Chapter Text
When the behemoth walked into the testing area, Iida Tenya was shocked. Sure, he lived in a world of quirks, where people could look like they weren’t even human. But it was a bit ludicrous that someone his own age was twenty feet tall. And had huge horns on their head. So when he got the chance, Tenya called out the giant.
“And you!” He rounded, after the pretense of a question about another robot that Present Mic hadn’t mentioned yet. “Aren’t you taking this seriously? You’re being a distraction-”
“Shut up.” The giant rumbled. “The hero’s still talking. You’re the one distracting people.”
Tenya flushed with embarrassment. How could he be so foolish! What if the giant was stuck being that large?! And he was right! Who could be more distracting than a yelling audience member?! Tensei was going to be so disappointed in him now… Tenya bowed deeply and apologized before sitting down.
“Thank you, listeners! Well, the fourth robot is more of an obstacle than something to defeat like the other ‘bots, ya dig? It’s worth zero points!” Present Mic shouted. Tenya slightly regretted sitting so close to the front, the voice hero was quite loud.
When the students went to their exam areas, Tenya was surprised - well not surprised, it was quite possible that it would happen - when the giant was at the same testing ground as him. The engine-legged teen walked stiffly up to the giant and bowed.
“I wanted to apologize again for calling you out like that. I only realized after you stopped me that I was about to say something quirkist.” Tenya said genuinely. When he stood back up to look the giant straight in the eyes, ignoring how his neck protested from tilting so far back, the giant looked perturbed.
“It’s alright, I guess.” The giant mumbled, but it was about as loud as normal talking to Tenya. “It’s not like I have a quirk for you to be quirkist about anyway.”
“Eh?” Tenya said intelligently as the giant-who-apparently-didn’t-have-a-quirk ran through the barely opened doors of the exam area. But- he clearly had a quirk, didn’t he? And weren’t they supposed to wait for a countdown?
“Go go go! The big guy has the right idea! There are no countdowns in a real battle!” Present Mic shouted over the intercom. Well then! A lesson worthy of UA! Tenya ran into the exam area with his quirk activated, destroying robot after robot with well-placed kicks.
Tenya saw a few examinees who stood out, like the blond with the support item around his stomach with a powerful laser quirk, or the mildly-offputting - stupid quirkist thoughts! For goodness sake, Tenya had a mutation quirk himself! - boy with multiple arms climbing up a building. He didn’t see the giant, but he could make guesses on where he’d been based on the crumpled remains of robots that led off into the distance. Tenya used his speed a few times to save other examinees from falling debris, but he doubted anyone would actually get hurt in the UA entrance exam.
Then the zero pointer arrived. It was everything and nothing like Tenya expected. It was certainly an obstacle, but it was no minor inconvenience. It was a giant robot that one would need to be insane to fight, let alone destroy. Tenya decided to run and search for robots elsewhere. Someone screamed, and he bit back the guilt. No one would be hurt in the UA entrance exam, he repeated in his mind.
As Tenya ran, the giant stepped out into the street. He was carrying the severed arm of a two-pointer robot like a club and scowling. Tenya froze in place when the giant made a rumbling noise in his throat like a growl. The engine-legged teen watched as the giant bounded over to the zero-pointer with incredible speed. The giant effortlessly lifted some rubble and pulled a girl out of it. Then in the blink of an eye, the giant had handed the girl to Tenya.
“Get her out of here. You’re fast.” The giant rumbled. Tenya didn’t have the heart to say that he thought the giant was just as fast as he was. Then the giant turned back to face the zero pointer. “I’ll take care of the villain.”
Tenya didn’t need to be told twice, and he ran off to get the girl - and himself - to safety. Once neither of them were in danger of being crushed, Tenya turned back to watch what the giant was doing.
The giant bent his knees and held his makeshift club with both hands. He took a deep breath in and out. Then his eyes opened in a glare directed straight at the zero pointer. Electricity crackled around his club, and the giant began to roar.
“Thunder…!” In a flash and crack of thunder, the giant had moved far enough to be behind the zero pointer. Not a millisecond later, the zero-pointer exploded. As fiery bits of metal crashed down around the giant, who was still holding the club out to the side, he finished the name of his attack. “Bagua!”
Tenya respectfully called bullshit on the giant not having a quirk.