Midori Tōrō

Chapter 3

So, pairings for this fic are somewhat undecided, though I am leaning towards IzukuXMomo, mostly because of the similarity of their powers (Momo's Creation and Izuku's Energy Constructs) but that is not set in stone yet. I am going to draw the line at requests for me to pair him with Nejire, as I'd prefer Izuku be paired with someone in his age group. Well, as per usual, if you have a pairing you'd like to see, let me know and give a good argument for it and it will be considered.

Disclaimer: I own neither series. Also, some parts of this chapter are borrowed from my other Boku no Hero Academia work.

Several months had passed since the Sludge Villain incident and Izuku's meeting with All Might. He had been training intensely with his Power Ring and had come to master the basic energy blast, shield, and flight powers, but he still had a hard time grasping the energy constructs, his Ring saying that he simply lacked a solid mental focus to model the constructs around, whatever that meant.

[As I have told you, Lantern Izuku, to properly mold your energy into solid constructs, you must have a clear picture in your mind of what you wish to create, and the Will to manifest it into reality]

Also, he had gotten used to hearing the Ring's voice talking in his head, as weird as that seemed. He also hadn't seen much of Katsuki outside of regular classes, though the teen seemed to be keeping his distance from him for some reason.

In any case, the time had come for the U.A. Entrance Exam and Izuku was now standing eagerly at the massive gates of the academy, ready to take the first step towards his life as a Hero. Swallowing nervously, he couldn't help but feel intimidated by the size and majesty of the greatest Hero Academy in Japan, and the fact that he was going to be a student here.

[Lantern Izuku, I feel obliged to inform you that this 'path toward being a hero' will not begin unless you literally take that 'first step']

"Right," said Izuku, "the first step. Here we go!"

Marshalling his resolve, Izuku forced his legs to move so that he could cross the threshold…unfortunately, his foot caught on a rock and he tripped. It seemed like his first day at U.A. was going to begin with a faceplant into the pavement, but he suddenly felt a hand tap his back and he was suddenly floating in the air a foot above the sidewalk. Scrambling, to an upright position, he activated his Right and was enveloped in an emerald glow just as the antigravity faded, allowing him to float down to the ground under his own power.

"I'm so sorry," said a girl's voice, causing Izuku to turn and see an attractive girl with short brown hair and a round face, "I know it's kind of rude for me to use my Quirk on you without permission, but I didn't want to see you start your day faceplanting into the ground. Anyways, good luck with the exam."

With that the girl jogged off towards the building, leaving a stunned Izuku standing there with a goofy grin.

"I just talked to a girl!" mumbled Izuku happily.

[Lantern Izuku, I do not believe a one-sided conversation such as that can be referred to as 'talking to a girl.']

Izuku sighed at his Ring's voice and didn't answer, instead walking into the school building. Once inside, he was given the welcome packet for the Hero Course Exam from a faculty member and directed to a seat in the auditorium. The plus side: he was sitting next to someone familiar. The downside: it was Bakugo.

"Tch," growled Izuku's longtime tormentor, "the fuck are you doing here, Deku?"

Izuku flinched at that and glanced downward, but the sight of the ring on his middle finger helped him firm up his resolve.

"I'm here to attempt to get into U.A. Kacchan," said Izuku as he took his seat.

Bakugo seemed ready to retort, but the lights began to dim and everyone's attention was drawn to a figure on stage.

"EVERYBODY SAY 'HEY!"

Seeing that his entrance had gotten no noticeable reaction, Pro Hero Present Mic continued on with his introductory speech, "Ok all you hero hopefuls, I'm here to give you the rules of the UA Practical Exam, ARE YOU READY?"

Once again, the hero's loud declaration was net with silence, but the Pro didn't let that get him down as he pressed a button on a remote, causing several images to appear on a screen behind him.

"OK!" said Present Mic, "Here's how the test will go everybody. You'll all be separated and sent in groups to special training grounds that teach our students to operate in an urban environment. In these arenas you will be faced with three kinds of faux villains. Points will be awarded for defeated these foes and Quirks are encouraged in these combat situations so go wild!"

"Of course," continued the pro, "while there may be some of you that are inclined to go the anti-hero route and attack other applicants for a better score, I will tell you now that such actions will not be tolerated and will be severely punished."

"May I ask a question?" asked a young man wearing glasses as she stood up stiffly, "the handouts provided to us stated that there would be four, not three, of these faux villains for us to face. An error like this this does not paint this academy in a good light, especially if U.A. is regarded as the top academy for heroes in Japan."

"Also," he said pointing to Izuku who had been muttering again out of nervousness, "you with the curly hair. Your incessant mumbling is distracting to the other applicants. Please cease this at once, or leave if this entire exercise is but a game to you."

Izuku shrunk into himself, causing Bakugo to 'tch' again as Present Mic nodded at the student's observation.

"Well spotted," said Present Mic, "in fact there will be a Fourth Villain, but it is not like the others. Unlike the others, it is worth no points and merely exists to become a large obstacle and cause havoc. The best thing to do with it is avoid it."

"I understand," said the student, "I apologize for my interruption and for my disrespect."

"Now," said Present Mic, "before you all head to your assigned testing grounds, I'll leave you with the school moto. The great Napoleon Bonaparte once said, 'true heroism consists in being superior to the ills of life,' so Go Beyond! PLUS ULTRA!"

xXsceneXx

It wasn't long after this that Izuku found himself standing amidst a group of other students as they waited outside one of U.A.'s testing grounds, preparing themselves for the Practical portion of the Entrance Exam. He was dressed in a green tracksuit for the exam and tried to do some stretches to calm his mind. Izuku felt that he had done quite well on the Written portion, all that studying about heroes and tactics really paid off, but the practical side was worrying him. He was never top of his class in PE.

[Do not fret, Lantern Izuku, I believe you shall do fine. So long as you remember what you have learned through our training. Do not forget, your powers are as strong as your Will dictates.]

Izuku nodded as Present Mic's voice boomed from the loudspeakers, "OK EVERYBODY! Let's GO! Your exam begins…NOW!"

The students were surprised at the abruptness and they didn't move, prompting the Pro Hero to speak up, "OI! You think villains will give you time to think? GO GO GO!"

This prompted the students to dash forward through the open gates of the arena and into a faux city that would serve as the exam grounds. Once inside, the group split up, each student wanting to gather points of their own, and Izuku was left wandering through the streets, wanting to conserve his Power Ring's reserves just in case, as he looked for the Faux Villains.

[Lantern Izuku! Enemies approaching!]

Izuku spun around just as a large robot burst through the wall before setting its optics on the green clad teen.

'A One-Pointer,' thought Izuku, remembering what the handout had said as he pointed his Ring at the Faux-Villain, 'they're fast, but rather fragile.'

"Target locked. Prepare for termination," said the robot as it began to rush at Izuku.

"Not today!" yelled Izuku as he fired a beam of emerald energy from his Power Ring that speared through the robot and caused it to explode.

"Yes!" cheered Izuku before hurrying off to find more villains to destroy.

Turning a corner, Izuku came across a student trying to use a Quirk that allowed her to enlarge the size of her hands to deal with several Two-Pointers, though Izuku saw a Three-Pointer coming up behind her while she was distracted. Acting quickly, Izuku projected an energy barrier to block the robot's limb as it was brought down on the girl, giving her time to smash the Two-Pointers before moving on to take care of the Three-Pointer.

"Thanks," called out the girl, "I owe you one."

Izuku waved nervously as the girl ran off before shaking his head to clear the butterflies, "Right, gotta get more points."

[Lantern Izuku, might I suggest an aerial perspective?]

Izuku refrained from slapping himself for not thinking of that and soon enough, he was covered with a green glow as he took to the sky. As he flew over the arena, he began to get into the groove, using his energy blasts to snipe various Faux-Villains from overhead, gathering a decent amount of points.

"Thirty-two so far," said Izuku, "I hope that's enough."

[I would suggest erring on the side of caution and gathering more, Lantern Izuku]

Nodding, Izuku flew off to gather more points.

xXsceneXx

In a dark room illuminated only by the glow of the observation monitors, several figures watched the entrance exam areas and took notes on the students that were competing.

"We have quite the bumper crop this year," mused one of the figures as he watched the various Quirks being used.

"This year seems to be even more significant," said a second figure as he watched footage of Izuku flying and shooting energy blasts from his Ring.

"Perhaps," said another, "these exams bring out the potential of the applicants. Simulated combat in a limited timeframe shows us how they operate under stress."

"However," said a third figure, "the true test, begins now."

Reaching out, the figure lifted a safety cover off of a bright red button before pressing said switch, causing a rumbling to be felt in the arenas as several large gates opened to release the next threat for the students to face.

xXsceneXx

Back with Izuku, he could hear the rumbling and saw several students running away as a MASSIVE robot rolled forward, smashing through buildings as it went. Izuku's eyes widened and his jaw dropped as he saw the size and scale of the Zero-Pointer.

"Th-that's the mystery obstacle?" he said in shock.

[Do not let your fear control you, Lantern Izuku. You have more important things to worry about.]

"Right," said Izuku, "I have to get more points."

[While an admirable mindset, I was not referring to that, Lantern Izuku. Direct your gaze to the ground in front of the Villain.]

Izuku looked down and a chill of horror shot down his spine, for lying directly in the path of the massive Villain-Robot, was the girl who had helped him earlier when he had tripped, except this time it was her that needed help, as her legs were trapped beneath some fallen rubble and thus pinning her down in the path of the Villain's treads.

Knowing what he had to do, Izuku flew down in front of the robot and began firing off energy blasts to try and stop the behemoth, but all he could do was slow it's inevitable path forward.

"Damnit!" yelled Izuku as he tried an energy wall, but the robot simply smashed through, "I have to stop that thing."

[Lantern Izuku, you will need to create an energy construct. Focus! Your Will powers this Ring! Find an image in your mind, one you can see clear as day, and Will it into existence!]

'An image I can see clear as day?' thought Izuku as he closed his eyes. As he focused, a single image, no, a memory appeared in his mind. One that always gave him a sense of hope. A memory of a blazing fire, a memory of rescue, where one man saved many lives, a bright smile never leaving his face.

No need to fear…

'Thank you, All Might,' thought Izuku as he opened his eyes, his irises radiating emerald light, 'it's my turn to be the hero!'

With a roar, Izuku thrust his fist forward and a blinding green light erupted from the Power Ring, enveloping the zero-pointer. When the light faded, everyone's jaws hit the floor at what they saw, for surrounding Izuku, was a large muscular figure made up of green light that held back the giant robot with its equally giant hands. The kicker, was that the figure wasn't just some random individual. No, this one was a bit more familiar.

[Well done, Lantern Izuku. As I said, you just needed the right focus.]

"Thanks," said Izuku as he reared back the fist of the giant All Might energy construct he had created around himself, "now to finish things off."

With a roar, Izuku had the construct, punch forward, slamming its fist into the zero-pointer and sending it flying back the way it came, just as the bell went off to signal the end of the exam. As Izuku floated back to the ground he knew one thing: whether of not he had gathered enough points, one thing was certain, today, he was a hero.