บท 1293: 38
Chapter Text
Izuku ran down the hill to join up with the other students as they made it to the ground level of the plaza, taking note of all the buildings.
As Aizawa said, the plaza, in fact, most of the USJ was retrofitted to look like a coastal town. The ocean portion came from the Shipwreck Zone, and the former Conflagration and Downpour Zones had disappeared, their large lots replaced with massive pools. How those giant domes disappeared the green-haired boy did not know, but if he had to guess, they had probably sunk below the entire facility to expand the Shipwreck Zone. The shore had mock docks and boats placed around, and out in the main waters, buoys bobbed up and down.
"Alright. We will begin with Level 0 as you prepare. Note the timer." At the far end of the USJ below some kind of rail, a big board appeared, and it began to count down from the ten minute mark when they would start. "When the timer hits zero, your exam begins." Aizawa's voice said again over the speaker as Izuku nodded, joining his peers.
"Okay, we are here to respond to a hurricane." Iida spoke out. "Our first mission is to find as many people as possible and-"
"Hang on, remember what Aizawa said." Momo interrupted as she stepped up. "We need to find safe zones first. Then, from there, we will begin to collect and gather the civilians that are unable to or are unwilling to leave." The skimpy-clad heroine suggested as Jirou nodded.
"So we have to find those first. Who's on duty for that?" Tokoyami asked, his dark cloak catching the artificial breeze. Momo turned towards Izuku, and he perked up.
"Midoriya, I want you and Aoyama to go find designated safe zones around this mock town. Since the waves and winds will be coming from the water, we can assume that they will be concentrated towards the Ruins, Landslide, and Mountain Zones." Izuku perked up and nodded as he saw Momo's stomach glow, the aspiring heroine removing what Izuku recognized as smoke flares before she handed them to Izuku and the Japanese-French boy.
"These are simple." She said before showing them, "Pop the top, twist the bottom and pull.Three simple moves. Throw them on the ground and they'll let out a distinct cloud of green smoke for about seven minutes. You'll use these to mark safe zones so we can find them and you can move on."
"Oui mademoiselle, dare I offer a suggestion?" Aoyama asked. "Given that we have many areas to cover, we may be stretched a bit thin. Perhaps we each go to a separate zone?"
"I can help too. My speed will let me reach the furthest zones quickly." Iida said before Momo turned to Aoyama.
"I was thinking you could get started on finding civilians in the more urbanized zones," she said.
Izuku shook his head. "I agree with Iida, the sooner we can find three or more safe zones the sooner Aoyama, Iida and myself can rejoin the rescue efforts. The safe zones won't move once we've found them, for all we know civilians will move, or even be 'injured' and require us to carry them, three people can take on any circumstances easier than just Iida with his speed."
She seemed to hesitate for a moment before running the arithmetic in her head and nodding, forming more flares.
Then, immediately she began making a cavalcade of walkie talkies with each unit clattering to the floor. "Everyone take these and keep in contact." The wind began to pick up as Momo's ponytail flailed in the wind and Izuku turned. Below the board on the rail, he saw All Might, Thirteen, and Power Loader.
They weren't gonna get help in the exam. That meant that All Might and Thirteen would be... hazards? Observers? Thirteen's black hole could definitely generate a simulation of wind force and All Might was capable of literally punching the weather out of existence.
And for the tech that must be around here, Power Loader must be handling it!
"Midoriya, which zone will you head for?" Momo asked, snapping Izuku from his distraction.
"A-ah!" Izuku exclaimed. He felt One for All surge within him. "I'll take the Mountain Zone!"
"I can handle the Landslide Zone!" Aoyama declared.
"I can cover the Ruins faster!" Iida added.
Momo nodded.
"Okay everyone," she called before turning towards Ojiro, Tokoyami, and Jirou, all of whom now had walkie talkies. "I'll work on making essential gear as we go along, but not too much. This exam is going to last an hour if things go well." Her obsidian eyes turned over to her classmates. "Jirou, can you use your Quirk to find people?"
"Sure." Jirou nodded, eyeing a building. "It's gonna get harder the more rain starts falling, so we need to find the civies here and fast. I've done it before, but not in storm-like conditions."
Momo grimaced. That wasn't good. At best she could hope Jirou's echolocation would be effective for half the exam. If Aizawa was keeping true to form he'd likely calibrated the rain to soft-counter Jirou after a point.
"Tokoyami, you can help support civilians who are unable to evacuate, if they are disabled, hurt, or advanced in age. Can you use Dark Shadow to carry them, once our advance team finds the Safe Zones?" Momo asked, to which Tokoyami nodded.
"Of course." Momo turned towards Ojiro, who was looking anxious.
"Ojiro, with me. You're our reserve in case someone needs help."
I've spotted some" Jirou said, her earphone jack digging into the soft dirt at their feet. Her eyes were closed, face scrunched up in concentration.
"How many is some?" Tokoyami asked.
"Six... no... seven-"
"That's not so ba-" Ojiro ventured.
"Seventeen." Jirou interrupted, "seventeen... at least, close by." The blond-tailed boy winced.
"Oh... well that's quite a bit more than six or seven." he finished lamely. He looked up to the timer. "One minute."
Momo turned to Midoriya, Iida and Aoyama. "Go, run to the edge of the starter zone. The second the timer goes off, find those Safe Zones."
The three of them nodded, taking off and rushing away.
(X)
The seconds counting down on the big board as the winds blew through the dome made Izuku flex and clench his fists over and over again. Thirty seconds…
"Keep in contact everyone. The storm is going to hit us hard. The moment you guys find a safe zone, use the smoke flare and we will head your way with the civilians." Yaoyorozu said over the comm. Izuku looked at it and nodded.
"Let's dazzle and shine on, mes ami!" Aoyama said into his walkie.
"That we shall." Tokoyami added.
"Cut the chatter. Five seconds!" Izuku got into a running position, hands down.
Three. Two. One!
"The Final Exam has begun." An automated voice rang out through the dome as the big board timer clock changed from 00:00 to 00:01.
(X)
"I can't believe how they turned this dome into this." Peter mused with crossed arms as he looked up at the screens, standing side by side with his fellow students.
"It shocked me too. They changed a lot of the U.S.J. from the last time we were here." Asui said.
"But where did they find the time to get the buildings? Oh look!" Uraraka chirped, now in her PE uniform and out of her costume. "There goes Deku! He found a Safe Zone!"
"I see Iida on the move too! Looks like he found a safe zone inside a bank over in the Ruins Zone!" Ashido added with her pointing at the screen. True to their words, Izuku had found a hatch leading down to what seemed to be some bunker, while Iida secured a bank.
"There goes Aoyama though. He's still making his way to the Landslide Zone… "
"Well he better start legging it fast," Peter murmured, "If this is a hurricane simulation then water's gonna start rising quick, and the wind isn't gonna be doing him any favors."
"You would know wouldn't ya? Being from New York and all." Asui mused.
"Really? I thought only the Gulf and Caribbean were affected by tropical storms." Kaminari said aloud.
"Oh no, we get storms up the eastern seaboard too. Irene. Sandy. Arthur to name a few." Peter shrugged. Asui tilted her head a little in confusion.
"Peter. Those are storms not named recently in this world…" Karen whispered into his ear, and Peter bit his lip inside his mask.
"Wait, so you had to live with hurricanes too! Huh, must have been rough. Heard those Atlantic storms are a pain." Kirishima replied.
"Y-Yeah, but hey, we don't get droughts! Hehe." Peter laughed nervously.
"Shutting up now?" Karen asked in his ear, to which Peter nodded.
"So if Level 1 is looking like that… we may be going by Hurricane categories." Todoroki said to himself.
"We'll know when our teacher ramps it up." Peter mused, staring ahead at Aizawa as he stood over a desk with countless other small screens before him, no doubt keeping track of each one.
(X)
Momo took a deep breath, forcing herself to concentrate and keep making everything perfectly despite the howling winds in the distance. She didn't know what was more impressive, the fact that All Might-sensei was making these with a casual series of punches, or how this was only the first of many levels. Eight minutes in, and they were in some stormy winds so far, combined with the rain coming in from the sprinklers on high.
She purged the thoughts as soon as she could. Focus, she needed to operate at maximum capacity if they were going to get through this. With one final tweak, she put the extra supplies aside, pulling out a series of bandages for the few 'civilians' that had been dropped off at their temporary base.
From what Momo could tell, it was supposed to be an old bank, and built to last like one. It would do for now, whether it would last was up to discussion, but she ignored it as best she could in order to maintain a more professional outlook.
"You'll be fine," she said, wrapping a bandage around the 'wound' on the arm of a 'civilian'.
Whether it was on one arm or the other, it didn't matter, she kept moving. It was almost ten minutes into the exam, and it was becoming mind-numbing going from one to the next. She wasn't sure where Aizawa had found so many people, it couldn't just be from parents. She could recognize some of the Gen-Ed students, some of the support course ones from the second and third years, along with various janitorial staff.
With a crack, the door to the bank was thrown open, with Iida pulling in another set of civilians in a handheld flatbed cart he'd found near the Landslide Zone on the way to the Ruins Zone. Those that could make it out did, joining with the others, and the one that couldn't, Iida brought her over personally.
She looked outside and saw a smoke signal rising near the Mountain Zone. Midoriya had found another safe zone!
She reached for her walkie.
"What are we looking at, Midoriya?"
"A bunker at the first mountain! I set a flare there now! Coming down to you guys!"
"Good work. Iida, how much more do you have left in your zone?" Momo asked.
"Don't know," Iida admitted, "Maybe another four or five trips?"
That wouldn't work and both of them knew it, but they had no better options.
"Get moving, I'll call out to the team." Momo got to her walkie. "Midoriya, we got some civilians here in the bank. How's the vault you found?"
"Looks like it can house…" There was a pause, with Momo guessing he was counting. "Twenty? Maybe thirty?!"
"Aoyama? How's it on your end?" She asked.
"Can't… Haaa… find it… yet!" Aoyama panted on his end. "Mon Dieu… where is it!?" Momo winced.
She turned to Iida, "Five trips. Are you sure you can run that by yourself?"
"I can give you a hand if need be." Ojiro said, his gi wet from the rain as he helped some civilians off the cart.
Iida nodded "I can. Leave it to me."
"Thirty seconds till the next round!" Jirou yelled.
"Okay. Jirou, we are coming back to you!" Momo replied. "Find any more?"
"We have... eight more!" Jirou answered.
"Let's get a move on!" Ojiro yelled as he began running out the bank door. She followed after the martial artist as he began using his tail to hop and skip great lengths, but she was keeping up. The streets were wet, but not drenched to the point of flooding over yet...
(X)
Izuku rushed down the Mountain Zone, a blur of flashing green lightning. The wind and the rain suddenly picked up, forcing him to stop mid-run, shielding his eyes as the freezing water struck him across the face like icy spikes.
He looked over the mock city, the sparse collection of palm trees were bowed over, their branch leaves swaying in the high winds, the waters over an inch deep now. They could still move, but if it got much worse they'd have to fight the flooding with every step, making this even more exhausting.
He peered through the gloom, pulling free his walkie.
"Midoriya here. I'm on the north side of the coastal town zone! Who's near me?!" he yelled.
"Over by the drugstore!" Tokoyami replied. "Dark Shadow, head out there!" Izuku saw a building in the Central Plaza that had the shadow creature come out, waving his claw as Izuku ran forward.
"I marked a nearby shelter!" Izuku said as he entered the place, seeing Jirou and Tokoyami soaked to the bone along with about nine civilians in their makeup.
"Yaomomo, your ETA here?" Jirou asked via the walkie.
"A few minutes!" Momo replied.
He stopped, looking towards the street as a wave crested over the corner. His eyes trailed up, towards the beachfront just two blocks away then up towards the timer. Twelve minutes.
No way they'd be able to get all the civilians free of this area before the next uptick, and even worse, once the next level hit, they may not be able to enter this area themselves. Too dangerous at that point.
Gotta think, gotta think.
He saw some buildings closest to the makeshift shoreline… Even trees. The buildings looked like restaurants and store vendors. There were even buses, and big rig trucks!
"Yaoyorozu!" Izuku yelled into his walkie. "We have to make a barrier at the coastline now!"
"What!? Why?" Momo asked back.
"The waves are just choppy now, but that's not going to last. All Might's going to make waves soon that'll crash over the whole city, and the only way we can slow it down until the very end is by making a barrier. This is our only chance to do so, we have eight minutes!"
He heard Momo curse, no doubt checking the math in her head. "I'm heading towards the coastline, I'll meet you there!"
"Jirou, you keep searching for any civilians in the buildings you missed." Izuku said, turning towards the rocker girl.
She nodded. "I'll give it another sweep, then lead these guys up the trail to your shelter. Green smoke right?"
Izuku nodded.
"Tokoyami, can you help me with pushing back the waves?"
"Of course."
Izuku nodded, the two running out of the drugstore and into the street as their boots met about a centimeter or two of water.
They ran down the hill, reaching the coastline quickly; Izuku took stock, eyes panning back and forth.
"Tokoyami, the buses and trucks!" Izuku said as his body glowed.
"Dark Shadow, follow his lead!" Tokoyami ordered, and from his black cloak, the shadow monster popped up.
"Roger that!"
The two got to the first truck, Izuku sliding under and Tokoyami circling from the side.
"I'll push forward, you push upward!" The avian-faced boy yelled as water surged and rose up to their ankles. Izuku got under, and his body glowed with green lightning and red lines. Eight percent couldn't do this. In that case…!
'One for All… Ten… Percent!'
He growled, pushing upward as he felt more power surge through his body as he pushed, and Dark Shadow pushed the rig off the truck. Izuku yelled, his legs straining. "Come… on!"
"Get over thereeee!" Dark Shadow roared, and with a mighty heave, they got the truck onto its side with a crash, barricading the street and sending water up everywhere. Not a moment too soon as the waves went by the sides of the truck's cab.
Izuku turned, seeing Dark Shadow look larger as the U.S.J. darkened. Clouds began to gather overhead in the dome.
"Dark Shadow increases in power the less light there is, but he's harder to control. Pushing over large objects shouldn't be an issue though!" Tokoyami yelled.
"Okay! Let's move on to the next one!"
"Right!"
(X)
Momo ran as fast as her legs could carry her. Her heart thundered in her chest, but she couldn't hear it over the roar of the wind. Ojiro led the way, keeping pace with her.
"I know I'm not supposed to ask this while we're in the middle of a storm," Ojiro said, vaulting over a flipped car, "But what are we supposed to use to build a barricade? You can't make anything big enough!"
"I know!" Momo called back.
Damn it. Perhaps they could move some cars into the street? From what she recalled there were three streets in the mock coastal city. Would that be enough? She honestly didn't know, but when she turned the corner, she got her answer. Dark Shadow, larger than she remembered it being, was lifting up a van and tossing it to an ever-growing pile of vehicles that had already barricaded one street and was halfway through the second. Midoriya, clad in that green lightning, pushed another forward, gasping slightly. He looked up, a shaky smile coming to him as the two classmates approached.
"This won't be enough," Midoriya said between breaths.
"It will have to do!" Tokoyami yelled over the wind, "We don't have the time to sit here and let Yaoyorozu make a barricade."
Momo nodded, and her mind raced to figure out what she could make to move the remaining vehicles more efficiently. A jack? No, they would have to be lifted fully, to drag them well, and Midoriya was already starting to tire.
"About that…" Ojiro said, jerking a thumb behind him.
Momo stopped, following the direction of his thumb to the building behind him. Pure concrete. It towered up about five stories, and was already damaged from what she could tell.
"What would it take to bring that down?" Ojiro asked.
The three students understood instantly. It was a mad idea, but one that might give them a little extra. Besides, they didn't have the time.
"Tokoyami!" Momo screamed, making the bird-headed boy's focus snap towards her, "Find the supports!"
He nodded, charging forward. Dark Shadow roared, smashing straight through the wall of the building like it was made of styrofoam. Quickly as she could, Momo pulled out the biggest sledgehammer that she could make. It fell to the ground, its weight far more than she could handle. Ojiro's tail grabbed hold, thinking ahead.
"Once he finds them, get into position!"
He nodded, following after Tokoyami.
"Midoriya-!"
"I'll be on the other side!" Midoriya said, "Just signal me, and I'll blow it down!"
He didn't wait for confirmation, rushing to the edge of the buildings and leaping straight over. Momo didn't give herself a moment of rest, heading into the building as well. The interior was spartan, as the test wouldn't need any more than that. As such, the support beams were clear as day. Ojiro was standing near one, while Tokoyami stood next to another, which left Momo to eyeball the rest. Six pillars in total, they would need to make this fast.
"Those two and the ones behind it!" Momo ordered, and the two boys went wild.
Ojiro's tail practically blurred, swinging the hammer with reckless abandon against the pillar. Dark Shadow's claws lashed out, rending concrete apart instantly. By the time that Momo had already run half the length of the first floor, the supports were almost unrecognizable. Both of the boys sped through them faster than her, both of them striking with as much force as they could as they kept moving.
Above them, the structure started to groan, and Momo's hand went to her walkie.
"Midoriya, aim for the center!"
She got to the end, where there was no doorway, but Tokoyami made one big enough for all three of them. They burst out into the wind and the rain, right as Midoriya jumped off a nearby structure, his finger pointed and ready!
"SMASH!"
He flicked his finger, and winds greater than anything that had been felt today crashed into the building. The entire structure screamed, right before tumbling down onto the street they were just in. Water and dust were thrown into the air, but when it was all finished, the collapsed structure laid on top of the wall of cars, tripling its height.
"That worked," Ojiro said.
"The barricade is set!" Midoriya called, landing with a grimace and shaking his hand.
"So it is." Momo mused as she got to her walkie, taking off in the other direction. "Jirou, we are coming to you! Hang tight! Aoyama! Any sign of that shelter?"
"I can't find it!" Aoyama wailed. "Sacre bleu, this is so frustrating!"
"I finished up on my end! Aoyama, I'll come over to you!" Iida replied. Momo sighed in relief. At least Aoyama was getting backup.
"Well done Iida!" Momo said.
"Oh! Found some more!" Momo heard Jirou's voice crackle through the radio. "Oh hey, you're Ashido's mom!"
"Cut the chatter!" Iida yelled in the comm. "We must focus on saving the civilians! Aoyama, fire a laser into the sky! I'll come to you!"
As Ojiro leapt from building to building with his rainboots splashing against the water, Momo saw out of the corner of her eye a big blue light sear out from near the top of the Landslide Zone's slope.
She looked up.
Seventeen minutes...
Too slow. Far too slow.
She gnawed at her lip, her mind churning, thinking.
There was a crash beside her, a window pane shattering under the force of the wind, her eyes snapped to it, more startled than anything and her eyes hit on the answer.
THAT'S IT!
(X)
"Alright then." All Might stopped the punches, rolling his arms around and shaking them out. Beside him, Thirteen's finger was raised as she continued to suck with her Black Hole. "Time to ramp it up a notch!"
"Rule of Ten after all. The first part they were able to get their feet wet. Now, time they go to deeper waters." Thirteen's Black Hole was coming from only her right index finger. She raised her middle finger, and the tip of that came undone, and two Black Holes began to suck and blow away as she and the Symbol of Peace rode on the platform going back and forth behind the Shipwreck Zone.
"Deeper waters." All Might rolled his arm. "Is putting it mildly!" And he threw out a mighty punch, the gust of wind blasting the water as it began to displace it, and the rippling waves began to surge forth.
(X)
"Look at Midoriya go! He's able to body buses now!" Sato exclaimed.
"To be fair, Deku-kun has help. Tokoyami's giving him a big hand!" Uraraka replied as they continued to observe.
(X)
Momo crashed into the door of a makeshift radio station, Ojiro walking in behind her as the winds outside began to pick up in intensity. It was past the Twenty Minute mark, and she had felt a sharp increase in wind speed and the rain from the sprinklers overhead came down even harder.
"There," Ojiro said behind her, making the black-haired beauty turn and run his way. She had missed a hallway as she trotted down, going inside and turning on some radio consoles. "What's your plan here?"
Momo saw the terminal and computers light up as she waited, drumming her fingers as her eyes darted across the activating screen. "The radios are on." She answered. "We thought they were just props but every building has a radio on it, and they're functional. Aizawa doesn't put things here for nothing. Everything has a purpose."
She noticed a camera in the room's corner, no doubt Aizawa watching her from his post. She focused back on the screen before she began to click on some options and flick some switches on the console.
"Attention all civilians." Momo said into a microphone. "If anyone is able to move under their own power, they are to proceed to the Bank of Japan, or other safe zones marked with green smoke flares. The smoke flares are in the Mountain Zone and the Ruins. I say again, green smoke marks safety areas for evacuation. If you can move under your own power please proceed there." She paused, a thought coming to her. "If you know of others who need immediate assistance please head to the Bank of Japan in the central city to contact Heroes on site."
"Jirou." She said in her walkie. "Find any more?"
"A few, but I'm gonna need a hand. Some are under some debris!" Jirou replied over the comm. Momo looked over to her classmate who nodded.
"Where are you at, Jirou?" Ojiro inquired.
"Buildings near the Ruins." The blond boy left the room.
"Leave it to me!" Ojiro got out of the radio studio and lifted off with his tail as Momo ran out after him, wind racing through her hair as the rain came down hard.
"Status everyone?" She asked over her walkie.
"I'm with Aoyama now. No sign of that damned shelter!" Iida replied as Momo pinched the bridge of her nose. She looked out to the timer.
Twenty-four minutes…
"Forget the Landslide Zone! Get down from there and help Jirou!"
(X)
Shouta had always been of two minds about disasters. Statistically, disaster situations were universally considered to be the worst of any situation that a hero could find themselves in. Most of the Pro Heroes that come around nowadays were battle types.
Those that had seen heroes like All Might or Endeavor and hoped to use their quirks to take on villains in full view of everyone and getting all the praise that such acts entailed. A needed position to be sure, villains wouldn't simply just sit around and play nice if heroes decided to go soft.
That being said, for every villain that needed to be smashed away, there was an infinitely stronger, more chaotic force that needed to be defended against. Weather, obviously, was as chaotic as the world could get. As such, heroes that specialized in disasters were far more varied than any other.
Some dealt with landslides, others tsunamis, but no matter if you specialized in it or not, there would be a moment where you would have to rush into a burning building or jump into the ocean to pull out those that couldn't do that themselves.
In this case, pulling as many people as they could into safe zones. Utilizing the radios was a good touch, though rather late. He'd expected better of Yaoyorozu in that regard. Now, as scripted, anyone that could move on their own power would go to the safe zones, freeing up resources for more critical cases.
The barricade was... unexpected.
Honestly the 'prop' building had been placed there at All Might's insistence. It's what *he* would do, if for some reason he couldn't just punch the weather away. But Shouta hadn't expected the kids to actually do it. Too many variables, and his hand had been inches away from the call to stop the test and get All Might to smash the building to pieces if it even looked like it was about to collapse anywhere other than the intended location.
But it hadn't. He wasn't sure if that merited praise or dismay. Going for the most ludicrous option shouldn't and wouldn't always work.
His watch beeped on his wrist, and he looked out over the screens. Thirteen and All Might were busy continuing their assault on the different zones, the destruction they were causing rather casual from the ease of their motions.
But it was time to end that.
"All Might," Shouta said, "Bring in the waves."
"Haha!" The smiling hero laughed with an ever-growing grin. "Of course!"
There was a boom, and almost immediately the water began hammering against the coast of the zones; it crashed into the barricade with the force of a train.
Shouta turned the dial, letting the rain pour down harder, and activating the cloud machines to bring in the dark clouds.
"Everyone else, get into your positions."
"Okay… settling into my own." Said a youthful male voice.
"Oh, is it my turn!?" An excited female voice said over the comm line.
Shouta felt like sighing.
He let one out anyway. "Yes."
"YES!!!"
Shouta winced at the volume, pulling out his earpiece and glaring at it.
(X)
Tenya ran down the street with Aoyama, heading towards Jirou's coordinates. The french boy was visibly exhausted after thirty minutes of running through heavy rain. To be fair, Iida wasn't much better, he just had better cardio. However, his leg muscles were screaming at him and his lungs were beginning to burn.
The two boys heard a crashing sound behind them and both of them turned to look down the street.
"Mon dieu! Look!" Aoyama declared as he pointed and Tenya's eyes widened. "It's a Giant Lady!"
True enough, it was Mt. Lady, the local Pro Hero, staggering around with a hand to her head and… was there blood coming down her crown!? "She's hurt. We need to check on her!" Tenya declared as he grabbed at his walkie. "Everyone!" He said over the rain and wind. "We have a situation!"
"What now?" Yaoyorozu asked.
"Gah… oh… so many stars… can't… focus…" Mt. Lady whined overdramatically as she stumbled around, leaning against a building and causing it to buckle. "Ah! Oh… I-Eeep!" She fell over with a trip, creating a quake that made the armored boys stagger.
"Mt. Lady is here and she's hurt. From what I can tell, bleeding from the head." Tenya explained as he began running.
"Wait for me, mon ami! Ohhh, it's going to take ages to clean my shining armor~" Whined Aoyama as he began running after Tenya.
"Mt. Lady is here?" Tokoyami asked. "But Aizawa said we wouldn't be getting any help."
"She must be playing the role of a civilian with a dangerous quirk. Has to be!" Ojiro surmised on his end.
Tenya pocketed his walkie, looking back at a slowing down Aoyama.
"Okay, let's see what we can do. If we need help, signal for Ojiro and the others with Lasers into the sky. Can you do that?" Tenya asked as they ran across wet sidewalks. The streets were rising up, the boys' strides making splashes as they ran towards where they saw Mt. Lady fall.
"Huff… huff… bien sur…"
They rounded the corner to get to the main street of the Ruins Zone, finding a big crater… but no Mt. Lady!
"Miss! Miss!" Tenya yelled as he trotted about, breathing heavily as he got to the crater. "Miss, are you okay?"
Suddenly there was the sound of crunching earth and steel as Tenya saw growing arms and legs from within the crater. "Whoa!" He backed off, then sprinted as the arm came down and made loud splashes. The armored boy stopped by his comrade and turned around, seeing Mt. Lady drenched and dirty, and obvious fake blood running down her head… he even noticed her lick the blood that trailed down a bit too close to her mouth..
Ketchup?
She blinked, seeing him, offering a sheepish smile before- "oww.." she groaned, eyes blinking and fluttering unpredictably. "Ohh… I see lots of guys in armor… wait, you're not villains are you~?"
(X)
"Ohhhhh man… best seat in the hooouse~" Kaminari sang, grinning too widely at the giantess as he and the masked Sero walked up closer to the screen.
"Totallyyyy…" Sero giggled dumbly.
"Can you keep that to yourselves ya horndogs?!" Hagakure barked with a shake of her fist.
"I mean she has a hot butt, not gonna lie." Ashido shrugged. "But yeah, keep your pants up boys."
"At least Tokoyami isn't here. His head would probably explode…" Asui added.
"Does Mt. Lady know she's even on camera?" Kirishima asked with a brightening blush on his face.
"Why so quiet Parker?" Todoroki said, breaking Peter's silence as he perked up. The dual-haired boy had an innocently neutral expression on his face as Peter suddenly felt many eyes on him.
Did he know?
The seldom-seen mischief shone in his eyes beneath the veneer of stoicism.
He did.
'The dick!'
"Ah ha!" Peter jumped at the sight of Kaminari pointing at him. "Guess our class Ace isn't so holier than thou ain't he?" He teased. "I mean it makes perfect sense dude." He smiled slyly as he came up to the American and placed an arm around his shoulders in a brotherly embrace. "I mean, who isn't into one of the Top Ten Bachelorette Heroines these days? Especially with a hotcake like that~"
"Is that a Christmas Cake joke?" Asui tilted her head.
"What does Yu have to do with christmas cakes?" Peter asked. Like really, what did that have to do with anything?
"It's a myth Parker-kun, ignore it." Ashido assured.
"But hey! You're even calling her on a first name basis, and no suffixes too!" Kaminari grinned widely. "Guess we found your super secret superhero crush ehhhh~?" He leered, and Peter could sense a playful smirk coming from under Sero's helmet.
"I mean, there's nothing wrong with admiring a hero. I mean, I look up to Red Riot! I'm sure Ace here looks up to Mt. Lady as well!" Kirishima spoke out.
"Uhh… I live with Yu. She's actually my legal guardia-" Spider Sense activated.
"YOU ROOM WITH MT. FRIGGIN LADY?!" Kaminari wailed, and Sero about-faced.
"AND YOU DIDN'T TELL US!?!"
"You never asked!" Peter was backing off, feeling the resentment boil within Kaminari.
"Oh wow, that's so cool!" Hagakure chirped. "Think you can ask what product she uses for her hair? It's so silky and shiny!"
"Not right now when it's covered in fake blood or ketchup. Is it fake blood or ketchup Aizawa-sensei?" Asui asked as she turned her head.
"It's ketchup." He replied dryly.
"How many times have you seen her putzing around the house in PJs or undies!? How many interviews have you gone to when she does those sexy as hell poses?! How many huuuuh~?!" Kaminari inquired as Peter gulped.
"Damn, way to rub it in Parker…" Sero groaned. "I thought you were one of us..."
"I didn't do anything!" Peter threw his arms up in surrender.
"Just give it up Parker-kun, let those two have their fantasies." Ashido said with a shrug.
"Can you all focus on the exam before you learn not to imagine your classmate in a low grade porno?" Aizawa growled. "I'm not getting paid enough for this…" He hissed to himself as Kaminari and Sero snapped to attention.
"Sorry sir!" They yelled at once, before Kaminari turned to face Peter, fingers to his eyes, then back at Peter with a scowl.
The American could only throw a gesture of confusion. What was up with these people at times?
(X)
"Ohhh… my heeeeaaad~" Mt. Lady groaned as she writhed in the crater, Tenya backing off from her legs as they made divots in the concrete.
"We need to be able to gain her attention. Aoyama." He turned, seeing the french boy. "Can you possibly use your quirk at a low output? Like say, as a light?"
"At such a weak level of power? I don't see why not." The blonde replied as he stepped up, hands behind his head as the special belt around his stomach glowed, but not in the form of firing a laser. He looked like he had a flashlight attached.
He saw Mt. Lady's eyes widen, focusing in on the light. "Okay, Mt. Lady, or, whatever your name is." Tenya said as he walked up. "We need you to come with us. We are in the middle of a hurricane here, and we can take you to a shelter, but only if you are able to shrink and follow us."
"Shrink? Ohhh… Okay, I'll tryyyy~" Mt. Lady whimpered, but it sounded super-fake and with the rain coming down and the wind howling, Tenya forced his frustration down. This was an exam to prepare him in the event of someone having an uncontrollable quirk were to cause trouble during a disaster. It made sense.
He saw her climb up, shrinking again as she was on the road and out of the crater before she rose up to her feet, hand to her head. Tenya went beside her, offering his shoulder as support.
"Okay, just focus on my voice and on the light Aoyama-"
"My hero name is 'Can't Stop Twinkling'" the armored boy corrected as he kept on emitting the laser at a low output.
"Twinkling. Just blink and focus Twinkling's light." Tenya said as he guided her out of the street and onto the sidewalk.
"Ohhh, okay… for a Hero, you have a manly voice…" Mt. Lady muttered, but looking up as she blinked, wincing as she tried to flutter her eyelashes. The ketchup was beginning to wash away from the rain, and Tenya noticed her eyes looked foggier than usual. Symptoms usually reminiscent of a concussion given her dilated pupils. Contact lenses to reduce vision?
Aoyama led the way as he walked backwards, his blue navel laser flashing with several second intervals as Mt. Lady was supported by Tenya, the trio going to the sidewalk to brace themselves against the winds. Tenya noticed Aoyama wince here and there as he noticed the bank.
"I see the bank down the road. Just keep walking!" Tenya said as he felt the winds pick up more and more, and he saw why Aoyama was walking with a grimace. He didn't have a stomachache…
He was taking some shots of debris against his armor! Tenya immediately went to the other side, with Mt. Lady closest to the ruined skyscraper and the blue-haired boy on the side closest to the street. He felt some debris shots pelt off his armor as he did his best to protect his charge.
"Oh… it's so windy! I can barely see a thing~!" Mt. Lady whined, hands over her face.
"Mademoiselle please calm down, we are here!" Aoyama declared, his light flashing on and off. "Just follow my twinkling light! We are almost to the shelter!" The armored boy yelled over the rain and gale. "When you get there… I will tend to you! That I promise you!"
"What do you mean Twinkling!?" Tenya called out, and he saw Aoyama smile behind his red glasses.
"Ma mere happens to be a nurse… I've learned a thing or two on first aid! Someone… has to look over these civilians!" He said as they made their way forward, the group struggling against the storm. By now, all the ketchup was off of Mt. Lady, but Tenya could see the small rocks and debris pelting Aoyama's back as he remained closer to shield them, his hands behind his head to shield it as Tenya turned and protected Mt. Lady from the stray debris.
"Gnnnnh… I feel funny agaiiiin… my head is spiiiiining~!" Mt. Lady groaned, collapsing on Tenya as the aspiring hero clamped up. A woman was… embracing him! "I don't wanna be heeeere!"
Tenya gulped and composed himself as his hand tightened around Mt. Lady.
"Let's go Twinkling! Just thirty more yards to the bank!"
Then, Aoyama stopped. "We cannot take her inside, Iida-kun."
"What!? Why no-" Then, his brain caught up, looking to Mt. Lady who smiled innocently.
Right... dangerous, possibly out of control gigantification quirk. She could crush everyone inside the building if she suddenly 'lost control'.
He extricated himself from carrying her. "Wait here with Twinkling ma'am, I'm going to go find us an alternative site for you."
"Hehe, hurry back." Mt. Lady said with a smile, leaning on Aoyama's shoulder as Iida pushed himself free of her.
Iida racked his brain, thinking as he went over the layout of the city. They were still at the beginning of the Ruins Zone, and the Landslide Zone was close by, and he realized the lack of civilians in that area was probably to facilitate the space Mt. Lady would require in the safe zone.
Since they hadn't found it...
He looked left, then right, searching, the city limits had to emulate a city so where...
His eyes widened. Yes, that could work.
"Wait here!" He called before rushing off to where he hoped his memory had pegged the site correctly.
(X)
Izuku panted hard, nearly stumbling into the Mountain Zone bunker, an elderly civilian with one leg on his back, holding his daughter's hand to lead them through the storm. Beside him, Tokoyami and Dark Shadow led several more, with Dark Shadow carrying two 'injured' people in his massive shadowy hands, the stretched length of his 'body' coiled around four others to both shield them from the rain and herd them up the mountain path.
This was their third trip up the Mountain Zone, with injured in tow. There'd been a steady stream of people moving there since Yaoyorozu sent out the call through the radio and these people had told them of others that needed 'help' arriving.
He certainly appreciated it, but three damn trips up this Mountain Zone and he could appreciate something else by now.
He was exhausted, and it was all he could do to set the elderly man down gently before he leaned over, hands on his knees to try and catch his breath.
Aizawa was right. This was a war of endurance.
He reached for his walkie as Tokoyami set down his own group, Dark Shadow hovering beside him. The bird-headed boy looked worse than Izuku felt, the naturally water-resistant coat of feathers was now absolutely drenched, all of his feathers looking matted and stringy, clinging to his scalp rather than hovering behind him in the usual crown shape.
"Yaoyorozu..." He breathed. "I think we got everyone designated for the Mountain Zone."
"Good…" Yaoyorozu's voice crackled through the radio. "I think we're tied up in the city center with some critical patients but we have one more group being reported on the east side. I can hear that you're tired but we have no one else. Can you move that way?"
Izuku closed his eyes, sucking down a deep breath as he looked in askance to Tokoyami who nodded once shakilly.
Thank goodness, going it alone would have been an even more miserable affair.
"Yeah, we're heading down there now."
(X)
Yuga smiled, chatting absentmindedly with the 'injured' Mt. Lady who seemed more than happy to chat back.
The rain was coming down harder than ever, he'd moved her under an overhead awning of a building, giving them some shielding from the heavy downpour. He wasn't sure if Mt. Lady was talking back because she was a natural chatterbox as he'd heard, or if it was part of the exam, but he knew keeping someone with a head injury talking was one of the key steps in making sure they were alright.
Suddenly, Iida rounded the corner, water cresting high with the slide of his boots on the asphalt. "I found it! Let's go!"
Yuga nodded, and Mt. Lady suddenly leaned much more heavily on him, remembering that she was 'injured'.
He passed her quietly to Iida, standing in front of her and activating his belly laser to act as a small guiding light.
Iida directed them through the streets, up two blocks and down another before they found it.
A mock gas station, one built for trucks no less.
The overhang shielded the main area from the worst of the rain and the pump stations had enough room between them to safely house Mt. Lady if she suddenly gigantified.
"Come on!" Iida urged.
They made their way closer, stepping under the overhead roof much to Yuga's and even Mt. Lady's visible relief.
"Right this way, mademoiselle" Yuga called, light still blinking. "Set her down here Iida-kun."
The floor was grimy, but it couldn't be helped.
Iida set her down and Yuga knelt behind Mt. Lady, leaning her back to lay her head on his lap. She passively laced her hands over her stomach. The ketchup ran down her neck and shoulder now, staining her blonde hair. At least that which hasn't been washed away from the rain.
Iida hesitated beside them. "Do you have this handled?"
"Oh yes" Yuga answered with a smile and a nod. "Go on. It's best if I assess the head injury, mon ami."
The armored student nodded before taking off down the street.
Yuga leaned over her. Thank goodness for nurse training from mother! "Now. Mademoiselle, can you tell me your name?"
(X)
Izuku stumbled into the building with Tokoyami directly behind him, water sloshing around his shins. The whole first floor was flooded this far down the hill.
Their barricades weren't gonna hold much longer.
"Hello!?" He called.
"Over here!" A voice called down the hall that led to a stairwell.
Izuku waded through the water, Tokoyami following after him. They made it to the stairs, Izuku focusing on planting one foot in front of the other.
"Oh hey Izu-chan!" Izuku froze mid-step, eyes snapping up to see a blonde woman sitting at the top of the stairs in a wheelchair, her husband behind her.
"Goodness, you really have grown now that I've seen ya in person!"
The green-haired boy blanched at the sight of Kacchan's mom. Kacchan's very attractive and look-alike mom no less.
"Oh hello Izuku-kun! Long time no see." Kacchan's dad smiled warmly down towards him. "Oh!" Reaching down to his pocket he pulled out a slip of paper. "Ahh yes. Well, my wife can't walk and uhhh.... Oh. My arm is injured?" He read again, then he let out a wince and grabbed his arm. "Yes yes. Left arm. Ow ow..."
"Somehow he gets the injured arm and I can't move my legs." She said swinging her legs back and forth. "So you guys get to move us. Rain's gonna suck though."
Izuku nodded. "I can take Ms. Bakugo, can y-"
"What happened to Auntie Mitsuki, Izu-chan?" She called, pouting cutely. "It hasn't been that long, has it?"
Izuku stiffened, and Tokoyami's stare at him was starting to become a bit sharper by the moment.
"Dear, they're heroes. Izuku needs to act professional. That, and this is an exam and he needs to pass."
"Oh, right." She chuckled.
Izuku sighed quietly in relief.
Stepping forward, he smiled, trying to hide his nervousness.
"Ahh, right well, right this way miss."
She held up her arms, and Izuku tried not to think about how Kaachan was gonna kill him as he wrapped his arms around his mother and lifted her bridal-style.
"Take care of my wife for me, hero!" Mr. Bakugo yelled out.
"I'm in your care, Izu-chan." She beamed, hugging her arms around his neck with her chest against his arm and chest.
Just keep running to the shelter. Just. Keep. Running.
(X)
"Whoaaaahohoho!" Charge Dolt laughed. "Man Bakugo, that's your mom?!" Tape Dude added with a whistle.
"Well, ain't she a beaut. Friggin' A."
"Holy damn she just fiiiiiiine!" Charge Dolt continued. "Mt. Lady, and one hot mama!"
"I'd kill to be Midoriya right now…"
Katsuki was fighting the urge to strangle the two with his bare hands right now as his teeth began to grind.
"She does look great… I can see the resemblance." Pinky mused.
"But that guy that was with her looks a bit meek. Is that Bakugo's dad?" Sugar asked.
"Yes that's my old man, got a problem with that?" Katsuki growled, rounding on his classmate. Sugar held his hands up and shrugged.
"Not really man, chill."
"Sheesh, I wonder which one of them gave you your charming personality?" Charge Dolt smirked. Katsuki huffed, turning away.
"None of your fucking business."
"Whateeeeever you say man."
(X)
"Jirou, you sure you heard no more civilians?" Momo asked, double-checking as the punk girl nodded.
"Think so, trying to check again now."
Momo stood, stretching out her back with a grimace, she looked to one of the glass panes that reflected her image back at her. She looked pale, and haggard. How many more uses of her quirk did she have in her?
The waters outside were rising, cresting just over the last step before it would reach them.
"Can you make sandbags?" Ojiro asked.
She shook her head. "Not enough. Not any more."
Jirou looked to them, "You think the flooding's gonna reach this fa-" then she stopped, eyes wide with horror.
"Jirou? What's wrong?" He asked.
"I hear something…" She said, face pale.
Then, without warning, the Earphone Jack quirk user, bolted, rushing out the door and into the rain with a scream "I had them all! Damnit! How could I miss one!" Jirou ran back into town.
"Jirou!"
(X)
Kyoka's radio crackled at her waist. "Jirou, what's wrong? Where did you go!?"
"Missed one!"
"What?! There's a civilian in the town?!" Yaoyorozu asked over her end, sounding flustered.
"I know! I thought I found them all!" She said, then she heard it again. The whistle as the purple-haired girl had her head on a swivel. Then…
There was a rumble, a shaking in the ground and Kyoka turned towards the shoreline as a massive wave crested over the barricade line, like the maw of a great beast looking to swallow her.
She screamed, rushing into the nearest building and pressing herself solidly against the wall.
The wave smashed into the surface, feeling like a punch to the ribs even through concrete.
"Gah!" Kyoka fell on her backside as a wave crashed into her, falling flat on her ass into waist-deep waters. She got back up, sputtering and looking at her walkie as she coughed. The antenna had been snapped clean off.
"Shit!" She looked outside.
The waves were enormous now, all but deafening her sensitive ears. Where was that whistle coming from!?
There it was again… She turned… "The gym!" One of the bus barricades had been pushed down courtesy of the winds and rain, and smashed into the building! She gasped, and ran forward in rising water going past her knees.
She trudged on through the water, her legs burning as she pushed against the rushing sea. She saw another storm surge, and it slammed against the debris of a building Yaoyorozu and the others had brought down earlier as she picked up the pace. She got to a higher ground at a restaurant, and saw the debris surge past.
The whistle again.
"I'm coming!" She yelled, her jacks extending as she let out a shockwave, breaking down the door for her to shoulder-tackle through. The restaurant wasn't flooded, but the windows were destroyed and furniture was everywhere as she ran past, going through and out the other side as she made it to the gym.
There was debris everywhere… And it was flooding in! And fast!
She stumbled inside; the equipment was thrown about everywhere, the waters reaching almost to her chest. The whistle was shrill, coming from the far end of the gym where she saw someone, pinned under a piece of heavy gym equipment, blowing into a whistle.
She waded through the waters, cursing and breathing hard. It was a blonde guy, a few years older than her. "What the hell would anyone even be doing inside a gym in a storm? You wanted to get an extra bench press in or something, moron?!" She snapped, spitting out rainwater.
"Sorry ma'am. It's my business." He answered by spitting out the whistle which plopped into the water that was just below his chin height. And he had... the dumbest smile on his face. "I had to lock up!"
She cursed, planting her earphone jacks into her boots and amplifying the sound of her own heartbeat. Hopefully Yaomomo would send some serious help and be able to follow the sound. No way she could lift this on her own.
He smiled at her. "So what's your name? Mine's Mirio. Togata Mirio. Nice t'meetcha!" He was acting way too casual for this.
"You're really bad at this whole 'acting like a civilian in distress' thing", she replied drolly.
"Well, I could scream and yell, stress you out, or I could help ya keep calm and pass." His smile was still firmly plastered on his far too plain face. "Your choice." Then he cupped his hands into a whisper.
"I know a thing or two about these kinds of things." He added with a wink.
Kyoka blinked. "...The latter please."
(X)
Momo was fairly sure, after this exam, that she would grow to hate rain. Forever. She could move to America and settle in Arizona or New Mexico and be done with rain for good.
She was cold, wet, and miserable. She was fairly sure she was about to start getting sick the second this thing was over. Between the flooding, the constant noise, and the hunger gnawing at her insides from too much usage of her quirk, she might just physically assault Aizawa once this was done out of a desire for revenge.
Jirou wasn't answering her walkie anymore, and, frankly, even if she had, Momo wasn't sure she'd be able to hear anything over the constant hiss of rain.
She waded through the flood, searching desperately for a sign, but it wasn't until she tripped and fell into the water did she realize what she had to follow.
Sound traveled farther in water, and Jirou's heartbeat pulses hit her like a sledgehammer, vibrated through the liquid. Momo scrambled to her feet and followed the pulses, diving under the water again when she reached the intersection and following the sound.
(X)
Wading through the streets, Izuku panted hard as he moved through the city towards the central bank. The flooding was a little less this far up the hill but not by much.
The hiss of rain was deafening, almost enough to drown out Mrs. Bakugo's voice, but not quite.
"It's been too long since you came to visit Izu-chan. How've you been?"
He smiled tremulously. "I know, it's been a little crazy for a while. M-maybe I'll come visit soon."
"You should, I always liked you more than any of Katsuki's other idiot friends. They're more like groupies if you ask me personally."
He clamped up, bowing his head as he tried to hurry a little faster through the rain.
"I-I think we're almost at the safe zone."
"Oh, is your mom here?" She asked. "I'd like to say hi if she got an invite too."
"She's here, saw her in the first exam." He nodded. Then, thankfully, around the next corner was the bank.
"There's the safe zone."
"Oh thank god. This rain sucks!"
He rushed a little faster, shouldering open the door, but, to his confusion, he found a very stressed looking Ojiro, with no Yaoyorozu or Jirou in sight. The timer was about to hit the fifty minute mark, the worst of the storm imminent.
He stumbled in, arms burning, searching around for an empty spot before he found an area. He set Mrs. Bakugo down quietly, she smiled and gave him a quick hug before he pulled away. Tokoyami put down Mr. Bakugo a second later as both of them struggled to catch their breath.
Ida rushed through the door a moment later, blurred speed coming to an almost dead stop.
"Where are Jirou and Yaoyorozu?"
"You didn't see them?" Ojiro asked, and Izuku's heart plummeted.
(X)
"Level Five." Shouta uttered to his comm.
"Right… time to get a major workout!" All Might replied. Shouta sat back in his chair, eyes on the screens as he got ready to watch the show.
"Okay… Five Finger Black Hole, activating!" Thirteen declared on her end.
Now, the final leg, and the hardest.
(X)
Jirou breathed a sigh of relief as she heard the sloshing water a moment before the screech of the door being shoved open echoed through the gym.
Momo stood there. Wet, bedraggled, and utterly exhausted.
"Over here!' She raised up her arm.
"Where's the civilian?" Momo asked, panting.
The water level was well up to their chests now, no wonder she couldn't see him.
In response, Jirou held up a piece of bright blue plastic tubing she was keeping above water level.
Momo looked confused before realization dawned over her features.
She waded forward, reaching Jirou and looking down to the still smiling man, who waved jauntily underwater, sucking air through the tube.
"Apparently, the Gym was about to undergo some construction work. Convenient." Jirou said dryly.
Momo nodded, looking at the gym equipment that had collapsed on the last civilian.
The weights hooked onto it alone were nearly a thousand pounds.
"Jack." She breathed. "I can make a jack."
Jirou nodded, "That can work."
There was a rumbling and the crash of water that hit the back end of the building seemed to rock the whole thing completely on its foundations. It cracked, groaned and thunderous cracks spread through the walls with puffs of concrete dust.
"Jesus All Might, calm down!" Jirou hissed.
Momo sucked down a deep breath, kneeling quickly, head descending beneath the surface. Her stomach glowed and the refraction of the water made it look like a rainbow blooming under the water's surface. She began to feel drained by the second.
Jirou waited, and after twenty or so seconds, Momo broke the surface again, sucking down greedy breaths of air.
The punk rocker girl looked down, the jack was fit for a car, big and bright red so you couldn't lose track of it in the murkiness.
"Here!" Jirou insisted, holding out the tubing to Momo. "You look like you're about to keel over, I'll set this up!"
Momo nodded, too tired to protest. She grabbed hold of the plastic tubing, holding it high above her head, hearing the civilian's breathing through the end of it.
The winds howled and the building creaked and groaned eerily around her. She could see Jirou under the surface, sliding the jack into place with the civilian quietly helping her along.
(X)
"Do you see them, Midoriya?" Iida's voice crackled through the radio, barely audible. Tokoyami and Ojiro had been left behind at the shelter in the Mountain Zone. Dark Shadow was too volatile to control fully in this darkness, and Ojiro's mobility was unlikely to be of good use in the stormy conditions. He himself had taken to the rooftops, with Iida using his engines to push himself through the chest-deep waters; the group frantically searching for Jirou and Yaoyorozu.
"No!"
"Say again!? Ca- ear- yo-"
The static exploded across his radio, making him wince.
They'd split up, and that was both good and bad. Good because they were covering a lot more ground but bad because it seemed like Yaoyorozu's walkies wouldn't function anymore through the severe conditions.
They were on their own...
(X)
Jirou rose five times and dove down again and again, catching her breath before diving back down.
It felt slow, excruciatingly so, but inch by inch, bit by bit the equipment was lifted, rising up until finally Jirou rose up one more time followed a split second later by the smiling blonde.
"Hiya." He waved at Momo.
"Hello." She answered, a little uncertainly. He certainly didn't seem to be in distress.
"This is Togata Mirio. Togata, Yaoyorozu Momo, now that we all know each other let's get the hell out of here!" Jirou demanded.
Momo looked to the doorway at the howling winds and the horrid rain falling down like knives outside.
"There's only a few minutes left in the exam." She panted. "It's not worth going to the shelter, we'd never make it. Where's the stairs for the upper floors?"
Togata nodded, smiling. "This way."
Wading through the waters Togata led them to a back hallway and straight to the stairs.
Climbing them, both girls shivered at the cold, soaked to the bone. The windows of the mock building weren't even placed, allowing the wind to cut straight through them.
The building creaked and groaned around them.
(X)
Shouta leaned forward in his seat, fingers ghosting over the keyboard, cycling through cameras.
His heart stopped, eyes widening.
He pulled his radio to his lips. "Stop the simulation!"
Instantly, All Might and Thirteen ceased "We still have a minute and thirty seconds to go." Thirteen called.
"What's wrong?"
"All Might, get to Togata's designated location, the building is showing signs of damage, it might collapse!"
Without another word the Symbol of Peace took off like a bullet, making Thirteen and Power Loader jolt in surprise as the world's greatest hero jumped towards the flooded town.
Was there going to be another tragedy here at the USJ? Of all places again?!
(X)
In the building itself, the three were already in the third floor's hallway, rushing to the stairs that would lead to the roof access when they noticed the wind and the crashing waves suddenly cease. The rains still hissed outside but it was rapidly petering out to nothing.
"Is it over?" Jirou asked.
"I didn't hear the klaxon." Momo replied.
Suddenly, the intercom crackled to life. Aizawa's voice emerged a moment later.
"Yaoyorozu, Jirou, Togata, the building you're inside is structurally unstable, step outside immediately-"
The three students looked to each other, blinking in quiet dread, suddenly very aware of the disconcerting creaking and groaning of the structure around them.
Then, with a bone-breaking CRACK something gave way above, and a slab of concrete the size of a television fell from the ceiling, smashing into the hallway floor.
Another crack appeared, followed by several others. Suddenly the building was breaking and cracking along the entire coastal side, the ground of the hall literally crumbling away as all three backed away, Togata ushering the two of them back.
The rainwater accumulated on the building's roof added to the pressure, more and more pieces of ceiling and roof giving way under the weight to crash onto the floor below, tearing out more pieces and damaging it further.
They backed up, all but running down the hall the way they came.
"I'm coming for you!" They heard, seeing All Might rushing up the street, faster than any of them had ever thought anyone could move. "Young Togata! I've got them! Use your quirk!" He roared.
The blonde nodded, and before either girl could fully grasp what he did, he was gone via sinking directly into the floor crumbling under their feet, his clothes right where they were standing.
They backed up further, stepping farther and farther away from the crumbling surface as All Might rushed towards them, leaping forward in one mighty heave to close the last bit of distance.
"You're alright." The Symbol of Peace smiled as he boldly declared. "I'm he-"
His infamous words were cut off, dying in his throat at the sight of a green glow coming from behind them.
Jirou turned, and Midoriya was suddenly there, crashing through the hallway window with crackling green lightning. His boots hit the ground in a sprint, the concrete shifting dangerously beneath him before he lunged for both of them, grabbing Jirou by the waist and Momo by the arm. They let out gasps and yells of surprise.
And then they were out.
Jirou clutched at Izuku's costume as the boy's leap carried them clear across the causeway, well and truly beyond the crumbling building behind them.
All Might, watching mid-leap, smiled, laughing boisterously in pure joy.
"Aaahahahaha! Well done, Young Midoriya!"
(X)
"L-Look at that!" Hagakure gasped.
"Holy… look at Midoriya go!" Kaminari exclaimed.
"How did he get there so fast?" Sato asked aloud.
"He got there in time…" Todoroki whispered.
Peter's heart had jumped into his throat when Aizawa called for the simulation to end, even more so when the building had actually started crumbling around Jirou and Momo.
All Might had been close, he would have made it but Izuku showing up earlier had made them all breathe a sigh of relief.
"Did you guys see how far Midoriya jumped!?" Ashido suddenly exclaimed, pointing. "It was on camera two!"
He hadn't, but luckily for him, Karen was much more perceptive than he was, a small playback camera opened up at the corner of his view, replaying the clip in question.
"I did." He said when Ashido was met with questions and confusion. All eyes had apparently been on Momo and Jirou.
Peter breathed, feeling the tension in his chest bleed out of him slowly. Looking at the jump, it really was very impressive, arcing green lightning corruscating off his body and leaping to individual raindrops as he cut through the air straight towards Jirou and Momo.
"Heh." He laughed. "Midori really Hulked out at the e-"
He froze.
Like a lightning bolt it struck him, The green thunder had reminded him of the Hulk.
Peter's gaze snapped towards the camera still focused on All Might, who smiled...
But he was smiling with pride. As if a father would when seeing his son perform an exemplary feat.
"Aaahahahaha! Well done, Young Midoriya!"
"Midoriya… Shounen…" Peter said off the tip of his tongue.
Young Midoriya... he was literally the only one who ever called him that.
Him and that Skinny guy from the park.
Peter felt every gear in his brain grind to a dead stop, confusion and question bouncing around his skull in equal measure as the eyes on his mask widened.
"H-He had to be stopped A-"
"Not at that kind of risk!"
"I only tried to do what you would've-
"You're not me! You're not me. You can't be me! ... You need to be better than me, Young Midoriya."
"Holy. Shit."
His whisper wasn't quite so quiet.
Todoroki's eyes turned to him. "Something wrong Parker?"
"Ack! N-Nothing!" He stuttered out, hands up. "Why would something be wrong, everything's fine. Yup. Totally fine! How are you? Hahahahahaha!" He laughed too forcefully.
Shit. Was that too much? That was too much wasn't it? Felt like too much.
Judging by how Todoroki's eyebrow was gonna have to start paying rent for the forehead penthouse, he probably agreed.
(X)
It felt like an hour had passed in and of itself through simply gathering all of the students from their respective places and seeing off the volunteer staff and parents that had come to assist in the simulation. After getting them set up in a room to dry with warm towels and hot chocolate, Aizawa was finally standing before his soaked to the bone and utterly exhausted students. Recovery Girl being on site helped with what injuries they sustained.
"Before we get started," He turned his head towards the two girls. "Jirou, Yaoyorozu, are you both alright?"
"Yes Sensei." Momo answered, Jirou nodding alongside her, drinking from the steaming mug. "Little shaken… but that's to be expected." She gave a smile, and a thumbs-up before turning towards Midoriya. "Thank you, Midoriya-san."
He shook his head. "I did what I had to do. I mean, we are all heroes here." He said, blushing as he rubbed the back of his head.
"Heroes in training, that is." Aizawa corrected them. "Now then…"
He turned his gaze towards Midoriya, who was blushing red as a tomato under the praise from Iida, Ojiro, Aoyama, All Might and Thirteen.
"It wasn't part of the test. But needless to say you performed very well Midoriya, no major broken bones either."
If he got any redder he might pop a blood vessel. "T-thank you Sensei."
Aizawa turned away, mercifully. "Alright. Iida."
"Sir." The armored young man stepped forward, holding himself straight.
"You used your quirk as I expected you would, searching the city, scouting for safe zones and other locations. In that, you fulfilled the function the team needed of you and went further, trying to find Jirou and Yaoyorozu at the tail end of the exam. Frankly speaking, since we weren't sure if you would show-" He pretended not to notice the young man's wince beneath his armored helmet. "I did not place any extenuating factors that you could have capitalized on to give you the opportunity to stand out. Therefore you pass. Your performance was competent and within expected margins. Nothing exceptional, nothing to note that was poor either."
He bowed. "Thank you sir. I understand sir."
Aizawa turned his eyes towards the blond armored French-Japanese boy. "Aoyama."
"Oui?"
"Unfortunately, while your treatment of Mt. Lady's concussion was well done, and also well informed, that alone does not give you enough points to pass this exam."
Aoyama cringed. "Is it because I could not find ze Landslide Zone Shelter, yes? I mean, three zones zat weren't submerged in water, means three shelters. At least, zat was what I was going for."
Aizawa nodded. "You are not Iida, or Midoriya, running around in search of your target would have been a waste of valuable time even if you did stumble across it. They're both much, much faster than you. A Hero must have a broad knowledge base to be effective in any scenario he finds. Tell me, with hindsight, how could you have narrowed down your search parameter for the Landslide Zone?"
Aoyama looked away, eyes panning over the zone in question.
After a few moments he sighed, shoulders slumping. "Forgive me Monsieur. I must shamefully admit I do not know."
Aizawa tapped his foot pointedly on the concrete ground. "It's a Landslide Zone, Aoyama. The dirt on the higher areas is too soft to support any extensive structure like the safe zones were. Even a temporary structure would be at risk with the heavy rains causing the mud to slide down, nothing could safely be atop that hill. Which means the only viable locations to search were at the base of the Landslide Zone where there was a stable foundation. When you couldn't find it there, you should have gone to help in the Central Plaza. Your Quirk would have made creating those barricades much faster."
The French-Japanese boy's eyes were wide, the answer seemingly obvious now. "Fils de Pu-! Merde!" He let out in frustration and self-loathing.
Aizawa decided to ignore the foreign vulgarity. "You played to the strengths of your teammates, not necessarily yours. Observe your surroundings and where you stand in them. Take all of this as a lesson, and learn from it rather than a true failure." His tone was soft.
The others looked sad, and Aoyama looked like he was trying to fight back tears before he nodded, bowed once and stepped back. "I understand Sensei… Merci…"
"Tokoyami."
The bird-headed boy, still looking like his feathers had lost a fight with a weed whacker, stepped forward.
"Out of all your classmates you physically rescued and carried the most amount of injured civilians, bringing them to safety. In addition to that you assisted your classmates wherever you could and recognized towards the end of the exam that you were becoming a liability with your slipping control of Dark Shadow and refrained from risking resources being allocated to contain you when you could no longer go on. You pass. Well done."
"Thank you sir." He answered solemnly, stepping back.
"Yaoyorozu."
Momo stepped forward, looking comically small in the oversized fluff towel she was wrapped in.
"Similar to Tokoyami, you performed well, and assisted as many of your teammates in as many avenues as you could. You paced yourself well, and avoided running out of fuel halfway through the exam, which was the highest risk factor for you. Not to mention that you showed your colors as a leader. You pass as well." Momo was incredibly hungry as she chomped away at her cookies and cream energy bar, and smiled under the praise.
"Thank you Sensei." The shaggy-haired man turned towards the other blonde.
"Ojiro."
The tailed boy stepped forward as Momo stepped back.
"The ten minutes allocated to the team before the exam began was for what?"
"Uhhh... planning sir."
"Yes." Aizawa nodded. "It's meant for teammates to give input and ideas. Yaoyorozu took the lead there, but she knows her quirk, and her applications, not necessarily yours. When she assigned Aoyama to the Landslide Zone and Iida to the Ruins Zone, why did you not volunteer for the safe zone search?"
Ojiro cringed, unable to find an answer.
"She asked you to assist her, but a better allocation of your available resources would have sent you to the Ruins or Mountain Zone and Iida to the Landslide Zone. Your quirk allows you to traverse ruins by maneuvering with your tail with a significant mobility advantage over Aoyama."
"I-I hadn't considered it sir. I just wanted to help with the civilians." Ojiro sighed, looking to the ground.
Aizawa nodded, understanding his reasoning. "I said so in the previous exams that being a team player is important. But if you believe your skills and abilities can be better applied elsewhere and you don't speak up, it can have bad consequences. Getting overruled is one thing, not even trying and being an utter doormat is quite another. Speak up next time, give your advice and voice."
"I understand sir. I apologize."
"Don't apologize to me." Aizawa gestured lazily in Aoyama's direction, as he was looking to the ground.
Ojiro blanched.
"Where you helped, you did well." The Erasure Hero continued, "But like Iida, your performance was within the margins of expectations, with little exception to allow you to stand out. You pass, but it is marginal. Learn from this."
Ojiro bowed. "Understood sir."
"Jirou."
The girl had been busy scrubbing at her hair, trying to dry it out, leaving it in a frizzy mess by the time she stepped forward.
"Your echolocation ability was used well, but in your eagerness to utilize your quirk's most applicable utility you forgot about another. He gestured towards the coastline. "Your soundwaves have the ability to break apart the waves, perhaps even disrupt the air pressure All Might was utilizing to create the waves in the first place. In other words, you could have halted the storm quite a bit in the beginning."
She blinked. "Wait... what!?"
Aizawa nodded. "Sound vibrates. You could have quite literally shaken the waves apart before they reached the city. But you were so focused on finding the civilians that the thought never even crossed your mind."
"How do you know I can do that? I didn't even know I can do that!" Jirou exclaimed loudly.
"We measured your maximum output. I simply utilized Present Mic as a test to recreate the effect. It's quite consistent."
"So... we weren't supposed to make a barricade?"
Aizawa's eye twitched.
"It was an option, in case you couldn't or didn't do as expected."
She winced. "Well... I didn't know. Not like I go to the beach very often."
"Hn."
He glared, allowing her to squirm for a moment.
"No excuse though. You are a Hero in training. Know your quirk. Not just what you're comfortable with, but all aspects. A villain and an actual disaster won't care whether or not you know what you can do. Test yourself, expand your horizons on what you can accomplish and go beyond what you thought you have known."
"Yes sir." She mumbled, looking to the ground. Momo placed a hand on her shoulder in support, to which Jirou looked back, smiling weakly.
"You pass." He finally said. "Though your score took a significant blow."
"Hey Sensei." Jirou had Aizawa's attention. "One question." She said raising her hand suddenly. "How the hell did you hide that Togata guy?"
"Oh, that's just part of my quirk-"
The voice spoke directly to their right and they turned in time to see a face emerge directly out of the wall.
"..." Tokoyami tilted his head.
"Uhhh…" Midoriya let out.
"THERE'S A FACE IN THE WALL!" Jirou pointed at him, to which Togata laughed it off before showing half his torso.
"I just hid outside until it was time for me to come in, then stepped through a few walls and got into position. Knew you wouldn't hear me walking over the rain, so suddenly, voila. Instant 'missed' civilian." He said as if speaking from a cookbook. Momo stepped away from Jirou, seeing the girl shake.
Jirou rounded on Aizawa. "THAT'S CHEATING!" She yelled with a pointed finger.
He shrugged. "Sometimes it will happen. How your team responded to the sudden emergency spoke just as much as to your behavior throughout the exam as a whole."
"In an exam where we have to save all the people we could and 'haha here's a surprise dude we placed so we can dock your perfect score'?" Jirou bit back. "Yeah, not fair. Bullshit."
"And I reiterate." Aizawa growled, his eyes glowing and hair flowing as the girl gulped. "From our first day here on that Training Ground. Natural Disasters. Are not. Fair. You can save as many people as you can." He muttered. "But, there is always a chance that one is left behind. Lost forever as a missing person." His red eyes bored into her as Jirou stepped back. "So take that into account, Earphone Jack."
The purple-haired girl wanted to retort, but the clenching of Aizawa's jaw shut her up as she sighed. "Okay… got it." The shaggy-haired man turned towards the last member of the class.
"Midoriya."
The green clad boy stepped forward. "Yes!" He stood at attention like a military cadet.
"Needless to say, you pass." The homeroom teacher shrugged. "I do not approve of you breaking a finger, again, but in the grand scheme of things that can be overlooked given your contributions, rescue effort, and quick thinking. You get points for not trying to counter-punch All Might's waves like I believed you might try."
"Ah-ehhe, Thank you sir..." Judging by that stutter, the thought had probably crossed his mind. Momo couldn't help but chuckle lightly.
"We will reconvene at Homeroom to discuss your plans for summer and what to expect going forward." Aizawa spoke with a deadpan voice. "I'll see you all at 1-A. Congratulations to all of you. The exam is concluded."
Before anyone could say anything All Might's hand solidly smacked down on Midoriya's shoulder. "Well done Young Midoriya!" He exclaimed with pride.
(X)
"Well done Young Midoriya!" Said All Might over the camera feed as Peter walked onto the bus in his costume. He saw All Might in the corner of his eye, and he forced himself to remember.
The hair style… how the blonde hair matched…
The more he considered it, the more the pit in his stomach grew.
All Might, the World's Symbol of Peace… was that skeletal man who looked half dead!
And Izuku was connected to him?!
Wait… The force of All Might's punches during this exam… it was similar to when Midori broke his arm against the giant WALL-E.
"Peter, your heart rate is growing." Karen spoke on the screen in text.
"I'm fine…" He muttered under his breath in English, hand over his mouth as other students began to file into the buses that would head back to U.A. for Homeroom and their final check-ins.
'What should I do now?' He wondered to himself, Clearly, it wasn't a secret he was supposed to know. A secret nobody was supposed to know.
Looking out the window as he saw his classmates leave the U.S.J., he heard his peers cheer and wave at them.
Peter rolled down the window and waved, smiling as he saw his friends walk up to the bus looking worn and beat up.
He'd have to think about this later. For now, there were congratulations to give out to those who passed and maybe some cheering up for those that failed.
At least the Final Exams of the First Year were over.
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