A Spider's Story (Todoroki X reader)

46

     "Okay. Everyone. Thank you all for your hard work in today's exam. Before I announce the results, I should probably explain the way we evaluated you. Between HUC and those of us at the Heroes Public Safety Commission, we had a two-fold demerit system that we used to determine your total scores.

     "In other words, we were evaluating you based on how few mistakes you made in a crisis situation. Anyway, the names of those who passed the exam are listed here in alphabetical order. Keep my words in mind as you search the screen for your name," Mera held up his arm as a list of names appeared on the screen.

     I scanned the list, looking for mine. I sighed quietly as I saw (Y/n) (L/n) listed on the screen. I turned to Denji, who was standing beside me. "Find your name?"

     "Yeah," He answered.

     "Good, now you don't have to worry about Hoshi yelling at you," I laughed lightly.

     "She'd make training worse if I failed," Denji pointed out. 

     I looked back up at the board, seeing who all else passed. There were two names from our class that I wasn't able to find. Katsuki Bakugou and Shouto Todoroki. I looked over at the red and white haired boy, who was standing on the other side of me.

     I was about to say something to him when someone else beat me to it. "Todoroki!" They called. It was Yoarashi. He walked up to the boy. There was a few seconds of silence until Yoarashi bowed, digging his forehead into the ground.

     "I'm sorry! It's my fault that you didn't pass the licensing exam. My focus was too narrow minded. Forgive me!"

     "You're fine. I was the one who got us off to a bad start," Todoroki said.

     Yoarashi stayed how he was. "But, still-"

     Todoroki stopped him. "And thanks to the things you said to me, I have a lot to think about."

     Behind me, I heard Ashido say, "Holy crap. Did he really fail?"

     Sero also asked, "How did our two top classmates not pass the exam?"

     I even heard Mineta say, "Those entitled people at the top think so highly of themselves, don't they? Their own egos are their worst enemies."

     "Baku's definitely is," I quietly half-agreed.

     Mineta put a hand on Todoroki's shoulder. "Looks like our class hierarchy is collapsing!" Iida grabbed him before he could say anymore and put him back onto the ground.

     Mera made another announcement. "So, next we'll give you the printouts of your results. They include a breakdown of your scores, so you'll know exactly what areas you need to improve on as you go forward."

     When I was handed my printout, I quickly looked over it. I've already planned to read it more carefully later. I looked at the score on the paper.

     79. Not bad.

     "We lopped off points when you did something wrong. Fall below 50, and you were done. These demerits are itemized on your result forms, as you'll see, so I'd look at them."

      He gave us a few minutes to go over our papers before he continued. Most of the points I had lost were from the first test. It was mainly because of that meatball guy.

     "Anyway, moving forward, those of you who passed can exercise the same authority as pro-heroes, but only during emergency situations. In other words, fighting villains, saving the victims of criminal acts or accidents. You may act using your best judgement, with no direct orders.

     "Keep in mind that your every action from now on carries with it a deep responsibility toward improving our society, and that the whole world is watching you. I'm sure you're aware that All Might, our greatest hero, no longer has his incredible power. One of the reasons crime in this country has been so low is due to his presence. With that deterrent gone, criminals are sure to become bolder and more widespread. Expect the balance we currently have in our world to be destroyed, and for things to change quickly. You young people will be the hope for our future. It's imperative that you become exemplary heroes. That your reputations grow to suppress crime just as his did. Remember, the license you earned today is provisional, and you still have much more to do. I would like for you to think of yourselves as fledglings, and be even more diligent in your studies.

      "And for those who fell short and did not pass the exam, we don't have time for you to feel bitter about your loss. Instead, we offer you a chance to redeem yourselves. After you attend a three-month-long special course and pass an individual test, we plan to issue a provisional license to those of you who failed as well. In order for us to reach the idyllic future that I just spoke of, we're going to need as many good heroes on the streets as we can get. The first round was one to weed people out. But we would like to grow the 100 selected in that test as much as possible. That's why we watched you all until the end. So we could see for ourselves that you each have promise. That once your shortcomings are corrected, you have the potential to be as great as your fellow classmates. This special course will keep you busy, as it will run concurrently with your normal studies. You're also welcome to retake the exam in April if you prefer to wait."

     "That's awesome, Todo!" I looked at Todoroki, a smile on my face.

     "You don't have to. Just... take it easy! Relax! The hierarchy is collapsing-" Mineta went on but got cut off by Iida.

     "We'll root for you," The class representative said. Midoriya and I nodded.

     Todoroki looked at the three of us. "Thank you. I'll work hard."