Chapter 5: Let's get ready to rumble!

It was early hours in the morning when Midoriya left the house, I had woken up early the sound of him preparing to leave, upon questioning he said he had to complete his training and that he'd meet meet up with me later in time for the exam. I agreed with his suggestion and made sure to pass the message onto Inko-san that Midoriya had left for some early morning exercise and that he would be fine.

The front gates of U.A. were large. The somewhat pretentious nature of the entire place reminded me that the school was indeed lauded as the most prestigious school when it came to producing heroes and the entrance of the school reflected their reputation. It just seemed like needless posturing to me but I never really understood the need for such grandeur but it school likely had to be inkeeping with the visage of being a larger than life place for the prospective students to aim for, in that respect I could at least understand it.

"Outta the way dead eyes." I turn to see Bakugo marching past me, a vacant look on his face. Not wanting to be rude I decide to greet him before he gets out of earshot.

"Good morning Bakugo-san. Good luck with the exam."

"Piss off."

I feel the corners of my lips twist upwards and I suppress the slight chuckle I feel building up before returning my gaze back to the entrance gate hoping to spy Midoriya. I spot him almost immediately, his green hair is quite the distinguishing feature even in the world of Quirks but what actually captures my attention is that he is currently speaking to a girl, she stood around his height with brown hair that stopped just about her shoulders. She had the general appearance of the type of girl that Midoriya would probably talk to or at the very least the type that would speak to him if his panicked expression is anything to go by.

Finishing up her one sided conversation the girl walks off with a cheerful smile on her face as Midoriya notices me and starts rapidly approaching. I immediately take notice of his proud smile as he closes in on me.

"Did you see Kotomine-kun! I just talked to a girl!" he excitedly tells me while looking up at me with the type of eyes that a child would use when they tell a parent something they are particularly proud of.

"In that case I must congratulate you Midoriya" I begin and his smile immediately grows "It seems you have mastered the art of telepathy if your lack of speaking was any indication as to the nature of your conversation." His face immediately flushes red with embarrassment and he desperately tries to hide himself from my growing smirk.

"T-that's…" he tries and fails to form any meaningful counter argument to my point but I interrupt him before this display can go on any longer.

"Come now, you don't want to be late to the exam after all that hard work do you?" He's broken out of his sputtering and follows me as we head to the auditorium to await instructions on what our exam will entail.

I'm left to assume that the seating plan was done with middle-schools used as a base considering I'm left seated next to Midoriya and he is seated next to Bakugo. There's an uncomfortable silence between the two of them while I stare down at the stage at the front of the room waiting for the exam to be explained.

A rather strange looking man dressed in a punk rock outfit, large yellow hair curling upwards and a grin which looks unsettling enters and makes his way to the podium in the centre of the stage while spotlights in the ceiling illuminate the room. The large screen positioned behind the strange man turns on to showcase the U.A. logo.

"For all you examinee listener's tuning in, welcome to my show today!" the man begins before throwing his arms wide in a rather bizarre looking gesture "Everybody say hey!" he turns and places a hand to his ear in a listening gesture directed at us.

His strange theatre act is rewarded with silence from the audience and a raised eyebrow from me.

Seemingly unperturbed by the complete lack of a greeting the man simply shrugs his shoulders in an exaggerated manner "What a refined response. Then I'll quickly present you with a rundown on what you'll be doing for the practical exam!"

Again the man makes an exaggerate pose as he points to the audience "Are you ready?" then thrusts his left arm into the air in a punching motion "Yeah!"

Again the man is greeted with silence and I'm somewhat disappointed that the complete lack of audience involvement has demoralised him in any way, I vaguely hear Midoriya muttering to himself with an expression of childlike wonder on his face as he inadvertently informs me that the obnoxious fool prancing around on the stage is Present Mic and now I'm wondering how I didn't recognise his voice considering Midoriya made it a weekly ritual to listen too him.

"Shut up." Bakugo swiftly shuts down Midoriya's elated muttering and he adopts a more nervous expression once again and awkwardly apologies to the both of us.

I shift my attention back to Present Mic, who remains blissfully unaware of Midoriya's mumblings, as he continues to explain the exam "As it says in the application requirements, you listeners will be conducting ten-minute mock urban battles after this!"

The screen behind him flickers and reveals a number of multi-coloured squares labelled from A-G which I assume refer to the battle centres printed on the examiner cards we were given. Present Mic swiftly confirms this with this next sentence "After the presentation you'll head to the specified battle centre okay?"

At this point I'm wondering whether Present Mic takes joy out of embarrassing himself in front of his potential students at the at the complete lack of engagement being displayed, ignoring my passive curiosity as whether or not the Pro-Hero is socially inept I shift my attention to my examiner card. I'm registered for battle centre C while both Bakugo and Midoriya are in battle centres A and B respectively.

Bakugo comes to the same conclusion as I do in that the school most likely splits up students from the same middle school in order for them to avoid forming teams with their friends, I can understand the logic although I very much doubt that teamwork was a major concern between myself, Bakugo and Midoriya. I would have made no effort to aid Midoriya so I could bare witness to the fruits of his labour and Bakugo was Bakugo. Although the examiners didn't know any of this so I couldn't fault them.

"Tch" The violent teenager clicks his tongue while staring at the card "Now I can't crush you and dead eyes."

I don't deign him with a response at the screen shifts again to show a picture of the mock city and the presentation continues. "Three different types of faux villains are stationed in each battle centre" Three different black silhouettes appear on the screen labelled with different points, either worth 1, 2 or 3 respectively. "You earn points for each of them based on their difficulty. Your goal, dear listeners, is to use your Quirks to earn points by immobilising the faux villains."

Present Mic points in an exaggerated manner at the audience again.

"Of course, attacking other examinees and any other unheroic actions are prohibited!"

"May I ask a question?" I turn my attention the individual who shouted out to Present Mic. He gives the boy permission and a spotlight in the ceiling illuminates him and I'm greeting by the sight of a tall blue haired boy in a beige suit.

"On the printout, there are four types of villains." He lifts up the printout given to us and points to the silhouette not covered in the initial briefing "If this is a misprint, then U.A., the most prominent school in Japan, should be ashamed of that foolish mistake. We examinee's are here in this place because we wish to be molded into exemplary heroes!"

Before I can even process why the boy felt the need to ask a question, accuse the school of incompetency and then make a bold claim that the majority of us are here because out of a sense of inbuilt justice, he turns to our row and then points at Midoriya "In addition, you over there with the curly hair!" said boy in question freezes and points to himself out of confusion.

"You've been muttering this whole time. It's distracting! If you're here on a pleasure trip then you should leave immediately!"

Midoriya cowers and apologises and I'm beginning to think that the blue haired boy comes for a far more upper class environment that anyone else in the room given his rather blunt personality.

"Okay, okay" Present Mic interrupts before Midoriya can be humiliated further "Examinee Number 7111. Thanks for the great message."

I furrow my brows wondering how public humiliation in front of a group of your peers and accusations of incompetence could be interpreted as a great message but the presentation moves on and Present Mic explains that the final faux villain is worth zero points and is more suited as an obstacle rather than an opponent for the examinees. I tune out the rest of the presentation once it becomes clear that the important information had already been said.

After a brief bus journey to the battle centre I find myself and the others in my group standing before a rather imposing gate leading to the mock city, at this point I'm more intrigued about the budget that U.A. has considering the sheer scale of this urban environment built solely for school use and the idea that there are 6 more just like this. I take a quick look around at the others in my group, few stand out except a boy with bright red spiky hair and a girl who appears to have the earphone jacks coming out of her head, there are a few others who stand out due to their mutations but I quickly refocus myself on the upcoming exam.

The gate opens and the announcer suddenly signals the start of the test. While everyone else is left confused by the suddenness of the announcement I've already sprinted through the gates ahead of everyone else. The confusion doesn't last long as I hear the mob of students immediately chase after me into the mock city.

I'm still running while scanning my surroundings looking for faux villains, I quickly spot a one pointer and change direction, reinforcing my body I quickly close in on it and before the robot can even react to me my fist has driven itself through the camera locate on hits head. The robot promptly collapses in a shower of sparks and I'm already looking for my next target.

I spot a one pointer and a three pointer and run full force in their direction, the one pointer swings at me. I catch its arms and deliver a kick to its chest, the metal torso is destroyed on contact with my foot and the body is thrown away while the arm I'm holding is still firmly in my grip. Changing my attention to the three pointer I reinforce the one pointer arm I'm still holding and spear the other robot with the limb, the metal arm goes straight through my opponent causing them to explode.

5 points.

Not wasting the momentum of my initial success I sprint away from the destroyed robots in search of more faux villains, a 2 pointer enters my field of view and I sharply turn in its direction. Reinforcing my shoulder and legs I speed towards it and upon impact split the robot in two before continuing on in my charge.

After 8 minutes I've built up a total of 51 points, the other examinee's have caught up with me and finding targets is now far more difficult, nevertheless I believe I have acquired enough points in order to pass. My muscles are beginning to feel the strain of continued reinforcement, not seeing a need to push myself to the point of possible injury I slow down the momentum of my point earning to survey how the other candidates are doing.

I nearly lose my balance as the ground promptly shakes and a nearby building explodes into rubble. Myself as the closest candidates to the destroyed building quickly jump away to avoid falling debris. A rather imposing figure casts large shadow over the crowd of students, many of whom have already begun to panic and flee in terror. As I find myself staring up at the 4 story tall robot I find myself quickly agreeing with the assessment that a tactical retreat is in order.

I barely turn around before I notice a flash of red out of the corner of my eye, turning my attention to it I spot the red haired student from the gate protectively covering the ear jack girl from falling debris from a damaged building. The red haired boy appears to have a hardening quirk which seems to be able to protect him from the smaller lumps of debris however I have reservations about it being able to withstand the building that the Zero-pointer is about to drop on the pair.

I quickly turn my body and begin reinforcing my legs, I should be able to grab them and flee before the Zero-pointer catches us.

Why do I have to save them?

Because if I don't they'll die.

That's a consequence of inaction not an answer.

Because saving them is what a hero would do!

But is it what I want to do?

I suppress whatever dark thoughts I have in my mind as I reinforce my legs as far as they'll go. The ground craters beneath me as I kick off in a run, I clear the distance between myself and the pair in scarcely a few seconds. I barely register the looks of surprise of the undignified squawks that either of them make as I sling the girl over my shoulder and carry the boy under my arm before sprinting away from the building just as it collapses on the place where we last were.

I keep running away from the Zero-pointer my speed somewhat reduced by the extra weight I'm carrying but not enough for me to fail to pass by most of the other students who initially ran from the robot when it first appeared.

A siren kicks off and the Zero-pointer shuts down signifying the end of the exam. I come to a sudden stop which causes the two I'm carrying the let out another gasp of surprise as I let out a breath of exhaustion before setting them down.

The girl stumbles as I release her before leaning over and placing her hands on her knees and breathing heavily while the boy simply turns to me and laughs.

"Damn! That was so manly! You just ran in! Grabbed us and ran off!" he sports a large grin showcasing his rather sharp teeth before coming to a realisation and extending a hand to me "Thanks for us by the way! I'm Kirishima Eijiro!" I clasp his hand and extend my own greeting.

"Kotomine Kirei"

"Y-yeah" we both turn to the purple haired earphone jack girl who is trying to wheeze out a sentence "I should probably be thanking the both of you for the save shouldn't I?" She lets out an awkwardly laugh while rubbing her arm in a nervous fashion before turning to look at us with an expression of gratitude "I'm Jiro Kyoka by the way."

Kirishima laughs and waves her off "You don't need to thank us. Saving people is what a hero would do! Right Kotomine?" He turns to me with a big smile again, I nod in agreement with him and he just laughs again "So manly!"

I don't comment on his strange fixation on 'manliness' as I become increasingly aware of a growing pain in my legs, I look down to see them beginning to buckle as the pain continues to grow as I realise I've probably pulled the muscles in my legs with the strain of pushing them too much.

The pain eventually becomes too much for me to bare and my legs give out from underneath me, the only thing stopping me from hitting the ground is Kirishima who at the last moment grabs my arm and throws it over his shoulder to keep my up.

Both Kirishima and Jiro make faces full of concern as I grit my teeth and the agony I'm currently feeling.

"Hey Kotomine you alright?" Kirishima's voice is laced with concern as he props me up, I swallow back a gasp of pain before answering him "I appear to have pushed myself too far…"

"Don't worry, I got you bro!" Kirishima helps me up slightly and Jiro takes my other arm over her shoulder. Together they start carrying my over to the area where the other injured students are being treated. While the pain of my injured legs is at the forefront of my mind I become aware of another feeling.

I saved Kirishima and Jiro from injury. I received genuine thanks.

I acted like a proper hero.

So why do I feel so hollow?

The week that followed the U.A. entrance exam was one of great interest to me. I had aided Midoriya with revision for the written part of the entrance exam so I was aware that he had most likely passed that aspect of it.

However when he informed me that he had failed to score a single villain point I was left confused. Not at his lack of results as for some reason the knowledge that he had failed to match his peers when it came to the physical aspect of fighting didn't surprise me in the least. What left me confused was my own feelings on the matter.

Midoriya's expression in the week that followed the entrance exam was lifeless, his eyes were stained so deeply with pain and disappointment that he looked to be on the verge of crying at any moment. When I first saw his pathetic face I gave him a faux reassuring smile and the empty platitudes that he 'did his best' before leaving him to his thoughts.

I had to get away from him as quickly as I could. I wouldn't let him see the laughter that I was forcing myself to suppress, whenever I thought about or saw his vacant face I would get the sudden urge to smile in glee at his failed dream.

What should have brought me feelings of sadness and pity for my adopted brother brought only a feeling of sick joy and it disgusted me. To feel such euphoria at the thought of the dream he worked so diligently towards being destroyed while I, who felt nothing to those I saved, was allowed to realise it.

The day that the exam results came in Midoriya took his envelope into his room with a look of defeat and I was once again biting my tongue to keep that sickening smile from infecting my face.

I took my own envelope my room before opening it up to reveal a holographic projector. Turning it on I was greeted by the sudden appearance of…

What I could only describe as a woman in a skin tight dominatrix outfit wielding a whip. I immediately recognise her as the Pro-Hero Midnight as famous as she is controversial, due to her attitude and attire. I raise an eyebrow before turning around and checking that I did close the door behind me to ensure that Inko-san or Midoriya don't get the wrong idea.

Confirming that the room is sealed off from outside viewing, I turn my attention back to the projection and allow it to play.

"Hello there Kotomine-kun!" The woman speaks in a flirtatious tone and I feel a disturbed shiver run down my spine "I'm here as a projection to tell you the results of your exam. Now then you passed the written exam with flying colours! But that's only a foot note compared to what comes next, spoilers its not me…"

I raise an eyebrow at that last comment before she continues on.

"The practical test! As you probably figured out you scored a pretty respectable score of 51 villain points. This would allow you to pass towards the top of the top ten examinee's if that were all that was the test was scored on!"

She licks her lips and I feel that shiver again "Here at U.A. we pride ourselves on making heroes not just fighters and you perfectly exemplify this!"

I feel sick. I know I exemplify nothing, I destroyed those robots because I was told to, I saved those others and felt nothing afterwards.

The hologram changes to show the battle environment of me turning and sprinting away from the Zero-pointer before sharply changing direction to grab Kirishima and Jiro and pull them out of harms way. The camera changes again to Midnight who now sports a smile which makes my spine go rigid.

"It's youthful displays like this that I love so much! So how could we not reward such heroic behaviour?"

'Please stop.'

"That's why we have awarded you 40 rescue points to be added to your score!" The projector displays a new table of the top 10 scorers in the entrance exam.

10: TOKOYAMI FUMIKAGE

Villain points: 47 Rescue points: 10

9: TETSUTESU TETSUTETSU

Villain Points: 49 Rescue points: 10

8: MIDORIYA IZUKU

Villain points: 0 Rescue points: 60

Midoriya passed?

A big part of me is thankful that I will not longer be tempted by that vacant face he makes. A small part of me knows that I'll miss it.

7: IIDA TENYA

Villain Points: 52 Rescue points: 9

6: KENDO ITSUKA

Villain points: 25 Rescue points: 40

As expected I suppose.

5: SHIOZAKI IBARA

Villain Points: 36 Resue Points: 32

4: URARAKA OCHACO

Villain Points: 28 Rescue Points 45

3:KIRISHIMA EIJIRO

Villain Points: 39 Rescue Points: 35

2: BAKUGO KATSUKI

Villain Points: 77 Rescue Points: 0

1: KOTOMINE KIREI

Villain Points: 51 Rescue Points: 40

This time I make no effort to suppress my laughter as I begin to imagine the face Bakugo is making right now at the thought that even though he earned more villain points I scored higher than him in the exam. My laughter dies down as Midnight continues.

"And so with a total score of 91 points you secure the number 1 spot in the Hero course entrance exam!" She licks her lips again and any feelings of twisted joy at Bakugo's expense immediately vanish "Now come Kotomine-kun. This is your Hero Academia!" The projector shuts off and I'm left alone in my room.

I suspect that Midoriya has also gotten similar new of his success at this point so I leave my room just in time to see him celebrating with Inko-san before he turns to me.

"Kotomine-kun! I did it! I passed!" He smiles brightly at me while excitedly shouting. I simply give him a small smirk.

"Then Rejoice, Midoriya Izuku!" his eyes begin to tear up as I throw my arms wide in an exaggerated pose.

"For the wish in your heart will at last come true!"

AN: Yorokobe readers! I couldn't resist that little bit at the end. But anyway we continue our march on into the first day of Kotomine's hero student career! Next time we'll go into the practical exam and Kotomine's reaction to Midoriya's sudden quirk.