Well, I'm back with the third chapter! Like I mentioned last time, this chapter will actually be pretty detached from the events of the actual episode/chapter due to Ryuki being in a different area from Izuku. I'm pretty excited about it since I like what I came up with! And I'm sorry for how long this took me! I had maybe half of the chapter written up already, but I got stumped on a part of this chapter. I had it planned out, but I just couldn't figure out how to execute it for the longest time. I kinda started putting it off bc the more I tried to figure it out, the more frustrated I got with how much nothing I was coming up with. Regardless, I'm sorry for the long wait. I didn't intend for it to be this long.
Also, I wanted to say I have an instagram where I post art of Ryuki and my other character, Ryo. I also post one or two sneak peeks of the chapter I'm working on and post in my story when a chapter is live. I was thinking I might open up questions regarding this chapter (and the two previous ones) once this is up, too. My handle is the_phantom_otaku if you're interested in any of that!
Disclaimer: I do not own BNHA, just Ryuki Tatusko and her mother.
Tatsuko grinned up at the gates of the battle center. This was the kind of stuff that made UA as great as it was, and it was only a taste of what they could do. There were whispers from many in the group, most expressing their awe that the school had the funds and time to build not just one but eight different fake cities for their exam. Some simply stood and stared up in amazement at the structure before them. It was no wonder UA was so revered.
Everyone was jolted from their shock and astonishment by a sharp, angry cry, "You little pervert!" Everyone looked in the direction the yell had come from and saw a pink-skinned girl glaring down at a short boy with an oddly-shaped mohawk. The girl wore a short-sleeve shirt, capri leggings, and no shoes. The boy, on the other hand, was dressed in a stylish-looking warm-up suit. "I can't believe you're trying to get into UA, but you'd say something like that!"
Frowning, Ryuki walked up behind the boy just as he was beginning to defend himself, letting her tail grow out as she went. "I didn't mean anything bad by it! You just have a really nice-" He was cut off when Ryuki's tail wrapped around him and the end covered his mouth. He was still trying frantically to speak, but all that came out was a muffled noise that neither girl could make out.
"Is this guy bothering you?" she asked, nodding towards the boy currently struggling to break out of her tail to no avail.
The girl crossed her arms and huffed, glaring at the short boy. "More like totally creeping me out! I don't even know him, and he walks up to me to tell me he thinks I have a nice butt!"
The dragon cringed after hearing the comment then glared back at the boy still in her tail. More sweat poured from his forehead as he grew even more nervous. While still keeping him constricted, she pulled her tail back and tossed him, making him scream as he sailed away. With the pint-sized pervert taken care of, her tail returned to its normal size and she turned back to the girl he'd been bothering. "Now that he's gone, what's your name?"
The pinkette's expression brightened. "Thanks for that. I'm Mina Ashido," she introduced herself with a smile. "You?"
"Ryuki Tatsuko. Just call me Ryuki," she mentioned.
Before the conversation could go any further, Present Mic's voice came over the speakers, "Alright! Let's start!" All the applicants looked up expectantly at the speaker, waiting for further direction. Seeing this, the hero continued, "Get moving! There are no countdowns in real battles! Run, run, run, listeners! You're wasting air-time here!"
Ryuki broke out in a run towards the entrance when she finally processed the information, yelling a, "Good luck!" behind her for the pinkette. It seemed the others had realized the same thing and were reacting the same way, too. Everyone was rushing through the large entrance in a mad dash to find as many robots in the first few minutes to avoid struggling when most of them had been picked off. Large wings sprouted from Tatsuko's back and she took to the air, soaring above the crowd and towards a building on the corner of an intersection.
She landed briefly, jogging over to the edge to scan the area quickly. She grinned when she spied several robots below, "Let's see how durable these things are." Hopping off the building, her wings were retracted into her back just before her legs grew scaly and muscular. There was a loud crash as she landed on the robot directly below, completely crushing its body and breaking up the concrete beneath. As her legs returned to normal and her arms turned draconic, she reached for the two-point robot's shield-like attachment, ripped it off, and grunted as she tossed it at a nearby bot. The metal embedded itself in the face of the three-pointer, making it rear back as it sparked before it fell over and went limp.
The sound of metal clanking against the pavement made her turn around just in time to see another two-point bot charging at her. Thinking quickly, she reared her scaly hand back, claws readied, and slashed upwards, tearing through the plating. The robot stumbled back from the attack, but before it could recover, Ryuki ripped her claws through one of its legs. Now missing a leg, the bot lost its balance, collapsing forwards before it finally died.
The sound of whirring machinery drew her attention to two other robots, both of them worth a different amount of points. Grinning, Tatsuko reached for the head of the two-pointer just in front of her, used her claws to tear through its neck, and then tossed the head as hard as she could at the one-pointer rushing towards her. The head collided with the middle of the one-pointer, knocking the robot to the ground, and embedded itself in the metal, causing it to shut down. Returning her arms to normal, Ryuki launched herself at the remaining robot with her dragon legs. While sailing towards it, she swapped to her arms just before her fist connected with the three-pointer's head. Her fist punctured the plating and went deep into the head of the robot, making it shut down right where it stood. The girl pulled her hand free and glanced around at the destruction. "Eleven points… Not a bad start."
Not willing to waste a second of her ten minutes, the dragon swapped to her wings and took to the air again in search of more robots to destroy. And that's how things continued for several minutes. She scouted from the air or from buildings and then swooped down to make quick work of any robot she found. Some were crushed while others were ripped to pieces and had their severed parts used as weapons against the remaining opponents. In the end, any moving robots were reduced to scrap when she or any other examinee nearby was done.
Elsewhere in the fake city, Ashido was also doing well for herself. A two-point robot lunged its head toward her, which the pinkette dodged. Now closer to it, she opened her palm and splashed the machine with acid. The liquid hissed as it eroded the plating, and the robot slumped to the ground now that its insides were melting. Mina grinned, but she didn't stop to cheer just yet. She already had her sights set on a three-pointer that was coming out of an alleyway. Skating over to it, the pinkette reared her arm back, preparing to sling acid its way.
But before she could destroy it, someone jumped in front of her, forcing her to pause to avoid frying them along with the robot. "Hey! Watch where you're going!" she cried angrily, only then realizing that it was the little pervert from earlier.
"Sorry. You snooze, you lose!" he replied smugly, tossing a purple ball down on the pavement just ahead of the three-pointer. It didn't notice the object until it was too late. One of its wheels caught the ball, causing it to lurch forward suddenly and crash to the pavement. Now that it was down, the boy began plucking balls off his head and throwing them until the machine was totally stuck to the ground with no hope of getting up.
Present Mic's voice had come over the speakers at one point to announce the halfway mark, which only made everyone more urgent to find more bots. It was getting harder and harder to find working robots that would give points since everyone was destroying them. It was even getting to the point where some were fighting over the few working ones that they had found, which then led to someone else wrecking it and taking the points for themselves.
Ryuki swung the severed arm of a one-pointer into the two-point robot directly in front of her, sending it to the ground where it shut down. Tatsuko let the weighty, metal limb clank to the concrete as a proud smile began to form on her features. "That makes forty-one," she panted. She wasn't totally sure how much time was left, but there was no way it was much longer. They had to be getting down to the final minutes. "Two minutes remaining! Don't lose steam now! Hit that second wind and get those final points, listeners!" the voice hero announced loudly through all the speakers.
Taking the words to heart, Tatsuko swapped to her wings and took to the air again, soaring high enough that she could get a good view of the whole street and anything on it. There were tons of robot remains littering the street and among them were examinees running in all different directions in a desperate hunt for more. "Guess I got lucky. I never even saw that zero-point robot," Ryuki muttered to herself as she began scanning the area below for a functioning robot.
As she turned left at an intersection, a rumbling could suddenly be heard. She slowed her flight and began looking toward the ground, finding that the other examinees had noticed the sound as well. Most had stopped dead in their tracks and stared around in search of the source of the noise.
A couple of blocks away from her, the concrete of an intersection cracked and burst open as a massive, bulky head forced its way through, covering the area in a cloud of dust. Inside it, a large figure rose up, almost as if it were getting larger, much to the shock and terror of any onlookers. Among those who could see were Ashido and Mineta. The behemoth was in front of them, only separated by a block or so. Ryuki could only see it from the side, but she still caught the sight of several glowing red eyes on its bulky head. "Holy shit…!" she muttered, staring with wide eyes at the monstrosity a few blocks from her, now stopped dead in the air. After a second or two of it growing bigger and bigger, the thing was taller than all of the surrounding buildings, and it seemed to finally be at its peak height. The sound of heavy treads started and the massive thing lurched forward as it began to move straight ahead.
Panic immediately set in for those around Mina, and she wasn't exempt. Her eyes went as wide as dinner plates and her jaw dropped. "This is frickin' crazy!" she yelled as she turned to skate away, unaware that the short boy beside her hadn't moved an inch. The pinkette made it some distance away before chancing a glance at an alleyway between buildings. Thinking it better to get out of the robot's way entirely, she ducked into the alleyway and pressed herself against the wall.
Back with Tatsuko, she was still frozen in midair, watching it march down the street that had been directly in front of it. Thankfully, it didn't seem to take notice of her or the other kids and favored going for whoever was unfortunate enough to have been in its immediate sight. With that in mind, she snapped herself out of her shock. "I can't waste these last few minutes," she reminded herself.
With some caution, she started flying down the street, moving quickly to avoid being noticed. She got to the intersection it had gone down and turned to look down the street out of curiosity. The robot was so big it blocked most of her view of the street, but she still caught sight of several running away from it in a hurry, likely panicked. Her eyes widened when she noticed a small figure among them completely petrified. It was the little perverted kid from earlier staring up at the robot with wide eyes and an expression of utter horror. Without a second thought, she changed direction and headed straight for the robot. The machine began to lift one of its fists in preparation to crush the boy, and Ryuki gritted her teeth, willing herself to fly faster in hopes that she could reach him. She ducked under its arm and flew past it, diving down and snatching the small boy up just in the nick of time. The giant fist of the robot slammed down right behind them, crushing that section of the road and kicking up a rush of wind that caught her wings and threw her off course. She clung onto the tiny boy as they were sent flying forwards in a spiral. The dragon grunted when her back hit the pavement hard and she continued to roll until they finally came to a stop.
Tatsuko groaned, forcing herself up despite the throbbing pain in her back. Ashido had heard the harsh landing from her hiding spot, and curiously, she peered out to see what had happened. Ryuki's gaze flicked briefly to her arms where the short boy remained, still petrified and silent besides some terrified squeaks that escaped. At least he didn't seem hurt.
Her gaze didn't linger on him for very long, though. She shifted her attention back to the skyscraper-sized robot behind her, and the sight she saw horrified her. It was beginning to raise its fist again to strike them down. Acting fast, she took the boy by his shirt and threw him as hard as she could in the direction opposite the robot. The boy screamed as he sailed through the air, finally hitting the pavement a good distance away where he continued to roll a few more feet.
Ryuki dared to shoot a glance over her shoulder just to see how much time she had. To her alarm, the robot was ready to bring its fist down on her. She wasn't even sure if she'd have enough time to get out of the way.
Before she could attempt her escape, she saw a pink blur out of the corner of her eye. "Watch out!" It was the girl she'd met outside the gates, Ashido if she remembered right. The girl had put herself between Ryuki and the robot and aimed her hand at the machine. The pinkette willed her acid to be as corrosive as possible and fired it from her fingertips.
The liquid traveled through the air at a high speed and cut clean through the robot's forearm. Now that it was severed from the rest of the arm, its fist came crashing down on top of its head, leaving it dented. The lights on the machine's face began to flicker and its body twitched like it was fighting to stay awake. After a moment, the lights went dead and its body went limp.
Ryuki stared wide-eyed at the remains of the robot, shocked that someone actually managed to take it down. She only snapped out of her shock when Present Mic's voice came over the loudspeakers, "Alright, listeners! Your airtime is up! Please head to the nearest exit!"
Ashido offered her hand to Tatsuko, who took it gladly. "Are you okay?" she asked with a concerned frown.
"Yeah, I'm alright thanks to you," she grinned in response. "You were awesome! I didn't think that thing could be taken down!"
The pinkette smiled sheepishly at the praise and rubbed the back of her neck. "Well, I couldn't just hide in that alley and let you get crushed." Her expression grew concerned again. "Speaking of that, is he okay?" she pointed to the smaller boy a few yards away.
"Shit, that's right!" Ryuki cursed, jogging over to him with Mina right behind her. "Hey, hey kid!" she leaned over the boy, who was splayed out over the pavement with glazed-over eyes. "You alright?" He didn't appear hurt, but injuries weren't always visible.
The boy's eyes shifted over to Tatsuko and then the pinkette before he began to speak. "No one told me angels had such big boobs," he croaked out.
"Yeah, he's fine," both girls deadpanned at the same time.
Ryuki sat on one of the benches in UA's massive courtyard just outside of the main doors. Now back in her gakuran uniform, she had her bag slung loosely over one shoulder and held her phone in one hand. Her gaze wandered back to the front doors, a light frown coming to her features when she still saw no one.
Glancing back down at her phone, she checked her messages again. After getting herself ready and gathering her things, she'd messaged Midoriya about meeting up outside the school. He'd agreed, but his message seemed a little dryer than usual. It just seemed unenthusiastic. Maybe she was just reading too much into it.
The girl looked up from her phone just in time to see him come out of the doors, but he didn't seem to be his normal self. His expression was downcast and his eyes were glued to the ground as he climbed down the steps. "Hey!" Ryuki greeted as she got up to meet him. "What's wrong?" The boy only stopped and looked at her for a moment, looking like he was working up the courage to actually tell her. "Katsuki wasn't a jerk to you again, right?" her frown deepened at the idea. "I swear, I should tell them how he-"
"I didn't get a single point," Midoriya finally managed to squeak his reply out, aiming his gaze back down to the ground so that his hair would cover his glossy eyes. He wanted so badly to keep it together and take this defeat in stride, but it was hard knowing how disappointed All Might would be when he found out.
Tatsuko immediately fell silent, her angered expression melting away into one of shocked sympathy. She stared at him, searching for any hint of a lie, but all she found was evidence that he was telling the truth. "Not… Not one?" was all she managed after a moment.
"I-I really tried…" his shaky voice trailed off and his grip on his backpack strap tightened as he fought back tears. "I'm going to go home. I'm pretty worn out." With that, he began walking again, and Ryuki didn't stop him.
She stared after his slowly shrinking figure for a moment, her own mood totally thrown off as she accepted the information. She hadn't really thought about it before, but there was a major hole in UA's entrance exam: It solely looked at a person's fighting capabilities, not their values, which meant that amazing heroes slipped right through the school's hands on a yearly basis. Sure, there was the actual test, but that was just there to be sure students had the academic chops to keep up with the curriculum. The only thing a perfect score on that test would do for you was ensure that you got into the general course if you failed the practical.
Ryuki turned back to the doors with an idea and started towards them. She entered the double doors and turned left into the massive hallway, heading straight for the staircase entrance. She climbed several flights until she was on the correct floor, where she scanned the classroom doors until she found Midnight's.
Inside, the pro was looking over the mess of papers that decorated her desk with a thoughtful look, but her pondering was interrupted when she heard the door open. Looking that way, she smiled when she spied Ryuki at the door. "You're here already? I thought you'd at least wait until tomorrow to give me the details."
"I've got a question about the exam," she replied, ignoring her remark as she neared the desk. It was then that Kayama noticed her demeanor and her smile faded. She wasn't nearly as excited as she'd anticipated. In fact, she looked upset, like she'd been given some terrible news that had wrecked any good mood she'd been in.
"Well, there are some things I'm not allowed to tell due to our policies, but you're free to ask," the woman sat herself down in her desk chair and looked at the teenager expectantly.
"How does the scoring system work?"
Midnight raised a brow with confusion. "Like Present Mic explained before the exam, you take down villains and gain a set number of points based on the value assigned to that robot's model. The more you destroy or capture, the more you earn."
"But is that all there is to it?" Ryuki pressed, seemingly growing more desperate for some other answer. "Does UA just look at how well we can fight? What about all the other stuff that makes a hero? What if someone is perfect for the hero course, but they don't get any combat points?"
"Oh, so that's what this is about," Nemuri gave the girl a knowing grin, causing Ryuki to pause. "That boy in your class, the one with the messy hair… He didn't get combat points in the exam."
"I know! He just told me himself!" Ryuki sighed, crossing her arms and frowning. "Is there anything I can do? I got plenty of points. Could I give him some of them?"
"I'm sorry, Ryuki, but that's just not possible," Midnight shook her head. "It wouldn't be fair to you, and it would muddle our assessment of his battle prowess."
Tatsuko cast a dejected look at the floor. Even though she'd suspected as much, it still sucked. "I just think he should have a shot at being here. I saw how he put himself on the line to save some ungrateful jerk from that sludge guy. You don't find people like that every day. I know he didn't get any combat points, but he can learn to be a better fighter. And-" Ryuki stopped herself when she heard Midnight stifle a chuckle and she aimed a questioning gaze her way.
"Ryuki, you don't need to worry about him," she stood from her chair and rounded the desk to stand in front of the dragon girl. "He's doing just fine on his own."
Tatsuko's expression only grew more perplexed by her answer. "What do you mean?"
"I can't say too much, but UA doesn't just look at how well potential students handle a combat scenario. We look for other things, too," she answered reassuringly. "If we just looked at how well someone fought, then UA wouldn't be considered Japan's best hero school." Ryuki stared at her for a moment, unsure of what she meant exactly, but she felt comforted nonetheless. "Now, you should get going," Midnight grabbed her by the shoulders and twisted her around towards the door. "The week after the exam is always the most busy. Besides, your mother is probably dying to know the details!"
It had been a week since the entrance exam. A whole week, and she hadn't heard anything from UA. The wait was absolutely killing her. No matter what she did, the time refused to pass faster. She was hoping the letter would arrive soon. How much longer could it take? A week was long enough, right? She sure hoped so.
Holding her skateboard under her arm, Ryuki trudged up the stairs to the second floor of the apartment complex. The day had gone by even more sluggishly than the rest probably because she didn't have school to occupy most of her day. A couple of hours ago, she'd set out to go skating just to waste some time. Unfortunately, the activity wasn't as interesting as usual thanks to the ever-present thoughts of UA's letter. It was getting close to dinner time anyway, so she'd decided to call it quits and head home.
Tatsuko came to a stop in front of the door to their apartment, and she couldn't help but glance at the mailbox installed on the wall. "No harm in checking again," she thought to herself before digging out the key. After unlocking it, she pulled the little door open and peered inside. Unlike last time, there was mail inside. She felt her heart jump in her chest as her hopes soared like they had the last few times she'd found mail inside. "Just because there's mail doesn't mean it's here," she reminded herself, attempting to temper her expectations to avoid disappointment.
The dragon girl took the handful of mail from the box and gasped when she saw the first letter. There was nothing exceptional-looking about it save for the red seal on the front with the unmistakable UA symbol on it. She stared at it for a second with wide eyes before a grin began to spread across her features.
"Mom!" she cried, throwing the door to their apartment open and slamming it closed in her rush.
"Don't slam the door!" her mother called from the open kitchen of their apartment. She was in the middle of cutting up vegetables.
"Sorry," she apologized absentmindedly as she tossed the rest of the mail onto the counter. "It's here!" Ryuki held the letter up so that her mother could see the bright red seal.
Murin looked up from her work and dropped the knife to the cutting board when she saw it. "That's great!" her face brightened up as she rounded the counter to be beside her daughter. "Go ahead, open it! I want to know if you made it!" her mother was trying to contain her excitement, but the tip of her tail was still wriggling with emotion.
Ryuki complied without hesitation. She popped the red seal off and reached inside, pulling out a folded slip of paper and a cylindrical metal device. She stared at the metal thing in her palm, unsure of what it was. A quick glance at her mother told her that even she wasn't sure what the device was meant for. Considering she got her letter from UA decades ago, it wasn't a surprise. UA had made changes to their system since she had gone there.
Suddenly, the little device came to life. The center of it lit up and began projecting a screen in the air directly above the two, surprising mother and daughter equally. A familiar laugh boomed from the projection, and the unmistakable smile of All Might filled the screen. "I am here to deliver your test results!" The man pulled away from the camera as he straightened up. "But first, an announcement that should interest you! Starting this year, I will be joining UA's faculty as a teacher!"
Upon hearing the news, the pair's eyes went wide. Excited thoughts began to stir in their minds, but both remained quiet for the moment since it was a recording. Still, the thought that Ryuki would get to train with the best of the best thrilled them both enough that they were struggling to keep their tails still.
"I'm sure you and many others have noticed that I'm getting up there in age," the man chuckled at his own joke. "So I figured I'd help train the next generation of heroes while I've still got some steam left in me." All Might paused to clear his throat, "Anyhow, that's more than enough about me. I'm sure you're dying to know how you did!" Ryuki leaned in, giving the recording even more of her undivided attention. "You passed the written portion of the exam, but more importantly, you earned an impressive forty-one combat points in the practical! That score alone is worthy of UA!"
Tatsuko grinned and her chest swelled with pride. Being complimented by All Might of all people… it was unbelievable. And his words made her think she had indeed made the cut. This almost didn't feel real.
"But that isn't all," he held up his pointer finger. "There were other factors that determined the scores on your practical exam. Combat, although very important, isn't the only thing UA is looking for from potential students. UA seeks out those willing to risk their lives for the greater good. That's why there's a hidden factor participants don't know about - rescue points! A panel of judges watches the exam in real time, rewarding points for valiant actions besides defeating villains."
It was then that Ryuki recalled what Midnight had told her a week ago, and it clicked that she had been vaguely referring to the rescue points. And now she understood why they weren't mentioned before the exam. If the school blatantly said you'd get points for saving others, then everyone would be putting up a front, trying to appear more virtuous than they actually are to score more points for themselves.
"On top of the impressive forty-one combat points, your actions during the exam earned you thirty rescue points!" All Might's booming voice brought her out of her thoughts and made her snap back to attention. "And your friend's actions didn't go unnoticed either! Mina Ashido: Thirty-five rescue points! You both passed the exam." The pro leaned into the camera and extended a hand like he was inviting her to jump in and join him. "Welcome, Ryuki Tatsuko, to UA High School."
She beamed up at the image of the hero, trying her best to stifle her excitement. But there really was no use when life-long dreams were coming true. She hopped up from the chair, turning her joyful eyes onto her mother, who was trying her hardest to maintain her composure as well. "I made it!" she exclaimed. "I got into UA!"
"Oh, my little Ryuki!" she dragged her daughter into a tight hug. "I always knew you would!"
And that's chapter 3 down! The next one will definitely be following the anime a bit more closely since it's just the Quirk Assessment. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! And I won't make any promises about the next one. Hopefully, it'll be out sooner than this one, though!
