Solstice and Eclipse: Part III

Chapter XVII: Ascension

Though the first exam had started no more than five minutes ago, most of the students already found themselves locked in a stalemate. After their initial attack had failed, Ketsubutsu had lost their momentum, and with it much of their confidence. Now they held back, watching and waiting for the opportunity to strike.

"At UA, you look further ahead than other schools." Ms. Joke said repeating Eraser Head's earlier sentiment. "That's a pretty condescending thing to say, Eraser. Do you have any idea how many kids in this world want to be heroes? Strength of will is far more important than going to a famous school or having renown."

Even from where she sat, so far away from the action, she could still make out the look of hardened determination on her students' faces. Even knowing their opponents' quirks beforehand, their first assault had been unsuccessful, and though this fact may have demoralized some of them, Ms. Joke knew there was one student who could always be counted on to rally his classmates.

"When you think you're the stars and look down on others, you reveal your weaknesses. That's how you fail."

The corner of Fukukado's lips upturned into a small, satisfied smirk as she watched Eraser Head's students fall into the crumbling earth, swallowed by another cloud of dust. In the ensuing chaos, UA would fall. Or, at least, a good majority. The rest would soon succumb to broken spirits. Leaning back in her seat, Ms. Joke turned to look at Eraser Head, hoping to see the signs of defeat in his normally hollow eyes. Instead, she saw him wearing a smirk of his own.

"I'll agree with you on one thing." Aizawa said. "Willpower, determination, resolve, they're all essential for someone to succeed. Without it, they won't just fail at being a hero. They'll fail at life. If you were to ask me, I would say a hero's success is a direct reflection of the strength of their will. Some would even say that it's that strength that separates heroes from the rest of the world. Wouldn't you agree?"

Emi looked at Aizawa suspiciously, but nodded, nonetheless.

"Isn't it ironic then, that the strongest of wills would come from someone who never wanted to be a hero in the first place?" 

The two refocused their attention on the ongoing battle. Once the dust settled, they could see that the earth had split, and Class 1A had been buried beneath a landslide. Ketsubutsu slid down the edges of the crater to search for their helpless prey, ready to start taking them out one by one. For all his talk about faith and hope, Aizawa's students had fallen, taken out by a single attack from just one of her students. She was about to say as much when the rocks started to shift. Leaning forward in her seat, she focused her eyes on the subtle movement, and then jumped to her feet.

"Get out of there!" She shouted at her students, even though she knew they couldn't hear her.

The rock and stone slowly began to shift and eventually gave way to a dome of brilliant white light that slowly emerged from the wreckage, rising like the morning sun. The broken earth fell in on itself as it filled the displaced space left behind by the still rising sphere. Finally, the dome surfaced completely, and in it was encapsulated the entirety of Class 1A, standing on a platform of hard light, save one student who hovered in the air just above them.

[My Hero Academia]

My name is Yo Shindo and I am a hero. My quirk, Vibrate, allows me to cause anything I touch to shake. I can create tremors fierce enough to cause seismic events and can reduce a ten-story building to a pile of rubble. Growing up, my teachers always called me a natural born leader. Miss Fukukado says it's because I have an indomitable spirit that inspires others and that's the reason people follow my lead. I've always done my best not to let myself become arrogant because of it. Confidence, though? Confidence is something I have in spades. A lot of people get nervous during exams, for example, but I've always gone into them self-assured. The Provisional License Exam was no different. But the day I met UA High School, my confidence turned to arrogance.