"Wake up son, you're going to be late."
The old man flicked a switch and the entire room lit up. From under the covers a tired groan rose and a dark-haired boy clumsily got up from his bed.
"And hurry up if you want to digest that breakfast before the exam," the man added. "you wouldn't want to throw up if front of everyone, would you?"
He left the teen to his morning routine and waited for him to arrive in the living room. The man had graying hair that he kept in a ponytail, his face serious, you could easily guess that he held himself to a strict discipline. Although he appeared old, you could still see a well defined musculature under his clothes, proof of the training routine he kept after his retirement.
While his grandson was taking a shower he went through today's news on his phone. He noticed the brief article on UA's entrance exam, that was scheduled for this very day.
Usually, even Japan's number one high school for future heroes couldn't make its entrance exam newsworthy for the mainstream press. The media would normally relay simple information like the day of the event, and the deadline for applications. But this time it was different, as the rumors of All Might joining the staff as a teacher were slowly confirmed the school received an exceedingly high amount of attention, even by its standards. Experts went wild as they wondered what the next batch of heroes would look like after taking lessons from the Symbol of Peace himself.
While Shun Makimura found this turn of events interesting, he was more preoccupied by his grandson's exam and his memories on this matter. He remembered his own encounter with UA's selection decades ago, when he had to race the others to save as many 'civilians' as possible while under attack by robots. The civvies in questions were of course robots of their own, and the tricky part of the exam was to figure out that each candidate was awarded points for destroying one of their assailants. Indeed, he remembered realizing that the easiest way to protect all the victims was to neutralize the menace as soon as possible. Pragmatism, he said often, was what brought him to his former position as 7th in this country's Top-Ranked heroes.
Then his mind drifted off to his daughter's exam, eighteen years earlier, and almost immediately the memory of his daughter caused him great pain, like every time he tried to remember her early years. Fortunately, it was at this moment that his grandson finally joined him for breakfast.
Hikaru was an average-looking teenager, if average still had a meaning in this super-human society. To Shun, that meant he had no antennas, no cat ears or any mutation of the sort. There was his hair, short, messy, it showed that the boy never considered his haircut as a worthwhile preoccupation. A look easily reminded his grandfather that he definitely needed to work out if he wanted to follow his steps. He had made some significant progress the past few months, but that wouldn't be enough if he wanted to be a Hero. But there were more pressing matters, for example, breakfast. Hikaru sat at his usual spot and served himself a glass of orange juice.
As they ate, listening to the radio, the old man casually asked:
"So, they didn't allow you to take your toolkit, you're sure it's going to be okay?"
"It's annoying but I'll manage somehow, Grandpa. And if I fail, there's still the Support Course." his grandson answered, chomping hungrily on a toast.
"In my opinion you should have focused in that one entirely, I continue to believe that your Quirk is ideal for Support but not so much for being a Hero. You could have done a lot better at the exam and you wouldn't be worrying now."
"If you say so, but I'm really confident about this. Not that it will be easy, mind you."
"Well, I guess it's up to you to prove me wrong. Now go gather your stuff before you're really late, Hikaru."
And so Hikaru left the old man to his breakfast. A few minutes later, he was dressed up, fully ready for the day, carrying a duffel bag.
"Well, see you later Grandpa." he said.
"Yeah, what does your aunt Jackie say in these situations? `I wish you bad luck´?" the man asked.
"That's right. That's because she thinks wishing for good luck before an exam guarantees a failure."
"Oh. Anyway, you should get going; the train won't wait for you."
Hikaru obeyed, he shut the door, locked it and left through his floor's elevator. From there, he headed to the station where he waited for the train to arrive, sitting on a cold bench. On the next bench, there was another boy, you couldn't help but notice his pointy teeth that chattered due to the morning chill and his unusual hair. It was dark, spiky and descended to his shoulders. It looked like this person was waiting for the same reasons as Hikaru, as the was reading through a document he recognized immediately: the overview and planning for UA High's entrance exam. Everyone who applied had been given this document that contained all the information they needed to find their way to the auditorium. Hikaru thought loudly:
"Hey, you're applying to UA too ?"
He stopped his reading and faced him.
"That's right!" he answered, "I'm Eijirô Kirishima!" he held out his hand, trying to make the conversation less awkward. Hikaru gave him a handshake.
"I'm Hikaru Rumas, nice to meet you! So, what do you think it's going to be? Combat? Rescue?"
"I don't expect anything in particular, really. I'm sure I can handle what they'll throw at us without too much trouble."
"Really? That's some confidence! What kind of kick-ass Quirk do you have to be that calm?"
"Hey, I'm a bit nervous like everyone else! Besides, if I show my Quirk you'll have to show yours, otherwise that wouldn't be fair."
"Of course, of course. Who goes first?"
"Go ahead."
"Alright." he took off his right hand glove "My Quirk, Insight, allows me to understand the design and functionality of any object that I touch, it doesn't work on living beings, though. Because you know, they might be dumb, but they're not objects. However, if the thing is too complex, it gives me headaches, nosebleeds and worst case scenario, I'll pass out."
"That's a Quirk with 'Support' written all over it. If you don't mind, can I ask why are you aiming for the Hero Course instead of Support? Not that yours is a bad Quirk, far from it, but it doesn't look like it's very well suited for action. No offense."
"None taken, and you're absolutely right, this Quirk clearly isn't suitable for physical confrontation. But with this, I intend to build myself an arsenal of gadgets to give me the edge that I so desperately need for combat. I already have some but they didn't allow me to take them for this exam."
"You know you'll need a license to make these, right?"
"Right, I'll have to pass the national exam when I graduate. Until then, I need an adult around to watch over me."
"And what did you have in mind for your future arsenal? I'm kind of curious now that you've mentioned it."
"Hey, that's a secret. You'll know in time."
"Yeah right. Well, I'm sure they'll take you at Support if things go wrong today, with a Quirk like that the Support exam wasn't that much of a bother, I guess."
"Yeah, I'll tell you the full story when we're in that train. It's quite the tale, trust me ."
"Ah? I'm looking forward to it, then! You still want to see my Quirk, by the way?"
"Hey, you set the rules and we agreed. What's your power level?" Kirishima chuckled.
"It's a bit plain, I can harden my skin like an armor. That's why it's called Hardening."
"Simple and effective, if you ask me. So what brings a tough guy like you to UA?"
Kirishima remained quiet for a moment, then answered:
"That's personal, but you won't be surprised if I tell you that I always wanted to be a Hero, like most teenagers."
"Yeah, who wouldn't?"
"And what brings you to 'This renowned institution'?" Kirishima asked, quoting the pompous introduction of their document.
"Have you ever noticed that there's never been a Hero who uses just his equipment to take down Villains? There are lots in comics but I've never seen one in real life. I want to be the first. Also, just like you, I have my reasons. I've got heroes in the family as well, so I don't want to disappoint."
"Anyone famous?"
"Well there's my Grandpa and my dad, although you've probably never heard of him. Grandpa was known as Samurai Man back in the day."
"Wow! Samurai Man! That's something! He was in the Top 10, but you probably knew that already. And what about your father?"
"Vashkiri, the Elastic Hero. Does that sound familiar?"
"Yeah, sorry, never heard of him."
"It's okay, He wasn't well known, anyway."
"Was?" Kirishima thought to himself, "Oh man, better not push that button, that would be terrible! Not manly at all!"
"It ain't so bad, having heroes in your family could drive you to surpass them if you think about it. Plus Ultra, am I right?"
Hikaru laughed. Not only because of the good timing, but also due to the fact that he had a long way to travel before reaching Grandpa Shun's level. And the boy was even further from his parents' league, at least according to the retired Pro-Hero. As he remembered this power gap, the train finally arrived. They both gathered their bags and decided to chat during the trip, by sitting next to each other.
"So, what happened during this Support exam?" Kirishima wondered, trying to dodge the bullet he fired on his own.
"What a shit show. I'll start at the beginning..."
As Hikaru listened to the overview on the Support exam given by Power Loader, he scribbled in his notebook. It was the math needed for a design he thought about when he was just a little kid. Unfortunately, this calculation would have to wait, as the teacher was about to reveal the content of the exam. The goal was simple, all examinees would be gathered in a labyrinth and they had to escape as quickly as possible within the time limit. The exam was cleverly designed. All students who had passed the written exam were awarded with a provisional license that allowed them to build their own gadgets, but only under supervision by an adult. And this practical exam was nothing if not supervised, which is why there were facilities available for all applicants to build all sorts of equipment to attempt an escape.
When they left the auditorium to prepare for this test, the examinees were blindfolded, and guided to the center of the labyrinth by a wire they held onto. Once every teenager reached this position, they were told by an announcer to remove the cloth on their eyes and before they knew it, the exam had begun. Hikaru decided to go for the fastest way out, namely, the open ceiling and claimed a workbench to build some sort of grappling hook, like the one he wanted to do for his future arsenal. Already, those with a good memory managed to exit the maze, followed by those who could see through walls.
But then, the remaining teenagers who wished to follow their example received a reminder that this was indeed an exam. The maze began to change its layout, walls moving and corridors shifting left and right. This quickly led the more impressionable applicants into disarray. Some cried because their X-ray goggles couldn't pass the new lead coating of the walls, others lamented the fact that there was a now ceiling that kept them from exiting that way. And to Hikaru, this was perfectly normal.
"See," he told Kirishima "the goal of the exam wasn't just to escape this bloody maze, but to do so using a mean no one thought about before. It rewards innovation and punishes imitation, only the brightest and quickest could have the honor of joining the Support Course. I found it challenging, but in a right way, in a real UA fashion."
"And how did you escape that maze? You wouldn't brag about the exam if you had failed."
"Indeed I wouldn't, and this is where the fun part begins..."
As Hikaru tried to figure out an escape plan, he encountered his fair share of difficulties. First, his grappling hook he made to aim for the ceiling was now useless, as this way out was blocked by a metal panel. Secondly, when he tried to touch the building, the ludicrous load of data flooded his mind and he stood motionless for at least 10 minutes, his nose bleeding. When he finally recovered, more escapes had succeeded, and his chances to pass were getting slimmer and slimmer. That's when he noticed a girl with strange boots and pink hair rushing past him. He never saw her face, but he would remember her haircut forever, as her hair naturally assembled in dreadlocks that waved around as she ran.
Intrigued, he interrupted his thought process and saw her lifting off the metal ground and heading for the ceiling, her boots blasting her towards that obstacle. "Was she that stupid?", he thought, "You can't use that strategy anymore!". Suddenly, he noticed the makeshift drill she carried on her back. Soon, she was piercing through this dreaded ceiling using her tool and the momentum from her jet-boots. Hikaru was thoroughly baffled. "Incredible… Even if that way was blocked, she decided to force her way through! She worked her way around the limitations set by this trial and succeeded through sheer will and wit! What a moron I am! Of course, I should have thought about that earlier! Merde!".
Not wasting anymore time, he decided to step up his game. Swiftly reaching for a chemistry lab, he quickly worked on a particular recipe, well-known by criminals who attempted to rob banks: thermite. By scratching a piece of metal and an aluminum bar that was lying around for applicants to use, he managed to obtain the thin metal powder he needed for his daring escape and put it in a sturdy metal pot. He had to move fast. Already, the hole in the ceiling made by Drill-Girl was being fixed by robots who reinforced the whole structure. He used the grappling hook he made on the spot, back when he thought the open ceiling was a viable option. Quickly zooming to the hole, he placed his pot where the robots were finishing their work. Thankfully, he added a remote detonator in his mixture, that could trigger the reaction.
He descended, reloaded his grappling hook for this next step. Pushing the button of his trusty detonator, he watched as the spot he chose in the ceiling started to glow brighter and brighter, only to melt moments later. When the hole finally attained a suitable size, he aimed his grapple right through it and released it. A split-second later, sporting a few burns from his proximity to molten metal, he triumphantly exited the maze as the bell that signaled the end of the exam rang all over the facility.
He was tired, as he had to push his mind to its limits to figure out a solution as soon as possible. But in the end, he had passed the test, even if he didn't succeed with the Hero Course, he could still join Support. He then headed to the spot where all the injured examinees gathered. Recovery Girl, the school nurse, was present in person, providing treatment of all sorts: words of encouragements for those who had failed, medical care, and more. When his turn arrived, she thoroughly scolded him:
"Ah there you are! I've been wondering where the kid stupid enough to use thermite with so many people around was hiding! Consider yourself lucky no-one but you got hurt by your little stunt!"
"Yes, but..."
"No 'buts'! A member of the Support Course would have figured out a way that didn't jeopardize other people's life! Do you know how high the temperature released by flaming thermite is?"
"Over 2000 degrees." Hikaru never missed an occasion to shoe-horn scientific facts.
"Precisely! That's more than what the human body can bear by a fair margin! Do you realize what would have happened if you or another applicant happened to be in the vicinity of that blast?"
Now that she put it that way, Hikaru couldn't help but feel bad for what he had done. All he wanted was to succeed in a spectacular fashion. He didn't consider others safety for even an instant. The nurse continued:
"By the look on your face, I see that you're beginning to regret this. In the future, consider the consequences of your actions before you decide to act. I swear, every year it's a competition between Support and Hero Course to see who's the most idiotic. Now go!" she gave him a peck on the cheek "Leave before I get really angry!"
Hikaru's wounds began to heal slowly, as he felt more and more tired. This was the work of Recovery Girl's Quirk, just like Grandpa told him. Without further ado, he grabbed his belongings and left the campus, with an unprecedented urge to meet his bed. When he finally reached his grandfather's apartment he quickly muttered an excuse to rest and went directly to his room. It seemed like Shun understood the situation, looking at his face. "Looks like, someone had a conversation with Chiyo", he noted. He let Hikaru have his well-deserved nap. At last, the boy jumped on his bed. He stared at his room's ceiling and let out his thoughts on his adventure:
"What a fucking day."
"So you blew a hole through the roof? That's awesome! If I ever had to escape from a place like that, I'd show my anger and manly spirit too!"
Hikaru obviously didn't mention the lecture from Recovery Girl. "That would have been humiliating." he noted.
"And that's a very important lesson I learned on this lively day: even if someone already made something you wanted to do, that doesn't mean you can't follow their lead, you just have to figure out an other way to implement said idea. Who knows? You might even discover something in the process! That's what UA's looking for, people who can adapt, improvise and overcome what life puts in front of them. Still, none of this would have been possible without Drill Girl. Without her guidance, I would have failed, wasting my time trying to figure out some far-fetched plan. I wonder if I'll ever see her again..."
"No worries, I'm sure you'll meet next year! Hey,"Kirishima asked slyly "Was she cute? On a scale from 1 to 10."
Hikaru paused for a minute, blushing slightly. He didn't notice her face and features that much, everything happened so fast! Sometimes he tried to imagine what she looked like, behind the sparks from the ceiling she was breaking through. That Drill Girl remained a mystery. What really stuck to him when he saw her was her quick-thinking.
"A solid pi power two."
"Yeah, how much is that?"
"She'd know for sure, that's why I rate her this highly."
"Ah, that's a low blow."
"If you say so."
"Hey, I'll give you that, if I saw a girl drilling her way through heaven I would have been impressed too."
"She didn't strike me as religious, so I don't think she'd be into that.". "Or would she?" he imagined her in a cute nun outfit for a moment and quickly shook his head to cast this picture away. "Non, non, non! Be rational Hikaru! A girl like her obviously doesn't believe in the spaghetti monster! She's reasonable, and smart, and..."
"Wait, you mean you haven't seen that show?" Kirishima asked, surprised by Hikaru's answer, interrupting his reverie just before he pictured his mysterious Drill Girl in a lab coat.
"Aaaah, that was a reference to something! Sorry, I didn't get it." he answered, heroically keeping himself from blushing at his train of thoughts.
"This calls for enlightenment, man! When I'm done with you, you'll never be able to get drills and giant robots out of your head!"
As if cued, the train finally arrived at their destination. They followed the flow of passengers and left the station. They could already see their objective in the distance, the main building of UA's campus that stood proudly in the morning light. They headed to the entrance as more and more teenagers flocked in the same direction. Their breath turned into small clouds in the chilly early spring air, they looked like locomotives trying to compete for first place in a performance contest. "Because that's what it is," they thought "we're already racing to see who can be a hero and who can't."
And so, they crossed UA's towering gateway, ready to show the world what they were made of.
Eventually, they reached the main building where all the students gathered. Kirishima mentioned that a friend of his was waiting for him at UA and she quickly appeared, waving at the duo. For a moment, Hikaru thought her to be the mysterious Drill Girl, but her other features quickly proved him wrong. She had bright pink hair, assorted to her pink skin and two horns that pointed towards the sky. Her eyes drew his attention: yellow with a black sclera. They were pretty nonetheless. Soon, she reached the two wannabe heroes and hailed her friend:
"Oi! Kirishima, How's it going? And who's that guy with you?"
"I'm sure he can introduce himself on his own, can he?" Kirishima answered.
"I'm Hikaru Rumas, nice to meet you!" he said.
"Mina Ashido, same!" she replied.
"We met at the train station. If you want to know what the Support exam was like, you can ask him. And now that you mention it, I'd say I'm a bit stressed but confident nonetheless."
"Yeah, but who isn't?" she added "I'd like to say that I'm excited, but that's not exactly it. UA's a big deal! That Support exam you passed, how hard was it?"
"I got 45 Idea points, but only 15 Time points. Which doesn't really mean anything if I don't give you an overview of the practical test."
"The poor fellows were gathered in a weird maze that adapted to each successful escapee. Rumas only exited at the edge of the time limit. But, at least, he's now on a grand quest to find the mysterious girl who inspired him with his plan! That's super manly!"
"Hey, I'm not on a q-" Hikaru tried to shot back.
"Ooooh!" Mina interrupted coyly "Mister Luma already has a love interest! And you have yet to enter UA! Oh my! What a way to start you high-school years! I'm impressed, really."
You could almost taste the sarcasm as she flashed her trademark Ashido-Grin.
"It's Rumas, with an R. And an S at the end that you don't pronounce." Hikaru pouted "And it's not like I want to find her, it's just that I think about her sometimes."
"Ah! And he's a fully-fledged tsundere! Yeah you've earned the jackpot, Kirishima. If he's around, I'll never get bored! Sorry about your name then, it's just a bit weird."
"No problem, Rumas isn't the japaniesest name around. Possibly because it's French."
"Never been to France, how does the Hero Course work there? I'm curious." Mina asked.
"Well, there are specialized high-school for future Heroes but you need to access higher education for your Hero License. I know you can choose between a college degree or a diploma from a Grand School, which are basically Japan's Hero Schools like UA and such, except they're for young adults, and after that you have to work under another Hero's supervision as a "Squire". My dad went to the Heroic high-school in his region, that's where he met my mom on a student exchange with UA."
"It must have been a high-ranking school then, you don't get student exchanges with UA High just like that..." Kirishima commented, trying as best as he could to avoid the potentially touchy subject of Hikaru's father. "If it's what I think it is, better keep this for another day." he thought, "I'd rather not have Mina bringing this up too soon, it might be bad for both of them."
"Probably, I don't know, I never bothered to check the ranking." Hikaru was blissfully unaware of the bait he took.
"By the way, you mentioned your mother went to UA right? What advice did she give you for today's exam?" Mina wondered, trying to change the subject of conversation. As Kirishima gestured somewhat discreetly to her in order to avoid a situation. Apparently, Hikaru didn't notice his message, which was fine by the Hardening Quirk user.
Hikaru shot up and remembered what Grandpa told him every time he talked to other children. "No matter how benign the subject seems, do not mention your mother. Ever. Unless the person in front of you is your most trusted friend, do not bring that up, if you do you'll regret this." He let the scholarship of his mother slip when he talked about the Hero Course. "Merde! I need to find an excuse and fast!". He lied through his teeth:
"Oh she's busy all the time, we barely have the time to say hello! However, Grandpa told me to pay attention to the rules and to think out of the box, whatever that may be."
They'd never believe that. It was way too forced and awkward. Kirishima already looked like he was suspecting something. Mina was definitely intrigued by this behavior, yet she said:
"We'll keep that in mind, thanks Rumas. Now we should get going, the exam is about to begin!"
And with that, they were off to the auditorium where they sit at their designated spots. Present Mic greeted them a few moments later:
"WELCOME ONE AND ALL TO MY LIVE SHOW! EVERYBODY SAY YEAH!"
And so, the start of the exam was closing in on our trio of teenagers. What trials would await them after this cheerful introduction? The answer was waiting behind Present Mic's greeting, as UA was ready to judge their abilities.
A/N: Hello everyone! Thank you for your time, it's my very first story here so reviews are more than welcome! Special thanks to Calixxe who agreed to proofread this chapter.