Izuku excitedly bounced up and down as he stared at the gate, an annoyed blonde standing next to him. Both of them were nervous for what was to come, but neither dared show it to each other.
"I can't believe we're finally able to apply to UA! Kacchan, can you believe it?!" Izuku exclaimed before the ruby eyed boy hit him on his head.
"Shut the fuck up! You're making a damn scene, everyone is staring" he hissed, giving his childhood friend a small glare.
"Remember what uncle Hisashi told you"
"Low profile, stick to one quirk. I know Kacchan" Izuku sighed, pouting a bit. He remembered the look on his father's face clearly, before he told his mom to make an appointment at the hospital for a quirk assessment. Izuku had been four, but he knew very well that being quirkless meant he could never compare to others in terms of being a hero. He'd never be able to realize his dream...
Of course Tenko tried comforting him. Izuku was a little brother to him and the green head had never been aware there was once a time he'd been an only child. He was just a baby when his parents adopted Tenko, you know. But Izuku also remembered how serious his dad looked when he told him to sit down, that they needed to talk about his quirk. It was then that Izuku found out about his father's secret, All For One. A quirk capable of taking quirks and giving them to others.
A quirk that was now his own, as it has been ever since he turned ten. His body needed to be shaped and trained first, so that's why he didn't get it when he was four. Also, Inko would've definitely killed her husband if he gave their son such an unstable and overpowered quirk without teaching him about it first. Right now, he could use most of the quirks in his arsenal, some with great precision even, but he was only allowed to use one.
A powerful telekinesis quirk his dad found some time ago, making it easy to link back to his mom's weaker version of telekinesis. It was enough to become a good hero, but Izuku couldn't help but imagine what would become of him if he could use all his quirks...
"Oi, don't look at me like a kicked puppy. It's for your own good" Katsuki muttered, pulling Izuku out of his thoughts.
The ash blonde knew about his quirk and what it could really do. The green head couldn't help but tell him back when they were kids. He was so happy he was getting a quirk! Now he and Kacchan could be heroes together! Yeah, it had been something when the Bakugous learned of All For One... But they're at peace with it now. They knew neither Izuku nor Hisashi would ever do anything to harm them and the latter gave up on his evildoings and tried his best to earn redemption.
"Sorry Kacchan! It's just... I wish I could do more, you know?"
"It's your fucking secret, your fucking fault if you get caught and imprisoned" Katsuki mumbled, walking towards the entrance.
"That's so mean!" Izuku whined, running after his friend towards the room where they'd get the information they needed for the practical exam.
"I'm just being realistic. Don't fucking think I'm gonna be there to save your ass every time you screw up, okay?" Katsuki stated, sitting down in his seat, Izuku sitting down next to him with a pout.
"We're not even competing in the same arena, see?" he sighed, showing the green head their arrangements.
"Huh... They probably don't want friends helping each other or sabotaging others" Izuku muttered.
"Guess we won't see each other fight then? Too bad... I know Kacchan will win in the end though!"
"Of course I'll fucking win, just make sure your ass passes or I'll fuck you up" the ash blonde boy hissed back.
Izuku chuckled, knowing he meant well. They were friends after all! Izuku knew Kacchan better than anyone and he could read him like an open book even through all profanities and anger. He was worried for him... He has always been like that. Worried that Izuku would slip up and expose his secret. All For One was still the quirk of a villain, after all, and All Might hadn't let off in his search for him. It would be disastrous if the hero were to discover Izuku was now the carrier of the quirk...
"Let's both do our best!" Izuku smiled, making Katsuki scowl and roll his eyes.
Before either of them could get another comment in, Present Mic started explaining the practical exam. Izuku was muttering excitedly, sliding down in his seat with an embarrassed look when another student pointed it out. Katsuki snorted and laughed at the nerd, making Izuku pout. After the info session, they both made their way to their separate battle grounds. They were fighting robots so it shouldn't be all that difficult to score some points with their quirks.
Izuku wondered what would've happened if he chose a more mental ability, something that didn't affect technology but only living beings. There were enough heroes with quirks like that, like Eraserhead, one of the pro heroes teaching here. Or Midnight, her quirk only worked on living beings as well. So why did they get such a disadvantage in the practical? It wasn't fair in Izuku's eyes, but who was he to complain?
He had a dozen quirks that could level this fake city and anyone in it if given the chance, there was no way he wasn't getting into the school of his dreams. So when they were finally let in, he crushed bot after bot using his telekinesis quirk. His eyes glowed a bright green when he used it and his hair started floating a little bit too. It always reminded him of Eraserhead, one of his favorite pro heroes when growing up.
He'd always wondered if the pro would be able to erase all of his quirks at once or only the one he was using at that moment. Unfortunately, he may never know the answer to that question, seeing as his quirk has to remain a secret.
"And that's 72" Izuku smiled as he crushed two more three pointers, panting a bit as he let the glow of his quirk die down. Man, this was a serious workout!
The green head froze up when a loud crashing noise sounded through the area and everyone looked up to see a giant robot doom up from behind a building.
"The zero pointer..." Izuku mumbled, his eyes widening. They said it would be an obstacle, something to avoid, but this was ridiculous! People started to run away, trying to go for the few bots left in the arena before time ran out. Izuku was about to do the same, reminding himself to keep a low profile, making sure not to stand out too much.
But that was before he saw a girl stuck in the rubble the zero pointer caused. She was laying right on its path! She would be crushed if that thing wasn't stopped! Izuku made up his mind right there and then. Saving someone was more important than this exam. Besides, he was pretty sure he could already pass with the points he accumulated. He closed his eyes, focusing. This was something he'd been working on, something he hadn't perfected yet, but it was his only option.
He made himself float, the green aura of his telekinesis surrounding him. Izuku opened his eyes again and took a deep breath.
"Alright... All or nothing" he sighed before launching himself at the robot. He armored his hand and arm last second as he smashed the zero pointer in the face, successfully knocking it back.
The second quirk around his arm vanished instantly, making sure no camera would pick up on it. But as it did, he started feeling faint and light headed, the green glow around him growing weaker until it vanished and he started falling down, plummeting towards the ground. Izuku blinked, trying to get his focus back. Using telekinesis on himself was tiring enough, let alone in combination with another quirk, and now he was falling as well.
His dad had always told him his control would grow stronger the more he practiced and the older he got. His body and mind weren't finished growing, which caused the quirk to be more unstable at times. Hisashi was sure he'd be in full control once he reached adulthood, and Izuku had faith in his father's wisdom. Yet none of that would help him right now.
If push comes to shove, he'd need to use another quirk to soften the impact. Armor himself or make the ground all mushy? He could turn the concrete into a trampoline if he wanted to, making him bounce right back. But standing out was dangerous, certainly because he knew All Might was watching. The pro hero has been in town for about a year and a half now and he started teaching at UA last year.
Hisashi had been quite anxious about it, making sure his family was safe and the number one hero didn't find out about All For One. Even though All Might mostly taught and trained the last years, all teachers would watch the entrance exams and have a say in who passed and who didn't. If that man saw him use multiple quirks, it was all over... But right before he was about to hit the ground, the girl he saved slapped him in the face, making his fall stop about a meter or two above the concrete.
"Release" he heard her mutter, before he was dropped again, groaning as he laid still on the ground. He wondered what her quirk was... Something along the lines of his telekinesis, maybe? He tilted his head, his eyes barely cracking open as he looked at her. All For One naturally sensed the quirks of others, being able to pick out the ones it liked, make a distinction between the weak and the strong.
He couldn't exactly feel what the quirk was or its strong and weak points, but he could define the type and whether it was powerful or not. Hmm... Gravity manipulation? Sounded pretty awesome... Most quirks related to floating or making other things float were classified as gravity manipulation, but also making things heavier and creating some kind of different gravity field were in that class. It was as specific as All For One could get it, yet it was enough most of the time.
It was how his dad found out he's quirkless, after all. He had known even before they went to visit the doctor, which is also how they found out he could do that. Inko had been very strict about it, Hisashi couldn't use All For One anymore if he really wanted redemption. As far as anyone knew, he never broke that rule up until he transferred it to his son.
Izuku blinked, his head feeling heavy and filled with fog as he saw a figure walking up to him.
"Oh my... Just look at you dear!" a woman's voice exclaimed as the figure stopped in front of him. Izuku could barely keep his eyes open as she kissed his cheek. 'Must be Recovery Girl' he thought as he felt himself slip away.
She was the only reason UA was able to give these extreme practical entrance exams. He didn't know how her quirk worked exactly, but he did know it was a healing quirk. Those in itself were quite rare and had severe side effects in most cases. Izuku himself had a self regeneration quirk, healing all injuries he might sustain almost instantly. It decreased his mobility, but that was a small price to pay.
When Izuku woke back up, he was laying in a bed in what he guessed was the nurses office. He blinked, staring up at a plain white ceiling before he let his head fall to the side, seeing Kacchan slouched down in a chair next to his bed, staring blankly at his phone screen.
"You waited for me" Izuku smiled, earning his attention.
"Of fucking course you damn idiot! Who the hell gets injured in the entrance exam huh?!" he shouted, hitting the green head.
"Wah! Kacchan!" Izuku whined, holding up his arms in order to defend himself. This is how Bakugous show love, he reminded himself. Tough love, full of violence and action instead of comforting words.
"Come on shithead, Recovery Girl cleared you, told me you were good to go once you woke up" Katsuki sighed, standing up, not wasting another second lingering around.
"Let me hear all about how you ended up here"
Izuku smiled, quickly getting up, now also seeing several others laying in the nurse's office with small and big injuries. He wasn't surprised he wasn't the only one who ended up here. UA was known for this, after all. Always going to the extreme, above and beyond, plus ultra.
"Only if you tell me how your exam went! I'm sure Kacchan did amazing!"
"Amazing? I bet I crushed the record with how many points I got!" he grinned.
"Bet I got more~" Izuku teased, giggling as they left the room.
"Hah?! Dream on nerd!" Kacchan scoffed, yet still smiling as the two of them continued to pester each other while they talked about the exam on their way home.