A/N: This chapter is posted for you, TNTVGC and Justt passing by! I was about to combine together the latest two chapter because I had regretted it for some reason but I remembered that you had only read up to this part!
To my other followers, don't worry! Just skip to the next chapter! That would be the newest chapter for this week! I hope you guys enjoy it!
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"Welcome to today's live performance! Everybody say "Hey"!" Present Mic boomed from his podium, grinning while holding up a hand to his ear.
I swallowed back a nervous laugh while sitting in my seat, remembering the exact response that everyone had to Present Mic.
Silence was heard as expected.
After a pause, Present Mic continued enthusiastically, undeterred. "Well, that's cool, my examinee listeners! I'm here to present an announcement and the guidelines of your practical exam! ..Are you ready?!"
Silence prevailed again as the voice pro-hero yelled out an echoing 'yeah'. Folding my fingers together nervously, I shifted in my auditorium seat as my leg bounced up and down from jitteriness. From a distance, I heard Midoriya mumbling with excitement.
This is happening just like the anime/manga!
...I can't believe I'm seeing these characters in the flesh!
….Oh my gosh, I still can't believe I'm about to take the practical exam! Taking my hands apart, I pressed my cold hands onto my cheeks restlessly, feeling the cold seep into my hot skin as I focused on Present Mic.
….Wait, an announcement?
"Originally, only 36 students were accepted each year for our school! But this year…!" Present Mic paused for dramatic effect. "We have decided that we will take in 8 more students! You hear that, my listeners?! More spots to go around!"
My hands dropped from my face and unto my lap. I stared at Present Mic in stunned surprise, not believing what my ears had comprehended. Gasps and excited whispers were heard around me from the earlier silent crowd.
...?!
Wait, WHAT?! Is my ears deceiving me?!
…..I thought that only 36 students were going to be accepted! That was canon! I thought that I was going to replace Mineta or Hagakure!
UA is prestigious, so they take in only the best small few! Why in the heck is the school suddenly announcing that they are going to take in more people?!
...What in the HECK is going on?!
"May I ask a question?!"
Huh?! ...I know this voice!
I whirled around in my seat to see Iida Tenya, standing up in his seat from far away. Everyone around me turned to see him as well.
With his glasses gleaming in the reflecting stage lights, Iida robustly exclaimed with a robotic swish of his arms. "UA is Japan's top academy! A school of such caliber and prestige should allow only the best and the most fitting students, who have the potential to become model heroes! What is the reason for this sudden measure?!"
Iida then turned to point at Deku, who jolted violently as people's eyes turned to look at him. "And you with the curly hair!"
He glared at Midoriya, who shrank under his gaze. "You've been muttering this whole time...It's distracting! If this is some sort of game to you, then please leave immediately!"
Extremely embarrassed, Deku mumbled out an apology as Present Mic began to speak again.
"Alright, alright." Present Mic waved his hands as if to bring back our attention towards him. I turned to see him again, wondering fiercely about the reason for this sudden bomb of information.
"In the wake of the sudden boom of villains' crime rates, the Hero Public Safety Commission has petitioned hero schools in Japan to accept more students! Our school also found it a waste of potential by not accepting more students with proficient quir—"
"Achoo!" I sneezed very loudly during Present Mic's explanation, but no one swiveled their head to look at me. Rubbing my itchy nose, I grimaced.
...I definitely remember that crime rates were down during All Might's Era of Peace! What the heck?!
…..Something in this world was definitely tampered with! But how?!
"Thank you, sir…! I apologize for the interruption!" Bowing respectfully, Iida sat back down in his seat as Present Mic started to explain the practical exam.
"And continuing on, this is how the test will go, my examinees! Instead of the usual ten-minute-long exam, the exam's timing would be cut short by 3 minutes! So for this year, you'll be experiencing the seven-minute-long "Mock Cityscape Maneuvers" for the exam!"
I slammed my hands down on the armrests of my chair, not caring if the kids next to me gave a start. Wait, WHAT?! I thought that the exam would be ten minutes long?!
My level of nervousness went blasting through the roof. What the heck?! I'm not prepared for this!
I thought that the exam would be the same!
Wiping the sweat from my brow, I pushed back my see-through bangs multiple times in order to calm myself from breathing heavily. Looking down at my crinkled paper, I reassured myself by noting how the robots looked over and over again.
I tried to guess where the main parts of the robots were, which was hard because I had never seen robots like these before. As my sense of doom heightened, I closed my eyes and tried to give myself a pep talk.
..It's fine! I'm not even starting the exam right now! I just need to not freeze and try my best! I know that the examiners are counting rescue points, along with villain points as well!
..The only problem is how I would react to the robots…!
Spreading his arms widely, Present Mic finished up his presentation."—The great hero Napoleon Bonaparte once said… 'True Heroism consists in being superior to the ills of Life.' Plus Ultra! Break a leg, everyone!"
...!
Oh gosh. Fudgemallow sticks!
...It's finally starting.
As I numbly stood up with everyone else to exit out of the auditorium, I felt my stomach churn queasily with nausea. Hoping to distract myself, I observed my paper with my testing location on it.
E. I'm in Location E.
...I don't remember who else was in Location E.
Hoping that Bakugo and Deku wouldn't see me, I exited out of the auditorium while lowering my head to blend in with the others. As soon as I was outside, I began to walk fast to my location, my heart drumming out a staccato with every step.
Buildings were starting to be visible in the distance, and as I got closer to my site, they began to loom over me. A huge metal gate was closed right in front of me, with my fellow exam takers talking and standing around it.
My mouth gaping, I stopped and stared in total awe.
...Wow! It's like a small city! No school can ever have something like this in reality! Only UA can!
I scrunched up my eyes, and opened them, hoping desperately that my tension would disappear.
...Okay now, Aera. This is the moment that we've been waiting for.
No matter how much I tried, I still couldn't snap out of it. An innate fear made my movements jerky, my blood pitter-pattering in my feet and hands. Flares of both heat and cold overcame me, even though I was wearing a heat-reflective jacket and thin sweatpants.
Slowly getting furious at myself, I held my hand out. With a ferocious gust of air, I slapped myself on my cheek, the echo of the movement reminding myself of the first traumatizing situation that I had ever been in. Some of the kids around turned to stare at me weirdly but I did not care.
I will be so stupid.. to jeopardize my own life because of the heebie-jeebies!
Gritting my teeth, I pinched my wrist painfully. Come on, Aera! What are you doing?!
...Snap out of it! You faced a freaking school shooter! This time you are fully prepared to face those freaking robots!
...Gosh, it's so hard to get used to this technological advanced world.
I shook my head, trying to get back on track.
….You planned, you trained, you did every single thing that you could think of to freaking pass this exam! You're literally betting your life on this!
My hands tightened into fists, a surge of energy electrifying me inside and out. With every mental strength that I ever stored away, I crushed every bit of anxiety that lingered and tried to have total focus. I steeled my nerves with a deep blow of air.
… I'm going to make it. I'm going to do whatever it takes to get accepted…!
I want to live. I don't want to die.
Making my eyes flare with an intensity that only came before the shooter, I began to stretch out my limbs to their full point of flexibility. Finishing, I began to push through the test takers, trying to be in the front.
As I weaved through the crowd of hopeful examinees, I managed to see glimpses of Jurota Shishida, the hairy tall guy that was placed in Class 1-B, booming heartily with confident laughter.
Jirou Kyoka came into my view, her short indigo-purple hair swinging back as she twirled her ear appendages around a finger comfortably.
With his spiky, red hair sticking out from the crowd, Kirishima Eijiro was giving himself an enthusiastic pep talk with his fists in front of him.
A few seconds later, I spotted Tokoyami Fumikage as he stood by himself in a far off spot, away from the crowd.
My mind spinning with awe, I stopped in my tracks to look at them.
Wow.
...It's them!
It's really, really them!
I'm meeting so many of the canon characters today! ….The shock is just not appearing anymore!
With a overwhelming thrill rushing through my tired veins, I debated if I should approach them or not.
Oh, I'm itching to just go up to them and say hi! The urge is real!
After hesitating for a few seconds, I continued to elbow my way through the crowd, uttering apologies as I went.
...No. I'm not taking any chances. This is my life I'm gambling with!
I will try to make friends with them later when I get accepted!
Panting from light exertion, I found myself facing the gate. As I stood there waiting, I unzipped my jacket open and rolled up my sleeves in preparation. People around me were still just standing around, looking and talking quietly with their new acquaintances.
Checking to see if Present Mic was at the top of the tower that was behind us, I turned back to the gate and brought my left leg back, ready to sprint inside the site. Present Mic is there. We're about to start.
"My, my. Aren't you competitive?"
I turned to my side to see a tall girl staring down at me pleasantly with her rose-pink eyes. With her aquamarine, pale blue hair curled back by long, needle-like barrettes, she was wearing a thin jacket with sweatpants. Like me.
I laughed lightly, pushing back my ponytail with a hand. "I'm just not taking any chances. I've trained too much to let this exam go to waste."
"Hmm. Me too." Taking the place right next to me, she agilely turned her head around and dragged her leg back behind herself also. "Well, best of luck then."
My lips curled into a smile. "You too."
"And begin!"
As soon as Present Mic's voice blasted through the air, the gates retracted back like lightning. Before me, I saw a somewhat narrow road before me, leading to what looked like a courtyard, surrounded by buildings and trees.
With an exhilarating wave, I immediately activated my quirk within milliseconds and sprinted forward, becoming the first to enter the site as I glitched on the road with dizzying speed.
I felt the tall girl next to me also start running with a few other people, while the rest of the participants just gawked at both of us in shock.
I heard Present Mic hollering out, "What's wrong? The test's started! Run! Run!" Beginning to hear stampeding feet, I spurred my legs on faster, hoping that the extra few seconds would buy me extra points.
"B1-5! Spread out and notify me of every bot you see!" I yelled with a sweep of my arm. Half of my butterflies disappeared in a flash of blue once I had ordered them.
My foot pounded on the asphalt as I careened around the corner, only to see an empty courtyard. I whipped my head around as I ran through the space, straining my vision as far and detailed as my eyes could see. I can't see any! There's no villain bots anywhere!
As if I had summoned it with my words, a huge villain robot skidded across toward my path, its enormous wheels screeching on the pavement. It almost crashed into the buildings onto its side, but it righted itself and rushed towards me. A large painted 2 on its face glared at me as the robot zoomed toward me.
"Beep, beep. Target locked! Prepare for Termination!"
….!
OH MY GOSH, IT'S SO BIG!
I felt my legs falter, my knees almost giving out, but somehow I kept on running, glitching unconsciously with every step I took.
I-I can't stop now! No, I have to live!
Nope, can't stop now! Gotta live!
I want to live!
I don't want to die!
With desperation exploding across my mind, I stared into the gleaming, red light on the robot's laser point as I hurtled closer and closer.
...Now!
With the strong blast of kinetic energy that my glitching had wrought, I lunged into the air. The robot's powerful laser beam barely missed me by centimeters as I swung myself over the robot by pressing down on the robot's hot surface with a hand.
I slid across the robot's smooth metal surface in microseconds, while striking the robot's central metal spine with a hand.
Please!
Let it be the central target point!
Turning my body over in the air, I agilely flipped over and landed on the ground with a thump, as one of my butterflies melded inside the robot and caused its system to die out with a huge crackle of visible electricity.
Thank goodness it was!
I sprang up and started running again as the robot's inner parts blew up with a hot screech behind me.
...That… that was actually...! I did okay!
Oh gosh, I thought that I was going to get hurt!"
B1 flew beside me. "2 points! ...Oh, three bots before you! Then 2 bots in the left alley, 3 bots on the right !"
Dodging dexterously with every glitch, I weaved through the air with nimble legs as the robots lurched toward me. With hastily-coordinated strikes, I managed to make contact with their power batteries while swerving the robots' metal grippers every second. My fingers blistered with the heat of the robots' cores as I hissed from the pain.
With a hand flick, my viruses flew toward them with an excitable shriek, and tore out their wires and mechanical systems as my contact allowed them to infect the robots faster and fully.
"14 Points!"
Almost colliding with a metal fence that was on the edge of the sidewalk, I immediately dashed through the fray of ultimate chaos, filled with kids and the carcasses of destroyed robots.
Spying two robots that were veering toward some other kids that were occupied, I glitched headlong toward them, with the dusty smoke making my eyes tear up. Gripping the bots' metal spines, I vaulted over the two as B8 and B6 coasted through the air, receding inside the robots. I spun my body toward the ground and slid to a stop safely, my sneakers smoking.
"4 Points!"
Kirishima appeared out of nowhere, pounding a robot to pieces with strong blows by his hardened arms. Dark Shadow gleefully whooped as he walloped robots to pieces while Tokoyami ran past me.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jirou stabbing her ear appendages inside the robots and removing them as the bots crumpled with forceful waves of her heartbeat.
As a bot barreled toward her when her back was turned, I glitched forward with a yell and dragged her out of the way as the robot barely missed her by inches.
"Be careful!"
"Thanks!" Jirou exclaimed as she immediately destroyed the robot that was about to obliterate her a few seconds ago.
Sending her a grin, I immediately ducked as a robot's laser point almost scorched my head. As the robot lurched past me, I glitched out my hand and managed to tag the robot's main battery.
The robot charged again, and I tucked myself into a roll to avoid it as my virus swooped inside. Feeling slight pain in my arm while standing up, I looked down and saw that the robot had left a stinging scrape on my arm. I winced as I turned to see the robot demolished with a burst of heat. "3 Points!"
"4 minutes, 2 seconds left!"
Fudgemallow Sticks, I only have 23 points!
A spray of debris showered over me as I scanned the area around me hurriedly. As a bot crashed into a nearby telephone pole but settled upright, I sprinted forward and managed to push a kid out of the way as the villain bot's pincers snapped at where he was standing a few seconds ago.
Spinning on my heel, I pushed off with a foot on the robot's metal plates and managed to cling onto the robot's spine. My stomach recoiled with explosive pain as I slammed into the robot's side.
OW!
I lost my grip as B7 clipped by and dematerialized into the robot, which ruptured into many smoking metal fragments. Collapsing on the floor, I rolled over to my side, groaning from the shooting pain.
"Get up, we only have 26 points! Hurry!"
Forcing my panic down, I steadied myself with an elbow on the asphalt, feeling pebbles and other pieces of debris tear at my vulnerable skin. I stepped up from the ground shakily, feeling the cold air whistle through my sweat-drenched clothes.
"3 minutes, 10 seconds left!"
"There's only one bot in the corner! On your left!" B9 warned, showing me through our mind-link a mental image of a bot with a 3 painted on its side. I immediately bolted toward the place, while B9 reported to me the instructions on how to get there as I shoved robot carcasses aside carelessly
Running vigorously on adrenaline, I teared through the dust with anxiety gnawing away at my mind. As the other examinees ran around aimlessly, trying to find more bots, I ran through dusty buildings, cluttered with bricks.
...Please let me have that bot! Please!
There!
I scrambled toward the bot, hoping with all my heart that no one was trying to get it. With a whirl of dust, the robot screeched as it swung its pincers toward my way with break-neck speed.
B10 accidentally zoomed across its path. In nanoseconds, the villain bot caught my virus with its pincers and ruthlessly crushed it to fragments. Blue glass dust and shards from my destroyed butterfly spilled to the floor, trickling from the bot's claws..
?!
I tried to stop, my heels scraping against the pavement.
WHY IS IT SO FAST ALL OF THE SUDDEN?!
This's just a regular villain bot!
Immediately sensing that something was wrong, I tried to wrench myself backward with a glitch.
Suddenly the building next to me erupted, rubble flying out of nowhere. I flew backward, my body skidding across the floor. As the rubble settled, I coughed violently from the awakened dust...
...And found my legs pinned under a slab of cement.
Without giving me a minute to process my dilemma, a thundering footstep was heard a few yards away from me.
Caked with dust, sweat, and blood, I slowly looked up.
The ultimate number four robot was in front of me.
Towering over all the buildings in the area, it loomed over me like a mythological titan, its gargantuan hands tearing buildings apart as it tried to advance toward me and the other examinees.
Absolute terror rippled through my body as I tried to move, but I was helplessly frozen under the cement. Frantically, I searched for someone to help me but almost everyone had fled once they spotted the robot.
I couldn't feel anything in my numb legs, but I could faintly feel the blood pooling. Dangerously.
"Oww…" I heard someone gasp out a few yards in front of me. A teal-haired girl tried to stand up, her amber eyes tearing up in pain as her bruised arms failed miserably to pull herself up. She was also entangled in the wires of a telephone pole; how she had gotten herself in that situation did not make sense to me at all.
The robot rose above us, its mechanical gears shifting to high speed as it caught sight of us. My mouth was dry with fear as I looked at the robot in utter panic.
Fuck.
We are absolutely fucked.
...Anyone please stop it! It's about to crush that girl and I!
...Why isn't anyone stopping it!? The bot can't kill us!
My mind suddenly flashed to an image of the papers that I had read over; papers that UA had us sign right before the exam.
Specifically, a waiver of liability.
IV. UA will not be held responsible for any injuries or damages done to person or property in the entrance exam.
I signed it...!
Consumed with panic, I tried to push off the slab of rock desperately, but it stubbornly did not budge an inch. ..I'M ABOUT TO BE CRUSHED! UA IS CRAZY!
I held back tears of panic, as I tried with all my strength to remove the stone, but it would not move.
Think, Aera, think!
….FOCUS!
..I can't even destroy this stone because it has no system inside it!
Steadying my efforts, I paused while panting from extreme exhaustion. Stop! This isn't going to work!
Alarmed, I looked up at the robot again as it came closer and closer. With every stomp, the ground shook violently. The girl in front of me quickly tried to extricate herself out of the wires, pawing through the rubber. Suddenly, electricity arced through the girl, her teal-hair fizzing out as voltage raced through her body.
Stunned, I stared in horror as the girl's body flopped onto the ground with a puff of singed smoke, seeming to be dead.
..?!
IS SHE DEAD?!
…...No, she isn't! Thank goodness she's still breathing!
We have to get out of here!
BUT HOW?!
In slow motion, I watched in downright terror as the robot lifted his leg, about to smash its entire weight on top of the girl's body.
No.
With every piece of energy I had, I lunged forward on the rock, spreading myself over it in an attempt to be closer to the robot. My legs howled in sudden agony as I held back tears while summoning every virus I had.
Gathering every bit of my inner strength, I pushed against the limits of my quirk with every force I had as my butterflies struggled to fly out of their restrictive radius that surrounded me.
A wave of intense heat seized me as my viruses began to break out of my imaginary dimension. As I flung out my viruses toward the robot with a desperate cry, unrelenting pain speared through my head as I began to swelter in unbearable feverishness.
My body temperature shot up as my skin burned from suffocating heat, steaming in the cold air. Nausea swam in my stomach as sweat dripped from my body and sizzled on the rock that covered my legs. In a haze of extreme dizziness, fatigue, and agony, I gazed at the robot as gleaming circuit-board patterns streaked up its legs, only to end at the waist.
The robot's lower limbs combusted with a scorching blast of electricity, mechanisms flying everywhere. My butterflies darted around, trying to avoid the bolts, but they too got electrocuted and drifted to the ground, fried with burnt wings.
With a strong whoosh of air, the robot crumpled, its legless body sinking toward the ground as charred metal compartments slammed onto the ground with an almighty crash. The teal-haired girl barely stirred.
She's okay….
Weak with relief, I slumped to the ground, my frail body sapped of energy. As my head collided with the ground, the world got jarringly faint and numb. I closed my eyes. Nausea upturned my stomach as my muscles convulsed with excruciating cramps.
"Hello! Can you hear me?!"
…..I can.
"Eat this!"
No.. I don't want to.
I don't want to eat the paper again.
Or All Might's hair.
Merciless fingers spread my lips open and slipped something inside my mouth. It was cold. My tongue probed it, hoping that it could relieve my thirst for water. It wasn't water. Instead it was a pill.
It melted in my mouth into a sweet, cold syrup-like substance, and on a reflex I swallowed it, disappointingly finding little relief from my fever.
Unexpectedly the pain began to reside, slowly and slowly. Numbness began to disappear as I felt my body temperature going down.
Slowly, my eyes flickered open. All I could see was the hazy blue sky.
"Don't break the cement! You're going to crush her legs!" A dismayed voice exclaimed. "Try to pull it off!"
A very familiar voice responded with a grunt. "Man, this is heavy!" A crash shook the ground as I felt the cold air hit my legs faintly.
Slowly realizing that I was finally freed from the cement, I tried to sit up. The world spun around me dizzily, as if someone was trying to yank the ground under me. I tried to focus on the two people standing a few yards away, one with the said spiky red hair and one with pale blue hair.
As my eyes' vision re-sharpened, Kirishima and the blue-haired girl from earlier were carefully extricating the teal-haired girl from the wires.
"It's all over!" I faintly heard Present Mic's voice announcing the end of the practical exam.
I… only have… twenty.. something… points...
I sat there numbly, my bleary eyes zoning out while staring into the destruction zone that I was in.
The exam…
The time ended.
It finished.
Oh gosh…. What am I going to do?!
I only have 26 points!
Placing my palms on the ground and feeling the stones cut into my skins, I breathed out a puff of air shakily.
…Let's freak out about that later.
Let's get up now…
Feeling much better after swallowing that pill that the stranger had given me, I looked down at my legs while trying to stand up, and heaved a sharp intake of breath at the sight. My legs were mottled with black, blue, green and purple, with huge splotchy patches of blood clots.
As I spied the teal-haired girl getting to her feet tremulously out of the corner of my eye, the pale blue-haired girl jogged over to me again. She squatted down to inspect my legs and clicked her tongue in disapproval.
"Seems like one pill wasn't enough. 2 more for the legs." Brows furrowed, she proceeded to crinkle her lips in concentration. As if she had them on cue, tears suddenly started to stream down her cheeks.
Huh?! Why is she crying all of a sudden?!
I goggled at her, noticing that the tears strangely did not come from her eyes. Instead they came from the two horizontal oval-shaped pill marks a few centimeters underneath her eyes. As I fixated my attention on her, the tears dripped off her cheeks and plinked onto her hand.
As I watched in astonishment, the tears solidified into pills. Two glowed with a blue light, one was striped with pink, and four huge others were translucent yellow. Picking out the two blue-glowing pills with her other hand, the girl held them out to me.
I blinked at her in confusion. The girl tilted her head and asked, "Well, aren't you going to take them? They'll make your bruises and blood clots go away."
I hesitantly took them while blurting out a question. "I can swallow them without water?"
"Yep."
Realizing that she was the person who shoved the healing pill inside my mouth, I threw back my head and swallowed the pills. As they melted in my mouth and settled in my stomach with a minty aftertaste, I saw the bruises and marks on my legs beginning to fade around the edges.
After a few tries, I succeeded in standing up after a few seconds. In gratitude, I looked up at the girl. "Thank you…" I trailed off, not knowing her name.
"Shūzenji Seinare."
My eyes widened. "Oh, Shūzenji..!"
...I know that last name! That's Recovery Girl's last name!
"Wow, Recovery Girl is your relative?!" Kirishima suddenly appeared next to us a few seconds later, with a helpful arm supporting the electrocuted teal-haired girl.
After she handed to us the four energy gold pills, Seinare crossed her arms uncomfortably and answered, "Yeah. She's my grandaunt."
"Yes, well done...!" I turned to see Recovery Girl hobbling through the crowd of examinees, her huge syringe/cane making contact with the ground with every step she took. After handing out medicinal gummy bears to everyone she met, Shūzenji Chiyo stopped in front of our little group.
"Hmm. I've heard that someone had gotten electrocuted…?" The calm youthful heroine approached us, spotted Seinare and nodded. "Ah, I see... It is been taken care of."
She turned away to call to the other examinees. "Any more hurt children? I will now be going to Site F…"
I felt a tap on my shoulder as Recovery Girl left, and swiveled around only to see the teal-haired girl.
"I heard that you saved me from the Arena Trap… Thank you…! My name is Umihaku Heiakira. By the way, what's your name?" The teal-haired girl asked as she slowly zipped up her jacket. Her smile was bulleted with a harsh wince as if the pain hadn't gone away. Shoving away the disquietness that murked in my mind, I smiled at her brightly. " My name is Yukimisaka Ainiru. You can call me 'Misaka. And it was about to squash me also, too... you don't need to thank me..! ."
Excitement stirring in my chest, I aimed my next sentence at Kirishima. "And I forgot to thank you for taking the cement off my legs… What's your name?"
Kirishima jabbed a fist to his chest and grinned. "I'm Kirishima Eijiro! I was just doing what a hero should do!"
Chuckling, I remarked, "I'm thanking you and Seinare still! Even though there was still time left in the exam, you two still helped Heiakira and I!"
"Yeah, I hope that the examiners would let at least you two in to UA..! I wouldn't want to think that I was the reason why you two didn't get in. And hopefully, we can all get accepted..." Heiakira breathed out as she cracked her knuckles. She screwed up her face again in pain, her bubbliness wavering. "I don't think I got that many points though."
"I know for sure that I would be the one with the least amount of points." Seinare sighed while re-pinning back her hair with one of her needle-like barrettes. "It would be a miracle if I ever got in to this school."
"Don't lose hope, you guys!," Kirishima voiced energetically, fisting his hands. "Remember, there's more spots than last year!"
"Yeah," I joined in, despite the stifling heaviness in my heart. "There's always a percent of likeliness that we all might get in!"
Hopefully, like Heiakira says…. we would all get in.
Because if I don't….
I gulped as my new acquaintances walked with me to the exit.
...I die.
.
.
1 week later
In the ghostly moonlight, I stared down at the object that was in my hands for what felt like hours. It was like as if fire ants were in my legs, considering all those minutes that I had been squatting down.
After spying on the mailman every day, and sneaking it under my family's butler's mustache, UA's envelope was finally here.
….I feel like my soul left my body.
I am dead. I am so dead.
After shattering the lock's mechanism with one of my butterflies, I had broken in the gardener's shed, which was a little far away from the main house. The clean gardening tools shone in the electric lights, as if they were silently keeping me company as I debated when to open my life or death verdict.
I checked my watch, wishing desperately to distract myself from my fate.
2:57 AM.
...I've been here staring at this envelope for the past few hours!
I turned the envelope over in my trembling hands, again and again. As I studied the envelope, I noticed for the millionth time that UA's creamy, ivory-colored envelope had a blue wax seal that had the school's letters stamped on it.
….I'm pretty sure that I barely passed the writing part of the exam! And I don't know about the practical!
….I've gotten 26 points. Plus that with the rescue points, then…!
…I don't know. My shoulders slumped with despair. My nerves were stretched tautly as I miserably stared down at the envelope. I gripped the letter as my limbs shook with bottled-up stress.
Please.
Please let me be accepted.
I started to sniffle back tears, feeling the staggering weight of my situation suffocate me. Memories of all the times where I had put my all into training, flashed before my eyes as I wiped my face hurriedly, not wanting to cry.
Please.
With a high-pitched yelp, I finally ripped the envelope in two and a device clattered out onto the polished wooden floor.
"This is a projection!" All Might boomed while grinning as a huge glowing hologram popped in front of me. Even though I had expected something like this, I stumbled backward, landing on my bottom with a thump.
..?!
Is it what I.. think it would be?!
Hope swelled in my heart as I stared up at the projection.
"I, All Might, am here for one reason only. I've come to teach at UA!" All Might billowed his chest out proudly as he spoke. "Yukimisaka Ainiru, you have passed the written portion, and have gotten 26 points in the practical…"
Thud.
Thud.
I swallowed nervously as my heartbeat thudded in my ears, my hands clammy and damp with sweat as I watched All Might continue on. "Normally, you would have not passed the practical exam…. But in this exam, you see..! We weren't just watching for villain-based points!"
...I know that! That's why I took some of my freaking precious time to help other people!
But during the situation with the Robot #4 though... I truly wanted to save that girl…!
But by a branch, myself also. I admit that I'm not heroic.
"A hero course that rejects those who help others at their own expense… is no hero course at all! Rescue points were also a factor here!" All Might gave me a thumbs up, still grinning.
In a daze, I wondered if his cheek muscles hurt from smiling so much.
"40 rescue points were awarded to you! In total, you have 66 points!" All Might opened his arms wide enthusiastically, as if to greet me. "Congratulations, Yukimisaka Ainiru! I, as well as UA, welcome you as one of our newest students!"
"Yes!" I shrieked, pumping a fist energetically in the air as I leaped up from my position. "Yes, Yes, Yes!"
Not caring about how I looked, I danced around the shed in absolute joy.
I got in, I got in! I told you from the start I'm going to get in!
Balling up my fists while feeling wild ecstasy and triumph whizzing through my veins, I yelled out, "I'M SO GLAD THAT I'M NOT GOING TO DIE!
I clapped my hands to my mouth, accidentally forgetting that I was in the shed and that my house was a few kilometers away. Shoot, did someone hear me?!
Nervously giggling for a few minutes as I waited for someone to come find me, I buried my face in my hands as I felt my stress accumulated over 2 years cleanly wash away, leaving me finally free to laugh without a care in the world. Tears of happiness dripped from my eyes as the shed echoed with the same laughter of excitement that I had laughed when I had first arrived here.
I never felt so happy that I was alive.
Ding!
Seeing a notification at the corner of my vision, I pressed on it breathlessly.
Hello Aera Kim,
Cheers to the evasion of your painful death! Keep it up, will you? See you at school in a few weeks!
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A/N: Please review! Please write out all your thoughts down! I love reading what you feel about this work because I had worked on this so hard for the last 6 months!
Thoughts on:
- How well I write the action scenes
- What you think of Aera
- What you expect from the plot
- What you think of Aera's interactions with the characters
- What you think of my style of writing
- Of course, any helpful criticism and things that don't make sense to you
- Anyway, just spew everything you had thought of! It really makes me motivated to write!