Chapter 1: The Entrance Exam
Kiron walked up to the marble steps of the main school house. He looked at the massive sign plastered on the front.
USHA
He smiled at it. 'I'm here' he thought, 'After 14 years... I finally made it.' Kiron laughed to himself as he started to climb the stairs, lost in thought. Thinking about how far he has come. How he has been able to progressively get better at using his quirk. And now that he had more control over it, he believed in himself. His foster parents believed in him. And they were the number three duo team in the world.
Kiron barely remembered his birth parents. He knew what they looked and sounded like, along with their names, but that was about it. He never knew their personalities or even what they did for a living. He didn't even remember what had happened to them.
But his foster parents were great people. They hadn't been able to have a child of their own, so when they adopted Kiron, they treated him like their own son. Daniel and Isabelle Izaquerda, the Shifting Duo. Daniel's quirk allowed him to track any and all things through any and all trails. Isabelle's quirk allowed her to mimic voices and the facial appearance of another person she had come into contact with. Together, along with many federal agencies, they captured many international criminals, thus giving the the spot of the number three duo.
As Kiron reminisced on the times he spent with his parents, he approached the doors of the school. Two sets of double doors, propped open awaited him. Kiron looked up and down at the building. The school looked almost identical to its counterpart in Japan, the UA Hero Academy. 'Here goes nothing'
Just as Kiron walked though the door, a hand grabbed his shoulders and spun him around. Instinctively, he grabbed the hand and twisted it, bringing the assailant to their knees. But as Kiron looked down upon the person, he noticed a familiar face. The face of his best friend Kayden.
"ALRIGHT CHILL MAN, CHILL!" Kayden exclaimed, untwisting himself from his friends grip.
"If your always that on edge, you'll be a pretty crappy hero dude. Like some chick will come running into your arms and you'll end up closing lining her." Kayden said, elbowing Kiron in the ribs lightly.
"And you'll end up a crappy hero if you can't get out of a simple move like that." Kiron remarked, slapping Kayden on the head.
The two were complete opposites of each other. While they both shared the same height at 5'6, that's were the similarities ended. Kiron was very well built, muscular and toned from the training he did with his father. Kayden however was a bit on the scrawny side, even though he ate like a starved lion at every meal. Kiron often joked that his real quirk was to eat anything put in front of him.
Their were other minor differences, such as Kiron's spiked, slicked back, whitish blue hair to Kayden's brushed down, black hair with a single red streak running though it, as well as the contrasting eye colors of dark blue and green respectively.
The last difference was Kiron's scars. Two scars stamped his face, one directly over his right eye, bisecting his eyebrow, the second running from his left temple to the start of his cheek.
He had earned the one after getting into a fight with an older kid who was bullying Kayden when they were younger. It was that day that they became friends and promised they would become pro heroes together.
The second came from when he was with his birth parents. No one really knew where it came from.
"So you ready for this test?" Kayden asked, as the two walked into the school. Kiron nodded taking in his surroundings.
The school was much bigger than he had anticipated. The halls were tidy and clean, with cliche poster hanging around that had pictures of famous heroes such as All Might and Scavenge, his father, with 'quotes' saying "Remember! Real heroes never cheat!" and "True heroes lift others up, not put them down."
As they walked, they ran into a few others from their middle school. The doors to the auditorium were still closed, implying that the first session was still going on. The pair walked over to a near by window and talked to pass the time.
"So do you know any of the teachers here?" Kayden asked.
"None. Apparently most of the teachers were pro heroes who stayed out of the media for the most part." Kiron responded.
"Damn, I was hoping we got some cool heroes like Desperado or Jetison." remarked Kayden.
"Well seeing how Desperado was a notorius vigilante, I doubt they would have hired her."
"Fair enough."
And with that, the doors opened, and a deafening roar erupted through the hallway.
"ENTER IF YOU DARE! THOSE OF A BRAVE HEART AND A VALIANT MIND ENTER AND PREPARE YOURSELVES FOR THE OPPORTUNITY OF A LIFETIME!" roared the voice.
The boys looked at each other, nodded and entered.
The two sat in the top deck, middle row of the auditorium. The room filled up quickly and before long, the group of one hundred gathered and took their seats. The room began to quite down as someone walked onto the stage's podium. Kiron's eyes widened. "No way" he muttered.
Standing before them was a tall man of 6'4. He was extremely well built, with enormous muscles showing through a sleeveless, black shirt. His hair a crew cut, platinum blonde and his eyes a bright sliver-ish gray. Standing before the group was the pro hero Force.
His quirk allowed him to create a large sonic boom that could push people and shatter objects.
He was also ranked number 3 in the top 10 heroes in the US.
His voice rang throughout the room. "WELCOME CHILDREN! TO USHA! I HOPE YOU ALL ARE READY! BECAUSE WE HAVE A LOT OF COMPETITION HERE TODAY!"
The crowd erupted and roars of excitement, before quieting back down.
"Listen well! You may have friends in this room. And you may be separated here. Some of you may get in, while others may not. Make peace with that." he said, beginning to pace across the stage.
"The following tests will assess different abilities and judgments a hero will need. First, we will have a rescue scenario. Second, a hostage scenario. And finally, a combat scenario. Well, that's all. Further instructions about the tasks will be given to you by the other instructors. That's all. Hop to it kids!"
The groups were split into five groups of twenty applicants. Kiron and Kayden separated, as they knew each others quirks and skills and didn't want to get in each others way.
Kiron's group gathered together in one of the mock cities, preparing for their first test, the hostage scenario.
Many of the other students talked among themselves, however Kiron kept to himself. After a few minutes their instructor approached them. She was a lean woman, with a well-toned, caramel body and long olive green hair reaching to her waist. She wore a loose t-shirt, jeans, and a pair of worn out running shoes. At a glance, you would never had guessed she was a pro hero.
Her hazel eyes peered at the crowd before her. A large smile grew across her face. "Well, isn't this lovely," she said with a very heavy Brooklyn accent, "I'm glad to see so many aspiring heroes. My name is Amaya Nozaki. I'll be your instructor for today's events."
Kiron looked over the woman. She couldn't be any later than her late twenties. And holy crap was she attractive. Many of the other males stopped dead in there tracks with there mouths agape. The females were wide-eyed.
Kiron quickly shook his head to regain focus.
Once the group regained their composure, Ms. Nozaki explained the rules of the first test.
1. You must find the hostage within 15 minutes,
2. You must talk down or take down the captor (non-lethally)
3. You must not let the hostage be harmed in anyway.
Failure to do all of the following will result in a penalty to your final score.
'Alright. Let's do this'
After about an hour, Kiron's turn came around. He stepped into his starting area. "READY! SET! BEGIN!" Nozaki's voice boomed over the intercoms.
Kiron lightly jogged out of the starting area, trying to limit the sound of his footsteps in order to hear his surroundings better.
As he jogged, he thought back to the numerous lessons his parents taught him. 'Many captors want to be found. They usually want something in return for the hostage, like money or transportation. Just remember to keep an eye out for any tricks they might play. And keep a closer eye on the ones that are kidnapping someone for revenge or leverage.'
He picked up his pace, and after 3 minutes, he heard a commotion in a building to his left. The building was three stories tall, with a light on in one of the second story rooms. Muffled voices came from the room, followed by a loud bang.
Kiron raced into the building and climbed up the stairs, almost unnaturally fast. '5 minutes have passed'
Kiron continued to run towards the room he saw. The banging and voices started to get louder until he came across a slightly opened door. Kiron peered inside to see a young child tied to a chair, with a man pacing back and forth across the room.
Kiron knocked on the door. "House keeping."
From the judges booth
In an instant, the white haired boy had pinned and incapacitated the captor, restraining him with the specialized rope he was given. One of the judges spoke up. "It's like we blinked and missed it." "He moved so fast," another exclaimed. "What exactly was his quirk again?" another inquired.
Kiron lifted up the body of the child and slowly descended down the stairs. As he exited the building a buzzer went off.
TEST COMPLETE.
TOTAL TIME: 5 MINUTES AND 15 SECONDS.
STATUS: PASS.
Kiron smiled. 'One down.'
The first trial came and went, with Kiron getting the fastest time in his group.
After about an hour, the second trial was set up, the rescue scenario. Each participant was given a different disaster. One had a tornado. Another had a to take care of a fire.
As Kiron's turn crept closer, he was assigned... bomb threat.
The rules were simple:
1. Evacuate the building as fast as possible of all civilians.
2. Under no circumstance interact with the bomb, only locate its exact position.
3. Get out of the building before the bomb went off.
For each person left inside, 20 points will be deducted.
Interaction with the bomb or failure to identify it's location will result in an immediate failure.
Failing to exit the building in time will result in an immediate failure.
Kiron breathed heavily, quite concerned with his task. He shook his head and began heading for the building.
Six minutes had passed. Kiron had finally made it to the building... or rather the skyscraper. It had at least ten stories. Kiron tried opening the front doors. 'Locked.' He shook his head. 'I have to find another way in. Or...' With a flurry of blows, Kiron smashed the lock off, opening the door wide.
Inside people were running around screaming. Kiron stood on the nearest desk and cried out to them between heavy breaths. "EVERY ONE... OUT OF THE BUILDING... NOW!" People began racing out of the building. As the main lobby began to clear, Kiron pulled a nearby fire alarm. The irritating beeping blared throughout the building. More and more people started to come out of offices and make there way to the nearest exit.
Thirteen minutes had passed. 'I have to find this thing quickly. Only seven minutes left.'
From the judges booth
"He cleared out eight floors in under two minutes." "His quirk is quite impressive." "But he does seem to be slowing down." "Now that you mention it, it does look like that."
"Think that'll be a problem?" "Possibly. According to the records his quirk's limits are..."
As Kiron cleared the eighth floor, he stopped in the stairwell heading to the ninth. He clutched his chest, breathing heavily. 'Fifteen... minutes. Where.. the hell... is this... thing' he muttered to himself. A faint beeping rang in his ear. The fire alarm had faded away by this time. Kiron spun around. The beeping got louder and louder as he approached the door to the ninth floor. And there it was. The bomb. It had no timer on it. It was rigged to explode upon opening the door. 'Got it.'
Kiron cleared the tenth floor, searching to see if anyone else was trapped. None. 'Good.' He ran back to the ninth floor, searching for another way in. He couldn't tell if there was another entrance or if anyone was trapped on that floor. He screamed as loud as he could. "ANYONE! HELLO!" No response. 'Eighteen minutes.' 'I'm out of time.'
Kiron raced back down the stairs and ran through the open door. A bomb squad stood waiting for him. "Western stairwell. Door leading to the ninth floor. Its planted on the door." Kiron said, leaning over, trying to catch his breath. The squad leader nodded and the group ran into the building. The buzzer rang out.
TEST COMPLETED.
TOTAL TIME: 19:51 SECONDS.
STATUS: PASS.
Kiron sat down heavily. His hands were shaking. 'I'm overusing my quirk. I have to calm down on using in. Or else...' His thoughts were cut short as Ms. Nozaki motioned for him to get off the set. Kiron shakily stood up and moved to the next area.
The results came in. Kiron had gotten the third worst time. He had barely passed with only nine seconds left. And the two people behind him had gotten disqualified.
The final test. Combat. UA had given them the idea when it first opened. The rules were simple.
Small bots counted for 25 points.
Medium bots counted for 75.
Large bots counted for 100.
The enormous bot was to be avoided at all costs. Worth: 0 points.
There were two rules:
1. Defeat as many bots as you could and accumulate as many points as you can.
2. Don't attack other participants.
Attacking fellow participants will result in an immediate ban and nullification of past results.
Kiron stood up. He felt sore. His body ached. He really overused his quirk in the last test. He tried shaking off the feeling. 'Just one more test. One more and I'm done.'
The group was split across the mock city. Kiron stretched in preparation. "READY! SET! GO!"
Kiron took off running at a normal pace, searching intently for robots. He heard explosions nearby, the sound of metal being ripped and destroyed. A small bot appeared from around the corner. Kiron jumped and kicked at its neck region, knocking the head clean off.
Two more appeared from an alleyway. Just as he began to approach one, a large cat-like creature pounced on one, ripping apart its chest. The second turned, only to be caved in by an unseen force. Kiron ran passed, the two destroyed bots, the cat-like creature following a little too close for comfort. Kiron took a sharp left down an alley, in where he met a medium sized bot. He quickly punched a hole through the center of it and jumped over it.
He felt himself slowing down, his breath getting heavy and his heart beating faster. Very fast.
He continued down the side streets and alleys, taking out 15 more small bots and 8 more medium bots. As he came upon an intersection, he was greeted by a punch to the gut from a large bot. Winded, Kiron tried to make some distance. He sprinted backwards two yards away. The punch had almost made him throw up. He coughed and looked up to see the bot charging him. The bot swung again, but this time Kiron was ready. He dodged the bots left jab and grabbed it's arm. He hoisted it downwards and tore it completely off.
The bot wheeled back, but Kiron appeared behind it, almost as if he teleported there. With a few punches, the bot was destroyed.
"HALF THE TIME HAS PASSED! FIFTEEN MINUTES REMAIN!"
Kiron felt faint. His head was pounding. The only thing he could hear was his heart beating. 'Another fifteen minutes? Can last for fifteen more minutes?'
The minutes passed. Slowly. The longest minutes of Kiron's life. By the time the test was over, Kiron had beaten 37 small bots, 24 medium bots, and 13 large bots.
Kiron had totaled a score of 4,075 points, ranking him at number six.
Kiron fell to his knees, his heart racing extremely fast now. He tired slowing it down the best he could, but to no avail. He collapsed on the ground, unconscious.
Kiron awoke to the sound of adults talking.
He felt weak. Weak enough to where he couldn't even open his eyes. All he could do was listen. They were talking about him.
"He really is an impressive kid," said a husky voice, "And his quirk his incredible." "And what exactly is his quirk," another voice said, this one much more motherly and soft. "His quirk is called Speed-up and Slow-down. He can alter his heart rate at will to increase or decrease his movement speed. That's how he was able to take down those bots so quickly. And clear those floors like he did" said the huskier voice.
"But it seems to come at a cost" said the motherly voice.
"Aye. If he uses it took long it can cause him to faint. In the worst case scenario... he could have a heart attack."
And with that Kiron slowly drifted back to sleep.
