(Quick author's note for returning readers: after a review I got about the story, I decided to redo a bit of it. I honestly put a lot of the canon into the previous version when I didn't have to, so I'm gonna try and not do that this time while still telling the first week in class 1-A. Go ahead and read the prologue back, because it's been updated since the previous version. Nothing major changes, but Junko has a different quirk now so a few details have changed.)

This is certainly some place I never expected to be. Walking into the gates of UA as an applicant isn't something I even considered a possibility ten months back. Life sure is strange.

When Kurogiri explained to me my role in their plans, I very nearly laughed in his face. Me, join UA as a student? Nevermind that I didn't have the grades for that at the time, I just didn't have the desire to... but then he explained what he wants me to do. If being their spy will enable them to topple hero society, then I have no choice. It's not like I can take on pro-heroes, so this is really one of the few things I can do.

All it took on their part was helping me with housing and food, and I got my grades up to where they need to be. Now, as planned, I'm getting ready to take the entrance exam... and I will pass this. With flying fucking colors.

"You got everything?"

"Yeah, I got everything, 'mom,'" I answer, turning to face my new adoptive 'mother.' She's a somewhat tall slender lady with slicked back brown hair who claims to be in her early thirties. She's some chick the league hired on to be my legal guardian. Honestly looks more prim and proper than I'm used to, even down to wearing a blue pantsuit and putting on a smile all the time. "You know you didn't have to drive me here, right?"

"I just wanted to make sure you got here safe, sweetie," she says, tussling my hair a little.

"I know we've had a few months to get used to eachother, but please don't call me that," I say, gently pushing her hand aside as she starts to touch my ears. "You're putting a little too much effort into being a stereotypical mom."

"Yeah, well, tough. Legally speaking, I am your mom, so get over it," she says, leaning against her small green car. "Good luck and do your your best to pass, okay sweetie?"

"Yeah, sure..." I respond, turning back to the campus. "Bye, 'mom.' See you afterwards, I guess."

She's not a bad lady, at least from what I've seen, but I honestly have yet to be able tell if she's trying to be annoying or loving. I'm honestly not even sure if she's treating this like a job or if she genuinely wants to be my mom. I guess that's the point. If even I can't tell, others probably won't either. I should probably just be happy they found a person willing to in Musutafu.

The building is huge. I think it's supposed to look like a big "UA" from some angle or another, but it honestly just looks like an "H" to me. The campus, judging from pamphlets I got, makes this building look tiny. Doesn't surprise me, honestly.

After a few moments of staring up at the building, I make my way to the exam hall, which is almost big enough to be a sports stadium. I take a seat closest to the back and pull out my exam ticket. I don't have to wait long for everything to start, as shortly after we enter a man standing behind a lectern on the stage at the center of the room begins his speech.

He explains, rather flamboyantly, that the practical exam will be a set of mock battles. We'll be fighting robots meant to represent villains in one of seven "battle centers" labeled A though G. According to my card, mine is Battle Center C.

He goes on to explain the "villains" we'll be fighting. There are three robots, each worth one to three points respectively, with amount of points equating to level of difficulty. The one pointer looks a bit like someone on a unicycle with big arms, the two pointer like a scorpion, and the three pointer like a big robot-like tank with two heads.

After he tells us not to attack each other, an examinee stands and points out the fourth "villain" on the printout we were given, which I honestly forgot to take out of my bag, calling it shameful if that's an error, then chastises an examinee behind him that's supposedly been muttering this entire time. I didn't hear anything, but I'm not as close as he is, so...

Everyone has a chuckle at the display, but the man on stage quickly shuts that down, then explains that the fourth "villain" is worth zero points. It's just an obstacle we're meant to avoid. Even though it can be beaten, there's no point to it because there's no points awarded for doing so.

The student apologizes for interrupting, then the man ends his speech with a quote from some old scholar and a "Plus Ultra!" Apparently that's the school's motto.

We begin the written part of the exam shortly after that. It's surprisingly easy, and everyone present finishes pretty quickly. After which we all get changed into gear more suited for a work-out, then head to our specified battle centers—-which turn out to be mini-cities surrounded by a giant wall.

I change into a black tracksuit with a small cut in the pants to let my tail come through comfortably and stand at the back of the crowd while we wait for the practical exam to start. It takes me a moment to get my own anxiety under control, but thankfully I manage it just before the man from before announces the start.

"Get moving!" He shouts over an intercom. "There are no countdowns in real battles! Run run run, listeners! You're wasting air time here!"

And with that, we all charge in at the same time. It doesn't take long to find the "villains," and soon it devolves into utter chaos. Students attack and get attacked, scattering in every direction like rats.

The first "villain" that charges me is a two-pointer. It's tail is easy to dodge, and I blast it's head with energy, causing it to shatter. It sparks a bit, then crumples to the floor. If all these "villains" are gonna be this easy, this exam is mine.

The next encounters, as expected, are similar. Some involve other students that either steal a point or get used as my distraction, and I easily rack up around thirty-five points before the six minute mark. By now, I'm alone. Each of us split off to find more.

After a few minutes of aimlessly searching, the ground begins to rumble. Loud booms go off in the distance, and a few screams can be heard echoing through this mini concrete jungle. I stop for a moment and look around. I can't see anything from where I am, so I sprint towards the noises, keeping an eye out for any bots or examinees.

After a while, I come to an open area and what caused the noises becomes pretty clear. A huge robot just big enough to be seen over the buildings is making its way through the city, tearing through buildings as it does. It's the zero point bot. A huge robot with what looks like a gun for a head.

Examinees panic around me as I stand there staring at it. They're all either running away or tripping over each other trying to. A few bump into me, but I manage to keep myself from getting knocked over in the chaos. Once most of them clear out, I turn to follow the crowd. No point fighting it if there's no points awarded for beating it.

I follow the crowd a ways, looking for any viable alleys to dip in to. Most of them either angle back toward the villain or appear to be dead ends. By the time I've found one, the Zero Point Villain has closed the gap considerably. It moves faster than I was expecting it to.

As I take my first steps into the alley, a cry rings out behind me. When I look back, I'm met by the sight of two examinees trapped under debris. Everyone else just keeps running as the Zero Pointer advances. Sucks to be them.

I ignore the sight and move deeper into the alleyway. Only when I reach the first corner does something occur to me... there has to be people watching. Staff members for UA. If I don't go back and help... is that gonna be suspicious? This is a hero school, so...

After looking back toward the street to see them still trapped, I rub my ears a moment and turn back towards the street. The Zero Pointer's too close for comfort, but I can make it to them. It's getting them out that's the problem.

"Fuck!" I shout, letting out an annoyed groan and slapping myself in the face with both hands.

Without letting myself think about it further, I sprint back out of the alley and towards the trapped examinees. Debris falls all around us as I reach them. It's a guy and a girl. Neither seem particularly interesting in appearance, beyond having orange hair. I wonder if they're related? I guess it doesn't matter.

The debris isn't massive, but it has their legs trapped, and neither of them seems to be conscious. It probably knocked them right out. That had to hurt.

At first, I try lifting the debris. It's a lot heavier than it looks, and I can't even make it budge. I close my eyes a moment then coat my hands in energy. Shattering it doesn't seem like the best option, but judging by the noises getting louder and the debris more frequent, I don't have any time for other options.

I blast the debris with both hands. Most of it shatters pretty easily. There's still some smaller bits at the bottom, but a quick test proves them to be just light enough for me to move. Their legs seem mostly intact, aside from some obvious bruising. Hopefully that was caused by the debris and not my attack.

As I begin the task of trying to drag them to safety, I take a quick peak to make sure I'm not out of time. I nearly have a heart attack at how close the damn thing is. It's almost close enough to reach down and grab us. Every fiber of my being screams at me to leave them and run. All my instincts... everything.

I try my best to ignore all that and grab their arms. This isn't the best way to drag them, but they're bigger than me and I'm not exactly All-Might here, so I drag them towards the only alley I'm aware of nearby—-the one I came from—-with all my might. I only make it about halfway across the street before the robot's treads are almost on top of us.

I let go of the examinees and blast the treads closest to me with everything I have. They shatter, causing bits of it to fly out everywhere. I narrowly dodge under a bit of it as it flies my way.

To my dismay, this doesn't do anything to stop the bot's advance. It only starts moving a bit wonky. I can't get out of the way in time, even if I left them here, so I just close my eyes and shield my head with my hands.

As I do, the sound stops. A few bits of debris fall down around me, but otherwise everything becomes quiet. I open my eyes just enough to see what happened. The bot stopped, it's treads close enough to touch. It's not coming forward anymore. Did I stop it?

"And that's it!" Announces the man from before over the intercom system. "Time's up!"

I blink a moment as the announcement sinks in. It's over? Did they end it early because we were about to die or did I really just run down the clock? Either way that was a fucking close one.

The examinees I dragged here are still unconscious. At least they're not dead, I guess.

I heave a sigh of relief and plop down next to them, stuffing my now shaking hands into my armpits. My breathing's a bit shakey and difficult, so I might as well stay here, I guess.. Leaving them after all this wouldn't be very "heroic," and there's probably medics on the way. Besides, I doubt I can walk out of here at this exact moment anyway. My whole body is shaking.

Hopefully thirty-five combat points is enough to pass. It's gonna be pretty annoying if I went through all this for nothing...