? Chapter 5 ?
8:40AM – The Same Day:
U.A. High School Entrance Exam Location:
"We made it," Kimitsuki said to Izuku as the two of them reached the U. A. High School, both of them having showered and changed into their current school uniform after their morning routine. Kimitsuki stuffed her face into her white scarf, peeking around with her eyes at the other students.
"Tsuki-Chan, I didn't have the time to test out the power I received from All Might," Izuku said as they crossed the threshold and entered the school premises. "I swallowed the hair, but did I really receive his power...?"
"Don't worry about it, Izu-Chan," Kimitsuki assured him gently, reaching out to pat his shoulder. "All Might said that he never lied so I'm sure he wouldn't lie about this, either. Let's do our best today,"
"Outta my way, Deku!"
"Ka-Chan," Kimitsuki said as she and Izuku turned to look at their classmate, also dressed in the black Gakuran and a white scarf. But he ignored her entirely, something that made her frown and then shrug.
"Don't stand in front of me," Katsuki growled. "I'll kill you,"
"M-Morning!" Izuku yelped as Katsuki walked past the two of them, ignoring them from then onwards. "L-Let's all three of us do our best...!"
"Hey, isn't that Bakugou?"
"The one with the sludge villain?"
"Oh, he's the real thing!"
"Ka-Chan doesn't really like me, does he?" Kimitsuki said quietly as she stared after Katsuki's back as he walked off. "He doesn't even like talking to me anymore... he used to be nicer...? No, not really, to be honest,"
"Hey, that's the Kuroyanagi girl!"
"The one that All Might acknowledged?"
"You bet she's someone to look out for!"
"Look out for? She's good to look at!"
"I'm uncomfortable," Kimitsuki mumbled as she moved behind Izuku to hide, which was no use because she was taller than he was. "I don't think I really like attention..."
"Did you notice something, Tsuki-Chan?" Izuku spoke up. "Ever since that day, Ka-Chan didn't do anything to me. I was just scared of him out of habit!"
"Well, he is scary to look at sometimes, isn't he?" Kimitsuki responded, both weary and amused. "Let's go inside, too, we've worked hard in the past ten months – we have to prove it to All Might that we did well,"
"You're right!" Izuku said and moved to follow after her when he suddenly tripped on his own foot, and Kimitsuki turned around quickly to grab him when he started to –
Float.
"Are you all right?" said a brunette girl as she corrected Izuku's posture. "It's my Quirk. Sorry for using it without asking first. But it'd be bad luck if you fell, right? Aren't you nervous?"
"Um, thank you very much," Kimitsuki said to the girl for Izuku's sake, bowing herself a ninety-degree bow. "Yes... we're sometime nervous, too... but let's do our best,"
"Oh, you're the Kuroyanagi-San, I saw you on TV!" the brunette said. Kimitsuki nodded. "You're prettier in person!" Kimitsuki looked down "Let's do our best," She waved to them. "See ya!"
Kimitsuki activated her Quirk and glanced at the girl, noting that her Quirk was Gravity.
"Everyone knows, huh?" Kimitsuki breathed. She turned to look at Izuku, who was simply and absolutely to have 'talked' to a girl. She sweat-dropped. "Come on, let's go, Izu-Chan, we're getting late,"
U. A. High School Hero Course Exam Orientation:
Kimitsuki followed Izuku up the stairs in the auditorium to where their seats were located, and she looked for her roll number to see that she was sitting next to none other than dear old Bakugo Katsuki. Noticing her and Izuku coming his way, Katsuki rolled his eyes and looked back ahead.
"Calm down, Izu-Chan," Kimitsuki mumbled as she sat down in her seat and pulled Izuku into his next to hers. "You're making me nervous, too," Her fingers were shaking in anticipation.
The entire hall was packed to the brim and Kimitsuki swallowed, wondering if she would even make it past this. She really did want to go on to become a hero – now that All Might himself had acknowledged her. She looked up as the lights in the hall turned off, and the stage lit up.
"For all of you examinee listeners tuning in welcome to my show today!" Present Mic said as he walked over to the dice on the to give the orientation to them. "Everybody say, 'hey'!"
It remained dead quiet in the hall, and though Kimitsuki felt bad about this, she wasn't the kind of person to speak up like this so she remained quiet, too. People were too tense to acknowledge Present Mic's attempt at firing them up. But it seemed like Present Mic wasn't quite bothered.
"What a refined response," Present Mic said, his arms shaking slightly. Kimitsuki realised that he was. "Then I'll quickly present to you the rundown on the practical exam! Are you ready? Yeah!"
Just like before, it was deathly silent in the orientation hall.
"It's the Voice Hero, Present Mic!" Izuku fanboyed from next to Kimitsuki. "Wow! I listen to him every week on the radio. I'm so moved! All the teachers at U. A. are pro heroes!"
"Shut up," Katsuki told him and Kimitsuki sighed.
"As it says in the application requirements, you listeners will be conducting ten-minute mock urban battles after this!" Present Mic informed them. "You can bring whatever you want with you. After the presentation, you'll head to the specified battle centre, okay? Okay?!"
The screen behind him lit up to show that there were seven different battle centres (A, B, C, D, E, F, G). Kimitsuki looked down at her examination ticket and saw that she would be going to centre B.
"In other words, they won't let you work with your friends, huh?" Katsuki growled from next to her and all three of them looked at each other's tickets.
Bakugo Katsuki
Examine № 2233
Test Location: Battle Centre A
Kuroyanagi Kimitsuki
Examine № 2234
Test Location: Battle Centre B
Midoriya Izuku
Examine № 2235
Test Location: Battle Centre C
"Y-You're right," Izuku replied, peeking past Kimitsuki and at Katsuki's exam ticket. "Even though our examinee numbers are consecutive, we're all assigned to different battle centres,"
"Don't look," Katsuki growled when he noticed the green-haired male looking at him. "I'll kill you," Kimitsuki shook her head gently. "Damn, now I can't crush you,"
"I'm glad we're in different locations then," Kimitsuki spoke up. "You would've gotten yourself eliminated otherwise, Ka-Chan," She tried to smile at him for the joke but he looked away from her.
"Three different types of faux villains are stationed in each battle centre," Present Mic said. "You earn points for each of them based on their level of difficulty. Your goal, dear listeners, is to use your Quirks to earn points by immobilising the faux villains,"
"Faux villains...?" Kimitsuki whispered as she stared at the screen. "You mean, we're supposed to fight robots...?" She grabbed her head, knowing that she was totally screwed without her eyes.
"Of course, attacking other examinees and any other unheroic actions are prohibited!" Present Mic warned them. Kimitsuki continued to wallow in depression at the information they had been given.
"May I ask a question?" said someone a few seats below Kimitsuki, Izuku and Katsuki.
"Okay!" Present Mic said, pointing at the male and Kimitsuki watched as the light above the student lit up to reveal a rather... peculiar male standing on his feet.
"On the printout, there are four types of villains," said the boy. "If that is a misprint, then U. A., the most prominent school in Japan, should be ashamed of that foolish mistake. We examinees are here in this place because we wish to be moulded into exemplary heroes,"
Kimitsuki looked curiously at the bespectacled boy when he suddenly turned around to look at them and pointed at Izuku, "In addition, you over there with the curly hair – You've been muttering this whole time. It's distracting! If you're here on a pleasure trip, then you should leave immediately!"
"I'm sorry!" Izuku exclaimed, clamping his hands over his mouth. Kimitsuki lowered her head in embarrassment as well. She didn't like getting called out in public.
"Okay, okay, Examinee Number 7111," Present Mic interjected. "Thanks for the great message. The fourth type of villain is worth zero points. That guy's an obstacle, so to speak. There's one in every battle centre. An obstacle that will go crazy in narrow spaces. It's not impossible to defeat, but there's no reason to defeat it, either. I recommend that you listeners try to avoid it,"
"Thank you very much!" the Examinee Number 7111 said as he bowed deeply before sitting back down on his seat and Kimitsuki let out a sigh. "Please excuse the interruption!"
"I see... It's like the obstacles you avoid in videos games, huh?"
"The whole thing is like a video game,"
"That's all from me!" Present Mic announced. "Finally, I'll give you listeners a present – our school motto! The hero Napoleon Bonaparte once said: "A true hero is someone who overcomes life's misfortunes." Go beyond. Plus Ultra! Now, everyone, good luck suffering!"
Everyone was asked to leave the orientation hall and to go change in the locker rooms.
"Good luck, Izu-Chan and Ka-Chan," Kimitsuki said to her two friends as they were swept apart in accordance to their gender. She waved them goodbye as they vanished off in the male crowd.
Kimitsuki didn't look around much as she quickly changed out of her uniform and into her lilac-coloured tracksuit with white stripes down the sides. It was the only suitable clothing she had outside of her school's red tracksuit. She glanced around at the other females, who were changing into their own clothes to take part in the entrance exam – they all had the proper equipment.
"What to do..." Kimitsuki whispered as she followed some of the girls outside, where she was led to the bus for the students that were heading for Centre B. "I can't do anything with my eyes,"
Even though she didn't have any equipment for her Quirk, Kimitsuki noted that she was far more athletic (at least from what she could see) among those around her, especially the females.
Going straight to the back of the bus and sitting down in the corner, switching on her Quirk, Kimitsuki looked around at the people with her. All of them had pretty interesting Quirks, and she could see a lot of them making it through the test if they worked those Quirks properly.
"Isn't that Kuroyanagi? There in the corner?"
"Whoa, I never imagined I'd see her here!"
"She's pretty, isn't she? Look at her hair,"
"Do you think she killed her family or not?"
"Couldn't have, why would All Might support her then?"
Kimitsuki bit her lower lip as she looked outside the window, hiding her face from others with the help of her long ponytail, her glossy white hair glinting in the sunlight, looking toward the centres.
Finally, they arrived at their location, and Kimitsuki followed everyone down the bus and in front of the gates. Kimitsuki looked around all over the place, in awe, anticipation and anxiety.
U. A. High School Hero Course Entrance Exam Location: Battle Centre B:
"It's like a city!"
"They have more than one of these on the school grounds?"
"U. A.'s amazing!"
"Hey, you're Kuroyanagi Kimitsuki-San, aren't you?" a girl said as she walked over to Kimitsuki. She had pink skin and hair, with horns. Kimitsuki had seen her Quirk to be acid. "My name is Ashido Mina! Nice to meet you! I saw you on the TV and I think you're pretty cool!"
"Um, nice to meet you," Kimitsuki replied gently, noticing that everyone was looking at her. She folded her hands on her stomach and bowed her usual ninety-degree bow. "Thank you,"
"You're pretty formal, huh?" Mina asked. "I thought you were shy on TV but you're even shyer in person," Kimitsuki smiled softly in reply, unsure what to say. "Let's ace this exam and become classmates," She grinned up at the tall female.
"I would like that..." Kimitsuki answered. "Let's do our best," She held up her fist to the female and for some reason, Mina bumped her fist against it. It must be some new trend. "Thank you,"
Mina laughed.
"That's cute," Mina said and Kimitsuki felt her cheeks turn pink. "You're too shy!" Kimitsuki bit her lip, smiling clumsily at her. "Anyway, sorry for disturbing you!"
Kimitsuki felt that Mina was like a whiplash – the way she moved and talked and how easily she just approached her. Quite honestly, the white-haired girl had never even had female friends and she didn't know how they were supposed to work. Now, she wanted to work hard and become a Hero.
Speaking of that, Kimitsuki looked back ahead at the gates as they began to open for them, trying to think of a strategy to get through the robots somehow without her eyes and only her black flames. There were two problems:
Number one, Kimitsuki couldn't use her eyes on those robots because they had no conscious.
Number two, Kimitsuki wouldn't be able to use her flames on enough robots to get enough points.
"They're just robots," Kimitsuki whispered to herself. "I can take on robots. They're just like any other electronical object. If I find out enough about one... then I can try and use the flames..."
"Okay, start!"
Present Mic's sudden announcement jumpstarted Kimitsuki and she went running into the battle centre while everyone stood in their place, staring at the girl who had just rushed past them.
"I like you already, Kuroyanagi!" Present Mic shouted after her before looking at the others. "What's wrong? There are no countdowns in real fights! Run, run! The die has been cast, you know!"
Kimitsuki went rushing down the street, looking around for any robot she could find. She knew she had to wait for another person to take one down so she could have a look at their inside but there was a chance she would be able to handle the smaller robots – just to have a look. That was first.
"Target acquired!"
Swiftly turning around, Kimitsuki noticed a one-point robot heading right for her, and she was relieved to see that it wasn't that big in size. She stopped in the middle of the road, using her Quirk.
"Come on," Kimitsuki whispered, staring at the robot as it came bearing down at her, readying itself to blast her off from the test. "Closer... closer... closer... a little bit more... that's it,"
As the robot rushed at her, using its solo wheel, Kimitsuki rushed at it to meet it in the middle. The robot raised its arms and she threw herself forward, swinging around by grabbing the robot's waist and landing on its back. Her glowing eyes moved over the robot, using the kinetic vision to look and she reached for the back of the robot's neck as it tried to swing her off by blasting her with its arms.
"There we are," Kimitsuki whispered as she punched at the back of the robot's neck, causing the metal to pop out and she reached in and lit the wires with her flames. "Good night,"
Kimitsuki pushed herself off of the robot just as it blew up and she landed on her feet, skidding back a bit. She smiled to herself when she realised that her target was the back of the robot's necks – she could take them down with little amount of black flames, enough not to get herself all heated up.
"Six minutes and two seconds left!"
And that is what Kimitsuki did as she extinguished the flames and went running off to look for more robots to take down, switching her Quirk off to keep herself from getting exhausted.
"That's... point... sixty-four..." Kimitsuki breathed heavily as she ran down the street, looking for more robots to take down. She could feel herself sweating profusely from the constant use of her Black Flames and she wanted to have a cold shower and go to sleep. "No... a little more... I've got to make it... I can't give up... after those ten months... no..."
Kimitsuki turned around the corner and looked up to see Mina fighting against a three-point robot. She had wanted to just run past the pink-skinned female but she halted when she saw the robot collapsing down right on Mina as she threw her acid at the robot's legs –
"Watch out!" Kimitsuki gasped, throwing herself forward at Mina, causing them both to roll and hit the ground just as the robot crashed where Mina had been standing seconds ago.
"Kuroyanagi!" Mina exclaimed. "Thanks for that!" She got onto her feet and helped Kimitsuki up. "Whoa, you're boiling! I thought it was pretty cold today,"
"Sorry, it's my Quirk," Kimitsuki replied as she got to her own feet. She looked around her eyes widened when she saw a robot flying directly at them. "Watch out!"
Kimitsuki pushed Mina out of the way and jumped at the robot, swinging around to land on its back and looking for the back of its neck as they soared into the air as the robot tried to throw her off of its back. She held onto the machine with her leg and smacked the back of the neck with her elbow.
"We're going down together," Kimitsuki mumbled as she pulled at the two red wires, putting an end to the blasts by the robot. "But I want to learn more about you,"
The robot continued to try and buck her off of its back and Kimitsuki licked her lips, messing around with the white wire. She frowned when the robot started to go down, and she quickly put the wire back in place. She reached for another wire, pulling out the yellow wire out of its place and –
"There we go, darling," Kimitsuki breathed as the robot became docile. She grinned to herself and grabbed the robot's shoulders, using it to direct it to the ground to land before she destroyed it.
Just then, Kimitsuki heard two explosions on the street beneath her and saw another three-point robot attacking some injured students rather savagely –
"Please get out of the way!" Kimitsuki called out to the students, who looked up just as she aimed her robot in a nosedive at the robot that was bothering them.
Kimitsuki got up until she was standing atop, almost surfing the robot before she got down to the level of a nearby building – which is when she jumped for it, rolling onto the roof rather roughly as she came to a halt. She quickly to the edge and looked down just as the two robots collided.
"That makes it seventy," Kimitsuki whispered. She got up onto her feet and started to walk toward the stairs that would lead her down the building when the entire place rattled.
Surprised and half-believing that it was some sort earthquake – they lived in Japan after all – she turned around on the sounds of screams and yells, Kimitsuki was shocked to see a gigantic robot heading their way and she, without a second thought, she felt herself running to the edge –
In her frenzy over the screams, Kimitsuki had forgotten that those she was rescuing had Quirks and that the robot she just hurled herself at had absolutely no points to be earned.
Kimitsuki landed on the robot's arm, activating her Quirk to keep herself from being thrown off as she stealthily and quickly climbed the robot, grabbing the crevices in the armour to pull herself forward until she made her way to the back of its neck, avoiding getting squashed like a mosquito by the robot's hand. She felt the metal and tore it apart with all of her strength –
"I'm sorry, I can't let you hurt anyone," Kimitsuki whispered to the robot as she held her hands up and lit the wires up with her flames.
The robot staggered and Kimitsuki stood up, looking around for a way to get off of the robot before it fell back – away from the injured students – when suddenly something wrapped around her waist.
"Tape?" Kimitsuki inquired before she was pulled off of the robot before it crashed and she smacked into the person who had pulled her, making them both roll down the street.
Once they came to a stop, Kimitsuki looked up and saw that it was a black-haired boy she saw on the bus earlier, the one who had complimented her hair and said that All Might acknowledged her, that had pulled her out of the way. She noticed he was blushing deeply and realised that she was pressed against him, and she quickly pushed herself onto her feet, helping him up as well.
"Time's up!"
? Chapter 6 ?
Kimitsuki looked up into the air when she heard a loud and peculiar siren ring throughout the Battle Centre B, and surely the other Battle Centres, too. She wondered if Izuku and Katsuki had finished with their tests properly. She knew that Katsuki would certainly have done well and she tried to assure herself that Izuku would've managed to get something out with All Might's great Quirk.
"Ah, I wish I could've got a few more points," Kimitsuki mumbled to herself, though she knew that she was on an edge with how heated up her body was. "Thank you for helping me out,"
"I-it's no problem at all!" the tape boy replied, blushing as he looked back at her. Kimitsuki gave him a gentle smile and walked off away from the heat of the explosion behind her.
Surveying the area, Kimitsuki had tried to make sure that she didn't do any property damage but she hadn't quite managed to do that. She frowned, noticing the portion of the building that had caved in. She looked back at the group of people she had tried to protect from the two robots earlier.
"That was pretty cool, Kuroyanagi!" Mina shouted as she ran over to her. "How did you get the robot move like that?" She moved her arms around to resemble her flying. "Was it your Quirk?"
"No, I can't do that..." Kimitsuki replied quietly. "I'm just good with machines and electronics," She held her hands up slightly. "I found their weak point and got to the wiring that held them together,"
"Okay, good work, good work, good work,"
Kimitsuki and Mina, among others, all turned around to look at the old lady who was making her way over to where they were all gathered. It didn't take Kimitsuki long to recognise who she was.
"Here you go," Recovery said as she reached one of the examinees, holding her hand out to him. "Here are some gummies. Eat some gummies," She handed them out to everyone.
"Th-Thanks," said the students as they received the gummies from her.
"Yes, yes, you, too," Recovery Girl replied as she continued to make her way through the students, passing out the gummies to every single one of them.
"I never knew we'd get to meet Recovery Girl," Kimitsuki breathed – she was a fan of the Hero. "I have always wanted to meet her. She's called the backbone of U. A., of course,"
"Here you go, dear," Recovery Girl said as she held out some gummies. Kimitsuki quickly held her hands in front of her, receiving the gummies. Mina took a few as well.
"Thank you very much, Recovery Girl," Kimitsuki said, bowing her head down to ninety-degrees to the elder woman.
Kimitsuki looked down at the colourful gummies in her palm and smiled to herself before slowly pushing one into her mouth. She chewed and noted that it was rather sweet. She quickly placed the rest of them past her lips and ate them, swallowing them. There was an immediate impact on her.
The gummies eased the exhaustion she was feeling in her bones, and it also cooled her down a bit. However, it didn't help her as much with the heat – she always had to naturally cool down after using her Quirk so extensively. And her eyes were still rather dry from using her Quirk.
"Head back to the entrance and into the bus!"
On Present Mic's announcement, everyone started to head off to where they had entered the Battle Centre through. Kimitsuki wondered how much she had scored in total for her U. A. Entrance Exam.
"I think we did great, we're definitely getting into U. A!" Mina cheered as she tagged along with Kimitsuki, much to the white-haired girl's surprise. "I hope we get into the same class!"
"I hope so, too," Kimitsuki replied softly, giving her a small smile. She felt a bit more comfortable around the pink-haired female. "May I ask where you are from?"
"I'm from Chiba Prefecture!" Mina answered gladly. "I go to the Mustafa Private Middle School there," Kimitsuki nodded, taking in the information. "What about you?"
"I'm a local here, from Aldera Junior High," Kimitsuki said as she followed the smaller female onto the bus. "But you came a long way here... I hope you get into U. A.,"
"Thanks!" Mina said. "Let's sit together!" She pulled Kimitsuki along and the two of them sat down together. Kimitsuki felt herself smiling more.
Mina talked to Kimitsuki all the way back to the main orientation hall, and the white-haired girl continued to listen to her talk, answering what question that Mina asked of her. It was something so unexpected that Kimitsuki couldn't help but enjoying it. She had already made a friend.
"See you later, Kimitsuki-Chan!" Mina said, waving a goodbye as she went rushing off in the direction of her waiting parents, having changed. "We'll definitely make it!"
"We definitely will," Kimitsuki replied, bowing her head deeply as she folded her hands over her stomach. She waved her hand slightly and turned around to use her eye-drops quickly.
Kimitsuki played nervously with the hem of her shirt as she looked around the place, wondering where Izuku and Katsuki were – and how their exams had gone. She met eyes with a few people but quickly looked away from them. She wanted to go have some ice cream with her friends after this.
"Ka-Chan!" Kimitsuki breathed when her eyes fell upon the familiar ash-blond. "Ka-Chan!" She quickly moved toward him. "Ka-Chan, did you see Izu-Chan? How did it go? Let's all go have ice –"
But Katsuki simply brushed past her, leaving Kimitsuki standing in the middle of the corridor. She turned around with a frown but then shook her head. She should've expected such a reaction by the male – though deep down, she wished that Katsuki would grow closer to her and Izuku as friends.
"Excuse me, Kuroyanagi-San!" a voice called out to Kimitsuki and she turned around to look at the brunette from earlier running toward her, heaving. "Sorry for this, but it's about your friend,"
"Izu-Chan?" Kimitsuki asked, and the brunette nodded. "What's wrong? He's not hurt, is he?" She watched the girl shake her head no.
"My name is Uraraka Ochaco," the girl introduced herself. "I wanted to thank your friend, the boy with curly hair, but I can't find him anywhere. I was wondering if you could pass my thanks..."
"Of course," Kimitsuki replied quietly, her thoughts swirling. "I'll let him know..." Ochaco nodded and bashfully walked off from there. "Izu-Chan..."
When Kimitsuki couldn't see Izuku anywhere, she finally decided to go look in the infirmary and found him in there, looking rather roughened up even though it seemed like he had been healed.
"Izu-Chan, are you okay?" Kimitsuki asked as she approached him gently. "How did your exam go...? Did you have an okay time with the Quirk?"
"Tsuki-Chan," Izuku mumbled, and when he looked up at her, Kimitsuki noted that his eyes were tearing up. Her frown deepened and she furrowed her eyebrows.
"What's wrong, Izu-Chan?" Kimitsuki asked. "Are you hurt? Did something go wrong?" She placed her hands onto his shoulders to squeeze them gently.
"I don't think I will get into U. A.," Izuku said in a small voice, letting Kimitsuki hug his head against her abdomen, stroking his head. "I've got zero points – the Quirk worked but only against the trap enemy. The nice girl from earlier... she was about to be crushed and tried to save her and then it was too late to continue..."
"Izu-Chan," Kimitsuki whispered as she released him and knelt down in front of him, placing her hands onto his knees as she looked up at him. "I met the girl, too, she wanted me to say that she was grateful for your help. Even if you didn't destroy robots with points, I'm sure the examiners will take your actions on rescuing the girl in account and give you some points,"
"The main objective of the test was to get the points from the robots, Tsuki-Chan," Izuku said gloomily. "Would rescuing make up enough points?"
"There is nothing more important in the life of a Hero than to rescue people, Izu-Chan," Kimitsuki insisted kindly. "If they fail to recognise you for that, then it would be their loss, not yours,"
Izuku was quiet as he processed what she had told him, and he reached to wipe his eyes clean.
"Tsuki-Chan... you're right," Izuku said. "It's just... I hope I haven't disappointed All Might after everything..." Kimitsuki smiled gently at him.
"On the contrary, I think he'll be proud of you anyhow," Kimitsuki told him. She stood up and grabbed his hands. "Come on, let's go have ice cream,"
"Your hands are very warm," Izuku realised and Kimitsuki nodded. "Did you use a lot of your flames out there, Tsuki-Chan? How did your exam go?"
"It was decent," Kimitsuki replied as the two of them started to leave the infirmary together. "But it was also very difficult... I couldn't use my eyes at all. And using my flames was too difficult. I'll tell you everything when we've got the ice cream. It makes me heat up just talking about it,"
"What about Ka-Chan?" Izuku asked. "Did you see Ka-Chan?" Kimitsuki nodded, her expression turning gloomy and downcast. "He ignored you again, huh?"
"I don't think he likes me very much," Kimitsuki mumbled, leaving the school premises. "At least he yells at you... he doesn't even like to respond to me anymore," She looked ahead of them.
"Don't take it too personally, Tsuki-Chan," Izuku said, trying to assure her. "He's always been like that, you know that! He does listen to you when you stop him in class, though, doesn't he?"
Kimitsuki nodded slowly, looking away as her thoughts trailed off to when Katsuki had helped her out. She wanted that kind of Katsuki – someone who protects people and always come on top.
Where was that Ka-Chan?
"I'll pay for it," Kimitsuki said to Izuku as the two of them got their ice creams. She held up her card. "I need to break this in and there's nothing better than spending money on friends, I think," She smiled at him and went to pay for their ice creams.
"Should you kids be having ice cream in this season?" said the elderly shopkeeper, Suzuki Idate, as he glanced at what Kimitsuki was paying for.
"Beat cold with cold," Kimitsuki replied cheekily, causing Suzuki to chuckle and she finished paying, walking out to join Izuku on the sitting area outside their local convenience store.
"Thanks for this, Tsuki-Chan," Izuku said as they sat down across from each other. Kimitsuki gave him a smile as she unwrapped her strawberry popsicle.
"I wish Ka-Chan had joined us, too," Kimitsuki said as she tasted the cold treat. "I need to work on how quickly I get all warmed up with the Quirk,"
"Tell me about your exam, Tsuki-Chan!" Izuku said as he licked his own popsicle. Kimitsuki's smile widened a little and she nodded.
"I couldn't use my eyes, or too much of my flames," Kimitsuki told him. "But I found the robot's weak point – it was behind their necks. So, I jumped on their backs and made some pinpointed attacks on that location. Of course, I broke the metal covers off and set fire to their wires,"
"You're really resourceful, Tsuki-Chan," Izuku said. "I wish you were in the same centre as me..." Kimitsuki gave him a bit sadder smile. "Student number 7111 was there, I don't think he likes me,"
"I'm sorry, I think he just got the wrong impression of you, Izu-Chan," Kimitsuki assured him. "He seemed like he was a pretty diligent student. You know they can be a little... strange,"
Both Kimitsuki and Izuku giggled as they ate their popsicles.
"I have to go home a bit early after this," Kimitsuki told him, leaning over the table lightly. "Granny Haruna said her granddaughter wants me to make her a dress,"
"You're going to be busy, huh?" Izuku asked and Kimitsuki nodded, looking at her ice treat as she took the last bite of it, swallowing it to cool herself down.
Suddenly, there was a commotion inside the convenience store, making Kimitsuki and Izuku both jumped slightly, turning to look through the window – and their eyes widened when they saw that a thief was forcing Suzuki to empty his cash register on the tip of a gun before rushing out of there.
Before Izuku could say anything, there was a flash of white as Kimitsuki moved swiftly and angrily to her feet, and he watched the thief turn to look at them and freeze mid-step. Izuku's eyes widened.
Kimitsuki seemed to have put the man under a Genjutsu, it was clear on the man's terrified face.
"On your knees,"
The man dropped to his knees, the gun in his right hand and the bag of money in left hand both fell out of his grip. Izuku moved quickly ahead, catching sight of the man's eyes that reflected Kimitsuki's Quirk. He knew that whatever it is, Kimitsuki still hadn't gotten enough control on her Genjutsu yet. And it seemed like all the use earlier was making it move on its own.
"Tsuki-Chan!" Izuku exclaimed, grabbing her arms and pulling her away from the man. "You've got to stop before you kill him!" Kimitsuki snapped out of her trance and fell back onto the ground.
Just the same moment, the man himself dropped to the side, and for a moment, Izuku believed that Kimitsuki's emotions had gotten out of way and she had somehow killed the thief.
But then he noticed that he was still breathing, and Izuku's own breathing went back to normal.
Izuku turned to look at Kimitsuki, who was on the ground, and saw her wide eyes as her own expression paled. He quickly pulled her onto her feet as the local police arrived on Suzuki's call.
"I'm sorry," Kimitsuki whispered. "I didn't mean to do this," She pulled herself free from Izuku as she stared at the thief, who was coming back around. "I didn't mean to..."
The police quickly restricted the man as he realised Kimitsuki was still standing there, and he tried to get away from there, yelling at her to get away from him. Izuku held onto Kimitsuki, more scared than her, and he wondered what exactly Kimitsuki had shown him and seen herself to be like this.
Izuku gulped.
One Week Later:
"Please don't touch the electronics, Mikoto-Chan," Kimitsuki said softly as she tried to focus on the dress that was hanging on the dress form. She glanced at the twenty-year-old who was trying to look at Kimitsuki's stuff sitting on her desk, left open for her to tinker. "I cannot misplace anything,"
"Sorry about that," Mikoto replied casually as she walked away from the desk and back to the centre of the small room where Kimitsuki was working on the elaborate blue gown.
Kimitsuki looked back at the neckline of the gown where she was concentrating on the beaded embroidery to make it pop-out more over the lace. Mikoto moved around, her hands clasped together as she watched the younger female's handiwork on the old-school gown for her party.
"How long do I have to wait to try it on?" Mikoto asked. "I can't wait for the upcoming party! With your work, Kimitsuki-Chan, I always shine the most! I can't wait to see Minamoto-Kun's expression!"
"It'll be done by tomorrow," Kimitsuki replied gently, tucking her hair behind her ear and leaning forward to loop the needle around and finish with the embroidery. She straightened it out.
"Everyone asks me who makes the dresses for me, you know!" Mikoto told her excitedly. "I think I should start giving out your number to them! You're still going to be a modiste, right? I'll get you clients! Just make sure you work on my dress first!"
Brushing her fingers gently on the lace of the dress, Kimitsuki was lost in her thoughts. Ever since her last stunt with that man outside the convenience store, she was second-guessing her ability to become a hero. She had nightmares over what she had shown that man that day, just because she was angered at what he had tried to do to Suzuki. Even if everyone said what she did was right...
They didn't see what Kimitsuki had shown that man. They didn't see the fear in that man's eyes, and they didn't see the uncertainty in Izuku's eyes. Kimitsuki wasn't cut out to be a Pro-Hero, after all...
"Kimitsuki-Chan is going to be a Hero,"
At this, Kimitsuki looked up in surprise and saw that Granny Haruna was standing in the doorway to her room. Mikoto stopped spinning around blissfully and looked at her grandmother in shock.
"What?" Mikoto asked. "Kimitsuki-Chan is going to become a hero?" She spun around to look at Kimitsuki. "I thought you were going to be a modiste or a musician! An artist of some sort –"
"No, Kimitsuki-Chan is going to be Hero," Granny Haruno repeated. She turned to look at the shocked teenager. "I just received this in the mail – a letter from U. A. High School,"
"U. A. High School?" Mikoto yelped, her eyes falling on the letter that Granny Haruna was holding out to the white-haired girl. "When did you apply for U. A., Kimitsuki-Chan?"
Kimitsuki slowly reached out for the letter, her lilac eyes wide.
"You, come out of the room and leave her alone for a while," Granny Haruna told Mikoto, who was trying to peek at the letter. "Let her have a look on her own,"
"But I have never seen someone receive a letter from U. A.!" Mikoto complained, but Granny Haruna grabbed her by her ear and pulled her out of there, leaving Kimitsuki on her own.
Shaken, Kimitsuki sank to the ground, staring at the envelope as she slowly and gently opened it, pulling out a letter and a small holographic message transmitter. She had played around with many of those before. She held it up in front of her and swallowed slightly.
"We should have a look, huh, Neko-Chan...?" Kimitsuki whispered as her cat came over to curl around her waist, looking at the device in her hand. "We should, huh?"
Kimitsuki placed the device on the Chabudai and pressed on the button. She watched in surprise as the projection of none other than All Might appeared, confusing her as she hadn't been aware that he worked at U. A. Her eyes widened when she put two and two together. No wonder he's here...!
"I am here as a projection!" All Might said. "I had to do some paperwork that took some time, so I couldn't contact you guys. I'm sorry, Young Kuroyanagi. Actually, I came to this town to work at U. A.,"
"Why didn't I figure it out from the get-go?" Kimitsuki mumbled.
"Hm?" All Might said, noticing someone off camera. "What is it? Wrap it up? But there is something I must talk to her about... It's going to push everything else back? All right. Okay!"
"He really is strange, huh?" Kimitsuki asked, sweat-dropping.
"I am here to tell you that you passed with flying colours!" All Might said. "Not only did you pass the written exam with full grades, you also received a total of 165 points on the practical exam!"
"What...?" Kimitsuki asked. "A hundred and sixty-five points...? But I only took down seventy points..." She furrowed her eyebrows. "Did I make a mistake with counting? But that can't be,"
"The entrance exam the other day was not graded only on villain points!" All Might said. "Rescue points! And they're given by a panel of judges. It's the other basic ability we at U. A. look at!"
Villain Points: 70
Rescue Points: 95
"Despite your own afflictions, you went out of your way to help others," All Might said. "You protected both Young Ashido and numerous injured individuals – twice each! That's a record score!" He grinned at her. "Come, Young Kuroyanagi. Believe in yourself! This is... your hero academia!"
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