The Enthralling Hero: Syren Chapter II
Izumi stood in front of one of the battlegrounds in awe. U.A. High really went all out when it mattered.
The written part of the entrance exam was a standard question-and-answer test, although Izumi did really like the last question, which required her to write an essay about heroics and morals. But the next part was what everybody was waiting for. The practical part of the exam.
They'd gathered in a large auditorium, where one of the teachers, the Voice Hero: Present Mic (which Izumi would've squeed at if she wasn't scared that would topple the building down), who was not only an accomplished hero, but also the host of a popular radio talk show, 'Put Your Hands Up Radio', which she absolutely listened to every Friday (and knew for a fact Kacchan did as well, no matter how much he denied it).
The blond Pro Hero introduced their enemies for the exam, a quartet of robots worth points they had to destroy. A tall, blue-haired teen in glasses interrupted the man with questions, but Izumi didn't pay any attention to it, mind already swirling with plans and ideas.
"Looks like they're splitting up examinees from the same school." Katsuki muttered next to her. "Guess they don't want us helping each other." Izumi nodded next to him, stars in her eyes as she stared at the Pro Hero. "And stop geekin' out, you're embarrassing me!" The girl just smiled wider, not at all perturbed.
With a group of other hopefuls, Izumi was led to one of the numerous exam grounds. They were styled like walled-off city sections, filled with crisscrossing streets and high building. Supposedly, they were filled with the point-granting robot enemies, as well as some of the zero-pointers, like Present Mic had explained before.
Izumi's train of thought was interrupted by a loud yell. "START!" Nobody moved for a moment. "C'MON, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? REAL LIFE DOESN'T HAVE COUNTDOWNS! YEEEAH!" Snapping out of their daze, the remaining examinees rushed inside, leaving Izumi behind, who was still reeling a bit. She rushed inside, trailing at the end of the group, hopeful she would get to score at least some points.
Izumi was out of time, and without any points.
She looked around the city, taking in the sight of the demolished robots scattered all around. Even the few times she managed to corner one of the point-giving robots, other examinees managed to hit them before she could. And now, fifteen minutes before the end of the test, she was getting desperate for just one point!
Something exploded in front of her, raising dust and debris all over. A gigantic robot popped out of the ground, eight red eyes glowing maliciously.
That's… the zero-pointer? Izumi stood in awe, along with other teens in the area. Isn't that a bit excessive?
The robot started moving, its tracks spinning below it and crushing the smaller building in its way. It crushed the taller ones, breaking them apart and sending debris in all directions.
The examinees started fleeing from the robot en masse, either pulled by fear or the knowledge the giant robot would bring no points. From out the corner of her eye, Izumi saw the blue-haired boy from before start running as well, engines on his calves giving off exhaust-like smoke.
Izumi turned to run as well, when her ears, pointed and sensitive thanks to her quirk, caught a voice from the destroyed landscape.
"Ow…" A familiar feminine voice whimpered. "H… help! I'm stuck."
The smoke in front of her cleared up, showing the brown-haired girl from before sitting on the ground, one of her legs pinned by a gigantic boulder. There was a grimace of pain on her face as she stared at the robot in front of her in fear.
It's… her. That nice girl from before.
Some of the other examinees stopped running, turning around to stare in morbid curiosity. Present Mic had given a time warning as well.
But Izumi didn't notice any of that. She took measured steps forwards, faster and faster until she started running. Her body moved in front of the girl, standing as tall as she could and fixing a calm glare on the robot. Her ears twitched a little at the sounds coming from behind her, but she paid them no mind as she took in a large breath and let loose a deafening scream.
Ochako Uraraka was in a good mood when she woke up that morning. It was finally time for the U.A. entrance exam, and she was excited for it. It was her shot to get into the most prestigious hero school in Japan. She managed to get up extra early, had a good breakfast with a side helping of for-luck mochi, and got to the school in time. She'd even manage to save a short girl with long, bushy green hair at the entrance (her first rescue ever, in fact)! Granted, it was only from faceplanting into the pavement, but it counted. She could've gotten bruised.
The written exam was fine enough, a bit difficult, but no more than what she was expecting. Ochako just hoped she managed to get enough points to pass.
The practical exam, on the other hand, much surer of. She was in a group with other hopefuls, sharing points among them by destroying robots. She knew for sure she'd gotten at least 20 points, probably closer to thirty.
It was going swimmingly, right up until the part where it wasn't. A gigantic robot broke out from the ground, one of those zero-pointers they were warned about. The teacher told them it was an obstacle, either to get around it or to flee from it, but before she could do either, a large boulder pinned her to the ground, breaking her leg in the process.
She looked up, almost shaking in fright as the robot loomed over her. She tried to whimper out a call for help, but she knew nobody could hear her. All Ochako had left was the hope that U.A. wouldn't let her die.
A shadow fell over her. She looked up from the ground with another whimper of pain. The green-haired girl from before, the same one she had saved at the entrance of the school, stood in front of her now, head raised up and eyes presumably locked onto the eight red dots on the robot's head.
"W… watch out!" Ochako did her best to warn the girl as the robot raised one of its arms.
The green-haired girl took a deep breath as her pointed ears twitched, before she let loose a thunderous sound.
"Gah!" Ochako moaned out in pain as the shockwaves moved out.
The glass was the first to go, shattering into tiny pieces. Windows and streetlight broke, exploding as the sound traveled. Then the concrete started to break from the strain, followed by the weaker bits of metal on cars and buildings. And then, finally, as the sound stopped and everything stilled, the gigantic zero-pointer broke apart.
Ochako watched in wonder from her place on the ground as the pieces of the previously-formidable robot started falling on the ground.
"TIME OVER! YEEEAH!"
The brown-haired girl let out a breath she'd been holding for minutes now as everything stopped, just in time for the girl in front of her to faint.
Katsuki Bakugō scoffed in front of the nurse's office, rolling his eyes as the brown-haired girl beside him finished her story.
"Fuckin' figures. Shitty nerd's always playing the hero." He chuckled when the girls shot him a frown. "Don't look at me like that, Round Face. I know what I'm talking about." The door opened and Izumi walked out, hand rubbing her throat. "You ok?" She nodded and signed something with her hands. "Yeah, well, maybe if you trained, your throat wouldn't be hurting. It's your own fucking fault. Now come on, Aunty Inko promised to make katsudon for dinner today." The girl's grin broadened and she grabbed his arm and started dragging him to the exit, not even noticing Ochako, who just stood there watching the pair. "See ya in class, Pink Cheeks. Oi, stop tugging on my shirt, nerd, you'll ruin it!" Ochako just sighed as the blond brought his hand on top of the green-haired girl's face, giving her a noogie as she struggled in his grip.
"I'll see you then, I guess."
What are we thinking, Bakugo/Ochako or something else? I haven't decided for sure yet.