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Technically, there was no rule against Yuuga spectating the Hero License Exams. Hero Course students who had not yet gained their licenses were forbidden so that they couldn’t gain an advantage for their own tests, but Yuuga was no longer a Hero Course student. So Yuuga could be there for morale support, as long as he didn’t disrupt the exam.
Izuku helped him unload his chair as they got off the bus. He stood next to it and stretched as Aizawa-sensei gave his class an Aizawa-sensei-styled pep talk. He really did believe in everyone, it was sweet to watch.
A Shiketsu boy that Aizawa-sensei apparently knew ruined their class cheer.
Several of the other Shiketsu students’ gazes lingered on him. He brushed them aside. Everyone was so curious about the poor little hero student that almost died in Kamino. This was his new normal. Although, one girl kept staring long after the others in her class had moved on.
“Eraser!” someone yelled. “Eraser, it’s been too long!”
A woman in bright orange and green ran at them, and Aizawa-sensei suddenly looked like he would rather be anywhere else.
“Let’s get married!” the woman yelled.
What.
“Your Soulmate won’t mind, he loves me too!”
“Joke!” Aizawa-sensei hissed. It was too late.
“Aizawa-sensei has a Soulmate and a girlfriend?” Mina gasped.
“Yes he does!” said the woman.
“No, he doesn’t,” said Aizawa-sensei. “Why do you always do this, Joke?”
“That’s the smile hero, Ms. Joke!” Izuku said, getting ready to ramble.
Yuuga smiled. Izuku hadn’t obsessed over a hero like that since- well. Since right before Kamino.
Her quirk sounded fascinating- being able to make someone laugh was a bigger advantage than one would think. Her costume theme was clear and memorable, very clearly showing her personality.
“I’m just teasing, Eraser, you know that!” she said.
“So, where’s your class?” Aizawa-sensei said, changing the subject.
“Ah, yeah! Come on over, everyone! UA, this is class 2-2 of Ketsubutsu Academy!”
More stares and whispers. They probably weren’t all about him, but he got some glances.
One boy stepped forward. “I’m Shindo! I just wanna say how amazing it is to meet such brave future heroes, even after all the strife you’ve been through this year.” He grabbed several students’ hands to shake them, going around the group. He stepped in front of Izuku. “Midoriya, right?” He didn’t let go of Izuku’s hands. “Now, you’ve had a pretty rough time, between that amazing showing in the Sports Festival and you and your Soulmate getting kidnapped! And still, you’re here! What incredible strength.” And you-”
He turned to Yuuga.
“Aoyama, having been so horribly injured. Are you still going to take the exam with us, even with that wheelchair? You must be the strongest of all!” He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes.
Yuuga’s stomach curled. That was such bullshit. The energy radiating off of Shindo was faker than even his own.
He put on his own wide smile. “Ah, non , désolé . I’m afraid I’m just here to cheer on the others.”
Shindo looked somewhat surprised. “Really! Well, I’m sure you’ll do a great job of that!”
He moved on to Bakugou, who slapped his hand away. Apparently he saw through Shindo’s attitude as well.
Aizawa-sensei shooed everyone off to get ready. Yuuga gave Izuku a kiss on the cheek for good luck. Then, it was just himself and the teachers remaining.
Ms. Joke smiled at him before turning to Aizawa-sensei. “You didn’t tell them about the Crush, did you?”
Sensei shrugged. “It wouldn’t have mattered much if I did.”
They made their way into the gigantic arena. Yuuga got a few more weird looks, this time from the scattered teachers there to watch their classes. He was, as far as he could see, the only student in the stands.
“How’s Mic?” Ms. Joke asked. “He still driving you nuts?”
“Every day,” Aizawa-sensei said. He turned to Yuuga. “If you tell anyone about this conversation, by the way, you’re expelled. I don’t care that you’re not in my class anymore.”
Yuuga decided not to mention that Mic-sensei himself had already told him.
“Speaking of expulsions,” Ms. Joke said, “I’m surprised that you still have a full class.” She leaned over Aizawa-sensei to faux-whisper in Yuuga’s ear. “That means he really likes you guys!”
“They all have potential, even if some of them are Problem Children.”
“Sure. Not attached at all. Didn’t let one of them come sit with us in the nosebleeds so he could watch his friends.”
“That decision was made from rationality,” Notably, he didn’t elaborate.
“Mhm.”
Yuuga looked out over the arena. It was much bigger than any singular UA facility, even the training grounds or the USJ. There were over 1500 students crammed into a box at the center, surrounded by locales representing cities, suburbs, construction, and even mountains. What was this stadium even used for, outside of hero exams?
The walls of the box fell open, revealing the crowd inside. It was impossible to find Izuku or Mina among the hero hopefuls, there were just that many of them. It was oddly a relief not to have to be down there with them. And this was one of several testing centers.
“Hey, kiddo,” Ms. Joke said, “there’s something your Sensei here didn’t happen to tell your friends. See, y’know how UA broadcasts its Sports Festival nationwide? That results in something they like to call the UA Crush .”
Because everyone in the field spread out, he could see a colorful group that he could guess was 1-A.
Izuku’s nerves hummed under Yuuga’s skin. They turned to icy fear as the crowds around them began to close in.
“See, everyone knows the UA kids’ quirks. And that means they know what to expect. They’re the first targets.”
The fear turned to raw determination.
“They think they know what to expect, you mean,” Yuuga said. He smiled as the chaos began. “I can promise you, they have grown very much since the Sports Festival.”
The first portion of the exam lasted far too long, in Yuuga’s humble opinion. The teachers compared strategies, pointing out their students whenever they thought they spotted them. Yuuga just watched, clutching the armrest tightly whenever he felt a pang of danger through the bond. Surely this was a controlled scenario and the danger wasn’t particularly dangerous. At least there were no villains around.
It wasn’t good for Yuuga to stay seated for that long, if he could help it. His abdomen tended to stiffen up. Once he saw Izuku head into the waiting room, he grabbed his cane to go stretch his legs. He wasn’t allowed into the waiting room, so he couldn't congratulate Izuku, but a short walk around the area should be fine.
A few of the students who failed passed him as they went to find their teachers, including one of the Shiketsu boys, who shot Yuuga a dirty look. He paid him no mind.
Eventually, he reached an area that was more or less deserted. He was probably reaching the outer limits of the public area. Perhaps he should turn back…
“Hey there,” said a voice behind him. He jumped and turned.
One of the Shiketsu girls was behind him, the one who had been staring earlier. She regarded him curiously, taking a long look at his cane.
“You walk? I thought you were in that chair.”
He sighed internally. It was always that chair with these people.
“I was, oui . The chair is helpful for longer distances.” Forgive him if he didn’t feel like being a fountain of knowledge at the moment.
The girl hummed.
“Is there something I can help you with?” he asked. He probably should be getting back…
“Actually, yeah. I’m pretty curious about you UA kids. I talked to your Soulmate during the exam, y’know. Talked to, fought, whatever. He was pretty cool. But now, I wanna know about you .”
She’d talked to Izuku?
“I’m afraid you already know a bit more about me than I do about you, Mademoiselle …?”
She giggled. “I guess I do. I guess I’m just wondering, why’d you quit? Why aren't you trying to be a hero anymore?”
He blinked. His transfer, that wasn’t common knowledge, not like his kidnapping or his Soulmate. One supposed it could be extrapolated from him not participating in the exam, but most would probably assume he was still in the Hero Course and just recovering.
He put on a tight smile. “It simply was not in the cards, I’m afraid, but I’m happy where I am.”
“Is it ‘cause of your quirk?”
What- how did she-?!
“You probably can’t use it ‘cause of your injury, right? From the Sports Festival, it was based on your belly button, and in that one picture, that part of you was just covered in blood.” She smiled as she spoke, like she wasn’t discussing the most harrowing night of Yuuga’s life. Of course she’d seen that damn picture, everyone had.
“It is more complicated than that. I really must be going, if you’ll excuse me-”
He brushed past her, trying to get back to the main area. Surely the second phase would be starting soon.
“You dropped this,” she said. Yuuga turned, and she was holding his phone. His phone that had been firmly in his pocket.
“ Merci , Mademoiselle ,” he said, putting it back where it should’ve been.
“I’m really glad we got to know each other, Yuuga.” She giggled.
And she was gone. Like, gone-gone. Completely vanished.
He hurried back to his seat, leaning heavily on his cane as he went. His head buzzed. He felt woozy. It would be good to sit down.
Aizawa-sensei informed him that all of 1-A had passed, but it had been very close. Ms. Joke tried to tell him a joke, but he couldn’t really concentrate.
The arena exploded, and the second phase of testing began.
“It still doesn’t feel real!” Izuku said.
They’d ended up in his room for the evening. Yuuga sat in his desk chair while Izuku sprawled out on his bed, exhausted.
“Of course it’s real, chouchou ,” Yuuga said. “You’re an amazing hero, and they would be absolute idiots to fail you.”
“They failed Kacchan and Todoroki though.”
Yuuga hummed. “Well. I agree with half of that decision.”
Izuku’s sweet laugh filled the room. “Yuuga, be nice! Kacchan’s improved a lot.”
Yuuga sniffed. “And he still has far to go. Hopefully this Remedial Course teaches him well.”
Izuku’s phone buzzed. He frowned as he checked his notification. “Hey, you can probably go back to your room for the night. There’s something I have to take care of.”
Izuku’s certainty settled in Yuuga’s gut. “Do not do anything foolish, mon lapin ,” he said.
Izuku smiled at him. “You know I can’t promise that.”
As Yuuga got ready for bed, he looked in one of his mirrors. There was a large bruise marring his upper arm that hadn’t been there that morning. Had he bumped something without knowing it?
How strange…