It was now late in the wintertime, trees bare from any greenery. A chilly breeze blew in the balmy morning. Dressed warmly in coats and scarves over their school uniforms, HIkari and Ochako walked to the front of U.A High School. Many other students from other schools walked towards the tall concrete gate. This was it! They finally made it!

All of our hard work will be put to the test! I know it'll all be worth it and- The sound of running feet on the tiled path interrupted her thoughts. Ochako had run ahead of her to stop someone from falling; they were now floating instead. Hikari laughed as the person began to suddenly freak out in midair.

"I stopped you with my quirk," she heard Ochako explain to the green-haired boy she had saved. "I'm sorry I didn't ask first, but I figured you wouldn't mind me catching you." The boy was speechless, still astonished by her power.

"Isn't this all, like, way nerve-wracking?" the bubbly girl asked the boy, oblivious to his staring and Hikari approaching her.

Hikari patted her friend's shoulder. "Hey, hey, you're saving people before we've even taken the test! You got this in the bag!" she complimented. Hikari could feel the boy switch his anxious gaze to her. His nerves are through the roof, they're like fireworks! she thought, her smile turning lopsided and sweat-dropping under his panicky eyes. They were green, just like his hair. He looks kinda familiar somehow...

Ochako's shoulders relaxed under her touch. "Well, I guess I'll see you inside. Bye!" she said to the boy. She turned away and began up the stairs, Hikari close behind.

"Let's do this!" Hikari whooped and pumped her fist in the air.

/

At the presentation, Hinata sat between Ochako and a boy with wild, lavender colored hair. He looks like he doesn't get much sleep. Even in the dimly lit room, she could see the dark bags under her eyes. His matching lavender irises turned to catch her staring. "What are you looking at?" he bluntly asks her in a low voice.

Hinata's eyes widened and she began to babble. "Me? Oh, uh, nothing, really, it's just that-"

"Then I suggest not getting distracted and pay attention," the boy interrupted, droning in his monotone voice. Hikari, suddenly embarrassed, faced towards the screen, where someone stepped into the stage.

"What's up, U.A candidates? Thanks for tuning in to me, your school DJ! C'mon and lemme hear ya!" a voice loudly announced. He was dressed from head to toe in black leather. The only color came from his gear and large, swooping blonde hair. It reminded Hikari of a cockatoo's head. That's… that's Present Mic!

Despite his enthusiasm, though, no one responded to his greeting. It seemed that everyone was either too nervous or too confused to bother responding. In Hikari's case, it was both.

"Keeping it mellow, huh?" Present Mic shrugged nonchalantly, as if it was a totally normal response. "That's fine, I'll skip to the main choke. Let's talk about how this practical exam is going to go down, okay? Are you ready?!" Once again, his energetic question was met with an empty silence.

C'mon, I wanna get to fight! That's what I'm here for! Hikari screamed in her head, clenching her fists over her knees. Her body trembled with impatience and excitement. It felt like it was on fire.

"Like your application said, today you rocking boys and girls will be out there conducting ten minute mock battles in super hip urban settings!" he explained loudly. Suddenly the screen behind him changed to show a multicolored diagram with English letters on each box.

"Here's the plan, my friends: after I drop the mic, you'll enter your specified battle zones! Sound good?!" Again, the audience was silent, although this question was more rhetorical than the others.

Hikari leaned over to look at Ochako's paper. "Looks like we won't be in the same area," she commented. She was to be tested in Arena E while her friend was assigned in Arena B

Ochako sighed. "Yeah, too bad, though. I was hoping we could team up." She stuck out her lower lip, comically making a pouty face.

She patted her friend's shoulder. "Do your best! We're gonna get in this together, I promise!" Her encouragement was all Ochako needed; she nodded eagerly and the two girls faced forward, their spirits renewed with determination.

"Okay, okay, let's check out your targets!" he continued. The screen changed again to a picture of the urban buildings and three black silhouettes with number values. "There are three types of faux villains in every battle center. You'll earn points based on their level of difficulty, so better choose wisely! Your goal in this trial is to use your quirk to raise your score by shredding these faux villains like a guitar solo!" As he spoke, a little 8-bit animation video played on the screen. Robot-monsters were being destroyed by Present Mic's character. Kinda like in a video game Hikari hummed to herself.

He pointed a finger to the audience and added, "But check it! Make sure you're keeping things heroic; attacking other examinees is a U.A no-no, ya dig?"

Suddenly a tall, indigo-haired student in front of Hikari shot up with his hand raised. "Excuse me, sir, but I have a question." Present Mic pointed at him to let him continue.

With a spotlight on him, he pointed to the diagram of the robots on his pamphlet and stated, "On the printout, you've listed four types of villains, not three. With all respect, if this is an error on official U.A materials, it is shameful. "

"Well, someone's an uptight nerd. Just who does this guy think he is?" Hikari muttered sarcastically to Ochako. The anti-gravity girl had her hands over her mouth, trying not to burst out in laughter.

"Alright, alright, Examinee #7111, thanks for calling in with your request," Present Mic said, drawing everyone's attention back to the front. "The fourth villain type is worth zero points!" A fourth silhouette appeared on the screen, a large 0P over the picture.

"That guy's just an obstacle we'll be throwing in your way. There's one in every battle center. Just think of it as a hurdle to try and avoid." As he explained, the 8-bit animation continued. The little character was running away from the zero-point robot in a panic. " It's not that it can't be beaten, but there's… kinda no point. I recommend my listeners to try and ignore it and focus on at the top of the charts!"

The boy that interrupted the presentation bowed politely at the waist, satisfied with his answer. "Thank you very much, please continue."

So, that's all there is, huh. Just destroy the robots and get points. Easy peasy. Hikari closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Easy peasy.

Finally, Present Mic came to the end of his presentation. "That's all I got for you today. I'll sign off with a little present: a sample of our school motto! As General Napoleon Bonaparte once laid down, 'A true hero is one who overcomes life's misfortunes!'

"You ready to go beyond? Let's hear a PLUS ULTRA!" Once again, to no one's surprise, total silence. "Good luck!"

Hikari turned to Ochako. "You ready? Let's get into the Hero Course together!"

/

Hikari walked over to Arena E in a magenta tracksuit and a white ribbon in her hair. She began to stretch her arms upwards as she walked forward. So this is it, huh? Such a big urban area. I've worked so hard to get here and now I'm standing at the gate, ready to take the exam-

Whump!

"Gh-! Sorry!" she apologized immediately. As she rubbed her nose, her gaze peered upwards to find the same tired looking boy that had chastised her at the presentation. "Ah, it's you!" she gasped.

"Hm? Yeah, it's me," he answered absentmindedly, his voice lacking the same malice from before. His eyes flitted to her and then back to the looming doors in front of them. The boy continuously wringed his neck with his right hand. His eyebrows were furrowed together and Hikari could see his teeth clenching in his jaw.

"Hey, are you… nervous?" Hikari asked carefully. The lavender-haired boy uncertainly glanced at her again before answering, "Yeah, you could say that."

She punched his arm, ruining the gloomy atmosphere. It caught him off guard, but it shocked him enough out of nervousness. "Ghk-! What the hell was that for?!" he angrily squawked.

"Don't be; your nerves will eat you alive," Hikari laughed, "That's what my dad tells me anyway. What's your name anyway?"

"...Hitoshi Shinsou," he muttered, rubbing his arm.

"Cool, I'm Hikari Hinata! I'm gonna be in the Hero Course." She jabbed a thumb at herself. "Or at least, that's what I'm aiming for." He hummed in response. "Me too," he mumbled, although Hikari couldn't quite catch it; the girl had gone quiet and ended up fiddling with her hair ribbon.

To be honest, I'm nervous too. I don't even know if I'll make it. My quirk isn't that great at all for offense. Just pure defense. I don't know how to apply it for fighting purposes, and-

A jab of a finger pulled her out of her thoughts. "Hey, I thought you said that to not be nervous?" Hikari's teal eyes met Shinsou's lavender eyes. His mouth was twisted upwards in an attempt of a smile. It looked like it didn't happen that much.

Hikari began to giggle before she could stop herself. "My own words used against me. How cruel of you, Shinsou."

As they both relaxed and laughed, a loud, obnoxious voice shouted, "Right, let's start!" Confused, the examinees looked up at the direction of the voice. It was Present Mic once again.

"Get moving!" he shouts from the top of the tower, "There are no countdowns in real battles! Run run run, listeners! You're wasting your time here!"

Immediately Hikari follows the stampede of a crowd. She quickly glances behind her to see Shinsou following suit and waves at him. "Well, good luck, I'll see you later!" With that, she dashes forward and takes a right.


A/N: You can tell I used the dub to write this, huh? I'm excited for plot progression! I don't want to make things shippy just yet, though. We're just establishing relations for secret future purposes! Anyways, I'll leave you guys with a fun fact: Hikari's name was originally going to be Hitomi Maeda! After major consideration, I realized that names are important for quirks so I changed it. Thanks for reading!