Chapter 26 - U.A Exam 2
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-San. Sorry we took some time to get here."(Jiro)
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? Bakugou and Camie are already inside."
"You know, you've gotten more smooth with flirting and teasing."
"What do you mean?"
Itsuka's eyes twitch, realizing that he was ignorant of his actions. He does tease from time to time but mostly it is unintentional.
Izuku may be smart in tech and quirk related but when it comes to romances is like a dense harem protagonist. Though it won't be for long.
"Nevermind, you lovable idiot. Anyway, Let's head inside before we're late."
He nodded before heading their way 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 Bakugo who just gave him a nod before focusing on the platform. Izuku returned his nod and also focused his attention on the platform.
He glanced seeing Itsuka and Jiro 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. 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 Bakugo also looked down at Izuku's paper, discovering that they were assigned to different locations. Bakugo 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!'
"—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?"
"You don't need to worry about us! We can handle ourselves especially after the training we did in I-Island."(Itsuka)
"Yeah, I'm confident with my quirk since it's just robots rather than people."(Jiro)
"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."
"Really!? But why didn't they tell us?"(Jiro)
"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.
"Calm down, Jiro-san. I think he's too nice to straight up reject you."
"Still, are you okay with this, Izuku having multiple girls??"
"I won't lie that I am, but you guys are my friends and you like him. We already plan everything."
"*Sigh*...yeah, still do you think he'll have more than us?"
"Most likely…"
As the two girls discuss their future relationship with the speedster, 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."
"Yup! Well I went to check up on you and we that you're rather tense."
"Y-Yeah, I'm just anxious seeing this is the first time that I'll be fighting robots and my chances of failing is…"
"Hahaha you don't need to be nervous! Just give it a smile and keep yelling that 'I am here!'"
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."
"It did! Thank you for the help, Izuku-san!"
"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."