Sorry in advance for typos. Favorite, REVIEW, and share!! 3 - skittles
I do not own MHA or its characters.
_
Today was the day.
And honestly, she probably would've flaked if Nana didn't kick her out of the house.
"Don't come back until after the exam!" She said, shutting the door before Shira could even muster an excuse.
'Well...' The white haired girl thought as she slowly walked. 'She did buy over 100 refills the past few months...'
And she couldn't express how thankful she was for that. As many times as Shira tried repaying her grandmother, she would always tell her that passing the exam would be enough for her.
"And that's exactly what i'll do." She stated determinedly, balling her fist.
Her quirk had gotten stronger over the past few months, with better aim, better range, and she could blow for longer. She thanked that to the breathing exercises she found on yootube.
Meditation was also a big key in her progress. She had taken the hobby from her mother, who invited her to join her during one of the hospital's 'relax day's that consisted of meditating, yoga, and a trip to the nearby sauna.
She made sure not to miss another relax day.
After a quick bus ride, Shira found herself staring up at the prestigious building of the most well known hero training academy in the world.
UA.
She got so lost in her stare that she didn't even pay notice to her surroundings, like the way she was blocking the entrance.
"E-Excuse me?" Shira jumped, turning around to be met with a nervous looking green- haired boy. Noticing where she was standing, she sheepishly apologized.
"Oh, im sorry." She took a few steps to the side, clearing the way for him and a few other people starting to gather. "I just got caught in the view." She cheesed, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear.
"N-no, I-its fine!" He sputtered, hands waving. "UA is a g-great school, a-and its an honor to even be able to even g-go inside, not to mention we'll get to see so many different quirks and combat styles! I wonder how many hero's we'll see? I should've brought my journal..." he trailed off, muttering quietly to himself as he chew on his thumb nail. Shira smiled awkwardly, slowly taking a few steps back.
"Welp! Good luck on the exam! See you later..." She trailed off, not knowing his name.
The boy popped back into reality, his anxiousness coming back with him. "M-Midoriya! Izuku Midoriya! What's your name?"
"My name is Shira Todoroki." She smiled, waving at him before turning around to head inside the auditorium. "Good luck Midoriya!"
She faintly heard him yell a "You too!" before chuckling, continuing inside the building.
•••
As more students began piling into the the auditorium, Shira's nerves grew worse and worse. She never really thought about just how much competition she would have. Especially with a school with a 0.2 acceptance rate.
'I just hope that the exam isn't going to be endurance based...' She thought to herself. While she had been training her quirk to the max, it wasn't any help in the physical aspect. She couldnt transport nor did it help in hand to hand combat. The only thing it could do is... incinerate.
The reminder made her slump in her seat, her enthusiasm dropping a little.
"No." She said to herself, shaking her head. "No. Mom and Nana put everything into helping me, nows not the time to be second- guessing myself. I can do this!" She nodded, straightening up in her seat.
Someone beside her clapped, she looked over to see a boy with spiky red hair, wiping a tear from his eye dramatically. Shira froze, unsure if he was mocking her or being genuine.
"That," He started, balling a fist. "was so manly." He said, grinning widely, showing off his sharp teeth. He held out a hand towards her, using the other to point at himself. "I'm Eijiro Kirishima! Its nice to meet ya!"
Shira smiled at the sincere glint in his eyes, holding out her own hand. "I'm Shira Todoroki. It's nice to meet you too!"
Kirishima gaped in awe, his grip unintentionally loosening. "Todoroki? You mean, like Endeavor?!" He gasped. "Aw man! You must have tons of experience in this kind of stuff then huh?!"
Shira cringed, which Kirishima mentally noted. "Uh, yea." She laughed nervously, scratching the back of her head. "I actually-"
Before she could finish, the lights went out above them. The room quieted as the lights above the stage turned on, all attention put on the man standing in front of the large screen.
"What's up U.A candidants?!" He yelled into the mic, making some students cringe at the sudden loudness. "Thanks for tuning into me, your school DJ! Let me hear ya!"
The silence was so loud that Shira could hear Kirishima's heartbeat. She kind of felt bad for the poor man.
After a couple of moments, the man brushed the silence off, continuing. "Keepin' it mellow, huh? That's fine i'll skip straight to the main show." He pointed a finger up. "Lets talk about how all this is gonna go down, ok?!"
He struck a dramatic pose yelling, "ARE YOU READY?!" into the mic.
Once again, he was met with silence.
"Wow," Kirishima whispered, leaning towards her. "This is kinda embarrassing." Shira couldn't help but agree.
"Like your application says- today you rockin' girls and boys will be conducting ten minute mock battles in super hip- urban cities!" The DJ continued on, unphased. "After I finish here, you'll head to your specific battle centers! Sound good?"
After the 3rd time of getting no response, Shira started to think that he was doing this on purpose. If not, she couldn't understand the immense embarrassment the poor man must be facing inside.
"Alright!" He said to himself, moving along.
Shira looked down at her assigned card, then to Kirishima's. They were both in different zones.
Kirishima noticed this too, pouting. "Aw man!" He whined, shoulders dropping. "I wanted to see your quirk in action, Todoroki!"
Shira smiled sadly, now innerly relieved that they didnt have the same placements. While she was never insecure about her quirk before, seeing all these other candidates made her a little self conscience.
'So much for a Todoroki, huh?' She mentally remarked, snorting.
"I know right... you better pass so you can tell me all about it." She smiled, nudging him with her shoulder. He grinned back, nodding firmly at the request.
"You better do the same!" He said, pounding his fists together. Shira noticed how his arms hardened before they made impact- that must be his quirk?
Before she could ask, Present Mic went back to explaining the point system. They would gather points by destroying robots. There were 1, 2, and 3 pointers. The only rule was to not hurt other candidates intentionally.
"Excuse me, sir! But I have a question!" Someone stood a few rows away from them, his hand raised high.
"Hit me!"
All eyes shifted to him as a spotlight was put over him. From first impression, he seemed like the overly serious type. He had blue, slicked down hair, with glasses sitting firmly on his nose. Shira definitely didn't wanna have to share a class with this guy.
The boy held up the paper that was passed out to everyone. "On this paper, it says there are 4 fake villians- not 3. If this is a mistake on official U.A. document, then, with all due respect, it's pitiful. We expect only the best from Japan's most notible school! A mistake such as this one simple won't do!"
Yep, definitely the overly serious type.
"And you!" He swiftly turned around, pointing at someone behind him. The spotlight shifted, now on- Midoriya?! The boy shrunk under the light, eyes wide from the sudden attention. "With the unkempt hair! You have been mumbling this entire time, stop it! If you can't bother to take this seriously- You need to leave!"
"Wow, what an asshole!" Shira gasped in disbelief at the rudeness. While she also noticed Midoriya's tendency to mumble, she wouldn't call him out in front of hundreds of people!
"Thank you, examinee #7111 for pointing that out! The fourth villian is worth 0 points. He's just an obstacle we'll throw in your way. There's only one, so don't worry about trying to beat it because... well, theres no point. Just focus on the ones atop the chart!"
Shira nodded, making a mental note. She didnt need to waste all of her energy on a useless obstacle.
"I'm so pumped up!" Kirishima declared, pumping a fist.
"And that's all I've got for ya' today. You ready to go beyond? Lets give a big 'PLUS ULTRA!'"
For the 4th time, he was met with silence. Shira felt so bad, that she swallowed her pride and stood alone, yelling out, "PLUS ULTRA!"
All eyes shifted to her, and before she could sit from embarrassment, Kirishima also stood, joining her in support. "YEA! PLUS ULTRA!"
Present Mic grinned, pointing at the two of them, "Good luck to you all! Hope ya' practiced more than just hittin' books!"
••• Battle Center C •••
Shira clenched her fists as she looked around at all the other candidates around her. She saw a boy with white hair turn to metal, a frog- like girl, and even that snooty asshole from the auditorium, dusting off his engine like calfs.
The competition was going to be tough, thats for sure, but she wouldn't let it get to her. Taking deep breaths, she felt the gunpowder shifting in her lung. She patted her pocket, making sure she had her inhaler before the man from before, that she now knows as Present Mic, spoke up.
"Get moving! There are no countdowns in a real battle- RUN, RUN, RUN!! You're wasting airtime!" Shira didn't need to be told twice. Running ahead, she entered the battle center and stared at awe at the scene in front of here. Dozens of robots destroyed each seconds as the other candidates wasted no time in racking their points.
"Come on Shira!" She said, slapping herself lightly. "Lets do this!" She ran forward, deeper into the center while everyone mostly stayed in front.
She incerated as many robots as she could, being careful not to catch any other candidates in her clouds of gunpowder before they ignited. People gasped in awe at her quirk but it went unnoticed as the girl continued on to the next.
44... She destroyed a 2 pointer. 46... Then A 1 pointer. 47...
After a few minutes of running and blowing, she hid behind a wall. Bending over, she tried to catch her breathe. She reached for her inhaler, then stopped herself. No, this wasn't her limit, she was just tired from running. It hasnt even been 6 minutes yet.
Shaking the ache out of her bones, she ran back out, searching for a few more robots. She didnt know how many she needed to pass, nor how many her competitors had already. She stole a 2 pointer from a girl with green vines for hair, shouting a 'sorry!' as ran away.
She was about to snag a 1 pointer, but before she could click her teeth, a big boom shook the ground. Her eyes widened at the sound, the lack of concentration making the cloud of gunpowder immediately fall to the ground. She didnt even have time to notice the waste as she stared at the humongous green robot a few feet away.
'The one pointer.' She thought, slightly backing up.
"LESS THAN TWO MINUTES LEFT!" Present Mic yelled over the intercom. Before she could turn around, the robot smashed the ground, making everyone fall. People shouted in terror while others got the strength to get up and run away.
Shira groaned, rubbing her head as she sat up. Looking at it, she could see only a faint bloody residue on her palm. She slowly stood to her feet, about to join the others in getting away when she heard a cry of pain.
"Ow!" The girl whined. When the dust settled, Shira could see a girl stuck under fallen debris. Gasping, she took a step forward, but froze as the robot shifted forwards.
"What am I doing? What am I DOING?!" She yelled to herself, still frozen in place. "HELP! SHE'S GONNA-" The words got caught in her mouth as something shot out of the dust towards the robot at record speed.
She watched as they struck down the robot effortlessly. As the robot fell back, Shira ran towards the girl stuck in the debris.
"Are you okay?!" She yelled, using all her strength to pull the debris off the girl's obviously injured leg.
"I-I'm okay! But he's...," She paused, looking horrified up at the boy in the sky. "He's falling fast!"
Shira also looked up, seeing that the boy was indeed getting closer and closer to the ground. So close in fact, that she could now tell that it waa Midoriya, with a broken arm, plummeting towards them.
"Midoriya?!" She screeched in panic. She looked at Ururaka, who had hurridly limped towards a beam. Shira looked up again at Midoriya, feeling helpess. Her quirk wouldn't be able to save him.
These situations are the exact types she knew she wouldn't be cut out for. How can she save people with such a fatal quirk? What kind of hero just helplessly watches someone fall to their death?
Gritting her teeth, Shira put all her energy into running forwards, arms stretched out. If she couldnt save him with her quirk, she'd try to cushion his fall with her body. She knew that that was risky, seeing as Midoriya was falling from nearly 40 stories, but there was no time to be reasonable.
She stopped right below where he would fall, squeezing her eyes shut as she held out her arms. 'This is it.' She thought. 'This is where I die.'
She waiting for immense pain to strike her body, but it never hit. Cracking open an eye, she saw Midoriya hovering over the ground in surprise. She looked at Ururaka, who was concentrating before she touched her hands together. "Release!" She gasped out, before slumping over the metal beam to throw up.
"TIMES UP!" Present Mic announced loudly, a loud siren blaring over the battle area.
Shira fell down to her knees, before collasping onto her face. Nearby, she could hear Midoriya panic, but she couldn't tell if it was from pain, shock, or panic. Reaching in her pocket, she took out her asthma pump. She rolled over on her back, before taking a few pumps. After taking a few breaths, she sensed that there was little to no gunpowder in her system.
She laughed to herself silently. Even if she could have saved Midoriya somehow with her quirk, she was ran dry anyways.
As everyone left the scene, she decided to stay a few more moments before leaving. She just passed a major milestone in her life.
••• A few days later •••
"Shira! Shira!" Nana called out from outside. Shira looked up from her place in the kitchen, scrubbing dishes. She had just finished eating something to replish her quirk after her self- training.
"Huh, Nana?" She asked, rinsing the last dish before walking outside. She saw her Nana smiling at her excitedly, wrinkles appearing around her eyes.
"It's from U.A."
Shira's eyes widened, carefully taking the envelope. She hurried inside, her arm looped in her grandmother's as they settled by the table on the floor. Shira carefully took out the circular disk from inside. She shared a look with her Nana before pressing the button, a projection of All Might appearing.
Nana gasped in shock, clutching her heart while Shira looked on in awe. "Oh my!" Her Grandmother exclaimed as Shira quietly stared at the tall image of the number one hero, adorned in a business suit.
"Wow..." she mumbled, eyes wide as saucers.
All might grinned proudly, hands on his hips. "Hello there! I am here- from a projection!"
Shira looked over for her Nana's reaction, only to see her oogling the hero. Shoving the older woman slightly, Shira gagged in disgust. Nana smirked, flipping her waist- length white hair.
"I'm not dead yet."
"Nana!"
i Nana giggled, before All Might spoke again. "The truth is, I didnt come to this city just to fight villians! You're looking at the newest U.A. faculty member!"
Shira gasped, hand covering her mouth as she turned towards Nana, who looked at her with equal shock . She never even considered All Might being there! This just got 100 times more real for her.
"Congratulations Shira Todoroki! You passed the written and practical exam! With 66 Combat Points and 11 Rescue points, you're tied for the #1 top score!"
Shira gasped again, falling back onto the edge of the couch. She saw Nana get up from her peripherals to go into the kitchen, but it didnt phase her as his words sunk in. She... passed?
66 combat points? Yeah, she knew that. She had managed to snag some more before the 0 pointer came in. But rescue points? What was that? How did she get them? She didn't rescue anyone!
"You may be thinking, 'What are rescue points? How did I get them? I didn't rescue anyone?' Well take a look at this video!" All Might continued, pressing play. Nana sat down by her, passing her a cold water. She mumbled a thanks, eyes not leaving the screen.
The clip of her removing the rubble from Ururaka's leg played. It then switched to Midoriya falling. It showed her, running forwards with her arms outstretched, ready to catch him before Ururaka got to him first, slapping him to make him float. The scene cut there, All Might turning back towards them.
"If you had not removed the rubble from that young Ururaka's leg, she would not have been able to save young Midoriya! Not only that, but you were ready to save him knowing that you would've gotten hurt in the process, without hesitation! That is the essence of a true hero and the exact type of student we'd be glad to call a hero in training!"
Tears were flowing before she even knew it. A feeling that she had never felt before flooded through her. Self- Pride? Whatever it was. It warmed her to the core. She barely felt nor heard her Nana wrap her arma around her, telling her how proud she was, nor did she hear All Might's congratulations before the projection retreated back into the desk.
She had did it. She was apart if the 0.2%. She had proven her father wrong. She wasn't useless anymore. She wasnt a waste. She wasn't helpless. She was one of the best. Out of hundreds of candidates, she scored at the top.
She really did it.
After their own personal celebration with tears and hugs, Nana made sure to call everyone and tell them the good news. Fuyumi, Natsuo, and her Mother. Even if she wanted to call Shoto, neither her or her Nana had Endeavors house number, nor would he let them speak to him anyways...
At the end of the day, once her excitement high finally toned down, she laid in bed, thinking of the person she could soon be. Could she be be a top hero like Endeavor? No, like All Might? With a quirk as limited as hers, that would be a lucky shot.
She wondered if Midoriya, Ururaka and Kirishima passed. She wondered which class she would be in. She wondered if Shoto applied. She wondered how much her quick would develop during her school journey.
Somewhere in the midst of hwr wondering, she unknowingly fell asleep, soon to dream about what amazing experiences U.A. had to offer for her.
Andddd Scene
Welp, baby kicked ass and got accepted, as she should. This was the longest chap so far, 3.3k words. We met Midoriya, Ururaka, Iida and Kiri todayyy, we meet everyone else next chapter.
Can y'all guess what inspo I got her quirk from?
Favorite, REVIEW, and share this! 3 -skittles
Also, I got a review asking when Shoto is coming into play. Dont worry, he's coming in soon, most likely next chap :)these few chaps have mostly just been focusing on Shira's improvement. But thank you for your review!