Izuku finally slowed after crushing a Two-Pointer, exhaling sharply as he rolled his shoulders. The remains of the robot sparked behind him, smoke curling into the air.
His uniform, however, hadn't survived the pace.
The blazer was gone entirely, shredded somewhere along the way. His shirt hung in tatters, barely clinging to his frame before finally giving up, torn open and useless.
Sweat glistened across his exposed upper body, muscles taut and defined from months of brutal training. Faint bruises and healing cuts traced his skin—evidence of how hard he'd pushed himself to get here.
He flexed his hands once, feeling the burn, then let out a quiet sigh.
Not far away, Ochaco Uraraka was locked in combat with a Three-Pointer. Stones lifted awkwardly around her as she slammed them into the robot's legs again and again, chipping away at its armor. She was breathing hard, timing off, movements growing desperate.
Then she glanced sideways.
And froze.
'Who… is that?'
Her eyes lingered far longer than she meant to, heat creeping into her cheeks as she stared at the shirtless boy standing amid wreckage like it was nothing. The ruined street around him looked more like a battlefield than an exam zone.
Ochaco shook her head sharply.
'Focus!'
But it was too late.
The robot loomed directly in front of her, its massive arm already swinging down.
"O-oh—!"
She screamed and threw her arms up, squeezing her eyes shut as she braced for impact.
It never came.
WOOO—BASH!
A violent gust of wind slammed into her, forcing her to stagger back. The sound of metal crumpling echoed through the street, followed by the heavy crash of something collapsing.
Ochaco slowly lowered her arms and peeked through her fingers.
Izuku stood between her and the robot.
The Three-Pointer lay wrecked at his feet, its torso crushed inward, one arm torn clean off. Dust drifted through the air around him as he straightened.
' Did… did he just save me?' She thought, heart pounding.
Izuku turned toward her, a small, reassuring smile forming as he opened his mouth to speak—
THOOM.
The ground shuddered violently.
His smile vanished.
Izuku's expression hardened as another tremor rippled through the city. He turned away, already moving, passing Ochaco as if pulled by instinct.
She stood there for half a second longer, stunned, before jogging after him.
Then she saw it.
The street ahead erupted in a deafening explosion of steel and concrete as an entire section of a skyscraper was obliterated from the inside. A colossal shape forced its way through the rubble.
The Zero Pointer.
Its titanic frame emerged fully, blotting out the sky as it stepped into the street. Each movement sent shockwaves through the ground, windows shattering and pavement cracking beneath its weight.
Dust clouds rolled outward like a collapsing wave, swallowing the lower streets and choking the air.
Ochaco's breath caught in her throat.
Izuku stopped at the edge of the destruction, eyes locked onto the giant machine.
He clenched his fist, veins standing out beneath his skin as a slow smirk tugged at his lips.
' Alright,' he thought. ' I'll need my full power for this one.'
The exam had just escalated.
In a split second, Izuku moved.
A sonic crack detonated behind him as he launched forward, the asphalt beneath his boots pulverizing into shards. The air screamed in protest, street lamps bending violently as the pressure wave tore past them.
One heartbeat—he was on the ground.
The next—he was airborne.
Izuku rocketed upward, tearing through the dust-filled sky, rising past the broken skeleton of the skyscraper the Zero Pointer had just destroyed. Wind howled around him as the city shrank below.
The giant's glowing sensors barely had time to lock onto him.
Izuku drew his fist back, every muscle in his arm tightening like a drawn bowstring, power compressing into a single point.
B O O M.
The impact was apocalyptic.
The air folded in on itself, a visible shockwave erupting outward and shattering every remaining window within a hundred-meter radius. The Zero Pointer's head didn't dent—
It imploded.
Metal collapsed inward with a deafening shriek as the machine's massive frame was hurled backward like a fired missile. It tore through two buildings in succession, ripping concrete and steel apart like wet paper. Walls burst outward, debris raining down in a deadly storm of glass, rebar, and shattered stone.
The monster didn't stop until it slammed into the city's perimeter wall, half-buried beneath rubble, sparks hissing and dying from its ruined chassis.
Silence followed.
Then—
Izuku landed.
Smoke and dust rushed past him as he touched down, boots skidding slightly across cracked pavement. He exhaled and glanced down at his arm.
It was completely shattered. Bone jutted unnaturally beneath torn skin, the limb hanging uselessly at his side.
' That hurt, ' he thought calmly.
His expression didn't change.
Izuku stepped forward, emerging from the thinning smoke like a specter. His body was slick with sweat and coated in gray dust as he passed in front of Ochaco, who stood frozen, eyes wide and mouth slightly open.
She stared. He didn't. Izuku walked past her without a word.
"THE TEST IS ALL OVER!"
Present Mic's voice boomed from the loudspeakers, cutting through the haze and marking the end of the chaos.
Izuku kept moving.
Around him, injured examinees groaned and staggered through the ruined streets as Recovery Girl hobbled into the zone, cane tapping sharply against the fractured pavement.
"Line up, line up!" she snapped. "Let's patch you brats up!"
Izuku joined the line, waiting patiently. When it was his turn, Recovery Girl looked him up and down—then blinked.
Once.
Twice.
"Oh my," she said, cheeks flushing slightly. "Young man… what happened to your clothes?"
Izuku chuckled softly. "Got torn during the test," he replied, holding out his ruined arm.
She clicked her tongue and kissed his skin.
Warmth flooded through his body as bone knit back together, muscle and skin repairing themselves in seconds. Izuku flexed his fingers once, testing it.
"Thank you," he said politely.
"Reckless boy," she muttered, waving him off. "Don't make a habit of that."
Izuku retrieved his bag near the exit, pulled out spare clothes, and changed quickly before slinging it over his shoulder. Without looking back at the ruined city, he headed home.
A faint smile tugged at his lips.
' I can't wait for U.A., 'he thought. The path ahead finally felt real.
TO BE CONTINUED