Puppet Master

Provisional Hero License Exam

Izuku narrowed his eyes as his fellow students went to town on the concrete jungle Ken made for them.

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'A special move,' Ectoplasm said, 'is special because it is a move that ensures your victory.'

'They must be ingrained within you,' says Ken.

'These moves will become the symbols of who you are!' Nemuri exclaimed. 'Nowadays it is rare to find pro's with their own special moves!'

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They all said that but...

"Kid," Izuku immediately spun around to throw a punch on sheer instinct only for it to be caught by Sho, "what's that face for? No ideas?"

Izuku lowered his hand, shaking it out a bit before shaking his head. Sho nodded. "I figured that would be the case with you. You are used to fighting dirty and using any means possible to survive. Something like a 'special move' isn't something you would normally think of, is it?" Izuku shook his head. "N- not onlae that. Th- there is no 100% v- victorae for anae move I- I think. It m- makes no sense to think that w- way." Sho hummed nodding. "You're right, there is no guarantee that you will win a battle. Let's change the wording a bit then. Consider a move that is unique to you that, instead of simply being a one-shot KO, is impossible to dodge or block. Something that you know will be at least a 100% hit and do some significant damage." Izuku looked down. "I- I could but..." "Your quirk isn't suited for those moves, right?" Izuku glanced up. "Neither is mine," Sho said. "I, personally, only have one special move that I basically never use because my quirk just isn't suited for big, flashy attacks. Or attacking at all, for that matter."

"Y- you 'ave a special move?" Izuku asked. Sho shrugged. "I guess. It's more like the opposite. It shuts down everyone's quirk. I only use it when I am the only one fighting and it is a big group. Nemuri calls it 'Full Delete' because I didn't care for naming it. It's basically or when I am about to drop into a drug cartel or trafficking group from above where I have a full view of everyone there and I erase all of their quirks before dropping down. Of course, when I am down, some bodies block others and my quirk loses effect on those, but for the split second that they see me and I can see all of them still, the momentary confusion gives me the upper hand but nevermind that. We are looking for something you can use on your own without Hitoshi, right?" Izuku nodded.

He could tell Sho was thinking something but was hesitant to say it. The man took a deep breath. "Okay, before you say anything, this is just an idea and I won't force you to go along with it in any way." Izuku narrowed his eyes. Ominous, hmm? "You are able to transfer your own life energy into other living things allowing them to heal faster than a normal rate or just have more energy and so on, so forth but... have you ever considered taking the energy from someone else?" Izuku stared blankly at the hero, processing the question before his gaze darkened. "Y- you want me ta u- use people l- like that?" he practically hissed. Sho shook his head, hands out defensively. "Calm down, calm down. You know I would never try and put you in that situation. Look, your quirk is hardly suited for combat aside from you flying around with small tugs on your own strings but that costs energy. You learned on the streets that sometimes the only way to survive is to fight dirty. When it is life or death on the line sometimes you won't have the luxury of thinking about things like manipulation and the like. This would only allow you to both keep your energy up as well as lower your opponents and help you gain the lead."

Izuku looked away, arm shaking by his side. He understood, he really did, it's just... it felt so wrong. Monoma's face after their fight in the Sport's Festival continued to haunt him, reminding Izuku of how easy it was to just control him. When he was almost like her...