The next week was full of anticipation for Denki. He wasn't sure if he got in or not, but his letter would arrive any day now.
He needed a way to channel all the nervous energy, so he sent this week mostly hanging out at the Dojo. He and Kirishima didn't exchange contacts after the exam, so he couldn't hang out with his potential new friend, and he wasn't really close with anyone from middle school.
Having a well-connected father had its perks, as he studied at the Gunhead Dojo from an early age. It started with some public self-defense classes for kids that the pro hero did on a pro bono basis, but Denki's drive to succeed soon got him a spot as one of Gungead's personal students.
For the last three years, he learned hand-to-hand combat from one of the best in the industry. The Gunhead Martial Arts was focused on grappling, disarming, and incapacitating opponents while dealing with their weapons and quirks. Since his quirk effectively turned him into a human stun gun but limited his range, learning martial arts seemed like the best way to become a pro hero: that, and the right support equipment, of course.
Since the Gunhead agency was unusually busy, he mostly used the Dojo's gym for strength and endurance training while sparring with a few of his fellow students. It was mostly to keep his mind off the exam, so he didn't hope to learn anything new.
His prototype skates were busted at the end of the exam, but he didn't think to repair them. If he made it into UA, making a better version would be the custom designer's job, working with their support equipment specialists. If he didn't make it, they would be useless anyway, as there was no way he could get a license for them. They could be cool to use at home, but he wouldn't be in the mood for a long time.
As he got home, he found a letter waiting inside the door. His father wasn't home yet, so no one was home to pick up the mail. As he looked at it, he saw his name and the fact that it came from UA High School. His fate was already decided, and now he would know it too.
As he opened the slightly too heavy envelope, a holographic projector fell to the ground. They probably thought the candidates would open it at a desk as it projected a screen only twenty centimeters above the small disk. Denki had no choice but to sit on the floor.
After a few seconds of a blank screen, All Might of all people appeared on the screen.
"I. AM. A PROJECTION!" the top hero declared. "You have worked hard during the exam, young Kaminari. This is All Might speaking."
A personalized message was probably good. It didn't sound like it was edited or anything.
"Why me, you ask?!" the symbol of peace continued. "For I shall be working at UA starting this spring."
That came as a surprise, but he would much rather hear if he got accepted or not.
"What?! You don't care and just want me to tell you how you did? Hahaha!" the self-proclaimed projection read his mind. "Let's watch the highlights of your performance during the exam."
"You charged into danger recklessly but proved you can handle yourself. You took down many villains, earning yourself forty-eight points, but what sort of hero program would we run if that was all we cared about."
"During the exam, all your actions were monitored. Apart from the villain points, our panel of judges also awarded you all with rescue points. Another fundamental way for UA to evaluate you!"
"Your selfless act to save a fellow student from danger is exactly the kind of attitude we are looking for! Twenty-eight points for Denki Kaminari!"
"You're in."
"Come now, young Kaminari!"
"THIS WILL BE YOUR HERO ACADEMY!"
As the number one hero got to the end of the announcement, Denki got tears in his eyes. He has done it.
—====?====—
The entrance exam ended in the middle of February, so Denki still had three weeks left of middle school. His homeroom teacher was both surprised and pleased with his acceptance, as he wasn't a great student. Still, it was a point of pride for the school, so he actually had to get an award during his graduation ceremony.
The applicants to UA had two weeks to submit their costume designs. Denki had been working on his own for years and had many ideas, but the school-sponsored costumes had many limitations, so he could only include a few. The rest would have to come later, probably working in tandem with the support department.
Still, there was a lot to do before the school started in April.
He used the last week to rest after the exam, and his nerves were too tightly wound to be productive, but now he had no such excuse.
With nothing left to do in middle school, he could focus on his exam results. He ran out of juice way too fast during the exam, and overuse of his quirk could lead to a dangerous situation if it was a real villain he fought.
Upping the capacity of his quirk was dangerous, especially at an early age. The best time for quirk growth was between the ages of fifteen and eighteen, as the user's body was still changing rapidly while it was strong enough that intensive training didn't damage the quirk factor. Still, it would probably have to wait until he went to UA so he could do it under the guidance of proper professionals. Quirk training was not a service that was available for civilians.
His skates were an excellent mobility option, but they needed more skill to use. For the remaining time before his enrolment, Denki spent a lot of it on roller skating rinks and skate parks. His martial arts training helped with body control and balance, but there were a lot of specific techniques he needed to learn. Luckily, roller derby couches were a thing, even if his complete skates would work somewhat differently.
One of the biggest rinks was a few train stops from his home in the basement of a Mall. It was a pain to go to every day after school as it was in the opposite direction, but the practice was hopefully worth it.
He usually had a hamburger at the mall's food court for dinner and went home, but today, he had something else to do and headed up to the music store to pick up some strings. His unique style of playing the electric guitar using his own electricity chewed through the strings at a crazy rate, and if he was already here, there was no reason to go to his usual store.
He went into the store with his backpack holstered over his shoulder and still in his workout clothes. The mall didn't have a shower room, but he didn't sweat too much and wore enough deodorant to mask the rest. Usually, he would not go shopping dressed like this, but today, he couldn't be bothered.
The store was well-stocked and had a friendly layout. Guitar strings and other consumables were right by the door for easy access. Denki has been in a few stores that were all about upselling and tried to sell him a guitar or an AMP when he only wanted some strings.
He grabbed a pack of strings and walked right up to the counter. To his surprise, a familiar teenager was behind it, reading some music magazines. She was wearing black stockings with a short skirt and a "The End of Villains" t-shirt. She had a choker and some bracelets, completing the rocker-girl vibe. Her purple hair with the heartbeat pattern made her instantly recognizable. It was the cute girl he sat next to during the orientation of the practical exam. This conversation could turn awkward, but that would never deter Denki, especially when he was tired.
"Hey, aren't you Heartbeat Girl from the entrance exam," he asked before his brain could catch up to his mouth.
The girl looked up, and Denki could faintly hear her mutter the stupid name he called her in his head.
"And you are the dork who was almost late and sat next to me," she bit back but without actual venom in her voice.
"Yeah, sorry about that," he said, not even knowing what he apologized for. "I'm Denki Kaminari, by the way."
She took a moment to look him over before she gave her name.
"I'm Kyoka Jiro," she finally said, then looked at the strings in his hand. "You play?"
"Yeah, only for my own entertainment, tough. I'm not playing in a band or anything."
She hummed in acknowledgment as she took the item to ring it up.
"So, since you seem to be in good spirits, I thought I would ask," Denki once again babbled. "How did the exam go?"
This got the first genuine smile on her face in the short time he knew her.
"I got in. The rescue points really saved my behind."
The hormonal teen that was Denki did his best not to think about her behind.
"Congratulations," he said with a goofy grin. "That means we have a fifty percent chance of being classmates. Please take care of me, Jiro-san."
The girl looked taken aback by the sudden declaration and took a few seconds to gather herself. Denki could be too forward sometimes and didn't get many social clues, but her answer surprised him.
"That's a surprise," came the snarky remark. "No offense, but you didn't look smart enough to pass."
"You know, saying no offense before an offensive thing doesn't make it less offensive," he deadpanned.
"And I'll have you know my written scores were two points above the cutoff point," he said with a grin.
"That is not something to be proud of," it was Jiro's turn to deadpan. "That will be 910 Yen."
Denki paid awkwardly before turning around.
"Well, I guess I'll see you around," he said as he left the store.
"See ya," Jiro answered, yet Denki couldn't see the small smile tucked on the edge of her mouth.
He took the next train home and wondered whether Kirishima made it, too.
—====?====—
The rest of middle school was over before he knew it. At the graduation ceremony, he received an award from the principal and a lot of praise from his teachers, some telling everyone they knew all along he had it in him. Hypocrites.
He was somewhat sad to say he didn't really have any close friends he would miss. He was a bit of a clown, and he had a good relationship with most people but wasn't close enough with anyone to hang out after school. His reputation for being lazy and a little stupid made most people keep their distance. For most, he was the kind of friend that was good for parties or hanging around in the arcade, but not one that was good for meaningful conversation.
Most people scoffed at him when he said he wanted to be a hero, so he stopped saying it after a while, and most people, both students and teachers, assumed he had given up. This was why it came as a surprise when he got into one of the country's top hero courses. His popularity instantly skyrocketed after his acceptance became public knowledge, which bothered him a lot for some reason.
At least with school out of the way, he had more free time. His father was working on a big project, so he often arrived home late, but Denki was already used to that. It's not like he spent much time at home. He spent a lot of his time at the Dojo and the roller skating rink, but he never ran into Jiro-san again. The fact that he wanted to was not surprising, as he was a teenage boy, and she was a cute girl, but he kept himself from visiting the music store again.
With a lot of physical activities to occupy his time, April soon arrived.