherwise, I already made a slight improvement to my costume. Even though it's not visible, it's around my wings, acting as a 'shield', which can carry my Quirk. Though I'm not sure to what length, so putting it to the test today will decide if I need to pay a visit to Hatsume, or not. But what I had in mind, is so my wings carry my Quirk, and to be able to deliver a devastatingly powerful attack, I swing them both forward, and just like from my arms or legs, I let out one focused attack, which slices up anything. My Shadow-Half deals as a sharp 'knife' for that matter, and my Hot-Half deals as almost the same, but in addition to burning whatever's left. Though it doesn't have to go that far, I can channel the heat of it." I explained my first idea, to which Ectoplasm nodded.
"So you're putting your focus into an enormous attack, as your first ultimate move?" Ectoplasm recalled.
"Correct."
"Seems like you already put quite a lot into the thought, so now, try delivering it." he ordered, to which I nodded, and hopped into the air, gaining enough height, so I was looking down on the entire arena.
There were several explosions, which resulted in slightly shaking the arena, several yells, and of course, Todoroki's massive outlet of both his hot-half, and his cold-half.
Focusing back at my own plan at hand, and I closed my eyes, focusing on channeling both of my halves in my wings. I felt them slide through my veins, and the ever slightest tingling in my wings, due to my Quirks flow. My right wing started to heat up, the other one being covered by the shadow particles.
Yet it was much more difficult than I thought.
"Focus, (L/N)." Ectoplasm cheered on.
And it's as if in a snap of a moment, I felt my right wing set ablaze, the left one hardening due to the effects, and as I opened my eyes, I was met with my planned results.
"There you go. Try moving, first of all. After that, comes the attack." Ectoplasm spoke.
And so, I did what I was told. At first, I started with slow moments of my wings, and I felt the heat radiating off of my right one, to which a prideful smile made its way onto my face.
"Good. Now, come at me, with everything you've got. Pretend like I'm a villain at hand. Don't forget, this is an ultimate move. And it's a devastatingly powerful one at that." Ectoplasm warned, to which I nodded yet again.
Gaining even more height, while my Quirk was still flowing through my wings, I repeated the same act with my arms, to add more fatality to the attack.
Exhaling one last time, I closed my eyes, only to open them, as they were set sharp on my target.
Not only was my plan to send it to Ectoplasm, but the ground beneath him.
And so, starting to descend towards him quickly, I drew back my wings, doing the same with my arms, only to slash them forward, and everything went according to my plan.
My fire, and particles left my side, as they slashed forward, only to meet right at Ectoplasm, crossing each other, and there it was.
A gigantic explosion was created, as the cement beneath him broke, my fire burning each piece into dust, and the result even shocked my own self. Actually getting to execute it was way more different, than just having the imagination in my head.
As the dust cleared out, I was met with wide eyes, gasps, and everyone seemed to be speechless.
"W-What the hell was that, (L/N)?!" Kaminari's voice called out, as I looked at him, exhaling the steam from my mouth.
The effects of my Quirk wore out, as they disappeared into thin air, and I stayed in the air, looking at the remaining crumbles of the cement, Ectoplasm's clone nowhere to be seen.
"Man! With a move like that, no villain will stand a chance against you, (L/N)! So manly!" Kirishima's voice spoke.
I smiled slightly, as I descended to the ground, seeing as Cementoss and Ectoplasm started approaching me, probably to replace the mess.
"That was quite astonishing, (L/N). That is a wonderful ultimate move, indeed. As you can see, you have dealt enough damage, and there's no doubt, that your opponent would stand a chance against that one. A true triumph-card." Cementoss spoke, as he squatted on the ground, his cement slowly starting to rise out of the ground.
"Thank you. I was honestly just as shocked, as most of you. I didn't expect it to work this well." I replied honestly, to which Ectoplasm grinned. Well, it was audible anyway.
"The control you have over your Quirk is wonderful, no doubt, you'll be a great hero one day." Ectoplasm spoke, to which I smiled slightly, and bowed forwards.
"Thank you, Ectoplasm, Cementoss."
"Now, enough talk, more walk! Repeat the exact same move over again, to get a proper hang of it. Don't waste time, rookie!" the clone spoke, as I did what I was told, and made my way up the cement again.
"Yes, sir!"
— — — — — — — —
The next following day, Class 1-A was repeating the same process. In some students, there already was a clear change, in some, not. Several students made upgrades to their costumes, to help them in their upcoming future. (Y/N) was one of them, as she added heat regulating brackets.
As the students talked away, they were interrupted by a loud voice speaking, coming from the one and only Vlad King.
"That's enough, Class A! Today, Class B is scheduled to use this place in the afternoon."
Are you serious?
"Eraser, hurry up and get out of the way." Vlad King demanded.
"We still have almost ten minutes. You're not good at using time wisely, Vlad." Aizawa replied with his usual stance, and voice. A clear sign of boredom.
"Hey, did you know? The provisional licensing exam has a 50% fail rate. All of you should just fail!" Mr. Copy and Paste spoke, dressed in what seemed like a magician's cloak, trying to getting to our heads. Nope, not going to work on me. I already started not giving a rat's ass about that guy. However, he was right. We were talking about our provisional licenses here, so of course, this would be a competition.
"Still, his opinion is reasonable. As long as we are taking the same exam, it is our fate to crush each other." Tokoyami explained, dismissing his new ultimate move, as his words replicated my own thoughts.
"That's why Class A and Class B applied to different locations." Aizawa explained.
So we won't be going up against them?
"The hero licensing exam takes place each June and September in three different locations across the country at the same time. In order to avoid students from the same school fighting each other, all schools subscribe to the theory of splitting up their students by time or location." Vlad explained, as I descended to the ground, landing next to Midoriya.
"It is unfortunate that we will not be able to fight each other directly!" Monoma laughed.
As Midoriya frowned at Monoma's theater act, I looked at him with an unimpressed face.
"He said 'Whew', didn't he?" Kirishima questioned, looking over to Kaminari next to him.
"I wonder if there's a diagnosis for the type of mental state he has..." Kaminari wondered.
"Seems as though this is already a normal habitat for him, however it does seem like he should at least search for a therapist." I said, while looking at the laughing Monoma.
"Man, you're right! And (L/N), since when do you know how to joke?" Kaminari laughed.
"Eh? It wasn't a joke." I finally averted my gaze from the actor, facing Kirishima and Kaminari, as Midoriya rubbed his nape awkwardly.
"I mean, (L/N) does sometimes know how to joke, but she usually means what she says..." Midoriya explained, smiling brightly at the two boys.
"But that would've been a pretty good joke." Kaminari pouted.
"Is somebody's mental health really something to joke around with?" I questioned, confused, as my hand made its way to my chin.
"You know what, (L/N)? Forget it..." Kaminari sighed, as fake tears made its way out of his eyes.
"Man up, man! I think being serious all the time is super manly!" Kirishima smiled at me, to which I offered a small one in return.
"Either way... I didn't think about it too much, but we'll be fighting against other schools to pass. Meaning we won't have a good grasp about what they're capable of, and that certainly makes it a lot more challenging." I spoke, as Midoriya nodded on my side, continuing with my thoughts. Shoto soon joined my side, as his shoulder brushed against my shoulder, the cold one, to be exact, which sent small shivers down my spine. He offered me a warm smile, which I returned.
It was really different, seeing him smile more often than how it used to be. He was actually making friends now, instead of denying friendships, claiming them as 'unnecessary' for heroes in training. I was glad he had realized this.
"And in our case, we're accelerating the process of getting them..." Midoriya spoke.
"In addition, there are very few first years in the country trying to get their provisional licenses. In other words... the test will have those who've trained longer than you, with Quirks you don't know about that they've polished up until now. The actual contests of the exam are unclear, but what is clear is that you all will have a hard time. It's not good to get too hung up about it, but keep that in mind." Aizawa explained in a sharp tone.
"Yes, sir!"
— — — — — — — —
"We're working so hard every day..." Ashido trailed off, exhaustion clear on her face, just like everyone else's. We were seated in the general area, the nighttime already arrived, as the strays of the moonlight made their way inside through the windows which stood tall.
"It's not called 'intensive training' for nothing, huh?" Jiro trailed off.
"Either way, there's less than a week left before the provisional licensing exam. This amount of training is indeed needed." I spoke, as my wings were adjusted comfortably on the couch.
"(L/N)! How's your ultimate move coming along?" Hagakure asked.
"Hmm. Well, I already have two completed, and there's still one in my mind, but I really don't have an idea how to execute it. My body's keeping up, thankfully, and my Quirk is about fine, however, there's always room for improvement." I answered honestly.
"T-Two, already? Really, (L/N)? That's amazing!" Uraraka complimented, to which I nodded.
"What about you, Tsu?" Hagakure turned towards the toad girl.
"I've perfected a move even more frog-like than before. I'm sure you'll be surprised, Toru." Tsuyu replied.
"What about you, Ochaco-chan?" Hagakure asked yet again, however, Uraraka seemed to be completely zoned out. Tsuyu tapped her on the shoulder, which spooked her, pulling her back into reality.
"Huh?"
"You seem tired." Tsuyu commented.
"Oh, no, I'm not tired at all. I'm just getting started! At least that's how it's supposed to be, but, how do I put it...? Recently, my heart's been feeling all stirred up..." Uraraka replied, a blush becoming visible on her face.
"I advise you to seek medical attention, Uraraka-san." I replied, clueless of what she actually meant.
Ashido burst out in laughter at my comment, to which I was only confused. "What?"
"It's love!" Ashido yelled between her laughter.
"Wh... What? Glove? Shove? Dove? I don't know what you're talking about!" Uraraka defended, her hands waving around like a maniac.
"Oh, I see." I spoke, to nobody in particular.
"Is it Midoriya? Or Iida? You're always with them, aren't you?" Ashido carried on.
"No, no, that's not it!" Uraraka covered up her face in embarrassment, accidentally making herself float, as she floated above the table, hanging upside down.
"Who is it? Which one? Who is it?" Hagakure teased her.
"Spit it out. You'll get a lighter sentence if you confess." Jiro continued with the teasing.
"That's not it, really! I really don't know anything about that stuff..." Uraraka spoke.
"It's not good to force an investigation, you know." Tsuyu corrected.
"That's right. More importantly, we have an early start tomorrow, so we should turn in." Yaoroyuzu spoke, her authority of being the class representative coming off slightly.
"What? No way! I want to hear more! Even if we don't talk about anything important, I want to force it to be about romance! Let's talk about Todoroki and (L/N), then! Yao-momo, c'mon!" Ashido protested.
"Good night." I said, not wanting to talk about this kind of conversation, since I wasn't sure myself what to think about... feelings.
"Eh?! What, no, come back, (L/N)!" Ashido protested yet again, but I was already making my way up the stairs.
- - -
I was fast asleep, as soon as my head hit the pillow. I was extremely exhausted, from using my Quirk all the time without an end these past few days.
However, my mind wasn't letting me have a peaceful sleep, which were already rare enough as they were.
The same nightmare, with all those accusing fingers pointed at me, their voices of the four words I resented so much.
"It's your fault."
Only this time, some of the people around me became visible, instead of being just a black outline of a person. I counted twenty in total, and once I saw their faces, it really hurt.
Some of my current classmates were standing in the circle, as All Might's defeated figure did the same thing as it did last time. His skeleton form, my classmates' accusing, their loud voices, it was driving me crazy, up to the point where I felt hot stinging tears in the corners of my eyes.
And suddenly, I awoke with a sudden yelp, my throat tightening and loosening with the heavy breaths I drew. Lifting a hand up to my face, I covered my face, only feeling a wet substance.
Tears?
Wiping them away effortlessly, I dropped my head in my hands, my breath finally stabilizing. It was too much.
Knock-Knock-Knock
The sudden sound of somebody knocking on my wooden door ripped me back to reality, as I stood up slowly, each step I took feeling heavier by the second.
And slowly, I opened the door, the creaking noise the only thing being heard in the dead-silent night, which was only interrupted by the song of the insects outside.
"(Y/N)?" a raspy voice called out, as they sounded sleepy.
Finally taking a good look at the person, it was the red and white haired boy, who I became so accustomed to. Shoto Todoroki, gazing at me with worried eyes, as he seemed to be out of breath. Did he run?
"Shoto? What are you doing here?" I asked in a low tone, as his worried eyes scanned my room, only to be relieved when he saw only myself in the room.
"I heard your yelp, and I couldn't help but get worried. Are you okay?" Shoto's husky voice asked, the tone sending shivers down my spine.
"Yeah... It was just a nightmare. They keep haunting me, that's all." I lied, as I tried my best to cover up the fact that I had cried.
Showing weakness to others was one of my ultimate pet-peeves.
"What's been up with you lately? You seem so... down, and that small glimmer of happiness in your eyes isn't there anymore. Please, tell me, (Y/N). It's been eating me up lately, but I never knew how to approach you about it." Shoto spoke, softly, his words soothing my worries. However, not even his presence erased the doubts.
"I... I don't know anymore, Shoto. I... ever since the kidnapping has occurred, All Might's retirement, the actual Symbol of Peace being gone, I..." I suddenly felt a small tear roll down my cheek, and Shoto's eyes only widened in worry.
That tear, what a traitor.
"Do you blame yourself for All Might's retirement?" Shoto asked in a low voice, his hand slowly making its way to my face.
Not finding the right words, I nodded, as the stinging in my eyes got worse. Shoto took notice of my current state, and since he wasn't the best with words himself either, he pulled me into his warm embrace, his arms encasing my own fragile body, as if wanting to protect me from any harm's way.
"Please, don't blame yourself. I know it's upsetting, but don't you think that All Might did exactly what his job was? Protecting the vulnerable? I am not calling you weak, by all means. But you have to understand, that it wasn't your fault, (Y/N)." his soft voice called out, his hands slowly stroking my back, soothing me, however, my tears didn't stop.
I gripped onto his shirt, like there was no tomorrow. Afraid, if I let go, that I'd only do more harm.
"But if I hadn't been as weak as to get kidnapped, I... This wouldn't have happened." I sobbed in silent tears.
"How do you think Bakugo feels?" Shoto questioned, and my sobs stopped.
I never thought about how he'd feel.
"Neither you, or Bakugo are at fault for what had taken place. But, don't you think Bakugo feels the same as you do, blaming himself over something he had no control of?" Shoto continued, as my throat felt heavy again.
"But it was me who had destroyed—" I was interrupted by a pair of lips on my own. My eyes widened in surprise and shock, as I felt Todoroki's soft lips embracing my own, as if in a desperate attempt to shut me up, but to calm me down as well.
And surprisingly, it worked.
My hands slowly loosened from his shirt, making their way to his face, caressing them carefully, as his hands slid down the small of my back, finding their place on my hips.
Pushing me inside of my dorm slowly, the only thing being heard was the small click of the door shutting close, and the kiss never coming to a stop.
The kiss wasn't aggressive, nor rushed, but it was passionate, and comforting. His body only pressed into mine tighter, as the distance was entirely shut out, just as the world around us was.
It was ... so new. Nothing I have experienced before, but it felt liberating. The weight off of my chest was slowly lifting, and we pulled away, after what felt like a split second of this euphoria. I craved more.
"Not another word, dear. If I hear one more doubt out of that pretty mouth of yours, I might just do this again." Shoto teased, as I smirked slightly, the worries now becoming the least of my problems.
"Do it then." I said, now grabbing onto his collar tightly, which took him by surprise. I don't know where all that sudden spike of confidence came from, but it did.
I started guiding him towards my futon, pushing him down softly, yet with force, our lips never disconnecting.
As I took my place on his lap, he groaned in surprise, his hands found their way on my hips once again, as our kiss was now becoming more hungry, for each other. Longing.
These pent up feelings for each other were finally released, as my hands found their way into his locks, pulling on them softly, as this caused Shoto to break away, groaning softly yet again.
"Glad I was able to boost your confidence." Shoto teased, his hands running up and down on my sides.
"Maybe even a bit too much. But Shoto... I... seriously, thank you. I... needed to hear this from someone else, and now that someone did, I feel... somewhat better." I replied, as I put my head on his shoulder, him pulling me in closer, his hands now wrapping under my wings.
"I feel better too, now. My worries have faded, knowing that I was able to help... And I... want... to keep doing so." Shoto replied, his stuttering increasing.
However, his confidence might've even shrinked.
"Shoto..." I trailed off, looking back into his eyes, searching for a sign of dishonesty. However, as I had believed, there was none to be found.
"I... I like you, (Y/N). You're probably not even conscious about the fact of how many times you had helped me. You were always there for me, even though I was distant, and, and cold... You always managed to calm me down in situations, and when you were kidnapped... I... Fuck I thought I lost you. I didn't know what I would've done if I did. But you're here with me now, and... I couldn't be happier." Shoto spoke, his cheeks only tinting more, the more he spoke.
Eyes widening in surprise, I stared at him for what felt like an eternity, before pulling him into another kiss. He stiffened at first, but it disappeared just as quick as my hands found their way to his hair again.
"Can I take that as an 'I like you too'?" He questioned, his eyes full with hope, eagerly waiting for my answer.
"What do you think, loverboy?" I teased, to which he cleared his throat in embarrassment, causing me to chuckle.
"I guess so." he replied awkwardly, looking away with his tinted cheeks.
Letting out another chuckle, I grabbed onto the sides of his face, pulling them into yet another kiss.
This one was filled with passion, care, and... love.
Love... a feeling I have not experienced, but up to this very moment, I never knew how much I craved for it.
And I had found it. Just as someone else did as well.
That night... the two of them spent their rest by holding each other in their comforting and warm embraces. A night that the both of them needed, and deserved.
They had finally found their happiness. Their safe place. Their comfort. Their... Everything. No matter how much it sounds like an exaggeration, but it was the sole truth.
Neither of them grew up in loving circumstances, so this feeling was something so extraordinary to the pair.
However, the both of them enjoyed it. They loved the feeling, to be exact.
Love. An intense feeling of deep affection.
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End of chapter eight, season 3
Next chapter: Phase I, Obtainment of
the Provisional Licenses:
Panic.
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