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"We're finally here..." Izuku breathed, admiring the vast gate of Yuuei, taking in the scene in front of him.
"Tch. And you doubted it? Can't you see the big fat letters at the top of the gate? Damn nerd," Katsuki sniggered.
"As a matter of fact, I can't, and you know I can't, you snarky little-"
"Oh, I'm sorry!" Katsuki grinned at his brother. "Not my fault you're a short-sighted retard."
"Oh and I'm the only one am I? You're deafer than a banana on steroids."
Katsuki gasped in mock offense. "You're not comparing me to that incompetent, blonde ass rag of a hero, are you?"
"Kachaan. Darling. What do you take me for? Some sort of sadist?"
"As a matter of fact I do."
They had a silent glaring contest.
"We've been standing here way too long for it to be healthy."
"Well, we're not exactly the healthiest people are we?"
They engaged in another glaring contest.
"Together?"
Katsuki held out his hand, rolling his eyes.
"Always."
And they stepped over the gate together...
And an earsplitting whining pierced the quiet morning air.
"Oh my fucking life!" Katsuki screamed above the din, tears pricking the corner of his eyes.
"This alarm isn't exactly hearing-aid-friendly, is it?" Izuku screamed back, grimacing for his brother.
The other students were glancing suspiciously at the duo, backing away slowly.
The whining did not stop.
"Imani!" Izuku screamed at the top of his lungs.
And the strangest thing happened.
His shadow... Thickened, for lack of a better word, into a thick sludge.
People were backing away faster now.
Two hands slapped onto the edge of the concrete, slowly pulling a head, torso, and legs out of the shadow. It looked up at Izuku, its eyes glowing white with no iris or pupils. And, flashing white teeth, produced a wrench out of where its pocket would be.
The alarm stopped.
"You're a joke," Izuku said in a flat tone.
"I concur," said Bakugo, unclamping his hands from his ears slowly.
The silhouette tilted its head innocently.
"No. NO. Do not give me that. You are not an innocent lil' shadow, you are a menace. An absolute menace."
"I'm highly offended, you know."
There was no one else to be found outside the gates of Yuuei High.
---
"HEY LITTLE LISTENERS! HOW ARE Y'ALL DOIN?!" Present Mic shouted.
There was no reply.
"Aww. Y'all are so boring. You'd think people would be more excited to meet a radio presenter."
"Not when you can't hear the radio, no." Katsuki whispered.
Izuku and Imani sniggered.
Imani had Izuku and Katsuki sit in the middle of the auditorium, on an empty row, in full view of everyone. So no one could say that they were doing anything shady.
The three murmured together about the subtle information in the explanation Present Mic was giving, until a boy in another row behind them raised his hand and stood up.
"Sir! With all due respect, you haven't mentioned anything about the 0-pointer that is mentioned on the pamphlet! And you!" He turned to Izuku, almost robotically, chopping his arms through the air. "Will you please put that thing away and stop your incessant muttering! It is not befitting of this... Fine... Institution..."
Imani had gone tense next to Izuku. Eyes narrowing, teeth sharpening. He seemed to swell and throb, growing larger and smaller, fluctuating erratically. The lights flickered. His voice sounded staticky when he spoke.
"Thank you kindly for your interruption. It was ever so helpful and Present Mic had OBVIOUSLY finished his explanation, so he had had a chance to answer your question. I will tell you this one time and one time only. I am not a 'thing'. I am not an 'it'. Nor am I an animal to be gazed at and fawned upon. I am not an experiment. I am not a zoo exhibition. So kindly refer to me as he/him and do not look at me like I am an interesting beetle you've found on the road. I am not obliged to follow Izuku's instructions other than when he calls and dismisses me. Is. that. clear?"
He turned to Izuku and Katsuki. "I'm going now."
And then he promptly melted into the floor.
"Ahh, thank you for your question, lil' listener, I was just about to explain that, and listener two, wherever you are, that was very clear to me at least, thank you."
"The zero-pointer is just an obstacle to shake things up. It gives you no benefit whatsoever."
"Any questions?"
---
Izuku and Katsuki walked together to the assessment grounds, talking about the assembly. Imani eventually joined, working his jaw and looking pissed, but still offering his input.
"Since we only have to incapacitate them or render them immobile, there has to be an off switch or control panel, right?" Izuku said
The other two nodded.
"It's most likely in the head, so Katsuki, if you render it incapacitated by like, exploding its legs and I render it immobile by blocking the laser or breaking it, it'll be worth the same amount of points."
He lowered his voice.
"Nedzu isn't stupid, he'll have made a point system for non-abrasive quirks, so people can rescue others like they would do in real life rather than just attacking the robots."
"Okay, so worst-case scenario we can fall back on that. Anything else?"
"There's likely not going to be a countdown, so go as soon as we're permitted."
"Cool."
"Amazing."
"ALL RIGHT LIL' LISTENERS, OFF YOU GO!"
Izuku, Katsuki, Imani, and one other lavender-haired boy shot off.
"THERE ISN'T A COUNTDOWN IN REAL LIFE YA KNOW! GO! GO! GO!"
---
It had been smooth sailing for the trio so far, Katsuki doing the main damage and Izuku cleaning up behind him, saving people in the way. But nothing goes smoothly in their lives for long.
" 'Zu, Katsuki, something's approaching from the east of the city," Imani warned
"It's probably the zero-pointer. Circle round behind it and save the people who get hurt or trapped."
" 'Kay,"
"Aye, Aye, Boss,"
There was an ominous rumbling, and then the zero-pointer unfolded from the ground, swiveling its head around.
Screams sounded all over the city.
They pushed their way through the panicked crowds and towards the robot.
"For people aiming to be heroes, they sure are scared of a hunk of metal." Izuku remarked
Katsuki snickered. "I know right?"
"It's ridiculous." Imani grinned at the insanity.
"Hey! Shadow dude! Blasty boy! A little help please!"
Izuku looked towards the source of the
sound.
A lavender-haired boy was stuck under the rubble of a house in an extremely awkward position. It looked near impossible to get out.
Izuku jumped down, Katsuki followed.
"Who the fuck are you calling Blasty boy you flower-looking bitch!"
"Katsuki, in the nicest way possible, shut up, now is not the time."
"Flower-looking bitch? That's new."
"Your hair's lavender."
"It's an improvement from villain."
"Oh my gosh! Villain buddies! Kachaan, we're gonna be besties forever!" Izuku said in a sing-song voice.
"As much as I love this display of friendship, the robot is extremely close." I'm Imani stated.
"How the fuck did it get so close?!!"
"I don't know!!"
"I wasn't planning on dying today, so can we speed this up?"
"Principal Nedzu has a lot of lawyers, but he can't kill a fucking student. I say we leave him."
"What!?! No! I'm not taking my chances. I have my limited edition mocha coffee delight to drink! My mama is making espresso brownies!"
"Leaving civilians behind isn't going to get us into the hero course Katsuki."
'' 'Zu. Katsuki. Make your minds up."
"Why the fuck is it so close now?!?!"
"I said I don't fucking know!?!"
Katsuki whipped around to the boy. "What's your name?"
"Shinsou Hitoshi."
"Okay. This might hurt a bit."
And then he proceeded to explode the rubble above him.
"Izuku?! Katsuki!!" Go! NOW!"
Shinsou's trouser leg was caught on the rubble and the zero-pointer was one step away from crushing them to oblivion.
"GAH!" Shinsou cried out as Izuku ripped him out of the house.
"Katsuki! Go!"
"Are you sure?!"
"Yes!"
He looked back once and blasted off.
Izuku grabbed onto Shinsou's arm.
"IMANI!"
"On it already!"
Part of the robot's shadow rippled and darkened, rapidly growing. Imani had a look of fierce concentration on his face.
"Shinsou! Jump!"
As the robot's foot descended, they jumped into the shadow, Imani following and disappeared.
---
In the viewing lounge
"Nedzu, that robot's getting a bit too close for comfort." Aizawa said, glancing at the stoat worriedly
"Yeah Nedzu-kocho, your lawyers don't cover you killing multiple students." Yamada agreed, getting more concerned by the second.
Nedzu just laughed. The sound was chilling to the core to all but Aizawa and Yamada.
"I haven't ingested enough coffee for this. I need plausible deniability. If they survive, I want Blasty boy, the shadow kid and Lavender."
Aizawa slumped out of the room.
Yamada left next with Midnight
Then Snipe.
Soon Nedzu was the only one left. Canines gleaming, he grinned manically at the screens, an eerie glow in his eyes.
---
Imani threw them all out of the shadows, panting, next to Katsuki, who flung himself at Izuku.
"What the fuck! Are you okay?! He gave Izuku a once over and turned to Shinsou. "Are you?!"
"We're fine." Imani said shortly. The glow of his eyes had dimmed slightly.
"The exam has ended. Can all students please make their way to the auditorium for a break before the written exam."
"We're not fine." Izuku swayed on the spot. "Definitely not fine."
Imani collapsed back into Izuku's shadow and Izuku fell forward into Katsuki.
"Oh, Kami... Is he dead?!"
"I don't think so..."
" 'M fine. Need sleep."
Izuku's eyes were glowing white, his bright green irises had disappeared. His skin had gone from tanned and freckled to washed out white and his hair changed from bright green to inky blue-black. His eyes fluttered shut and his breathing deepened.
"Huh. He's actually asleep." Shinsou blinked in surprise.
"Imani puts him to sleep to regulate power." Katsuki said.
"Oh, dearie me!" A frail looking lady hobbled over. "What happened here?"
"He overused his quirk, but he doesn't have any injuries. Neither do I. I think Shinsou has though."
"I sprained my ankle Nanna, it's fine."
"Reckless child!"
The lady kissed him on the cheek. When she saw Katsuki's confused look, she elaborated.
"I'm Recovery Girl, but you can call me Chiyo. my quirk is called Heal. It's what it says on the package. I need to kiss the injured for it to work though."
"She's still my mum's mum though, that's why I call her Nanna." Shinsou piped up.
"Oh. Thanks, Chiyo-san. I'll come to you if anyone I know has any injuries."
"You're very welcome!" She said and hobbled away.
"Umm, I never caught your name."
"Call me Katsuki this is Izuku. Imani's the mysterious shadow dude."
"Oh. Okay, Katsuki. Do you wanna exchange numbers? It's still August so we have a couple of weeks till the start of term if you wanna hang out..."
"Yeah sure. As long as you don't send me old ass grandpa memes."
Shinsou grinned. "You shouldn't have said anything now that's a guarantee."
"I will eviscerate you."
"Oohh. Boom Boom Boy's using big words!"
"SHUT THE FUCK UP FLOWER BOY!"
---
The atmosphere in the auditorium was charged with a mix of excitement and nervous anticipation as students gathered for the break before the written exam. Izuku, still unconscious, was carefully laid down on a nearby bench by Katsuki and Shinsou, with Imani hovering protectively nearby.
"Is he going to be alright?" Shinsou asked, concern evident in his voice as he glanced at Izuku's pale, sleeping form.
Katsuki shrugged, a hint of worry flickering in his eyes. "Yeah, he'll be fine. Imani knows what he's doing."
Imani nodded silently, his shadowy form seeming to pulse faintly with energy.
As the other students buzzed around them, Katsuki's phone buzzed in his pocket, indicating a new message. Pulling it out, he saw that it was from Shinsou, who had just exchanged numbers with him.
**Shinsou Hitoshi:** Hey, just making sure you got my number. Let me know if you need anything or if you wanna hang out before the next part of the exam.
Katsuki smirked and quickly typed out a response.
**Katsuki:** Yeah, got it. Thanks. And sure, we'll see how things go. But no old man memes, got it?
Shinsou chuckled and sent back a thumbs-up emoji.
Meanwhile, the rest of the students began to settle down, some chatting nervously, others reviewing notes or strategies for the upcoming written exam.
Present Mic's voice boomed over the speakers, announcing the start of the break and reminding students to stay hydrated and rested for the next part of the exam.
As the chatter died down, Katsuki found himself lost in thought, his mind drifting back to the events of the practical exam. The intensity of the situation, coupled with Izuku's sudden collapse, had shaken him more than he cared to admit.
He glanced over at Izuku, still sleeping peacefully on the bench, and then turned his attention back to Shinsou, ready to face whatever challenges that were thrown their way.