As the titanic doors of Battle Center A opened, Jomei was one of the first of the aspiring heroes to blaze into the urban sprawl within, leaving a stream of neon colors and no small number of his competitors in his wake. The battle center was designed with the goal of recreating as realistic a setting for fighting villains as possible; and so, the kilometers of area were a painstakingly accurate recreation of some city districts throughout Japan. For some, that meant they had familiarity with the layout, but for most, the concrete jungle was just another hurdle to overcome on their way to becoming heroes.
'Feels good to go this fast again!' Looking behind him, Jomei saw that he wasn't the only one leaving the competition in the dirt. The same lean guy with cylindrical elbows he saw before the exam's start was swinging from rooftop to rooftop behind him, and only barely not overtaking Jomei himself. 'Wait. Are those tape dispensers? In his elbows!? What the heck is that stuff made of!?'
The large-toothed tape-slinger came up beside him, panting as he tried to keep up with Jomei but smiling all the same. "Your Quirk looks pretty cool! But let's see who can find those villains first!" He panted, falling behind for only a split second before swinging rapidly onto a nearby skyscraper's rooftop where he was sure to have a great view of the battle center.
Before he could even process what had just happened, Jomei heard an explosion behind him. 'Could it be the faux villains?' He wondered excitedly, readying himself to slow down and earn some points when another explosion sounded, and then another, and another still.
"DIE!"
As the heat of another blast raced towards him, a sandy-haired blonde sailed through the air ahead of Jomei, a wolfish grin plastered on his face as he let out another explosion that granted him renewed speed. Every one of the explosions he let out from his palms was punctuated by equally non-heroic words, though he didn't seem particularly interested in hurting anyone; rather, he simply seemed to be too busy enjoying the thrill of using his Quirk to care about what he said or did during the exam.
Where others would've seen the sudden presence of such skilled competition as a threat, Jomei only smiled and continued sprinting forward in Light Speed – he always had enjoyed a challenge. Noble gases raced out of Jomei's pores to enshroud him in an aura of glowing lights, with most of what his body generated being moved beneath his feet or ejected behind him to give him a large boost to his speed. A few dozen seconds and a few hundred meters later, and Jomei had found his first targets while many other would-be students were still trying to figure out where the faux villains were.
The pair of scorpion-like two-point faux villains registered his presence and prepared themselves to engage, but Jomei was faster, leaping into the air with a burst of condensed glowing purples. Out of their reach, he pointed his palm towards the villain and let out a small beam of similar light. As it glanced off the faux villain's chassis and Jomei landed behind them, the blonde was forced to leap backwards to prevent one of the robot's stingers from hitting him.
'So, they aren't as fragile as the one-pointers looked, huh?' He mused, right as one of the pair of villains charged at him, pincers raised. Jomei dodged and resumed his Light Speed sprint, using his momentum to leap off a nearby building's wall into the air. Though his first attack was just to scout out how durable his foes were, he wasn't about to underestimate the machine's armor again.
"Try this on for size!" He shouted, his palm facing outwards once again. "Phosphor Beam!"
Despite the serious nature of the exam he was in the middle of taking, Jomei couldn't help but grin as he announced the move's name. The first time he had explained it to Akiko, she had made a joke about how ridiculous it was that he had given a special name to a move that was just a more concentrated version of his most basic attack. Nonetheless, that didn't stop him from relishing in the freedom to use it unrestricted in a combat setting.
This time, a thicker beam raced out from his palm, sailing through the air with the precision of a laser and punching clean through the closer villain's armor. Jomei wasted no time with a follow up, landing and rolling onto one knee before sending another beam right into the remaining villain's head. The machinery contained within flickered before going dim, and its body crumbled to the ground with the sound of crashing metal and fragile parts.
"Alright!" He shouted, a spring in his step as he surrounded himself again in glowing lights. It didn't take long to take out those first two targets, sure, but if he wanted to beat Akiko and make it into U.A., he needed to go all-out.
As time wore on, Jomei's sheer speed and hit-and-run tactics seemed to give him an edge over many other examinees. Where many of them had to take their time to locate faux villains of their own, Jomei's trial and error method of finding points seemed to be working for him. After his initial encounter with the pair of two-point villains, the aspiring hero was nearly constantly acquiring quick one-point pickups. Unlike their two-point counterparts, the crablike one-point villains' armor was weak enough for Jomei to send a beam through and disable the things without even needing to exit his Light Speed to use his more taxing Phosphor Beams. The sheer number of targets he was running into and taking down was all well and good, but when Present Mic announced that there were seven minutes left in the exam, Jomei felt himself running even faster to try and find more valuable targets. 'I can't get into U.A. if all I'm able to find is one-point villains! Where could the bigger ones be?'
Right as he finished his thought, Jomei heard what sounded like a rocket being launched behind him. 'Well then.'
He rolled out of the way just in time to see the small rocket go screaming by him, exploding against a nearby building but lacking in any deadly force. Though it wasn't unheard of for people to get seriously injured in U.A.'s reckless entrance exams, it seemed that the institution was at least sane enough to avoid using live warheads against their would-be students.
As soon as he had avoided the blast, Jomei twisted on his heel and unleashed a Phosphor Beam in the direction of the quadrupedal three-point villain. It hit its mark, but the machine continued to function with only a minor dent in its armor. Its eyes glowed red as it prepared another rocket. Jomei resumed his Light Speed dash and dodged the sluggish faux villain's counterattack as he planned his next move. 'So, this is like a video game, right Jomei? Then all I should have to do is get a clean shot on the thing's glowing weak spot and it'll go down easy – that, or I could just keep up the heat on one spot and melt through its armor. Whichever comes first.'
Bounding off a nearby building like he had the scorpion-like faux villains, Jomei raised his arm just as he did before to prepare another, stronger Phosphor Beam. The bulky machine was still turning around, and he was lining up a shot as he heard a familiar fierce cry coming from down the street. "Die, bastard!"
'Oh.'
Jomei quickly pointed both of his arms down and let out a stream of glowing, wispy blues to keep himself suspended in the air and pushed himself in the opposite direction from where the voice sounded like it was coming from. As the anticipated explosion caused the faux villain to shatter, the tall blonde was flying behind the source of the explosion – that same sandy-haired boy from before was breathing heavily where the faux villain used to be, but otherwise seemed none the worse for wear. Jomei landed behind the stranger after cutting off the stream supporting him in the air.
"You know, I was just about to take that thing down," Jomei said, his arms crossed.
The sandy-haired blonde's ego suddenly made itself known. He pointed at Jomei without even looking at him directly, making it clear he saw anyone and everyone else as beneath him. "Ha! Don't make me laugh! You were running scared until I got here! How about you do me a favor and get lost, extra? You don't wanna get in my way!" He shouted, crouching and propelling himself in the direction of a crowd of still-standing faux villains before Jomei could respond.
"So that's how you're gonna be, huh?" Jomei thought aloud. Looking at the wreckage of the three-point villain and noticing how the explosive guy rocketed off in the direction of nothing but one and two-point villains, a smile crossed his lips and a new coat of glowing colors surrounded him as he ran in pursuit. 'I can knock out two bird with one stone if this works – a ton of points and showing this guy up. He thinks he's so good?' Jomei thought as he caught up with the shorter blonde, who was now running on foot to close the distance between himself and the faux villains.
"Watch this!"
Jomei didn't wait to see the other boy's reaction, and instead ran ahead of his competition before skidding to a halt in front of the crowd of faux villains. As the machines' basic programming was only beginning to register his presence, Jomei braced himself and outstretched his arms. Bright purple and blue gases escaped his pores, washing over him as he prepared a decisive – albeit somewhat needlessly flashy – strike against the villains.
The taller blonde simply smiled as he began his assault. His tensed arms pulsed with each rapid discharge of his Phosphor Beams, and the vulnerable crowd of faux villains were being picked apart before any could even hope to counter. The salvo of blue and purple blasts punched through the one-point villains' armor like glass, and the two-point villains were torn apart by glowing, almost beautifully neon explosions punctuated by the sound of their shattering machinery.
As his assault ended, Jomei let the tension throughout his body dissolve with the wind. He'd just stolen four times what his opponent had him, and by the look on his now-livid competition's face, likely won his contempt as well. Not that he cared. If he wanted to brag and show off, then Jomei was more than happy to match the other examinee's obvious ego.
"How about that? Pretty good for an extra, huh?" Jomei pointed out, smiling cockily like the other boy had a mere handful of moments ago.
The red-eyed blonde simply growled and clenched his fists before crouching down again. "Stay out of my way or I'll hurt you so bad you'll never walk again!" He shouted, letting out a roar as he catapulted himself in the direction of the few faux villains to be seen for blocks around.
Jomei was nearly knocked off his feet from the blast that the boy had let out, though he didn't mind the sudden departure. As the dust cleared, Jomei was hunched over and supporting his hands on his knees, breathing heavily.
While he'd practiced using his Quirk plenty over the years, the amber-eyed examinee never had an opportunity to use it in a serious fight before. Coupled with how his pores could hardly keep up with the demand of unleashing rapid-fire Phosphor Beams against a crowd, and how he'd never had the freedom to go all-out before, and Jomei considered himself lucky to simply be pausing for breath and not out of energy entirely. 'Well, I may have pissed him off, but at least that's easily another 12 points I got there.'
"Run, run, run, listeners! There's only five minutes left in the practical exam!" Present Mic's voice boomed from seemingly all directions.
Jomei nodded to himself, finally having recovered his breath, and surrounded himself in neon colors once again before entering Light Speed in pursuit of the hot-headed boy that'd left him behind. "I may be tired, but I'm not done yet! I'm winning this thing!" He cheered, his mind wandering even as another faux villain came into view in the distance.
'I wonder how Akiko's doing…?'
From within one of the main observation towers of the practical exam, a well-endowed woman in a form-fitting leotard and bodysuit that left nothing to the imagination licked her lips. "Well, this year's examinees certainly are… lively, aren't they?" She observed, throwing a sultry look towards the pale-skinned man beside her.
Her messy black-haired colleague merely grunted in response, his patience having been pushed to its limits with the woman's constant flirtatious behavior. To him, it was not only illogical to be so focused on innuendo at all times – regardless of its tactical use in battle, in her case – but it held no place among professionals. Not when they had a job to do. The man moved one of his bangs out of the way of his face and glared at his colleague.
"If you're going to implicate something that could get your thrown in jail, Midnight, pick a time and place. We're on the clock here, so at least act like you have something better to do than flirt." He reprimanded, sinking into the cloth of his scarf as he focused his attention elsewhere.
"Well, you're no fun," Midnight pouted, crossing her arms dramatically over her chest.
In addition to keeping track of scores from the beginning of the practical exam via their faux villains' transmissions, U.A.'s staff always made sure to observe, through their hidden cameras, what exactly their would-be students were made of. A large part of this was to scope out potential problem students, sure, but in a more general sense, the careful observation allowed the educators to analyze the next generation of heroes' strengths and weaknesses – both mental and physical. Though the latter was something any of the Pro Heroes in the room could analyze on their own, it was the former's analysis that often fell to the principal's Quirk, High Spec. There was something to be said about the genetically modified mouse that led U.A., that his Quirk allowed him such intuitive knowledge of others that most Pro Heroes could only dream of, but at the same time, never gave anyone a reason to worry about his overanalysis.
As always, Principal Nezu remained ever calm and collected in his seat, despite his mind racing to decipher the meaning behind every motion, every facial expression, of the examinees on the room's array of displays. In between him and Midnight sat Snipe – one of the few western heroes to remain in Japan after attending U.A. to acquire their hero license, Snipe was nothing if not up-front and cordial about his thoughts.
Letting out a sigh as he witnessed his colleagues' antics beside him, the cowboy adjusted his hat before leaning in towards Principal Nezu. "Those two maniacs aside, I think we've got a good class of first-years ahead of us." He offered, a cautious smile growing beneath his gas mask.
Nezu then turned calmly to face his colleague, nearly hitting the Snipe in the face with his pointed muzzle, but not seeming to register the near-miss as he nodded in agreement.
"Indeed," he began, his attention turning to a display of a girl with a crystal in her chest punching jabs of fire towards some one-point villains, "They're already displaying technique rivaling or outright surpassing last year's."
His attention then turned to another monitor displaying a pair of blondes fighting faux villains nearby one another. Both fought with powerful Quirks that made short work of their targets, though where one used overwhelming force to shatter his marks, the taller of the two seemed to channel his Quirk into colorful, narrow beams. Whether this was simply a difference in technique between the two or an indicator of their preference in combat at large, Nezu was still quickly figuring that out. "Though their restraint could use some work," he observed.
Snipe looked at the same pair of examinees Nezu was analyzing and shrugged. "Fair enough. Those two aside, between every examinee's ability to handle pressure, act in combat physically, and gather intel on their opponent's whereabouts, I can't say I'm looking forward to judging who's on the chopping block. There aren't a lot of first year classes that I can say have had such a close lineup in the practical exams, that's for sure."
Nezu nodded again, paying close attention to the amount of time left on the clock. "Agreed. And I get the feeling that the competition is only going to get closer as the year progresses – this is just the starting line for those that make it through, after all." He turned to face one of the technicians working in the pits below them, "I think it's time we observed how they deal with a true obstacle, don't you think?"
"Oh yeah. It's always this part that weeds out the real heroes from the wannabes, isn't it?" Snipe recollected, sitting up straight in his seat as the head technicians of each battle zone unleashed their examinees' greatest adversary.
"Three minutes remaining in the exam, listeners!" Present Mic shouted, his voice echoing around the barren streets that Akiko found herself running through.
'Come on, where could they be? They were everywhere before!'
Up until this point, Akiko had endured no trouble in finding a wide variety of faux villains to take down. Though most of them were one-point villains with only the odd two-pointer mixed in, it was the speed and skill by which Akiko took them down that she cautiously considered herself to be doing well. With how detrimental going overboard with her Quirk could be for her, maintaining a steady pace of accruing points was what she saw as the best plan of attack to try and pass the practical exam – to speak nothing of her competition with Jomei.
"There!" She shouted, finding another two-point faux villain in one of the less-explored, but now increasingly populated, parts of the battle center. It turned to face her, striking up a defensive stance with its stinger and pincers raised warningly. Getting close was out of the question, sure, but Akiko was familiar enough with the machines by now to know just the right way to eliminate her opponent.
'Two jabs and a fire stream should be enough – slow and steady, Akiko.' With her plan formed in her head, Akiko raised her fists and executed it with practiced, fluid grace.
The first of the jabs of fire that emerged from her fist simply grazed the villain's armor and forced the machine to consider going on the offensive – the second, more powerful fireball leaving a heated mark on its pincer was what pushed it over the edge. Rather than continue sustaining damage that would eventually melt its armor entirely, the faux villain began charging at Akiko. Unfortunately, it was moving faster than Akiko had anticipated, and she was forced to thrust herself into the air with the assistance of some jets of flame from her feet.
Not wasting any time to scold herself for the oversight, Akiko whirled around as soon as she landed, planting her foot firmly on the ground as she prepared a deadly gout of flame. The two-point adversary skidded along the asphalt as it tried to turn around and continue its offensive, but it was too late. By the time it had managed to stop, Akiko had already launched her attack and the machine's vulnerable eyes were shattered by the ensuing inferno.
She had no time to mull over her small victory, as Present Mic called out to the examinees once again. "Two minutes remaining, listen-"
The Pro Hero's cheer was cut off by the sound of concrete shattering under some monolithic force, shrapnel and boulders flying towards the crowd of examinees that had filtered into the area in search of villains. Soon after the dust settled and the aspiring heroes were able to see clearly, a cacophony of shocked sounds rippled throughout the crowd as a towering faux villain blotted out the sun above them. It stood at the same height as most of the skyscrapers that surrounded it, and aside from its colossal scale and thick armor, its only distinguishing feature was the large zero painted on its torso.
'Wait, so this is what they meant by an obstacle? Isn't this going a bit overboard, U.A.?!'
Akiko and many of the examinees began to run in the opposite direction of the titanic faux villain, but as it began an earthshaking step towards them, the young woman caught a glimpse of a familiar indigo-haired boy frozen in fear before the machine's sheer size. Skidding to a halt, Akiko didn't think twice before she found herself sprinting back in the direction of her fellow examinee. 'No, no, no, with how close he is to that thing, he'll get crushed!'
"Get out of there!" She shouted, but it was no use. The indigo-haired boy was utterly petrified, and he didn't even register Akiko's presence as she began closing the final few meters between them. The zero-point obstacle's foot cast a dark shadow over the pair, and as she realized the stranger was only just snapping out of his daze, Akiko was forced to act quickly. Though she wanted to avoid having to go overboard, when it came to someone else's life, she was willing to sacrifice her well-being in a heartbeat.
Her hair and crystal core shifted to an emerald green, her mismatched eyes adopting their own take on the color simultaneously as she leapt forward, landing on one knee before she thrusted her fists skyward. In a flash, six columns of earth sprouted out of the ground, meeting the zero-point faux villain's foot and stopping it only a few moments before the pair of examinees would've been crushed. As the indigo-haired boy beside her suddenly snapped to attention, realizing that someone had saved him, Akiko didn't waste a second.
As the columns that had prevented their untimely demise began to crack under the weight of the machine above them, Akiko whirled around and grabbed the stranger she just saved. "What are you doing?!" He shouted.
"Saving you!" Akiko said, pulling the indigo-haired stranger to the ground next to her.
Akiko turned and, with a stomp into the asphalt below, summoned a wave of earth beneath them and sent it surging forth. Guiding it with movements resembling long, flowing strides, neither of the pair even looked behind them as the protection they'd been hiding under was crushed into dust – not until they were well on their way to safety. After noticing the sweat that beaded up around Akiko's forehead and the look of extreme concentration on her face, the messy-haired boy avoided speaking out of fear that the wave of earth beneath him would send him flying if he distracted his rescuer.
As her grip on the earth beneath them loosened and the wave petered out, the indigo-haired boy went skidding across the asphalt as Akiko rode out the wave to its end point. Falling back to where the boy had stopped, she knelt before him – only to be shoved away angrily.
"Hey, look I'm just trying to make sure you aren't-" She began, her hands raised placatingly as the boy rose to his feet and dusted himself off.
"Hurt? I'm fine," he huffed out, "Now get out my way, I need to get moving so I can-"
"Times up!" Present Mic's voice cheerfully declared, sirens signaling the end of the practical exam sounding all around the battle center.
Now facing away from her, the boy seemed to deflate an almost imperceptible amount, and began walking off without another word back towards the entrance of the battle center. As Akiko trailed behind him and began thinking about why he reacted the way he did, something clicked.
"Wait… you don't think you passed… do you?" She inquired gently.
Though Akiko couldn't see it, the disgruntled look on the boy's face only deepened. "Shut up." He seethed, quickly picking up his pace so that he would be lost in the crowd of examinees headed back towards the entrance. Before Akiko could even respond, he was gone.
'So that's a yes.' Akiko thought, sheepishly rubbing her forearm. As the crowd drew further ahead of her, her pace slowed to a stop, and the aspiring hero's features returned to their normal purple colors. Even though she'd done what she thought was right, she still somehow managed to sabotage someone else's efforts. 'But what was I supposed to do, let him get crushed? A hero wouldn't just leave someone in danger just because there are other things to do! Right?'
"Oh, I wouldn't worry about him, dear."
After the younger girl recovered from reeling in shock at the response to her unspoken question, Akiko looked down to notice a short, friendly-looking elderly woman smiling up at her. She was dressed in a typical doctor's lab coat with a red visor over her eyes, and only barely leaned on her cane for support – which just so happened to look exactly like the syringe that was holding up her grey hair styled into a bun. Evidently, while Akiko was wrapped up in her own head, the 'youthful heroine' had walked right up to her and, after seeing the indigo-haired boy's interaction with Akiko, picked up on exactly what the girl was thinking.
"Recovery Girl!" Akiko exclaimed, dropping into a courteous bow, "What are you doing here?"
"Why, checking everyone for injuries, of course! How else do you think U.A. can host such dangerous entrance exams every year? But enough about me," the Pro Hero answered, "Looks like you got hurt there, didn't you?" She asked, concern etching her face as she pointed her cane towards Akiko's chest.
The aspiring hero looked down, and it was true. In the middle of saving the purple-eyed boy from the zero-point villain, Akiko had pressed her Quirk beyond what it allowed her to do safely, and a small fracture had appeared in her crystal core as a result. It was only thanks to adrenaline that Akiko didn't feel the soreness that was just beginning to make itself known in her chest when she surpassed her limitations.
"Don't worry there, dear! We'll get you fixed up in no time!" Recovery Girl continued, and before Akiko could even respond, her lips were extending forward to kiss the younger girl on the hand she'd taken into her own. As soon as the elderly woman's lips made contact, Akiko could feel a soothing warmth flow through her being, and the fracture in her chest disappeared in mere moments thanks to Recovery Girl's healing Quirk.
"Uhm… thanks," Akiko replied awkwardly, suppressing the urge to rub off the feeling of the older woman's lips on her hand on her shirt. Even though the soreness in her chest was resolved before she ever really felt it, the consternated look that had adorned her face before Recovery Girl's arrival quickly returned in full force.
"What's wrong?" The nurse asked, taking note of the Akiko's expression, "You just saved that boy back there! You were a real hero! And that deserves real praise." Though the elderly woman's tone of voice hinted at some deeper meaning she couldn't quite place, Akiko was quickly convinced she was overthinking things as Recovery Girl fetched an assortment of gummies out of her pocket.
As Akiko accepted and stuffed the proffered treats into her pocket, she sighed. "I know, but he just looked so… angry. I feel like he thinks I wasted his time, but… I just did what I thought was right and he hates me for it."
Recovery Girl shook her head. "I don't think so. A lot of folks get frustrated when they don't think they've done well on the practical exam. Whatever his reason for being so snippy with you was, I know that it isn't because you got in his way."
A thoughtful silence drifted between the two women, and a boy covered in cuts and a few bruises with tape lazily dragging behind him appeared behind Akiko. "Well, that's my cue to be off! A nurse's job is never done, after all." Recovery Girl chirped before she walked off in the direction of the now dramatically-collapsed examinee. "Oh, but I hope to see you again! What you did for that boy was real hero material, in my book!" She called over her shoulder.
As Akiko turned back towards the entrance of Battle Center A, she nodded to herself and began a brisk jog in the direction the boy she rescued had gone in. Though she could've very well gone and searched for Jomei to see which one of them won their competition, there was still a nagging feeling at the back of her mind that told her she should seek the indigo-haired boy out. 'If he doesn't want to talk to me when I find him, fine, but… maybe he'll be better off hearing what I have to say.'
Thanks to the sheer volume of examinees making their way out of the battle center, Akiko's task of finding the tired-looking boy she'd saved mere minutes prior became much harder than she'd hoped it would be. Between the crowd itself and the fact he'd left her in the dust when he stormed off, Akiko could only hope to locate him before he got back to the men's locker room to change for the written exam – at that point, it'd be nigh-on impossible for her to find him again. She could always ask Jomei for help, but this was an affair she thought was best left to her own, more tender way of approaching delicate issues such as this.
After a frantic search that felt like it lasted half an hour, Akiko caught a glimpse of the messy-haired boy. Even though she could only see the back of his head as she approached him, it was clear that he looked drained, if not utterly defeated for reasons he never did make clear. Despite the volatile reaction he originally snapped at her with, when he noticed her silently keeping pace behind him, he stopped and let out a sigh.
"What do you want?" He asked tiredly over his shoulder.
Akiko fought the urge to nervously fidget under his scrutinizing gaze. "Hey, I… I know that you're frustrated for whatever reason about the practical exam, but… I just wanted to let you know that even if you don't think you may have passed…" She paused, the exasperated look on his face as he turned around telling her she was treading on thin ice.
"This doesn't have to be the end." When the indigo-haired boy didn't end up interrupting, she continued. "You may still make it into U.A. – even if it's not in the field you wanted. There's always a chance things will work out."
As he silently turned back around, Akiko braced herself for a scathing insult or other such remark, but to her surprise, nothing of the sort came. "What's your name, hero?" He asked, looking up at the sky.
Akiko couldn't decide if he called her a hero just to be facetious, or if he meant it as a compliment, but answered regardless. Exchanging names was better than him lashing out at her, at least. "My name? Takara. Takara Akiko," she managed, "And yours?"
"Well, Takara. It might be nice having a flashy Quirk to become a hero with, but some of us…? Some of us don't have it so lucky." He said bitterly. Taking a step forward, he stopped himself. "And Takara? It's Shinso. Shinso Hitoshi." He added, walking off before Akiko could process what had just happened.
Despite the implied disdain he held towards Akiko for her Quirk, judging by how he introduced himself and didn't snap at her again, Akiko considered her attempt to raise Shinso's spirits a minor success. If nothing else, though he may not have found some miraculous faith in himself, he at least didn't seem to be as consternated, or as flagrantly hostile towards her, as he was before. As she watched Shinso make his way back towards the main campus, Akiko heard the familiar sound of someone making their way towards her, but didn't look away from the now-shrinking form of the indigo-haired boy in the distance.
"What's with him?" Jomei asked, the last wisps of purple fluttering away from him telling Akiko that he'd been running around at Light Speed in search of her. Clearly, he'd at least seen the last of the pair's exchange before his presence made itself known.
"Did you see the zero-point faux villain when it came out? Around the two-minute mark?" Akiko asked, turning to face Jomei.
The blonde's eyes narrowed in confusion, but he nodded regardless. "Yeah, was a bit busy running and looking for other villains to focus on to get a good look at that thing though. What about it?"
"I ended up using emerald mode to save him from being crushed by it, and as it turns out, he was already pretty frustrated with how he was doing on the practical exam before I robbed him of his last two minutes," Akiko explained, scratching the back of her head.
"Wait, what!? You stopped that thing from crushing him!? So that means you weren't bragging when you told me you could probably lift a building with emerald mode?"
Akiko touched the tips of her fingers together. "I mean, yeah… I probably could, but then I'd be running the risk of overdoing it and damaging my crystal core. I actually did back when I saved Shinso – just didn't notice it until Recovery Girl pointed it out and healed me."
Jomei nodded, throwing his arms behind his head as the pair began a leisurely stroll back in the direction of the main campus. "Good thing that your crystal core can grow back, huh?"
"It wouldn't be a hero-worthy Quirk if I was out of action forever because of one lousy fracture, now would it? Besides, it heals faster than the rest of me, so I probably would've been fine by the time the written exam started, what with how small the fracture was and all."
"Fair enough. I guess we both lucked out when it came to our Quirks huh? I'd probably be a mess if I didn't resist radiation." Jomei shuddered.
"You'd be a mess if your mom didn't meet your dad. Noble gases out of her pores, your dad being able to use those gases in his performances… if either of them was missing from the equation, I'm pretty sure you wouldn't be cut out to be a hero like you are now."
"Tell me about it – though your Quirk is awesome too, even if you don't come up with cool names for your attacks like me," he said jokingly. "Didn't you say it was the end point of like, generations of your mom and dad's families coming together?"
Akiko nodded. While it was true that marriages were sometimes arranged in an attempt have children with Quirks stronger than those of their parents, Akiko's were fortunate enough to have married for the same reason Jomei's did – love. That having been said, the long history of her father's family having elemental Quirks and her mother's being empowered by gemstones in some way or another all but guaranteed that Akiko and her older brother would be born with powerful Quirks of their own.
Nonetheless, it did truly boil down to a lucky pairing that Akiko's Quirk ended up being what it was today – a crystalline core in her chest that could turn into a variety of gemstones, all endowing her with some supernatural ability or another to do with as she saw fit. Whereas her older brother, Takai, saw this as an easy way to support the family's jewelry business by having his core chipped at from time to time, Akiko desired to explore the applications of her Quirk to try and become a hero. Although this met some resistance from her family, what with their small disconnection from the common folk thanks to their wealth, Akiko was determined to emulate the selflessness of heroes she'd seen rise to the challenge throughout the years.
"Yep," Akiko confirmed, "Man, it feels so good to talk about our Quirks without Shimo-sensei breathing down our necks to make sure we weren't gonna try anything."
"Right?" Jomei agreed with a grin, "I know he's all about avoiding a fight, but come on! What harm could me lighting up some argon for a light show do that'd be so bad?"
"I don't know… irradiate everyone near you?" Akiko joked.
If it wasn't for the fact U.A. had come back into view, she would've been entirely content to spend the rest of the day hanging out with her best friend. Jomei had always possessed that unique way of making her feel comfortable when he was around – though things certainly weren't always that way for her. Once upon a time, Akiko was so shy that she rarely even spoke, and although Jomei's friendly nature had drawn her out of that habit, there was still a long way to go before she could be considered anywhere close to an extrovert.
"Hey," Jomei teasingly warned, "That's only if I charge up those gases too much – usually they're only charged enough to have some good blunt force behind them. Only deadly if I go overboard."
"True," Akiko conceded. As the duo had made their way close enough to the main campus to split up and get changed, Akiko's eyes snapped wide open. "Wait! We never figured out which one of us won, did we?"
Jomei's mouth went agape in realization. "Oh yeah, we didn't, huh? Well, since we need to get changed for the written exam, how about we meet up right after by the front entrance?"
Akiko shook her head. "I can't – Mom and Dad want me home as soon as possible. Since finals are still coming up with Shimo-sensei, they want me studying instead of out and about."
"Then how about we meet up when our entrance exam results come in? We could figure out who won our competition around when we open our letters, it'll be two big reveals in one sitting!"
"Sounds good to me. I'll try to text when I'm not busy studying, but sorry in advance if I end up going radio silent again." Akiko said, extending a hand out towards her best friend before they were forced to go their separate ways.
"Seriously, it's not a problem Akiko. Good luck on the written exam." Jomei said, shaking her hand before pulling her in for a friendly hug.
"You too," she responded, pulling out of his embrace before giving him a final wave goodbye, "See you soon!"
One week later, Jomei found himself closing the final few blocks leading up to Akiko's home while he reveled in the spring breeze and the warm sun overhead. Not only was spring a time of renewal for plant life, but it marked the beginning of U.A.'s upcoming semester – meaning that if Jomei was accepted, he'd be merely a handful of weeks away from being a member of hero academia. Although he wasn't worried about getting into U.A. after gauging how well he performed during the practical exam, there was still the underlying 'what if' of doubt that sent chills running down his spine whenever he thought about it too hard; which, thankfully, wasn't that often, thanks to his mother's encouragement.
Turning a corner and turning off some of his father's music he'd been listening to, Jomei took in the familiar sight of his best friend's home. Despite her parents' wealth, they lived relatively modestly, with their home only moderately sized and the only indicator of their upper-class lifestyle laying in their interior decorations and carefully maintained garden. As he approached the gate nestled between brick walls and a few vibrant trees, Jomei was surprised to see that the gate was unlocked. 'Well, at least I don't have to ring the gate's buzzer and knock on the door.'
Knocking on the front door, Jomei removed his headphones and took a respectable step back. If there was one thing Akiko's parents were good for, it was seeing value in almost stifling amounts of formality. Unless you were a close friend or business partner, any encounter with them proceeded as though it were a board room meeting, and the fact that Jomei was a boy requesting to visit the pair's only daughter certainly didn't help. It wasn't because they judged Jomei poorly, either; they were simply people who were notoriously slow to warm up to anyone in a non-business-related setting, and the fact Jomei was such an outgoing person compared to anyone in their family only compounded that fact. It could've been worse, though – they were at least trusting enough of their daughter to let her spend time with Jomei alone so long as he was on his 'best behavior,' as it were, and Jomei was always on his best behavior when it came to his best friend.
Mr. Takara opened the door, still clad in the formalwear he seemed to never be seen without. Despite his choice in clothing however, it was clear that he was a self-made man, with the scars and muscle definition of manual labor a stark contrast against his well-groomed goatee and short hairstyle.
Jomei bowed formally, his ringed necklace and the letter he received from U.A. both being pulled down by mother nature as he did so. "Hello, Mr. Takara. I'm here to see Akiko, as I'm sure you know."
The middle-aged man crossed his arms and made space for Jomei to pass through. "Of course. If you're hungry or thirsty, feel free to help yourself." He said, "I believe you already know the way to Akiko's room."
Without further ado, Jomei began making his way down the hall. While Akiko's parents had always been occasionally strict, but still loving parents, the fact that Mr. Takara went as far as to display hospitality to Jomei meant that he was in a good mood, and he wasn't about to waste that good fortune by prattling around. 'Don't question it Jomei, you'll live longer – maybe he just got a good business deal or something.'
Thanks to the sound of his footfalls across the fine wood flooring of the Takara household, Jomei didn't even have to knock as he reached Akiko's room. Instead, the woman in question simply opened the door and, judging by how she held a textbook in the crook of her arm, ended her study session as soon as she heard Jomei nearby.
"Hey, Jomei! Come on in, and don't mind the study guides – I'll get those out of the way." She said, quickly cleaning up the assortment of papers meticulously laid across her desk. "Did you get your results letter in the mail? I just got mine this morning."
Jomei whipped out the letter he'd stashed in his jacket and held it up proudly between two fingers. A small disk contained within fell to the bottom. "Yep! Got mine yesterday, actually," he explained, pulling up a spare seat by the desk, "Looking forward to seeing who won?"
The blonde's smile and positivity was infectious, and Akiko let a small smirk cross her lips. He didn't need to know how worried she was about the results of the practical exam which, by her own judgment, she did mediocre on even with her steady strategy thanks to her sacrificing her final two minutes for Shinso's sake. Not that she regretted it in the slightest.
"Something like that. I'm guessing you're convinced we already passed?" She said, sitting down and spinning in her chair to face her now-clear desk as she fetched a letter opener.
He nodded confidently. "Well, yeah! I think I did pretty good taking down those villains… even though I did go a bit overboard trying to show up one jerk at the start." After Akiko had slit open hers, Jomei was fumbling with his own envelope when he piped up again. "And since you're somehow worried you won't get in, how about you go first?"
Akiko hummed, pursing her lips until she sighed. "Well, I suppose one of us has to take the dive first. Let's hope you're right about us getting into U.A."
She flipped the envelope, a paper letter and a small metallic disk both falling out at the same time. "A holo-disk? So they're delivering the results by recording? Huh…" She trailed off, activating the device after Jomei shrugged. "I wonder who it could be… maybe the principal?"
The disk flared to life, the small holographic screen suddenly displaying a face-shot of a blue-eyed and blonde-haired titan of a hero. "Aha! I am here in yet another recording!" His strong voice boomed.
"Wait, is that All Might?!" Akiko blurted out.
"The number one hero? Indeed!" The message continued, All Might pulling away from the camera as his triumphant theme began to play. "I come bearing news from U.A. High School concerning your practical exam performance. The letter accompanying me contains vital information concerning your written exam's results, and some other information that shall be made clear soon."
The blonde hero gripped his dress shirt and stifled a cough. "As you may be aware, the practical exam plays a pivotal role in deciding who ascends into the ranks of this prestigious academy, and I am sorry to say… by sheer combat ability alone, though you came close, you did not pass."
Akiko's shoulders dropped, her gaze dropping in recognition of the fact this message might as well simply be a formality to inform her of her rejection. At least there was always Jomei to hopefully be-
"But wait! There's more!" All Might quickly added, and Jomei bit back the comforting words he was already preparing. Akiko's self-esteem was already on a precarious edge as it was. "Fortunately, there were other factors in play to boost your score! After all, what hero relies solely on their abilities in combat to protect the public?!" He explained with a boastful flex.
"In addition to combat points – or villain points, as they're called here – there are what are known as 'rescue points,' designed to applaud and award heroic souls with selfless regard for others! For how can U.A. proclaim itself an institution of heroes when we deny those with the most heroic of intent their chance to attend? Why do I mention this? Why, watch and find out!"
Behind him, another screen was given focus and displayed a recording of Akiko saving Shinso from the zero-point faux villain's point of view, as well as many other angles. Beside her, Jomei's mouth fell agape as Akiko's eyes lit up with hope and her heart raced in her chest at the sight of her idol granting her newfound hope. 'She really did mean it when she said she stopped that thing…'
All Might turned to face the camera again once the video showed Akiko racing off with Shinso in tow. His theme was reaching a crescendo as he threw a thumbs up. "Takara Akiko," he began, a leaderboard of ten students appearing behind him, "Due to your valor and your selflessness in the face of adversity, U.A. welcomes you into our ranks. Welcome to your hero academia." He finished, holding out a hand as if Akiko could accept it.
All Might seemed as if he had more to say, but a hand poking into frame informed him he was running short on time. "Ah, yes. There's so much more to be said, and I'm sure you're bursting with excitement already, but let me reveal to you one last surprise! Yes, I – All Might – will be here as one of U.A.'s most prestigious educators, and of course, I look forward to seeing you soon! Until then, remember – go beyond! Plus ultra!" He cheered, pointing a triumphant fist to the sky as the message flickered off.
There was so much to process that for a solid few dozen seconds Akiko was frozen where she sat. Not only was she just sent on an emotional roller coaster so intense that she didn't even take note of who was on the top ten behind All Might, but she was told that she was accepted into U.A. High School, with none other than the number one hero as one of her educators on the path to becoming a Pro Hero. It would've been enough to move even her father's heart if he saw the look of utter disbelief on his daughter's face.
Jomei was about to speak up when Akiko moved again. First, she shook her head, but then, to both her own and his surprise, she began to laugh. What first started as subdued chuckles grew into full-blown giddy giggles of excitement, to the point where her whole body was shaking, and she ended up throwing herself into a hug with Jomei.
"What'd I tell you? Nothing to worry about!" Jomei encouraged, a toothy smile on his face at the rare sight of Akiko being so animated as he returned the embrace.
Akiko then reeled in her laughter, wiping away happy tears that threatened to spill down her cheeks as she pulled back into her seat. "I-I can't believe it! It was All Might, right there! And he's going to be teaching there, and I actually made it!" She exclaimed, running fingers through her hair as she continued convincing herself she wasn't in fact dreaming.
"Of course you did – you've worked harder than like, anyone I know to get into U.A. You deserve it." He gushed, his eyes widening as he remembered the leaderboard that'd displayed behind All Might. "Say, do you think either one of us made it onto the top ten?"
His friend shook her head again. "I have no clue. I'm just happy that I got accepted! What about your letter? Shouldn't we watch yours?" She asked, her eyes wide in excitement. If she could get into U.A., she saw no reason for Jomei to be left behind after what she knew for a fact would've been a great combat performance during the practical exam on his part, but she always figured it was better to make sure.
"Well, maybe we both got accepted and made it onto the leaderboard," Jomei proposed, gesturing towards the now-inactive holo-disk, "All Might did make it sound like the rescue points were a big deal."
"True." Akiko agreed, regaining her composure as she finally finished fumbling with the device's tiny controls to land on the point of the video that the leaderboard was on display. What the pair saw shocked them both for what felt like the umpteenth time in the past handful of minutes.
Comfortably resting in fourth place, with 28 villain points and 40 rescue points was Akiko, far ahead of Jomei on the leaderboards with his ninth-place ranking of 48 villain points and 10 rescue points.
Akiko had to do a double-take to believe the scores she was seeing. Though she wasn't surprised to see that Jomei was on the leaderboard, and therefore was likely accepted into U.A., she by no means anticipated ranking higher than Jomei when it came down to it – not with how mediocre she performed. Turning to face him, what with his acceptance being right in front of him, she was only partially surprised to see nothing but an utterly content smile on his face.
"I mean… I can't say I didn't expect to see my name up there, but… you placing higher than me? That's a surprise." He stated off-handedly, still staring at the leaderboard. "But, wait! Uh, you know what I mean," he hurriedly added, looking sheepish as he realized his poor choice of words.
His companion nodded. "Yeah, I didn't expect that either, but you made it too!" She congratulated, giving Jomei another hug. At least she wouldn't have to worry about not knowing anybody when she started her latest schooling venture.
Before Jomei could respond, Akiko's mismatched eyes went wide, and she began fumbling to open the slip of paper that came with the holo-disk of All Might. "Wait, what's up?" Jomei inquired, his head at an odd angle over her shoulder as he strained to see what his friend was looking at.
"I'm looking to see if we're in the same class – there should be a bunch of information here about… aha!" She exclaimed, skimming over her written exam results in favor of looking at who was in her class. There were twenty-three students besides her in one of the two hero classes there, and although she didn't recognize most of the names listed, there was one that stood out amidst the crowded section of the paper.
"We're in the same class! This just keeps getting better and better!" She cheered.
Jomei leaned back in his chair. "And here I thought I was the one that was going to be super excited," he joked.
Akiko tried to glare at him, but her smile made it impossible to even try to feign frustration. Not that she could ever hope to manage that, what with her utter inability to hide what she was feeling from Jomei.
"Ha ha. Very funny, Jomei. But anyway…" She trailed off, swiveling in her chair to face the projection again. With the way she pointed at the leaderboard, it was clear that she was about to declare herself the winner of their earlier competition.
Jomei lurched forward, grabbing ahold of Akiko's finger in a flash. "Not quite! We only agreed to keep track of who scored more points fighting, and then these rescue points came along to screw it up, so..." He trailed off, clearly grasping for straws so he didn't have to admit defeat.
"How about we call it a tie and just celebrate that we both made it into U.A.?" Akiko offered, swiveling once again to face away from her desk as she rose to her feet. If there was anything that she'd learned about people from Jomei, it was that the best path into a person's heart was through their stomach. Though she wasn't as obsessed with food as others, even she would admit that celebrating so many revelations in such a short amount of time with a good meal could only add yet another highlight to her day.
"Deal," he agreed, rising to his feet and stuffing his letter back into his jacket pocket as he triumphantly marched back in the direction of the house's well-stocked kitchen.
It may have only been the beginning of their journey on the way to becoming Pro Heroes, but with the sun shining outside as spring made itself known in the air, both Jomei and Akiko were convinced that this was a milestone more than worth celebrating. Even if Akiko fell back into her timid shell when classes started, and even if Jomei continued wishing to show up those who taunted him, they'd both just overcome the most significant hurdle they'd ever faced on the road achieving their dreams. And for now? That was enough.
Authors Note: So, um… yeah… longest ever chapter – no, single file for upload I've ever written right here. I'm… not sure what to say other than I hope you enjoyed! Parts of this were tough to write for me, given my newbie nature to writing and all, but just as much of it was an absolute blast to write. I hope you'll all stick around and wait to see what comes next! Oh, and is it just me or is All Might literally a better superman than Superman? Though I suppose that is the point of his character, so… hoorah for having a preexisting character in MHA that I could use for an awesome moment for Akiko!
And of course, some random notes I think would be fun; inspirations! Jomei's Quirk was inspired by Delsin Rowe from Infamous 2, as you might imagine, but Akiko's was a bit more involved. I wanted her to subvert expectations in that she looks extremely graceful and delicate but packs a heck of a punch, but limit her potential, so I looked to the Crystal Core as a weakness for her. Oh! And her powers are kinda inspired by ATLA. And Shimo-sensei? Literally means frost, and as a fan of DBS, I had to fit that in somewhere as an in-joke!
PS: So... for better or for worse, I'm entertaining the thought of making an independent world/work in the same third-person vein as WFAF (in terms of chapter length, anyhow), and so... I've elected to put WFAF on hiatus. While I by no means intend to wholesale abandon this project, do understand that, for the time being, it's... shall we say, 'sleeping.' That having been said, with my unreliable-at-best update schedule - I mean, it did take me 3 weeks just to make this, lol - it's not like this is some massive travesty, especially with the sheer number of talented writers on this site. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and may enjoy the ones to come whenever this sleeping dragon wakes up once again!
