Disclaimer: I own nothing :3

I didn't get to talk to Mama Midoriya after that, but I did find videos online about everything I'd seemingly missed while getting home from school. After seeing everything play out, I… honestly couldn't bring myself to be too upset by what Izuku had done, and I don't think Mama Midoriya was that upset either, more just worried about his general safety more than anything else. Midoriya had legitimately been trying to save someone, none of the heroes in the area had been doing anything - and boy did that conversation with Iwata-sensei come clawing back when I watched the video - and while he may not have succeeded, he did buy Bakugou enough time for All Might to arrive and save the day.

It did answer the question on why Midoriya's uniform was burnt in some places and gooey in others. Not only had it literally begun raining but he'd been splattered with goo and been caught in the aftermath of Bakugou bombs. I wasn't sold on that being the only reason he was covered in soot, and I'd definitely be following up on the little shit in the coming months, but it was good enough of an alibi that I couldn't press Midoriya on it.

"A PRO…" The booming voice of All Might rattled from my phone, the video on my phone not the greatest, but enough to capture the hulking figure in all his glory. "...ALWAYS PUTS HIS LIFE ON THE LINE! DETROIT~ SMASH!"

I paused the video, idly taking a screenshot of the flailing Midoriya and Bakugou held in All Might's giant hands, before replaying it back to a very specific part of the video, 9 minutes and 13 seconds into the 20 minute clip.

"It's a no-go for me unless it's a two-lane street!" Mount Lady, Pro for only a couple weeks, made the news earlier that day for playing tag-team with Kamui Woods when apprehending a giant villain. Her quirk allows her to grow to epic proportions. Speaking of…

"Unfortunately, flame-type quirks are my weak points! I'll have to leave this job to someone else!" Kamui Woods, debuted a couple of months back after spending a couple years as a sidekick, but only really gained his current popularity due to a documentary about his dark childhood. His quirk allows him to grow and extend his wooden body parts. He'll probably be put in the top 10 this year, despite the fact he has very few feats to deserve it. Popularity carries after all, and fangirls are just as rabid as fanboys and perverts.

"Thank you Kamui, but my hands are full putting out the fire! How's the situation on your end?" Backdraft, debuted years ago as a rescue hero, he's not a big name but makes local news enough for him to have a small cult gathering. Not a combatant, like, at all. The very few times he's been forced into combat he just postponed until someone else arrives to help. His quirk allows him to spew water from the hose pipes he has instead of hands.

"He's too fluid to grab, and he's exploiting that poor kids quirk. Thanks to that, this is practically a minefield" Death Arms, debuted years ago as well. A minefield, he's a stereotypical strength enhancer, thinks he can solve all his problems with his fists. Cowardly though, never picks a fight he can't win and if he's forced into one, he'll dance around the fight and make it look like he's helping until someone else fixes the mess. Quirk, predicatively, gives him super strength.

So much more played out in the background, a couple of sidekicks making their own comments and most of it went unheard because of the explosions, even what I'd managed to pick out was only because I was focusing specifically on the conversation.

I couldn't help but frown at it all. Letting the video play out in the background, I began to contemplate everything I'd just seen and heard.

"The Heart of a True Hero", I'd always associated that with superman, hell I'd always associated any superhero with Superman! It probably wasn't fair, and I was never really into comics in my old life either, but whenever someone said Superhero the big blue boy scout was always the first that popped in my mind. Clark Kent was… an ideal. He was something to strive for. In my mind, he was the epitome of a hero, someone I could only hope to replicate and attempt to attain likeness of.

It was the first person that came to mind when I first settled on becoming a Hero. He was, in the words of Iwata-sensei, my "something more". I looked at this world and I wanted, in my own way, to be its superman. I wanted more than to just be a symbol of peace, to be a pillar that held up an era. I want a legacy, I want to be an ideal, an inspiration! The reason people become heroes and strive to do their best.

I want to be their Hope.

Looking at those heroes, listening to their words… I couldn't find myself thinking anything pleasant of them.

Mount Lady, useless unless it's a two-way street. Such a ridiculous drawback, such a stupid concept. The road was one way, but she could shimmy past sideways and be fine, she just wouldn't get the limelight she wanted by doing it. Lord knows she could've shrunk and ran to a place she could transform closer than she was.

Kamui Woods… I let out a sigh of disappointment. In All Might's words, a Hero must always put their lives on the line, and he refused because of fire. Fire is scary, I know that. Fire isn't some phobia of mine, but if you told someone to willingly burn themselves, chance says they'll refuse. If someone says, burn yourself or this kid dies however? The only redeeming feature of his entire performance was saving civilians in the area… except that's what the sidekicks were doing, it's why they exist.

The same could be said for Backdraft, he was putting out the fires, yes, but the dozen or so sidekicks he had were doing the same! The fact he wasn't trying to stop the source of the fire but the effect was damning enough. His sidekicks could have dealt with the flames until he pressure-washed the sludge villain away.

Death Arms was perhaps the worst offender, though that came with being compared to the following act that appeared to save the day. Not everyone can punch the weather differently, but he could be doing literally anything else. His quirk wasn't suited to the situation, but he was doing nothing else. He had a strength boosting quirk, he accomplished feats that only construction vehicles could attest and he did nothing to help. He didn't try grab the villain, just said he couldn't, he didn't try to rescue civilians, he just… stood there.

Past interviews said he hates rash actions, but between a rash action to help a person and indecision leading to standing still, I knew which was the better option. Not once in the video did they ever seem to attempt any synergy. They were all too focused on themselves and not on the kid literally dying in front of them. Not one of them placed themselves in harm's way, not one stood up and tried to help knowing they could get hurt, they just waited.

What would have happened had All Might not shown up? What would have happened if no other pro arrived? What would've happened if a dozen or so different things happened, it could've been an execution because they were scared.

I could understand being scared. I was scared when I died. I've been scared countless times in my life. Not once had I been too scared to intervene if I knew something bad was happening. And sure, everything I pointed out were the negatives, and yes there were a hundred positives for every action they took, but the fact of the matter boiled down to the fact they were heroes and yet they weren't helping.

What could I have done instead then? The thought echoed. It wasn't a new thought, I'd thought it over thousands of times to thousands of different videos exactly like this one. If I were in this situation, what could I realistically do to help?

Despite what everyone kept saying, my quirk isn't directly powerful. It's not explosions, like Bakugou. It's not super strength, like All Might or Fire Manipulation like Endeavour. My quirk was a more subtle type of strength. Like Midnight. It isn't something you think of as overpowered, until you realise the Sadist can cause anyone to fall asleep should they just breathe. What is my quirk? Well, that's more complex.

As decided by my quirk doctor, it is officially known in the database as "Distortion", and is officially described as being "the ability to distort non-living material" which isn't exactly wrong, just a heavily constrained definition. The quirk itself is a Space-Time Emitter, which allows me to basically, bend, stretch, compress and all around fuck with space-time. It's not matter manipulation, that much was quick to be discovered, it's a case of me literally destroying space time and making it my bitch.

Its applications are through the roof, it's one of those all-powerful terrain based quirks which just ruin peoples day when they have to fight against you. Shortening a weapon so it misses you, twisting space so they attack themselves by accident, "teleporting" around your opponent, manipulating terrain to create traps and pitfalls- a thousand different applications, all unique and different, all able to fuck with the unilucky son of bitch trying to ruin your day. A complete sensory map of my immediate vicinity, stretching to the very remnants of my range limit, giving me a constant feedback loop of where everything is and through that where people are from the way they interact with the space.

All for the sweet, sweet downside of a 100 metre range limit centred on myself, a harder time splitting my focus, a mental strain which, if I'm not careful, could cause an aneurysm, and the hard limit on not being able to affect living material, which basically only meant living bodies, so humans, animals and the like.

A fair trade of, I'd say. Especially since it still left me with a lot of room to play around with.

Of course, those are just the quirks disadvantage, not mine. I'm just a liiiittle bit squishy and my reaction time and creativity is a hard limit on what I can do as well. I know I spoke about coasting by on the Charles Atlas effect, and I don't, but you don't just become Endeavour strong or Edgeshot fast by training for a couple years, they're pushing themselves to the brink every single day to reach that level. I can deal with being soft and squishy, soft and squishy is completely fine by me and I don't need washboard abs to feel good about myself, but my reaction time… now that's a different story.

I can't manipulate space if I get speed blitzed, and no amount of conditioning myself to instantly fall back on extending the space between me and them is going to help if I'm being attacked before I can even think. Or if I'm getting attacked from multiple angles by multiple people. But that's why we train and continue to grow. Multiple different streams of action is difficult but it's do-able and the sacrifices I make with my utility are worth it in the moment, but even I can get overwhelmed. I'm not omnipotent.

Working now with Iwata-sensei, that gave me an option I never had before, to train my body and my quirk in an actual sparring setting. I'd practised my quirk plenty, the Danchi technically counted as private land since it was owned by the company, rather than the government, so I had free reign in the small courtyards to go wild and, since nobody really cared about quirk usage, I got away with it freely. It was one of the reasons Bakugou came over as often as he did, even after Izuku failed to awaken a quirk, he could practise his heart out worry free.

But with Iwata-sensei, I'd get to put my skills to the test. How would I fare, fighting and using my quirk simultaneously? It was going to be a learning curve, and a damn good one at that.

Shaking my head, I turned back down to my phone, frowning at the image frozen on the screen. What would I be able to do in a situation like this? What could I, assuming I was a hero in this exact situation, do to help out?

First thoughts. Straight away, I can't bend the space between Bakugou and the Villain. Not only is the villain literally attaching itself to his skin, it's forcing its way down his throat, so I can't just extend the space between Bakugou and the villain, giving him enough space to get away. I also run into the issue of, is Sludge counting as living material? Since it's his body I'm going to tentatively say yes, but I've never encountered another person made from a different material to flesh, so I couldn't say.

So, with that out of the way, what can I do here?

First thought would be to cause distractions. I can wrinkle space and make it appear as if the villain is about to be hit. When Midoriya threw his bag it moved the sludge and freed Bakugou's mouth to protect itself, so it can feel pain. Assuming that worked and it free's Bakugou enough, I could keep the space between Bakugou and the Sludge widened so Bakugou isn't getting suffocated anymore. Since it can't create more of itself, it probably freed more of itself too, so I could theoretically get the majority of Bakugou freed, trapping only his arms and his torso. I should also be able to manipulate the terrain enough to cause the ground to try and claw away at the bulk of the villain still attached to Bakugou and try drag it off.

Theoretically, that'd work. But that's the best my mind can come up with to deal with the villain right here and now, with those limitations in place. If the sludge isn't counted as a living material, I could just open a hole through him and allow Bakugou to step out.

I could also probably bring the fire close to him. Bakugou has some heat resistance thanks to his explosions, as do many fire users so it wouldn't be a reach to make that assumption on the fly in battle. Bringing the fire closer to the sludge would heat it up as well and cause it to weaken it's grip on Bakugou so he could slide out as well. I… would like to believe I'm skill enough so ensure the heat is primarily focused on the villain, rather than the civilian in rescue, but that's a hard thing to gauge when working no your own.

If I'm assuming the entire roster is there, things become easier. Widen the street for Mount Lady to get through, she would be able to pick the villain up which would either cause him to abandon Bakugou, and give me space to trap him in place, or he'd double down, which would probably give Mount Lady enough time to submerge him and wash him off Bakugou. Which is also the plan for Backdraft, manipulate the space around his water hose to blast the villain off of Bakugou and create a shield around Bakugou so the water nor the villain touches him.

Kamui Woods, I could manipulate space so the fire doesn't reach him and he can pierce through the sludge and force the villain off Bakugou. Death Arms… Well, dude is kind of useless in this fight, but I could ensure he doesn't get hit and he can try to pry the sludge away. If I keep him bubbled, new sludge shouldn't be able to replace the displaced sludge, so he could get Bakugou out too.

Rescue becomes much easier with me as well. Pinch the space between civilians and the safe zone, extend space and create a pathway for civilians to flee… so many options and so many ways to win. So many ways I'm probably not even considering right now that could work even better, that I'm sure some other kid just like me a decade or more down the line will complain and compare themselves too.

I've got Nine months until that exam. Nine months of training, using my quirk in active combat and having to think in new and creative ways off the rip so I'm not caught unawares. Nine months until I would be deciding whether or not I got into the most prestigious hero school this side of the planet. How… exciting.

Oh, speaking of…

I put my phone down, reaching into my school bag to grab that fancy envelope. I'd have preferably done this with Mama Midoriya, but seeing her reaction to Izuku coming home, I doubt I'd be able to steal her away in private long enough to do so and I didn't really want to rub my recommendation in Izuku's face, not when I know it was his dream to get into UA, unrealistic as it is. So instead, I brought the envelope over to my desk, gently prying the seal open and bringing the various documents into the open for the first time, the small, circular disk I knew to contain a holographic message rolling onto the table, waiting for me to activate it.

I glanced at the stack of papers but quickly moved them to the side. They'd mostly just be information on the exams and a bunch of documents limiting my ability to talk about the recommendation exam or whatever else they needed to clarify. The disc would have all the information I actually wanted though. With a quick gesture, I swiped across the flat surface of the disc, watching patiently as the blue lightly slowly directed an image of Principle Nezu above me.

"IS IT A DOG? IS IT A BEAR? IS IT A RAT? NO, IT'S ME! PRINCIPLE NEZU!" The voice bounced off the walls of the apartment and I cringed, quickly throwing the sound on the hologram down a couple bars while praying the sound hadn't been loud enough to travel through the walls. "IF YOU'RE GETTING THIS MESSAGE, CONGRATULATIONS! YOU'VE BEEN REFERRED TO THE U.A. TEACHING STAFF WITH EITHER A RECOMMENDATION FROM A PRO HERO, OR THROUGH THE ANNUAL U.A. LOTTERY!"

The principal of U.A. bounced excitedly on the screen, his cup of tea swirling violently in his hands as he threw them about, the liquid never once spilling from the cup despite the erratic actions. It was a subtle move, but a powerful one all the same. There'd been a lot of discord when Nezu was announced as the principal of UA, he was an animal after all, but the High Spec quirk he'd been born with was unparalleled in its field as an intelligence quirk and the display he was putting on was a reminder of that fact, though not many would see it as obviously.

Or I could be over-estimating him and placing fancy where I please… I have a feeling I'm going to get extremely stressed out by Principal Nezu for the next few years of my life…

"Koari Hirano" The direct address sent my spine ramrod. I'd originally thought it a pre-recorded message, one recorded and sent out en masse instead of individual, personalised messages. "You received a colossal 47 recommendations from current and retired Heroes and Sidekicks, and only one of them came from a deceased Hero given posthumously-"

Ex-fucking-scuse me?! What the fuck did this bastard pull, oh my fucking god.

"A most impressive feat! It is perhaps the most recommendations one student has received since U.A's founding! Impressive indeed!" The chimaera continued nonplussed and I forced myself to get over my shock and leave the questioning till tomorrow "As a recommendation student, we have not only been in contact with your main Hero Sponsor, but your school principal and governing body as well, who have each given out specific recommendations. We have also considered past results of your schooling from previous years in Junior High and your expected grades! With this knowledge, I can firmly state that you are well capable of partaking in the U.A. Recommendation Hero Course Exam on the 29th of January!"

Well, that was good at least? Though I wonder what exactly Iwata-sensei said in his referral, or how he managed to convince 46… 45 other heroes to give me recommendations. Not counting the dead one - that's a weird thing I never thought I'd say - how did he manage to grab 45 other pro's to not just recommend me, but do so without hesitation? Like, they had no knowledge of me outside of my name and whatever description Iwata-sensei gave them so… why?

It… was probably the same reasoning though right? If they were still close to the old fuck, they were probably thinking the same thing as him. They want someone they can trust to not put the cape down when things get tough… what the fuck is going on in this country, Jesus Christ

"The Recommendation Exam will take place over a 8 hour period" The mouse? continued "Arriving on campus, you will be directed to a short orientation, where you will be personally greeted by the staff on site and myself before being directed to your first series of examinations, the written exams! The first five hours of your day you will face four one-hour long examinations on English, Mathematics, Japanese and Heroic Studies with a fifteen minute break between each exam."

I quickly scrambled for a sheet of paper, writing down all the information that was being spewed at me. English, Maths and Japanese weren't uncommon exam conditions, especially for recommendation exams, but the Heroic Studies was something out of the ordinary but so plainly obvious I should've figured they'd be included.

"Following your written examinations, you will be directed to one of the many sport fields available to us here at U.A. where you will take part in a series of Physical Examinations. Here, you will be tested by a handful of the school staff while other teachers review and grade your written examinations."

I quickly scribbled 'physical exam' below the written exams and threw a handful of question marks on the side of it. No time had been mentioned, so I couldn't begin to guess how long it'd take to complete and move on to the final stage.

"Finally, you will be brought into private interviews with myself, Principal Nezu! While this is occurring, the physical exams will be discussed and graded. These scores will be placed with your written scores and you will be assigned a grade which will show your level of competence. My interview will be the final barrier to your acceptance into U.A. High School! You will be made aware of your pass or fail within the following few days, should all go to plan!"

I wrote that down as well, but made it a point to underline the words "Nezu Interview" so I could keep it in mind. I had a feeling the exams didn't actually mean that much in comparison to the interview. Have amazing scores but a bad interview, hell have amazing scores and an amazing interview? If the principal suspects anything I feel like he'd be more than happy to throw away that amazing candidate.

I know, I know, it's very anime, power of friendship bullshit or whatever but… Nezu is an incredibly smart individual. You could be the dumbest person in the room, if you have even a modicum of potential he'd accept them. I'm sure I could flunk the exams and still get in, I could utterly annihilate the exams and fail to get it. It was all about that impression, and I don't even know what criteria he's looking for.

"Good Luck, Kaori Hirano" The Rat man broke through my thoughts, his smile suddenly much more sinister in my mind's eye, even if nothing had physically changed about it. "You'll certainly need it! And remember~! Should you fail the Recommendation exam, you are all more than welcome to attempt the standard entrance exam two weeks later."

…fuck.

"Did you watch the hologram?" Iwata-sensei asked, seemingly non-pulsed by the, frankly, rigorous training he had just thrown me through. Stupid unaging old men.

"Y-Yeah" I panted, wiping the sweat from my forehead "It's weird, like if you were taking both the standard recommendation for a private school and a sports recommendation. 4 exams, English which I'll pass with ease, Maths which will be a little harder, Japanese which is fine and Heroic Studies which… I should be fine with? Depends what the questions are on to be honest."

"Hm?" Iwata-sensei hummed, passing me my water bottle. I knew better than to gulp it down, taking a small sip from the bottle instead. "What else? A physical exam"

"Yeah, Principal Nezu didn't elaborate on anything about it though" I explained, frowning "Rumours about the standard exam change every year but they all stick to the theme of heroics, just playing it differently each year. Last year was… search and capture, I think? Students had to find robots and capture them, destroying the robot gave one point, tagging the robot gave two and limiting or stopping the mobility of the robot gave three. I don't remember what it was the year prior."

"You think the recommendation exam will be similar to what the standard exam will be then?" Iwata-sensei hummed thoughtfully. "I wouldn't count on it. From the limited conversation I had with Principal Nezu he seemed competent enough to create separate exams. Remember, you're being tested on a higher standard with a much smaller student body. The normal exams have to be grand and large scale with a wide net because there's thousands of applicants, the Recommendation Exam is usually around one hundred people, you're exam will be more complex and thought out, don't underestimate Principal Nezu and don't overestimate yourself"

"Right!" I nodded. It made sense, but it didn't lessen my worry at all. What would the exam be? At least I could prepare for the written exams, the physical one would be a shot in the dark completely.

"Anything else?"

"An interview, as expected" I answered promptly, frowning. "Though I doubt it'll be the standard Private School Interview. My Dad won't be there, I don't think he even knows about the recommendation honestly, but we've got a private one-on-one interview with Principal Nezu"

Iwata-sensei didn't respond fully, just humming with a frown. I felt that, honestly. It wasn't unusual for an interview to take place for this kind of stuff, Mama Midoriya had talked me through the entire process a couple years ago since she was worried about Izuku and his high school career, but it was strange for the interview to be with the principal, and stranger for it to be a one-on-one interview, and not an interview with a parent and staff member from Junior High.

"I'm pretty sure the other exams don't matter" The inquisitive look made me flush, but I continued on "I mean, I'm sure they matter, and everything, but in the grand scheme of things? I think it's all coming down to that interview. I mean, look at previous school years rosters, they have people who don't exactly scream 'powerful' in there do they? Look at the third years right now, one of them has a quirk which allows him to fly but only in a straight line, it doesn't scream 'top hero candidate' right? Not next to alumni like Endeavour and All Might. I don't think we're being judged on the standard criteria, I think the entire thing is going to end up as one giant interview rather than three different exam styles."

"So Nezu can judge you the entire way" Iwata-sensei continued from where I trailed off "People change their attitude when faced with authority, but if you're rude the entire way and then suddenly kind for the interview he'll know about it, right?"

"Yeah, but…" I trailed off, frowning, but at the nudging nod from my homeroom teacher I continued "I don't think it's that simple. Again, third years, you have that one girl right? Uh, Crater? She's aggressive, doesn't scream heroic but she still got in, same with Endeavour right? It was what you said yesterday, that 'forge the heart of a true hero' thing? I think he's looking for that too. You could be rude the entire way, you could be arrogant and pushy, I think he's looking for that spark though. Crater probably would've been much worse in her first year, I don't remember the sports festival that well so I can't really comment, but when she was doing her internship last year she took a hit for another sidekick that broke her arm."

"So it's a double bluff?" Iwata-sensei asked. I was honestly beginning to think he was just humouring me at this point, but I pushed on. "They want you to think the exams matter so you show your true colours throughout but really they don't?"

"This is where I start overthinking though" I frowned, It'd sent me in an absolute spiral this morning and I'd nearly had a anxiety attack because of it. "Because it doesn't make sense for the exams to not matter at all, so they have to contribute in some way but at the end of the day, if Nezu turns around and says no then you're done. So it's a case of, do they actually matter and Nezu is just the final hurdle, or do they not matter and Nezu has final say? Or is it all some giant ploy to get us all worked up about it so we're going into this even more stressed than we normally would be? Because I know I wouldn't be thinking this hard about the normal exam, I'd been completely fine thinking about the normal exam before this, but… I don't know, it's like there's something itching in the back of my brain screaming at me and I don't know if it's me over-estimating Nezu and thinking he's planning all this or if its something else entirely"

We sat in silence after that, me glaring at the ground while Iwata-sensei watched on non-pulsed. It didn't really make sense, but the calmness of his acceptance really drove home the age gap between us. It's not like I'd been shouting or anything, but I could feel my heart pounding in my chest as I got more and more pressed by the situation I found myself in.

A part of me really wanted to hate Iwata-sensei right now. I wouldn't have to deal with any of this if it wasn't for him pushing me for recommendation. I know, I know, my reason for not wanting a recommendation is stupid. I know it's my pride talking, but if I'd just stuck with the normal entrance exam I wouldn't be worrying right now. I could be focusing on actually improving myself in the next few months rather than second guess everything and spend the few hours of after-school activity training instead.

"I think you're finally beginning to realise why I put you forward" Iwata-sensei broke through my thoughts and I frowned at his words.

"I thought you put me forth because you wanted someone you could trust? That you saw something in me or something" I questioned quickly, frowning. Was he lying then? Was it some kind of bluff? I mean, I know he joked at the end that he was doing this to mess with me but was it really a depreciating joke and not a fact?

"No, I do genuinely believe that Hirano" He affirmed his stance, but it didn't sate my curiosity or my annoyance. "What I mean is that you're finally realising that you can't simply win this way."

"But-" I interrupted, confused. "Huh? What do you mean? No, one second, I'm confused."

"Haa, Hirano…" He signed, pitching his forehead before sitting down, joining me on the floor. "Get comfy, this'll take a minute. I'd hoped we'd be able to finish this session by addressing anything you wanted to go over for the next few months but we can do that tomorrow morning instead"

I shifted slightly, briefly contemplating lying down before settling with merely crossing my legs under myself and resting my cheek on my hand. Less comfy than the position I was in before, but I wasn't going to stay lounging around when he was sitting so politely across from me.

"What's the difference between the normal exam and the recommendation exam, Hirano?" He asked simply and I frowned, confused by the line of questioning.

"Anyone can apply for the normal exam but you have to have a Pro put you forward for the recommendation?" I answered, suddenly unsure of the answer I knew to be true.

"But it's not though, is it"

"I-I guess not" I threw out there, wracking my brain. "I mean, the lottery's there and I guess Nezu did mention the school had recommended me as well"

"So you were chosen not just by a Pro Hero, myself, but by the school too." He asked rhetorically "Which is in line with what every other recommendation student out there has to deal with too, and I don't just mean Hero Recommendations, I mean all recommendation students across the country. They all have to deal with this process and they all have to find ways of coping with it, though most of them will only receive their recommendations much later in the year than what you have."

"I… guess, yeah."

"And you know that every other recommendation exam is similar to the normal exam that any student can apply to take"

"Well, yeah, obviously"

"Except the acceptance rate of recommendation students is tiny in comparison to the standard exams" He continued on, and I frowned at that. "It's a fact of life that recommendation exams are much harder than standard exams, and there's a variety of reasons for this. Do you know why?"

"I..." I trailed off, frowning. "I-I don't know? I'd say the tests are harder but I'm pretty sure we take the same tests right? English, Maths, Japanese and Heroic Studies"

"It's because you're being judged in a more private and personal manner" He stated. "The tests will be the same as the normal entrance exam, but they'll be completely different in every manner that matters. You're a recommendation student, Hirano. You were sponsored by nearly 50 heroes because I wanted to ensure you got in. Your teachers all had to give private interviews with Principal Nezu about who you are, your goals, your motivations, their opinions of you, they each had to talk about how you are as a student and your capacity as a hero. You must be tested differently from the normal students, because none of the people taking this test is considered normal. You've all, in some way, shape or form managed to attract the attention of a Pro Hero and have to be tested as such."

He paused for a second but before I could even think of cutting in he continued.

"They need to know what level you're at to see if you're worthy of taking a place from another hero hopeful. They won't let you in just because you're smart or just because you're strong, once you pass through those gates, it doesn't matter if you were recommended by All Might or Toy-toy. You need to be able to keep up with your fellow recommendation students and you need to be able to outstrip them to prove you belong there." He explained patiently, voice calm and level unless he was trying to get certain words across. "I know it sounds like a hand out, I know being given a recommendation sounds like it's the easy path, but the reason I recommended you of all students is because I know you'll keep up. If anyone needs the challenge it's you, and if anyone deserves the recognition it's you. Here you're judged on a much harsher scale. You aren't competing against thousands of other people from a box in the sky where they have to make vast, brief assessments. There's no point system here, there's no handout, cheats or tricks. Here you'll be actively examined at each individual moment before a panel of judges who will be reviewing each and every single one of you on a private and intimate scale to determine whether you deserve this chance or not."

I frowned as I contemplated that. It made an annoying amount of sense honestly. Maybe it was just willful ignorance on my end or maybe it was the assumption of it being different to usual, but I don't think I'd ever considered the recommendation as being the more difficult exam of the two. You hear about all the nepo babies being given recommendations, the people who have private connections to the school or a hero, so I'd just assumed that, if anything, it was a lighter test to just confirm your place. But… U.A. wouldn't be considered one of the best schools in the world if it just let anyone in because of money, you had to prove a point, especially considering how famously rigorous the standard exam is.

Maybe that was the point though? Information about previous standard exams get leaked pretty fast after they take place but never once do the recommended exams, so maybe it was all some kind of long con into making sure people come into it thinking they'll be fine? Who knows

"The interview will be the easiest part of the day, '' Iwata-sensei concluded, making me frown further at him in confusion. "Oh I'm sure it'll be as hard as the rest, but this is where the difference is Hirano. You have full control of what happens during that interview. You'll be playing their game, but there's no competition in that room with you, there's no stick to compare yourself too and you have the full right and ability to take as much time as you need to deal with the questions. You know the criteria, you know what the principal is looking for, you just need to show him what I know you already have Hirano. You go out there, you do your honest to god best and you be honest with yourself. You have the ability to do this Hirano, we all know you can do this, there's no question of if here.

Now, are you going to sit there overthinking this for the next nine months or are we actually going to train?"

Another day, another chapter. Kinda, these were pre-written so I'm just posting this one while I write chapter 4 aha~

Finally introduced Kaori's quirk properly and gave some specific limits on her ability, which I'm hoping will be a decent way to balance her out, while still expressing that she is, and can be, powerful. I also forgot to mention, but this is being cross-posted onto Questionable Questions~! So I'll adress some of the things that've been mentioned on both sites here, since I can't reply to y'all in the comments on (or I don't think I can anyways).

Anyways, before addressing comments and stuff. We also got to see some flaws in Kaori and her ability to think~! She won't be constantly overthinking, but I think Kaori will often get caught up in her own estimations of people, as seen with Nezu and the exam, which will definitely hold her back in someplaces when she starts to over or under estimate people~!

Now, I didn't actually state it last chapter which I think caused some confusion here rathern than on QQ, since I specifically said it on QQ, but Kaori's powers are inspired by Vista from Worm~! I'll be honest when I saw I haven't watched JJK, so I was a bit confused when people brought up Gojo, but after looking on his wiki... yeah, I could get why people would get that misunderstanding aha. But no~ While I might shamlessly take inspiration from what I can see on his wiki, if i'm falling into any Gojo plotholes or expy-ness I'm not intending too, sorry.

Anyways, with that touched on, I hope y'all enjoyed chapter two :3