Life fell back into almost normalcy after the incident with the bull man, or Asuka liked to think it did. She noticed people stared at her more than they did before. A few people looked like they even wanted to come up and speak to her but never did. She didn't understand what the sudden fascination was and just tried to ignore them. It all came to a head on one of her nights out. She'd just beaten up some muggers and secured some more cash when she felt someone watching her. Looking around, she didn't see anyone, but she could feel the eyes. She didn't feel like having to deal with a confrontation tonight so tried to hurry away. She heard the movement of fabric before she turned around. Standing at the end of the alley, blocking her in, was a tall man dressed in all black, some type of scarf around his neck and goggles on his face.
"Ah, I've finally tracked you down, everyones been looking for you Asuka, especially after that incident the other day"
She didn't think to respond, only pointing her finger to zap away. Before she could, she realized nothing was happening. She tried to hide the shock from her face.
"I've erased your quirk, you need to come with me Asuka, we all have a lot of questions for you."
Her face twisted into a sneer "like hell I will" and then she sprinted toward the man. He signed before his scarf shot towards her. Her reflexes had been honed, and she was used to fighting blindingly fast with her quirk. She dodged the fabric easily and aimed a punch at the man's face. But, he also had killer reflexes and moved before she could connect. He countered with a kick to the side she was just barely able to dodge.
"Come on Asuka, don't be difficult, we just need to talk"
She grunted before lunging in with another punch, this time, she was able to connect. Though, when she did, the man smirked a little and before she could move back, the scarf was wrapping around her. She couldn't move, no matter how hard she struggled.
"Well, you're definitely not helpless without your quirk, the combination must be deadly" he said with narrowed eyes at her. He brought her to a police station, by then she'd stopped fighting, opting to calm herself and observe the people around her. She'd been sloppy, and now, had been caught. She didn't understand why they needed to speak to her so badly and couldn't just leave her be.
She was placed into an interrogation room, her wrists cuffed to the table. After the door closed she felt the moment her quirk was back. While she probably could escape with minor difficulty, it was better to hear them out so maybe they'd leave her alone sooner.
After what felt like hours, the man from earlier, a woman and the detective entered the room.
"Well, I'm glad you're in good health, I was worried that when you disappeared something could have happened." She kept staring at the wall with hooded eyes, not seeming to acknowledge the people in the room.
Not one to be put off, Tsukauchi continued "the two people with me are Pro-Hero Eraserhead and Ms. Yamamura from the Hero public safety commission. I'm sorry for how Eraser had to bring you in, we needed to make sure you were okay. But, the situation has also changed and become more serious than before." She met his eyes at the end, not really understanding what he could mean by that, before changing her direction to the woman, Ms. Yamamura
"Now, as Detective Tsukauchi has said, I am Ms. Yamamura with the Hero public safety commission. Initially we were not involved with your case, though peculiar, a child with no one to claim them isn't usually our business. But, a child with absolutely no public records, now that puts you on our radar, everyones really. Add to that your mysterious escape and lying about your quirk, we are more than interested. Now, after the public altercation and illegal quirk usage, we are going to offer you two options. Become a ward of the HPSC and attend UA on our recommendation, or, spend your remaining youth in a monitored facility, where you will likely have continued monitoring into adulthood. You have proven to have a powerful if not deadly quirk, and with no records, could easily cause a risk to public safety."
Asuka couldn't believe those were the supposed only options. She didn't get what the big deal was, why couldn't they just leave her alone. And illegal quirk use, what bs. She shifted her eyes to this Eraserhead person, he looked annoyed at being here, at her and at Ms. Yamamura. Though, when they made eye contact, his expression seemed as resigned as she felt, there was really only one logical choice.
"Fine, I'll become a ward or whatever."
"Lovely, I'm glad you made the right choice, I'll just finish your paperwork and we'll leave shortly" Ms. Yamamura said with a contemptuous smile. She and Detective Tsukauchi left the room while Eraserhead stayed.
"It's not going to be easy being their ward, they'll expect impressive results from their investment. But, with how you fought, I'm sure you'll blow them away."
"Thanks Eraser, I'm really looking forward to it" she said with an eye roll
"That's Sensei to you problem child, I'll see you at UA" and then Eraserhead turned and left the room.
Ms. Yamamura and her left shortly afterwards, and she was taken to a new looking apartment building.
"You'll be staying here, you're only one stop away from UA. Most of the building houses other HPSC employees and associates. Someone will be there in the morning with more information on schooling and your food stipend. Don't make us regret this opportunity." Ms. Yamamura handed her the keys to her apartment and turned to leave. Once she rounded the corner, I opened the door. The apartment was furnished minimally, but had everything I'd ever need. It had a separate bedroom, and even a balcony.
The next few months passed by in a boring haze. Time was spent studying any subject I was behind on as I'd never formally attended formal school, and training. The hero commission was more than impressed with how advanced I was with my quirk and hand to hand. Paired together, it was apparently something to see. The recommendation entrance exam was nothing but a snoozefest. The obstacle course was over in minutes with the use of my quirk and the written exam was shockingly easy. Because the hero commission was pushing me through, I didn't even need to complete an interview.
I was spending one of my days off reading, when I heard a knock at the door. Annoyed, it must be one of the handlers checking on me. Opening the door, the person did not meet the description of ones I had grown used to. It was a man with large red wings, and wind swept blonde hair. He was dressed rather normally and with a goofy smile on his face. I wasn't impressed, and slammed the door in his face, though he had quick enough reflexes to catch the door before it closed.
"AWW Asuka why'd you do that! I just wanted to come and introduce myself finally."
I only stared blankly back at him, which he took as a sign to go on.
"I'm Number 3 hero Hawks, but you can call me Keigo. I'm going to be a mentor for you, help you be a cool hero and all that, I also live in this building."
"Tch" was the only noise I made before turning around and heading back to the couch to keep reading.
"Aha, just as abrasive as they said you'd be! Well, let's get to know each other better anyways, are you looking forward to starting at UA? It's the best school for being a hero."
I pulled back at that, emotions bubbling to the surface "no, I'm not, I just wanted to be left alone, not become some stupid fucking hero. Heroes, villains, the whole idea is stupid. Why do other people get to dictate how I use MY quirk." It was the most emotion I'd been able to express in a while, and it felt harder than ever to reel it back in.
"Wow, and here I thought you didn't have any feelings, '' Keigo said with a slight mocking tone.
"I understand it sucks how you ended up here, but you might as well make the best of it, got a lot of eyes on you now, expecting you to do great things."
"What would you know, fuck em, I'll handle this how I want." I said with a glare
"Hohoho no need to make that face at me, I understand more than you could know kid" he said with a playful smile, though, behind his eyes, I could see a steely look.
"Well, this was fun, I'm sure we'll get to spend more time together soon. Here's my number, kid, know you can always call your senpai for advice." and with a wink he headed out the door.
Before I realized it, I was dressed in the UA uniform heading in for the first day. Looking in the mirror, the uniform made me look… cute. I was unfamiliar with seeing myself like this, used more to baggy clothes that could better hide how I appeared. With a final look, I grabbed my school bag and headed out the door. As I walked to the train, people seemed to give me a second look as I passed. Once on, I was able to catch murmuring from other passengers "oh a UA student, that's so cool, wonder if she's a hero student, she's so cute…" ugh, I didn't realize this school was that well known, maybe I shouldn't have done this after all. Anyone who smiled my way was met with a disinterested sneer, and that seemed to work in keeping anyone from approaching. Arriving at the school, I was once again surprised by the size and grandness of the place.
"This place is so unnecessary, why does a place need to be this big?" I mumbled to myself. The classroom wasn't too difficult to find after studying a few maps, though, the size of the door did give me pause. Stepping in, I appeared to be the first to arrive. Glad to be too, I was able to grab the furthest corner seat by the window, a perfect vantage point, and no one was likely to bother me up here. Soon as I was settled, more students seemed to slowly trickle in. I didn't pay too much attention until a tall boy with glasses started to approach.
"Hello, I'm Tenya Iida. I attended Soumei Junior High School." I flicked my eyes at him once before returning to staring out the window. He seemed ready to start saying something when a loud blonde boy barged into the room. Stomping his way to one of the seats on the other side of the room to us. This seemed to annoy Tenya, as he marched over to seemingly confront the boy.
"Hey! Take your feet off that desk! You'll scuff it, You're already disrespecting this school, it's only the first day!"
"Oh shut up you shitty extra, what did your old school do, shove a stick up your ass?" the blonde said with a jeer.
I watched from my corner, resting my chin in my palm, finally getting some entertainment from the monotony my life had become. At least these people won't be boring. Before they could get more heated, another few students trickled in. It was a boy with messy green hair and big eyes, looking like a scared little bunny. His entrance dragged Tenya away to introduce himself to the new students but it also seemed to give loud mouth pause, but only barley.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE SHITTY DEKU?"
"Ahh Kacchan, I got in too! Congrats on getting first"
Kacchan, as this Deku person said, sank back in his chair and seemingly fuming. Before I could watch further, I noticed a yellow caterpillar slinking into the room. I seemed to be the only one. Before more students got yelling, it stood up and unzipped, it was Eraserhead.
"It took you 8 seconds before you were quiet. Time is limited, you kids aren't rational enough. I'm your homeroom teacher, Aizawa Shota. This is kind of sudden, but put these on and meet me out in the field." He handed everyone some type of gym uniform.
" A quirk assessment test, but what about the entrance ceremony? The orientation?"
"A waste of time, if you're going to become heroes, we need to focus on more important things"
Many students seemed to pale at that while a few, me included, grabbed the gym uniform and headed to change. I was out in the field before any of the other girls made it to the locker room. Standing off to the side in the shade, though, Aizawa seemed to be looking over at me occasionally with a careful eye. Once everyone gathered, he turned to address the group
"You guys have been doing this since middle school, a physical fitness test where you can't use your quirks. The country still takes the average of results from students not using their quirk. It's not rational."
"Bakugo, you finished top of the practical exam right? In junior high, what was your best softball throw?"
"67 meters"
"Okay, now try it with your quirk. You can do whatever you want as long as you stand in the circle."
"Tch, okay" he loaded his arm up and shouted "DIE '' as he threw. An explosion propelled the ball high into the air. Aizawa turned the reader to us and it read "705.2 meters"
"Wow this seems like fun!"
"This isn't a game and the lowest ranked after all the tests will be judged to have no potential and be expelled!"
Most everyone seemed to be frantic about that. I didn't really care either way, either he was lying or was honest, I wasn't going to be in danger anyways. No matter how much I wish I could just be expelled. That would cause more problems than I have already.
We first lined up for the sprint, getting into 2 lines to compete against each other. I ended up in the middle of the group.
I was against Tenya from earlier. My arms were still crossed, and I was leaning on my hip. Tenya had crouched down into a sprint position. Some classmates gave me strange looks. Before the shot for go even finished, I'd pointed my finger at the finish line and within less than a second, appeared at the end, Tenya joined me only a moment later. He and the rest of the class looked shocked.
"0.90 seconds for Asuka and 3.04 seconds for Tenya, next." Aizawa announced. As we cleared the runways, Tenya, and a few other students approached me.
"Congrats on beating me this time Asuka, I've never lost a race. I look forward to working hard to beat you in the future." Tenya said enthusiastically. All I could muster was a shrug and an okay, already looking to retreat to my place under the tree until the next test. But that wasn't to be. A pink girl and blonde boy approached next, with idiotic smiles on their faces.
"Wow, that was so cool! You totally blew our times out of the water!" the pink girl said first
"Yeah, I've never seen anything like that! And I thought with my ability I'd have this test in the bag!" the blonde continued.
The tests continued, with most everyone being able to showcase their strength in various ways. I was over the long jump in less than seconds. I racked up one of the highest scores on the side step as well, no one being able to keep up with their naked eye. Most of the other tests were purely physical strength and flexibility. I think I scored decent as my quirk was no benefit and just relied on my fitness. The final test ended back at the ball throw. Standing in the circle, I thought about what would be the best method to use my quirk. My bullets would just go through it and I couldn't leave the circle. Trying something on a hunch, I concentrated the light into my hand until it was glowing. Placing my hand out flat palm side up, I dropped the ball down. The second the ball connected, I released the built up energy and the ball went soaring. Aizawa turned the meter to us and it read 550 meters. Not the best but it would do, after everything I'd expect to rank in the top 5. After returning to my spot in the shade, the green haired boy, Deku, went for his turn. He looked to be quite nervous, muttering to himself. After all the build up, he only threw it 46 meters, lame. Though, he seemed surprised as well.
"Ah, what happened, I was definitely trying to use it…" I could hear him mutter, looking at Aizawa answered the question. His hair and scarf were floating, he'd canceled his quirk.
"I erased your quirk, the entrance exam is not rational enough if even someone like you was accepted." that seemed to pull everyone from their stupor, Deku, though seemed to piece it together and actually recognized the teacher as Eraserhead. I'd been surprised, I didn't think he was so unknown, but hero rankings have never made sense when someone explained them to me.
"You don't know how to control your quirk do you? You'll be a liability every time you use it then. I don't think you're cut out to be a hero." Aizawa said coldly, though, if true, I didn't disagree with him either. Midoriya as he was called, seemed to take it harder than expected, but after a moment, perked up to take his second through. He was still mumbling to himself, and with a much too serious look on his face, threw the ball. It rocketed into the sky, and he was panting pretty heavily, clutching his finger. Aizawa turned the reader to us again, it read 705.3 meters.
Everyone in the class was excited for this great triumph. To me it was a bit much for a simple fitness test, i guess everyone still thought they might get expelled? The only one not enthused was Bakugo, he looked enraged even. He suddenly took off to attack Midoriya yelling some type of nonsense. Before he could reach Midoriya, Aizawa used the weird scarf he used on me, while activating his quirk again. He explained to them how tough the clothes were, something I'd have to look into, it would be a useful tool. I finally had to snort when Aizawa revealed that prolonged use of his quirk gave him dry eyes, how lame.
Once the class cooled off again, Aizawa revealed the final rankings list. Not paying attention to the other names I found mine squarely at 5th. That seemed a good spot, high enough it should keep the hero commission from bugging me more. Midoriya ranked last, he looked like he might faint, But Aizawa revealed it was some logical ruse to get everyone to try harder or something. If every day is like this, maybe I made the wrong choice.