Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The night sky was as beautiful as it was unreachable.

Izuku Midoriya spent his early years stargazing with his mother, Inko. They’d spend some nights sitting on the quiet hill, just outside of the city. And she would point out a few constellations, but stargazing came naturally to her son. He was a curious mind, even at the age of four.

“Your grandma is out there somewhere, y’know that Izuku?” Inko said as she looked down at her son in her lap. The child made a face of awe as his big green eyes looked towards space.

“Was grandma nice?” Izuku asked as he looked into the sky.

Inko smiled as her birth mother’s smile came to mind. “I used to hate her when I was younger. But after I had you, I realized why she did the things she did.”

“There’s a big bad villain after me, Inko. Just remember that I always love you.”

Izuku nodded, not really understanding the gravity of her words. “B-but is she nice?” Inko giggled as she ruffled Izuku’s hair, much to his childish annoyance.

“She had a heart too large for this world. And you,” she lifted her son up and faced him to her, “Have the same big heart. So no matter what quirk you develop, I know you’ll do great things.”

Izuku inherited more than just his kindness from his grandmother. As it turns out, he also got a variation of her quirk. Inko didn’t know the name of her mother’s quirk, but she knew it was some type of flight.

It was a shock for Inko to see a butt naked Izuku floating above his All Might bedsheet.

“Help! Mama! I’m flying!”

True Flight is what the doctor named it. Izuku had the ability to propel himself through physical space. No push off required.

Izuku was elated to say the least. So much so that the moment he stepped foot into the school, he started zipping around the ceiling to show off his new flight capabilities.

“P-please get down from there, Midoriya! It’s very dangerous.” The teacher would have seen it as a funny sight, but there was a ceiling fan in the middle of the room, and she was terrified of what could happen to Izuku if he were to collide with it.

But Izuku kept circling the class, laughing without a care in the world. All of the other kids joined in his laughter and pointed at the flying greenette circling above, sharing his joy.

That was, all but one. “Izuku! Get down man!”

Recognizing the voice of his friend, he stopped immediately and began to lower himself to the ground. “Sorry Kacchan! It’s just so fun.”

Katsuki “Kacchan” Bakugo scoffed. “Yeah it’s probably pretty cool, but I’ll be able to do that too when I’m older. Don’t think you can be number one just cus you can fly earlier.” He smirked and crossed his arms against his chest, making all of the other kids fawn with admiration.

“Of course Kacchan!” Izuku agreed happily. “I don’t wanna be number one, I just wanna be a hero to make people smile, like All Might!”

Like All Might indeed, Izuku would hold onto that ambition, growing up and realizing it further. He wanted to be a symbol of peace, of hope. He wanted the people to see him fly above and feel secure in his presence.

“I’d pass these out, but I know all of you are gunning for the hero course!”

Cheers resounded across the classroom, every student popping off with their quirks, lost in the excitement. Izuku couldn’t help but laugh as he looked towards Bakugo, who was simply waiting to stand up and make a speech.

He knew his friend’s antics well, as after the teacher rallied everyone back together, Katsuki slapped his palm on his table.

“Don’t lump me and Izuku in with these extras, teach! They couldn’t cut it as D-List nobody heroes!” Bakugo’s grin began to anger his peers as they shouted at him for his attitude. Izuku just kept on chuckling.

“Ah that's right. You two are heading for U.A aren’t you?” The teacher asked with fair innocence in his question. The name drop of U.A had an instant effect on the class, as their agitated jeers turned to shock.

“Well, we have been training all our lives for it.” Izuku spoke up this time, drawing a few eyes to him. Murmurs of agreement rose, but were shut down by Bakugo slapping his desk again.

“None of you should even bother trying for U.A! We aced the mock exams and we’re the only people in this garbage dump school with the quirks to make it as a hero!”

Bakugo really loved to push people's buttons.

“Sorry, I can’t come to the arcade Kacchan, my mom wants me to pick up groceries.” Izuku stood outside the gates of Aldera,alongside Bakugo and a couple of other students who were trailing behind the duo.

“Alright.” Bakugo scoffed as he motioned for the other two students to follow his lead. “Tell Auntie I said hi.” With that, Bakugo waved the greenette off and they parted ways.

‘He does know he could just say it himself right?’ Izuku thought to himself amusedly. Bakugo was never one to directly greet people, instead choosing to just acknowledge their presence lightly and leave it at that. One of the many things he’d need to work on if he truly wanted to surpass All Might. Speaking of working on things…

Izuku took note of his barren surroundings and began to call on his quirk. He knew public quirk use was illegal, but most people wouldn’t notice what he was doing. If he were a foolish teen, he would try to practice the speed of his flight, but he was Izuku. Instead, he would practice control and precise movements every day.

In class, he’d hover over his seat by just millimeters, trying his hardest to not let his uniform brush the seat. Whenever he’d walk home and wanted to practice, he’d keep himself just a centimeter or two above the ground and mimic walking, when in actuality he was hovering the entire time.

He’d save the speed control for when he was at U.A. He didn’t know his top speed, but he knew he could gain massive amounts of acceleration from a standstill. His mother had barred him from scary movies after that incident…

The route Izuku took would cut through a developing neighborhood, meaning it was very empty. ‘Well, a little bit of speed wouldn’t kill me.’ Izuku thought daringly. His walking pace turned into a mild jogging pace. He giggled as he moved through the air and approached a tunnel bridge. The wind funneled through in a way that made him feel like he was flying faster than he actually was, so he paused for a moment and took it in.

His gaze turned skywards, remembering the late night outings with his mother from his childhood. It was ten months until the U.A entrance exam. Ten months until he entered the school that could morph him into the symbol he desired to be.

“Grandma… I heard you were a hero.” Izuku whispered as he focused on the clear sky above him. “I’m gonna be a hero too, okay? I hope you’re watching over me.”

“Oh you’ll get to meet grandma real soon kid!”

Izuku’s body jolted in fear as a sickly voice broke him out of his trance. He tried to turn around, but was stopped by something grabbing his body whole.

“Don’t struggle kid. You can fly and I’ll need that to escape him!” The sickly voice continued. Glancing down, Izuku could see a green and brown mass holding him in place. An attempt to scream for help was cut off by a tendril grabbing his throat, followed by another wrapping over his mouth and forcing itself down his throat.

‘I’m going to die!’ Izuku tried to use his quirk, but the sludgey mass had far too strong of a grip on him.

“It’ll go down easier if you just give up boy!” Tears welled up in Izuku’s eyes as his lungs began to burn. Black began to creep into his vision, his muscles started to get weaker, and his thoughts began going haywire.

‘A hero! Mom! Kacchan! Anyone!’ His mind cried when his mouth couldn't. ‘Grandma!’

“Have no fear!” A rush of wind and the clanging of metal made the sludge villain turn its eyes in fear.

“I am here!” It was an unmistakable voice, one that put Izuku’s mind at ease, one that signified the arrival of the number one hero of Japan: All Might.

“Oh come o-”

“TEXAS SMASH!” A gale force, one Izuku had never experienced in his life, overtook the underpass and blew the sludge man away, letting Izuku fall to his knees and begin retching. All Might hovered over Izuku’s half-vomiting form and lightly patted his back. “I’m sorry for not arriving sooner, young man. This city’s sewer system is quite difficult to navigate.”

“It’s-huck-it’s okay All Might!” Izuku hammered his fist into his chest to get the feeling of breathing back.

After a minute of silent dry heaves, Izuku was finally able to stand up, which let him see that All Might had already captured the villain in an empty soda bottle. “A-All Might, before you go, this is really important!”

The pro hero turned to face the greenette who reached into his bag. In a flash, All Might was presented with a pen and the open pages of a notebook. “Please sign this! I will turn it into a family heirloom and cherish it forever!”

All Might laughed heartily. “Of course young man! Anything for a fan!” Quickly jotting down his name, he handed the notebook over to the teen who began to bow mechanically, muttering out a number of thanks and appreciative words. “Well, I must be off to deliver this criminal to the police! Justice never rests!”

With that, All Might crouched down and leapt off. If Izuku didn’t have his quirk, he might have been blown away and into the wall of the tunnel, but he kept himself locked in place and watched the retreating form of the number one here with awe.

“So cool…” He muttered. “Wait! The groceries!”

His mother chewed him out when he eventually returned, but coddled him the moment he gave an explanation.

Dagobah Beach Park, once a lovely opening to the vast Pacific Ocean turned into an illegal dumping ground with almost no hope of returning to its former glory.

Almost.

‘Trash is just rubble. I can use it to scope out how much of my quirk to hold in and let go.’ A lone teenage girl with navy blue hair, the center of which was bursting with blonde streaks, stood in front of one of the many piles of discarded items. She took a deep breath in an effort to calm her nerves. ‘I’ve talked myself into doing it here, there’s no use in turning back now.’

She raised her arm, a stunning sight as everything below the elbow was colored a deep inky black. In her mind, she flicked a switch, activating her quirk.

The air began to ripple as the scrap pile was pulled into the vortex originating from her finger. The trash pile had no chance of escape.

This was Anan Kurose. Her quirk? Black Hole.

After just a moment, Anan flicked the mental switch to deactivate her quirk. The pile of trash was gone. Completely eviscerated and ripped from the plane of existence she stood upon.

She never wanted to find out what was on the other side of her quirk.

But completely wiping the pile away wasn’t what she was here to do, so she slumped down into the sand, a metaphorical cloud hanging over her head as she grumbled.

Black Hole was a powerful quirk, one that would garner envious attention from people that didn’t understand her struggles. Having the ability to destroy anything you could ever dream of seemed like the perfect quirk for a hero. One finger pointed in a villain’s direction and they’d flee or surrender.

The problem wasn’t in the heroics, it was outside of the costume. People were scared to get close to Anan Kurose, scared to pass papers back in class, scared to pick up one of her dropped pencils.

Even when she reassured them that she could control her power, they’d still look twice before getting within two meters of her. She’d part the crowds in the hallways whenever she walked to class, she’d always find an empty seat at lunch and she’d always have alone time.

She could never keep a group of friends for long.

Her parents tried everything to help. And their efforts were loved and appreciated, but it didn’t impact her the same because she knew her parents would love her no matter what.

She almost fell into despair, desperate to rid herself of the life her quirk gave her, but she stumbled upon a video while crying in her room.

“He just got here and saved, like, a hundred people!”

“He’s going back for more! Who is this?!”

“Have no fear! I am here!”

All Might’s debut in Japan flipped a switch in her, much like the one she used to mediate her quirk. Wild power like All Might’s wasn’t feared by the masses, it was adored and seen as the pillar that held society up.

Black Hole didn’t have to be feared, it could be loved, and she wanted nothing more than to reach that by saving as many people as she could. The path to becoming a rescue hero started with Anan, which meant training to reign in the near infinite power of Black Hole.

That’s why she was at Dagobah Beach.

Anan stood up as she tried to look for another pile to practice on. Walking near the shore filled her ears with the soft sounds of water lapping at the sand and the occasional crashing of a small wave.

What she didn’t expect was the loud creaking of metal. She looked back towards the garbage piles and spotted a-

“Is that a bus?!” Anan cried out loud. Indeed, her eyes didn’t deceive her. Behind a particularly large mound of trash was the floating frame of a school bus. It seemed training at the beach was a thought shared between her and whoever was making the bus float.

She jogged over and peeked around the corner to spot two figures. There was a brunette girl, about her age, who was currently shoulder pressing the bus, and a gaunt blond man who watched the girl and simply wrote in a notebook, humming to himself every couple of reps.

“Umm, hello!” Her voice caught the two by surprise. The brunette squeaked out in embarrassment and set the bus down before pressing her fingers together. The skinny blond man walked over to greet Anan, who was still quite shocked at seeing a fellow middle schooler lifting a bus.

“Hello there young lady. I hope our training session didn’t bother you.” The blond man spoke in a deep tone that seemed to comfort Anan. “My name is Toshinori Yagi, and that girl over there is my student, Ochako Uraraka.”

“H-hi!” The girl, Uraraka, waved to Anan nervously. She waved back, noticing the pink pads across the brunette's fingers.

“It didn’t bother me, it was just surprising. I very recently decided to train here myself,” Anan pointed to her head, “Great minds think alike y’know! Hehe.” She spotted Uraraka giggling a bit while Yagi chuckled. “Oh I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Anan Kurose.”

Yagi smiled at her and then stuck his hand out. ‘What’s he… Oh. A handshake…’

“S-sorry I don’t really do… handshakes.” Anan said quietly. “So what are you training for?” She asked quickly, trying to change the subject. Yagi just let his hand fall back to his side before gesturing to the clearing they were situated in.

“Well I took young Uraraka here under my wing to help bolster her chances of becoming a hero. What you saw with the bus was a matter of training her quirk and body all at once.” Stars lit up in Anan’s eyes as she walked over to the bus.

“Do you have some sort of super strength?” Anan asked Uraraka, inspecting the bus. Uraraka shook her head and put her hand on the bus.

“I have a touch based quirk that lets me remove the effects of gravity on anything I touch. I call it Zero Gravity.” To demonstrate, she once again started to lift the bus, letting Anan stare in shock.

“W-wow! That’s a really incredible quirk! Are you planning to become a rescue hero?” When Uraraka nodded, Anan couldn’t help but smile. “So am I!”

Uraraka beamed a bright smile before turning to Yagi. “Yagi-sensei, do you think Kurose-kun could join us in training?” Anan looked at the brunette with an astonished look. She had barely met the girl a few minutes ago and wanted her as a training partner. Why was-

‘Oh. I didn’t tell her about my quirk yet. I should probably-’

“Sure.” Yagi agreed, just like that. “I don’t see why not. If Kurose-san here has the drive to do some self training, she could benefit from having a partner.”

“Th-this is really nice bu-”

“Ahh!” Uraraka giggled. “Did you hear that Kurose-kun? We can train to be rescue heroes together! Isn’t that awesome?” Her rambling stopped when she finally took in Anan’s expression. “Kurose-kun?”

Her emotions were showing too much and she realized too late. With a nervous glance, she took a small step back. “It’s not that I don't appreciate the offer, but I should warn you about my quirk first.” Anan felt an increasing pressure on her heart as she raised her hand up, a small shake running through the appendage. “I-it’s called Black Hole. When I activate it, it can destroy anything I’m aiming at. I can also control what part of my hand it comes from.”

She dropped her arm to her side, trying her best to pull her sleeve down to cover her hand. Fear pounded through her nerves, too scared to meet either of Yagi’s or Uraraka’s gazes.

She was used to it. This was just her life after all.

“Wow that's…” Uraraka began to stare, “Really cool!”

“P-pardon?” Anan stuttered.

“That’s a really useful quirk!” Uraraka then gestured to the trash piles around her. “You could clear this beach in a day! Or when you become a hero, you could clear a path to find trapped people with ease!”

A spark of hope, much like the one she felt when she saw All Might’s debut in Japan, began to flicker in her mind. “It doesn’t scare you?”

“Not at all! Actually, I really like space so I think that makes your quirk even cooler!” Uraraka’s response was instant. “And if yer training to be a hero then that means you wanna save lives, so why would I be scared?”

Anan felt like crying, but she didn’t want to do that in front of people she just met. So she settled for a few sniffles and hard blinks before explaining herself. “S-sorry. I was just assuming the worst. I’d really love to train with someone, especially someone as nice as you.”

Uraraka jumped for joy as Yagi approached the two girls. “Well if you’re on board, I’ll have to get a training regimen down for you. It shouldn’t take too long, but when I do get it to you, be prepared for the intensity. We’re aiming for U.A here!” The blond man gave a hearty laugh and the two girls chuckled alongside him

“Shouldn’t you focus on speed? You’re already an expert in micromovements.” Katsuki grunted as he lowered himself from his pull-up bar. To the side, Izuku was simply hovering upside down, lowering himself as close to the ground as he could without touching it.

“I already told you, I tried it once yesterday and then a villain tried to take over my body.” Izuku looked at Bakugo with a smile. “That’s definitely the universe telling me I should wait until U.A to practice my speed.”

“Your superstition is super-stupid.” Katsuki grumbled as he sipped from a water bottle. “No one’s gonna attack you in our backyard! Besides, I’d put 'em down before you even got the chance to move out of the way.”

“Well thank you very much Kacchan.” Izuku said teasingly, causing the explosion user to growl. Izuku simply laughed as he glided across the ground. “Besides, training upside down will be good. I keep telling you, I can help your aerial movement if you just-”

“I’m not letting you hold me mid-air like a damn baby!” Bakugo snarled, face flushed red. “That shit is embarrassing! I’ll just wait till we get to U.A. If you can use that excuse, so can I!” Izuku laughed out loud while Katsuki just grumbled.

After a while, Izuku began to cloud watch while Katsuki kept working out. Izuku was still training considering he was hovering above the Bakugo’s backyard, but it wasn’t as intense as before. He stretched his hand out and sighed, imagining his fingers running through clouds.

“What are you day dreaming about nerd? Pick up the weights already.” Katsuki slammed his dumbbell down to exaggerate his point, but Izuku simply didn’t divert his attention.

“Did you know that direction doesn’t exist in space? It has to do with gravity.” Izuku said in an absentminded tone.

“So?”

Izuku chuckled. “I’m just… When we become heroes, we’ve gotta work really hard to protect everyone. I know you want to be number one, greater than number one, but I want there to be so many good heroes that we can relax and do other things.” Izuku smiled imagining a world like that. “And with my free time, I want to go to space.”

Katsuki rolled his eyes. “Those nights stargazing with Auntie really impacted you huh?” Izuku just laughed again and kept his eyes on the sky.

“She said grandma was out there somewhere. I know she didn’t mean it literally, but I like to think she's in the cosmos, just watching me reach my goals.” Finally, Izuku drifted down to the ground, squatting as he landed. “So what are we working on Kacchan?”

“Fucking finally. We’re benching, by the way.” Katsuki threw Izuku a sweat towel and motioned towards the patio gym.

“You know, if we somehow didn’t get into U.A, we could always be bodybuilders!” Izuku posed and flexed his muscles while smiling, making Bakugo chortle.

“As if U.A would deny us. Now get to it, nerd.” Izuku just rolled his eyes as he gripped the bar.

“Don’t get all chicken shit on me now. Let’s go.” Katsuki shoulder checked Izuku as he walked towards the main entrance of U.A.

“Just a second Kacchan, I just wanna,” Izuku opened his arms as he gazed upon the towering H-shaped building of U.A, “Take it all in.”

Katsuki rolled his eyes as he continued to stride forward, leaving Izuku alone in the middle of the walkway.

Ten months of work led to this day, this moment. So with practiced ease, he finally decided to catch up to Bakugo, hovering his way towards the school…

Only to get flipped around by a protruding brick in the walkway.

Many people watched as Izuku started to spin in midair. He would have stopped it but his previous daydreaming was throwing his senses for a loop.

On the fourth or so spin he felt a pair of hands catch his shoulders, noting that the pinky was lifted away. “Are you okay? Was that someone’s quirk?”

In front of him stood two girls, a brunette and a bluenette, though the blue haired girl had a splash of blonde at the top of her head. “I’m okay! I was spinning because I tripped and I was using my quirk to move around. No one else did this to me if that’s what you’re worried about.”

The blue haired girl looked curious but wasn’t willing to ask anything, while the brunette simply let go of Izuku’s shoulders and nodded. “It’s a bad omen to trip before a big test. Good thing you didn’t.” She took one more glance at the building in front of her before pulling her friend along. “Good luck!”

As they walked off, Izuku decided not to push his luck and stopped hovering, opting to walk like he really should have been.

‘What a nice girl!’ Izuku thought as he entered the halls of U.A. ‘I should have wished her luck too.’

“Yo.” Katsuki gave a two finger salute to Izuku as he entered the auditorium, with Izuku just nodding in response. “Skim the pamphlet. This test is gonna be light work.”

As Izuku took a seat and the lights dimmed, he did as he was told and looked at the pamphlet in front of him. Four types of robots, ranging from one to three points, with the fourth being worth nothing. “So probably an obstacle…” He muttered as he got to the end of the booklet. “Group B. What about you Kacchan?”

Katsuki flipped to the page Izuku was on on his own pamphlet. “Group… D. Damn. I guess I’ll see how fast you can go when we’re in U.A.” Izuku smiled at the confidence in his friend’s tone.

Turning his attention back to the pamphlet, he focused hard on the robot section, even going as far as to tune out Present Mic and a blue haired boy interrupting the presentation. If there was any additional information he needed, Katsuki would tell him. Probably.

Regardless, he was planning. While flying wasn’t a purely offensive quirk like Explosion, True Flight did have some offensive benefits thanks to evolution. When he was younger, Izuku wanted to find a hero with a similar quirk so that he could work off whatever information there was about their quirk. His research led him to Captain Celebrity, as well as his sidekick, The Skycrawler, though he was more similar to the former than the latter.

But he was still fundamentally different. Captain Celebrity went on record before the Sky Egg Incident and divulged a little bit of information on his quirk, stating that it wasn’t just flight, but a power more akin to multi-faceted telekinesis. It provided a barrier that could protect him and people close to him from the wind, as well as super strength and speed.

Izuku might have something similar to that, but to a much lesser extent. He used to be much more impatient about learning his top speed, but without a proper measuring device, he needed someone else to help him. The theory was simple. He’d have Katsuki sit on his back and stick his hand out like he was riding in a car. Then, he’d fly at top speed, or close to it, and have Katsuki compare it the next day on the ride to school.

The execution of it was awful. He never admitted it, but whenever Izuku thought back on it, Katsuki was terrified. But he also admitted that he felt the wind and cold completely, while Izuku didn’t recall anything, so at the very least, he had a barrier for himself.

The other facet of True Flight was his body. He’s been training at the Bakugo residence for years now, so he was quite strong for a teenage boy, but it was amplified whenever he used his quirk. It wasn’t super strength, but his body became more durable while it was active, meaning, hypothetically, he could use his speed, momentum, and weight against villains if he trained properly.

With everything he knew about his quirk, he kept planning, even as his group departed for their test site. He’d test his cannonball theory, but if it didn’t work, his next best option was to grab the robots by the head and just pull himself upwards, effectively beheading the robots. Mechanical gore, how fun.

Stepping off the bus, Izuku took a quick look around at the people in his group. Everyone had a method for quelling their nerves. Stretching, jumping in place, writing in their hand, counting, but Izuku simply looked upwards like he always did.

A silent, unanswered prayer spoke through his heart.

“AND GO!”

Izuku jumped at the sudden announcement, as well as almost everyone else. Up ahead, the gates to the city were open, and two people had gotten the jump on the exam.

“Those girls have the right idea! There’s no countdown in real life, get a move on!” Finally catching on, the crowd began to rush onward, leaving Izuku behind.

But that was fine, he didn’t need to run forward.

‘Time to spread my wings.’ Izuku thought happily as his feet lifted off the ground. It was a slow rise, dramatic to anyone spectating him, but he did it to truly cement in his mind the freedom he was being granted in the moment.

Finally, having risen just above the highest building in the faux city that he could see, Izuku leaned forward and started to fly forward, soaring over the main street and the crowd that had formed on it.

“What the heck?!”

“That guy’s flying!”

“Not fair!”

Shouts of jealousy rose from those stuck on the ground, but Izuku didn’t focus on them. Instead he focused on his feelings. The elation and freedom were prominent on the pure emotional side, but on the physical side, he could nix the possibility of a barrier being a part of his quirk, because the feeling of the wind running through his hair and pushing on his skin was as addicting as it was real.

He almost forgot what he was doing. Flying like this was so alleviating, but he needed to pass the exam if he wanted to do it more. With his earlier theories in mind, he dove down and spotted a one point robot. Hyping himself up, he leveled himself out and charged ahead, arms crossed to take the brunt of the impact.

Crunch!

He had closed his eyes just before impact, but when he opened them he was covered in the wiry innards of the robot. Looking back, he saw a hole in its chest, a very rough outline of his body. He paused in the middle of the air and turned back to inspect the damage, before looking at himself.

Not a scratch. Not even a drop of oil.

Izuku’s face gained a confident smirk. He now knew his body could be used as a weapon, a fleshy bullet of kinetic energy fully under his control. A chuckle escaped his lips as he began to day dream about his future. “Operation Cannonball is a go.”

“Three minutes remaining!”

Another group of robots were obliterated as Anan ran towards the main street. She had split off from Ochako at the start, the brunette proposing a challenge between the two to see who could rack up the most points.

If this was the same Uraraka she had met ten months ago, she would be confident in beating her, but the Ochako she knew today was a vastly different girl.

When she met the excitable girl from Mie, who had accepted Anan into her life without hesitation, she didn’t realize she was also looking at the successor to the number one hero, All Might. She also didn’t expect All Might, her greatest inspiration for becoming a hero, was actually the two girls' personal trainer.

Anan had to flip a coin in her head on whether she wanted to strangle Ochako from keeping this news from her, or fainting on the spot knowing she was training under All Might. Given that Uraraka was still alive, the choice was pretty obvious.

Of the hundreds of mangled robot corpses she saw, she could easily deduce which ones were Ochakos, given that they looked like metal pancakes, a feat only achievable due to the girl's quirk evolution.

There was another set of robots that all had similar holes punched in their center mass. She could connect those to the green haired flying boy she and Ochako had seen at the front gate, given that she had also seen it happen once as she was approaching a few stray three pointers.

With somewhere upwards of 50 points under her belt, she felt confident about passing. She also felt she would match up decently well against her friend, but she also wanted to push herself and surpass the successor of All Might.

She would have found more points breaking off of the main road, if the behemoth zero pointer hadn’t shown up.

“What the hell is that?!” She shrieked. A few examinees ran past her in fear, and she was about to join them. No competition with Ochako was worth great bodily harm.

But her eyes caught a blur of green. Green that was many shades lighter than the washed out metal of the zero pointer. In the midst of the chaos it was causing, it knocked over a building, and the blur of green she recognized to be the flying boy from the entrance was caught in its wake.

A dust cloud swarmed her position, but she activated a finger’s worth of her quirk to keep herself from looking away. She wanted to, desperately, but she needed to see if the boy was okay.

The zero pointer began destroying things behind it, seemingly satisfied with the destruction it wrought. She ran forward, ready to clear the debris in her way. This was what All Might trained her for.

‘Disaster mode. Disaster mode!’ She repeated in her head as she got to the pile of rubble. Slowly, she began to suck away the large chunks of concrete, her eyes scanning wildly for any green.

Luckily she didn’t need to look far, as a pile of debris began to move on its own. “Hey!” She shouted. “Can you move?!”

The boy’s hand rose from the pile and began to swing around, trying to grab anything. ‘He might be suffocating. Clear the debris around before moving anything off of him!’ She got to work, opening a clearing so that no extra debris could rain down on her as she tried to rescue the boy.

“Two minutes remaining!”

The ground began to shake, which made her blood feel cold. She glanced back in the direction of the zero pointer and saw that it was heading right down the main street.

And she was in the way.

Throwing caution to the wind, she began to rapidly remove debris from the pinned boy. One last piece freed his upper body from being pinned, but her eyes widened at the state he was in. A large amount of blood was dripping off of his face, and his tracksuit top was shredded, along with his upper torso.

“Can you see me?” She tried to quell the panic in her voice, but she needed to get him out of here. She removed another bit of concrete and freed his legs, revealing a broken or twisted ankle. “I’m gonna try to carry you okay?”

His head moved, which Anan took as acknowledgement of her existence. She grabbed his arm and slung it over her shoulder, pushing his body against her, and pushed the two of them up. She didn’t have time to accommodate his leg as the zero pointer was basically breathing down their necks.

“One minute!”

Her pace was steady. All she had to do was outwalk the robot that completely towered over the city, while carrying an injured person. This is what she trained for, this is-

Crack! Crunch!

Loose rocks pelted the back of her head, nearly tripping her as she attempted to jog away. They wouldn’t make it. The two of them would die without ever knowing each other's names, without ever reaching the dream they were here for.

She took one last look upwards, towards the main gate, expected to see everyone running or pointing a finger at the two goners.

Instead she saw an aurora of pink take to the air, a crater forming where it rose from, and it was aiming right at the zero pointer’s h-

BOOM!

The treads that threatened to crush them were lifted into the air from the impact, falling away from them. Her gaze went upwards more, to look at their savior.

Gone was the pink glow, replaced by the familiar form of her best friend, her arm curled around her body, free of the sleeve of her own tracksuit. Half of her pants were missing from the knee down, and her legs looked like pool noodles.

“Ochako…” Anan whispered as her friend was suspended in mid-air. What did she do? Was that another part of her quirk evolution? She was no analyst, but power like that couldn’t be the result of a mere evolution.

But these were questions for later, because while Anan was busy staring, Ochako started to fall down, and she looked like she was panicking.

“Ochako!” Anan cried out. Darting her eyes left and right, she tried to look for anything to help catch her friend. A mattress, a trampoline, anything would suffice. The height she was falling from would be fatal.

She didn’t want her friend to die for her, just because she couldn’t save herself.

And it seemed the boy she propped against her shoulder had the same idea.

In the midst of her panic his head turned upwards. Realization pulsed in his brain as his quirk activated. In a flash, he moved away from Anan and caught up with the falling Ochako. Even while half conscious and bleeding, he knew how to save someone from a fall correctly.

Following Ochako’s momentum for a moment, he gently wrapped his arms around the girl's shoulders before slowing their descent. Anan let out a sound somewhere between a sob and a sigh before she fell on her rear, relief washing over her.

The two made it down safely, but the flying boy didn’t account for his injured ankle. So, their landing was a tumble.

“Ack!” Instantly, he crumpled, falling on his back as he passed out again.

“Eep!” Ochako followed him, her injuries, upon closer inspection, being far worse than Anan had initially realized. She landed across his chest, causing him to grunt in his sleep. “A-Anan. Are you okay?”

Anan wanted to smack Ochako silly. “What the hell- Am I okay?! Your arm and legs are broken! What was that?!”

Adrenaline was still running through Ochako’s veins, so she didn’t really register the pain as she looked at the offending appendages. “Mmmm… quirk stuff.”

“No.” Anan put a verbal foot down. “That wasn’t just ‘quirk stuff,’ that was entirely different from Gravity Control. Is this some secret technique Yagi-sensei taught you?”

Ochako stayed quiet for a moment but just shook her head. “I promise it’s wacky quirk stuff. I- OH GOD!” Anan jumped a bit at the sudden shout. It seemed that the adrenaline had worn off, causing Ochako to feel the pain of her injuries.

“Oh my. Quite the injuries you lot have racked up.” Anan turned to see an elderly woman approach the three teens. “Well, those two. You look just fine dearie. Have some candy!” The lady dropped a few gummies in Anan’s hand before turning to Ochako and the boy.

“Ochako has a broken arm and two broken legs. The boy might have a concussion and a broken or twisted ankle. His head was also bleeding a lot.” Anan informed the woman, who turned back to her and smiled.

“Thank you dear. I’ll get them fixed up for now so that my robots can bring them to the medical ward. If you’d like to see them, you can follow me.” Anan simply nodded and watched the woman… Kiss the two teens on their forehead? Wait-

“Oh! You’re The Youthful Heroine: Recovery Girl!” Anan said excitedly. Recovery Girl giggled as a squadron of robots began to load Ochako and the boy onto cots.

“Indeed I am. It’s nice to know I have a fan so past my prime.” The pair began to walk through the main street of the exam site. Anan would ask a few questions about the elderly hero's capabilities, but most of the walk was spent in silence.

She was confident she’d make it in, she was confident that Ochako would make it in, but she began to think about the boy she saved, who also happened to save Ochako.

Other than worrying for his general wellbeing, she was worried that he wouldn’t make it into U.A, worried she’d never be able to thank him for saving her first friend in a long time.

If he was kind enough to save someone on the brink of his own collapse, maybe she could make a second friend.

Hopefully…