A/N: Hey everyone, I just got back into this fanfiction thing after a SUPER long time of being swamped with work and other things I had to do like college and moving out. So I figured I'd start fresh with a new story and a new character. I originally made one for Black Clover as well, but I think I'll start here since the characters are somewhat similar in a way. This will take place in accordance with the anime, just adding in an OC I had stuck in my head. So, I'm going to start with a bit of his backstory and go straight into the Entrance Exam arc, since I think that's the best place to lead off. Hope you enjoy!

Split

"Just hold still, you maggot! I'll make you into the embodiment of terror that'll replace me in this city!" My father demanded, shoving his boot into my chest.

I was strapped down to a metal table in some cellar, not sure where, next to some girl, also strapped down. My mother was unconscious in the doorway, blood dripping down her head. She tried to make this stop, but I guess my father was just too much for her to handle. I struggled to break free, but the straps were too tight, and the weight behind my abuser's foot was too much for me to even breathe correctly, let alone lift.

"Now, don't struggle. This will all be over soon." He pulled a syringe off a nearby table, holding a black liquid inside. He went over to the girl and stuck it in her neck, letting the dosage of whatever that was flow through her bloodstream. He pressed a button on the side of the table she was on, causing a glass lid to form over her, which lead to a tube connected to the bottom of what I was currently bound to.

He went for the second syringe.

My body grew tense. My Quirk didn't work, probably something to do with the straps I was tied with, so that was out of the question here. "Why?" I asked, struggling to find the will to speak through the terror going through me. "Why are you doing this? What are you doing?"

"It's quite simple child..." He came closer to me, syringe in hand, and started the injection into my jugular. It felt cold but stung like a fire was licking my flesh. I started to feel myself go numb, and my eyelids were growing heavier over time. He continued his answer.

"I'm making you strong." His words rang through my head as my consciousness faded.

That was eleven years ago.

Someone came in some time after that happened, but my memory was so fuzzy that I forgot their face, or their name. My mother was still alive for the time but had a nasty scar on her head from the incident. There was a few more complications after that, but she managed to continue raising me despite that, and I can't thank her enough for not giving up on me. Now that I'm standing outside of the U.A. building, perhaps that nightmare of a childhood was finally beyond me.

The practical exam didn't start for a few hours yet, but I was told to show up early by mom. She wanted to make sure this all goes well, especially since I was homeschooled up until this point. The only reason I might even get a chance to take the exam at all is because of this note in my hand:

When you come of age, come to U.A. and take the exam to get in. I think this is a good chance for you to get used to your 'new' self. - E.

I'm not quite sure who wrote this either, but my only possible answer to that was whoever helped me back then, since he saw my Quirk in action. Or rather, what it became...

What I'm afraid will come out again.

Swallowing whatever nerves were coming up at the thought, I went through the main door, only to be greeted by a rather loud individual wearing headphones and glasses. Blonde hair, bit of a mustache, easily enough I recognized him as Present Mic, the Voice Hero. He apparently worked here.

"Eh? Who might you be? You know the practical doesn't start for a while yet?" He opened with a few understandable questions. I handed him the note I received and began answering him.

"Hikari Minedoshu. I got this note in the mail when I was still a bit younger, and since the circumstances of my arrival were"-

I got cut off after he gasped louder than I ever heard. "What?! So you're- you're him?"

"Uh... I guess?" I had no idea what that was supposed to mean. Maybe he didn't mean it like I was some prodigy?

"Ah, I see! It's very rare to get recommendations from outside the public-school system these days, especially from a teacher here."

"Teacher? Who is this from?"

"Oh, you'll find out soon enough. I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise. Anyway, come with me to the auditorium. I'll have you fill out some paperwork before the exam officially starts, so the school knows more about you."

He leads the way to a large room filled with chairs that cascade down to the stage. It had a higher point on it that I assumed was for him to stand on, if he was leading the exam today. It had a large screen with the U.A. symbol on it. I wonder how this exam will actually go...

The paperwork he had for me was fairly straightforward- name, birthdate, blood type, height, weight, and so forth. So, I quickly filled out the information to the best of my knowledge: Hikari Minedoshu, April 7th, O positive, 5'7'', 59 kilograms, blue hair, blue eyes. When it got to my Quirk, I ended up putting down what I referred to it as- Spirit Craft. Essentially, due to whatever it was my dad did to me back eleven years ago, I think this was the result. My body can secrete a type of amber light from my sweat glands that I can protrude off of my body and bend at will. After shifting it to whatever size or shape I desire, it hardens and solidifies to be stronger than tempered steel, but I can still move it around. If I so choose I can dispel it and it'll return inside of myself to be used later.

There is... another part to it though. Or rather, another half of it. That gets manipulated when my second personality takes over, and instead of manipulating the light I can secrete, it can bend a crude smoke I can also produce in the same way, but he uses it for more... 'aggressive' methods. I don't think I'll put that part down just yet, since I don't want it to be seen. In truth, it terrifies me.

I turn in the paperwork to him and he skims it over. "Spirit Craft? Mind if I see an example for reference?" He gives me a curious look.

I have no reason to decline, to my knowledge. So, I do as he asks. I turn around, will some of the amber to my right hand, and swing it from my left side to my right, letting the light escape and form a sheet of glowing glass, large enough to give me a wall of protection. He whistles a bit and approaches the wall I just created. He attempts to run his hand through, but it stops on the edge. He knocks on it like a door, making a slight ringing sound with each hit. "Interesting..." He nods in approval. I dispel the wall after a while, as the light gets absorbed through the skin on my arm. "Why don't you go ahead and have a seat? The rest of the test takers should be here soon."

"Actually, I think I'm going to go ahead and get some fresh air before we begin." I turn to head upstairs and look at the clock on the back wall. 8 AM. I've got maybe an hour or so before the test begins. So I resort to waiting outside the main door I came through and taking a look at my potential classmates or rivals.

After a while some people come trickling in. Not many at first strike my fancy, except one that looks incredibly diligent, one of the first to arrive. Glasses, dark blue hair, darker than mine, rather physically capable if I may say so. As he walks by I notice the backs of his shins are bulging abnormally. Some more time passed, I saw a few more potential big shots, one that looked similar to a bird in a few ways, another that croaked like a frog as she passed me, one that looked like he was going to watch the world burn (which kind of gave me an evil eye as he passed), then a girl that looked awfully cheery. She waved as she went inside saying "good luck" as if we were friends already. I simply smiled and waved back. After that, I heard someone freaking out before I turned to go inside. Green hair, seemed at least averagely fit, if not more than that under his uniform, but other than that, nothing too special on the surface. But for some reason he stuck out like a sore thumb. I shrugged it off and went inside to grab a spot in the back.

After some more time passed, the lights in the room came on one by one, and the teacher in front was the same one I met this morning. His voice boomed through the auditorium.

"For all you examinee listeners tuning in, welcome to my show today!" He began as if it was a reality show. "Everybody say 'hey'!"

Silence.

"What a refined response." I could see him shaking nervously from here. "Then I'll quickly present to you the rundown for the practical exam! Are you ready? Yeah!"

Silence.

I took a look around the room, everyone was quite calm and attentive... except for the guy freaking out outside earlier. He looked like he might faint from this angle, either from nerves due to the test, or what I assumed to be a crush.

The proctor continued. "As it says in the application requirements, you listeners will be conducting ten-minute mock urban battles after this!" The screen began to display a video feed with what I assumed would be explaining the rules of the exam. However, this is where I started to get a bit nervous.

I'm really not much for combat. That's the big thing of my other half. Which I was hoping didn't have to make an appearance, but here we are.

"You can bring whatever you want with you. After the presentation, you'll head to the specified battle center, okay?"

Silence. But he did pass out cards to the seats of the auditorium. It looks like I'll be going to battleground B.

"Three different types of faux villains are stationed in each battle center. You'll earn points for each of them based on their level of difficulty. Your goal, dear listeners, is to use your Quirks to earn points by immobilizing the faux villains."

Ah, I see. So I don't necessarily have to defeat them in combat, I just need to make sure they can't move. This is much easier. I slowly started to feel a grin come across my face.

"Of course, attacking other examinees and any other unheroic actions are prohibited!"

"May I ask a question?" A student said, standing up proper. It appeared to be the diligent one I saw earlier.

"Okay!" The light over the student came on as he held up his handout.

"On the printout, there are four types of villains. If that is a misprint, then U.A., the most prominent school in Japan, should be ashamed of that foolish mistake. We examinees are here in this place because we wish to be molded into exemplary heroes. In addition, you over there with the curly hair-" He pointed to the student that was losing his cool earlier. "You've been muttering this whole time, it's distracting. If you're here on a pleasure trip, then you should leave immediately."

That's less of a question and more of a statement. The one skittish student covered his mouth and hung his head low as everyone chuckled but me. But the almost soldier like student in the spotlight does bring up an interesting point. There are four types on the handout, so if I had to make an assumption...

"Okay, okay, Examinee number 7111. Thanks for the great message. The fourth type of villain is worth zero points. This guy is an obstacle, so to speak. There's one in each 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."

Just as I suspected. My mother took a test years ago that was similar to this and hinted at something to the nature of added difficulty.

"That's all from me! Finally, I'll give you listeners a present—our school motto! The hero Napoleon Bonaparte once said: A true hero is someone who overcomes life's misfortunes." He bowed his head a little. "Go beyond. Plus Ultra!" The last two words popped on the screen like it was a comic book. "Now everyone, good luck suffering!"

At that, I took my leave to Battle Center B.

It took me little time to realize how huge this place was. The door to get inside was as tall as an average skyscraper. Most of the students stood in awe at the sight of this miniature city that was going to be used for an exam. Not to mention that there were several more like this on the grounds of the school. Guess they aren't the most sought-after alma mater for nothing.

I admire the cloak I'm wearing, silver and etched with blue markings to match my hair. My mom made it for me as a good luck charm, or at least that's what she told me it was for.

I glance around leaning against the bus we came on. The guy that got called out in the middle of the rules assembly was standing in front of me, shaking like a palm tree in a hurricane.

"Hey you." I say, as I begin to approach him. He jumps at the sound of my voice in his blue tracksuit. "You okay? You seem like you've been off all day."

"I-I'm fine! Just a bit nervous I guess." He said, stuttering on almost every word.

I pause for a second and look him over. "You sure about that one?"

"W-why would I not be sure?"

"You tell me."

As if that question fell on deaf ears he begins muttering to himself at Mach 3. I didn't understand a single word that came out of his mouth. I slap him on the back to make him stop losing it.

"I sure hope that muttering isn't your Quirk. Good luck out there man."

"Y-yeah, you too." He said, glancing off into the crowd and walking two shaky steps forward before soldier-boy walks up and scolds him again. I notice why his legs were bulging in a weird way, considering there was what looked to be exhaust pipes on the back of each of them. Bits and pieces of the crowd look back at him with smiles on their faces, thinking they caught a lucky break.

I get the feeling I shouldn't underestimate him though. So what if he's a nervous wreck.

I decide to approach the door, navigating through the crowd. I pass by the one girl from this morning and get a better look at her appearance. Short brown hair, brown eyes, fairly typical if I do say so myself. She appears to be gathering her wits, so I decide to pass her instead of wishing her good luck like she did for me this morning. As I approach the door I notice that it began to open. Apparently, nobody else saw anything, so I duck around the corner into the battle center and eye my surroundings as I hear the proctor say "start" in the distance. Just a multitude of city blocks, like any other in fact. I decide my best possible option was to get a better view and see where I can find one of these "faux villains".

I start to focus a bit and draw the amber light substance from the soles of my feet and start running, causing the substance to become solidified when that foot was still partially suspended, creating a solid surface I could hold airborne, thanks to my Quirk. It's just big enough for my one foot, as I proceed with the next and repeat over and over, creating my own personal 'staircase'. I did this a lot when I first discovered my Quirk a while back. Hopefully nobody else saw me do this and attempts to follow my example – I'd rather go someplace I can hide from others at this point just in case I need to rely on the "other "me. Taking a glance around I don't see much at the start, but I do see everyone flooding in the entryway down the main street after a few seconds of me hitting a nearby rooftop. I sprint to the other side to find two bots that are worth three points each. I guess it's time to go.

Heading off the roof using the technique from earlier, Heaven's Staircase is I guess the name for it, I try to line myself up with the two of them between me, clap my hands together and secrete a sheet of amber about the same size as me, and release the restraints keeping me afloat, as I begin to fall towards one of the bots. As I approach the mechanical adversary, I let the light surround me and harden before colliding with it's head, tearing through it and landing on my feet, sustaining no damage from the impact, thanks to Divine Intervention. The remainder of the first bot crumbles around me as I turn to the second, barely a foot away from me at this point. I let the light that I have as a barrier fade and take a few steps back, preparing to "immobilize" the threat. I begin to build a cage out of the light around the bot, starting with directly in front of it, working around all the sides, and eventually curving off the top in a half-sphere around him. Unfortunately, I don't have the necessary control to straight up crush him, as it takes a lot of "force" to compress the light as it is solidified. So, hoping that counts, I decide to leave it there and move on, climbing to another rooftop.

I could feel that I was out of energy for Spirit Craft. Doing stunts like climbing up skyscrapers and caging a bot twice my size in such a short time can be quite a strain. I take a second to catch my breath...

And then I hear on the intercom system. "Six minutes twenty seconds left!"

Shit.

I immediately sprint to the edge of the roof and look for more enemies. Most of which are now piles of scrap thanks to the other students. I do notice a small group of bots down an alleyway not too far from here, but I can't take them as I am now.

Sorry to bother you, Kage. I ask myself mentally, hoping the other personality buried within is listening. But I think you need to take over for a few minutes, not that I really want you too.

And with that, I feel a change in my body. Everything grows hot, and my vision turns to redder tones. I notice the all-too familiar smoke billowing from behind my cloak. I notice something else too – the markings on my cloak are glowing red. Is that due to using my Quirk? Eh, no time to explain, as Kage begins piloting the body.

"Aw, too tired Hikari? Don't worry, I can have some fun now!" Kage says in my voice, giggling like a maniac. The smoke turns into his signature weapon, a kanabo- or a studded bludgeoning weapon used by samurai in the older days. He takes off in a mad dash off the roof, jumping from rooftop to rooftop until eventually he gets to the alleyway and lands on one of the bots, bracing the impact of the fall with thrusting his weapon into it. "Who's next?" One after another Kage swings his weapon back and forth, nuts and bolts and scraps of metal fly in all directions, until all the bots eventually can't move. "What's the count now? I forget... I think I just took seven."

In total he got about nine points there. Most of them were 1- pointers unfortunately. Well, sorry to inform but I'm taking control again now. At least until we find some more.

"Aww..." He moans in disappointment as I begin to pilot again and his weapon fades back into smoke. The marks on the cloak don't glow anymore. I swing around the corner to find nobody around, so I choose to dart down the street. The rest of the test takers are currently around the same vicinity, most of the bots destroyed, and it looks like I'm not the only one winded.

Then something came thundering down the street. I could hear skyscrapers being torn down in front of me. A towering behemoth of a machine was looming over all of us. It looked oddly familiar.

"THIS is the zero point bot?" I ask the air, since I'm not in earshot of anyone yet. I head towards the rest of the crowd.

The bot started to take a swing, ironically at the one that is – I'll have you know – still shaking. I sense a bad impact coming.

"Intervention!" I sweep my right hand in front of myself and whomever was nearby, giving us some protection from the incoming gust of dust. It cracks under the wind pressure, but it doesn't break, which is the important thing. Some people look at me as I release the barrier, noticing the marks on my cloak are glowing a sky-blue color instead of red like before.

I look on at the new adversary, probably ten times bigger than the other robots, maybe more. The people closer to it try to run in the other direction. The shaky kid is still frozen in fear. So I do what I feel like I have to do.

I run towards him as fast as I could allow myself, navigating through everyone else scrambling to get away, as some of them give me looks like I'm crazy. By the next time I saw him he was sprinting TOWARDS the robot.

This should be interesting. I continue heading in his direction but I watch to make sure I get every detail. Through the smoke that was left around the area I see him, leaping in the hair, past the giant arm of the robot, up to his head. He ended up punching the thing, but not just any punch, he put a dent in the front of this thing to match that of a tank shooting it point blank.

"Holy mother of-" I start to say, noticing the brown-haired girl was pinned underneath some rubble in between me and the bot. I now know why he chose to fight the thing – and he did pretty damn well too. I notice he began to fall, and by the way his limbs were moving, they were broken for sure. There's no way he'll land in time. I start sprinting upwards to match him using Heaven's Staircase, but I don't think I'll make it in time this way.

Think, Think, Think...

That's it!

I clap my hands together and start prepping the light to take shape mid-use. This is risky, but my only shot at this that I can think of. I get to a point where I'm high enough up and release Heavens' Staircase, and begin using the light I saved up as a slide, keeping it solid on the bottom with it being a liquid state at the top to reduce friction but keep it airborne. My feet hit the slide as I try to hold balance, almost falling off, but managing to stay on the narrow path of amber. I start gaining speed, beginning to get hard to breath as I approach the ground. I have to time this carefully, or I'll miss him. I keep falling down the ramp...

Thirty feet left...

Twenty feet...

Ten feet...

NOW.

I curve the slide out to horizontal to send my momentum forward, towards the falling bag of bones that was this nervous kid this morning. The brown haired girl managed to get on one of the parts of the robot that was now...floating? I'll ask later, but for some reason she slapped him right before he was going to hit the ground. I end the ramp with a slight incline and jump for him as the ramp starts to dismantle behind me. I think I'm just going to miss him.

Then he starts floating too.

I manage to grab his most definitely crippled body out of the sky and slide on the asphalt road on my back, him on top of me. I didn't have time to make any form of barrier for this part so it burns like hell until I collide with a rock in the way and come to a sudden stop. I hear a crack in my left shoulder and let a grunt out. I may have just broken something. But I think this one's okay, and the girl is fine too. Well. Until she throws up.

The kid crawls out of my grasp and starts dragging himself down the road. I hear him mutter something this time.

"If I can just get... one point..."

One point? He never scored? I asked myself.

And then the announcer speaks.

"Times up."

The siren goes off, everyone takes a deep breath, even me. Leaning against the rock, still in pain from the ride down into the roadway, I let my eyes close.

I later felt something moist on my head as my shoulder pain began to fade. I open my eyes to find what appeared to be an older lady. Must be the school nurse. I sit up and take in the surroundings one last time. The one kid who had at least two broken legs appeared to be perfectly fine now. Everyone else was surrounding the immediate area, looking on awe. The soldier-ish guy from earlier appeared to have something on his mind.

Eh, I won't let it bother me just now, I should probably get some rest for a minute. I leaned back onto the rock and let my eyes shut one more time.