Eh, seems like some people are actually interested in the story, so that's a really nice start! I'm glad to present to you all the fourth chapter!
Warning: Kira's language, Kira's heroism and Kira's talk-no-jutsu.
Enjoy!
When she arrived to the exam orientation room, she was directed to a seat at the front, thus unable to find Izuku. She had also received an informative paper which presented a picture of herself, her examinee number and the battle center in which she would proceed with the hero course exam.
"Exam Ticket"
"Name: Suttoki Kira"
"Examinee No.: 2235"
"Test Location: Battle Center A"
Wonder where Izuku will be…
Suddenly, the lights went out, leaving only one spotlight on the stage, on which suddenly appeared a blond man with a mustache, very familiar to any who followed closely the Hero world.
Oh my God, it's Present Mic! Damn, Izuku must be having a fanboy moment…
"For all you examinee listeners tuning in, welcome to my show today! Everybody say 'hey'!" he yelled.
Only silence answered, and Kira coughed a little.
Awkward…
"What a refined response," sweatdropped the Hero. "Then I'll quickly present to you the rundown on the practical exam. Are you ready?"
Silence.
Double awkward…
"As it says in the application requirements, you listeners will be conducting ten-minute mock urban battles after this! You can bring whatever you want with you. After the presentation, you'll head to the specified battle center, okay?"
Silence.
He really needs to stop this.
"Okay!?"
Seeing as still no one was answering, he proceeded. On the screen, pictures of different buildings appeared.
"Three different types of faux Villains are stationed in each battle center," he announced. "You earn points for each of them based on their level of difficulty. Your goal, dear listeners, is to use your Quirks to earn points by immobilizing the faux Villains. Of course, attacking other examinees and any other un-heroic actions are prohibited!"
"May I ask a question?"
Kira tilted her head to the back of the room from where the voice came from, only to find a black-haired boy with glasses and a rather strict expression.
"Okay~!"
"On the printout, there are four types of Villains," pointed out the boy. "If that is a misprint, then U.A. the most prominent school in Japan, should be ashamed of that foolish mistake!"
"Geez, take a chill pill," muttered the girl under her breath.
There was a snort to her right, and she offered a sheepish smile at the red-haired boy, who sent back a toothy grin. His hair was a red as her eyes, and he seemed like the kind of person that enjoyed a good laugh or fight, depending on the situation.
"We examinees are here in this place because we wish to be molded into exemplary Heroes. In addition… you over there, with the curly hair!"
The ginger looked over at where he was pointing at, and cringed when she realized Izuku was his target.
Well, at least I found him.
"You've been muttering this whole time. It's distracting! If you're here on a pleasure trip, then you should leave immediately!"
"Sorry…" mumbled the boy.
"Okay, okay, Examinee Number 7111," called over Present Mic. "Thanks for the great message. The fourth type of Villain is worth zero points. That guy's an obstacle, so to speak. There's one in every battle center, an obstacle that will go crazy in narrow spaces. It's not impossible to defeat, but there's no reason to confront it either. I recommend that you listeners try to avoid it!"
"Thank you very much!" the boy from sooner bowed, before sitting down. "Please excuse the interruption."
"Then, that's all from me!" declared the blond Hero. "Finally, I'll give you listeners a present- our school's motto! As the Hero Napoleon Bonaparte once said: 'a true hero is someone who overcomes life's misfortunes'. Go beyond. Plus Ultra!"
The two words appeared on the screen as everyone repeated, and Kira's heart swelled, almost painfully so, as she suddenly realized just how close she was to accomplishing her life-long dream –or at least, part of it.
"Now, everyone, good luck suffering!"
Kira laughed at that, earning herself a thumb's up from Present Mic –she had been the only only laughing.
"Hey, we're at the same battle center!"
She turned to the red-haired boy from before, who grinned at her again.
"I'm Kirishima Eijiro," he extended his hand.
"Suttoki Kira," she answered the greeting. "So, you're in battle center A?"
.
.
"Well, they sure have some budget, uh?" remarked Kira.
"You tell me," Eijiro sweatdropped.
After a five-minutes ride, they had reached Battle Center A. The girl hadn't managed to talk to Izuku before leaving, and she was kind of worried for the boy, knowing he was probably overly stressed and internally panicking right now. However, she also knew he could do it. His hard work wouldn't betray him, he just needed some confidence in himself.
"Start!"
She stilled for a second, exchanging a surprised glance with the red-haired boy, before darting ahead. Spluttering, he instantly ran after her, while the rest of the examinees lingered behind, confused by the sudden signal.
There's no count-down in a fight, dummies!
"I'm taking right!" she called to her new friend.
"See you later then!"
They had agreed earlier to go in opposite directions so as to not get in each other's way, hence why they were now separating. From the corner of her eye, she saw Katsuki running forward, and sighed internally.
At least he won't try to kill me. I ought to find my targets real fast, though, or he'll destroy all of them.
"Target identified: destroy"
"Sorry, not today!"
She slid in between the legs of the robot that had just appeared before her, before clicking her lighter open and pulling out a long flame, slicing the faux Villains neatly in two.
Two points.
"Target-"
In one swift movement, she destroyed the three that tried to surround her.
Three, one, one. I'm at seven points already.
From farther behind, other explosions echoed. The rest of the examinees had finally entered the game, she had to act faster. After all, there surely wasn't an unlimited amount of targets. Once they were all destroyed, or the ten minutes were up, then that part of the exams would be over.
Accelerating her pace, she jumped and made the head of another robot explode, before offering the same treatment to the one behind her.
Twelve points. I need more!
Seeing as the faux Villains seemed to be attracted by movements, she needed to head back to where the rest of the students had gathered. Going off on her own had been a good idea at first, but she now realized she had miscalculated the situation. If she didn't hurry, she wouldn't make it in time.
Without wasting a second, she jumped on top of another robot, destroying it while propelling herself on top of the nearest building. Using her newfound height, she started jumping from roof to roof, using her flames as a small boost to allow her the feat without risking to miss a step and fall to her death.
…
I need to stop thinking such dark things. Seriously.
As she approached the center of the battlefield, more explosions echoed, and she easily imagined Katsuki either grinning madly or being even more pissed off than usual. Sweatdropping at the thought –he was always pissed off-, she finally reached her destination.
Seeing as the faux Villains were destroyed one after the other in a matter of seconds, she didn't think twice before jumping from the roof on which she was standing. Encasing her fist in flames, she let herself drop onto the nearest robot, effectively destroying it to pieces.
"Hey, that one was mine!" protested the blond whom she had just interrupted.
"Sorry, no time to chat, I'll listen later!" she retorted, already darting towards another target.
This time around, she didn't waste any time with counting her points. She destroyed the more she could find, many of the examinees getting out of the way when they saw her arrive, fists flaming and swirling all around her.
They sure are an easily afraid bunch. As if I'd burn them.
Through all the fighting –more like one-sided destruction, but whatever- she had noticed the certain changes in her abilities. No one but her would be able to understand what exactly finding her core had changed, but she could feel it. The fire was no longer resisting when she controlled it, truly bending to her will and emotions. It was less tiring, and she could use much more power with much less energy than before.
Her power, before blurry and raw, was now shaped, refined. Using it had never been easier, and she knew her capacities would only grow from now on.
The ground suddenly started shaking. Before she could fully comprehend what was happening, half of a building flew in pieces as a gigantic robot suddenly appeared in the street, dropping out of nowhere.
The obstacle!
Fighting it wouldn't bring any point, and only served to make them loose their time. She needed to find more true targets while avoiding the ginormous faux Villain. Apparently of the same mind, the examinees started running away, scattering in the streets in hopes that they wouldn't be the ones targeted by the robot.
However, as she dashed behind a car to escape being spotted, she noticed the blond guy from earlier trapped under a piece of building. He couldn't move at all, and his Quirk –electricity- seemed to be useless against such a weight.
This isn't good, her eyes widened. The obstacle is coming this way, but it won't even notice the guy. He'll merely be crushed like an ant!
She knew she wouldn't be able to free the boy. Sheer strength wasn't her forte, and her Quirk wouldn't be of much use either.
Shit!
"Oi, everyone!" Kira called to those hiding farther away. "Come on, we need to help him!"
"Are you crazy!?" snapped back another girl. "We'll be killed if we face that thing!"
"Not if we all go at it together!"
"Why would we do that?" protested another boy. "That one's the obstacle, it isn't worth any point!"
At that, Kira stiffened, time slowing down.
…points?
She suddenly felt very sick. Clenching her fists, resolve hardening her eyes, she raised back to her feet to fully face them.
"Points?" she repeated, her voice showing barely contained anger. "Talking about points… in such a situation…"
Her flames started swirling like crazy, and the two that had talked back were forced to move away because of the sudden heat.
"Are you saying… that your personal gains pass before someone's life?" she gritted her teeth, red orbs blazing. "That you're ready to let this boy die because of some stupid exam!?"
Anger reaching a whole new level, she didn't hesitate before running out of her hideout and towards the faux Villain, ready to take it head on.
"Who do you think you are!?" she snarled, her whole body suddenly encased in flames and her hair turning to fire. "How dare you even hope of becoming a Hero if you're not even going to save your very comrades!? You cowards!"
And she jumped.
The fire fueled by her raging emotions, she was propelled even higher than the faux Villain. Unbothered, she used her armor-like state to control her fall and dashed head first towards the gigantic robot, like some sort of human comet. The heat was too much, she easily burst through the robot's chest without an ounce of resistance, like a knife cutting through butter.
Explosions followed as she started falling, now on the other side. However, she had used up more energy than planned for this little rescue mission, and the girl realized too late that she wouldn't be able to catch her fall.
This is going to hurt.
She closed her eyes, awaiting the crash and hoping she'd black out before pain could fully hit, if she wasn't killed on the spot. However, as she felt the ground growing closer and closer, the air was knocked out of her lungs harshly as arms wrapped around her. Brought against chest, she felt the body under hers suddenly becoming as hard as rock, if not more, and they both finally landed.
Another explosion echoed as they hit the ground, smoke and dust rising around, and it took Kira a few seconds to realize that not only was she alive, but she wasn't even injured. Surprised, she looked down, only to find Eijiro grinning at her.
"Got you."
"Nice catch," she beamed at him. "And thanks a bunch for the save."
She got back on her feet, intending to help him up, but a wave of dizziness washed over her, and she fell back on her rear.
"You okay?"
"Just dizzy," she scrunched her nose, an hand over her mouth. "It'll pass- damn it!"
Her nose started bleeding. The boy's eyes widened in panic.
"Shit!"
"I'm fine, I'm fine!" she assured, though she wasn't that convincing, what will all the red liquid now staining her lower face and clothes.
As the boy fret over her state, someone placed an hand over her shoulder. The girl raised her eyes to see the blond she had just saved.
"Yo," she greeted.
"Hey," he smiled at her, a little awkwardly. "Err… thanks. For saving me, that is. Pretty sure I would have ended up as a pancake if you hadn't intervene."
"Anytime," she assured. "I'm Suttoki Kira."
"Kaminari Denki."
With that, he handed her a tissue. Grateful, she wiped the blood from her face. It had stopped flowing, now, but she didn't want to look like she came back from a murder spree, and also hoped to avoid worrying her brother even more. He had warned her about overly using her abilities, after all.
"Good work, everyone~"
At the new voice, they all turned around to see an old woman with a cane now walking through the crowd of examinees that had gathered around them.
R-Recovery Girl!
"Good work, good work..." she said, smiling. "I'm here to take care of the injured. Is anyone injured?"
In a single movement, all examinees pointed at Kira.
"Hey!" she protested.
"No worries, no worries..."
Before anyone could react, the old woman kissed the teen on the cheek. Instantly, the girl's headache disappeared, along with her dizziness. Kira gaped will getting back on her feet, tired but able to walk.
"Thanks!"
"Just doing my job," replied the Hero, handing her a few gummies. "Now, anyone else?"
As the old lady passed from examinee to examinee, the ginger sighed. While her control was definitely better than it had even been, she also needed to learn how to control her own emotions. Now that the beast had been freed, the strength coming with it was also far from tamed. Greater control also meant greater consequences if she lost it. And, if it happened in the middle of a fight, then she wouldn't be of much use.
More training, then!
…
Oh joy.
A week passed. In that time, she had been called once a day by Eijiro, who wanted to make sure she'd be okay, and twice by Denki, who was apparently very grateful and wanted to make it up to her. However, Izuku never contacted her. She had tried to see him, but he stayed cooped up in his room, apparently in a dazed state that suggested his own exams hadn't gone that well. She also tried to talk to All Might, but he never answered her, which put on her edge.
Kira knew herself had aced the practical exam and done fairly well on the written part –or she hoped so-. However, she couldn't help but worry. Would it be enough? Had she done the right thing in refusing the recommendations?
Wait.
Should she mention those to Izuku?
No, definitely not. Plus, it doesn't matter anymore. 'What ifs' won't change what I've done, regrets will serve no purpose. I'll just have to suck it up.
"Kira!"
Startled, the girl fell from her position. She had been training in doing the one-handstand she had been struggling with in the passed ten months and, surprisingly, she now managed to stay in position for more than five minutes.
Well, if there weren't any interruptions.
"Damn it… what is it, Ren?" she rubbed her sore forehead as the man slammed her door open.
"The letter! It's here!"
Her insides turned to ice, which was ironic considering her abilities. She never knew she could feel that scared, anxious and excited before. Grabbing the letter, she didn't waste a second in opening it. A small, round object fell out, instantly casting an hologram.
"I am here as a projection!"
"Holy fuck!"
"Kira, language!"
"I apologize for taking so long to contact you," none other than All Might was talking. "I had some paperwork to do. Sorry for that."
He –well, the projection- bowed, and the ginger could feel her brother's confusion from a mile away.
He must be wondering why All Might, of all people, would apologize to me.
Still, though. What is All Might doing? It's a letter from U.A. High, isn't it? Then why would he-
"I actually came to this town to work at U.A.!"
Well, that answers it.
"I wished to inform you myself: while you barely passed the written exam, your score on the practical exam was one of the best. Also, there was a secret part to this exam: rescue points!"
"Rescue… points?" she repeated, surprised.
"While destroying the obstacle didn't bring any point, saving that young man's life was the proof that a true Hero's heart is beating in your chest! The rescue points are given by a panel of judges. It's the other basic ability we at U.A. looks at!"
Then, his projection was replaced with that of a score board. To the very top was none other than Bakugo Katsuki, which made her scowl a little. However, said scowl disappeared when she found her name in second place.
Twenty-two villain points, and fifty-three rescue points. What the hell!? This is awesome!
Wait, is that Izuku in eighth? No villain points, but sixty rescue points… that sounds like him alright.
"I am glad to announce that… you passed! Welcome to U.A. High, Suttoki Kira!"
With that, the hologram turned off, and a moment of silence ensued.
…
"I PASSED! Oh my God, I passed!"
The girl started laughing in relief, and her brother grabbed her in his arms, making her spin a few times.
"This is amazing, Kira! You did it!"
Happy, she hugged him tightly as he put her down.
"Thank you, for supporting me."
He hugged back.
"That's what big brothers do, Little Spark."
While not approving of her choice of career, he supported her all along and, right now, she truly couldn't ask for more.
Aww, I love writing those Kira/Ren moments. Anyway, I know that her entrance exam was exactly like Izuku's and for that, I am sorry. I promise, the next chapters will be better. And of course, I can't just follow the storyline. Prepare yourselves for some spice in the upcoming chapters!
Plus Ultra!