Ochako POV:
The time before the provisional license exam came and went with today being the day of the exam. From what I learned from the teachers, the classes are split up with class A going to a testing location in one area, and class B going in another. In total, there's about three different areas to do this test. The average pass rate is also somewhere around 10% from what dad told me. But after everything this year that's happened, that number might be even smaller now. Not only that, but we're facing people from schools that have had an extra year of training on us that we have no clue about their quirks or how they manage them.
"Uraraka." I glanced over to Shiozaki who motioned me to come closer to her. "Something tells me that we are going to be targeted first."
"Why do you think that?"
"Think for a moment. What schools do a festival that is shown across the country prior to this exam?" At this moment, I realized what she was talking about. "The Sports Festival was both a blessing and a misfortune for us. This must be why they intended for us to make special moves and pushed their importance before this exam."
I didn't want to believe people would use the abilities we showed off to the country as information to get the drop on us, but anything can be done with knowledge with it not being as much of a shock since villains do the same thing to some degree. "Alright everyone, listen up." Mr. Aizawa spoke up for us to turn to him. "Today, you all are taking the license exam. If you pass, you'll no longer be the eggs you are about to hatch. You'll be young chicks in the world of heroes. Now as always, do as our motto says and go beyond." We we're about to shout in unison before some guy with an army haircut shouted behind us.
"PLUS ULTRA!" We turned around to see him smile at us before slamming his head into the solid concrete.
"MY APOLOGIES! I JUST LOVE UA!"
The guy stood up and showed his head bleeding out profoundly to make all of us question if he's ok. 'Did this guy really slam his head into the ground? Is he even in his right mind?' I questioned this before looking closer to his uniform. 'Wait, is he from Shinketsu?'
"Inasa! Stop disrupting other students and get back here! You are disrespecting the name of Shinketsu!"
"Wait, did that guy just say Shinketsu!?" Kaminari shouted in shock.
"So they're from the other top school in Japan."
"UA holds the top name in the West, while Shinketsu holds the title in the East." Bakugou pointed this out before the guy that slammed his head on the ground locked eyes with me to smile.
"Uraraka! It's great to see you again!" He went directly over to me and smiled to the point it was kinda creepy. "It looks like we'll be taking the exam together! It's going to be a pleasure seeing how much you've progressed from the Recommendations Exam!"
"Hold on! Who the heck are you and can you at least clean the blood dripping off your forehead!? It's creepy!"
He immediately grabbed a handkerchief from his pocket and said where we knew each other. "Don't you remember? You, me and Todoroki had taken the entrance exam for recommended students together."
At that point it hit me. "Wait, YOU'RE THE GUY THAT BEAT US IN SCORING!? WHY THE HELL AREN'T YOU IN UA!?"
He stopped for a minute to glance over at Todoroki stopping his smile and giving a somewhat distant glare. "Let's just say I had some personal matters that required me to not join." He turned back to me and smiled. "It was nice meeting up with you again. We should hang out after the exams are done!"
"INASA! HURRY UP!"
As Yoarashi left, I was given a lot of stares by everyone. "What?"
"Don't 'what' us! How do you know that guy!?" Sero shouted with me explaining the best way I could how both me and Todoroki know him.
"The guy's name is Inasa Yoarashi. He took the exams for recommended students too. To put him on a position where he stood, he beat both me and Todoroki. Not by much, but still notable enough it should be said."
Everyone looked at me amazed before shouting in unison. "HE BEAT BOTH OF YOU IN THE SCORING OF THE ENTRANCE EXAMS!?"
"Not only that, but he was the second best in the exams. First being Midoriya by a landslide since he was able to get a perfect score, but third which was Uraraka wasn't that far of a margin. Still worth taking note that he was capable of beating your classmates with his current skill being unknown to us." The tension in the air was far more now knowing just how the skill gap could be. Even though I was now technically the top fighter in the class, I'm nowhere near the top of the ranks in our year not counting Midoriya.
"Wait, but why didn't he get into UA if he was able to get the recommendation?"
"Not exactly sure, Kirishima. He was given it, and all of a sudden he withdrew his request. It somewhat had all our heads spinning." I tried to think about it the best I could with the only reason he would take out his offer being at best to my knowledge the small ordeal he had with Todoroki during the exam. I couldn't put that as the fact why, but his cold demeanor to our classmate made sense.
"Uraraka."
"Huh?"
"The class is leaving." I glanced over to see our class heading in with Shiozaki trying to get me out of my thought process on this.
"Right. Sorry." I started to run to catch up with the thoughts as to why he left being put in the back of my head. 'It's not worth the headache right now. If I come across that bridge, I'll find out that way.'
Meanwhile, Izuku POV:
As everyone in class B and the others in the testing sight we were in stood in the center of a building, the proctors explained how the test was going to be. In short, it was no different than a form of dodgeball and hitting a target mixed together. To make it simple, we were given six balls and three targets. The targets had to be placed anywhere on your body that was visible. So it couldn't be on your armpit or the soles of your feet for example. Then, we would have to light up targets of other people who are taking the test while avoiding our own being lit up. Having your targets all lit up would immediately eliminate you from the exam and keep you from going to the next round. We also didn't have to be the one to light up the first two, it just mattered if we were the ones to light up the third. The first hundred to knock out three people while also having their targets kept from being lit up would advance.
"Wait, I'm doing the math right now. If over 1,500 people are in this and only a hundred can pass..." Manga was doing the math to panic. "THEY'RE ONLY KEEPING LESS THAN 10% OF THE EXAMINEES!"
"Just stay calm Manga. We have grown strong in this time, so we will not lose so easily." Monoma's words were...strangely encouraging to shock me a bit. "Besides, WE HAVE BETTER CHANCE THAN THE CLASS A REGECT OVER THERE! HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
'And just like that, I lose my respect for you. Way to go Monoma.' The room began moving apart with it showing an area filled with different terrains to amaze me.
"Pick a location you are more suitable with first and foremost. The test will begin in two minutes." As he said this, I began rushing as fast as I could to an area where I could have the upper ground to see the area.
"Hey, Midoriya! Wait up!" I looked behind me to see Kodai, Kuroiro and Komori trying to catch up.
"What are you three doing?"
Komori gave a huge smile on her face before answering. "Let's team up. Probably isn't the best idea to hide out like lone mushroom, so why not band together to make a colony of our own?"
"To make things simple, the chances of us failing is less if we stick together." Kuroiro and Komori did have a valid point with a skyscraper nearby looking like the best spot to hide out.
"OK. Kodai. Can you make a few bolts and screws bigger that Kuroiro gives you?"
"Uh, sure." I immediately grabbed a drill, screwdriver, and blowtorch out of a dimension I have.
"The heck?"
"It's a quirk I have called Dimensional Pouch." I passed the stuff to Kuroiro who stared at them in confusion. "To make things simple, I can store anything in a small dimension I have that I can hold in a hand."
"So what's the size limit?"
"If I cannot genuinely hold it with one hand without any quirk active to allow me to, I can't put it in. So a barbell would be a no go, but the weights for it are possible." I glanced up to see thirty seconds to grab everyone and jump as high as I could up to the top. Once we landed, my three classmates fell to the ground unable to comprehend what just happened. "Alright. Now it's time to start the plan."
With Ochako, 3rd person POV:
The bell immediately rung for us with class A separating a bit. "WHY DOES NOBODY LISTEN WHEN I SAY WE SHOULD STICK TOGETHER!?" Ochako shouted in annoyance as Bakugou, Kaminari and Sero went off on their own while also seeing Todoroki separate from the group.
"You can't really argue Todoroki leaving since his quirk really doesn't work well with others around." Kirishima spoke up for Ochako to give that as a valid reason.
"Also, Bakugou really isn't the 'play nice with others' type of person."
'Jirou does have a point. Even when we were little, he wasn't one to really team up with others. The fact Sero and Kaminari went with him we should at least know he's not alone.' The group stopped when a sudden barrage of attacks halted their path.
"Well. Lookey what we got here." Everyone glanced up to see a bunch of other examines from other schools.
"Should've figured they'd try to trap us somewhere."
"The guy with the creepy quirk isn't with them. I guess that means they're skills are cut down by half. Get the heavy hitters first!" Everyone began immediately hitting for people like Ochako and Tokoyami with Shiozaki unleashing her special move.
"Those who dare try to harm good shall face the judgement of god." The vines she made came around the class to somewhat surprise the brunette how fast she could do this. "EVERYONE! STAY WITHIN MY VINES!" They did as she said for her to use her special move. "Special Move: Big Tree." She kept class A covered while simultaneously pushing the class up to the top of the area to get an overview. "Uraraka. I think now would be a great time to use your own fruits of your labor."
Ochako nodded to jump down and use her quirk on herself to make her weightless. "SHE'S IN THE AIR! SHE CAN'T DODGE!" Everyone targeted the brunette with her smiling at their ignorance.
'Gravity For All: Orbital Master!' She released a gravitational field for the balls that were coming at her to diverge and orbit around her body.
"WHAT THE!?"
"You think we just sat around talking about how great we are? Some of us did things that made us grow at least twice as strong as before!" 'Midoriya. It's cause of your efforts that I'm going to pass the first round.' Ochako crabbed a few of the balls and used the OFA factor to hold them while increasing their weight. "NOW TAKE THIS! TACTICAL MOVE: METEOR SHOWER SMASH!" She relentlessly threw balls that orbited around her to the ground, forcing the area to crack from the force before coming down and deactivating the quirk on herself to charge and try to get whatever targets she could. "I can't lose here. No hard feelings to those that can't lose either."
With Izuku
"GET THEM!"
"THEY MADE A PATH FOR US!" The examines began walking up an enlarged walkway of bolts and screws welded together for the members of class B with Izuku to panic.
"So why did you want us to make a walkway for people?" Kuroiro asked.
"To make a one way stairwell for our targets."
"THEY'RE ALMOST HERE, SHROOM!"
Izuku sat down in front of the group holding the three targets on his chest in open view. "Uhh...you trying to fail or something?"
"Just trust me, Kuroiro. I know what I'm doing."
"GET HIM!" The set of contestants began attacking Izuku with him activating a combination of quirks he made himself over the timespan of special moves.
Before the attack hit, the AFO wielder wrapped himself around what looked like wings made out of hair to catch each of the balls and have them stick to the wings. "THE HECK!?" The three behind him shouted as he explained.
"I fused both Tarantula Legs and a quirk called Butterfly Wings to create a new quirk. Cotton Wings." The balls were no longer being thrown for Izuku to reveal himself with an enormous set of butterfly wings covered in brown hair. "The bottoms of spider legs have unique hair folicles that allow them to stick to walls and such. Meanwhile, a butterfly's wings when first forming are wrapped around the body to create what you know for their common appearance."
"He's open now, HIT HIM!" More balls were thrown for Izuku to activate a second quirk.
"Static Connection." The balls went right towards his wings for them to be caught as well.
"WE'VE GOT THEM! SLAM THE DOOR DOWN!" Some of the examines began trying to go for the door to the top of the roof with them stopping directly at the door.
"What's with these mushroo..." The sound of some falling down the steps was heard with Komori smirking.
"Well I guess my mushrooms did help in some way." Before the bell rang, Izuku asked Komori to create as many mushrooms that could paralyze a person with their spores and shove them at the top of the stairwell as she could. She didn't know why, but did as he asked knowing he has some genuine rhyme or reason to what he does.
"GET BACK! GET BACK DOWN! WE CAN'T BEAT HIM!"
What should we do now?" Kuroiro asked.
"Allow me. Thanks to yours and Kodai's help, they're already trapped." The metal around the contestants began to alter and rise up to ensnare them while also leaving where the targets are on them open. "Metal Flow. A quirk that allows me to trap those that touch the metal in a fluid like consistency. It only lasts two minutes and the metal returns to what it was at prior to it's alteration, but a lot can happen in two minutes." Izuku pulled the necessary amount his group needed to pass towards them and laid them on the ground. The four tapped their targets with their balls to have them pass the test with next to no issue.
"That was awesome! It was like you're some top mushroom or something!"
"You really know how to work with the team you have." Kodai and Komori stated with some fascination with how easily Izuku could maneuver them to succeed.
"Well. I did learn from some of the best. Tomura isn't half the hero he is without teamwork." Izuku laughed a bit before opening the door and spraying fungicide to keep them from feeling the same effects as some examinees. 'I'm in control. No matter what. I'm in control of myself now and nobody else.'
And that finishes this chapter. See what happens next time with the Provisional reaching the end of the first round. Hope you all enjoyed and thanks for reading.