Kori Akuma woke up extremely early this morning, for it was the day of the UA high school entrance exam. He had been spending the last several years training his mind and body this morning, and when he opened his eyes, he flung out of bed with a burst of energy. He ran over to the mirror to inspect himself; he was nothing to special to look at if he was being honest with himself. Sure, he was physically fit but that wasn't uncommon of those aspiring to be true heroes.
What made him stand out though, was his hair and his eyes. His hair and his irises were both snowy white and his pupils were in the shapes of snowflakes. This was due to his quirk, known as subzero breathing. His quirk allowed him to channel ice into any weapon depending on the nature of his breathing pattern at the time along with what weapons he was using and how he used them. His preference was with daggers; however, he was trained in the ways of the scythe as well for ranged combat.
He got ready for the day, grabbed his dual daggers, put them in his bag and ran downstairs to meet his mom, "Hey mom! I can't stay for breakfast this morning, I wanna get to the testing center so I can get some last-minute studying in before the exam." He went into the kitchen, packed some energy bars in his bag, and grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge. His mom walked into the room, "Okay sweetie, please be careful during the practical portion today, who knows what UA will make you guys do." She sighed and then smiled reassuringly, "But I'm sure my son is gonna do great! Remember Kori, go beyond and plus ultra!" She cheered and smiled.
Kori was thankful to have such a supportive mother; he knew that other kids weren't as lucky. He turned to her as he was about to walk out the door and raised a thumbs up, "Plus Ultra!" Just like that he was off and running to the station, another bonus of his quirk was since it revolved around breathing, he had training his lungs and heart so much that he was in amazing cardiovascular shape and could run for miles without stopping. He made it to the train station and sat in his seat, nervously rereading all of his notes and study material.
He looked out the window around halfway through his train ride to survey the city. The sun was shining with a clear blue sky, and the temperature was perfect. The city was living with people and pro heroes alike going through their daily business. He smiled and was ready to be apart of that world one day. "I'm not going to lie though… I am really nervous. The country's best candidates will be here… do I really stand a chance?" He looked down at his notes and sighed.
"Hey are you okay?" He heard an unfamiliar voice call out to him from the seat next to him. He looked up to see a girl with pink skin, fluffy hair, black sclera with golden irises and… horns? There was a lot going on there… but he did find her really cute and found himself blushing slightly. "O-oh hey, yea sorry I'm just cram studying for the UA exam today. I just got a little nervous and anxious is all." He laughed. She seemed to burst with energy and excitement, "OMG, you're heading to the UA exam? Me too! That's so crazy that we ran into each other. My name is Mina Ashido, what about you?"
"Kori Akuma." He responded confidently. Something about her smile was infectious and he couldn't help but smile and feel more relaxed around her. "It's a pleasure to meet you Ashido." He held out his hand for a handshake which she excitedly took, "It's great to meet you too!" For the rest of the train ride the two chatted about what they thought might be on the exam, their favorite pro heroes, and just basic things like video games and movies. "You know… maybe this will be a good school year after all. I really hope we both make it." He thought to himself as the train proceeded to come to a stop.
The walked to UA together and as they got closer, he felts his nerves begin to bubble up again, his self-doubt and anxious thoughts began to creep in little by little. Kori would never say he was exactly overly anxious or self-deprecating, but this was a huge moment in his life that could dictate his future and he had to compete against the best of the best, anyone would be nervous right? "What if I'm really not good enough? I mean my quirk really isn't anything special and I just have around above average grades… What if I make it and end up alone again?"
The sound of Mina's voice shook him from his thoughts, "Helloooo? Did you space out there for a sec?" She nudged him and laughed. Kori smiled apologetically, "Sorry, got lost in my own thoughts for a second there… What did I miss?" Mina smiled and pointed ahead of her, "I said look up ahead! You can see UA from here!"
Sure enough, she was right. There stood the massive school that was UA high school, the birthplace of the beginning of all amazing pro heroes. This is where his future would be determined today. He stood up straight and tall, feigning a false sense of confidence he didn't exactly feel in that moment. "Today is finally the day, this feels so surreal…" Kori turned to Mina, "Let's both go do our best today!" He raised his hand for a fist bump which she excitedly returned with a huge smile. "You're right, let's both meet each other on the other side, after we have both become UA students." They made a silent promise right then and there, to both make it to the hero course together.
And with their silent promise now made, they split off to the different exam testing rooms for the written portion of the exam. Kori arrived early and ate his energy bars he had packed, drank his water that he had packed and cram studied until it was time for the written portion. Right before the start of the exam he said a quick prayer, "Mom, wish me luck through this exam… and father, watch over me and wish me luck." Just as soon as he finished the bell rang signaling them to start the written portion
With the written portion of the exam out of the way, the students filed into a room where the pro hero Present Mic explained the practical portion of the exam. "I wonder how Ashido did on the written…" Kori thought to himself as he looked around the room. After Present Mic explained the concept of the point system with the robots, followed by a weird interruption from a very strict individual calling out a student that seemed to be a nervous mess. Present Mic then followed to explain the rules regarding a very seemingly intimidating 0 pointer robot. "Yea… I think I'm gonna avoid that one at all cost."
And just like that all of them were directed to their different training fields and groups. "Okay I'm cell block E… I don't see anyone here that I recognize so looks like no one from my old school is here." He said to himself reassuringly. He remembered his old middle school days being kinda rough. His father passed away when he went into middle school and because of that he became somewhat of a loner, no one knew what was going on so they just assumed he was a loner and made fun of him for it. He didn't hold a grudge though, that wasn't how his family raised him; however, he would be lying if he said he wasn't happy about them not being there though.
With some last-minute preparation and stretching, he made his way up to the door near the front of the crowd. "This will be the first time I used my quirk so much in rapid succession… This won't be easy… But who said the path to becoming number 1 wouldn't require struggle!" Now fired up and ready to go, he was prepared when Present Mic told them to start and he rushed out in the front.
Unhooking his daggers from his side he ran through the giant city arena. The city looked abandoned and the buildings were run down, much like how a destroyed city would look after a villain attack. He saw a large crowd of robots straight ahead on the middle path, "Not surprising they have a large group of them right in the middle, it's basically free bait for everyone who got ahead first… Just a bunch of 1 pointers from the look of it, I can take out a few on my way to look for more. I can't afford to stay in one place for too long." As he approached the crowd of robots, he took a deep breath, "Subzero Breathing: Form 1, Snow Flurry!" And as he spoke, his daggers seemed to crystalize like solid ice and he did a series of slashes across 4 robots before he moved past the crowd. "Okay that's 4 points, time to go find more."
The teachers who were watching the events unfold were impressed, from their perspective, all they saw was Kori announce his attack, his daggers crystalize, and what looked like a snowstorm following him and his movements. "Kid seems capable enough… but 4 points won't be nearly enough to pass." Aizawa said in a 'matter of fact' tone. The teachers nodded in agreement and decided to keep watching in silence.
As the giant battle royale continued to rage on in the exam site, Kori had taken our a few more one pointers and a couple of two pointers. His overuse of his quirk was starting to get to him though, as he could feel his lungs nearly about to burst and every cell in his body screaming of exhaustion. "Okay… that around 28 I think… Not enough… I still gotta get more…" He said to himself panting trying to recover his breath. "Come on body… Move…" He kept trying to will his legs to run but his muscles were so fatigued it was as if they wouldn't cooperate.
"THREE MINUTES REMAINING!" Present Mic announced to all of the examinees. Upon hearing this Kori began to panic, "3 MINUTES?! That isn't enough time… I'm gonna fail! I'm going to let my mom down, my dad down, and everyone else depending on me…!" And that was when his mind flashed to Mina. As for why, he wasn't sure, but he remembered her smile and the silent promise they made to one another. He grits his teeth and took a deep breath. "This year will be different. I will have true friends. I will be a hero. AND I WILL SAVE EVERYONE!"
Kori began to run, even as every cell in muscles screamed in agony, even as his lung felt like bursting, he ran. Hearing crashing from nearby allies in the city, he ran into the alleyway to find three 3-pointer robots. "It doesn't matter how tired you are, just keep attacking until you have nothing left!" He kept unleashing his Snow Flurry assault even as his lungs felt like exploding, and sure enough he managed to take the robots down. "37… I need more…"
"ONE MINUTE REMAINING!" Present Mic announced. That was when Kori heard it, the giant 0-pointer began causing mayhem in the city. His instincts told him to run as far away from it as possible; however, that all changed when he heard it. A scream of pure terror, so loud and pure that he knew someone was in danger and needed help. He ran onto the main road to see another examinee trapped under rubble with her leg broken. From what he could tell her quirk didn't seem to be helping her escape. "I have to do something… But what? Snow Flurry won't work on that boulder… Form 2 is for long distance and my Form 3 isn't always guaranteed to work… But it's my only hope, I have to try!"
He ran up to the boulder as fast as he could and took a sharp, short breath. "Subzero Breathing: Form 3, Subzero Shattering!" He stabbed the boulder with both daggers. Slowly ice started to form on the boulder, eventually freezing it over completely until it exploded into tine ice particles. "It worked!" He cheered in excitement, he helped the girl up and had her get onto his back. "Don't worry, I'll get you out of here!" He ran while carrying her on his back towards the front entrance, looking back to see the 0-pointer currently bulldozing the place she was trapped before. "Only 37 points… but I saved someone… did I make you proud dad?"
"AND THAT'S TIME! THE EXAM IS OVER!" Present Mic announced, much to some people's relief and disappointment. Kori led the girl back to a clear area and waited until Recovery Girl came by and healed her. Afterwards he sheathed his daggers, and left the exam site. He got home and told his mom of the exam and about his new potential friend Mina Ashido. She smiled at him, "I'm sure you did wonderful Kori… And no matter what happens I'm proud of you. I'm sure that Ashido girl would be proud of your actions as well." He smiled, finished having dinner with his mom and went up to his room to go over the day. As he laid in bed, all he could think about was how excited and nervous he was to get his results back, and how he was determined to keep that promise he made to Ashido. "Yea, I think this school year will be different after all." He smiled and drifted off to sleep.