Suzuka frowned as she stared up at the giant double doors in front of her. They were several hundred feet tall, dwarfing her. To her left and to her right stood about fifty other middle schoolers, each of them here for the same thing; the UA Practical Entrance Exam.
It started off as a normal morning, or as normal as a morning as it could be with one of the most important tests the Midorya Twins had ever taken looming over their shoulders. The twins ate their breakfast, took the train to UA Station, and, just like usual, they ran into Katsuki on their way into the school. He grumped nearly the entire time they found a set of three seats, preaching on and on about how they were the last two people on planet Earth that he wanted to see today. Izuku tried his best to stay out of Katsuki's vocal warpath, while Suzuka gave him a constant slew of disapproval.
To Izuku's excitement, the MC of the pre-exam assembly was the Pro Voice Hero, Present Mic.
During this assembly, Present Mic, in his typical, flamboyant fashion, went over the basics of what was to be expected during the Practical Entrance Exam. The children would be proving their merit against several types of robotic villains, each worth different point levels with varying degrees of difficulty. The last robotic villain, the specifics of which one student was incredibly gung ho about, is worth zero points and is merely an obstacle for the children to avoid, lest they give up their chance at earning more points.
It seemed simple enough, but as soon as Suzuka was carted off to her own testing station, post written exam, the nerves began to set in. She understood why UA split up students that came from the same districts, to prevent cheating or torpedoing. Honestly, she was exceedingly glad that Izuku and Katsuki were not paired together for that reason specifically. Alas, here she stood, staring up at the giant grey doors in front of her, behind which stood the future of her schooling career. In truth, she was terrified.
Next to her, several students talked amongst themselves, quietly prattling on about what to expect once inside. The giant student next to her, a boy with six arms, each attached to the next, shifted uncomfortably next to her. They made awkward eye contact and he cleared his throat.
"Nervous?" The boy asked her. Suzuka nodded, giving him a tight smile.
"Very." She told him, running an awkward hand through her hair. The boy next to her chuckled, and it was only then that she realized that one of his hands had taken the shape of a mouth.
"Me too." He confessed, his mouth smiling at her. Suzuka turned, craning her neck up to look at him. His dark eyes seemed to study her from beneath grey hair. On the bottom half of his face, he wore a teal bandana, and Suzuka found herself incredibly curious as to what was underneath it. With a quick shake of her head, she hurried those thoughts away. She had more important things to think about.
"Suzuka Midorya." She introduced herself. The boy hesitated momentarily, before grinning at her.
"Mezo Shoji." He told her. The air between them grew awkward and stale, and Suzuka opened her mouth to struggle through a bit more small talk, when the PA system boomed to life over head.
"The great hero Napoleon Bonaparte once said... 'True heroism consists in being superior to the ills of life.' Plus Ultra! Break a leg, everyone!" Present Mic shouted to her group.
Comforting. Suzuka thought harshly, sharing a look with Shoji. He seemed to be thinking the same. The door in front of them opened and to Suzuka's surprise, the entirety of their exam group made a mad dash for the open door.
"Good luck, Shoji!" Suzuka called, as she took off after them. A faint 'you too!' was heard behind her, but she dared not look as she made to beat her fellow examinees to the city.
While she was preparing herself for the exam, in the little time that she had for preparation, Suzuka decided that she'd likely have better luck in the less populated areas of the city. With less competition she'd have a better chance at racking up more points. It wasn't until she reached a secluded sector that she realized her plan may have a fatal flaw; what if there were no robots out here?
Thankfully, Suzuka didn't have to wait long to see that that was certainly not the case. From around each surrounding corner, stepped three robot villains, two one pointers and a three pointer. The three pointer wasted no time in conducting it's assault, and Suzuka raised a shield before it had time to fire. Using what she'd been practicing, Suzuka turned her shield into a weapon, throwing it away from her body, destroying the two one pointers with great ease. The three pointer still stood, though he had taken some damage. Thinking quickly, Suzuka took hold of one of the fallen one pointers, dunking it on top of the three pointer in a fiery display. Once the smoke had dissipated, it was evident that Suzuka had won her first robot battle, earning Five points as well.
"That's not so bad." Suzuka muttered, pushing back the nausea that was creeping into her belly. It was so much easier when she couldn't see, but Toshinori said that using support objects was against the rules at the Entrance Exam. Besides, she'd only managed to bring her range up to twenty seven feet in any direction while blindfolded. Those villains were easily thirty feet or more away from her. She'd have to come up with something, even if it was closing her eyes when she used her quirk.
Suzuka headed off in a direction she could only assume was north, but unfortunately had only made her way into warzone. The exam around her was complete and utter chaos, with quirks being used left and right. Thankfully, several three pointers had made their way here and Suzuka wasted no time in destroying them.
Closing her eyes, Suzuka seized her quirk, finding the three pointer and lifting him into the sky before dropping it on its friend. Suzuka repeated this process again, slamming it down with such force into a second three point villain, where it stopped moving entirely.
"That's so manly!" Someone shouted, catching Suzuka's attention. Upon opening her eyes, Suzuka realized that she had earned quite a bit of attention from the surrounding children. Nearby, a spiky, red haired boy watched her in awe, as well as another small group of middle schoolers. She gave them a shy smile before taking off into a side street, quickly following after a group of one and two point robotic villains.
Where are they going? Suzuka asked herself, picking up one villain and using it to dismantle the rest, like a hellish, Telekinetic mace. Suzuka couldn't help but feel like she was chasing these robots, which exhausted her. She was tired, too tired to use her telekinesis on all of the villains, so she did the next best thing. She used her quirk to make weapons out of the robots. Suzuka prayed that whoever was watching her exam saw how well she applied the principle of her quirk, working smarter, not harder, for those points.
Taking another left turn, Suzuka was surprised to find that she had managed to make it back to the center of the city, where most of the other children has grouped as well. To her surprise, a horde of two and three point villains were waiting for them, lined up like a buffet. She watched the other kids as they stepped up to the plate, taking their shot at robot after robot while the villains barely put up a fight.
What are they doing? Suzuka wondered. Following the lead of a few other kids, Suzuka stepped forward, closing her eyes and latching on to a nearby three point villain. She sent it flying into several other villains, and it destroyed them, knocking them over like a bowling ball would pins.
Beneath her feet, Suzuka could feel an unfamiliar rumbling, something that made her Telekinetic senses go crazy. The rumbling grew more and more steady, and again Suzuka found herself feeling like she had been herded here, but before she had a chance to think a skyscraper sizedrobot erupted from the ground down the street from her.
The shockwave sent Suzuka stumbling, but thankfully the robot was not here for her. Suzuka was to it's back, she still had time to run. During the robot's initial rampage, it sent debris flying every which way, some of which she had to dodge before it crushed her. Several nearby buildings were destroyed or heavily damaged. If the Practical Exam wasn't a warzone before, it was most definitely a warzone now.
As she made her way away from the giant villain, Suzuka spotted movement from the corner of her eye. Shoji, the boy she had met before the exam started, had just rounded the corner of a nearby building. He seemed disoriented, enough so that he didn't see the building above him toppling with debris. Suzuka stopped in her tracks, instead making a beeline for the multi armed boy.
"Shoji!" Suzuka called out to him, catching his attention, but it was too late. The debris above his head had started falling. Suzuka dove for the boy, thrusting her hands at the sky above them,shielding the pair just in time. The pieces of building crashed down onto them, each block threatening to send Suzuka to her knees.
"Midorya!" Shoji spoke, in awe as the rocks above them violently crashed into an invisible barrier. Shoji grabbed the girl by her waist, holding her up as the force of the rocks nearly toppled her. The shield began to crack, the air above them spider-webbing with fine, white lines.
"Shoji, you need to run when my shield breaks." Suzuka told him. Shoji went to speak, but he had no time. With a loud crack, the air above and Shoji grabbed Suzuka, slinging her onto his back, extending his arms around her like a protective bubble. With his bearings in order, Shoji leapt from underneath the final piece of debris, landing less than gracefully several feet away.
"Midorya, are you alright?" Shoji asked the girl quietly, pulling her off of his back. Suzuka stumbled forward, retching onto the pavement at her feet.
"Only one minute left! Don't let those points slip away!" Present Mic's voice boomed over the loudspeakers. Suddenly, Suzuka was panicking, did she have enough points? There was no way she'd gotten enough! Thankfully, only a few feet away, sat another three point villain. She made to stand, but the sudden movement only added to her nausea. Again, Suzuka retched.
"Hey! Slow down!" Shoji told her, coming up behind her. He placed a gentle hand on each of her shoulders, kneeling down at her back. "You need to rest! Over using an emitter quirk has serious repercussions." He told her softly.
"You're right," Suzuka muttered, placing her hand on her forehead. "You should go get more points." God, how her head ached. To her surprise, Shoji shook his head.
"No, I've got plenty." He smiled at her.
"Ten seconds left!" Present Mic shouted again, causing any children left near Suzuka and Shoji to began to clamor for more points. "Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd that's time! Any serious injuries? No? Great! Please leave any injured students where they lie, The Recovery Team will be around shortly to assist them." A quick pause, evidently so that he could catch his breath to shout some more. "Please, if all remaining students who can still walk will make their way back to the assembly area, paramedics will be waiting to deal with any superficial injuries!"
"Can you walk?" Shoji asked, extending a hand to Suzuka. Suzuka nodded, holding her stomach.
"Yes, thank you." She grimaced at the boy, taking his hand. Slowly she rose to her feet, still clutching at her head.
Once outside, the chaos of the exam seemed to melt away. Most kids, though hyped on adrenaline, were no worse for wear, and sat off in their own large group. Several middle schoolers had been cordoned off to the side, where a comically large ambulance sat with about five paramedics.
"Do you need me to help you to the paramedics?" Shoji's voice came suddenly, catching Suzuka off guard. Suzuka smiled, shaking her head at him.
"No, thank you. I'm okay." She told the boy, who nodded at her. Without another word, Suzuka left Shoji, walking quietly up to the ambulance. She joined the line, but before she had time to be helped, a small, frail looking woman appeared at her side.
"Are you Suzuka Midorya?" She asked the girl. Suzuka's brow furrowed and she nodded at the woman.
"My name is Recovery Girl," the woman introduced herself. Recovery Girl smiled at Suzuka quietly. "I'm going to have to ask you to come with me. Your brother was injured during his exam."
In the weeks following the UA entrance exam, the Midorya household was restless, to say the least. The Entrance Exam took place several weeks before school let out, and while Suzuka was more than busy enough to keep her mind distracted, she was feeling a looming sense of dread that neither her's, nor her brother's letter had come in the mail yet.
After the Entrance Exam, it took Izuku most of the weekend to heal from his worst injuries. Suzuka and Inko had been informed that the boy broke both of his legs and one of his arms during a run in with the zero point villain. Though Recovery Girl assured Inko that Izuku would make a full and fast recovery, it took every single one of the twin's wiles to convince her that UA was still the school for them.
So here Suzuka sat with her brother and her mother at another Friday dinner without Toshinori. He had had to cancel the past few weeks in a row for personal reasons. He'd even cancelled his typical training with Izuku these weeks as well, which had done nothing for the boy twin's mood. Suzuka frowned at her brother who sat across the table from her, smiling down at his Shioyaki Fish desolately. Suzuka and Inko shared concerned looks across the table, before Inko spoke.
"Izuku." Inko's voice was quiet, but did not catch his attention. So she tried again, and when that failed, it was Suzuka's turn.
"Izuku." Suzuka said louder, her voice firm and resolute. Izuku's head snapped up, looking up at her quickly, his smile gone. Suzuka sighed, placing her empty skewer back on her plate. "Why are you smiling at that fish?"
"Honey, are you okay? Do I need to be worried?" Inko asked him honestly. To be fair, both of the Midorya women had been worried about Izuku since he returned home from the exam. Inko had been hoping he would decide that UA wasn't the place for a quirkless middle schooler, but Izuku had been adamant that he still wanted to go. Suzuka would never vocalize those sentiments, but she was also worried about her brother for the same thing.
"No, I'm sorry. I'm fine, honest." Izuku told the girls, returning to his meal with abandon. But his mood did not increase.
Later that evening, while the girls were cleaning up after dinner, Izuku took his normal place on the couch. In silence, he squeezed his grip trainer absentmindedly in one hand, while holding his phone in the other.
"I'm sure Toshinori is fine, Izuku." Suzuka told her brother. His lack of response was deeply unsettling for the girl, she hated seeing him like this. With a frown, she pulled several plates from the table, placing them on the counter next to her with her quirk.
"I know, waiting for the results is terrible." Inko tried, taking a dish from Suzuka, drying it, and placing it back on the shelf. She earned a sigh in response. "No matter the outcome, I just want you to know that I'm so proud of you! And I think you're really cool, sweetie." Inko cheered for him. She gave Suzuka a reassuring smile. "Both of you."
"Thanks, mom." Suzuka smiled at her mother. There was a small clang at the door, catching Suzuka's attention, and she turned away from the sink, hastily drying her hands on her pants. The mail had arrived, and the sudden rush of anxiety hit her in waves. "The mail is here." Suzuka said quietly, bending over to pick it up. "Oh." Suzuka gasped, staring down at the two letters with shaking hands. Addressed to the both of them were two white envelopes that bore a giant UA logo on their wax seal. "They're here." Suzuka told no one in particular, she was still too shocked from simply seeing the letters.
The soft, but rapid, thudding of footsteps came from behind her and in mere seconds Izuku had joined Suzuka at the door. He leaned over her shoulder nervously, Suzuka could feel him shaking, as he grabbed his letter from her hands. The twins stood, looking down at their letters quietly, before glancing over at Inko. Inko seemed just as nervous as them.
Without another word, Suzuka and Izuku both bolted for their rooms, each twin slamming the door behind them. Suzuka's heart was racing as she ripped the envelope open, stopping herself just short of grabbing out her letter. What would happen if she made it and Izuku didn't? Suzuka hesitated, clutching her letter to her chest.
He would be devastated if I went without him… Suzuka thought to herself, glancing over at the shared wall to their rooms. Taking a deep breath, Suzuka decided that she should first figure out if she'd been accepted, though it was pretty cut and dry; Suzuka wouldn't be going without her brother.
With a sigh, she turned the envelope upside down, surprised to find a holo-disk fall from the envelope onto her desk top. There was a faint click and the holo-disk sprang to life, a clear picture of All Might hovering above it. He beamed at her, adjusting his gold, pinstriped suit before addressing her with his usual, trademarked, cheeriness.
"Young Miss Midorya! It is I, a hologram!" All Might said happily, eliciting a small smile from Suzuka. "Welcome to your letter from UA high school! And who better to read it to you than the newest UA Faculty member, me?!" All Might's hologram told her happily. Suzuka nearly choked. All Might would be teaching at UA? "As much as I would love to shower you with compliments and admiration for the entirety of your impressive performance, I've been informed that I have to do many more of these things, so if you wouldn't mind, we'll be moving on to the important bits of your exam! The grades!" All Might paused, clearing his throat. "If you remember correctly, the UA Entrance Exam consisted of two parts, and while you aced your written test-"
Naturally. Suzuka thought smugly.
"It is the Practical Test that weighs most heavily on your overall score! If you will recall, the Practical Test consisted of a villain hunt in which each villain was given a point value based on it's difficulty. For your Practical Test Villain score, you racked up 32 villain points." The screen next to All Might clicked to life, showing a leader board of UA students and their villain points. Suzuka frowned, she wasn't even on it, though she wasn't surprised to see Katsuki at the top of the leaderboard with 77 points. "As you can see, though you had an impressive amount of points, your points were not high enough to make the top 20."
"Right…" Suzuka muttered quietly. She frowned at the hologram, reaching for it when All Might again began to speak.
"However, there were other factors in our grading scale. If you look here, I have prepared a quick video for your viewing pleasure!" All Might told her, gesturing to the screen.
Suzuka watched as All Might disappeared and instead the hologram was replaced with a video of Suzuka nearly being blown away by the zero point villain. Suzuka's brow furrowed, confused as to why he was showing her this, when the camera cut to Shoji Mezo, just as Suzuka saved him from the falling rocks.
"As you can see, Young Miss Midorya, it is the actions of a hero that stand out most during their tenure. You can destroy villains, yes, but the makings of a true hero are evident in their ability to care about those around them." All Might told her seriously. "In our exam, we don't just look for combat, but for compassion. We also grade our examinees on their ability to help those around them, thus awarding them Rescue Points!" All Might fist pumped the air, beaming at her foolishly. Again, the screen next to All Might lit up, showing Suzuka the leaderboard once more. "For your selflessness, the UA exam panel has awarded you another 32 points!" Suzuka watched as the leader board changed before her very eyes, her name appearing in the number six slot. "That brings you to sixth rank overall on your Practical Exam, earning you a spot in UA's hero course!"
"I made it!?" Suzuka gasped, gripping her computer chair tightly.
"Welcome, Midorya Twins, you have made it. You are now part of the Hero Academia!" Suzuka gasped, studying the board further. To her surprise, two spots underneath her in eighth place, sat Izuku's name. His two broken legs and arm acquired him 60 Rescue Points. She watched the hologram fade to black, her fingers still gripping her computer chair until her knuckles turned white.
"Izuku!" She called, turning on her heel and throwing open her door. Suzuka didn't even knock as she ran to her brother's room, bursting through the door. She watched as All Might delivered the final line to him as well, and by the way his shoulders shook Suzuka could tell that he was crying. "Izuku!" Suzuka called again, this time catching her brother's attention. Izuku turned to look at her, his eyes still watery.
"W-we made it." He told her plainly. Suzuka, who didn't realize she had been crying until now, ran to her brother, throwing her arms around his neck. "I can't believe we made it!" Izuku sobbed, hugging his sister tightly.
"I knew you would, Izuku!" Suzuka told him. As happy as she was for making it into UA, she was equally, of not more, proud of her brother. He overcame so much to be here, being teased by his peers, being an outcast most of their young lives. He wanted it more than anyone she knew, and he finally got it. This was his dream, and Suzuka was so happy to see him finally achieve it.