United We Stand, Together We Fall

2 | The Practical Exam

One For All: a quirk that stockpiles raw power. It has been passed down through generations of heroes, all of whom had faced great foes, struggles and pain. One of the greatest quirks in existence with an even greater legacy to go with it.

And somehow, such greatness manifested before Izuku in the form of seven adults running around him like a flock of headless chickens.

They had been scared because Izuku could apparently see the dead, and by extension, may therefore also be dead, which, okay, maybe kinda makes sense. But at that moment, he quite literally did not have the time to care, not when orientation had been only minutes from starting.

Though, as he broke into a run through UA's oversized doors, he found his mind couldn't help but wander.

Huh...

Now that Izuku actually thought about it, could he be dead? Had he taken Kacchan's words too seriously? Oh no—

He felt eyes boring into him, causing him to look up at the spirits who had followed, all frozen around him.

"Whoops... said that out loud, huh?"

"I believe so," stated a scrawny man (almost as scrawny as All Might's true form) with white hair and grey eyes, the other spirits nodding around him.

Izuku inhaled deeply, "Well, whether I'm dead or not, I'm taking this exam."

The eight of them finally reached the auditorium, pushing through its doors and into the packed room.

"So many applicants... So small of a chance..." He began to mumble as he walked to his designated seat number, which was next to a delightful Katsuki. The blonde only grunted and kept his eyes at the front, thankfully.

"What's up, UA candidates!" The voice hero: Present Mic! Izuku listened to his radio show all the time!

Aside from feeling awestruck about seeing Present Mic, Izuku struggled to pay attention to the man when there were 7 spirits around him that no one else could see .

He began to mumble quietly enough for (hopefully) only the ghosts to hear, "Why...are you all still here?" While, yes, this was weird, didn't they have other ghostly things to do? Why did they need to stay close to Izuku?

Unknown to him, Bakugo's eyes shifted to him momentarily.

"Yo, I'll pay attention to Present Mic for you, Izuku." Izuku merely blinked in surprise at the use of his given name and gave a subtle nod of his head.

After a few awkward seconds, one man scratched the back of his head and asked. "Well... when did you first notice us, kid?"

He started thinking. When did he first hear the voices? He remembers hearing them when entering UA's premises and maybe even when he was on the train?

"Ah, if it was on the train, I believe that would have been me." The white-haired one responded, "I'm Aki, the First. Some may even call me One For All." His lip quirked up slightly.

Izuku's eyes widened at that, "So, you're all...?" They all nodded, including the youngest spirit who was keeping an eye on Present Mic. "How? I-I wasn't told of this?"

"Dear, that's probably because no user ever was meant to see us, the past wielders. We are always attached to the current wielder but can do nothing more than watch them and their surroundings." Izuku nodded at the kind-eyed lady. "And I would be Emi, the Second, dear."

"Riku, Third." Although he spoke little, the man felt very welcoming to Izuku.

"Ah, he's not much of a talker. But his body language is more than enough to explain himself." The brunette crinkled his dark brown eyes. "I'm Yasushi, the Fourth."