Oh boy, I hope this decision is good on how I introduce this character.
Anyway, enjoy the chapter.
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Izuku smiled while waving Goodbye as he parted ways from Ochako. He never expected that someone would admire him before becoming a hero or being in the spotlight.
"Izuku!" A voice called out turning his head to see Itsuka wearing a casual green blouse and jeans while Jiro wore a dark shirt with punk rock design and jeans.
"You two are as beautiful as ever!"
He complimented their appearance without any intention of teasing them and only genuinely praising their looks. This unknowingly caused them to blush, recalling that after the exam they confessed to each other in the after party.
"You too, Izuku-kun. Sorry we took some time to get here." Jiro fidgeted with her earphone jacks hiding her red face. He only shook his head from her words.
"Nah, It's only been a few minutes since I got here. How about we head inside? The others are already inside."
"I still wonder how you can flirt this smooth without realizing."
Itsuka sighed and understood that he was ignorant of his actions. He does tease from time to time but mostly it is unintentional.
Izuku may be smart in many things especially quirk related but when it comes to romances is like a dense harem protagonist. Though it won't be for long.
"Anyway, Let's head inside before we're late." He nodded before heading their way to a classroom where they would do their written exam. Izuku had a separate room than his friends and saw the teacher about to hand out the exam.
"My name is Kaina Tsutsumi and I'll be your writer examiner. You all are given roughly an hour to finish. No erasure. If any erasure is seen then it will automatically be wrong." Kaina said and looked around them before she met Izuku's eyes causing her to widen.
'I-Is that the kid that…' Izuku on the other hand smiled softly remembering her when he was thirteen years old when they met each other. She ate in his mother's restaurant and saw her distraught as well as troubled.
He decided to talk with her and saw how she was hesitant before opening up by giving his experience with the world in the eyes of a Quirkless boy. Once again, he may have his magic again but it took time and he was still discriminated against and labeled as quirkless until he grew enough to have the magic.
'I haven't seen her since that day. I wonder what happened. Wish I could talk to her.' Kaina tries to compose herself remembering her past and how she was once just a weapon, a tool used by the Hero Public Safety Commission.
She was mentally breaking down at the weight of blood shed from killing corrupt heroes and villains until a blazing flame reignited the ember that she tries to cling to. Kaina saw a kind and gentle smile that was burning away the shame and guilt that she had.
At that time, she didn't know why she was compelled to talk with that young boy but he spoke in ways that started to bring her back to the light. Kaina still vividly remembered what he said.
"I don't know what you're going through but from what you're saying shows you are too fixated on the past. My sensei often said that the past is a series of chapters that have already been written, yet it does not dictate the narrative of your incoming future. Each day offers a blank page, a fresh opportunity to shape your destiny. It is up to you to decide whether you allow the shadows of your past to shackle you, or to break free from them, forging a new path of freedom and possibility. Remember, while you cannot change what has been, you hold the pen that writes what is yet to come."
These words resonated with her and from day on her life began to shift, finding help from the principal of U.A, Nezu and escaping the grapes of the Hero Public Safety Commission.
She was offered a job in the U.A and now her mental state had been stable all thanks to the young man. She never got the chance to thank him for what he had done because she was too busy with fixing her life.
'I hope I can finally get the chance to properly thank him.' Kaina thought.
After some time the written exam ended and everyone soon led to the amphitheater, finding their own assigned seat that the school gives to organize students by schools or groups.
Fortunately, He sat right next to Katsumi who just gave him a nod before focusing on the platform. Izuku returned her nod and also focused his attention on the platform. Mizuna flew back into his head and rested there.
He glanced at Himiko, Itsuka and Jiro who sat right beside Camie then below him was Ochako who was both anxious and excited.
After a while, a pro hero Izuku recognized for his signature long blonde hair spike upward along with his unique costume, walked up to the podium with a grin on his face. It was the Voice Hero: Present Mic!
"WELCOME ONE AND ALL HERE TODAY! EVERYBODY SAY HEEEEEY!"
He yelled, cupping his ear with a hand toward the audience, only to receive no cheers back because they were too nervous at the upcoming test. Izuku was tempted to scream, but held himself back. Present Mic just smiled as he pointed finger guns to them, quieting down a little.
"Ooo! Tough crowd! Don't worry, I'm just as nervous as you all are!"
He then pressed a button on a remote in his hand and large screens appeared around the room, displaying a city of some sort.
"Alright! So we'll be testing out your style through a ten-minute practice run at our replica city-district! Take anything you want and gather at your designated areas after the presentation! Ya dig!?"
Izuku looked down at his paper to see what area he would be going in, but then caught sight of Katsumi also looked down at Izuku's paper, discovering that they were assigned to different locations. Katsumi smirked and shot Izuku a look.
"If we're on the same site, we'd probably dominate the place and force the others to be disqualified."
Izuku said nothing but just smirked. It didn't take long for Present Mic to explain what the rest of the exam consisted of.
The student's main goal was to obtain as many points as possible by destroying different point-valued robots within the district; they weren't allowed to interfere or attack other students.
Present Mic then warned everyone about a zero-point robot that would emerge within the city as an obstacle to interfere with the students, so he suggested that they avoid encountering it.
'He said that destroying robots gives 'villain points', not points, but villain points, emphasis on villain. Why did he say it like that? Is there another way to earn points?'
His green eyes narrowed. There are many factors that determine what a hero is and not just beating villains. Izuku knew there were other ways to acquire points without anyone knowing.
'Hmm, hmm, of course there is another way to earn points! If not, then those who don't have combat—Quirks will be in great disadvantage! They might not be able to pass!'
He began to stretch his body, while his mind was still on the matter of points. Izuku knew there was more than meets the eye over the test.
'...Hero points? Yes, yes, of course! A hero's job is not only to beat up villains, but to save people as well! Holy shit, U.A really thought things through! And with the examinees busy fighting for points, they'd be able to easily pick up those who are more heroic, and those who aren't!' Izuku nodded thinking how the exam seemed unfair for non combat participants.
"—MAY YOU SUFFER GREATLY FOR TRIALS TO COME! GO BEYOND! PLUS ULTRA!"
Afterwards, before heading their way to their designated areas talked to his friends.
"It seems we'll be in different places, hope you two keep safe and don't push yourself too hard alright?" Izuku said.
"You don't need to worry about us! We can handle ourselves especially after the training we did in I-Island." Itsuka said.
"All thanks to all that Blood drinking, my body has grown!" Himiko acquired a temporary boost in her physiology that she can even briefly use the quirk for those she drank Izuku's and her friends' blood.
In this case, Himiko got temporary dragonification from Tohru's and Izuku's blood with the former was so strong that she can access it anytime with the downside of only using it for a small amount of time.
"Yeah, I'm confident with my quirk since it's just robots rather than people." Jiro said.
"Same here, even though I have Transformation magic, I still can't turn into something complicated." Mizuna said.
"Totally, my illusion quirk isn't great at fighting robots." Camie said.
"I know, I just want you guys getting hurt out there. Anyway, just to let you know that there are other ways to get points." Izuku said.
"Really!? But why didn't they tell us?" Jiro exclaimed.
"It's called a test for a reason." Izuku deadpanned hearing Jiro's question. She blushed at her own words embarrassingly avoiding his gaze.
"Well anyway, the other method I could think of is helping others in the exam. Like rescuing them from danger and from what Melissa along with All-Toshi-Sensei said they would be watching which indicates that the teachers of U.A would be as well."
Izuku made sure to use AllMight's name to avoid people from asking questions. Itsuka and Jiro nodded knowing this face made a mental note to help others.
"Alright, see ya at the after party!" He went to his area with the two girls having a determined expression. Jiro is slightly more anxious at the party than the actual test. At the moment, Tohru and his mom were preparing for the party.
"Calm down, Jiro-san. I think he's too nice to straight up reject us." Itsuka reassured her.
"Still, are you okay with this, us sharing Izuku??" Jiro asked.
"I won't lie that I am, but you guys are my friends and you like him. We already plan everything." Itsuka said.
"That's true, Izuku-sama is too kind." Himiko said.
"Didn't I say he has a big heart? It won't be much different how we spend time with him." Camie said.
"*Sigh*...yeah, still do you think he'll have more than us?" Jiro said.
"Most likely…" As the girls discuss their future relationship with the Dragon Slayer, the said person was now standing in front of a large gate, and a large town beyond it.
He looks around and sees a few people who remained calm and composed despite obviously looking nervous, but he can see their determination on passing the test.
Like the glasses dude who looks familiar for some reason, and...short grape kid who is staring at every girl participating with a perverted look. He glared that caused the person to shudder before focusing on the test.
'If that guy becomes my classmate then I'll butcher him everyday.'
He then saw Ochako at the corner, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. He smiled and decided to say hi.
"Ochako-san!" Izuku called out to get her attention, receiving a delighted smile from the mochi girl.
"I-Izuku-San, you're here too." Ochako stuttered
"Yup! Well I went to check up on you and thought that you're rather tense." Izuku said.
"Y-Yeah, I'm just anxious seeing this is the first time that I'll be fighting robots and my chances of failing is…" Ochako nervously said.
"Hahaha you don't need to be nervous! Just give it a smile and keep yelling that 'I am here!' Also, don't just believe in yourself but also believe in the people that believe in you!"
Izuku gave a heroic smile overlapping the image of his predecessor. Ochako seeing his bright grin made her calm and feel safe like a true hero.
"Did it work? I always tell myself that even with how hard things get, keep a bright smile as frowning and being sad is tiring." Izuku asked.
[ 'His flame started to become more unique than my own.' ] Igneel thought with every flame having their own unique properties, Izuku's is no different turning into something that reflects his heart.
[ A/N: If you read Deadbeat Noble, the MC's aura is basically Izuku's flame. Also it's great manhwa, highly recommend it. ]
"It did! Thank you for the help, Izuku-san!" Ochako felt motivated to fight.
"No problem, that's what a hero does! It is not about fighting but inspiring people to be better!"
He sounded naive but knew how bleak the world can be. Izuku was trained by his Martial art master to this kind of thing, giving strict discipline.
'I should visit Master Splinter soon and maybe eat some pizza with Donatello.' Izuku recalled one of his masters in Ninjutsu and made a mental note to visit him soon. His thought was interrupted when the present mic was about to open the gates.
"Oh it's about to start! Well best of luck, Ochako-San."
"You too, Izuku-San."