Word Count: 3198
My heart was pounding against my rib cage, I could feel my palms sweat. Why did I feel... so like this? I've been looking forward to this since Ms Shimizu began talking about high school.
My school had a closure day thingy, so I was fortunate enough to not have to go to school on the day of the exams.
I sat on my porch steps, waiting for Hitoshi. He texted me this morning that he wanted to walk with me to UA. Yeah, it was the entrance exams today and I was so nervous. Dad came home a few hours ago, telling me to do my best. As he talked, I couldn't help but stare at the symbol on the uniform he held folded in his hands.
"You'll do great! My daughter is amazing and now UA will see that too!" He called as he opened the door to the house. Dad ruffled my hair a bit and chuckled, "You'll be a Pro Hero like me soon!" I bite my lip a bit before nodding my head. I sigh, "Thanks Dad."
He waves at me before going inside the house and closing the door behind him. I went back to just watching the empty road, waiting for my best friend. I checked my phone a few times, the entrance exams would start in about an hour.
The next time I look, a text from Mum is there.
To: MyGirl
From: ILoveYou2.0
Subject: UA ENTRANCE EXAMS!!!
'Hello, my beautiful daughter! Sorry that I'm out at the moment and can't say it to your face but I just had to wish you luck! I know you've faced some hardships but... you'll do your best!'
I swallow the lump in my throat. I quickly type in a response saying a 'thank you' and that I will do my best. As I press 'send', I hear a call of my name.
"Hey, Y/N, come on. We've got 40 minutes to get there." Hitoshi says to me. I jump up from my spot and walk over to him with my bag in hand.
"You nervous, Y/N?" He asks, glancing down towards me.
"Of course. You?"
"Not even a bit."
Later . . .
Hitoshi pulled me along, grumbling that I was staring at UA's statues and such outside the building. It was all so beautiful I couldn't believe it. "Come on, idiot, we're going to miss orientation." He grunts, tugging my coat collar.
I follow his footsteps into the entrance of the building. The sign beside it said 'UA High School Hero Course Exam Orientaion'. I felt chills just reading it. Other people began sitting in their seats that their tickets said. I was more in the middle of all the stands, having a clear view of the Pro Hero.
Gasping, I grip Hitoshi's sleeve, "It's Present Mic, 'Toshi! He's gonna' be one of our teachers!" Hitoshi rolls his eyes at me and whispers for me to stop talking. Present Mic then shouts out to us, "As it says in the application requirements, you listeners will be conducting ten-minute mock urban battle after this! You can bring whatever you want with you." I press my lips into a thin line, nerves running through me.
I've never used my quirk in combat before. I don't think I have ever needed to anyways. Sure, teasing hurts but I wasn't going to use my power against those teasing me. This would be my first time, excluding my father's training too.
"After the presentation, you'll head to the specific battle center, okay? Okay?" He called louder to the silent audience. Me and Hitoshi peered down to our entrance tickets to see our battle centres. My friend pointed out, "We're in different centers, huh? Guess I can't babysit you like always."
I pout at him and shoot back, "Hey! Don't have to always make fun of me!" He smiles a bit. "But you are right, 'Toshi. I'm in Battle Center A. You?"
"Battle Center D."
I huff, fixing my jacket as Hitoshi leans his head into his palm. "Wonder how this'll go." He murmurs. I shrug my shoulders a bit. Present Mic goes on, "Three different types of faux villains are stationed in each battle center. You earn points for each of them based on their level of difficulty."
I watch the screen intensely, trying to remember the robots' outlines for the actual exam. It looks like the 3 point villain has launchers on the top. Should I aim for those?
Wait...
The Hell is my battle plan?
Present Mic breaks me out of my trance by explaining, "Your goal, dear listeners, is to use your quirks to earn points by immobilising the faux villains." I tap my cheek, trying to make out the uses of my quirk against the villains. This will be hard. For me.
The Pro Hero points his finger out to us dramatically. "Of course, attacking other examinees and any other unheroic actions are prohibited!" He smiles at us to give a little more confidence. That's what I'm lacking at the moment.
Suddenly, the boy near the end of my row stands up with his hand raised. "May I ask a question?" He calls out, "On the printout, there are four types of villains. If this is a misprint, then UA, the most prominent school in Japan, should be ashamed of that foolish mistake."
I widen my eyes at the guy. He looks very professional. I hear Hitoshi sigh, turning away from him, "Who cares? What kind of standards does this guy have?" The boy he was referring to holds a fist to his chest. He explains, "We examinees are here in this place because we wish to be molded into exemplary heroes." He stops, turning around pointing towards a bystander a few rows away from us.
"In addition, you over there with the curly hair!" He shouts, making me and Hitoshi look over to the innocent boy who points to himself in fear. The guy with glasses states, "You've been muttering this whole time. It's distracting! If you're here on a pleasure trip, then you should leave immediately!" I knit my brows and shoot a look towards him.
Why did he have to single out that kid for? He looks like he was minding his own business. Damn.
The boy holds his hands over his mouth and says a quiet 'I'm sorry' as other people laugh at him. I grunt, "That's a bit harsh."
"Okay, okay, Examinee Number 7111." Present Mic waves us to cool the audience down. "Thanks for the great message. The fourth type of villain is worth zero points." Another silhouette appears on screen.
"That guy's an obstacle, so to speak. There's one in every battle center, an obstacle that will go crazy in narrow spaces. It's not impossible to defeat, but there's no reason to defeat it either. I recommend that you listeners try to avoid it."
Present Mic shrugs his shoulders as if it were nothing. The glasses kid sits down as Present Mic finishes the presentation with a loud 'Plus Ultra'.
"Now, everyone, good luck suffering!"
Soon, I got off the bus to the battle center, texting Hitoshi that I had arrived. We wish each other the best as I fix my clothes. Dad told me to wear what I wear to hand-to-hand combat training. So black jogging pants or skins if that's what you call them, and a black sweat-proof t-shirt. It was like second skin, only little space around my neck.
"Crap, a hairtie..." I mutter to myself. Can't believe I forgot that. I grab my jacket, the one that looked a bit beat up since I wear it everywhere, and lay it on my lap. I clap my hands together and face them onto the fabric.
"There we go!" When the light shines away, a hairtie shows in the palm of my hand. I stretch it a bit and put up my hair.
Thank God my jacket still had a lot of fabric left so it still wouldn't break easily.
I left my bag where the instructors said and began to stretch. Dad taught me a fair bit about how to fight. We only started combat training a few months ago since he heard about me wanting to become a UA student. Dodging, balance and overhead attacks were my best three, Dad said.
Hopefully that'd be useful for my quirk.
I peer around the crowd. A few people were nervous, others just ready to show off. I could tell easily. Like this guy over there.
Spiky hair with a tank top. He was stretching a bit. But the look in his red eyes said that he was going to do anything to get into the hero course.
Should I go talk to him?
Yeah, let's go.
As I begin to make my way over to him, I hear a loud call. "Okay, start!" We all look up to a giant tower, Present Mic's voice coming from the top. "What's wrong? There are no countdowns in real fights! Run, run! The die has been cast, y'know!"
The people in front start on their way, pushing passed others as the gates open. I widen my eyes. This is the longest I've been without someone in a huge crowd commenting on my quirk or appearance. Thank God.
I look around around the floor. No way was I getting passed them without a plan. The first thing I notice is the grass and then the stone under me. That's good enough. As I begin running, I clap my hands together and press it against the floor. My fingers brush the stone as I'm passing it.
I lift my hand up and grip the object I made. A very long javelin. Perhaps this wasn't the best idea since we're just running in but I've got little to lose. I speed up and dig the javelin into the grass area, jumping and putting all of my weight into the flat end of the object.
When I'm holding myself straight up, I extend my hand and push myself in front of a few people, now inside the battle ground and seperated.
"Damn, look at her!" I hear a voice call out. Block it out, block it out.
I immediately hear a loud crash, like a building falling down. I widen my eyes and follow the noise, seeing a 2 Pointer running through a building and locking on a duo of testers. They gasp, the brunette girl standing up and holding out her hand to activate her quirk. Smoke draws out of her hand, covering their view of the robot.
"They can't see the villain..." I mumble, making my way over and breaking into a sprint. As I get closer, I run my hand across the bigger pieces of debris. Using up the whole part, I create a a larger axe and jump up off another large part of broken wall, aiming my axe down to immobilise the robot.
"Out of my way, dumbass!"
What the fuck?
I turn my axe to the side to see a blonde with sharp red eyes piercing into mine. He presses his hand against the 2 Pointer and blows it up. A gasp leaves my lips as my body is thrown back against the wall of a nearby building. My axe breaks upon impact too. I rub my neck and look up.
Again, the red eyes. "Jesus..." I stand up and look over to the two girls from before. "You saved them." I point out. The boy turns down to me and scoffs harshly, "What? No, I went for the point. I could barely see them because of the smoke." I furrow my brows. Damn this guy...
I tilt my head at him and say, "I could've had that." He knits his brows and gives an expression that just shouts 'what are you thinking'. I'm a bit hurt.
He looks me up and down, raising a brow. The guy retorts, walking away, "Right, as if. First come, first serve, dumbass."
He walks off.
"What a bastard..." I whisper to myself before running off to find more 3 Pointers and 2 Pointers. I needed points.
As I go on, I can't help but think about that guy. Such a weirdo... but he was strong. One blow and the robot was down. Damn, even with my axe - with how large I made it - it would've taken about six hits towards the center to get it it down.
He was interesting.
A few minutes of running around and destroying bots, I see that they must have allowed more to roam around and most of us were in the middle of the field. When I get my robot down, I peer around and notice a girl with pink hair puffed out on the ground. She had her hands on her knees and gasps for air.
I hear her whine, "My God, how much longer?" I smile a little at her. As I catch my own breath, I glance behind her to see a 3 Pointer rushing towards her.
My legs start moving on their own and as soon as I know it I'm dodging the bot's attacks, clapping and running my hand down its side. A spear comes out from the robot's material and there's a big dent in the side of it.
I jump back and throw the spear as hard as I can towards the dent. The pink haired girl yells, "Ah! Oh my-" My spear just barely makes the hit, the 3 Pointer stopping and powering down. I huff out, "Thank God. Are you alright?" I walk over and hold out a hand to her.
She grabs it and a smile dawns on her lips. "That was great! Thank you so much!" She says to me giddily. I wave my hand sheepishly and giggle back, "Oh-Oh, it's fine." She tilts her head at me as I feel a blush creep up my neck.
She clasps my hands in hers. "So what's your name?"
"My name? Uh, it's L/N-"
We're interrupted by sirens. Everybody stops on their tracks as the different Pointers shut down. The girl I saved jumped up in excitement. "Yes! Exam finished! I can't wait for the results!" She smiles at me before someone calls her name.
"I'll see you in class, right?" She says, walking backwards. I grin back at her, nodding my head. Hopefully.
I stretch my arm above my head and groan as the tension releases. Rubbing my neck, I look around to the others. A few of them are crowding into groups and claiming that they think they did great.
My loose strands of hair that fell onto my face are pushed behind my ear. "Man, I haven't been that tired since Dad's first training session with me." I say to myself. We get called back to the orientation room for a bit of a briefing. My eyes draw over to a certain somebody.
He wipes his mouth with the back of his hand, smirking off into the distance. He closes his eyes, panting a bit before he turns his whole body to walk out. I feel myself freeze up, since he's walking my way.
I clench my fists and hold my breath. He gets closer, dropping his hand from his mouth and opening his eyes. His gaze drops to me immediately.
"The Hell are you looking at, dumbass?" He scowls to me. I bite my lip, turning around and walking out of the Battle Center. I can feel his glare into the back of my head. "Hey! I'm talking to you, dumbass!"
I rub my cheek, letting out an exhale. I grabbed my bag and stepped onto the bus. Looking around, I see that there are only a few empty seats left. Two side row was empty. "Are you trying to annoy me?" The same guy says, following me through the bus.
As I sit down, the explosive blondie clenches the back of the seat and growls, "Is there something wrong with me, huh punk?" He takes the spot behind me. I give him a look and retort, "I don't know. Is there?" He squints at me before turning his gaze out the window.
My phone buzzes. I turn it on and see Hitoshi's name. He's texted me.
To: LittleKitten
From: SleepPlease
Subject: Unknown
'Hey, you out yet? How do you think you did?'
I smile a little bit. I shift my bag off of my shoulder and onto the seat beside me, leaning my head against the window.
To: SleepPlease
From: LittleKitten
Subject: Unknown
'Hi! Yeah I just got on the bus. Well my first kill got stolen, but I got about four 2 Pointers down. I know I definitely got at least seven 3 Pointers and seven 1 Pointers. Didn't come across a 0 Pointer though. What about you?'
As I wait for a response, I listen to others mutter about their work. I wish I was in the same Battle Center as Hitoshi, at least then I would have someone to stick around.
As the trees pass me, a few texts are sent back forth between Hitoshi and I. Hopefully we've made it.
A Week Later . . .
Dad pats my head. "Well done, Y/N. You've shown some improvement." He says to me. I shrug my shoulders and tug on my jacket. It's been a few days since the entrance exam and there are things that I have kept my mind on.
- I get to meet more Pro Heroes.
- Even if I don't make it into the Hero Course, I could make it into General Studies or Education course
- Hitoshi and I could be in the same class again
- That one guy with the red eyes
-The girl I saved
-How the blondie took my score and stuff
-I kind of want to learn more about them
"What's with that smile?" Dad says to me, opening the door to our house. I scratch the back of my neck and chuckle, "Well, uh, I'm just excited I guess. I should get my results back, right?" Dad grins down at me. He close the door behind us as we take off our shoes. "Yeah, soon. Maybe it's coming-"
"Y/N!" Mum shouts, running down the hall to us. She's clutching something in her hand. An envelope. "It's here! It's here! Your UA results!" She explains, jumping on the spot. My eyes go wide as she hands me the envelope. "Really?" I whisper, seeing my name written on the front.
Dad gasps, "This is great! Quick, open it now!" He stands beside my mother and joins their hands tightly. I see the wide smiles on their faces, making my heart beat faster. They're excited. Me too.
We run to the kitchdn, eyes on the object in my hand. I slip my fingers through the fold and lift the top of it open. I pull out a small object, placing it on the table, standing back with my hand covering my mouth.
The hologram blooms out.
All Might is here. On the hologram.
Oh God.