It's almost time. U.A.'s entrance exam is today. My dream of becoming a hero is finally going to become a reality, after so long...
I've been training the hell out of myself for the past 10 months. While I'm self-taught with the sword, out of experience I will say, All might's been my strength training coach, and we've gotten pretty close now. Since the sludge villain, he's felt obligated to help me achieve my dreams. He's almost like the father I never had, and mom seems to like him well enough, so maybe he will be the father I never had... Ah, went on a bit of a tangent there. Anyways, the rumors were all right, he's going to be be teaching at U.A. Just another reason to be going, I guess!
He also revealed to me a huge secret: His quirk. The one that the media has been speculating for years, but no one has been able to figure out. I couldn't believe what I was hearing when he first told me it, and I nearly passed out when he offered to pass it down to me. But after the Darkwraith attacks, and my quirk's... side effects, I don't think I would make for a good symbol of peace. Zombies are normally brainless, man-eating monsters, not superheroes. So I declined his offer.
He was rather disappointed at first, but I guess he saw my reasoning, so he relented. He did have another candidate in mind anyway, so it's not a total loss. Now, where was I again? Oh, yeah, U.A. I looked into it, and it seems we're fighting robots. I've gotten way stronger since the first Darkwraith attack, strong enough to bend steel bars with my bare hands. And with how impossibly sharp and durable my sword and armor are, this should be easy enough. U.A., here I come! Time to become a hero!
At the U.A. gates
I'm here... after so long, I'm here... I can barely think straight. It's huge, way bigger in person than it looked in the website. I can't believe I'm here, it's almost euphoric! I'm finally going to achieve my dream of becoming a hero!
"The hell are you doing here, deku?"
Oh yeah, kaachan's taking the exam too.
"Stay the fuck out of my way, you sack of shit, or I'll blow your useless ass sky-high."
"Still as pleasant as ever, huh?"
"The fuck you say? What's gotten into you, yappin' back at me? You got a death wish? Did you decide that a swan dive wasn't your style, and that the best way to die would be having a go against me? Is that it?"
Ok, ouch. That may be the hardest insult he's ever thrown at me. I'm actually a little impressed.
Eh, I'll ignore him. I've gotten a lot stronger since I graduated middle school, the gym incident proved that. I've definitely got what it takes to become a hero now. I've just got to keep on going. Just take a step forward.
And then I tripped.
Or I'll just die. Again.
...
Why am I not face-down on the concrete right now?
Huh. I'm floating. Odd. I probably would have freaked out a bit before, but, floating doesn't really compare to dying 6 times to Darkwraiths, now does it?
I looked up to see a short brown-haired girl with pink cheeks standing over me. Oh yeah, Uraraka's taking the exam too!
"Hey Midoriya! Long time no see!"
"Ah, I was wondering if I would find you here! Yeah, it's been like 3 months, how've you been?"
Uraraka's been down here a few more times since I first saw her, and since I have her number, we've been in contact for the entire time. I've been dying to actually see her in real life again, since I... Um... I actually kind of like her a little bit... It's nothing big, she's just the only girl who's ever given me a chance, I would be weird not to have developed a little crush on her and oh god I'm rambling in my head again ahahahaha-
"You ok Midoriya? You're staring off into space, and got really flustered for some reaso-"
"Oh, i-it's nothing, um- the entrance exam's gonna start soon, shouldn't we be going inside now?"
"Oh! I almost forgot about that, see you in a bit!"
She ran off towards the entrance, leaving me behind. I took a few seconds to pull my flustered mess of a self together, and took off after her.
Inside there was a big, darkly-lit amphitheater that people were crowding in to get a seat. I assume this is where the opening seminar is. I found a seat and sat down, sadly not next to Uraraka. But guess who it was next to...
"Shut up and don't say anything, Deku, and there won't be any problems."
Just my luck...
A man with a gigantic, physics-defying tower of bright yellow hair walked onto the stage.
Is that Present Mic!? I listen to his podcasts all the time! Right, U.A., of course he would be here, he works here!
"Ok ok, let's check out your targets! There are 3 types of villains in every battle center. They're all worth different amount of points based on their power and how difficult they are to defeat! You'll earn points by destroying or incapacitating them. Your aim is to simply gain as many points as possible. Also, keep it heroic out there, attacking other examinees for any reason in one heck of a no-no!"
"Excuse me, I believe you are missing something! You said there were 3 robot types, but the pamphlet clearly shows 4! An error such as this would be a great embarrassment to U.A.'s name!"
"Good point! Now, examine #7111, you are correct, there are 4 types of robots, but only 3 award you any points! The other is worth none at all, and is treated more as an obstacle to be avoided."
Ah, that would explain it.
The seminar finished quickly, and we all went to our designated testing grounds after changing into any gear we may have had. These testing ground are huge, each one is a to-scale model city block. I know U.A. is funded like crazy, but how the hell did they afford this?
As I look around the arena, scoping out who to worry about, I notice a brown bob of hair in the crowd. Oh, what a coincidence, Uraraka's here too. I walk over to her, but before I can reach her, someone stops me.
"I see what you're trying to do. You're trying to break that girl's focus so you can have less competition."
Wait, isn't that the guy from before who interrupted Present Mic? Just how uptight must this guy be?
"No, actually, I was just going to-"
"You're just here to obstruct us other test-takers, aren't you? If you're just trying to be a nuisance, I suggest you leave now."
"Can you get off my back? I've done nothing to obstruct anyone, and I know that girl personally. I just want to go talk to a frien-"
"GO!!!!"
Huh?
"What? There are no countdowns in a real battle! Run!"
I guess that's our cue. I put my helmet on and started running towards the training ground, along with a few other people, and soon after everybody is running their asses off. I unsheathed my sword and slashed at an exposed wire on a 3-pointer, taking out some system, before stabbing a joint connecting the head to the body, and then pushing the head off of the now-destroyed joint.
I took out more robots in a similar fashion, and soon enough, I had accumulated 39 points. I looked around to see what my competition was up to. The engine kid had 45 points, Uraraka had 28, a spiky, red-haired kid had 39 as well, and a kid with a... bird head? Had 47. I think I would say I'm doing decently well, far better than I could've a few months ago, but I still need to step my game up a bit to stay ahead of the other competitors.
I was pulled from my thoughts by a 2-pointer slamming its tail into my chest. I was sent flying a few feet, but stuck the landing and skidded to a stop. This armor really saved my skin, it's super strong, probably stronger than riot gear, somehow. I ran forward to the 2-pointer and jumped over one of its shields, before landing on it's back and jamming my sword through the gap behind its eyes, netting me 2 more points.
A few more robots later and I had secured 51 points, which should be enough to get in. As soon as the thought crossed my mind, a loud crashing sound echoed through the testing ground. I looked up to see a massive robot, even bigger than some of the buildings, coming from around the corner. Everyone around me started running away from the zero-pointer, and I was about to do the same, before I heard a girl scream for help from near the zero-pointer.
I looked back to see Uraraka trapped under some rubble. Above her was something pretty horrifying: the zero-pointer was right above her, and was beginning to take a step. She would be crushed to death if that landed on her. That can't happen.
I bolted towards her as fast as I could, desperately trying to reach her before the zero-pointer before its foot hit the ground. I managed to get to her just before that, and pulled her out of the rubble right as the zero-pointer's foot hit the ground. But as she got away from the danger, another problem arose: the intense pain in my lower leg.
My entire calf was stuck beneath its foot, crushed and mangled to all hell. I'm pretty sure it was completely torn off from the rest of my leg at this point.
"AAAAAAAAAHHGHHGHGGH!!!!!!!"
"OH MY GOD! Ah, I'll get you out! Hang in there!"
She grabbed ahold of my arms and dragged me out from the robot, limping a bit in the process. my leg gave next to no resistance while she pulled, so I'm guessing my hypothesis was right. She pulled me to the side, out of the path of the robot's feet, and let out a shrill scream filled with worry when she saw what was left of my leg.
"OH GOD! YOUR LEG, WHAT DO I DO!?"
I thought on that for a second. She could just run, but her leg is hurt... what a coincidence. Plus, running won't save anyone else who gets stuck. Who the fuck designed this thing? At least put padding on the feet for people who get stuck, It's common sense!
Wait, her quirk... it can float people, I think... lightbulb. I flipped the visor of the helmet up and began talking.
"Float me- AGH- up! I can disable the robot- AAA MY LEG!"
"M-MIDORIYA!? BUT YOU'RE INJURED AND BLEEDING OUT! YOU SHOULDN'T DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT WHEN YOU'RE HURT LIKE THIS!"
"Don't worry, I've been through worse. Just float me!"
I mean, it's the truth. Darkwraiths are savage, and really like to tear you apart. It's a bit painful.
She reluctantly agreed to float me up, and she touched my shoulder. I began to slowly float up the giant robot, holding on wherever I could, hacking away at anything that isn't behind a foot of steel. After about a minute of agonizing floating, its lower half stopped moving. I signaled the girl to put me back down, and she nodded before putting her fingers together. Wait, I'm like 50 feet up a giant robot. I probably should have grabbed something.
"AAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!" I screamed.
"AAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!" She screamed.
And then I felt ground. Very hard ground. The pain was insane, some of the greatest I've ever felt, and I could see blood all over the road around me. But at least I'm not dead, I guess? Well, I'm pretty sure I'm going to be dead soon from the blood loss, so that point is right out the window.
I heard someone yell something, before the people who were still around stopped trying to get away. An old lady came rushing towards me with a few paramedics, and they took my helmet off and put me in a stretcher. Great, I'm gonna have to attend U.A. with only one leg... wait a second, I have an estus flask!
I pulled the flask out of the little bag I kept it in, and poured the burning liquid down my throat.
"This is no time for a drink, young... man..."
All the pain I felt across my body disappeared, and I looked down to see my leg fully healed and back to normal. Wait, is my armor back too? Huh. Useful.
The old lady signaled the paramedics to stop, before turning back to me.
"What? How did your... what did you just drink?"
"Never mind that, just go check on the brown-haired girl over there, she was nearly crushed, and hurt her leg in the rubble."
"But your leg, and that fall, how did you-"
"Just check on her, I'm fine!"
To prove my point, I got up and walked over to my helmet, and the sword I dropped when I hit the ground. I looked back to the bewildered faces of the old lady and the paramedics, before she walked over to the girl.
"H-how's your leg, dear?"
"It hurts a bit, but it's fine, compared to what happened to Midoriya. How's he doing, is he stable?"
"I assume Midoriya is the armored boy. He seems fine, dear, despite his grievous injuries, he seems to have completely healed himself somehow. Now, to heal you as well."
She extended her lips until she looked like a human gharial, and kissed the girl's leg. Definitely something I didn't want to see today.
"Huh? It feels better all of a suddennn..."
"Take some rest, dear, healing takes a lot of energy. Don't worry, it'll be all better in a few hours. Now, to check on that boy again, there's no way he's completely fine after what happened."
"I really am though. Look, good as new."
I had taken off my boot and exposed my foot and lower calf. They were completely normal, as if nothing had happened at all.
"But the fall, you must have shattered so many bones from that!"
"Completely healed as well. Still pretty sore though."
"Just what kind of miracle drink is that, young man? Where did you get it from?" She pointed at my flask as she said this. Wait, where does it come from? Where did the flask even come from?
"It's called estus, and I don't really know where it comes from. All I know is that you need to put some sort of padding or something on that robot's feet. Seriously, she would've died if I didn't get her out of there. That's a MASSIVE safety hazard, to say the least. Why didn't anyone think of that already? Someone has to have gotten in a similar situation before."
She stared at me in silence, dumbfounded that I was more worried about the design of a robot than my destroyed leg and 50 foot fall.
"...Well, you do bring up a good point. I'll talk to principal Nezu about it, I'm sure he'll agree with you. But what do you mean, you don't really know where it comes from?"
"That's a very long story. I'll talk with you about it after people have left. I'm pretty sure a crowd's gonna form here soon."
It already had.
The first one to approach me was that same redhead from before the zero-pointer showed up.
"Dude, how you saved that girl, even though it cost you points and put you in danger, so freakin' manly! How's your leg, didn't it get crushed?"
A yellow-haired guy followed up the redhead.
"Yeah, your leg got crushed under the zero-pointer, how's it doing? That must've hurt!"
Let's mess with them a bit. I quickly glanced over for confirmation, before speaking up.
"Well, this one's doing fine, it's that one you might wanna worry about."
They looked over to where I pointed to see a mangled pulp of red and chunks of metal ground up on the pavement. Winced and turned away, and I thing I saw a few people gag.
"Other than that, I'm all good. Now back off a bit please, I don't like crowds."
While they obliged, the people behind them weren't as kind. They tried pushing towards me, spewing questions at me, mostly about my leg and the fall. I noticed Uraraka getting nearly trampled, and I pushed through the crowd to get to her. I lifted her to her feet and led her out of the crowd.
"Your leg doing alright?"
"You're one to talk, after all that."
"Hah, good point."
"I-I still can't thank you enough, I would have been just like your leg if you hadn't come saved me."
"No problem. What hero leaves someone in danger behind?"
An hour later, In Nezu's office
Is that a talking mouse? If he's a mouse, then why is he nearly 3 feet tall?
"Alright young man, I have a few questions for you regarding the exam."
"Fire away, principal Nezu."
"First off, despite receiving life-threatening injuries while fighting the zero-pointer, you healed yourself completely by taking a drink of that liquid you call 'estus.' We have no records of any substance with that name, let alone effect existing. Would you mind telling us what it is, and where you got it?"
This question again? I thought I answered this with recovery girl. No harm in answering again, I guess.
"Well, I don't really know what it is. All I know is that it instantly heals damn near any injury, even lethal ones, with just a drink or two. And I can't answer where it comes from either, I just found it next the bonfire out in the woods behind my apartment, along with my armor and weapons."
"Ok... Another thing, your records say that you are quirkless, but the heightened strength and athleticism say otherwise. Why is this?"
"Well, that's a really long story, one that spans most of my life."
After the explanation
"Well then... that is unlike anything I have ever heard before. That bonfire definitely seems special... I will confirm with all might about the legitimacy of these claims, as you can imagine that this is an incredibly outlandish story."
"I can believe that. Now, I have my own question for you, principal."
"What is it, my boy?"
"Did I get in?"
"Oh, absolutely. Not only did you score 51 villain points, and show exceptional quick-thinking skills under extremely heavy pressure, but you also displayed a great deal of heroic aptitude, throwing yourself into a dangerous situation to save another without so much as a second thought. My boy, you scored 121 points total, and without a doubt gained the favor of the judges. I can assure you, you will get in."
I did it. My dreams are coming true. After so long, I made it in... wait.
"I have one more question."
"Yes, young man?"
"Did Uraraka get in?"
"Uraraka... while she did not get as many villain points as some others, it was still more than adequate. On top of that, she proved to have that same heroic spirit as you do, dragging you out from under the zero-pointer, despite having been injured, and being in a similar situation herself. And on top of that, she even helped you disable it after you were both out of harm's way. She received a total of 83 points, the second highest of any examinee, behind you. She will be getting in too."
"That's good. She deserves it, she could have just run, but instead stuck around. Definitely deserves it more than someone else who took the exam."
"Well, I have taken into consideration your past with Bakugo. He will be reprimanded for it, do not worry."
"Good."
Narrator's POV
As the conversation comes to a close, a teary-eyed girl stands outside the door to the office. Having heard the story of the green-haired boy, and how both of them were accepted into their dream schools, she couldn't help but tear up a bit. He's gone through so much, and yet he still has such a good soul. She was gonna give this Bakugo person a thrashing after this. She didn't even notice the door open until she heard a voice call here name.
"Huh? Uraraka? What are you doing here?"
"Oh, hey there Midoriya! I was just here to try to talk to nezu about giving you extra points for saving me, but it looks like that isn't a problem, huh? Well, we both got in, so I can't wait to see you next week!"
"Oh, yeah! Wait, how much did you hear of that?"
"Pretty much all of it. I only got here a minute or so after you did, so I heard the entire story. I can't believe you've been through so much... I mean, you've..."
She stopped her sentence, turned around, and gave Izuku a hug.
"Even after going through what you did with bakugo, and even after going through death itself, you still want to be a hero. You saved my life without a second thought, when everybody else just ran away... thank you... Also, that armor is awesome, are you sure that you can't get any more of those?"
And so they left the campus together, ready to start their own journeys. They would become heroes, and nothing would stop them.
But unbeknownst to them, in that same cave the darkwraiths come from, the abyss has taken hold of even more, corrupting the world as it grows. In the endless darkness, something new emerges. A snake-like body slithers through the abyss, hiding away where the light cannot hope to reach.
"I see Gwyn's age finally ended. But light is not so easily snuffed out, is it? No matter. The darkness will fall wherever the light shines, no matter where or when it does. The abyss will consume this new world, as it always has..."
Guess who's back
Back again
Kaathe is back
Tell a friend
Aaand chapter done. The longest one yet, and probably the one I'm most proud of. If you couldn't tell, in true dark souls fashion, Izuku is gonna get beaten down and killed like crazy. It'll be a little bit before his first death in U.A., but after that, he's gonna die a LOT. Also some fluff, because who doesn't like fluff.
Bakugo isn't quite as much of a raging asshole, mostly because Izuku's sudden confidence and some other off-screen moments have intimidated him a little bit. I mean, he's walked by Dagobah and seen Izuku lifting entire refrigerators, who wouldn't be intimidated by that?
Also, you may notice that Izuku and Ochako's points are different. Well, I decided that Izuku and Ochako both would get 10 more hero points, due to taking down the zero pointer, even though they were both injured and out of the danger. I think it's justified giving them extra points.
Praise the sun \[T]/