4 months passed by seemingly in an instant and Kenji was nervous, sure he had Kirishima and Mina telling him that he'll do amazing and that they'll meet up after the exams, Katsuki forcing Kenji to stop being so pessimistic, and his parents supporting him from both the viewing area and at home. He was nervous to let everyone that believed in him down, but thankfully the written exam was a breeze—he needed that boost in confidence after all. But the practical exam is coming up and it's tomorrow.
"Dude just calm down! You got this!" "Yeah! We're all gonna do great!!" Kirishima and Mina cheered on respectively from their discord call while Kenji trained in his backyard. "But what if I mess up! What if I overdo it and pass out mid-exam!! What if I'm too weak to even defeat a 1-pointer!!" Kenji rambled on making Kirishima pull his friend back to Earth. Kenji's dad already told them the mechanics of the practical exams earlier that week, he even threw in some of his personal experiences when he was their age.
"I swear to god Kenji, you have to eventually let go of that unnecessary anxiety..." Mina said, her voice ever so sweet yet so commanding, she does have that aura around her; it's not that Kenji dislikes it nor does he find it overbearing, it's just that he's not used to his friends to be openly caring and concerned—well to be fair it's not like Kenji had that many friends to begin with. "YEAH! You're ultra-powerful and manly! You'll sweep through the practicals like it's nothin'!" And then there was Kirishima, always so loud but it was always a welcomed kind of loud; not the incoherent and mad kind of loud that Katsuki screamed out, it was an uplifting kind of loud.
Kenji liked that in Kirishima if he was honest.
"Well, let's just see y'know. The practicals are tomorrow and right now let's just get ready. I'll see you all tomorrow." "Good luck to you guys!" "We got this!!" Kenji, Mina, and Kirishima said respectively before ending the call, leaving Kenji in a suffocating silence, something that he wasn't used to ever since he met the duo considering that silent moments such as these are rare now.
A knock on the door filled the void, perking Kenji's ears and making him open the door. "Hey, you haven't left your damn room, auntie is getting worried." It was Katsuki. "Mom must've called for him when I haven't left since 10 AM." Kenji thought as he laughs sheepishly. "I was in a call... So I kinda didn't notice the time." Kenji admitted, earning a smack from Katsuki. Katsuki stared at Kenji and dragged the brunette down the stairs, earning confused noises from the latter. "Oh, Katsuki! Thanks for dragging him out of his room. Kenji, what were you doing up there anyway?" Makoto asked, placing bows of rice on the table for the two to eat, along with some curry and soup to go along with it.
"I was in a call with my friends." Kenji said, sitting down next to Katsuki, "Tsk, who are they anyway and why are they taking away our time?" Katsuki asked as jealousy and frustration intoxicated his tone. "Why are you asking? You jealous Suki?" Kenji teased, wiggling his eyebrows. Katsuki yelled profanities as he started to punch Kenji's shoulder. "Oh yeah, are we gonna walk to UA together tomorrow?" Katsuki asked after Kenji patted his blonde hair to calm the firecracker down.
"I'm walking there with Kirishima and Mina. Looks like you're walking alone." Kenji shrugged, chuckling lightly at Katsuki who pouted and averted the brunette's gaze. "Good luck Kenji," Katsuki mumbled as he stuffed his face with Makoto's cooking.
It was already tomorrow, and as much Kenji would love to deny it, he was excited to bash the heads of some robots. "Are you ready Kenji?" Kirishima asked, his usual toothy grin in full display. "Hahaha... maybe? I don't know, robots don't usually perceive emotions, so I have to resort to my own and other people without draining my classmates." Kenji said, playing with a ball of darkness, "Minais already inside, she was so excited she can't wait for us." Kirishima chuckled as he sipped from Kenji's tumbler that contained hot chocolate. Sweet and warm, it reminded Kenji of Kirishima and Mina's company.
The two walked down the path to UA, greeting familiar faces along the way, until Kenji spots a familiar mop of green. "Izuku! Morning!" Kenji greeted the freckled boy, who promptly trips over himself. It was so sudden and random that Kenji and Kirishima just stared at Izuku almost landing face-first into the ground until a girl caught Izuku mid-air and caused him to float. "Are you okay?" The girl asked Izuku and the latter just stammers on the spot. "Thanks for saving him," Kenji said, bowing to the brunette with a bubbly personality. "I'll go on ahead Kenji, see ya!" Kirishima smiled at the brunette as he patted his back, "See ya, Kiri!" Kenji replied waving.
"This sure is nerve-wracking. Well, good luck to the three of us!" The girl said, waving goodbye to Kenji and a shocked Izuku. "Are... are you okay? Izu?" Kenji asked but Izuku's face lightened up to a proud smile, "I talked to a girl!" He said softly yet excitingly. Kenji deadpanned, only to chuckle at Izuku's delusion, "No you didn't." Kenji said, pulling Izuku inside the school.
"WELCOME TO TODAY'S LIVE PERFORMANCE!!! EVERYBODY SAY 'HEY'!!" Present Mic yelled, but not a single reply erupted from the crowd. It was awkward, unbearably awkward, but for a pro hero such as Present Mic, this is probably normal. "WELL, THAT'S COOL, MY EXAMINEE LISTENERS!! I'm here to present the guidelines of your practical! Are you ready?!" He boomed, but it was met with another layer of silence.
Kenji only chuckled at this exchange, flipping through his booklet while Kirishima ate a chocolate bar that Kenji gave to him as compensation for being late. "Mock cityscape setting, ten-minute long simulations, and assigned battle centers..." Kenji mumbled, "We're both in battle center D..." Kirishima added, looking at his exam ticket. "What a coincidence, looks like I can't afford to slack off huh." Kirishima joked, making Kenji chuckle at the other. "Looks like we'll be against each other's throats," Kenji added. "Faux villains, ranging from 0 to 3-pointers huh. Kirishima and Mina have the advantage here." Kenji thought
The two exchanged dialogue a bit more until another voice forced itself into their conversation, "—And to add on! You two, the one with the black hair and brown hair, you're getting too loud, if you wish to converse or to make friends, kindly lower your voices as to not distract other examinees." An examinee with short dark blue hair, "Ah! Sorry!" Kirishima was quick to apologize, noticing Kenji's gaze on the other student. Present Mic proceeded to defuse the situation and explain the purpose of the zero pointers that Kenji was warned about earlier that week, it was an unbeatable obstacle; avoid it at all costs.
"That's all from me folks! I'll leave you all with our present-school motto. The great hero Napoleon Bonaparte once said 'A true hero is someone who overcomes life's misfortunes.' Go beyond. Plus Ultra! Now, everyone, good luck suffering!"
A simple hooded jacket, a black shirt, and a few white chocolate bars in his pocket were all that Kenji wore for his exams, he doesn't bother himself with fancy clothes or clothes that wore him down considerably. The chocolates? They're just there to satisfy Kenji's cravings. "Are you ready to go?" Kirishima asked, and Kenji just nodded. "I'm ready to release this pent-up anger," Kenji said, an annoyed and frustrated aura emanating from him. "Are you okay?" Kirishima asked, placing a hand over Kenji's shoulder. "I'm just really annoyed today..." Kenji admitted, taking a bite out of his snack.
"AND BEGIN!" Present Mic announced, making Kenji grab Kirishima's hand and made a run for it inside the testing facility. "WHAT'S WRONG?! THE TEST HAS STARTED! THERE'S NO COUNTDOWN IN REAL LIFE!" Present Mic yelled again, making all the examinees panic and run in.
"Thanks for snapping me out there!" Kirishima said running along beside Kenji, "Let's split up from here, see you again Kirishima!" Kenji said as he morphed his right hand to a jet black claw and grabbed a one-pointer's head that had appeared out of nowhere and crushed it. "That some manly instincts!" Kirishima said, before running in a different direction, "See ya Kenji!" He shouted before leaving.
"Alright, I've been taking in Katsuki's passive frustration and everyone else's for weeks now, I should have enough to make enough of you," Kenji mumbled as he created two types of hate beasts.
!Note!
Hate Beasts generally refer to Kenji's manifestations of his negative emotions, hate beasts can be as vague as a monster with claws, razor-sharp teeth, and white beady eyes. Or it can be as specific as a raven, elephant, etc.! Not only that, he shares his senses with these beasts if he wishes to (they can allow Kenji to talk or hear or see through them), and these beasts have a shallow sense of sentience but they're fully dependent on Kenji's abilities and perception.
!Note End!
"I'm counting on you, raven. Be my eyes." Kenji said, petting the hate beast that resembled a raven. The beast cawed and flew high in the sky, averting Kenji's attention to the other beast that stood idly beside him, "Rely on raven's eyes, go forth and destroy robots but protect the examinees." Kenji said, pointing to the path ahead of them. The beast nods and runs to where Kenji pointed, destroying bots along the way.
"There are limited amounts of 'villains' in this cityscape and limited time, either you have exceptional mobility, power, or good at information seeking, this exam is hell. Luckily for me, I excel in all." Kenji said, looking through his raven's eyes as his beast trample through robots at a fast pace, he could hear other examinees' protests while also luring in robots to where Kirishima is at the same time, passively assisting him.
Kenji noticed the darkness that slowly creeped up on his arm, making it way past his elbow, it won't be long until he fully gives in to the darkness that brewed inside of him.
-Meanwhile, somewhere else-
"Kenji Murata, isn't that your kid Guidance?" "Huh? Oh yeah! Look at him go! Already 67 points in!" Kyoujurou cheered on while eating the bento box that Kenji packed for him, "His skills are exceptional, not only is he battling robots but also helps other students who are in a pickle. His quirk is quite versatile as well, excelling in information gathering and power!" Principal Nezu commented, making Kyoujurou smile wider.
"That being said, the true test is about to arrive."
-Back to Kenji-
"Where is he?" Kenji asked his beast that has been frantically guiding Kenji to a narrow street. "Kirishima!" Kenji yelled out while ordering his manifestations to look for his friend until a loud crash echoed in the battlefield. A shadow covered the entire street as a robotic titan towered over all the examinees, it was the zero-pointer. "Shit, Kirishima! Where are you?!" Kenji yelled again until his raven caught sight of the said boy, under a pile of rubble.
"Kiri! Are you okay?!" Kenji asked seeing Kirishima's lower body buried under, "I was helping some guy when one of the buildings suddenly collapsed, thank god I hardened myself but I'm stuck and that thing is on its way! Kenji run away!" Kirishima yelled but Kenji asked his beasts to remove the rubble.
"There's no time! I can protect myself!"
"Idiot, you'll get crushed!"
"Seriously! I'm wasting your time the longer you stay here!"
"You're not! Come on... budge!"
The pile of debris barely moved before Kenji's monsters dissipated out of its master's exhaustion. Kenji was light-headed, he could feel his body temperature rise up as his nose started bleeding, they were both in a pickle. Kenji wanted to give up, a part of him begged to run away and leave Kirishima, gambling his friend's life over his.
But Kenji stood there unmoving, his eyes widened as he saw Kirishima's smile that always screamed Everything will be okay. But to Kenji, he could hear Kirishima's heart begging Kenji to save him, protect him. It reminded him of when Katsuki was captured, it reminded him when Izuku was being bullied, it was the same feeling that consumed him.
He formed a fist and felt a surge of energy flow through it, a foreign feeling filled the void where hate and anger would usually reside; he felt as if determination and desire started to well up inside him. Raven grabbed Kenji from behind and flew him up to the zero-pointer's head, his fist reeled back, preparing to punch it back to it came from.
"GET AWAY FROM HIM!"
He punched. But there was nothing for a few moments until a blast of red and yellow lights surged forth from his shoulder to his fist and impacted the robot's head, destroying it and detaching it from its body. The bot crashed down in pieces, its crash echoed in the narrow street, shattering buildings and windows, and possibly Kirishima who was underneath it.
The dust cloud settled, Kirishima was finally out of his conundrum with the help of what remained of Kenji's raven, guiding him to where the brunette was, in front of the dismantled robot was where Kenji sat, emptiness and neutrality filled his eyes and heart, half of his body was covered with the same darkness that created his monsters. Kenji felt nothing before passing out.