A/N: Surprise!! Today's update is Swan Dive!! :D We've finally hit the Exams! :) Hope you guys are excited.
How's everyone holding up with Corona? Today makes the 6th consecutive update! Whooo!! I should write more in this A/N, but I honestly can't really think of anything right now, and I have a headache. Oof. Also, GIGANTIC thanks to EmilyStarDraws on Instagram, who drew the amazing fanart of Minizawa~! (So cute!!) If you have fanart, please either tag me on insta, or email it to Betweentwoworlds@italymail.com. :) Thank you everyone~! Please enjoy!
Oh! And last thing (sorry!) I finally made a tiktok. Same username. Check it out if you want.
Hi,linechanhere.Hopeeveryone'sdoingokay,Author-chanhasaheadacherightnow,butshe'sgoingtobeanidiotandstayupanyhow.
Izuku nervously fiddled with the keychain that hung off his phone. The little yellow goggles, mini microphone, tiny gummy bear, small red glasses, and kitty paw represented his family. The phone case sported the U.A. Logo, his first choice High School.
"Stop it, nerd. That's annoying." Kacchan gently bumped his shoulder, reminding him of where they were. U.A. They were here to take the Entrance Exam for their dream school.
Yes. Izuku was nervous. Kacchan was nervous, too—though he didn't show it. They'd spent the last ten months training until they dropped (sometimes literally, in Izuku's case, much to Shouta, Nemuri and Hizashi's worry, and Nana's ire). They were as ready as they were going to be.
Luckily, if you asked in advance, you could get certain weapons approved for the Exam. Like Izuku's Capture Weapon, for instance. Or his sai—his tanto were denied, unfortunately. Yuki, regrettably, also had to sit out on this exam. He would be waiting with his dad in the observation room today.
He idly wondered if that purple haired kid was doing okay.
The written test was honestly a bit of a blur for Izuku. He found it surprisingly easy, and wondered if the material his parents had been giving him to study with were from higher levels of education.
They soon found themselves sitting side-by-side in the auditorium. That's when his Pa came up on the stage, and Izuku found himself relaxing a bit. It was a little strange to see Hizashi in full Hero Costume and at work (Zashi hardly ever went out on patrols with him and Dad anymore), but he supposed he'd need to get used to it (or at least, he hoped).
"Hello Examinee Listeners! Thank you all for tuning into today's live performance!" Hizashi—Present Mic—grinned. "EVERYBODY SAY HEY!" He shouted in English.
"HEY!" Izuku and Kacchan cried out in unison. Izuku remembered hearing Hizashi lamenting the fact that nobody ever responded to him during this welcome speech for the exams, so he and Kacchan had decided to fix that. He wasn't sure he'd ever seen his Pa look so excited. He was vibrating on the stage as he fed off their energy.
A few people turned to glare at them, but they ignored it.
"All right! Now that's what I'm talkin' about!" Present Mic grinned. "Let me give you the rundown for the practical exam! Are you ready?!"
"YEAH!" Izuku and Kacchan shouted alongside Present Mic again, though this time a few other people shouted alongside them, emboldened by Izuku and Kacchan's participation. The blond's grin widened, even as other examinees glared again.
"YES!" Present Mic grinned, pointing to Izuku and Kacchan. "I am loving your energy, Listeners! I've got my eye on the twelve of you!" A few people muttered in surprise.
Well, duh. The Entrance Exam is a great opportunity to stand out to the heroes. If you catch their attention, then you've got a better chance of being admitted. Izuku sighed.
"You all got your handouts at the door, right? Then here we go! After this, you'll all be conducting ten-minute mock urban battles! After my presentation, you'll head off to your designated battle centers! Bring whatever you want! You follow so far?"
"Damn. I'm Battle Center A." Kacchan noted, and Izuku looked to his.
"I'm B. Looks like we'll just have to do our best and hope we both pass, huh?" Izuku only half-listened to the explanation. While his parents hadn't told him what the exam was, because that would be an unfair advantage, he'd read the handout the moment he got it.
Robots, indeed. Good thing he'd planned for that.
"May I ask a question?" A blue-haired boy stood up.
"Sure thing!" Present Mic grinned as a spotlight illuminated the kid.
"On the printout, there are four types of villains. If that is a misprint, then U.A., the most prominent school in Japan, should be ashamed of that foolish mistake." The boy was certainly passionate, Izuku would give him that, but he was way too uptight about things, and was coming off as rather rude.
"We examinees are here in this place because we wish to be molded into exemplary heroes." The boy continued, before turning and pointing towards Izuku and Kacchan, illuminating them as well. Kacchan glared, while Izuku schooled his face into one of bored indifference—just like his dad—and raised a single eyebrow. "In addition, you over there with the curly hair—You've been muttering this whole time. And you with the spiky hair! You two have been interrupting this entire time! It's distracting and disgraceful! If you're here on a pleasure trip, then you should leave immediately!"
Only Izuku and Kacchan caught the dark look of anger that flashed over Hizashi's face. Oooh... Pa's mad. That's definitely a record... I doubt anyone's gotten in his bad books this fast in a while. "Okay, okay." Present Mic called the attention back to himself, relieving Izuku and Kacchan of the eyes that bore into their skulls. The two let out silent sighs of relief, each sending the blue-haired kid a glare.
"Thanks for that question about the robot, Examinee 7111! I was just about to explain about him!" The screen behind Present Mic showed the robot's outline. "This guy is worth Zero Points! He's more of an obstacle that goes crazy in narrow spaces. I'd recommend you avoid him, and concentrate on getting those scores up!"
Izuku's eyes narrowed. An obstacle? Maybe a way of showing what we can do when we encounter an enemy we can't defeat? Perhaps to represent a civilian under a villain's control? Someone he can't hurt, but can pose a threat to us? But then why make it Zero Points?
"Come on, Zukkun." Kacchan poked his shoulder, and Izuku realized that the lights were back on. "You're muttering again, and it's time to go. Though Uncle Zashi's 'good luck suffering' doesn't sit right with me. Tch. He's probably having a fucking blast."
"You know if Nana heard you say that..." Izuku's lips quirked into a smirk.
"Yeah, but she ain't here."
"Hey, Kacchan?"
"Yeah, Zukkun?"
"Good luck. I'll meet you by the gates when the exam is over." Izuku extended his hand. Kacchan stared at it for a moment before he smirked and pulled Izuku into a hug.
"Good luck, Nerd. I'll see you after we win."
Linekunoverhere!TheAuthor'sbeinganidiotandstayingup.FuckingTiktok.TheAuthor'sgettingaddicted.Helpher.
Hizashi grinned as he watched his son standing in the crowd of examinees. Iida Tenya, Tensei's little brother, had been a real jerk during his show earlier. You just don't call out people like that in front of thousands of examinees. He was going to have a word with Tensei later, but for now...
He smirked, watching as they chattered excitedly. Nobody was going to expect this. "GO!" He was happy to see Izuku dash off instantly, using his Capture Weapon to move faster through the buildings and find more robots. The distinct sound of explosions in the distance told him his son was already gaining points. Impressive.
"Well?! What're you waiting for?!" He shouted at the other examinees, who were standing there staring at him. "There're no countdowns in real life! GO! Go!" He urged. "The die have been cast!" With that, the group of prospective students shot forward with vigor and enthusiasm. Now it was time for work.
The exams were dangerous. They tried to keep the danger down as much as possible, but accidents happened—especially when kids got tired (and didn't he have experience with that? He still shuddered when he remembered the one time he and Shouta had been patrolling with Izuku, and the kid was more tired than he had been willing to admit. He'd missed a step while roof hopping, and nearly fallen to his death. Would have, if Shouta hadn't caught him. He wasn't sure he'd ever been so terrified, nor seen Shouta's face so pale).
It was his job, as the overseer of Site B, to make sure the students didn't die. Anything else, Recovery Girl could handle. He just had to keep them alive for ten minutes.
Next year, he was going to make Shouta do this part, and he'd kick it back in the observation room with a cup of hot cocoa.
Linekunagain,hopethatyouallareenjoyingtheupdate.It'sshort,buttheAuthorwilltryherbesttoupdateagaintomorrow(eitherthisstoryorViridian).Oof.Stilllotsofwork.
Shouta sighed as he sat in the dark room, eyes glued to the monitors as Yuki curled up in his lap. He held a cup of coffee in his hand. Shouta thought that he could handle this. He didn't have to interact with the man, and the man didn't have to interact with him. But he hadn't realized how stressful it would be to sit in the same room as All Might. (Though Yuki helped a lot, curled up on his lap). He imagined that even if he hadn't almost gotten his son killed twice (because he absolutely blamed the Slime Villain Incident ten months ago on this man for not tying up loose ends), he'd still feel irritated. He did not want this man working in his school.
His enemies were too strong. He knew several staff members agreed with him, too, but Nezu's word was final. And even Shouta—despite what his coworkers thought—could not change his mind once he had decided on something.
"Is that your son, Aizawa?" Cementoss asked, pointing to Izuku. The kid was using his Capture Weapon with as much grace and fluidity as Shouta himself.
"Yes. That's Yamazawa Izuku, my son." He grinned, and several staff members leaned forward in interest, including All Might.
"I didn't know you had a son, Aizawa-kun!" All Might grinned. Shouta twitched. Kun?
"Yes, I don't advertise my family for the sake of their safety." Shouta ground out, and only a handful of people in the room knew why he felt so strongly about this. He'd managed to hide the scars well, even after all this time. Thirteen, Cementoss, and Sekijiro were the only ones who knew that Shouta had been kidnapped, though they were—as of yet—unaware that Izuku had also been kidnapped. The staff would need to be told, when Izuku made it in. Any trauma experienced in the past needed to be made known to the staff for the student's safety and wellbeing.
"He's good." Cementoss called the attention back to the screen, as Izuku used his scarf to bash three 3 Pointers together, taking them out. "He's already at 42 points, and we're only halfway through."
"I'm impressed." Snipe whistled. "Just what are you teaching this kid?"
"Holy shit! Guys, look at Site A!" Thirteen pointed towards Katsuki, making Shouta's smirk widen.
"Don't tell me you took on another student?" Ectoplasm spoke up.
"No." Shouta fought the urge to chuckle. "That's Bakugo Katsuki, Izuku's best friend."
"The talented ones just keep falling into your lap, don't they?" Cementoss chuckled.
"Katsuki is very talented, yes. But Izuku got to where he is now from hard work. Kid didn't even know how to throw a punch when I met him. He had no confidence in himself at all." He smiled softly for a moment, pride shining through his expression, stunning his coworkers. They'd never seen him so open before. But then they blinked and he was back to his tired neutral self. A couple of them bemoaned the loss of the chance to catch a photo.
"Met?" All Might echoed.
"He's adopted, not that that makes any difference." Shouta stated. "I'll explain the circumstances thereof when he's officially a student."
"Right. The Trauma Meeting." Cementoss sighed. It was their informal name for the first meeting of the school year—where they went over kids that they thought might have problems, trauma, and issues, before discussing the students that they knew had problems, trauma, and issues. That way everyone was aware and could accommodate accordingly. Hound Dog could also write up a recovery schedule to get them back on track—especially the Hero Students.
"I wonder who will take first this year? Izuku or Katsuki?" Nemuri mused.
Izuku and Katsuki were both wracking up an incredible number of points, though Katsuki had barely any rescue points. Izuku, on the other hand had nearly as many rescue points as he did Villain Points. It was actually impressive.
The room quieted down again as Nezu chuckled. "We've hit the eight minute mark, everyone! You know what that means~!" He pushed the button. Shouta sighed.
Don't die, Cub. I don't think either of us would survive Chiyo's wrath.
The oversized robot came out, and people started running. This was the true test. What would make or break someone for the Hero Course. You could have the most points, but if you did something stupid, like knock someone over and leave them behind in favor of saving yourself, then you were disqualified.
Because people always acted differently when put under sudden life-threatening stress.
Katsuki's first reaction was to look around, and make sure that anybody who'd fallen or was trapped got to safety. That alone would've been good enough. But then he saw someone who couldn't move, and they were trapped under some rubble that was far too heavy for the boy to pick up. Blowing it up could just cause further injury to the examinee. Instead, Katsuki charged the robot.
Shouta fought the urge to sigh. Katsuki let loose a massive explosion that they felt even all the way in the observation room. The Zero Pointer stuttered and stopped, a giant hole burned into its midsection.
Katsuki earned 60 Rescue Points. His total was now 132, a new record for the school.
Izuku, on the other hand, had been dashing around saving as many people as he could. He knew he couldn't handle something like that, and had taken the initiative to calm the crowed of panicked examinees and direct them to help with the rescue efforts.
This had never happened before. Someone had actually gotten the examinees to work together and help everyone escape from the Zero Pointer. Of course, he'd only managed to get about 10 others to work with him, but it was more than anyone else had ever managed.
Izuku called out instructions for people to use their Quirks in ways that were creative and constructive. In less than one minute, everyone who'd been injured, exhausted or trapped was freed, including a girl who'd been right in the path of the Zero Pointer.
For his leadership skills and calm actions under pressure, Izuku earned 45 Rescue Points—which was pretty amazing considering that he received that in addition to his earned rescue points in this endeavor.
This brought Izuku's final score to 132. He and Katsuki had tied for first place, and both broke the record for U.A.
Shouta grinned as the exam was called to a close.