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~ 

Izuku shot into the air, wreathed in emerald lightning, shifting his hips and twisting around with a leg to slam his shin into an oncoming ball, fighting against the propulsion and flinging it away. Ribbons of disturbed air currents tore around his form in the aftermath of his powerful kick, swirling around him like a protective bubble and sending the balls spinning off in all directions.

Tokoyami utilised his new special move and guided Dark Shadow to smack away anything aiming for them with clawed paws. Ochako pressed her fingers together and lifted into the sky, out of range of the attack. Sero drew back his arms and sent out whips of tape, hitting the balls into Ashido's acid as she sprayed it skyward.

The green-haired boy watched them all fight for a moment longer with pride glittering in his radioactive gaze, turning around to fix their opponents with a menacing smile as he saw the nervous realisation cast across their features; because this wasn't the inexperienced Class 1-A they saw on TV, and their talent and cohesion in successfully negating attacks with terrifying swiftness was entirely unexpected. These students were clearly showing the promising beginnings of true Pro Heroes: a far cry from the simple fights displayed during the Sports Festival.

Jirou jammed her fists into the ground and countered a sneak attack, breaking the earth and flinging the Quirk-hardened balls back into the air, safely away from the gathered group. Shindo grinned, going down on his hands and knees to press his palms against the ground, sending out a dark shockwave of energy that caused cracks to spread out along the ground, rapidly rushing towards the UA students. Izuku bit his tongue to stop himself from calling out a warning and a strategy to his friends, because that wouldn't be fair for anyone; besides, he had faith in the talents of his classmates, and if they passed before they could definitely pass again.

Large chunks of sun-baked soil rose into the air under the turbulence caused by Shindo's Quirk. The students were separated, rising and wobbling on their own islands, calling out to one another in a panic. Ochako reached out to her friend, her face a picture of fear, but he merely offered an encouraging smile as he widened his stance and dug his cleated boots into the shaking ground. He crouched down then pushed off with enough force to slam his small island to the ground as he leapt upwards, doing a backflip to avoid some flying debris and skidding to a halt at the edge of the ruined earth, staring out across the chaos.

His posture was deceptively relaxed as he stood out in the open, lazily casting his eyes across his surroundings. A timid smile pulled at his lips as he let the excitement of a casual fight flow over him – something that was rare when he was a Pro Hero, since the villains never seemed to sleep. He pressed his sole into the dirt and suddenly shifted his centre of gravity to lean aside an attack as a girl in a skin-tight leather bodysuit seemed to appear out of nowhere, her hand landing on his shoulder as she used him to correct her trajectory after the unexpected dodge. She dropped down in a roll through the dust, languidly pulling herself back to her feet with one hand clasped around the brim of her Shiketsu cap, deliberately staying bent over for a moment longer than necessary to give the boy an uncomfortably candid view of her exposed cleavage.

"Oh, you're better than I expected. But it's weird that even though you're in trouble, you're smiling." She straightened up, tilting the cap over her straight blonde hair and staring at him with longing eyes, jutting out one hip to place her fist on it. "I didn't want to miss this chance to interact with a prestigious school, and I wanted to know more about you all."

He raised an eyebrow and flashed an uneasy grin, backing up a step to test the ground before suddenly flashing backwards several feet as the earth exploded between them, indicating the arrival of the Kestubutsu students. It would be so easy to dash around and eliminate them all to pass the first round, but he was unwilling to leave so quickly, just in case things changed and his friends struggled to succeed. Izuku jumped out of the way of giant spiderwebs, briefly pressing his fingers against the metal jaws that burst from within the ground to launch himself higher, bending backwards and spinning through debris with finesse.

"Are you okay?" Ochako called from her perch on a podium of earth, holding out a hand. "Over here! Hurry!"

He hopped off the ground once more as one of their opponents dislodged her, causing her to topple off the edge, in danger of landing awkwardly on her back. Izuku sprung forwards with his body horizontal to the ground, carefully scooping up his friend before landing smoothly once more. His gaze briefly flickered to her face before he spun on one foot to build up momentum and slammed his reinforced heel into the ground, sending cracks shooting forth and shattering the raised earth the other students were poised upon.

The boy placed her back on her feet and casually slipped the tinted visor over his eyes, giving her a sarcastic little wave before he slammed a fist into his palm, creating a bright flash of green light and a gust of wind that blew her to the ground. He pivoted on one foot and darted away, leaping gracefully onto rocks to give him a height advantage so he could survey the land. Sero and the real Ochako were a little way away, and he hesitated for a moment before dropping down between them.

"Deku-kun!" She exclaimed happily, letting out a sigh of relief.

"Miss me, Ochako-chan?" He teased, playfully slinging an arm over her shoulders and using the other one to shift the visor back onto his head.

Sero gave a sharp grin behind his helmet that was shaped a little like a tape dispenser, crossing his arms and leaning forwards expectantly. "Oh? Is a romance blossoming before my eyes?"

"Are you getting jealous?" Izuku shot a cheeky wink at his friend, who recoiled with a panicked laugh.

"Have you seen anyone else?" The student hastily changed the subject, glancing around them at the little alcove they'd holed up in.

"No, not yet," he responded, tilting his head as he listened to the footsteps creeping around beyond their walls. "I have an idea..."

Izuku explained his plan in a hushed whisper to his friends, who listened intently. Sero expressed his uncertainties as he mentally worked out how many people they'd need to capture in order to pass, but Ochako was quick to agree, quietly getting to her feet with a determined expression. His heart warmed at the blatant display of trust, and he offered them a nod before turning around, squinting contemplatively as he listened for his window of opportunity. Izuku covertly slipped out of their hiding place, darting around behind the other students before whistling loudly and garnering all attention. He nonchalantly hooked his thumbs onto his red utility belt, face blessed with a sunny smile as if he wasn't in the middle of a battle.

"Wait," someone called to his companions, causing them to pause in their action of throwing balls. "Why are you so cocky?"

"I'm not cocky," he denied serenely, tapping a foot lightly against the ground. "I'm just having fun."

The enemies were growing desperate. They seemed to come to a unanimous decision to barrage him with balls, fully expecting for him to be an easy target. His grin turned wicked and they seemed to realise their mistake too late. He swiped a boot along the ground to raise a cloud of dust, shifting his position and letting lightning crackle across his form as he twisted on the spot in an imitation of a ballet move before he threw himself into a sideways flip, slamming his feet heavily onto the ground. A shockwave emanated from the epicentre, rumbling through the earth and tearing through the air, knocking people to the ground and flinging the thrown balls far out of reach.

Sero came sprinting across with another horde of people behind him. Izuku grabbed his friend and launched both of them into the air with a powerful jump, the duo watching triumphantly as rocks crashed to the earth in front of both groups, striping tape across them and keeping them locked in place, regardless of how much they tried to move. Sero swiped up the few who were missed and Ochako approached them with a proud expression. They moved in tandem, pressing balls into targets that illuminated red, until their own targets glowed a pale blue, telling them to go to the anteroom.

Eijirou, Kaminari, and Kacchan walked by as they approached the building. Izuku offered them all cheery waves, mildly surprised when he got a sharp grin from his childhood friend.

"You passed, huh?" He said lowly, his tone a permanent snarl. "With the power you've got, it's only natural. What you borrowed has changed you: you're worth acknowledging."

Izuku tried not to let his confusion show as he stared at his friend's retreating back. He shook his head and dashed after, stepping into the anteroom and glancing around until he spotted his friends. Most of them had gathered by one of the refreshment tables, already falling into content chatter to burn off the adrenaline of the exercise. His gaze flickered to the side of the room where he noticed Yoarashi lurking enthusiastically, talking up a storm with unwilling participants. Izuku blinked and dashed towards Shouto, wrapping his arms around his friend and lifting him up with an excited yell before putting him back down again.

"Well done, Shouto-kun! Great job at passing, everyone!" He cheered, getting hyped responses from Ochako and Kaminari while Shouto just looked entirely lost at the unexpected contact.

"Not everyone is here yet," Momo reminded them, a concerned note laced in her tone.

"I have faith," he said confidently, turning to stare at the large TV screen that displayed the arena.

"Midoriya-kun!" Yoarashi was charging over, his smile somewhat frenzied as he came to a sudden halt in front of the shorter boy. "Congratulations on passing!"

"Thank you! Oh, you were the first who passed, right? That's amazing!" Izuku beamed happily, remembering the story he'd been told later on about how many students his future-friend had taken out at once.

"Good job," Shouto agreed after a moment of uncertainty.

Yoarashi paused in mild surprise before his grin morphed into something less intense and more genuine. "I saw your fight on the screen! You have great control over your Quirk, Todoroki-kun!"

Izuku relaxed with a happy little huff of laughter, shifting his gaze to the TV to watch the final fights play out. Aoyama folded himself backwards into a bridge pose, thrusting his stomach into the air and shooting his Navel Laser skyward like a beacon. The remaining competitors all converged towards it, expecting an easy target, only to be taken by surprise by the rest of Class 1-A as they all grouped back up for once final fight, easily knocking down their opponents. There were enough for all his classmates to pass, and he couldn't stop his grin as he watched all his friends succeed, capturing the final places.

They all entered the anteroom with elated expressions. Ashido was bouncing happily while Tokoyami remained a lot more reserved, a secret smirk curving his beak. Tenya approached with Aoyama by his side, the two of them like gracious knights in their armour.

"UA truly is incredible! Every single student passed!" Yoarashi exclaimed loudly, his smile growing wild once more as he got more pumped up. "This was a real representation of 'Plus Ultra!' I'm honoured to have witnessed such remarkable talent!"

His friends stared at Izuku questioningly, slowly edging away from the excessive enthusiasm. He could only shrug sheepishly in response.