Part 3
Naturally, the examinees in front of it were fleeing in all directions. Running away from it.
Some might have thought, after hearing the DJ teacher's explanation (if my memory serves, he didn't introduce himself, so I don't know what to call him), "maybe I'll try to take it down." To test their skills or for appeal purposes.
But when you actually see it... well, you wouldn't want to face something this dangerous, right? You probably can't even envision defeating it. It's only natural to run.
I think they said the exam guarantees safety, but if you get crushed underfoot or hit by falling debris from its destruction, you'd die instantly, and it wouldn't be surprising...
...Anyway.
"...Can I do it?"
Probably, but I think I've already earned enough points by now. Enough that I feel like I don't need to hunt any more.
Besides, the virtual enemies are almost all hunted down and there aren't many left.
In that case, as a test of my skills... and including appeal to the teachers or examiners watching this, wouldn't it be interesting to take that thing on? They did say if you can destroy it, you're allowed to.
But to destroy that... I'll definitely need to use my Quirk at full power... Hm!?
At that moment, my eyes caught... a single examinee running against the flow of people trying to escape, moving in the opposite direction toward the Zero-Point Enemy.
(Wait? That guy... wasn't he the one getting dissed by that stiff-looking glasses guy during the explanation?)
The boy with messy hair who looked timid at first glance... didn't seem to be challenging the Zero-Point Enemy to test his abilities or show off.
His face, his expression... was desperate. He looked scared, frightened, but he was ignoring it, suppressing it as he ran out... it felt like he was running desperately for reasons completely different from such mundane purposes.
At the same time, I noticed. In the path of the Zero-Point Enemy's advance... there was a girl who seemed to have collapsed and couldn't move, perhaps injured. So that's it, that boy was trying to save her... even though he must be scared himself, he was suppressing it and running with his life on the line.
But honestly, it was dangerous even then... at worst, both of them could get crushed.
...Well, I can't just abandon them and sleep well tonight, I'll help too!
But right before my eyes... just when I thought that boy was running toward the girl, he kicked off the ground... and with incredible jumping power, he leaped up,
"SMAAASH!!!"
With a single punch, he completely shattered the gigantic Zero-Point Enemy that was as tall as a building, right from the front.
(...No way)
The scene was so shocking that I stood there dumbfounded, frozen in place.
Before I knew it, everything was over.
Although that boy had completely shattered the Zero-Point Enemy, likely due to the recoil, his arms and legs were broken to pieces, and just as he was about to fall... the girl he had just saved was saving him. It looked like she made him float along with the rubble to save him... was that a Quirk that makes things float or something?
Shortly after the two landed on the ground, the voice "Tiiiiime's uuuuup!!" echoed throughout the examination site.
Hearing this, most of the examinees left the area and headed home... but for some reason, I couldn't take my eyes off the boy who remained collapsed.
While people who seemed injured were being carried away or treated on the spot... he wasn't moving at all, perhaps unconscious.
Looking closely... his arms and legs were bent in unnatural directions... not just broken, but shattered. Was that the recoil from that super power?
...To end up like this with such serious injuries... he's such a dangerously reckless kid.
But...
(I'm sure... it's people like him who become 'good heroes')
Seeing him move with all his might, risking his life for others... that's what I thought. From how he looked, he probably didn't have any calculations in his head, it was almost like a reflexive movement.
For him, helping people... must be such a firm belief that it moves his body at a reflexive or instinctive level.
And the moment I understood that...
-thump
(...What... is this?)
Deep in my chest, something... like an emotion I couldn't quite understand began to beat in rhythm with my heartbeat.
What that true nature was... I still didn't know anything about it. I didn't understand anything, couldn't comprehend it.
I wouldn't realize the true nature of that heartbeat until much, much later.
This me... 'Fumiko Towa' and him... 'Midoriya Izuku's,
And the meeting of my and his, each of our 'Quirks'.
What that meant, and... where it would lead.
I know it's repetitive, but at that time, I still didn't understand anything.