"And today that's what happened to the both of you." He continued as both teens started crying tears of joy. "Young man, you too can be a hero." He told Midoriya
"...See Izuku, I was right. All Might was wrong." Arthur said as he cried seeing his best friend get to hear the words he needed to hear from his idol.
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-No One's POV-
As Midoriya sat on his hands and knees taking in what his hero said with his best friend giving him his support, All Might continued.
"I deem you worthy of my power, my quirk is yours to inherit." All Might said and after a moment both boys looked at him confused.
"Huh?/Come again?" Midoriya and Arthur asked respectively with blank faces.
"Wait what do you mean inherit? Inherit what?" Midoriya asked further while cleaning the tears from his face. All Might just laughed at the boys' faces getting a kick out of their confusion.
"You should see your guys' faces right now. Don't worry I'm not gonna force this thing on you." All Might said as he walked closer to the boys. "Listen well young man, this is your choice. Do you want to accept my awesome power or not-BLARGH" He tried to ask Midoriya as he threw up more blood because he got too intense with it. As Midoriya was still confused as to what All Might was going on about, Arthur was getting concerned about the amount of blood All Might had spit up today. "There are a couple things you should know about my abilities." He said, getting the pair's attention again. "Journalists always try to guess my quirk is super strength or some kind of invulnerability. When people ask in interviews I always divert it with a joke and dodge the question. It's because the world needs to believe their symbol of peace is a natural born hero, but I'm not. There's nothing natural about my ability." He paused to let this info sink in. "You see I wasn't born with this amazing power. It is a sacred torch passed on to me from another person." He explained as he held out his hands dramatically.
"Someone gave you your quirk. That's not possible, is it?" Arthur asked thinking about the possibilities that could mean.
"Yes it is possible, young man and your friend is next. I can give you my abilities." All Might told Arthur as he finished his sentence looking to Midoriya.
"Hold on, this is a lot to process." Midoriya said interrupting All Might. "It's true there is a lot of debate on what your quirk actually is, but no one has ever figured it out. It's one of the world's greatest mysteries, people are constantly talking about it online and--" His explanation turned into rambles as he lost his train of thought as All Might began to become concerned, but Arthur looked to be treating it like a normal thing that happens.
"I think you're overthinking this whole inheriting thing!" All Might said in a deadpan tone.
"Do you want me to do the honors?" Arthur asks, checking his phone as All Might nodded. Arthur then puts his phone away and cleared his throat. "QUIT NERDING OUT, FANBOY!" He yelled right into Midoriya's ear causing him to fall over on his ass.
"Thank you my boy. Now you have to expand your reality and accept this new truth, I can transfer my quirk to someone else and that's just one fact of my secret abilities. The true name of my power is One For All." All Might said as he held out his hand.
"One For All?" Midoriya repeated.
"Yes, one person improves the power and hands it off to another person, then it continues to grow as it passes along. It is this power that allows me to save those in need of a hero. This is the truth of my strength. I have had a handful of confidants that know the truth of One For All that is why I've told you both because of the bond I have seen you two share, but make no mistake this is a heavily guarded secret that must never be made public." All Might further elaborated.
"But why would you choose to give me a gift like that? What if I can't live up to it...?" Midoriya asked, doubting himself.
"I was on a long hunt for a worthy successor and then I watched you two jump into action as the rest of us stood idly by. Your friend here may have jumped in at the same time, but you did not hesitate even though you do not have a quirk. You acted like a true hero." All Might told Midoriya as he praised him, making him cry even more.
"Buddy, you've gotta stop crying so much if you're gonna be a hero." Arthur said in a flat tone, earning an agreeing chuckle from All Might.
"He's right my boy, if you're going to get my quirk you should get that under control." All Might said joining Arthur in bagging on the greenette as he cleaned his tears.
"...Okay. I'll do it!" Midoriya said standing up with a new found confidence on his face.
"No reluctance, that's exactly how I figured you'd respond." All Might said with a smirk. A look of realization crossed All Might's face as he slapped his forehead. "I can't believe it almost slipped my mind. What are your boys' names?" he asked with a sweat drop on his head. Both boys straightened up to answer.
"My name is Izuku Midoriya, sir!" Midoriya said with a nervous smile and a bow.
"Arthur, Arthur Carnell, pleasure is mine." Arthur said stepping forward holding his hand out for a handshake. All Might was stunned for a second taken aback by the name.
"Carnell, there's no way. Is he? No it must be a coincidence." All Might shook the thought from his head taking the boy's hand. "If I may ask Young Carnell why do you want to be a hero?" All Might asked the young man. Arthur stopped smiling and looked at the ground before looking back up with a look of deep depression, then answered.
"...When I was younger I was in an accident that could have been stopped easily if a hero was there..." Arthur paused before continuing, causing Midoriya to look at him with concern because he knew what he was talking about. Midoriya is one of very few people that knows even a little of what happened to him in the past.
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Flashback 11 years ago
Manhattan, New York
A young Arthur comes running into his father's office, his short dark blond hair a mess and a shine in his striking sapphire blue eyes.
"Dad, the nice flower lady downstairs told me about a nature show in the park today! Can we go, please? PLEASE!?!" Arthur begged while putting the flyer in his father's, Mirai Carnell, face.
Mirai was an above average height man with cleanly cut and styled black hair and grey eyes. He had average muscle mass for a man his age. He was a reporter that specialized in articles about the local heroes. Mirai loved heroes and what they do, he would love to be one as well if he wasn't quirkless.
"Can it wait bud, I have to make this deadli-" Mirai began to say as he looked down at Arthur and saw the look. He could never say no to it. The boy's mother gave him the exact same look whenever she wanted something. He may be quirkless, but that face was his biggest weakness. "*sign* Okay buddy, we can go. Just run and get ready while I wrap up what I'm doing." Arthur threw his hands over his head in joy after hearing this.
"Yay! Dad's the best!" Arthur yelled as he ran to his bedroom. The room was covered wall to wall in both posters of Pro Heroes and hand drawn diagrams of plants; he had traced them from the books his father gave him for his fifth birthday last year. His birthday was coming up so he was excited because he was still waiting almost a whole year to get his quirk. He didn't know what he'd get because his father didn't have one and his father never talked much about the his mother much, but Arthur did know she was a pro hero.
Arthur came running out of his room while trying to put his shoes on and tripped at his father's feet. Mirai laughed and looked down at the little ball of energy, raising an eyebrow.
"Do you need some help down there?" he asked and without saying anything Arthur put his feet in the air while sitting on his back with an innocent smile on his face waiting for his shoes to be tied. Soon enough they were on their way to the park around noon to see the show that started soon.
"Faster or we're gonna miss it!" Arthur whined on top of his father's shoulders because his legs got tired a block away from the apartment building. Mirai laughed before picking up speed making the boy yell in excitement. "CHARGE!" They both yelled into the wind while earning strange looks from people on the busy streets of Manhattan.
They made it to the park just in time and enjoyed the plants and animals that were shown off. Arthur got a rhinoceros shaped balloon from one of the vendors. The smile on his son's face was worth more than anything money could buy to Mirai, even if he had to pull another all-nighter. Soon the event ended and the sun was beginning to set over the city skyline. The day would be in Arthur's memory forever, but sadly not for the reason he first thought.
As Mirai and Arthur rounded the corner holding hands, with Arthur's rhino balloon tied to his wrist, Mirai noticed someone behind them. Becoming curious Mirai looked at Arthur and talked to the boy while observing the stranger. The man had on fitted jeans, worn tennis shoes, and a dark red pullover with holes around the bottom and a faded brand logo on the front. He had his hands in his pockets with his face covered by the hood and walked at the same pace as the father and son.
Hastening their pace Mirai noticed the man speed up as well. Hardening his resolve and the hand around his belt Mirai moved Arthur in front of him quickly and abruptly stopped. The hooded man stopped on a dime as well and jumped a little. Mirai turned around keeping Arthur behind him as he held him back a little. Mirai looked straight at the stranger with his calm demeanor never leaving him.
"We don't want any trouble, just on the way home from the park." Mirai said in a low demanding voice.
"Hey, I-I was just wondering if you could spare some c-change. Ya see I got l-locked outta my place and I need some fare for the s-subway." The stranger coolly hissed after scratching his arm and taking a step toward the pair. Mirai lightly pushed Arthur back and stepped backwards as well.
"D-Dad?" Arthur asked nervously looking up at his father.
"Sorry sir, but I don't have any cash on me." Mirai answered quickly.
"Aw come on, a w-well off g-guy like you has to have some chump change on him." The stranger slurred out taking another step. Mirai pulled out the pistol he had concealed on his waist. Journalism is a dangerous job now-a-days with all the unstable people with quirks around and for someone without one he needed some way to protect himself and his son.
"That's close enough." Mirai said as he aimed with one hand and dialed the police with the other behind his back. Arthur was clinging to his father's leg too scared to move.
The stranger growled and ran faster then Mirai could follow. The man's hood fell down to reveal very angular catlike features. He had bright yellow bloodshot eyes and stripes running down his back and forearms. He swung his clawed hands at the gun to bat it away as it fired off a shoot and missed. The stranger, startled by the shot, tripped and fell into a pile of trash on the side of the road and Mirai dropped the phone as he fell backward from the sudden attack, knocking Arthur down as well.
"Arthur! Go hide!" Mirai shouted to his son. Arthur scrambled up and hid behind a parked car a few yards away. The man, no older than 20, trudged out of the trash and saw the phone dialed to the police and began to panic. He charged at Mirai and took swing after frantic swing. Mirai tried to dodge or block the attacks, but found many of the hits landing their mark leaving deep bleeding cuts in his arms and shoulders as Mirai was not trained in combat.
As a swipe got Mirai in the side of the face and the neck the sound of sirens and flashing lights neared the corner the two stopped to looked at the coming law enforcement. While the attacker was distracted Mirai dove for the gun on the round and tried to steady his aim with difficulty because of loss of blood and waning vision. The attacker seeing this, picked up the heavier pieces of trash at his feet and threw them at Mirai. A small chunk of brick from the scattered trash hit Mirai in the head.
As he staggered from the hit the stranger took the opportunity to close the distance and tackle Mirai to the ground. The stranger brought his claws up to rip out Mirai's throat, but was stopped as the brick he threw earlier hit him in the side of the head. He whipped his head to see a shaking Arthur standing there.
"G-Get o-off of my d-dad!" Arthur choked out, close to tears.
"Why you littl--!" he was interrupted by another gunshot sounding off. Looking down the attacker saw a bleeding hole in his shirt, the attacker clutched his chest as Mirai pushed him off and crawled to his hands and knees, taking very shallow breaths. Arthur ran up to his father and kneeled next to him with tears falling from his eyes.
"Are you okay A-Arthur, you're not hurt are you?" Mirai asked breathlessly with a smile on his face. The boy hugged his father and quickly shook his head into his father's chest. Mirai chuckled heartily and gave a huge smile.
"W-Why are you smiling, y-you're hurt!" Arthur cried out looking up at his father.
"How could I not smile when I know you're okay?" Mirai said as his voice was getting quieter. "Remember Arthur, no matter how scary things get, give the world a smile, as if to say, "I'm a-ok". The people in this world...who can smile are always...the strongest..." Mirai's voice trailed off as an unbearable silence befell the scene.
"D-Dad?" Arthur quietly asked, to receive no response other then his father's grip loosening and his body fall forward onto the ground.
The shocked child didn't even register the police and heroes finally showing up, albeit far too late to save anyone. When the heroes tried to walk up to the young boy he leaned forward on his hands as the ground began to shake lightly at first. As the boy's cry began to turn to screaming the shaking turned into a full tremor and the memory fades to white.
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"Arthur..." Midoriya said in a concerned tone.
"...And that's why I want to be the hero that everyone can depend on. The hero that no matter what, everyone knows will help! That's the hero I want to be!" Arthur said looking up at All Might with a look of utter determination, a very familiar smile on his face, and tears in his eyes. All Might was shocked by who the boys father was, before his face changed to a sad smile.
"He really is your son isn't he Mirai. He's grown quite a lot hasn't he." All Might thought fondly to himself. "It's a pleasure to meet you both!" He said, giving the boys his classic smile.
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Timeskip
Two days later in the early morning the three were at Dagoba Municipal Beach in workout clothes. Midoriya was pulling a refrigerator with All Might, in his muscle form, sitting on top and Arthur laying next to him trying to go back to sleep, but failing due to Midoriya's wailing.
"Hey hey hey. It's pretty comfy up here don't you agree Young Carnell?!" All Might shouted, startling the boy awake.
"Huh? We move yet?" Arthur asked groggily before sitting up. Midoriya struggled to pull to the refrigerator and fell in an effort to do so.
"People move these everyday, you know? And they don't even have super strength." All Might said to Midoriya looking around at the beach.
"Well yeah, but there is an extra 800 plus pounds with you guys up there." Midoriya said looking up at the heavy set pair.
"Ehh, I've lost weight, so I'm down to 560 these days, in this form at least..." All Might said acting like that is being 7'3" and 560 pounds is completely normal.
"204 over here, so he's not that far off." Arthur said, laying back down whilst raising his hand like he's in class as he spoke.
"Great, much better..." Midoriya said sarcastically while looking around.
"*groan* Why do you have him dragging trash around the beach at the break of dawn anyway?" Arthur asked sounding irritated, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
"Take a look at him, he's not ready to inherit my power!" All Might said, taking pictures of Midoriya's rather pathetic state.
"I'd actually have to agree with the big guy Izuku, you could stand some more meat on your bones." Arthur agreed, also taking pictures to drive the point home.
"But I thought you said I was worthy?!" Midoriya cried while going into a depressed state thinking he'd been tricked.
"I'm talking about your weak body." All Might said walking up to the overly emotional boy. "My quirk One For All is a lot to handle. The power of everyone who's ever used it makes a hurricane of power, an unready body can't fully inherit it. Your arms and legs will shoot off if you try!" He explained surprising the boys with the very important detail he failed to mention.
"Woah Woah Woah! Timeout!" Arthur said waving his hands like a referee. "You never said anything about that!" He yelled sounding concerned.
"Did I not? Oops..." All Might said as he shrugged his shoulders, stunning Arthur with his carelessness.
"Okay so this whole trash thing is some kind of hardcore workout and you're like my trainer?" Midoriya asked, looking up at All Might.
"That's correct and there's another reason too." All Might said giving a thumbs up and turning away. "I did a little online research yesterday. Apparently this part of the beach used to be beautiful, but it's been a total mess the last few years." He informed the boys while tapping the refrigerator and denting it, scaring Arthur and causing him to look at the dent in awe because of how it folded like paper from All Might just tapping it.
"That's right, because of the ocean currents anything that's dropped in the water ends up here. People take advantage of that when illegally dumping their garbage. Now the locals avoid this place." Midoriya said standing up and looking around at the makeshift junk yard.
"I mean can you blame them, look at this shit heap." Arthur said gesturing to the piles of garbage.
"Hero's these days are all about showing off and capturing flashy villains. Before quirks, service is what mattered. Back then heroes were those who helped the community even if it was kinda boring." All Might said while reaching up and crushing the refrigerator with enough force to blow away the wall of trash behind him "Oh apologies Young Carnell." He apologized to the boy who was blown down.
"That's nice and all, but what does all that have to do with ME being out here this early?" Arthur asked standing up and dusting himself off then looking around with his hand blocking the sun from his eyes.
"Moral support for Young Midoriya of course! And don't you want to be trained by the number one hero, too? Plus I had hoped training you for free would convince you to keep your mouth shut about me." All Might said with a raised eyebrow.
"As long as you help Izuku that's all I'm concerned about and of course I'd loved to be trained by you, but why this early?" Arthur asked, wanting to get back to sleep more than anything.
"The early bird gets the worm!" All Might replied with far too much enthusiasm for that early in the morning. "Now you two will restore this section of the beach. That is the first step, young men, toward being heros." He said with his back to the sun dramatically silhouetting him.
"A-all this but there's so much, that's impossible!" Midoriya said, getting rightfully nervous.
"You're shitting me." Arthur deadpanned wishing he ignored Midoriya's text this morning.
"Young Midoriya you want to go to UA don't you?" All Might asked, reminding the boy of his dream.
"Well yeah you went there so it must be the best school around right? It's a long shot, but I'm gonna shoot for the moon." Midoriya said with a spark of determination.
"You got a lot of spirit fanboy, but as I mentioned before, hero business isn't easy to do without a quirk. It's not fair, but that's the reality. And UA is the hardest hero course to get into." All Might explained.
"Then he'll have to prepare his body for All For One fast because the entrance exam is in like 10 months." Arthur said, understanding what All Might was getting at as he pulled out two packets of paper.
"Not to worry my boys, I've got you covered with my aim to pass American dream plan!" All Might said as he gave both boys a packet. Each sheet was a detailed workout and dietary schedule. "Follow these to the letter and the beach should be cleaned up just in time." he finished
"He even scheduled when we sleep, what the hell?" Arthur mumbled to himself. "Hey All Might, how did you get the info on me to make my sheet?" He asked, weirded out by the amount of detail in his schedule.
"Why young Midoriya of course!" All Might replied.
"And how, pray tell, do you know this stuff?" Arthur asked while side eyeing his friend with a tone of suspicion in his voice.
"W-well you a-are pretty e-easy to r-read." Midoriya answered shying away from Arthur's gaze.
"Well why did you tell him?!" Arthur demanded, pointing his thumb at All Might who just waved as a response.
"I couldn't just say no when he asked, could I?" Midoriya said while turning his head and scratching his cheek. All Arthur could do was sigh and accept it now.
"I won't lie, this will be very hard. Especially to you Young Midoriya, all I did for Young Carnell was slightly alter his day to day, are you sure you're up to it?" All Might asked in Midoriya's ear as if there were other people around.
"Y-yeah sure after all I have to work way harder than anyone else to get in, so what choice do I have right?" Midoriya said, sounding like he was trying to convince himself more than anyone.
It was then that they started the "Extreme Small Might to All Might Regiment from Hell" program. Each day they would work on different muscle groups by moving different types of trash around the beach. While Midoriya was solely working on his body, Arthur was working more on his quirk because over the years he had not trained with it as much as he could have so it has become underdeveloped in some areas. All Might would have him pick up large boulders on the beach and use them to crush the trash Midoriya moved to compact it. The boys would train before and after school, even on weekends causing them to have to focus to stay awake in class. The taller of the two failed miserably at this, but that is not the workout's fault. The only thing that kept him awake was the annoying sound of Midoriya's constant muttering trying to figure out his schedule. All Might would teach them better techniques for workouts and push the boys to their hardest. It was grueling, especially on days when Arthur wouldn't wake up so Midoriya would have to carry him to the beach in the morning.
When Midoriya had shown the dietary change to his mother he told her Arthur had one similar, so she insisted on making his as well much to Arthur's behest. Inko knew of Arthur's living arrangement of living alone from his aunt. His aunt who was very busy with work would not see him for months on end except on video calls now and then paid for the apartment so he could focus on going to school. Inko felt sorry for the boy so she invited him for meals most nights and acted like a mother for him should the need arise, he won't say it but he greatly appreciates what she does for him.
There were days Arthur had to carry Midoriya home because he would be too weak to move. Then some days All Might would have to carry both boys in his muscle form. Whether it was in pouring rain or not they still trained on the beach.
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One day they were jogging on a path with Midoriya holding a safe and Arthur carrying a mini fridge he had found in the trash while All Might rode a Segway. As they were jogging Midoriya was struggling and dropped causing both Arthur and All Might to stop.
"Dude are you okay?!" Arthur said dropping the mini fridge, almost hitting All Might.
"Hey hey look alive now, you only got three months left. Are you going to give up after all this work?" All Might said trying to get the boy to pick himself up. As Midoriya struggled to even move, All Might realized what was wrong. "...You're overworked." He stated in a disappointed tone. "Your plan was made with your body in mind, it was fine tuned to make sure your progress was swift and manageable. Which means you haven't been sticking to it. You're overdoing things that's going to have the opposite effect of what we want!" He said accusingly to Midoriya.
"...I have to work harder or else I won't hold a candle to the other applicants...I don't just want to go to UA, I want to excel! I want to be like you! I want to be the greatest hero in the world, so I'll keep on trying until I've got what it takes to do that!" Midoriya exclaimed with determination on his face. All Might looked down at Midoriya as he turned into his muscle form.
"You got spirit, that's what I like about you fanboy, it'll serve you well. That said now's not the time to go and rush progress. Fear not I can get you back on track!" All Might said as he picked up the downed boy. "Leave it to this old man to adjust your plan." All Might said carrying Midoriya as Arthur shrugged and grabbed both the dropped items and followed behind them on All Might's Segway after doing a few spins.
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On the morning of the exam Arthur woke up, got ready and walked up a floor in their apartment building to get Midoriya. When he knocked on the door Inko answered.
"Good morning Mrs. Midoriya, is Izuku up yet?" Arthur asked the older greenette.
"Good morning Arthur, Izuku left in a hurry earlier. I thought he would have woken you up. Would you like breakfast before you meet up with him?" She asked with a smile on her face making Arthur's smile widen.
"No thank you ma'am I already grabbed a quick breakfast. I'll see you later!" Arthur said holding the banana he grabbed from the counter and running off.
"Those two..." Inko said to herself shaking her head as she closed the door.
Arthur made it to the beach at the same time as All Might, but before they could exchange hellos they heard someone yelling. They both looked up at Midoriya standing on top of the garbage that they had piled up for ten months letting out a scream of victory towards the ocean. Midoriya had cleaned the last of the beach on his own and neither All Might or Arthur could be more proud of him.
"Oh my...oh my...GOODNESS!" All Might shouted as he turned into his muscle form. Midoriya had begun to fall as Arthur dove to catch him before he ate the sand. "Excellent work." He said as he walked up to the boys.
"I did it...I finished everything All Might... Do you think I'm ready now...?" Midoriya asked near exhaustion.
"Not like I helped at all huh?" Arthur said with a smirk on his face.
"You did good boys I'm impressed, I knew you had it in you but this is beyond." All Might said while digging for his phone as Arthur put Midoriya down. "Look at this." He said as he held up the picture he took before the training showing Midoriya the progress he had made. "It's you crying ten months ago." He said as if it wasn't obvious. "Look how far you two have come." All Might said gesturing to the boys.
It's true that Arthur had built some more definition to his muscles, but the far more obvious improvement was how ripped Midoriya had become in just ten months.
"Such improvement! There's still a long road ahead of you before you can inherit the full range of my power, but it's starting to look like you can do it." All Might said to Midoriya.
"...All Might, do I really deserve this?" Midoriya asked, looking down at his hands.
"Hell yeah, you do! I can't think of anyone else who does more!" Arthur said with a closed eye smile patting his friend on the back.
"He's right Young Midoriya. It was your hard work that did this." All Might agreed. "Now for your reward, Izuku Midoriya." He said, getting both boys attention. "Someone told me this once. There's a difference between being lucky and deserving, one's an action and the other a reward. Never get the two confused. Take that to heart young men." He said addressing both boys. "This gift, you earned it with your own valiant effort." All Might said as he held out a piece of his hair. "Eat this!" He said, earning blank stares from the boys. Arthur recovered first and started laughing hysterically. "To inherit my quirk you have to ingest my DNA. That's how it works!" All Might explained not fixing his case.
"That's not how I imagined it happening!" Midoriya cried as Arthur laughed harder.
"Come on just do it or you'll be late for the exam! EAT EAT EAT!" All Might yelled as he force fed Midoriya the hair, making Arthur hunch over from laughter.
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After the boys rush to the exam at the UA campus, they stop out front to catch their breath.
"We made it just in time." Midoriya said, a little breathless.
"Maybe if you ate the hair faster we'd have been here sooner." Arthur said in a teasing voice.
"Please don't remind me." Midoriya said looking pale as they walked through the gates.
"Stupid Deku." Bakugo said walking up behind them.
"Kachan!?" Midoriya yelped as he turned around to the pissy hedgehog.
"Get out of my way now before I set you on fire." Bakugo threatened.
"Ohheygoodmorninglet'sdoourbestoutthereokaygoodluck!" Midoriya said all in one breath as Bakugo passed him only to be blocked by Arthur who looked down at the ash haired maniac.
"Well...?" Arthur said as he stood there with his arms crossed. Bakugo clicked his tongue and walked around him.
"I don't have time for this." Bakugo said, walking away. As he walked Arthur heard whispers about the sludge villain incident from the other examinees. Ever since that day Bakugo had been less of a dickhead, but how long would that last.
"I guess I was just scared out of habit." Midoriya said to himself.
"That's just pathetic, man." Arthur said turning to Midoriya making him sweat drop.
"That doesn't matter thanks to All Might, I'm actually going to be a hero." Midoriya said with new found confidence. Then he tripped on his own feet and was going to bite it. Before he hit the ground face first a nice looking girl with brown hair in a bob cut style and rosy cheeks stopped him from falling midair by making him float. As Midoriya began to panic she giggled.
"Are you okay?" She asked sweetly. As Midoriya stopped panicking she set him upright and touched her hands together. "I stopped you with my quirk. I'm sorry I didn't ask first, but I figured you wouldn't mind me catching you." She said with a cheery smile. "Isn't this all like nerve racking?" She asked as Midoriya stared at her with a blush on his face and began to stutter. "Well guess I'll see you guys inside." She said with a wave as she ran inside. Midoriya stared blankly ahead before he got the dumbest look on his face.
"I just talked to a girl!" Midoriya said loud enough for only Arthur to hear.
"Sure you did champ, let me know when the wedding is." Arthur said, patting Midoriya's shoulder and walking into the building.
Inside they sat down in the orientation hall for the hero course examinations according to their student number after picking up a hand out from a person at the door. Arthur sat to the left of Midoriya while Bakugo sat to the right. Soon a man walked onto the stage. His outfit consisted of a black jacket with a very tall collar, upturned and complete with studs, and matching black pants and knee-high boots. He sported tan shoulder pads and a red belt and elbow pads, all studded, and black fingerless gloves. His neck was obscured by a directional speaker. He was wearing a pair of headphones with the word "HAGE" written on the headband, and a pair of orange-tinted shades. It was the Voice Hero: Present Mic.
"What's up UA candidates thanks for tuning in to me your school DJ. Come on and let me hear ya!" Present Mic yelled to the crowd, only to get no response. "Keepin' it mellow huh? That fine I'll skip straight to the main show. Let's talk about how this practical is gonna go down, okay? Are you ready?!" He asked the crowd again, getting no response.
"Oh my goodness, it's the voice hero Present Mic! I listen to his radio show every day of the week!" Midoriya said as he fanboyed over the hero.
"Will you shut up?" Bakugo rudely interrupted.
"I knew I heard that annoying voice somewhere before..." Arthur mumbled getting a chuckle from Bakugo.
"Like your application said, you delightful boys and girls will be competing in mach battles in suburban settings. After I drop the mic here you'll head to your specified battle centers, sound good?" Present Mic asked making sure the instructions were clear. The three boys picked up their cards to look at them.
"I see, their splitting us up so we can't work with any of our friends." Bakugo said looking at his card then looking at Midoriya's
"Wait, mine says I'm in the same one as Midoriya." Arthur said, curious about the mistake.
"*pft* It doesn't matter if you two work together you'll still never compare to me." Bakugo said letting his arrogance show again.
"Okay Okay let's check out your targets. There will be three types of faux villains in every battle center, you'll earn points based on their level of difficulty, so choose wisely. Your goal in this exam is to shed as many of these villains as a mid song guitar solo, but check it to make sure your keeping things heroic attacking other examinees is a UA no-no, ya dig?" Present Mic explained.
Suddenly a boy in a sleek uniform and glasses stood up and raised his hand.
"Excuse me sir, I have a question." the boy said.
"Hit me!" Present Mic said as he pointed at the boy and a spotlight opened on him.
"On the print out you listed four types of villains not three." The blue haired boy said pointing to the paper in his hand. "With all respect if this is an error on official UA materials it is shameful. We are exemplary students, we expect the best from Japan's most notable school, a mistake such as this won't do." He said as he pointed back at Midoriya. "Additionally you with the unkempt hair." he said as Midoriya realized he was addressing him. "You've been muttering this entire time. Stop that. If you can't bother to keep this seriously then leave you're distracting the rest of us." he said accusingly. Arthur then stood up addressing the boy as Midoriya indignantly stuttered.
"I apologize for my friend here, when he gets nervous he tends to babble like an idiot." Arthur said trying to diffuse the situation.
"That does not matt-" the boy tried to argue back, but Present Mic cut him off.
"Alright, alright examinee no. 7111 and no. 2232. Thanks for calling in with your request. The forth villain type is worth zero villain points, that guy is just an obstacle we'll be throwing in your way. There's one in every battle center. Think of it as a hurdle you should try to avoid." Present Mic answered as best he could.
"Thank you very much. Please continue." The boy said as he bowed robotically and sat down, as did Arthur.
"That's all I've got for you today, I'll sign off with a little present. A sample of our school motto. As General Napoleon Bonaparte once laid down 'A true hero is one that overcomes life's misfortunes.' Now that's a tasty sound byte. Are you ready to go beyond? Let's hear a 'Plus Ultra'!" Present Mic tried one last time to hype up the crowd and again failed.
"Well this is it. Time to put our ten months of training to the test." Midoriya said standing up next to Arthur.
"Hell yeah, let's show 'em who we are!" Arthur said, his voice dripping confidence.