Summary: In a world where eighty percent of the population are born with meta human abilities dubbed Quirks, pursuing the superhero occupation has become the norm. Wanting to follow in the footsteps of their Pro Hero mother, twins Ayano and Ayumu Takamaki dream of walking the hero path. Though, they will learn that the path of a hero is not an easy one to tread. | slow burn romance
Author's Note: I'm going to preface a couple important things before anyone starts asking questions: For the sake of writing convenience, almost all the characters will be referred to by their given names during points of narration. The only exception to this will be (some of) the pro heroes and villains.
Secondly: Instead of this just being a straight word-for-word carbon copy of the entire anime/manga with OCs in it, there will be original scenes/events present and canon divergence (within reason). Things out of the MCs control, like major canon events/arcs, will most likely stay. With all these points made, I hope you enjoy the story!
Character tags may be subject to change as the story develops.
A T-rating, because of descriptive violence and Bakugou's lil potty mouth. :)
Update: I've merged the entrance exam with chapter one, just so chapter two can begin at the school instead.
©️ An Anime/Manga by Kōhei Horikoshi
Chapter I: Takamaki - Origin
At the tender ages of five years old, Ayano and Ayumu saw the beginning of their future dreams coming into fruition. Though, prior to this, they lived the normal, average lives of any other small children. When their days weren't spent being exemplary Kindergarten school students, they were attached at the hip exploring the outside world around them. Running between and ducking under trees while reenacting their favorite hero clips that they saw of their mother online, pretending to be her and various villains she'd faced.
The two fell onto their backs beside each other, staring up at the beaming sun with smiles just as bright stretching across their faces. "Mommy's so cool!" Ayano exclaimed, "When we become heroes, I'll be just like her!"
"I'll be just like her too!" Ayumu exclaimed, shooting up into a sitting position with blades of grass covering his back and hair. His sister sat up as well, puffing her cheeks.
"No you can't, I already said I'll be. Besides, you're a boy!" she argued, and he narrowed his eyes.
"So? I can still be a hero like Mommy." he defended.
"Can not!"
"Can too!" This was routine, arguing back and forth about who could realistically be a successor of sorts to her. Ayumu was always convinced this was something both kids could do, Ayano felt differently.
They would always be chastised by her upon returning home, for their clothes being filthy and skin covered in scrapes she would have to disinfect. "But Mooooommyyyyyy," they'd whine in unison every time, without fail, gripping onto each of her pants legs with their small hands and staring up at her with big brown eyes. "We were just trying to be like the heroes!" They were. They'd rescue innocent civilians and thwart the big bad guys in their little play world. In the moment, they always felt as mighty as she! This is what made it so routine. They'd told her before how much they wished to be like her, to instill the same feelings of safety and hope in others that she did. So, as much as she didn't enjoy her little munchkins coming home so unkempt, she could never be upset by them imitating her in the only way they could at their age. Which always turned into her simply telling them to be more mindful when they played, only to repeat the process within the next few days.
"Once me and Ayano get our Quirks, we're gonna beat up all the bad guys so you don't have too anymore!" Ayumu exclaimed, once his mother bandaged his knee.
"Oh, is that right?" she chuckled, "Well you'll have to make sure you grow up big and strong first, and do well in your studies."
"Yeah!"
This had been their life, so normal, so simple, until one fateful afternoon a change emerged.
"Whoosh!" Ayumu exclaimed, swinging his action figures around in the air while his sister watched. He made random sound effects with his mouth while making them mock fight. "You won't get away from me, evildoer!" he exclaimed, raising his 'hero' doll into the air. "Take this!" He used it to hit the 'villainous' doll into one of the block towers Ayano had made, which caused her to clap and giggle in amusement.
"The day is saved!" she exclaimed, moving forward to restack the blocks. "When I fix the city it's my turn, okay?" she said glancing at him after she started stacking. d
"Okay!" Ayumu exclaimed with a big grin. "What are you gonna—" he quickly paused, and his grin fell while staring at her hand that was holding one of the blocks. Ayano, noticing his stare, glanced down at her hand as well; only to gasp in shock. The wood from the block she held was quickly moving up her arm, which caused her to scream and drop the block. Startled by his sister's scream, the toys in Ayumu's hands glowed blue and shot up out of them; they flew so high they struck the ceiling above.
"Mommy!" she shrieked getting up and running from their big playroom in the direction of their mother's bedroom, her brother running right behind her in the same direction. "Mommy, a monster block!"
Ayano and Ayumu, after proper examination and testing by a specialist, discovered the details of the Quirks they'd developed that day. Ayano gained the ability to absorb raw materials onto her skin, creating a sort of armor, while her brother inherited their mother's ability of telekinesis. Both of which the Doctor complimented their mother on, claiming these Quirks would flourish under proper care and training. "Which I'm sure they'll definitely be on top of, with a pro like you as their parent." he'd stated with full confidence.
Though she'd been in the room when this praise was given, Ayano continued to sulk on their way back to the car; her brother already having begun to run over to it. Her mother glanced down, looking solemnly at her child. "Still have the long face, Yano?" she got no response, the little girl's expression only falling more. The woman sighed, ceasing her walk which forced the little one to follow. "Ayano, look at me now." she said, with a bit of sternness in her voice which forced the girl to listen. "What's wrong?" Ayano poked out her bottom lip, and muttered something the woman didn't quite catch. "Speak up, dear."
The child tightly gripped the hem of her dress, "…I don't like my Quirk..." she said, looking back at the ground.
Her mother blinked, "Why not?" She didn't understand what reason she could have for disliking something she knew very little about.
Ayano was silent for a couple of seconds before her bottom lip started to tremble. "Because...I wanted to be like you Mommy..." she said with tears pricking her eyes, surprising said woman. "I thought I would have a Quirk like yours, so I could be a cool, awesome hero just like you...and now I'll never be able to..." she admitted as her tears began to freefall, and she silently wept. Her mother, saddened by the revelation, quickly dropped her hand and got down on one knee to be eye level with her.
"Ayano," She put her hands on her shoulders and turned the girl who kept her head down towards her. "Please, look at me." she softly requested, and her daughter thankfully complied without any resistance. "Why would you ever think something like that?"
The little girl hiccupped and continued to wipe away at the tears that refused to stop falling. "Because..." she trailed, and simply continued to cry. Because how could her Quirk be useful to anyone? She'd seen countless videos of her mother defeating tough villains, and coming to the rescue of the innocent or keeping them safe from harm. She made it all look so easy, not even breaking a sweat, it was easy. It was easy because of her Quirk, from the looks of it she seemed to be able to do multiple things at once. How could Ayano ever live up to that, and be a hero people can have faith in, with a Quirk so useless?
The older woman let out a deep sigh, then gave her little girl a soft smile. "Yano...you and your brother each have a gift," she told her, with a gentle squeeze of her arms. "You don't have to be anything like me to be a cool or awesome hero." she assured, "What makes us all cool and awesome is our ability to protect the public and make it a safer place for budding children like you." she explained, booping her daughter's nose at the end. "Wouldn't you agree that's the most important part of being a hero?"
The child sniffed, and the tears sliding down her cheeks began to slow down. "Yeah...I guess so..."
"That's right!" her mother exclaimed, bringing her in for a hug. "Helping to create a brighter tomorrow is what makes us heroes phenomenal, no matter our Quirks." Create a brighter tomorrow for all, that was always her motto. "So please, don't be sad. You know I don't like seeing my babies cry." She pulled away and wiped at her daughter's tear stained cheeks. "No matter what, don't ever doubt yourself. And know that I'll always be proud of you. Alright?"
Ayano could feel her spirits lifting a little, looking at her smile. Slowly a smile grew onto her face, one that grew into a big grin. "Alright!" she exclaimed, throwing herself into her mother's arms with a giggle.
"There's my happy little girl!" she said, giving her daughter a squeeze.
"Mommy!" They both heard Ayumu yell from across the parking lot, catching the attention of not only them but the few other bystanders nearby. He was standing beside the car's back passenger door with his legs crossed and face contorted in discomfort. "Hurry up, I have to go pee!"
xxx
And flourish they did.
Ayumu had done a lot more one-on-one training with their mother, Shiho, than Ayano due to the two having the same Quirk. There was no better teacher for the young boy, and it showed in what he was capable of doing with his power. He was able to trap things and people in a kinetic bubble, put up force fields, domes, and reasonably cut through most things with kinetic energy. However, try as she might, Ayumu could never properly learn how to fly or lift things that weren't inanimate objects (such as animals and people). Ayano, to make up for the lack of versatility in her Quirk, had been trained in gymnastics and judo. They'd discovered there was an increase in her strength when she absorbed something (how much or little was dependent on the material), and these skills would compliment her Quirk tremendously.
By the end of Junior High, they'd grown into being exceptional Quirk users; right up there with some of the other talented students at the prestigious Soumei Academy.
Ayano opened her bedroom door and stepped out into the hallway, tightly tying her light pink hair into a ponytail and fixing the uniform string tie around her neck. She walked down the long hall to her brother's room and knocked on his door upon reach. "Ayumu!" she exclaimed, hearing rustling coming from the other side. "Are you ready yet?" She heard quick footsteps thudding against hardwood as he approached, and quickly backed away when she saw the door glow a bright blue. It was thrown open seconds later, and there her brother stood with his uniform half on. His Quirk was being used to brush his teeth and comb back his carrot orange hair while he buttoned his shirt.
"Almost," he replied, with his mouth full of toothpaste and floating his mouthwash to him from his bathroom. "Just give me another minute, I'll meet you downstairs." She nodded without another word and walked all the way to the staircase.
Making her way into the living room, she turned to enter the kitchen. The morning sun shone through the curtains, bouncing off of walls and surfaces to create a tranquil glow. Ayano walked over to the island, where she saw a note laying down, and gave a small smile. She already knew what it said when she picked it up. 'You kids were still asleep when I left for work, I know you won't wake up early enough to eat a real breakfast so please at least take a couple of apples to eat on your way to school. It's the most important meal! - Mom, P.S. Please wake up earlier next time!'
"Yeah, we know the drill." Ayano chuckled before sitting the note back down and walking over the dinner table, where a decorative bowl of fruit sat. She picked up two apples out when her brother came jogging in. "Think fast," she said when she spotted him, tossing the apples his way. Ayumu quickly threw out his hand, stopping them midair and gently floating them into both his hands.
"Thanks," he said, with a smile. "Mom scolding us for not eating real food again?" he questioned before taking a big bite out of one of them.
"Yup," Ayano confirmed, "But to be honest, I think she's scolding you more than me. You need the brain food in the morning." she claimed, sticking out her tongue while grabbing two more for herself.
"You calling me dumb or something?" he teasingly asked with an amused laugh.
"If the shoe fits, wear it." she teased back with a shrug, laughing along with him.
Soon they were leaving their home and making their way towards the train station, after locking the outer gate to their house. Ayano was about to bite into one of her apples, but they both were quickly lifted from her hands. She glanced at Ayumu and saw him drag one of the apples closer to her mouth with his kinesis, using a simple hand movement. Without hesitating she took a bite, seeing as he was choosing to eat the same way.
"I don't know about you...but I'm really antsy about the entrance exam." Ayumu commented, after a short distance of comfortable silence.
"For UA, yeah?" she replied, once again biting into her floating apple. "You're nervous? We totally aced the mock exam we took near the start of the school year." she continued while chewing.
"Yeah, we did." he acknowledged, sticking his hands into his pockets. He looked up at the sky, seeing that there were no clouds out this day. "But...I don't know. I guess it's just because it's right around the corner you know?" he sighed. It was going to be held within the next few days in fact, right on the twenty-sixth of February. "One minute we started Middle School, the next it's coming to a close." He tossed both of their apple cores into a nearby trash bin, and they got to work finishing the others. "It's really sinking in that we're getting that much closer to reaching our dream of becoming real heroes." He pumped his fists into the air, then exclaimed with a beaming smile, "I'm nervous, but pumped!"
'Pumped to get our journey started,' she thought, her too. She nodded, "The mock was a breeze, we'll have the real one in the bag."
"Heck yeah we will!" Ayumu exclaimed, bringing up his hand for a high-five. One that Ayano took him up on without thinking twice. "Especially if we got each other!"
As soon as they entered their homeroom class the sounds of light chatter could be heard, their teacher not in the room as of yet. While approaching their desks Ayumu raised his hand high and waved a greeting towards his (one-sided) 'desk buddy'. "Hey, Iida! How ya feeling this morning?" he inquired as he stopped in front of said boy's desk. When Ayano walked past them both and took her seat, she saw the scowl that formed on Tenya's face at the sound of her brother's loud voice so early in the morning.
"Hmph," Tenya huffed, pushing up his glasses. "I'd be better if you used your inside voice, Takamaki." he scolded, "Especially after school hours have already begun, it's very unbecoming of a Soumei student to be so ill-mannered!"
Ayumu merely chuckled loudly without a care, taking his seat beside the zealot. "Yeah? My bad!"
Tenya sighed, "Why must you be so irksome?" he rhetorically inquired, shaking his head. "Nevertheless, good morning to you," He turned around in his seat to look at Ayano, and bowed his head. "Good morning to you as well, Takamaki."
"How many times have I said to call me Ayano?" she sighed, even though she was well aware he wouldn't. "Good morning,"
"To call a lady by her given name?" She swore she saw a glow come of him as he broadened his shoulders and sat up straight in his seat. "Never!"
"Now who's being irksome?" she deadpanned. Both her and Ayumu being referred to by their surnames, while in the same vicinity, always got confusing for the both of them. It was easier for them both to have people reserve the formalities for her brother, this is what she always requested. Though, clearly, not everyone listened or cared about that.
"Everyone, please, quiet down and take your seats!" The students immediately did as they were told while the Teacher laid his briefcase across his desk. Once the room was quiet, the Teacher spoke again. "As you all know, your time here at Soumei is coming to a close. As you'll be headed off to High School it's imperative that you think about your futures, how you wish to contribute to society after your schooling is complete." he explained, opening his briefcase and pulling out papers. "I have here career aspiration forms that I expect all of you to have filled out and turned in by the end of Homeroom today." He then chuckled, "Though, like most young people, I'm sure you all want to become Pro Heroes."
The class broke out into cheers and applause, with the exception of Ayano and Tenya. He instead tried to tell the other students to quiet down and "let sensei speak". His request was drowned out by the noise, and it didn't stop until the teacher himself had to yell over them. Ayano rested her hand on her cheek as she leaned forward on her desk. 'Everyone is so enthusiastic…' With so many kids wanting to go on the hero career path, she wondered how many would actually get their foot in the door.
"Well," the Teacher continued, fixing his neck tie. "Judging from that spectacle, it seems I was correct." he half-joked, "In any case, I should remind you all that today is the final day a lot of the hero schools are accepting applicants. Entrance exams are taking place this Sunday, so any procrastinators should make haste."
Ayumu leaned back and craned his neck around to look at Ayano, "This Sunday, we're showing everybody what we're made of!" he excitedly whispered, much to the chagrin of a certain desk buddy.
"Sshhhh!"
At school's end, the sibling duo exited the building together just as always. Ayumu awkwardly stuck his hands in his pockets as he looked at Ayano through his peripherals. "You sure you don't want me to walk with you to Judo?" he asked his sister, the two standing in place as they cleared the school gate. "You know it's never any trouble, right?"
"Yeah, I know." she nodded, "The girls are walking with me again."
Her brother turned up his nose a little at the mention of her so called friends. Only one of them was actually genuine, the others only hung out with her as an excuse to talk to him. "If you say so…" he trailed, "Iida should still be around here somewhere, maybe I can walk to the station with him." he said, scratching his cheek in thought while he looked around for said boy.
"Pffft, good luck with that." Ayano laughed. "I'm sure he's avoiding you."
"You don't know that!" He pointed. Before she could respond, a shrill voice filled their ears.
"Oh Ayumuuuu!" They both cringed and slowly turned around. Ayano's friend group was walking up, the 'leader' among them waving her hand up high. "Hey there cute boy, you two left so fast." she said with a flirty wink and a finger wave after the girls stopped behind them. "But you're still here, don't tell me you're walking with us!"
"Okay, I won't tell you!" he joked, much to the girl's dismay. "I'm walking to the station with a friend. See you at home, Ayano!" He patted the shorter girl on the head and dashed down the sidewalk, in the direction he thought he saw Tenya go.
Ayano's 'friend' scoffed, "No way, I swear you're telling him to avoid me or something!" she accused the pink haired girl, then stomped away in the opposite direction Ayumu went. The other girls, including Ayano, followed behind. "He does that every time I come around!"
'I wonder why,' Ayano thought, with an eye roll.
"Don't worry, Namie, he's probably just nervous around you." The girl walking beside Ayano reassured.
"Yeah, he's totally into you!" Their friend beside Namie added. "I think I saw him blushing!"
"For real?" Namie squealed, then swooned. "I wonder what's taking him so long to confess then? He must be shy." she reasoned, then pulled out her phone after getting a text notification.
"Hey, Ayano?" Said girl turned her head to the side to face her friend. "Once school starts again in April, are you still gonna have time for gymnastics?"
Ayano knew why she was asking, she'd told them about how her and Ayumu applied for UA. She wanted to know if she'd ever see her again after Junior High ended, and the answer to that was most likely a no. "Honestly, I probably won't have time for anything except hero training once the next school year starts."
"Hero training," Namie scoffed with an amused smirked, still texting on her phone. "You still think you're getting into that school? You know they're only accepting, like, forty kids into the hero course there, right?"
"That's still a lot of students though!" Ayano's friend interjected, "You totally have a good shot, Ayano."
"Um, her brother has a good shot." Namie corrected, craning her neck around to side eye Ayano. "You'd have a good one too, if walking around like some reject Tin Man was part of the test." she said, causing her and her other friend to break out into laughter.
Ayano narrowed her eyes and gripped the strap of her school bag. "Don't listen to her Ayano, remember Namie's Quirk is just shooting glittery dust from her body." the girl stated. However, said dust could temporarily takes your senses away once it made contact with you. In theory, it was far from a useless Quirk.
"Yeah, and I don't think I'm getting into a big hero academy for it." Namie countered, "Having a Quirk doesn't automatically mean you're gonna be a hero." she stated, looking back down at her cellphone. "Just like you're not gonna magically get into the biggest hero school in Japan just because your Mom's an alumni." she dismissed.
"Namie, you're always so mean!" her friend exclaimed, though this only made the two girls laugh again. "Anyone can be a hero if they try!"
Ayano didn't pay it any mind, and she tried not to let her words get to her. She'd give the entrance exam her all, and if she still failed anyway then her dreams of being a hero just weren't meant to be. She gave a soft sigh, for the very idea made her chest tight and eyes misty.
xxx
Before either of them knew it, the remainder of the school week had flown by and it was their off day of the week. The UA Academy hero course exam was here, and their mother was at the door to see them away. Shiho gazed at her two children with nothing but pride, her hands clasped together and resting against her chest. "Oh, kids," she sighed, "It feels like just yesterday I was just a child gearing up for the exam too. Now I'm a mother sending her kids off to go take the same test." She swiped away a tear that leaked from the corner of her eye. "You both have gotten so big, I couldn't be more proud."
"You sure?" Ayumu questioned as he finished tying his shoes at the door. He and Ayano were both dressed in their school uniforms with winter scarves tied around their necks, and had matching track suits stuffed in their respective backpacks. His was white and navy, hers white and maroon. "I think you'd be more proud if we passed."
"Yeah, mom," Ayano chimed, stretching her arms behind her head. "You think you're getting a little ahead of yourself, maybe? What if we don't even pass?"
"You will pass!" she huffed with her cheeks puffed out and hands on her hips. "I don't wanna hear any of that negative talk!" She gently scooped them both into her arms and gave them a tight hug, one that was most definitely returned. "Even if you didn't, I'm proud just at you both making it this far." she confessed, "I've watched you grow and improve your Quirks so much over the years, you both have come a long way and you'll flourish even more as time goes on." She pulled away and beamed at them both. "And for that I'll always be proud."
The twins felt their hearts soar at their mother's words, and it gave them the extra drive they didn't know they needed. After one last hug and an exchange of 'I love you', they exited their home and eventually boarded the train that would bring them near the school's grounds. Upon arrival their jaws dropped at the large, grandiose H shaped main building, it looked absolutely pristine. There was a tall sign attached to the right side of the main gate, balloons and all, celebrating the fact it was exam day.
"Woooooow, this campus is huge," Ayumu mused, and this was just the outside? He turned to his sister, with an excited grin. "Can you imagine what the interior must look like?"
"Do I want to imagine it?" she said, placing a hand on her cheek. "You could get lost in a place like this, you don't think that's intimidating?"
"No, that's exciting!" he countered, "That just means there's a lot to explore!"
She couldn't help but smile at his enthusiasm while patting his shoulder, "Reel it in big guy, we're not here to explore."
"Right," He bumped his heart with a closed fist, "We're here to take our first step towards becoming pros, by passing this exam!"
This caused her smile to grow even wider, "That's right!" she pointed towards the building's entrance. "So let's take that first step," They, along with the other kids who arrived, walked inside through the double doors and was greeted by a lifesized All Might cutout that was stood off to the side.
The image on the cutout was dressed in his usual hero costume, pointing a large finger towards the viewer. "I want you…to be plus ultra!" It exclaimed in his voice through a speaker. A few kids geeked about how cool it was as they followed the arrow signs leading them to, what they assumed to be, the area for the assembly. Once reaching the end, they passed through another set of double doors and was greeted with the school's lecture hall. There was a sea of young teenagers filling the place, and Ayano's mouth fell open a little at the sight.
'There's, like, hundreds of kids sitting in here!' she thought to herself. From the looks of it alone, this test was going to get real competitive.
Ayumu leaned down and cupped a hand to her ear. "Did every first year in Japan show up for this test or something?" he sarcastically asked. He figured there'd be a lot of applicants, but he didn't expect to practically see a whole town. "Seriously, was there not a limit for applicants?"
"Guess not," she responded, growing nervous when more young students continued to enter the room.
"Hey," Ayumu said in a more serious tone as he gripped her shoulder, this made her look up at him immediately. "Relax," He'd sensed the shift in her mood immediately. "This is nothing, we've got this." He stated it as if it were fact, and as far as he was concerned it was.
She stared at him for a couple of seconds before taking a deep breath in and letting it out. "You're right," She smiled, "We do got this,"
"Good," he nodded, then they walked over to the small kiosk to collect their info sheet and exam ticket. "You gotta keep a more positive attitude, Ayano. You worry too much" he commented, patting her on the back. She didn't even try to argue, because he was right. Sometimes she could really overthink things, but how could she not? Only the best of the ones who had made it through would actually make it into the hero course. So, even with a passing score, they could fall short and have to go to general studies instead. But, best to just focus on the exam for now and worry about the rest later.
By the time they'd taken their seats within the lecture desks, it'd only been several more minutes before the lights dimmed and spotlights illuminate the main platform from above. The Pro Hero Present Mic stood before all of them behind a podium, and enthusiastically greeted everyone. "Thanks, from your school DJ, for tuning in. Now, UA students, let me hear ya!" He cupped his ear, and was met with silence.
Or, at least, it would have been complete silence had Ayumu not yelled out. "Glad to be here, Present Mic!" Ayano felt her face burn at her brother drawing unnecessary attention to himself, and sank lower into her seat as she heard laughs from some of the other test takers.
"Yeah, dawg, that's the stuff I like to hear!" Present Mic exclaimed, "I know you kids are probably itching to get this party started, so let's skip to the main show!" The giant projector behind him cut on just as he explained what they already knew, their practical test would consist of a mock battle that would be held within an urban test ground. The grounds were separated into seven different battle centers, label A through G, and they would be given ten minutes to complete their task.
Ayano looked down at her card to see which center she'd be taking the exam in. Test location: Battle Center D. "Mine says I have to go to center A," she heard Ayumu say, which made her turn to him. "Is that where you're going too? Or…"
She leaned over to look at his card and frowned a little, shaking her head. Their examinee numbers were right after another, yet they were testing so far away. "I'm in Center D," she corrected.
Ayumu's shoulders sagged, disappointed. "So we're being separated huh…" He looked back down at his card, he held it in both hands. "And here I was hopping we could tag team or something."
"That's probably why we're being separated," she pointed out. "I'm sure they don't want family members or schoolmates taking the exam together, people would just team up and the test would become unfair." she explained, "It's suppose to be everyone for themselves."
"Yeah, that makes sense." And that was completely fair, even though he was still a little bummed by the revelation.
"Now, let's check out those targets!" Present Mic stated, three silhouettes showed up on screen one after another. "There are three types of faux villains in each battle center. The amount of points you earn from defeating these 'villains' vary depending on their difficulty, so you better choose wisely playas!" They were to destroy the mock villains using their Quirks in whatever way they deemed necessary, within reason. According to their sheet: The one point robots were called Victory, the two points were Imperial, and the three points were Venator. "But, only attack the targets! Using your Quirk against the other test goers is a big UA no-no, and it's not very heroic. Ya dig?"
"Excuse me!" The twins heard an easily recognizable voice call from their far left. Tenya had stood up from his seat and challenged what their proctor had just said, by pointing out there were four targets listed on their info sheets and not just three. "With all due respect, if this is an error on official UA documents, then this is shameful."
"He just couldn't help himself, could he?" Ayano deadpanned.
"Good old Iida," Ayumu responded, finding his behavior amusing.
Tenya quickly turned around to point an accusing finger at another student, "Additionally, you there with the messy hair!" he exclaimed, much to the boy's shock. "You've been mumbling to yourself this entire time, and I advise you stop that! If you won't take this seriously, like the rest of us, then I suggest you leave! You're distracting everyone." Hearing his accusatory tone made Ayumu snort and put a hand over his mouth to stifle a laugh, while Ayano squinted her eyes. It was a little dark in the room, but her vision had long adjusted enough to recognize the mop of bushy green hair.
Ayano quickly nudged her brother in the side, much to his dismay, and she spoke before he could protest. "Isn't that the kid who was on the news last year?" she asked low enough for him to hear, pointing a finger towards said boy. "Remember? The sludge monster?" He did remember, the green haired boy who ran out to save the other kid.
"Oh, yeah, that sure is him…" he trailed, "You know, for all those theatrics he put on, you'd think he would've just used his Quirk to deal with it."
She raised an eyebrow, "And do what? Catch a charge?"
"Better than the possibility of being gobbled up!"
Present Mic acknowledged Tenya's point, and was swift to explain the discrepancy. The fourth villain type wasn't worth any points at all, and would merely serve as an obstacle to bring further difficulty to the exam. "There's one of these zero pointers located in each center. They aren't hard to defeat, in theory, but they would be a waste of time. Soooo, best all you listeners out there avoid them all together and focus on the ones topping the charts!"
'So they're just decoys,' Ayano thought to herself, nothing more than a road block. That didn't sound like anything that could get in the way too much, especially since there would only be one present. Post written exam, the students were able to change into the clothing they brought to do the practical in. Once changed into their tracksuits, her and her fraternal twin hugged each other good luck before walking off to their respective buses; the ones that would take them to their designated battle centers.
Once everyone was gathered outside each of the gates the test started immediately. Ayano, along with all of her peers, raced inside the testing facility to search for enemies. Though they didn't take very long to spot considering the ones nearby came straight for them, and the students got to work ripping them apart without thinking twice. 'I gotta be quick about this,' Ayano thought to herself, placing both hands onto a destroyed bot and encasing herself in it's metal. 'No hesitation, give it all I've got!' She ran further into the artificial city as the other examinees fanned out, and soon ran into an Imperial bot. "Gotcha!" she mused. She dodged out of the way of the arm that came swinging down towards her, and used it as leverage to leap into its face and roundhouse kick its head off. The villain bot swayed and sparked before crashing onto the ground, and Ayano took the opportunity to punch at its tail attachment until it was loosened enough for her to just rip off. She ran towards a Victory that had it's back turned to her, spinning as hard as she could to swing the metal tail at it. There was a metal crunch that could be heard as it connected, and the bot's top half broke to pieces.
Ayano could feel the adrenaline really begin to pump through her veins as she eventually heard Present Mic announce the halfway point over the intercom. By now she'd destroyed many Victory and Imperial robots. She even, at one point, inadvertently saved a pink girl from an unsuspecting Venator she'd taken the opportunity to get points off of. Ayano didn't even know what her score was by now, she was just focused on destroying as many villain bots as she could. After crashing into another one pointer with her fists, she felt the ground begin to shake. "What the hell is that?!" She heard someone shout, and after turning in the direction of the voice she saw it immediately. A gigantic robot that stood even taller than the buildings surrounding it, it couldn't be anything other than the Arena trap Present Mic had told them about; the Executor.
"No freaking way," she muttered to herself, as she watched the metal behemoth swing down at the students below. Its giant fist, thankfully, missed those it'd been aiming for and instead punched a large crater into the ground. The force from it created such a strong wind of dust and debris Ayano had to turn her back and cover her head. The force nearly blew her away, "How are we suppose to avoid that!" she yelled aloud, this test really was no joke! The students in the vicinity of the Executor bot began to run away screaming as it crashed through the mock city, and she was no exception. Especially since it was right on them.
She hadn't gotten very far before there was another commotion, "Hey, look out!" Ayano heard another girl yell before she was tackled out of the way. A bunch of debris from a collapsing building crashed in the spot she'd just been running towards as they rolled towards an alleyway. The two girl's coughed and fanned the dust away from their faces as they sat up, and the Executor stomped passed them down the street with a continuous rumble. When Ayano took a look at her savior, she was surprised to see it was the same pink girl from earlier. "Sorry to catch you off guard like that," she coughed, "It knocked into one of the buildings and a pretty huge chunk broke off."
Ayano blinked, "Why'd you push me out of the way?"
The pink girl tilted her head, "What do you mean why?"
"I mean why did you stop to help? We're short on time, don't you wanna pass?" Ayano questioned.
The girl beamed, "Of course I wanna pass, silly! But I wouldn't feel right watching people get hurt in the process." She stood onto her feet then held a hand out for her to take, one that she took. "Especially not after you saved my skin earlier, now you can consider us even. Okay?"
Did that really count as saving her? She destroyed the robot for the points, not anything else. She had no reason to look out for the other test goers, when she didn't even know any of these guys. She was sure this girl didn't know anyone in this center either. "But, you don't know me."
"Being bashful, huh?" she laughed, patting Ayano hard on the shoulder. "I just did what a hero would do, that's why we're here in the first place right?" Ayano's eyes grew a little wider as she watched the girl jog away while waving. "That said, good luck with the rest of the exam!" She watched the girl leave as the cogs turned in her head, she mulled over what was said to her. The entire point of entering the hero course was to train for the hero career path, that hero career path was the entire reason they were here taking this exam in the first place.
Ayano stared at her feet as she thought back to that green haired kid who rushed that sludge beast, in his school uniform no less. A kid with zero experience, even with a Quirk, who threw himself head on into danger just to save someone else. "Being a hero doesn't start at becoming a pro, huh?" she muttered to herself. It made her wonder what the full purpose of this test was. Were they here to show off their Quirks and potential, or was there more to it than that? She shook her head, "No time to think about it," she stated aloud before running away from the alley, back into the fray.
In Battle Center A Ayumu threw up a force field in front of himself to protect from a robot's punch, then was quick to slice it in half with kinetic energy. "Another point," he muttered to himself, he'd garnered at least thirty-five by now and counting. He used his Quirk to rip one of it's appendages off and pitched it straight into the center of a Venator that was across the way. The spikey haired, ash blond who was stood in front of the bot when Ayumu attacked spun around with a menacing glare.
"Oi!" he angrily shouted, "That was my kill! Watch where the hell you're throwin' shit, you fuckin' asshole!" He placed both his hands on the Venator and blew the robot to pieces.
Ayumu blinked, caught off guard by the hostility, but recovered with a smile. "My bad, man!" he yelled over, "Just trying to get 'em in while I can, you know?" He was ignored while the young boy continued to blow up their metal adversaries left and right, though this lack of response was brushed off as Ayumu quickly headed in a separate direction. He heard Present Mic yell over the intercom system that they had three minutes remaining, and Ayumu felt pride bubble up in his chest. 'I got this in the bag!' He just needed to go find more villain bots that others, hopefully, haven't touched yet. 'Maybe if I can go farther out, and separate myself from everyone else, I can—' His thoughts were cut short as he felt the ground shake hard, and it made him stop in his tracks. The ground shook a second time, then a third, and kept to a steady rhythm. He could feel them vibrating in his chest, "What could be causing that?" he asked himself, but that was answered as soon as he saw the gigantic Executor round the street corner a few yards away.
"Oh c'mon!" Ayumu heard a boy with electric blond hair shout, "They couldn't have told us this thing was a skyscraper?!" He had a point, it was almost as if the school was trying to maim them.
'Is this an exam, or a death trap?!' The orange haired boy thought, as sweat began to drip down his temples. The Executor looked down at them all with all eight of its sensors, then lifted a hand and began to swat down at them. "Gyeh—oh crap!" he exclaimed quickly throwing a dome up, to shield himself from the concrete chunks that came flying his way after the gigantic bot broke up the street. His arms were out and his eyes were shut tight, he slowly cracked one open to see Executor moving forward. It was destroying everything in its path without a care, and he realized he could forget about gaining anymore points. There wasn't enough time left, they only had a minute left. He dropped his dome and was about to run in the opposite direction with everyone else, but stopped when he heard a cry.
"Hey!" It was that same boy with the black stripe in his hair, "My foot, I can't get it out!" he yelled in fear, trying to yank his foot from underneath the concrete rubble it got caught under. "I'm stuck!" And the skyscraper robot was approaching quick.
"I've got you!" Ayumu exclaimed, turning back around to run towards him. The rubble glowed as blue as his eyes did as he lifted it all to free him. The young boy quickly scooted backwards and turned around to look at the telekinetic.
"Oh, man, you're the best!" he exclaimed, then froze when the saw the huge shadow looming over him. He willed himself to turn around and look up, only to see he was about to get stepped on! "Ooooh my Gooooooooood!" he shrieked with tears pricking his eyes, then glowed as he felt himself being dragged back by an invisible force. Ayumu was trying to move him from under the robot's foot, though he couldn't do it as fast as he'd wanted (considering the kid was flailing around). The boy was still surrounded by the shadow as the foot was coming down quick, it got closer and closer until—
"Aaannnnnnd, that's time!" Present Mic's voice boomed over the loud speakers, the robot's movement stopping immediately. The electric blond shook like a leaf as he watched it reel its foot back to enter a standing position, before loudly powering down.
"Oh geez," Ayumu sighed, letting the boy go before falling to his hands and knees.
In Battle Center D Ayano fell to the ground in the same position, panting as she tried to catch her breath. "Thank God…it's over." she sighed, exhausted, dispelling the metal coating from her skin.
"That's it for UA's entrance exam, boys and girls! Hopefully nobody got scraped up too bad. Or, you know, there was no serious bodily harm." he joked, though the pinkette was not amused by it. "Either way, the Recovery Team will be arriving shortly to treat the wounded. Please leave all injured parties where they stand, or lay, while the rest of you exit in an orderly fashion. We here at UA High School thank all you babies for your participation in this year's entrance exam, good luck!"
xxx
In the week following the entrance exam, the twins were on edge. While school had still been in session, and Ayano still had her after school activities to keep her mind busy, they'd both spent the last days since the test totally on edge. They weren't too concerned about the written test, considering they were confident they scored well on it. Another reason was the fact the practical was what would make up the majority of their final score. The anticipation and dread of it all was eating them alive, that was until their letters finally came in the mail.
They'd both ran to their respective rooms to look at them in private, and Ayano could hear the sound of her heart thumping in her ears. She sat at the end of her bed as she tore the top of her letter open, then smiled at the holo ring she pulled out. "Fancy," she commented before tossing it onto her hardwood floor. Upon making contact it activated, much to her surprising revealing All Might. "They got All Might to give out the scores?!" She squealed out loud, they really were being fancy!
"I am here," he stated his catchphrase with his signature grin and a thumbs up, "As a projection!" The corniness of that made her giggle. "Young lass Takamaki, I formally welcome you to your projection letter from UA High School! Surely, who better to do so than UA's newest faculty member?" he happily stated with a hardy laugh, and she nearly choked.
Ayano slapped her hands against her cheeks with widened eyes, and squealed even louder than before. "No way—he's actually going to be a teacher?!"
He cleared his throat, "Now, as much as I would love to compliment you and all of the examinees on their performance, I was just informed that I have to record—eh—a lot of these. So, I'll keep this as brief as I can by getting to the important part. Your final grade!" he admitted, before delving into her letter. "As you know the exam was separated into two portions. The first was the written exam, which you passed with flying colors." She smiled wide, hugging her legs to herself. He held up two fingers, "The second, without a doubt the portion that most heavily weighs on your final score, was the practical test; a villain hunt!" He clasped his hands together, "During this villain hunt you were tasked with defeating mock villains, each of which gave a different point value based off of their difficulty. The Villain score you ended with for this portion of the exam was thirty-six points! Which would place you at number thirty." A screen showed up next to All Might, showing her place on the scoreboard.
She pouted a little, "Is that bad or good?" she muttered quietly.
He held a finger up, "However, there were other factors that additionally played into our grading scale. I am here, with a video for your viewing pleasure!" he exclaimed as a popup screen open in the video and blew up for easier view, covering half his body. The screen showed a video of Ayano running up to a three point villain bot that stood behind the pink girl she tested with that day while she was distracted, just before it was about to attack her. She watched as she sprang up and dropped her leg down onto it, crushing the top portion of its form. She'd then grabbed on tight to one of its arms and flipped it straight into the ground, the robot being crushed even further upon impact.
"You see, young lass Takamaki, while the goal of the practical test was to score as many points as possible within the time limit, that wasn't the only deciding factor of your score." He clenched his fist as the video minimized, "It's true that a hero's job is to thwart the evil-doers, but that's not all that makes up their namesake. Oh no no, a hero is also an individual who embodies honor, compassion, who has the burning drive to protect those around them. These three additional parameters were used to grant what we call Rescue points!" He fist pumped the air, and the leaderboard screen came up again. "For your selfless act, you were granted an additional twenty points! Which brings your final score to fifty-six, earning you a place in UA's hero course!" She watched the board morph to accommodate the change, and she went from number thirty to eleven.
Her jaw dropped, and she cupped her hands over her mouth as tears pricked at her eyes. "I…made it in…" she mumbled behind her hands, feeling a lump begin to form in her throat. The board swiped to the right to show the top ten, and she saw her brother's name sitting at number five. A Villain total of thirty-eight, and a Rescue total of thirty. She heard footsteps pounding down the hall towards her room and her name being yelled, then she jumped when her door was thrown open.
Ayumu stood in the doorway, his eyes watery as he stared at her. "Did you pass?!" he questioned, "Please, tell me you did!"
"I did!" she exclaimed, quickly getting off her bed when he fully entered her room. The tears that filled her eyes began to pour down her cheeks as she smiled wide. "We made it into the hero course!" she choked, and wiped at her eyes as she began to sob in relief. "We really made it, Ayumu!" He rushed forward to scoop her up into a hug, and began to cry with her as All Might gave the closing line to her acceptance letter.
"Young lass Takamaki, allow me to humbly welcome you to your new hero academia!"
Author's Note: Honesty is the best policy! As long as you aren't attacking my person or saying anything out of line, I love seeing all perspectives of my fics. Even though it's only been one chapter so far, I'd love to know what you're thinking/feeling about it!
TBC