I watched as Aizawa brought a spiky-haired blonde up to the front and handed a softball to him.
"Throw this as far as you can, using your quirk, Bakugo," he said, pulling out a small distance measuring remote. "This will track how far you threw the softball. I expect everyone to listen and to observe him." So that's what his name is. Bakugo. I watched intently as he coiled up and exploded the ball from his hands, yelling, "Die!"
Ah, so this is what he's like.
Aizawa showed us the distance he threw the ball. 705.2 meters. The whole class gaped at the number, in shock of how powerful he was. The blonde smirked and walked off, brushing past the teacher.
"This looks fun!"
The students buzzed with nervous and excited energy, but Aizawa stopped them before they could partake in any events.
"You have three years to become fully-fledged heroes, and this is the attitude you have. All right, this is a Quirk Apprehension Exam. The person who ranks lowest in all eight tests will be deemed hopeless and be expelled from UA." The noise died down as the students all went quiet. I felt like he was looking directly at me. Of course he already knew I didn't have a quirk. Everyone had to know that I didn't after the test.
"What? Expelled?" some murmured. "But we just got here." Our homeroom teacher gave us a large Totoro grin, eyes wide open.
"Welcome to UA's hero course!"
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Test One: 50 Meter Dash
I felt confident. This is what I had been training for. I loosened up my muscles and bent down into a running position, ready to speed over. The machine counted down, and after it started, I sprinted over to the white line, listening intently for my score.
"6.49 seconds." I smiled and brushed myself off, silently patting myself on the back. I didn't notice how some students were looking at me strangely, trying to figure out what quirk I possessed.
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Test Two: Grip Strength
I looked around smiled at the sight of Shoji, who I learned was the six-armed guy. It's going to be a breeze for him, obviously. I averted my attention back to my part of the test. Focusing pressure and strength on my right hand, I squeezed the machine and closed my eyes. Once it beeped, I looked at the screen.
"65 kg." This was a really high checkpoint for me, considering that last year I'd only been able to grip about 50 kilograms. Junior high really were the good old days, but I was glad to see that I'd improved so much.
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Test Three: Standing Long Jump
We got a running start, and I watched as someone used a laser to dive over, explosions, Uraraka carried herself before getting nauseous and falling face-first into the sand. I breathed deeply before sprinting and hopping over, legs in front of my body as I landed on the ground, feet first.
"8.4 meters." That wasn't the best, but I was sure I could do better. But hey, at least I wasn't last. I looked over at the green haired boy from the morning, and noticed his worried expression. He kept on glancing at the scoreboard and muttering to himself. I don't know how this is going to play out, but hopefully he doesn't get expelled. He seems like a nice guy.
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Test Four: Repeated Side Steps
"Ah, I'm kind of worn out from all the exercises," Uraraka commented, wiping sweat off her forehead. I nodded and drank water from my bottle I had brought along.
"Yeah, look at Mineta," I said, pointing towards the bouncing figure. Uraraka stifled a laugh, grinning.
"By the way, I haven't seen you use your quirk so far. Or were you using it but not entirely? Or can I just not see that you are?" I nervously looked at her, gulping. I heard a bell sound and laughed anxiously.
"Would you look at that, it's my turn, I gotta go. Sorry!" I walked to the lines and bit my bottom lip. Why does she keep on pressing me about this thing? Once the countdown began, I started to clear my mind and once it hit the start, I started to quickly hop side-to-side, taking in air at a fast pace.
Once the time was up, I turned to the machine, heavily breathing.
"104."
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Test Five: Ball Throw
I almost spit my water out after Uraraka got infinity.
"Wow! That was amazing. Way to utilize your quirk, Uraraka-chan!" I said, smiling. She blushed and waved it off.
"Thanks, (L/N). Aren't you next?" I looked Aizawa, who was staring at me, and nodded.
"Yeah, yeah. Thanks for the reminder." She shook my hand and went off as I approached the ring. Eraserhead handed me the ball and gestured for me to throw. I pushed all my momentum into my right/left hand and threw. The ball landed seconds later, and he showed me my score.
"112 meters." I breathed a sigh of relief, not wanting to see that I had wasted any energy, and kept a score near my average of when I trained at home. I noticed that my score was considerably higher than those who had quirks, and I tried to ignore their confused expressions and focus on trying to do my best in the test.
But when Midoriya went up, I noticed he was expecting something, probably conjuring up a memory of some sort, focusing his power on his right hand. Nothing came out, however.
I immediately turned my attention to our homeroom teacher, whose hair was up and eyes glowing red.
"I expect that you don't know how to control your quirk. The entrance exam is flawed as it is, but now they're accepting you. Do you just expect for others to save you after you've injured yourself? I don't know some things, but I do know that, Midoriya Izuku, with your power, you are not fit to be a hero." His bonding came loose and Aizawa's hair pulled down into it's original form.
"You have two turns for the ball throw."
I watched Midoriya prepare himself for the second round. He coiled and threw the ball with maximum force, skyrocketing it into the air and having it land at 705.3 meters, 0.1 meters farther than Bakugo. I silently celebrated and gave a sigh of relief, but noticed his finger was all busted up.
"I can still move. I'm okay." I almost gaped at his smart thinking. Keeping my mouth shut, I just smiled. The looks of disbelief around the group spread like a wildfire, a shockwave of confusion and awe. My eyes shimmered as I looked at him.
He's a hero, that's for sure.
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The other three tests were blown past, and the final results were given. I searched the list for my name and found it was placed 5th, right below Tenya Iida, the engine legs guy. I pat myself on the back for not getting last. Top five was a pretty good place to start.
"Wow, (L/N)-san, you got fifth place, above Tokoyami," Uraraka commented, jumping up and down excitedly. "No wonder you got into the UA through recommendations, you didn't even use your quirk. You're amazing." I smiled at her and rubbed the nape of my neck awkwardly.
"Thanks... but honestly, I'm more worried about Deku." I pointed towards the green-haired boy and sighed, looking at his dismayed expression. "I never thought someone would actually not make the cut in this hero course." Aizawa broke the silence.
"I lied about the part where someone would get expelled." The whole class choked and started to shout. I frowned and looked at the pro-hero who was standing in front of me. He lazily glance in my general direction, surveying the class. But there was a glint behind his matte hair and disheveled expression. We made eye contact, and then I knew.
He complained about Midoriya, and he groaned about Bakugk making him use his quirk. I laughed along, unknowingly thinking that all his mind was focused on were those two. I couldn't see his eyes shift when he said bad things about the class. I didn't see his expression when he said "you are not fit to become a hero."
No matter if I placed fifth, or if I wasn't close at all to placing last, or even if I got into the UA through recommendations. My ability was there, my talent as there, and yes, I had the potential.
But not in the right area. This was the potential that I could not control.
I was on the top of the list for people who would get expelled. No matter how hard I trained, one thing would not change.
I would never have a quirk.