Chapter 3: Welcome to My Hero University, New Heroes!
Chris's jaw dropped. "What?!" Jason gave All Might a weird look. "Yea, I think I need to hear that again too." It was the day after senior graduation: roughly three months before the MHU Entrance Exam. All Might sighed. "It's true though: if I were to give you my quirk now, using it would destroy you. You need to become strong enough to survive using it." "So what, extra push ups every day?" Not quite. It's actually why I asked you out here today, Chris. See all of this trash?" Both guys looked past the skinny All Might and out at the beach filled with the typical litter of a city, but also filled with old appliances and junked out cars. Chris's heart sank. "...We have to pick up all of that garbage…?" "What? Of course not! You have to pick up all that garbage." Jason snickered. Chris looked at all the garbage in horror. All Might put a reassuring hand on the young man's shoulder. "Relax. You don't need to clean up all of it. Just the section of beach that I have highlighted. That being said, you must do this all on your own without any help from me or your friend. Justin, right?" "Jason." "Sorry. But on top of that, I also have a work out plan and a diet plan for you to follow. It is very strict, but if you follow it to the letter, you should be able to handle One for All in time for the Entrance Exam." Jason looked over Chris's shoulder at the work out plan. "...Could I get one of those plans?" "I should be able to come up with something for you by tomorrow." Chris looked up at All Might. "When do we start?" "Right now. Get to work." Chris looked back at the garbage. "...are you fu-" Jason shouted in his ear loud enough to startle both Chris and All Might. "Get moving!" Chris sprinted to the garbage pile, starting with the smaller scraps.
One month in, Chris and Jason were jogging home, All Might leading the way on his scooter. Both trainees were carrying punching bags with varying amounts of sand for their strength training. The running came to a stop when Chris collapsed on the sidewalk. Jason dropped his baggage and turned him over, feeling his temperature. "...I'm pretty sure it's not heat exhaustion…" All Might stopped his scooter and took a good look at Chris. "...He's over worked. Which means he's not abiding by the work out plan." Chris struggled to get up, refusing Jason's hand for help. "...I want to…" Both Jason and All Might looked down at him as he shouted at them defiantly. "I need to become the best!" All Might smiled and buffed up. "Ha Ha!" He picked up Chris and his bag, putting them on one shoulder. "That's the motivation I like to see! But you must remember to take care of yourself first and foremost while training! Now onward to home!" All Might started running. Jason put his bag back on his shoulder and waited. All Might returned a few seconds later. "...I forgot my scooter…" "Yep." All Might took the scooter in his free hand. "You get him home. I'm going to finish my run." "Sounds like a plan, young Jason!" The two parted ways.
It was the day of the Entrance Exam. All Might was walking to the beach to pick up Chris and Jason. The last three months had mostly been ensuring Chris followed the work out and diet plans. Jason helped out a lot with that. All Might also spent some time doing combat training with Jason to help give the quirkless man a chance. All Might was shaken out of his thoughts by a very loud scream. Chris was standing on top of some junk. Jason was looking out at the beach with a smile. All Might was dumbfounded. There wasn't a single speck of garbage left. Not only was the designated area completely free of litter, but the entire beach was free of junk. "Oh… oh my…" All Might buffed up to complete the sentence. "...Goodness!" Chris began to fall, but All Might was quick enough to catch him. The hero set down the trainee, looking him up and down. "Just look at you! Three months ago, you were merely a scrawny little student! But now here you are, looking like you've been training your entire life! I am astounded by your progress!" Jason smiled. "His potential to grow is insane." "Did you bring extra clothes for him?" "What do I look like to you?" "Fair enough." All Might looked down at Chris. "Now, young Chris, I believe you are ready. Ready to inherit One for All." All Might reached up and pulled out a single strand of his own hair, then held it towards Chris. "Eat this." The entire world was silent for a minute. "...What…?" "In order to pass my quirk onto you, you need to consume some of my DNA. This is the easiest way to do that." Jason began laughing as loud as humanly possible. Chris hesitantly took the hair and put it in his mouth, forcing it down. All Might tried and failed to silence the now hysterical Jason. Chris took a deep breath and exhaled. "...I don't feel any different." "And you won't. At least, not until you use the quirk. Now come on! You two need to get to the exam!"
The test was easy enough. Neither of them had done exceedingly well in school. However, the hero test was a breeze for both of them. The hard part, the combat exam, was coming up. Four different kinds of robots: Level one, two, and three robots were worth points. Level zero robots were to be treated like obstacles to avoid. Chris felt a pat on his shoulder. He turned and saw a smiling Jason. "Relax bro. We got this." He hugged his best friend. It was a meaningful hug, but Chris heard a whisper in his ear. "Aim for the joints." Jason let go and jogged off to his assigned bus. Chris hurried to his designated bus. The exam site was a large city constructed on the outskirts of Santa Cruz with the sole purpose of being destroyed during this test. Out of the hundreds of students taking the exam, only 36 would make it into the university. The massive doors opened. The hero 'Present Mic' could be heard. "There is no green light to tell you to go! So get going!" Chris was the first one to rush through the gates towards the horde of patrolling machines.
A level two robot turned the corner. Chris looked at the knees and saw what Jason had meant: the back of the joints were less armored than the rest of the machine. The objective was to destroy or disable, so destroying the legs would count. The robot lunged at him. Chris felt One for All course through his arm. He dodged the attack and slammed his fist into the machine's leg. He successfully destroyed the leg. And the rest of the robot. And the street. And a level three robot that happened to be in the way. Chris had earned 5 points in one punch, but his arm was now completely shattered: every bone in it broken. He fell to a knee, never having felt this much pain in his life. He slowly stood back up. "...I… need to be more careful... " The ground shook. A dust cloud kicked up in the distance as buildings collapsed. The level zero robot had shown itself, and it was gigantic: bigger than any of the several story buildings around it. The other test takers could be seen and heard screaming as they ran away from the chaos. Chris began to turn around, but he heard a scream for help. His sight seemed to zero in on the sound. Down the street, a student was trapped under some rubble, trying to escape. Chris also saw some other students who were unable to get out of the machine's path. Chris once again felt that urge he felt in the alley way three months ago: the urge to charge forward. One for All coursed through him again. This time, it coursed through his entire body. He leaped with all of the strength he could muster. He took off like a rocket. The pain he was feeling multiplied as his legs shattered from the power. He couldn't stop though. He powered up his last remaining arm. He only got one shot at this. The machine locked onto Chris and raised an arm to intercept. Chris let loose all the power he could muster in that one punch. The top half of the machine disintegrated from the impact. Chris looked on with surprise at his own strength. Then he started falling. Chris couldn't move his legs. All four of his limbs were destroyed. There was no way to break his fall. He could only watch as the ground raced closer. He closed his eyes and waited for the end.
Chris woke up with a start. Chris's mother and Jason both launched from their chairs. "Oh my goodness, honey! I was so worried about you!" "...Hey mom… How long was I…" "Three hours and some change." Chris looked to his best friend. He had a big smile. "I saw the video, dude! You were awesome!" Chris blinked a few times as Jason relayed the exam to Chris's mom. "He took out two robots in one punch! One punch! And then he jumped up and punched a robot the size of a skyscraper! I'm still having trouble believing it!" Chris looked down in sadness. "...I only got five points." Jason stopped smiling and looked down at his friend. Then he smiled again. "Hey, Chris. Did you do your best?" "What?" "Did you do your best? Did you go all out and try to win?" "...Yea…?" "Then who cares how many points you get? Now you can walk out of here with your head held high, knowing you gave it your all. Sure, it may suck to fail. But there is always next year, right?" Chris smiled up at Jason. "...Thanks…" He looked down at his body. "...Wait… why am I not in casts…?" "Oh, Recovery Girl patched you up. She said she would-" The door opened up. A small but old woman in a doctor's coat walked in. "I heard you all from the hallway. I'm just going to check up on you, but you should be good to go." She sat next to the hospital bed. "Chris, right? Congratulations on defeating that robot. However, I have never seen a quirk that destroys the body when used as much as yours does. I do hope you end up passing the exam. That way you can learn from the best on how to control your quirk." She turned to Jason. "Hello again. How are your hands?" "They're fine. Thank you once again." "Of course. You are so much stronger than you appear." "Oh. Thank you." Recovery Girl sat up. "You two are free to go. You should receive your results in the mail in two to three weeks." The two men and concerned parent thanked her and left the facility.
Two weeks later, Jason entered Jason's residence. "I'm home!" Chris forced a smile as his best friend came in. "Hey bro. Burgers tonight." "Your mom makes a mean burger." He sat down next to his buddy. "Did you get your letter yet?" "No. Do they even send letters to failures?" "It would be fucked up if they didn't." "I guess." "Did you get one yet?" "No." "Jason, it is way too easy to tell when you're lying." "That's the thing though: only you know when I'm lying, so I guess I am good at lying." "Did you get accepted?" "Don't know." Jason pulled out a letter from his back pocket. It had the UA logo on it. "I got mine yesterday, but I want to open it with you." "Go ahead." "When you have your letter." "This isn't like dinner. You don't need to wait for everyone else." "I know, but-" Chris's mom rushed in. Both men stood up. "Mom?!" "Everything alright?" She held up a letter: the same exact kind that Jason had. Chris took it and stared at it. Both guys nodded to each other. They opened the letters up simultaneously and read very similar letters.
Dear Chris Harper,
As you may be aware of, you passed the written test with a 94%: the second highest score from all test takers. That being said, you failed the combat exam by only earning 5 points. Normally, this would disqualify you from UA.
However, there is a hidden prerequisite that we don't inform the exam takers. Not only are there "Combat Points", but there are also "Hero Points." These points are distributed by a board of police officers and pro heroes watching the action live. They saw you use your power to save others when everyone else was running away. You put yourself in harm's way knowing the risks. The board awarded you a total of 233 Hero Points: a new record! These points make you eligible. Congratulations, Chris!
Welcome to My Hero University!
Sincerely,
All Might
Chris began to tear up as he looked up from the letter. He locked eyes with Jason, who was fighting back his own tears. They had the same exact emotions flowing through them: pride, relief and excitement. They jumped up and grabbed onto each other, screaming in joy. They had done it. Against all odds, they succeeded.
They were going to UA.
Come join the MHU Discord!
https://discord.gg/Q3vPqXhGv6 Discuss MHU and talk to me!
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone