Chapter 3: Starting Line
The U.A. high school hero course is designed to give students everything they need to go pro! It is, without a doubt, the country's most challenging and most popular hero course. Only one in 300 applicants is accepted! The alums are a list of who's who of heroes. There's All Might, who magnanimously declined the People's Choice award! Then, the man who's stomped out more crimes than anyone else in recorded history: Endeavor! And the guy who has won the Best Jeanist award eight years running: Best Jeanist! It seems graduating from U.A. is simply a requirement for becoming a great hero!
It was finally the day we had been waiting for, February 26th, the day of U.A.'s entrance exam. Izuku and I had worked extremely hard to get to where we were standing, and I could feel the anxiety starting to bubble up within me. All Might stood before Izuku and me, holding a strand of hair between his massive fingers, waiting for Izuku to take it.
"It doesn't matter what you eat as long as you get my DNA. Now hurry!" All Might urged Izuku to take the hair.
"Not exactly how I thought this would go…" Izuku timidly reached out and picked up the hair. He placed it in his mouth and forced himself to swallow. A look of disgust crossed his face as it slid down his throat. I couldn't help but laugh at the situation—all that for just a hair off of All Might's head.
"You swallowed it, yes?" All Might asked. Izuku looked down at his hands to see if they had changed. To me, he looked like the same Izuku I had always known.
"Yeah, but I don't feel like anything different yet. I don't feel myself transforming." Izuku replied.
All Might let out a hearty laugh.
"Well, of course not! Your body has to process the hair first." He looked at the time on a nearby sign. "It should kick in after two, maybe three hours."
My stomach flipped when I heard this, and I thought about how soon the entrance exam was. In several short hours, I would sit in a room with my peers from around the country, taking the most crucial test of my life. My stomach flipped again at the thought.
"Izuku, we need to go. My stomach is in knots." I urged, feeling I needed to start moving to calm my nerves.
"Mine too. Plus, we both need to get home to take a shower and eat something before the test." Izuku agreed. We both turned to start the jog home when we heard All Might's voice.
"You may have molded your body into a proper vessel, but you did it quickly, so be cautious." We both stopped and looked at All Might, listening to his warning. "The physical backlash of One for All can be intense. There's no time to go into the fine details but take note. You have got to prepare yourself before using this quirk. So when you go to use it, I want you to clench your butt checks and yell this from the depths of your heart! Smash!" All Might threw his fist in the air. Izuku smiled at All Might, joining him by punching the air.
"Thank you, All Might, for all your help and advice. I won't let it go to waste!" Izuku exclaimed.
"Yes, yes, now get a move on before you are late." All Might said, turning to walk away, leaving Izuku and me standing on the beach.
"Come on, Izzy. We have to get going!" Izuku nodded, and we started the short jog home. Once inside the house, I immediately took a quick shower while Izuku made us a quick meal. Once I was done, I came out to sit with Izuku. Both of us ate in silence, thinking about our upcoming exam. Once Izuku had finished eating, he headed off to take a shower.
I picked at my meal, too nervous to eat much. My mind raced with what the exam could be. I knew there was a practical and written exam, but I had no clue what either would entail. What would they want to see from the examinees? As my mind raced, Izuku exited his bedroom wearing his school uniform. His hair was still damp and messy, as always. As we finished, there were only about 90 minutes until the exam started.
We gathered our bags, ensuring we had all the necessary paperwork. I put my lighter in my pocket in case no flames were involved in the test. We bounded down the stairs, quickly running for the subway station. We made it onto the subway and took our seats as the cab around us filled up with commuters on their way to work. Before long, we were moving for our forty-minute ride.
My stomach flipped uneasily, thinking about the test ahead. Izuku's hand was on my knee, keeping it from bouncing up and down. I hadn't realized that I was doing that. I looked at him and saw his smile. There was nervousness behind his smile, but something else was there. He appeared more determined than I had ever seen him. I smiled back at him, hoping my smile would not portray my nervousness.
"Do you feel any different, Izzy?" I asked, trying to start a conversation.
Izuku shook his head. "No, not really. All Might said it could take some time. I wish I could have tested it out before the exam."
"Do you have a plan?" I asked, hoping that even a vague plan would give me some confidence.
"No," Izuku said, shaking head, "I'm not even sure if I can use this power or what it will do. Not to mention, we won't know what the exam will be until we get there."
I nodded my head. I hadn't even thought about Izuku not being able to use this power for the exam. What if he didn't pass? This made the panic start to build again. I told myself that there was no way that this would happen. All Might wouldn't have spent all that time with Izuku just for him to fail. This thought did mildly help with the anxiety that I was feeling.
We rode the rest of the way in silence. My mind raced with scenarios of what the exam could entail. Anything from going up against robots or aliens to saving fake citizens from natural disasters played out in my imagination. I couldn't help but hope that there were no flood simulations. We had arrived at our stop before I could work through the details of the different scenarios. I looked at my phone and noticed we still had 20 minutes to spare.
Grabbing our bags, we hurried out of the subway and up the hill to the U.A. grounds. Staring up at the majestic school made me feel so small. Massive archways stretched over the path to the building. The building itself was in the shape of a giant H. I couldn't help but wonder if this stood for "Hero." Statues lined the path as we walked toward the oversized doors. Bare trees were sporadically placed around the campus. As we started on the path, I held my breath, taking in the sights.
I looked over at Izuku and noticed that besides a look of awe, there was also some fear. He didn't seem to notice that I had looked over at him as he was too lost in thought. I saw him cover his mouth and knew what he was thinking about. He was worried about not being able to use his new quirk. Honestly, I was concerned about this as well. I was pulled out of my thoughts by a familiar voice behind me.
"Move aside, Deku!" I turned my head to the side in time to see a Bakugo walking in between Izuku and myself.
"Kacchan!" Izuku exclaimed in surprise. "M-Morning, let's both do our best."
"Move out of my way, or both of you are dead." Bakugo passed us and continued toward the entrance. As he walked, I could hear the whispers of other students who had recognized him from the encounter with the sludge villain. Bakugo kept his head down and ignored the whispers around him. I looked back at Izuku, who still had a shocked look on his face.
"You got to stop flinching when you see him." I teased Izuku. I understood his timidity around Bakugo, as he had tortured him as a kid. Still, things had changed since the sludge villain. Bakugo had stopped tormenting Izuku and left me alone completely.
"Yeah, but it's not like before! We must remember all our hard work the past ten months and move forward." Izuku went to take a step forward and caught his foot on the back of his other leg. As if in slow motion, I watched as Izuku started to fall forward. When he was almost parallel to the ground, he suddenly stopped falling and floated in midair.
"Are you ok?" On the other side of Izuku was a girl with shoulder-length brown hair. Her cheeks were pink in the chilly weather, and a smile brightened up her face. She grabbed Izuku by the arm and turned his body until he was on his feet. She put her fingers together, and the weight returned to Izuku. "It's my quirk. Sorry for using it without asking, but it's a bad omen to trip and fall. This sure is nerve-wracking. "
"Ya... Uh…Hm..." I looked at Izuku and back at the girl. Izuku looked dumbfounded as he stammered. The girl just giggled and started walking toward the school's entrance. She looked over her shoulder and waved at us, or more specifically, Izuku. I wasn't even sure she had noticed my presence.
"Good luck to both of us." I watched as she disappeared into the crowd of students heading inside. I looked over at Izuku, who had the weirdest smile. His green eyes were wide as he stared ahead where the girl had just disappeared. Beads of sweat were starting to drip down his face. I couldn't help but laugh. He slowly looked over at me with a confused look.
"Izzy, you are so awkward when talking to girls. If you can even get a word out." He shook his head frantically.
"I.. uh.. I mean…" Izuku stammered.
"Never mind now," I grabbed Izukus's hand and quickly walked toward the door to get inside. "We don't want to be late for our exam."
We made it inside, and I looked around for two seats next to each other. Most of the room was already filled with kids our age. I looked around and noticed that the girl we had met out front was sitting near the middle. She was looking down at her phone and didn't see us walk in. I finally spotted two seats by each other. As I looked at the kid in the chair next to the empty ones, I noticed that it was Bakugo. I sighed and headed up the steps to take the seats.
As we shuffled in, I claimed the seat next to Bakugo to save Izuku from having to sit there. Bakugo looked up as I pulled the chair out to take my seat. He rolled his eyes and returned to looking at the front of the room. Izuku took the chair beside me excitedly, looking around at everyone else in the room.
As I settled into my seat, several adults started walking down the aisles, handing out pieces of paper with our names and application photos. I would think they were pro-heroes by how they were dressed, but I couldn't recall any of their names. One came up the aisle wearing a cowboy hat with an S, a gas mask, and a cape. He threw the cards, and they zoomed right at us and stopped when caught by the student they were meant for or hit them.
I watched as a card was thrown in our direction. Before I could react, Bakugo reached up, grabbing it out of the air. He returned his hand as another card flew at me, hitting the side of my head. I picked it up from where it fell and turned it over, taking a look. My name was scrawled across the top with my picture on the side. Below my name was a 4-digit examanie number. Under this were the words Battle Center F. I went to look at Izuku's but was interrupted by a loud voice.
"For all you examinee listeners tuning in, welcome to my show today! Everybody say, "Hey"!" I looked up at the person speaking in the front of the auditorium. The man's blonde hair was slicked back and sticking up in a sort of mohawk fashion, pushed back by a pair of headphones. He was wearing a leather coat and pants. The most noticeable part, however, was a boombox-like device around his neck with speakers on either side and several buttons on the front. I watched as he put his hand up to his ear, waiting for a response from the crowd, only to be met with silence. This didn't seem to phase him as he continued speaking. "Well, that's cool, my examinee listeners! I'm here to present the guidelines of your practical! Are you ready? YEAH!".
This man was met again with silence. I looked over at Izuku, who was covering his mouth with his hands and practically rocking back and forth from excitement. He must know who this man was. I watched as Izuku started to go all fan girl.
"It's the voice hero Present Mic, wow…! I listen to his radio show every week. It's inspiring. I guess all the U.A. teachers are pro heroes…." I smiled at the giddiness in Izuku's voice. I felt Bakugo shift in his seat beside me as Izuku continued to mutter.
"Shut up," Bakugo said, folding his arms at Izuku's muttering. I rolled my eyes and looked back to the front of the auditorium. If what Izuku was muttering was correct, then the guy in front of the classroom was a teacher at U.A. and a pro-hero.
"This is how the test will go, my listeners." I sat up subconsciously, paying closer attention to the instructions. You'll be experiencing ten-minute-long mock cityscape maneuvers. Bring along whatever you want. After this presentation, you'll each head to your assigned testing location." That meant that I could bring my lighter to the test with me. I sighed, knowing I could have a fire even if none was in the test.
Bakugo looked over my shoulder at my I.D. card and returned to his. "That's so kids from the same middle school can't help each other, yeah?" Bakugo asked.
"And why consecutive I.D. numbers are assigned to different locations," Izuku responded.
"I'll crush 'em all," Bakugo scoffed, "But you get to live another day…" Before I could respond to his underhanded comment, the Present Mic at the front of the room drowned us out.
"Each site is filled with three kinds of faux villains." He held up three fingers to represent one of each villain. Silhouettes with point values and an image of the fake city appeared behind him. It reminded me of video games I used to watch Izuku and Bakugo play as kids. "Points are awarded for defeating each according to their respective difficulty levels! Use your quirks to disable these faux villains and earn points! That's your goal, listeners! Of course, playing the antihero and attacking the other examinees is prohibited!" I could hear Bakugo roll his eyes beside me with obvious irritation at this last point.
A boy sitting several rows in front of us suddenly stood up, raising his hand. He appeared to be taller than those around him. His hair was jet black, and I could see the arms of a pair of glasses sitting on his ears. He was wearing what appeared to be either a polo or button-up shirt tucked into dress pants. I rolled my eyes as I knew this type all too well. This kind of person would remind the teacher about homework on a Friday.
"May I ask a question?" He held up a handout and appeared to be pointing something on it. "There appeared to be no fewer than four varieties of faux villains on this handout! Such a blatant error, if it is one, is highly unbecoming for U.A., Japan's top academy! We're all here today hoping to be molded into model heroes!"
I tried to stifle the laughter that bubbled up. This kid had done his research, but his approach was comical. As I struggled to control myself, the kid turned around and stared at me. I swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat.
"And you with the messy hair!" He had pointed in my general direction. I thought about his words and realized he was not talking about me. While my hair could be messy at times, it was currently pulled into a ponytail. I looked to my left at Izuku. His mouth was hanging open, and he was pointing at himself. "You've been muttering this whole time… It's distracting! If this is a game to you, please leave immediately!"
"Sorry…" Izuku covered his mouth. I could see his cheeks turning pink from embarrassment. I could feel the anger starting to bubble inside of me. This boy had no clue how much just being here meant to Izuku and how hard he had worked to be here. How could he even say things about someone that he didn't know? I mentally counted the rows between myself and him, wondering how long it would take me to clear the distance. Once I made it, how long would it be before the teachers reached us? My thoughts were interrupted by Present Mic breaking the tension.
"Alright. Alright. Examinee 7111, nice catch. Thanks! But the fourth faux villain variety gets you zero points! He's more of an obstacle. Have you all played Super Mario Brothers?" Was he talking about the old video game? Everyone else in the auditorium had the same thought it would appear as there were mutters and whispers. "It's kind of like a thwomp! Only one is at each site! A "gimmick" that'll rampage around in close quarters. Got it? So it's best to try and avoid it."
"Thank you, sir. I apologize for the interruption!" The teacher's pet bowed toward the pro and took his seat. I breathed a sigh of relief that it wouldn't be a water-based exam. My biggest fear going into this was that there would be no chance of fire. Subconsciously, I put my hand in my pocket, feeling the lighter.
"The great hero, Napoleon Bonaparte, once said: "True Heroism Consists in being superior to the ills of life." That's all from me! I'll leave my listeners with our school motto. Can I get a… PLUS ULTRA! BREAK A LEG EVERYONE!" With that, he walked off the stage, leaving us all to exit the room. There was a moment before everyone started to move toward the door. I stood up with Izuku, and we silently approached the door. I could feel Bakugo moving beside me as well.
All three of us walked silently. Most other students were also quiet, though some talked in hushed whispers. Most were trying to devise a plan of attack now that we finally knew what we would be facing. I thought about how I could create a fire if it were needed. I had hoped that I would be in the same test as Bakugo, so I knew that I would have a fire, but now that I knew that they had separated us, I had to think of another solution. As we walked down the hallway, we were greeted by an astronaut and a man with long black hair dressed all in black. Around his neck was a scarf that appeared to be wrapped multiple times.
"This way, ladies," the astronaut said, pointing to the left. Her voice was feminine as she spoke. Her male counterpart grunted and pointed to the right, occasionally grabbing a student who tried to sneak the other way. As we approached them, I stopped briefly before grabbing Izuku around the neck in a firm embrace.
"Please be careful out there, Izzy! Even with this power, you don't know how to use it yet." He returned my embrace. Once we were done, he put his hands on my shoulders and shook his head.
"I will, Nat. You need to be careful as well. Remember, you aren't fireproof." He let go of my shoulders, grabbing onto his backpack strap. "I will meet you after the test, ok?"
I nodded, and we both turned to go down our hallway. I entered the changing room and saw many girls my age wearing workout attire. I quickly found an unclaimed area of the room and set my bag down on the bench.
"Hey!" A high-pitched voice came from the direction of my bag, but I did not see anyone. I could see my bag floating in the air before it fell onto the bench beside where I had set it.
"I'm…umm… sorry. I didn't see anyone there!" I stammered, trying to figure out where I should be looking.
"It's ok!" The voice chirped. I saw that they were putting on a pair of gloves and slipping on shoes. "I'm Toru Hagakure! Are you just so nervous about this? I know I am! I hear that there is a button on the robot's back that turns them off or something. Hopefully, I can sneak up on them."
I listened to this girl ramble as I changed from my school uniform to a tank top and black sweatpants. As I finished, Hagakure grabbed her bag and waited for me to grab my things before heading to the door. We followed the signs that pointed toward the battle centers. Hagakure was extraordinarily cheerful and upbeat. She told me how she lived in Tokyo and about her school friends. By the time we reached the split in the path leading to the different battle centers, I felt I knew everything about her.
"What way are you? I am in A!" She exclaimed. I felt my spirits fall, knowing we were assigned to different battle centers. It would be nice to have one friend there. I pointed toward the path with an F.
"I am this way," I said.
"Oh, that is a real bummer! Well, good luck, Natsuki! Hopefully, we will see each other again soon!" Hagakure started to run down the path labeled A, waving a gloved hand behind her. I waved back at her and started down the path to Battle Center F. After taking several steps; I realized she would be in the same arena as Bakugo.
I shook my head. I wouldn't worry about her right now. I needed to focus on what was to come. She must have some talent; otherwise, she wouldn't be allowed to take the test, right? I didn't think of the fact that they would let Izuku take the test with no quirk. There was no way that she wouldn't see how hot-headed Bakugo was and stay away from him.
Before I knew it, I had arrived at Battle Center F. A group of students was forming around the doors. There were many different kids here with various shapes and sizes. Some appeared to be heteromorphic, while others seemed completely normal. I started to stretch, willing my nerves to calm down.
A girl with similar-colored hair approached me, stopping at my side. What was it about me that made me so approachable? Her hair was pulled into a ponytail on the side of her head, and she was wearing a white T-shirt and teal shorts. She was stretching her fingers and hands, which seemed weird to me.
"Hi there! My name is Kendo. What about you?" The girl asked.
"Natsuki, but everyone calls me Nat," I replied.
"Hi, Nat. So, are you nervous or what?" Why did everyone keep asking me if I was nervous?
"Is it that obvious?" I put my hand on my head, trying to appear relaxed. "I'm just trying to think
of a way to be able to use my quirk. I'm nervous that I won't be able to. What about you? Aren't you nervous?"
"Nah, I've got this within my grasp," she said with a smile. "What's your quirk?"
"I can control fire," I answered.
"That is way cool! How come you are nervous then? Can't you just light the robots on fire or something along those lines." Kendo asked.
"I can't create fire, just control it. I can make it burn hotter if needed, but if there is nothing for me to start a fire with, then there is no way that I could use my quirk to get points." I explained, looking down at the ground. This confession embarrassed me more than I thought it would. However, Kendo didn't seem to judge me and appeared to be thinking.
"Maybe we can help each other out." I looked up at her with a questioning look. She smiled at me, and before I knew it, her hand became giant beside me. I stared at her hand, amazed. As she returned her hand to normal size, she smiled. "I think that I have a plan."
As we waited for the exam, Kendo reviewed her plan with me. She would smash the first robot, hopefully starting a fire, and I would keep her hands from getting burned. If there was no fire, we could use the oil and my lighter to make one. Once we had made fire, we would watch each other's backs and try to rack up points. I had to admit that she did have a good plan.
"Get moving! There's no countdown in a real battle. Run, run, run, listeners! You're wasting airtime!" I heard Present Mic announce. Kendo nodded in my direction, and we took off running. As we entered the arena, I couldn't help but be blown away at the size of the arena. It looked just like an actual city with skyscrapers and streets.
I followed Kendo as we turned down a side street, looking for any of the faux villains. We didn't have to look long as one came barreling from the wall before us. Both of us stopped on a dime before we hit it. The robot was giant, with a snake-like head and arms covered with shields. On its head was a singular red eye that appeared to be looking between Kendo and me.
"NOW!" Kendo yelled. I saw her hand expand in size as she reached out and smacked the robot's side, sending it flying into the side of the building. I could feel the heat coming from the robot but could not pull any fire. The robot recovered quickly from Kendo's surprise attack and continued its pursuit.
"Do it again!" I yelled as the robot started to close the distance quickly. Kendo didn't hesitate and expanded her other hand. She brought her hands together and smashed the robot between them. I immediately felt the fire pull and focused on keeping the flames from burning Kendo's hands. When she opened her hands, the robot fell to the ground. The flame I felt grew with the sudden rush of oxygen reaching the fuel tank and engulfing the entire robot with fire.
I quickly pulled a portion to us, forming it into a ball as it zoomed in our direction. It came to rest above my right shoulder. Kendo smiled at me, seeing my quirk for the first time.
"That is an awesome quirk!" She exclaimed. I rolled my eyes. She didn't know that I had struggled my whole life with having a quirk. While I had gotten parts of both my parent's quirk, Izuku hadn't gotten any. This was the first time since Izuku had received All Might's power that I had that thought. It was different now; I didn't need to feel guilty for having a quirk. I smiled over at Kendo with this thought.
"I know! Let's keep going." Kendo nodded, and we took off through the streets.
As we ran down the street, we took down at least 20 robots. Kendo would smash them with her hands, and I would hurl my fireball through them. According to my math, we both scored around 20 points or so. It had only been 10 minutes, but we needed to pick up the pace. We encountered several others while going through the streets but mainly tried to avoid them.
As we rounded the corner, I saw another 3-pointer sitting at the end of the street. Its red eyes were poking through its slated mask. Its shoulders moved, exposing its missile launcher. I wasn't sure they had put missiles in the robot, but I didn't want to take a chance. I readied myself as Kendo ran ahead to attack first. She hit the robot on the arm as she had done before, but this robot predicted the attack and hit her arm back. Kendo fell to the ground with the attack.
I moved my arm to point at the robot, hurling a fireball. Before it could reach the robot, a white foam came out of the robot from above its head, hitting the fireball. I watched as the foam caused the fire to dissipate. I felt the panic rising inside of me. How was I supposed to take out this robot?
My feet were glued to the spot as I watched the robot turn and start to move in my direction. My brain was yelling at me to run, but I couldn't get my legs to respond. It seemed like the robot was moving in slow motion in my direction. I was so focused on the imminent danger approaching that I hadn't noticed the streak of red approaching me. I watched as the robot raised its arms, preparing to hit me.
I closed my eyes, waiting for the hit to come. I felt something knock into me, but not in the direction I expected. I fell to the ground, landing on my shoulder. I opened my eyes in time to see a red-haired boy raising his arms above his head as the robot brought its giant arm down on top of him. A cloud of dust rose where the boy had been engulfing both the robot and the boy.
I jumped to my feet and went to where I once stood as the dust settled. I'm sure that the boy was hurt and I needed to help him. I heard Kendo calling my name through the remaining dust. She must not have seen that I was pushed out of the way.
"Over here!" I shouted as I continued to look for what was left of the boy who had saved me. I saw a tuft of red hair coming up from the pavement. This kid didn't know me; why did he risk jumping in front of the robot? He had to see that it wasn't going to end well. Kendo had made her way to me.
"Man, I thought that you were a goner for sure! Did you hit a self-destruct button or something with the fireball?" I shook my head and pointed toward what was left of the red hair. Kendo followed my hand, looking where the boy once was. I couldn't bring myself to look again. I heard the cement cracking and couldn't believe the school allowed this test to continue. I wiped a tear away from my eye and looked toward the sound of the cracking.
I watched as the area around the red hair started to break and fall back. The skin-colored rock broke through the pavement, followed by a more red hair. I watched in awe as he climbed out of the hole in the pavement. His skin looked like it was made of flesh-colored stone. He dusted himself off, his skin returning to normal, and turned around to face Kendo and me.
"Woah, that was close!" he said, running his fingers through his spikey red hair. He suddenly moved his hand from his hair and held it between us. "By the way, I'm Kirishima!"
I looked down at his hand before extending mine as well. "I'm Natsuki, but everyone just calls me Nat." He squeezed my hand before quickly pulling me in and patting my back. I was surprised by the sudden affection. As he let go, I stared at him, unsure how to react. Kirishima just continued to smile at me.
"Well, not to break up all this fun, but we need to keep moving if we want to get into U.A." I had been so surprised by Kirishima that I had forgotten to introduce Kendo. But she didn't need me as she said, "I'm Kendo!"
"Nice to meet you, Kendo!" he greeted her with his smile still plastered on his face. "I could stick with you guys, keep you safe?"
"What makes you think we need it?" I raised my eyebrow at him.
"I didn't mean it like that. What I meant is six eyes are better than four. Maybe we can help each other out and watch each other's backs?" He hung his head, obviously embarrassed by the misunderstanding. I looked over at Kendo to see what her thoughts were. She shrugged her shoulders in response. I looked back at Kirishima.
"Sure," I replied, "You are right; the more people, the quicker we can move."
"Awesome!" The smile returned to Kirishima's face.
"Let's get moving then," Kendo said, turning down the alley.
"Wait, what are your quirks? As you saw, mine is hardening. I can turn my body to stone, which makes me pretty tough, but my hardening will fade if I take too much damage." I had to admit that he had a pretty fantastic quirk.
"This is my quirk!" Kendo said before expanding her hand in front of her.
"That is awesome!" Kirishima said with awe in his voice. Kendo smiled and retracted her hand. "What about you, Nat?"
"Well," I started, pulling my lighter from my pocket. I flicked on the flame and pulled it toward my other hand. "I can manipulate fire. However, I can't make fire, and if I'm not careful, I can burn."
I extinguished the fire between two fingers. Kirishima was staring at me, his mouth slightly open. I just shrugged my shoulders. Kaachan's power was much more impressive, and people were usually more impressed with him and didn't fawn over me. That and for most of my life, I
avoided using my quirk.
"Woah, I've never seen anything like that before! If you don't make it into U.A., there isn't a chance for us!" I blushed at Kirishima's reply. I don't think anyone besides Izuku had been interested in my quirk before.
"It's not that great," I said sheepishly. "Enough about my quirk; we need to get moving," Kendo nodded in agreement.
The three of us took off down the alleyway towards the main street. As we rounded the corner, we saw the carnage littering the road. We sprinted down the road, looking for robots to kill. Down the road, we found what we were looking for. Four level 3 robots surrounded a blonde-haired boy. As we ran toward the group, I noticed that the cannons on the robot's shoulders were shooting bullets. I didn't think they would include something dangerous in the exam. I looked back down at the boy and noticed something off about him. The bullets were bouncing off of him as they hit his skin.
Kendo quickly lept into action, enlarging her hands and smacking the robot's side. At the same time, Kirishima hardened his arms to use them as swords. I protected Kendo's hand and pulled on the fire, starting to come off the robots. The blonde looked in our direction. I saw a smirk cross his lips before he took off, running toward one of the robots. The robot swung its giant arm toward the blonde. He didn't seem phased; he just raised his arm as if he could block the incoming attack. I watched as the metal arm collided with the boys.
I expected to hear the snapping of bones but was surprised by the sound of metal hitting metal. The blonde's arm had turned silver and held the robot's green arm back. The blonde continued to make his way around the robot before stopping at his back. He quickly jumped onto the robot, climbing up its back. As he reached the middle of its back, he flipped open a panel and started to pull on wires. As he continued pulling wires from the robot, it malfunctioned and made uncoordinated movements before stopping.
The boy hopped down, smiling while looking at his handiwork. I looked toward the others as they continued to fight their respective robots. I noticed the fourth robot making its way toward Kendo. She was too focused on the battle at hand.
I quickly moved my hands to point toward the remaining robot. The fire I had collected whizzed right into the robot, hitting it square in the face. The fire burned its way through the robot, destroying everything inside. The robot leaned to the side before crashing into the ground. I looked around, and the other three robots appeared to be incapacitated.
Kirishima was turning back to his normal skin, and Kendo was returning her hands to their normal size. I looked over toward the blonde, that was still smiling. He started to walk in my direction. As he reached me, he waved his hand.
"Hi, y'all! I'm Ethan." His accent seemed off. It was not like anything that I had heard before.
"Hey, dude! I'm Kirishima, this is Nat, and over there is Kendo." Kirishima came up behind me, putting his hand on my shoulder. He didn't seem to notice his accent.
"Hi, Ethan," I replied, "Your quirk was like nothing I have ever seen!"
"Yeah, man! You were so manly walking up to the robot like it couldn't hurt you!" Kirishima added. Kendo had made her way to where we were standing.
"Well, that's because they can't. You must be Kendo. I'm Ethan," he replied very matter-of-factly. Kendo looked confused but waved at him.
"What do you mean they couldn't hurt you?" I questioned.
"It's my quirk. It's called reactive adaptation. If my body perceives incoming danger, it adapts to the situation. However, I never know what that change will be." Ethan explained. I had to admit that his power was pretty badass, but the ground shook before I could ask him anything.
"What is that?" Kendo asked as we all struggled to stay upright. We didn't have to wait long for the answer. Several other people ran into the main road to see what was causing the ground to shake. The ground was starting to crack and fall away in front of us. Before I knew it, a vast crater had formed in the street. I couldn't help but wonder if this was part of the exam or something else. Then there was silence. Everyone stared at the crater, waiting.
A giant robot emerged as I stepped forward to see if I could peer into the crater. This robot was the same size, if not bigger, than the buildings next to it. Its hand-like appendages gripped the building to help pull itself out of the ground. Its face was rectangular with eight red circles that I assumed were its eyes. As it crawled out of the ground, chunks of the building beside it broke off, falling to the ground, threatening anyone under it. Those closest to the chaos had started to retreat. The robot continued to destroy buildings as it slowly started moving down the street. It appeared that no one was going to stop it.
Then I remembered what Present Mic had said. This robot was worth zero points. That must be why everyone was avoiding it. But I couldn't help but think that someone needed to stop it. I looked around, waiting for someone to move, but no one did. I looked toward Kendo, Ethan, and Kirishima. They all appeared to be thinking the same thing. This giant needed to be stopped before someone got hurt. It would be up to us if no one else would do it.
"Anyone got a plan?" I asked, hoping we could come up with something quickly.
"Maybe," Kendo replied, "Ethan, would your quirk protect you from being crushed?"
"I would assume so, but I have never tested it. Why?" Ethan questioned.
"I think I have a plan!" Kendo exclaimed.
We listened carefully as Kendo explained her plan to us. It was a long shot, but it was our only shot. I ran to one of the downed robots and found its oil storage still intact. I pulled out my lighter, flicked it on, and directed the flame toward the oil canister. I watched as the robot became engulfed in flames. I pulled some to me and nodded toward Kendo.
"Alright, here goes nothing," Ethan said, walking toward the giant robot. I could hear him yelling, trying to keep it distracted while we snuck around to the back of it.
"Are you sure this is going to work?" Kirishima asked.
"About as sure as I can be given the circumstances," Kendo responded.
"Well, let's go then." I nodded, agreeing with Kirishima. Before climbing onto Kirishima's back, I ensured the flame was just above my shoulder. "Hang on tight, Nat."
I tightened my grip as Kirishima hardened his arms and started our accent up the robot. I watched as his hardened arms sunk into the robot. As we climbed higher, I held onto Kirishima with all my strength. I could hear the shouts of Ethan and Kendo below as they distracted the robot, trying to keep it near the same spot. When the robot started moving toward Ethan, Kendo hit it with her hand, making it move toward her. This continued as Kirishima, and I climbed up the robot toward an access panel.
We had taken inspiration from Ethan and how he managed to take down the robots. We neared a door-like structure at the back of the giant. Kirishima dug his arms into the metal exterior, providing me with steady footing to climb and pry open the door. I dug my fingernails into the crack, desperately trying to open it. My fingertips turned bloody as I continued to pry at the crack in the door. Just as I was ready to give up, the door swung open, taking me by surprise. I grabbed the door as it swung out and felt my feet pull off Kirishima's shoulders.
As the door opened fully, my back slammed into the robot, knocking the wind out of my lungs. Before I could recover, the door was swinging back inward. As the door swung closed, I could feel the pain spreading through my fingers as they were slammed between the door and the robot. It took everything in me not to let go. I could hear Kirishima yelling at me, but I needed to focus despite the pain. The door was swinging back outward, exposing the robot's inner workings. Bracing myself through the pain, I tightened my grip with my left hand and let go with my right. I used this hand to send the fireball inside the robot. I saw the fire enter the space and catch the wires and electrical components on fire.
"Kirishima, catch!" I yellow before letting go of the door entirely before it could swing shut and smash my fingers again. As I started to fall, I reached out to Kirishima. I felt his unhardened hand grasp mine, but my momentum caused my hand to slip out of his. It felt like everything had started to move in slow motion.
"Damn it!" I heard Kirishima shout. I closed my eyes, waiting for the pain as I hit the ground. I hoped Kendo saw what was happening and moved so she didn't get hurt. Suddenly, my back slammed against something hard, but it was not hard enough to be ground. I heard the scrapping of metal on metal. I tentatively opened one eye to see what was going on.
Kirishima managed to grab me out of the air with one arm while using the other to slow our descent. In a matter of seconds, we were only a few feet above the ground. Kirishima let me go so he could free his other hand from the robot. As my feet hit the ground, I lost my footing and fell. I felt another set of hands pulling me back onto my feet.
"Nat, we have to move! The thing is going to fall!" Kendo yelled. I looked up and saw that the entire upper part of the robot was engulfed in flames, causing it to sway. Part of the robot broke off, falling like a flaming meteor. I watched as it fell right towards Ethan.
"Ethan, RUN!" I yelled. Kirishima had caught up with us and was pushing me down the street. Ethan heard me and looked up at the flaming debris falling toward him. Just before we disappeared behind a building, I saw the debris landing on Ethan. I tried to turn so I could run back and help Ethan, but Kirishima kept pushing me forward. "We need to go back! We have to help him!"
"Nat, he will be fine, but we won't be if that robot crushes us!" Kirishima yelled back. I knew he was right, that Ethan's quirk should protect him. We continued running down the alley away from the giant robot. After several minutes of running, there was a loud crash, and the ground started to shake. We stopped running and looked back at where the robot once was standing. There was no sign of the robot anymore, but smoke was filling the air in its place.
We took off back in the direction that Ethan had been, racing through the streets and ignoring robots and people alike. I was focused entirely on making sure that Ethan was alright. As I approached where Ethan had been, I saw the fallen debris. Flames still licked at the metal. I flicked my hand, sending the fire into a nearby building, and ran to the debris. I grabbed an edge of it, trying to pick it up. Kirishima and Kendo were right behind me and joined in lifting the debris.
Slowly but surely, the debris started to come off the ground. With a lot of effort, we managed to move the debris to the side, giving us the first glimpse of where Ethan was. The ground was dented where the debris had landed. In the middle was a flat human shape that was unmistakably Ethan. I ran up to the edge to see if he was still alive.
"Hey Nat, thanks for getting that off of me. It was starting to get heavy." Ethan joked. I breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that he wasn't dead. He pursed his lips as if blowing up a balloon, and I watched with amazement as his body started to inflate. After his body had returned to normal, he crawled out of the hole he was in. As he reached us, the crackling of speakers was heard overhead.
"Times up!" Present Mic's voice came over the speaker. I lay on the ground, relieved that it was over. I wondered how Izuku had done and how many points he had gotten. I'm sure that it was more than I had gotten. If I hadn't stopped to take down the giant robot, my score would have been higher, but I couldn't stand the idea of someone getting hurt.
After several minutes, I heard the sound of an elderly person walking toward us. I lifted my head to see who this was. A small woman with graying hair pulled tightly in a bun walked toward our group while handing out candy, telling everyone they had done well. As she got closer, I noticed that she had a syringe for a cane and one in her hair. She made it to me and saw that she was giving out gummy bears. She looked at my fingers and suddenly frowned.
"Oh, dearie, did your quirk do this to your fingers? Quirks these days, you're the second one that their quirk has hurt them," she said. I looked at her with a questioning glance. What did she mean by saying that my quirk was not compatible? I looked down at my hands and noticed that my knuckles were severely bruised from where they had been slammed into the panel.
"Oh no, this wasn't my quirk," I explained. When we tried to take down that giant robot, I opened its access panel door, and it swung out. I had to grab it quickly, and it swung back shut, slamming my fingers."
"Goodness, well, let me see them." I held my hand out toward her. She leaned in and planted a kiss right on my fingers. To my amazement, the bruising and pain in my fingers slowly disappeared. I stared at my hands as they finished healing, feeling a wave of fatigue over me.
"Thank you," I said sleepy.
"Make sure to eat plenty of sugar and get plenty of rest tonight." I nodded my head in agreement and laid my head back down.
After several minutes, we were ushered back into the school and allowed to change into our uniforms again. I went to the front of the school and sat on the steps to wait for Izuku. I watched as person after person left, in huge droves at first, turning into a trickle. Countless potential students left, including Kendo, Kirishima, and Ethan. All three had stopped and offered to walk me home but left once I explained I was waiting for my brother. I sat on the steps, waiting and replaying the day's events in my mind, when I was interrupted by a familiar voice.
"Out of my way, Sparkler." I turned to look toward the explosive blonde. I just rolled my eyes and turned my back to him again. "Where is the nerd at? Did he already forget you?"
I clenched my fist and bit my tongue, trying to ignore him. He was just trying to egg me on to get a reaction out of me. I wouldn't let it work, not this time. I had worked too hard to get to this point. I would not let Boom Boy get to me and cause me to lose my temper. I laughed at this nickname for Kaachan as he passed, wondering how I hadn't thought of this name before.
"What's so funny!" Bakugo demanded, turning around to face me. His red eyes bored into mine.
"It's nothing that concerns you," He rolled his eyes and started to walk away. I couldn't help but jab at him, just a little, "Boom boy."
Bakugo stopped dead in his tracks, and I worried that he would turn back around. I saw his fist clench tighter, causing his knuckles to turn white. I stood up, expecting that I would need to be ready for him to attack. Instead, Bakugo shook his head and started to walk away. He probably had also realized that fighting her would ruin his chances of getting into U.A. I watched as the blonde disappeared in the distance.
I sat back down and continued to wait for Izuku. After 10 or 20 minutes, he emerged from the building. A sad look on his face as he walked toward me. I smiled at him, and he returned the smile, but it appeared forced. I felt the smile slip from my face.
"What's wrong, Izuku?" I asked. Izuku took a deep breath before responding.
"Let's get going before it gets too late." He started to walk away but stopped when he realized I wasn't following him. He turned back around and sighed. "I'll tell you on the way home, ok?"
"Fine," I replied, following him. He told me all about how he had felt that he was falling behind and struggling to get a single point. He talked about the boy with the navel laser that stopped a one-pointer when his feet froze. He explained how when the giant robot appeared in his battle center; the falling debris had pinned the gravity girl to the road. I couldn't help but wonder how much money U.A. had spent on this exam with giant robots at every location. Izuku continued his story, telling me how he had jumped without thinking and breaking both of his legs in the process. He punched the robot, causing his right arm to break. As he fell, the gravity girl managed to hit him, allowing him to float and fall to the ground safely. After the test, he was taken to the nurse's office, or "recovery girl," as Izuku called her, to allow his body time to heal.
This made sense for why he had taken so long to come out after the test. I, in turn, told Izuku about my exam, leaving out my point total. He listened intently, asking questions about my group's quirks and how we had used them together to take down the giant robot. Before I knew it, we had made it home. We wolfed our dinner, giving our Mom a quick recount of the exam before heading to bed.
One Week Later
"Izuku… Izuku?" my mom said, looking worriedly at Izuku. "Are you okay?!"
"Yeah, Izuku, stop smiling at the fish; it's weird," I added. Izuku seemed to snap out of his daze and look toward Mom and me.
"Ah, sorry… I'm fine." Izuku responded before going back to his dazed state. He hadn't told Mom about All Might or how he hadn't scored any points on the physical exam. Izuku stood up, moved over to the couch, turned on the T.V., and continued staring into space. I got up to help my Mom clean the dishes. I scrapped the fish bones into the trash can and handed the plate to my Mom as she washed them. I could hear Izuku's grip strength trainer clicking from the couch. I could see Mom glancing worriedly at Izuku from the corner of my eye. The sound of the mail flap opening grabbed my Mom's attention.
"The letter… It should come today or tomorrow, right?" Izuku mumbled an agreement at her question. The truth is, I thought that it would have been here by now. My Mom started to walk toward the entryway to grab the mail. "Your dear old mom thinks it's wonderful that you both tried."
She walked out of the room, leaving me and Izuku alone. I looked at him as he set his phone down to pick up his dumbbell. He continued to stare into space, not even looking like he was breaking a sweat, while he started to do some bicep curls. The clinking of the weights was the only sound filling the room. I turned toward him, wanting to tell him that All Might wouldn't be mad or disappointed no matter the outcome. As I opened my mouth, the door to the entryway slammed open, and my Mom stumbled as she came into the room, falling onto her knees.
"Izu…Izu…Izuku, Natsuki! It's here! The letter is here!" She held two cream-colored envelopes with a red seal bearing the U.A. sigil in her hand. Izuku snapped out of his daze and looked at our Mom with surprise in his eyes. I walked over to my Mom and helped her back to her feet. She quickly handed me the letter addressed to me. Izuku had walked over to us and took his letter before looking at me. His eyes showed that he was scared of what the letter would say. I gave him a nod before looking back to our Mom.
"I'm going to open my room. Just in case, you know…" I said, trailing off. I knew my chances were better than Izuku's, but there were so many people there that I couldn't have scored high enough.
"Me too…" Izuku said, forming his first complete sentence in a week. My Mom nodded as we headed toward our rooms. I stopped outside Izuku's room and turned around, throwing my arms around his neck.
"I love you, no matter what!" I said. I felt his arms wrap around me and squeeze.
"Thank you, Nat, I love you too! Now go read your letter!" I let him go and looked up at him. He had a smile on his face. I wiped away a tear and nodded, heading to my room.
I shut the door to my room, walked over to my bed, and sat on the edge. I heard a dinging of my phone and glanced to see who it was. It came from a number that I didn't recognize. The message stated: I got my acceptance to U.A. It's nice knowing you, Sparkler. Have fun with that quirkless nerd at regular school. This could only be from one person, Bakugo. I didn't remember ever giving him my number.
I would worry about that later. I set my phone down and looked back toward the letter. I took a deep breath before opening it. A small metal circle fell out of the envelope, landing on the floor before me. Out of it popped a lifesize hologram of All Might. I scooted back on my bed with shock that he was there. I looked back at the envelope, and it was from U.A.
"Booya, I am here as a projection." I stared at him, still trying to figure out why he was in a letter from U.A. "I bet a smart girl like you is wondering why I am here; let me tell you! I didn't come to town just to fight villains; you are looking at the newest teacher at U.A.!"
I felt my mouth hanging open! All Might was going to be a teacher at U.A.!? Why didn't he tell us? We saw him right before the exam!
"Your points on the written portion of the exam were impressive, as were your practical points. I know what you're thinking, Natsuki, but let me show you what we mean!" All Might's projection was replaced with a video of Ethan, Kendo, Kirishima, and myself battling with the giant robot, followed by us returning to lift the debris off Ethan. "You not only worked in a team to stop a threat to everyone's safety, risking getting enough points yourself, but you went back to save others. That is what hero work is all about! You also managed to protect young Kendo from developing burns on her hands! You are quite an impressive young lady!" I felt tears starting to well in my eyes as the projection returned to that of All Might.
"A hero course that rejects those who do the right thing, no matter the personal cost to them, is no hero course at all! That is why we have awarded you, Natsuki Midoryia, 40 rescue points, bringing your total practical points to 76!" A screen came up showing a graph of the top three students. I felt my mouth open as my name was right under Bakugo's. He had no rescue points but 77 villain points. He beat me by only one point! I looked at the name under mine and smiled. I saw it was Kirishima!
"Natsuki Midoryia, welcome to U.A.!"
—-
I promised Chapter 3, and I hope that it does not disappoint! As I said in Chapter 2, this is one of the more challenging chapters, mainly because I didn't know where I wanted to go with this chapter. I think this chapter gave me some ideas for what I was struggling with for Chapter 4! I will keep this nice and short! Until next time!