An Angel Becoming a Hero [BNHA X OC]

8 - The Path to Being a Hero

The first test started the day off great: the fifty-meter dash. "Let's start with the outliers for this one," called Mr. Aizawa. "Iida, and Takami, you two were the fastest in the practical. You're up first."

My teacher's stern voice only added to the anxiety of getting called out, by name, on the first day. Still, fear never stopped me when it came to competition. "Yes, sir!" replied both myself and Iida.

We approached the starting line. A robot stood at either side of the track to record our times. Iida crouched into a start position. "Should we consider this a rematch?" he asked with a slight grin.

I laughed, tapping my clothes and shoes to make them lighter. "Depends on who wins." My wings opened up behind me.

"I would stand back a bit," Mr. Aizawa warned.

The others stepped away from the track.

The two robots started the race. "On your mark... get set... go!!"

Iida and I took off like rockets. I beat my wings behind me to add more thrust, increasing my speed tenfold. It physically hurt to push myself so hard, and fly so fast, but this race and this school required me to go beyond my limits. Plus Ultra!

We both crossed the finish line at seemingly the same time. However...

"3.03 seconds!" called the robot on my side.

"3.04 seconds!" called the robot on Iida's side.

The instant I heard my time, I slammed on the brakes, opening my wings and skidding to a halt. Nearly losing my balance, I hunched over and took several breaths. "I've never run that fast...in my life."

"Damn," Iida cursed beside me, also out of breath. He clenched his fist. "For fifty meters, I can only go up to third gear. I still need to improve."

Iida's Quirk is Engine. His calf muscles are fitted with actual engines, which make him go really fast.

"Don't beat yourself up, Iida." His eyes locked onto me. "You're more fit for running than I am. I couldn't maintain that speed on foot. If the race was strictly limited to running, you would've definitely won."

He stuck his arms out like robots and bowed his head. "Still, a great race. Thank you for not going easy."

I laughed at his gesture. "You too."

Cheers echoed through the spectating crowd:

"Wow! That was so fast!" someone shouted.

"I didn't even see them!" cried another.

"A real-life Superman vs. The Flash race!"

"The two fastest in the class for sure!"

One wing hid my embarrassed face. "I totally forgot we had an audience."

The next race had Mashirao Ojiro, a boy with a big tail, against Tsuyu Asui. She got 5.58 seconds by jumping across the track like a frog, while Ojiro sprinted across for a score of 5.49 seconds.

Third, Sparkle Boy, Yuga Aoyama, ran against the pink-haired girl.

Mr. Sparkle looked eager to impress everyone. "You're all not being creative enough. I'll show you what it's like to be allowed to use your Quirk."

His Quirk is Navel Laser. Aoyama stood backward and used his laser to propel himself forward. However, he fell on the ground twice before crossing the finish line. Still, his confident smile never wavered, even after getting only 6.43 seconds.

As he looked back at the rest of us, he never stopped sparkling. "If I shoot for more than a second, I get a stomachache. ☆"

I don't know how I feel about this guy... I thought.