There was only one day left before the written exams began; it would be a whole week of them.
From stupid subjects like art to fundamental ones like heroism laws, I really have no problem with those exams. Thanks to my ability to increase the speed of my synapses, I can memorize anything with ease.
Although doing that with a higher percentage of One For All causes a horrible headache.
It's definitely not a pleasant thing.
Right now, I'm watching the sunset from the gym roof. I haven't stopped training since the internships ended.
I need to have excellent control of One For All to be able to survive the failed summer camp that's coming up soon, and before that, I have my fight with All Might alongside Bakugo.
Having more than half of One For All under my control is a fundamental obligation at this point, and that's not even counting the rest of the Quirks that the inactive wielders have so far.
(Just a little more time, and I'll have been in this world for half a year... How crazy.)
To think that so many things have happened in less than half a year is mind-blowing.
And the ones that are yet to come, I don't want to think about them for the moment.
"I thought brats of your era no longer enjoyed this kind of thing," Gran Torino commented lightly as he placed himself beside me to appreciate the sunset. "What are you thinking about so much? It's not normal to see you so quiet unless it's training."
Should I tell him some of the things I'm thinking? It wouldn't hurt to have a second opinion from someone trustworthy.
"What do you think about the idea of me becoming a vigilante?"
There's less and less time until that moment, and being realistic, I don't see the point in avoiding it.
I'll have all the villains in the same city, I'll be able to face Shigaraki, annihilate him if I'm lucky, and after that, I'll have to defeat the weakened All For One.
It's simply perfect, all in one.
"A vigilante?... From your tone of voice, I can tell you've been seriously thinking about the idea." And he's not wrong. Apart from the fact that I'm more powerful than canon Izuku, I haven't made any major changes. "Before being a hero was regulated, being a vigilante was everything... you're the wielder of a power different from the rest and dangerous because of it. As long as you're able to live with the consequences of your decisions, then do it," the veteran answered my doubt.
"It's just that... the way things are developing, I feel like I'll be forced to take that path." I activated One For All in my right hand and pointed it towards where the sun was setting. "Do you really see me as capable of doing what needs to be done, regardless of the decisions that are made?"
For a brief moment, we were silent, him weighing his next words and me appreciating the view that I've paid little attention to since my journey began.
"...Yes, I see you as capable," he ended the silence that had settled in the area with those simple words. "Call it an old man's foolishness. But from the very first moment, I've noticed that you're different from the rest, and not just because you're the heir to One For All." At this point, that no longer surprises me. "The way you deal with things, you look at everyone as if you know them better than they know themselves, and every decision you make, you do it with a frankly terrifying certainty. It's as if... you already know beforehand everything that happens." Finishing his evaluation of me, he gave me a serious but understanding look. "And I'm not even mentioning the strange words you say when you think no one is listening."
Before, this conversation would have made me nervous. I would have looked for some excuse to justify my actions.
But at this moment, at the point I'm at, it's stupid to do so.
Gran Torino is the person who knows me best right now. I'd be surprised if he hadn't made those deductions by this point.
"At the beginning... I felt as if I was capable of winning without lifting a finger. I thought I could triumph in every step I took while mocking everyone who faced me." I remembered my actions when I confronted Bakugo, how I humiliated him. I felt like every word I said was honest, and yet the U.S.J. showed me otherwise.
That was the first wake-up call.
"Every improvement I've made has been productive for me, and yet that hasn't prevented me from being on the verge of defeat several times." My torn muscles when I faced Todoroki, when Bakugo managed to take me by surprise with his Howitzer Impact.
"I know I'm not the most heroic person possible, and if you ask All Might, he'll tell you that I've changed, and perhaps partly for the worse... But I still don't stop learning from people like you, even from Toshinori, even though I tend to make fun of him a lot."
Not only the memories of the talks with my mentors came to my mind; Daigoro, along with the real Izuku from the core, were also present.
I wasn't the real Izuku Midoriya. I didn't have a stupidly heroic spirit to do the impossible.
"I have promises to keep, expectations on me, and the hope of many people who don't know it, but whom I plan to save." Eri and her captivity, something I've avoided so as not to feel guilty, is present for me at this moment.
"What I want to ask you with all this is that... you don't lose faith in me."
Looking at him, I asked the last part of my speech, waiting for an answer, anything, just to know that my thoughts are not wrong or just a moment of panic on my part.
I know that despite the dryly humorous comments Gran Torino can have, he's someone who takes the requests of his closest ones very seriously.
I didn't have to wait too long for that answer.
"When Toshinori lost Nana, he acted stupidly and vengefully. He kept that smile of his that he always wears for the public, but once he was free from the eyes of others, he went back to being the man whose pain and anger still hadn't gone away, and he didn't have it easy to continue with his life as the boy Nana had chosen."
At the mention of Nana Shimura, One For All reacted, activating for a moment and causing an involuntary shiver to run down my body.
My interest was at its peak at that moment. Very little had been revealed about that stage of All Might's life in the canon of the work.
And not to mention the Seventh Wielder. Apart from her connection to Shigaraki and her Quirk, she's a mystery.
"I'm not good with words, brat. We're from different eras, and honestly, my methods for solving problems, whether physical or emotional, are little appreciated these days. So I'll tell you the same thing I told Toshinori back in the day."
My attention was completely on him at this point.
"'If life hits you, you must get up and hit it back with twice the intensity, because only cowards make excuses, saying they are the way they are because of the fate they were given. You decide how to act in every moment, and if you're not capable of understanding that the world won't stop for your pain, then you're not who she thought you were'."
Those words... I've heard them many times in my old life, and yet they've never held as much value for me as they do now.
It's not about what I want or don't want to achieve, nor about what I wish to be or will be.
It's about who I am now and how I feel about it.
I am Izuku Midoriya, a hero prospect whose purpose is to end the king of the underworld and his student, no matter what path I must choose to achieve such a thing.
Because that's what a hero does: sacrifices everything they have and can have to ensure the well-being of others, without expecting praise, understanding, or empathy.
Because they are aware of the path they chose to take and didn't complain when they chose it, from taking a bullet that wasn't meant for them to making the ultimate sacrifice.
I never thought the day would come when I would take those words to heart, but there's always a first time for everything.
"So tell me, brat, are you capable of doing what needs to be done, regardless of the decisions that are made?" Gran Torino questioned, smiling.
Heh... I really admire this man.
One For All activated throughout my body again, but this time it was out of excitement, the kind that over time I had left for specific moments and that was now back with all its strength.
"Yes! Because..." The power increased until it reached 15%. "It's what a hero does!"
And I'm going to be the greatest of them all.
I'll have to do things that I don't like, and to my regret, I'll have to act under the idea that "the end justifies the means"... but it's a sacrifice I must make.
It doesn't matter if in the end I'm hated for it.
...
The final exams flew by. As expected, they were really simple for someone like me who has practical advantages.
Any theoretical subject was crushed by my almost perfect memory... thanks, One For All.
My only problems were in the subjects where it was necessary for me to actively understand a topic.
Basically, Math and Physics.
Which translated to me, in the same way as in my previous life, resorting to the good and reliable internet.
The old reliable still holds up, fortunately.
Many were on the verge of passing, and they know it, but they can only wait and find out how well or badly they did. Now all that's left is to wait for the practical part of the exam and...
"Deku!" Bakugo interrupted my thoughts, hitting my shoulder as he passed. He was about to leave the classroom.
"Is something wrong, Bakugo?" I questioned with doubt. Since the end of the internships, we haven't exchanged more than two words at most.
"I don't care how good you or the rest of the extras are! I'm superior to all of you, and I'll prove it in the practical exams!" Without deigning to look at me, he began to leave the classroom.
Some looked at him with some annoyance at his arrogant words, others paid him no attention, but only Aizawa (who was pretending to sleep in his sleeping bag) and I were able to see the subtext behind those words.
(You're like an animal, Bakugo, and right now you're cornered. At this rate, I don't think you'll be able to hold your insecurities until the end of the exams for our provisional hero licenses,) I thought seriously as I imitated his actions and left the classroom.
The practical exam will be against All Might, and I'll have to cooperate with Bakugo, although I don't see how I can tolerate him for a prolonged period of time without trying to hit him.
If before Bakugo felt surpassed by Izuku, with me in front, he must feel a thousand times worse. I've tried to talk to him civilly from time to time, but there's no point in trying.
I have to beat him in every possible aspect for him to really listen to me.
It will be a fun exam. Testing my strength against none other than All Might is excellent. My power is already almost at 40%, and that means my distance from the Izuku of the War between heroes and villains is practically nil.
That gives me a lot of confidence to face what's coming. Personally, I'd prefer to take the exam alone, but it's not possible.
But I've been in more complicated predicaments, after all.
I know it will be difficult, but I'm confident that I'll come up with something by then.
I just have to take one step at a time.
A simple and comfortable step at a time....
Author's Note:
Hey.
What did you think of the chapter?
Personally, I had some problems while writing it, and that's exactly what I want to comment on.
When I started this story, it was because I wanted to make fun of the Isekai stereotypes that exist in fics of that genre, and I had a lot of fun writing the first ten chapters. It was a story that didn't require meeting any standards or anything like that; it was simply my imagination running wild.
But as the chapters went on, this fic became something more serious for me because of the great reception it has had. It is currently the story with the most support that I have, and I thank you all for that.
And everything would be perfect if it had stayed that way, because clearly, it's not just that anymore.
Recently, I received some messages from an anonymous person (whose name I won't mention because I don't expose people unnecessarily; despite everything, I maintain respect) where he demanded that I do such and such things with the plot of this story. He also ordered me to update because, if that were not the case, he would stop reading my story, and it would fail, etc., etc., and etc. (I'm giving a very extended summary of what happened, as I won't go into detail about what was explicitly written).
This generated both anger and surprise in me. Anger because no one (except for my family) has the authority to demand things from me, and surprise because I never thought someone would be so invested in my story as to reach the previously mentioned point.
I read everyone's comments, and I respond to all or almost all of them (I have a life outside of this platform and can't always be attentive to it), so if someone makes a suggestion about something I can do for the plot or the characters or any other thing already presented, I will read it, I will respond to it, and if I like the idea, I will implement it.
I've mentioned it a hundred times, and I'll do it again: I love reading your comments. They are my favorite part of uploading a chapter of this work or any other that I have on my profile.
But, if you come to demand that I do what you want with my story, you will only make me reject what you ask for without even reading it and make my desire to write this fic diminish.
I write for the fun of it. It's a hobby and nothing more, but if it stops being a pastime and becomes something I don't enjoy, I will simply stop doing it. It's that simple.
This fic was started for fun, but in the same way, it can be canceled by me.
So please, if you have any desire about the plot that you would like to see, ask for it properly in the comments, and I will consider doing it (maybe I will or maybe I won't, but you lose nothing by trying). It's certain that I will respond to you with my decision and even give you a topic of conversation to kill time, because I love talking with all of you, but don't order me around as if I were writing for you and your ideas.
If you want such and such a thing to happen, write your own fic, period. Don't come and try to force another to do it for you.
If you read this and don't agree with my words, then let me tell you from the bottom of my heart... Go fuck yourself.
Now, if you do agree with them, I thank you for understanding, and I hope you continue to enjoy my works.
It's likely that I will update my other fics for now and not this one, as I was really left with a very bad taste in my mouth from what was previously mentioned.
Anyway, take care, and see you.