Entrance Exam

Time skip, 3 months; Jake's POV:

It's the day of the U.A. entrance exam, and Izzy, Cubby, and I are vibrating in anticipation. While everyone else thinks of this as their dream school, we think of it as our only hope to find out who is threatening Neverland.

We decided that all three of us would take the exam, that way we would get three times the chance rather than if anyone went alone.

From the outside, the building looks like four giant three-dimensional H's positioned like a box. The glass windows seem inconvenient because of how cold the building can get. Especially in February.

The building we were inside was massive, with long halls, white walls, and a poster on the wall. Thanks to the portal I'm able to read Japanese. 'U.A. High School Hero Course - Exam Orientation' I walked in and my crew followed me.

The inside was a dark auditorium, with a giant screen that I guarantee we were supposed to watch. Now, all we had to do, was wait.

Time skip, 20 minutes

We were idly chatting with each other, trying to theorize what we should do when the exam starts. Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a distinctly plain green tuft of hair. I wave to him, "Hi, Midoryia!"

He jerked his head over to me, looking extremely nervous and embarrassed. He was sitting in the seat right behind me, with Bakugou next to him. "Hey, Bakugou! It's so good to see you two!" I beamed.

I turned my attention to my crew. "Mates, these are my classmates, Midoriya and Bakugou," I gestured to them.

I turn back to them, "Midoriya, Bakugou, these are my siblings." Izzy takes the initiative and introduces herself. "Hi, I'm Izzy Never, Jake's sister.' When I looked at Midoriya's face I saw that it was enveloped by a red flush, is he sick?

It seemed that Izz' had the same idea because she pressed her middle and pointer finger to his neck, his face heating up more. This time he started stuttering and his words seemed to get choked up in his throat.

She hummed and took out her bottle of water, handing it to him. "It seems you're a bit overheated and your heart rate is off the charts. I think you'd benefit from some water." He gave a jerky nod and sipped some of the water.

Bakugou gave a scoff and rolled his eyes. "Nerd can't even talk to a girl right…" He mumbled, but I heard it.

"Anyway, my name is Cubby, both their brother." Cubby seemed to find Bakugou a little intimidating, but a light squeeze from my hand made him forget. The green-haired boy looked confused, while the spikey blonde only grunted.

"Yes, that is my name." On the last word, the lights began to announce their arrival with a click.

The screen lit up, and the big golden U.A. symbol in the middle almost took up the entire screen, if you looked close enough, you could make out the words 'Hero Academia' multiple times in the blue background.

A man that certainly wasn't there before stood on a platform, seeming to yell at the top of his lungs. He had yellow hair sticking up over his head. He had a small mustache and orange-tinted glasses on his face.

He had a leather jacket, leather pants, leather fingerless gloves, and black leather boots. He had white shoulder guards, and orange leg and knee guards. He also had blue headphones, probably to hear himself think.

"What's up, U.A. candidates? Thanks for tuning in to me, your school DJ! C'mon and let me hear ya!" He turns his ear to us probably expecting to hear a roaring response, but none came.

"Keepin' it mellow huh? That's fine, I'll skip to the main show." I was so grateful for it because I thought I heard a ring in my ears.

"Let's talk about how this practical exam is gonna go down, okay?" Thank you, please. "Are you ready!? Yeah!" My ears are ringing, the only thing that's okay about this is that no one is as affected by it as I am.

The only thing stopping me from hearing Midoriya's fanboying was the ringing. All I got was 'voice hero', 'radio show', and 'cool'. He seemed to be squealing. I regained my hearing just in time to hear Bakugou say, "Will you should up."

"As your application said, today you rockin' boys and girls will be out there conducting ten-minute mock battles in super-hip urban settings!" The 'Voice Hero' gestured around dramatically as if trying to be cool.

"After I drop the mic here, you'll head to your specified battle centers sound good?" So not only does he talk loud, he talks fast too.

"OKAY?!" I duck my head to protect my sensitive ears, luckily managing to save my hearing this time, Izzy gave me a look of concern, squeezing my hand. "I see. They're splitting us up so we can't work with any of our friends." Bakugou said.

"Yeah, our examinee numbers are one after the other but we're assigned to different battle stations." The explanation made a lot of sense. Bakugou growled, "Damn. I was really looking forward to crushing you."

I turned around and caught his eye, "Crush who Bakugou?" I said in a false-sweet voice, glaring. He sent a glare of his own but couldn't hold his ground. "Nothing." he snarled. Which, in all honesty, makes him look like a puppy with an attitude compared to the things I've seen.

"Okay, okay, let's check out your targets. 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." The screen gave a presentation of what we should expect in the form of a 64-pixel video game.

"Your goal in this trial is to use your Quirk to raise your score by shredding these faux villains like a mid-song guitar solo!" The presentation stopped.

"But check it!" He said, whirling around to point his finger at the crowd for emphasis. "Make sure you're keeping things heroic. Attacking other examinees is a U.A. no-no ya dig?" I'm pretty sure that means 'be careful not to hurt anyone, it will not go unpunished, do you understand?'

Suddenly another voice sounded in the auditorium. "Excuse me sir but I have a question?" The 'voice hero' turned his finger over to the place where the voice came from. It was from a boy only two rows down, he had blue hair, a beige suit, and pants. I would say more I couldn't see him from this angle. He had a literal spotlight around him and he had everyone's attention.

"Hit me!"

He lifted what looked like the application in his hand."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."

He let it hang limply from his arm. "We are exemplary students. We expect the best from Japan's most notable school. A mistake such as this won't do." He seems passionate about this.

He whips around and points an accusing finger at Midoriya, putting him on the spot. "Additionally, you with the unkempt hair. You've been muttering this entire time. Stop that. If you can't bother to take this seriously, leave. You're distracting the rest of us."

I can already see the other kids start to put their hands to their mouths, probably to stifle their snickers. I got to my feet and said, "I don't know your name, you don't know mine, and you certainly don't know his," I gesture to Midoriya.

"I did not hear his muttering, and I only sit one seat down from him, you sit several rows down. Even if it bothered you that much, you didn't need to announce it to the rest of us. If you feel the need to control everything that bothers you, I think you are distracting us." I put on my disappointed pose, arms crossed, and watched him fumble for an answer. He brought this upon himself.

It seemed the hero in the front of the auditorium wanted to save the poor boy from embarrassment. I took my seat. "Alright, Alright, Examinee number 7-1-1-1. Thanks for calling in with your request. The fourth villain type is worth zero points. That guy's just an obstacle we'll be throwing in your way. There is one in every battle center." The video game started playing again.

"It's not that it can't be beaten, but there's… kinda no point." That is a joke I can understand, I chuckled. "I recommend my listeners try to ignore it and focus on the ones toppin' the charts." The boy with blue hair bowed at a 90-degree angle. "Thank you very much, please continue." He took his seat and the light clicked off.

There was a murmur of understanding throughout the crowd.

"That's all I've got for you today… I'll sign off with a little present. A sample of our school motto! As general Napolean Bonapart once laid down, 'A true hero is one who overcomes life's misfortunes.' Mm-hm! Now that's a tasty soundbite."

"Ya ready to go beyond? Let's hear a Plus Ultra!" The words plus ultra in gold appear on the screen. "Good luck! Hope you practiced hitting more than just books."

Scene Change, 10 minutes

'U.A High school Hero Course: Entrance Exam - Battle Center C'

I was in battle center C, true to Bakugou's word, no one that I know is waiting with me. So many nameless faces It made me increasingly antsy, the hair on my neck rising in anticipation.

I try to feel Izzy's comforting hand rubbing my back, her scent, like a familiar minty chocolate, helping me focus, calming me down more than anything. I try to feel Cubby's fingers carding through my fur, on my tail or ears, which always sends a low purr of satisfaction rumble in my chest.

I try to remember everything my crew and I could gather from the assembly.

It's an Urban setting, so it's a city (it's been a year and I still find the thought of a city amazing)

10-minute mock battles

4 types of villains, one you should try to avoid

It said nothing about weapons, so I could probably use my sword in this

This is not impossible

After getting the facts together I take a deep breath and let it out. All of the tension left me.

I reach behind my back and summon my sword, having it ready for when the timer starts. I walk through the crowd of students to the front, bumping into one with an elongated face.

The crowd is surprisingly easy to get through. The people here are so confident that they mindlessly holler about how much money they'll make, how popular they'll be, and who will date them when they're heroes. It's honestly surprising just how brazen people will be if they're proud enough.

I wait at the front of the massive door, which is tall enough to touch the sky, tuning out the arrogant comments.

Suddenly, the doors quietly opened, and not many people noticed. I immediately ran like the wind, entering the fake cityscape with a solid 15-second head start. I could vaguely hear the person on the mike yelling at the rest of them to get moving. I took a quick look at the buildings. I can see they people call them, 'skyscrapers."

I could see the first robot already, it was decently sized, with arm guards labeled 1. This must be a one-pointer. It was riding on a single wheel with guns tucked under the guards. It hadn't noticed me yet, so I kept my footsteps pace light and even.

Before I made my move I accessed my surroundings, something that happens subconsciously in Neverland. It was a semi-wide two-lane street. More than enough space for what I did next. I took my sword and slashed at the wheel, it deflating rapidly with the robot scrambling to shoot me. It was easy to get out of its vision, and I brought my sword down and decapitated it.

My first point!

I repeated this process many times, three-pointers, one-pointers, two-pointers, and everything I came across I defeated. I lost count of my points, but I was very efficient. Sometimes, with a little focused quickness, I would climb onto a roof using 'the wolf' to get a better vantage point.

Before I even attempted to fight a robot, I always made sure no one was in the way. Only to make sure they didn't get hurt.

Sometimes when they were too distracted I'd have to tackle them to the ground or pull them out of danger so they would avoid getting hit. A few times I shifted into my wolf form to claw and bite at the metal. Sure it hurt, but the adrenaline helped me power through it.

"Six minutes and forty seconds!" I didn't hear it.

Setting Change, observation center - POV Change, 3rd Person

A green screen showed many videos of numerous examinees and broken robots. This is the place where the teachers access and separate potential students and arrogant wanna-bes.

The chipper and high-pitched voice of the U.A. principal sounds throughout the room, "Clearly, the examinees have no idea how many villains are present or their locations."

"They have limited time, must cover a vast area, and hunt down every last target." He sits in a dark room observing the examinees with his fellow staff members. They each sit in black chairs proportional to their size.

"Some use information gathering to plan out strategies, while others use speed to pull ahead of their peers. Of course, staying calm under pressure can be a huge advantage. As can pure power and combat ability." Showing footage of a boy with multiple arms, the boy from the assembly, a confident boy with blinding blonde hair, and Bakugou. "The most successful students use a combination of all these tactics. They're the ones who rack up the highest scores," the principal stated, pointedly showing footage of a boy with a red bandana and a wickedly gleaming sword.

"Hm, I'd say this year's group looks promising," a woman said with a sultry lilt to her voice.

"Well, there's plenty of time before this is over," As this was said, a big red button's protective casing rose up, exposing it. It had black and yellow caution tape around it, warning whoever sees it to be careful.

"The real test is yet to come," the man who spoke pushed the button labeled 'Yakuri Switch' and a beeping noise was heard. In low voice, he said, "Let's see how they react."

Scene change, Battle Center C; Jake's POV

I felt a tidal wave of a terrifying dread crash over me, almost as bad as the one Lord Phathom used to drive us away from the Never Sea. Every hair on my body stood on end, and a howl of horror welled up in my throat.

"LOOK OUT!"

Boom! BOOM! BOOM!

Enormous clouds of dust and debris shot up into the air over the fake buildings, snapping wires, shattering windows, and completely destroying the other examinee's concentration. Some of them stood there with horror on their faces, seemingly dumbfounded, unable to process what was going on.

The monster that emerged was huge. It was bigger than all of the buildings in the fake city combined. Heck, the wheels the thing was riding on were as big as two-story houses. Its entire body was a dark swamp green and its fingers alone wrapped around the buildings. It had beady red eyes that were small for their immense size, destroying everything in sight.

I ran over to the other examinees, using my headband to cover my nose and mouth, protecting them from the thick dust. I sprinted to them, for once with no plan. "Everyone! RUN!" I screamed.

They all had the same idea because before I even finished the first word, they all bolted. I started to run before a sharp object cleanly sliced through my left thigh, pain flaring up and blood already gushing. I ignored it, for the time being, opting to help the students who tripped while they ran. The only relief that I got from this situation is the fact that this monster is nothing like the lava monsters.

I shifted into the wolf, using the cloud as cover from the sun, I can't transform in the sun. I ran left and right throwing injured students onto my back and getting as far away as possible.

Before seeing a girl stuck under some metal heavy asphalt. I wanted to help her so badly, but it's not like I could ignore the kids knocked out on my back. Even though every fiber of my being screamed at me not to leave her, I left. I ran one more block depositing the kids in what I deemed a safe place.

I ran as fast as I possibly could, the monster had taken to grabbing parts of buildings and hurling them into the city. I saw the girl, her hair and skin were all pinks, with yellow horns poking out of her short hair. She didn't even notice me, she was trying to get out but I couldn't see how she could do it.

I shifted back to human form before urgently asking her what her quirk was. She looked at me startled, and screamed, "Acid!" I glanced at the dissolving pipes, it wasn't dissolving nearly fast enough. I drew my sword, "Okay, put as much acid as you can on this spot. You're going to be okay. I promise." I said, my voice a lot steadier than I'm really feeling. She shakily complied, giving me enough leverage to use my sword as a lever, freeing her legs.

Just in time too, because the monster was upon us. I pulled her up, telling her to stay safe, before shoving her away, forcing her to run. I ran in the opposite direction, toward the monster.

I managed to draw its attention away from me because I ducked behind a building, and howled at the top of my lungs. I tried with all my might to use it to comfort the other students while sending a nonverbal threat to the robot.

The monster took the bait, rolling to the source of the howl. I double-backed behind the monster, drawing my sword, and slashed all the tires on the left side, the sudden imbalance tipped it over with a Mighty crash. The shockwave picked up any remaining dirt surrounding it and blew it away by a three-block radius.

Suddenly, all the adrenalin left me. The world spun dangerously and that nasty wound on my arm was bleeding rapidly, adding to the spinning world. I fell on my knees, and I crashed face-first to the ground.

The last thing I heard before it all went black.

"That's it! Time's up!"

Time Skip, 4 hours

It was a few hours after the entrance exam, and the judges had somehow already sent us the results. We decided that we would listen to Cubby's first. He was accepted into the support course, the course he actually signed up for, using a gadget he made from scratch.

He ended up going to a different kind of entrance exam than us. We were sad that he wouldn't be with us anyway, because both of us chose the hero course.

We all congratulated him and promised that if we all became heroes, then he'd be our technician.

He was also in the support course because we needed someone who would tell us everything there is to know about it. We needed to gather any type of information we could to find out who was going to hurt Neverland.

Izzy went next. She was accepted into the hero course, class 1-B. She got 38 Villain points and 20 Hero points. All of us were completely dumbfounded at the existence of hero points, but we congratulated her, her doing a twirl out of happiness.

Now it's my turn. I rip open the envelope and a small metal disk dropped into my hand. I set it down on the table of our cheap apartment and waited. The hologram showed for the last time that night. An image of All Might appears on the screen.

He congratulates my acceptance into the hero course, saying that I got first place in the entrance exam, wracking up 70 villain points, and 60 Hero points. About 50 points higher than second place, Bakugou. "Ohh, he's not gonna like that."

The second the hologram stops my family all crowd around me, crying tears of elation and relief.

I've never put it into words because I've always known. But now I promise it.

We will stay together forever. Nothing will separate us. I will not let them.

Authors Notes: Finally done! Right after this one, I'll start the next. The first day at U.A!