CHAPTER 6: THE ENTRANCE EXAM

My POV

On the day of the entrance exam, I practically leapt out of bed, I was so excited.

The beginning of the year and the League's movements. As much as I want to fight them, I also hope they don't. On one hand, I get to fight Villains. On the other hand, my future classmates are gonna be in danger, and my best friend is going to be in the line of fire.

As I finished getting dressed, I wondered, would he be able to handle it? I knew he could handle the USJ until All Might got there, but what about later down the line? I won't always be there to try to help, as much as I want to, and I've only seen up to Season 4, and I only know the gist of the movies. Even my knowledge has limits.

I slung my backpack over my shoulder. I took care of my middle school finals, and the practical entrance exam would be robot combat. I'm so pumped!

Mitsuki POV

I sat in the kitchen across from Masaru, drinking a cup of coffee while he reviewed some papers from work before I heard rapid thumping. Someone coming downstairs, in an awful hurry too. Then a bullet with my hair darted into the kitchen, putting together a lunch with speed that came with practice, muttering like Izuku as he flew about the kitchen and dining room.

What had gotten into the brat? He usually only mutters like that when he get nervous or when he sees a really cool weapon.

"Katsuki! Calm the fuck down and tell me what the big deal is!" I stood up, wanting to know why he was so panicky at seven in the morning?

"Hi Mom, can't talk, I gotta get ready for the UA practical exam and subsequent written exam. Gotta get in as much as possible."

That was today already? Huh, times flies. "Well, slow down, ya don't have to be there for another two hours. I swear it's like Ingenium is going berserk in here."

He slowed down enough to give me a confused look. "I'm surprised you bothered to remember him."

I shrugged. You have a geeky kid, sometimes geeky shit rubs off on you. "Whatever. If you do bad in the practical exam, I'll personally kick your ass."

Masaru stood and lay a hand on my shoulder. "Now now Mitsuki, our boy's gotten pretty strong, it's unlikely he'll fail."

I snapped at him. "Shut up! He's still weak!"

He flinched away before focusing on Katsuki. "Just do your best, okay Katsuki?"

He smiled with eagerness permeating it. "You know it, Dad. Now please move over, I need to get by."

The man smiled and moved, letting his son by. My husband had a point. Katsuki's a talented brat, with even more amazing Quirks. His sparring with Izuku and now that Kendo girl has helped him strengthen up too.

Itsuka Kendo… after their first spar when Katsuki busted his knee, it was all uphill for him. He tied with her a few times after the de facto loss before announcing he had won on the fifth shot at her. Of course, I smacked him and told him he had to win no matter what, but he seemed to just kind of accept it and asked what was for supper.

I smiled a little. He's a unique brat, a bit annoying at times, but he's my unique annoying brat.

"Mom, I need a flashlight! You still haven't replaced the bulb in here."

I sighed and went to get it, pinching the bridge of my nose. "Not my fault they're so damn fragile!"

"Language!"

"Shut up!"

My POV

I walked up to the gates of UA, seeing the tail end of Deku and Uraraka's conversation. Perfect, that means that doesn't change. Good, I really want to see those two get together later.

Deku was still starstruck when I got up beside him.

I walked up and snapped my fingers in his face a couple times. "Hello? Ground Control to Deku, you alive in there?"

He spoke quietly. "I just talked to a girl."

I raised a brow. "I fail to see how that zapped your brain."

Deku shook his head to clear it. "Oh, hi Kacchan. You ready?"

I nodded. "Yup. I dunno if you are though, you were pretty spaced out just from talking to that girl."

He raised his hands defensively. "Hey, I'm not used to talking to girls. You might be used to it with talking to Toga and Kendo, but I'm not."

I had a couple friends who were girls in my past life, but nothing beyond friendship unfortunately. Toga and Kendo have proved to be good friends too.

I looked down at my watch. "Come on, we're gonna be late."

He nodded and we continued inside, chatting back and forth.

I took a seat next to Deku as we looked forwards, anticipating the arrival of the exam proctor.

I looked at Deku to see how he was doing. And he was practically shaking he was so nervous.

I waited and tried instead to focus on the upcoming exam… oh who am I kidding? I'm almost as nervous as Deku, despite my foreknowledge.

Let's see, Present Mic will pop up in 3… 2…

"GOOD MORNIN' UA!"

Dang, my timing's off.

"THIS IS YOUR SCHOOL DJ! C'MON, LEMME HEAR YA!"

Everyone was quiet, not giving any sort of response.

"KEEPIN' IT MELLOW, HUH? NO PROBLEM, I'LL JUST SKIP STRAIGHT TO THE MAIN SHOW!"

The rest of the rundown went just like canon, including Iida's interruption and his calling out of Deku.

As it ended, I turned to Deku, my fist raised.

"Good luck Deku. You better pass, y'hear?"

He smiled and bumped his fist against mine.

"Loud and clear Kacchan."

We smiled and nodded before walking towards our respective test centers.

Deku POV

Okay, let's go… oh, who am I kidding, I'm practically a nervous wreck! Deep breaths, calm down. Letting nerves get to you will only make this harder.

I stretched at the testing center. Kacchan had drilled into me that warmups were import-

Oh, it's that girl from before! The one who kept me from falling at the front gates! She was assigned to the same battle center, huh? I should probably thank her for helping me earlier.

I started walking towards her. Okay, try not to get flust-

A blue blur (no, not Sonic) cut me off before I could get too close. Oh no, the guy from before was here too?

"She looks like she's trying to focus on the trials ahead. What are you going to do? Distract her and ruin her chances to succeed?"

I held up my hands defensively, trying to dispel the notion. "No, no, that's not it at all. I wouldn't want anyone to mess up something like this!"

I heard chuckling behind me from a couple of random participants.

"Isn't that the kid who almost geeked out at the lecture hall?"

"Man, what a loser."

"One less rival to worry about, I guess."

I admit, I did feel a little mad at them, but I knew anger at them would just throw me off. No, if I was going to get angry, I had to focus it into something worthwhile.

Present Mic appeared on a screen above the center. "ALL RIGHT, LET'S START!"

Wait, already? No countdown? Okay then.

I picked a direction and ran as fast as I could to get a head start on the others. The crowd back the way I had come looked confused.

"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? REAL VILLAIN ATTACKS DON'T HAVE COUNTDOWNS!"

It was as he said those words that I saw a one-pointer round the corner. Okay, focus, target the joints and other vulnerable areas. I kicked the first visible joint I saw, causing it to break and give out. Then I landed a punch to the camera, yanked myself onto its back and kicked the head as hard as I could, the hunk of metal cracking as I struck. I leapt off as the bot powered down.

I saved up and had my shoes outfitted with metal plates on the bottom to add extra power to my kicks, knowing that it would only help me down the line.

I ran towards a two pointer next a few seconds later, repeating the process. I kept this up for a while longer, dodging participants who attacked robots I was headed for.

Okay, by my count, I racked up 15 points. That's still not enough to pass.

"ONE MINUTE LEFT!"

(AN: Play 'You Say Run')

Oh crap, I've got to get more… wait, what's that rumbling?

A massive metallic head rose up and peered around the building, pieces of it crumbling. That's the zero point robot?! I gotta get out of-

"Ow!"

My head snapped to the source of the faint voice. It came from the direction of the robot.

That girl from before! She's trapped under the rubble!

I've got to do something!

I stopped thinking and began rushing towards the robot, like I did the Sludge Villain, only this time I can actually help.

With a burst of power in my legs, I shot skyward, traveling straight for the robot's face.

I recalled something All Might told me earlier this morning in the last few seconds

"You've got a long way to go to prepare yourself before fully using this quirk. So clench your buttcheeks, kid! And yell this from the depths of your heart!"

"SSMMAAAAAAAAASSHH!" I threw a super-powered punch, shattering the robot's head and making it topple backwards.

That's what this power feels like? It feels incredible… wait, now it feels like pain. Quite a lot of pain.

I stared at my limbs. My right arm and both of my legs are badly broken. And I'm falling!

I dropped as I remembered All Might's warning. He warned me about the backlash of my power, but I got cocky and tried to save the day even when he warned me.

Focus! How do I keep myself from falling?!

Wait… a Detroit Smash! That will counter my velocity!

"HAAAAA-" My scream was cut off by an impact to my face. I'm… floating? This is the effect of that girl's Quirk. I looked over at her to see her straining to put her finger together.

"R-release… ugh…" I dropped a foot to the ground and heard her throwing up.

That was the last thing I heard before I fainted.

(End Song)

My POV (Earlier…)

As I walked, I saw familiar faces everywhere. I saw Shoji here, Shinso there, and several others. I had to keep from fanboying as Imade my way down.

When we arrived at the fake city, I went through my stretching routine. Warmups are a luxury since a villain could attack any time during patrol.

I saw two other familiar faces as well.

A red-head, and a guy with black hair and weird elbows.

Kendo and Hanta Sero.

...ah, screw it. I walked up to them.

"Hey Kendo. Didn't expect to see you here."

She jumped. "Bakugo? Who'd have thought that we would end up in the same center. Who knows, we might be able to use our combos."

Sero raised a brow. "Kendo, you know him?"

Sero knew Kendo before UA? Probably classmates. And probably another change brought on by the Dimensional Barrier crack.

She nodded. "Yeah, we've been sparring with each other for the last few months. He's been pretty strong, even if I didn't really have to try to win the first time."

My head whipped around to face her. "Excuse me? The first time, you punched me in the knee with super-strength! Remind me again how I was supposed to win after that?"

Sero sighed. "Yep, that'll do it."

She looked down to the side awkwardly. "Okay, that was an underhanded win, but we're pretty evenly matched."

The black-haired guy turned to face me full-on, his ever-present grin on his face and a hand extended. " Huh, well, I'm Hanta Sero. Nice to meet ya. You aiming for the hero course?"

I took the offered hand and nodded. "You bet! With my Quirk, this exam will be a cakewalk!"

The resident red-head's grin became determined, ready for a fight. "Is that a challenge?"

Sero intervened. "Focus on the exam you guys. There'll be plenty of time for contests later."

Present Mic appeared on a holographic screen. "WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? REAL VILLAIN ATTACKS DON'T HAVE COUNTDOWNS!"

Crap, already? Everyone took off at Mic's statement, the three of us breaking up. I charged for a three-pointer that got close. It raised a metallic arm and swung at me. I ducked under and blew a hole in it with an explosion before I charged at the next robot I saw.

The next one I saw happened to be a one-pointer. Concentrating, I activated Sword Skill in my right hand.

"Chidori!" I stabbed the robot through the face-camera-thing before blasting it away. The energy may not be able to fully match a blade, but my training in these last two months have allowed me to do that at least.

After a few minutes of relentless explosive and stabby metallic carnage, mixing Sword Skill in to enhance my blasts here and there, I saw Sero and Kendo. Sero hurled a one-pointer with a strand of tape while Kendo's massive hand crushed a two-pointer.

"Hey! Kendo! Sero! How many points do you have?"

Kirishima noticed me and gave me a friendly grin. "22 points. You?"

I smirked. "58."

She gawked. "HOW?! How did you find and destroy that many robots? I expected a higher score than mine with your Quirk, but that's crazy!"

Sero threw down another robot, a two-pointer this time before acknowledging me. "58 points?! Awesome! I'm only at 20."

I gave a thumbs-up. "That's still really good. You two's Quirks are pretty strong and versatile!"

They smiled at the praise before Kendo's eyes widened.

"Look out!" That was all the warning I got before she swung a giant fist at my face.

My eyes widened in surprise as I leapt to the side, leaving the fist to destroy a three-pointer behind me.

How was that thing so quiet?

I looked back at her, smiling gratefully. "Guess I owe ya one."

"JUST ONE MINUTE LEFT!" Mic's voice echoed across the fake city.

(AN: Play 'You Say Run)

We all heard a massive rumbling. I knew that rumble all too well. This was my second favourite scene from Season 1.

The giant zero-point villain-bot rose from the ground, smashing part of a building.

I gaped for a second, resembling a fish out of water. I had seen my fair share of giant robot stuff, like the Michael Bay Transformers, No More Heroes 2, MechaGodzilla, Supidaman (a Japanese Spiderman show), Voltron… but being less than a mile away from a real giant robot was incredible.

My game face returned pretty quick though once I realized something. Deku was in a different arena and wasn't going to smash this one. I glanced at my compatriots.

"Sero, Kendo, I'm going to need your help."

The response was pretty much what you'd expect.

Sero: "WHAT?!"

Kendo: "Why? You heard Present Mic, there's no reason to beat that thing!"

"There is a reason actually. This thing has to be taken down before it hurts anyone. With how big it is, it could seriously hurt someone. We need to be heroes."

The pair seemed to think a moment before they realized I was right. Determination permeating their faces, Kendo was the first to voice anything.

"Good point. Got any ideas?"

I grinned like an idiot. "I have a plan. Sero, get to a rooftop. Kendo, get ready for our combo attack. If we time this right, Kendo can toss me and if Sero uses his tape strands to spin me skyward like a hammer throw, I can launch myself at the zero-pointer hard enough to take it down with my Quirk."

Sero began smiling. "I'm reading your mail. Let's do this!" He shot a strand of tape and rapeled up the side of the building until he reached the rooftop, the zero-point villian approaching steadily.

Kendo, on the other hand, looked unsure. "That's an interesting idea. But will it create enough force? Your Quirk is powerful, but you haven't shown what your full power is to me in our spars."

I grinned. "Well, here's your chance to find out. You ready?"

She thought for a few seconds before nodding. "All right, I'll trust you."

"Ready?!" I shouted at the rooftop. I saw Sero give a nod and a thumbs up and Kendo said "Yeah!" as she enlarged her right hand.

Flashback

The creek flowed by lazily, starkly in contrast with us and the odd position we were in.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"About 70%. Come on, I've convinced you to let me climb on, but you get cold feet at the last minute?"

I was crouched in Kendo's enlarged hand as it was held behind her, the red-head looking back at me. "This will be pretty strong at full power, but do we really want to risk the police coming?"

I nodded. "Nothing worth having is easily gained, Kendo. Now, batter up!"

She rolled her eyes. "Alright. I think it's a bad idea to practice it here though."

"Duly noted. Now, Ultimate-"

"Move!"

With a heave, she threw me. I sailed down the creek bed, using my explosions to control my flight. I angled the blasts, spinning like a drill, a soft smoky tornado surrounding me before I struck a tree, unleashing an explosion at about 30%.

The tree was toppled, the top and roots torn asunder from the blast. I flopped to the ground limply, pumped from the maneuver actually working.

I slowly got up as Kendo approached. "So, how do you think it went?"

I pumped my fist. "That was awesome! What should we call this?"

She thought for a moment. "How about…"

Flashback End

"Fastball Special!"

I leapt into Kendo's hand a mere second before she threw me. Once she was clear, I blasted a couple times to make it to Sero's range.

Sero fired tape at me, which I grabbed onto. He detached it from his elbow and yanked with both hands, spinning to help me gain momentum then releasing it. I soared through the air, using my explosions to propel me and increase my velocity as I rocketed towards the zero-pointer.

As I kept blasting, I angled my shots so I would start spinning, a tornado of gray smoke surrounded me. No time like the present to give it a shot at full power… okay, maybe I didn't think this through, but if canon Bakugou could do it, then so could I darn it!

Sparking Sword Skill in my right palm, the tornado gained a strip of bluish green, like a smoking Twizzler of death a few seconds before I struck.

"HOWITZER...IMPACT!" I spiraled forwards, slamming my palm into the robot with a colossal cyan explosion, one bigger than anything I had ever made before. Lucky for me, that energy gives my explosions an extra kick. As the smoke cleared,it seemed I had disintegrated a good chunk of the head, cracks forming from the point of impact. The robot seemed to fall in slow motion, explosions popping up all down its body. It was while observing that that I observed something else. I was dizzy as all getout, and I was dropping like a rock to the pavement of the fake city.

"Aaaaaah, crap. I didn't think this through."

I tried using my Explosion Quirk again, but all I got was a tiny sputter and pain shooting through my arms for my trouble. I gripped them, trying to soothe the pain. My Sword Skill Quirk would be useless, so no use trying that. What's more, as I was spinning, I had failed to notice that the tape strand was still attached and had wrapped around my waist and legs, preventing me from moving.

As I neared the ground, I shut my eyes and braced for impact when I heard something. A kind of whizzing sound. It stuck to the tape that was already there with a SMACK and I felt a tug as it slowed my fall. I felt a cushion of flesh catch me just before I hit the ground. I opened my eyes slightly to a concerned and amazed red-head.

(Song End)

I struggled to get something out. Deciding to play it off, I squinted. "Hey Kendo. That's another I owe ya."

She gawked. "Is that all you can say after you took it down with one shot?! You're both really crazy and strong pull that off!"

If there was one thing that hadn't changed since my first death, it was being socially awkward and hating being the center of attention.

I stood up and tried to fold into myself and once again tried to play it off.

"W-well, I couldn't have done it without you two to help me get airborne and get enough prior velocity."

"Yeah, but you were able to take it down in one hit! Even if that blue energy was helping you. What was that?"

"You, ah, saw that, huh?"

She placed her free hand on her hip, a playful smile on her face. "Yes, I did. What was that? Do you know?"

I scratched my head awkwardly. "Uh, yeah, I do."

Kendo looked like she was about to ask what it was again before Sero walked up and added his two cents. "You were really strong! And you have a special move already? That's even more cool… uh, sorry about your legs."

I stared down at my bound legs, trying to sit up though being almost cupped in Kendo's hand made it hard.

"Apology accepted. And about that special move, the first bit Kendo and I practiced over these last couple months. The second part was something I kind of came up with it as we were planning. I don't even know if I'll continue using it."

I totally will.

They just gawked.

Well, Sero gawked, Kendo just looked like she had no idea what to think.

"Yeah, yeah, I know, that was reckless. But I didn't want anyone getting seriously hurt."

"TIME'S UP!" Present Mic's voice came from the holographic screens set throughout the training ground.

I finally sat up in Kendo's hand, igniting Sword Skill in my right hand. "But to answer Kendo's question, I have a second Quirk. Not a dual Quirk, but two unrelated powers. You know of my explosions, but I can also generate a tachyon energy field around my hands that can burn or cut through stuff. A coated blade can cut through almost anything."

I then held my hand to my legs, burning through the tape as Kendo gained a mildly irritated expression.

"And you never told me about this… why? It's a pretty significant detail to not tell me about."

I scratched my head with my other hand awkwardly. "Well, I, um, you see, ah, you've heard of a secret weapon, right?"

The giant hand user mulled this over for a second. "Fair enough, but you still should have been honest with me when you told me about your Quirk."

I finished burning through the tape and stood up. "Fair enough."

I grinned then. "So, that was the entrance exam. Here's hoping we all get in."

A kind elderly voice spoke up, prompting each of us to look down at the speaker. "Hello there. Are any of you children hurt?"

Recover Girl stood there, as short as the anime made her out to be. Wow. Kendo looked at us, more concerned about us than herself. Sero shook his head no.

I was about to follow suit before Kendo placed a hand on my shoulder gently. "Bakugo here is. He was gripping his arms in pain just after he destroyed the zero-pointer."

I tried to brush it off. "It's nothing, I just overused my Quirk."

Recovery Girl held out a hand, as if to tell me to relinquish my arms. "There's already been one boy who broke his arm and legs, we can't be too careful."

I widened my eyes marginally. Deku. It had to be. "Did this boy have messy green hair and a light blue tracksuit, perchance? If so, that may be Izuku Midoriya."

Kendo quirked a brow. "Midoriya? Your quirkless friend?"

Recovery Girl looked at me. "Yes. He's a friend of yours, and you didn't know he had a Quirk?"

"Try best friend, and he never showed signs of having one before. How did it happen?"

"From what I could see, he used his Quirk, some sort of super strength, to save another participant."

With that, her anteater lips enlarged and kissed my arms, the pain fading away.

"He has a Quirk now? That's awesome! Guess he was just a really late bloomer."

Sero spoke, reminding us that he was still here. "That's pretty lucky. To have that kind of recoil must be pretty dangerous though."

I nodded. "Imagine the chaos if he awakened it when he was younger though. He's done a lot of strength training before today, so if he used the Quirk when he was younger, he could have blasted his limbs off."

Kendo looked happy despite my statement. "Your friend's a luck guy. Here's hoping we end up in a class together."

I nodded assent. "Yeah, that'd be lucky." I pointed to Sero. "Same with you Sero. The destruction of the zero-point robot wouldn't have been possible without you."

His grin grew wider, which I thought was impossible. "Thanks! Good luck with the written exam."

Kendo nodded, a little bit of nervousness entering her face. "Yeah, let's hope we can ace that."

"Agreed."

As we walked towards the exit, chatting back and forth, I wondered how my results would change.

I would have Rescue Points, obviously, whereas canon Bakugou had none. Definitely a few less villain points...i dunno, we'll see what the results reveal.

(A WEEK LATER)

I passed the written exam, so I think there's a good chance I'll make it.

I'm currently out on the backyard, practicing with a pair of twin katana. Practicing a special move I thought up, inspired by Super Smash Bros.

Thank you, Link.

I held the blades with my thumb and forefinger, leaving the palms open as the blades rested against my skin. Then, I used an excessive explosion to launch myself skyward, letting the blades snap back into my hands as I activated Sword Skill in both blades, rotating as I flew upwards, spinning with measured speed and slashing, finishing with an upward slash with the right sword.

"SPIRAL STRIKE!"

"KATSUKI! GET YOUR ASS IN HERE!"

I quickly sheathed my swords on my back and used my explosions to slow my fall, landing on my feet.

You keep Mom waiting, you bait the apocalypse. I don't want that to happen yet.

I darted into the house. "What is it Mom?"

"A letter came in for ya from UA."

I took the envelope and walked to my room. I took out a small device. The projector.

Deep breath. "Moment of truth."

I placed it on the desk. The device lit up into a holographic screen.

"I AM HERE! AS A PROJECTION!"

I just stared at it, no stranger to All Might's flamboyance.

"YOUNG BAKUGOU, YOU HAVE PASSED THE EXAMS! KATSUKI BAKUGOU, 58 VILLAIN POINTS AND 30 RESCUE POINTS! CONGRATULATIONS, YOU HAVE BECOME A PART OF THE YOUR HERO ACADEMIA! USE YOUR QUIRKS TO BECOME THE BEST HERO YOU CAN!"

Roger that, All Might, roger that.

I could hear someone pressed against the door, so I snuck over and opened it, leaving Mom to tumble to the floor. She was unapologetic as she stood up again and got me in a headlock.

"I knew you'd pass! Guess you don't take after your Dad after all!"

I struggled against her hold, trying to elbow her in the gut. "Yeah, love you too Mom. I can't believe it!"

I'm really excited! I should definitely talk to Deku about this.

Cut! Print! The entrance exam comes to a close. I decided not to focus on it too much because the show doesn't. And before you people get on me for the Rescue Points, let me explain. Deku got 60 Rescue Points because he actively fought to save someone in danger. SI-Bakugo took on the robot because it could be a danger. One fought it to save someone, the other fought it because of the damage it could do. I feel like there would be that discrepancy due to intent. On a different note, I still can't believe how popular this fic has gotten. 214 follows and 156 likes? That's honestly pretty amazing. I'd like to thank each and every one of you. As for the shipping poll, it looks like this.

Kendo:22

Yaoyorozu: 22

Jiro: 9

So, I've said for a few chapters now that this was when I was going to stop the poll and make a choice based on votes, but I have a different idea. Instead of making an arbitrary decision based on a tie, I'm going to suspend the poll for now and reopen it once the story has moved further along and I've had more time to write interactions with the bothYaoyorozu and Kendo. I'll be removing Jiro from the running to narrow it down and make it easier, but I won't be counting anymore votes until I decide to reopen it again.

With all that said, what are your thoughts on this story? PM or leave a review, I always enjoy hearing from you guys. See you next chapter!