A/N: The first official chapter is here! I wrote this chapter inspired by a ton of other BNHA fanfics I've read, but I hope I was able to add enough of my own touch to make it my own.

Enjoy!

Art -

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3 years later…

An alarm for 7 AM blared by Hitomi's ear, making her groan and hit snooze.

Ugh.

Not even a minute later, an evil gremlin Hitomi loathed to call her younger brother kicked the door open, the sound jolting her awake.

"WAKE UP SLEEPYHEAD!"

This boy is a 13-year-old.

Hitomi turned so her face was smushed into her pillow, her back facing the door. She hated waking up before 9. Especially when she was woken up like… that.

"Get out." Her voice was muffled by the fabric.

"Ahh, but Hitomi, shouldn't you be getting up? The UA Entrance Exam is today~"

"I know that. But you're NOT the one who's waking me up. I can do that myself. Now get out."

"Ok then, me and Kinkata will eat all the crepes Mom made! She made them for you but since it doesn't seem like you'll be having any that's more for us!"

"What?! HEY-"

The girl tried to jump out of bed, but her legs were tangled up in her blankets and she fell to the floor.

Hitomi twisted so she was sitting up, staring down her little brother. "Don't you dare touch my crepes. I'll be down after I change and get my stuff ready, so just get out already."

"I won't touch them if you get there before I do!" And then the gremlin slammed the door shut.

"TOKU! That little- God, it's too early for this."

The bluenette untangled her legs from the blanket and got ready for the day.

Shoot, I don't actually have a school uniform to wear to the exam… Whatever, not like it really matters.

She pulled a white button-up and a gray pleated skirt from her closet, changing her clothes. These could pass as a uniform though, right…?

Hitomi's family had moved back to Japan from America three months ago after her dad got promoted, and she'd opted to just be homeschooled until the new school year started. By the time they had arrived, the previous Japanese school year was already almost over, and her parents hadn't wanted to deal with the hassle of transferring.

A glance at her clock told her it was 7:30, meaning she only had 10 minutes to eat if she wanted to get to UA early.

Crap!

Grabbing the workout clothes she'd prepared on her desk chair, Hitomi stuffed them into her backpack and stumbled down the stairs in a hurry.

You better not have touched my crepes, Toku!

Hitomi could only gape at the large building as students filed in around her.

"Hello, Earth to Hitomi?"

Hitomi blinked to realize her best friend was waving a hand in front of her face to catch her attention.

"Sorry… the school is just… a lot bigger than I thought it'd be."

Nari looked at the anxious expression on her friend's face, before slipping something off her wrist.

"Hitomi, I know you'll do great. You prepared a ton for this exam, and if you're really doubting yourself, then you definitely need to wear this."

Nari held a simple black hair tie with two purple beads in her hand; Hitomi stared at it curiously.

"A hair tie?"

"A lucky hair tie. Whenever I wear this I always seem to do good on a test, so maybe you can wear it while you take your exam? You kind of look like you need a good luck charm."

Hitomi gingerly picked it up before switching out the plain hair tie holding her hair for Nari's beaded one.

"Thanks, Nari."

"Well, I shouldn't keep you waiting any longer." Nari shoved Hitomi past the gate, before calling back, "Knock 'em dead Hitomi!"

Hitomi waved goodbye as Nari left. Her best friend had already applied to a different school in Musutafu, Akinaba High School, for general education. She wasn't really interested in being a hero, telling Hitomi her Spring Heel quirk was more suited for something like dancing anyway. Once Nari was out of view, Hitomi turned around to see an angry blonde in front of her yell at some poor green-haired boy. The green-haired one seemed to be anxious and frozen in fear as the blonde walked past.

Classmates, probably…?

Hitomi took in the large auditorium as she listened to Present Mic explain the practical exam.

The silence he received from everyone made her feel kind of bad.

That kind of lackluster response would make me want to dig a hole and never come out.

Hitomi watched the screen as Present Mic explained the faux villains and the point system, before he was interrupted by a young man in glasses.

A spotlight shined about 4 seats away from her on the boy in glasses, and Hitomi blinked in disbelief as he criticized UA's apparent miscount of the villains.

"Such a blatant error, if it is one, is highly unbecoming for UA, Japan's top academy!

And you, with the curly hair!"

Hitomi turned to see who he was pointing at, realizing it was the green-haired boy she saw at the entrance. Not only did some people witness him nearly faceplant earlier, but now he was being called out in front of every single examinee!

"You've been muttering this whole time… it's distracting! If this is some sort of game to you, then please leave immediately!"

She felt really, really bad for him.

Hitomi turned back toward the front as Present Mic explained the fourth faux villain, which turned out to be worth 0 points.

Best to avoid that one then...

Present Mic sent them off with a "Plus Ultra!" and Hitomi scurried off to change and find Arena D.

Hitomi stood outside Arena D in a purple sports shirt and black sweatpants, taking in her surroundings as she moved her hair into a high ponytail.

She looked around at her fellow examinees, ogling those with visible quirks she could currently see. She turned back to face the gate, clenching her jaw.

Will I really be able to pull this off against people like this?

Shaking her head, Hitomi stood straight, taking a deep breath.

"And… BEGIN!"

Although a bit surprised at the suddenness, Hitomi wasted no time in rushing forward as the gates opened, maneuvering past the other examinees that still hadn't moved yet. She ran through the city as she heard Present Mic mention that real fights didn't get to have countdowns.

Finding a more secluded spot, she stopped as a 3-pointer skidded to a stop in front of her.

Her irises glowing, Hitomi formed a small force field wall along her arm before flinging it at the robot, destroying it.

Determination greatly outweighed her anxiety now.

She continued to run through the city, destroying robots and protecting some examinees who weren't paying attention to their surroundings as she moved past.

Don't worry about how many points you have. Just destroy as many robots as you can.

After about two minutes, Hitomi felt the ground rumble beneath her feet, stumbling before a large shadow appeared behind her.

She turned around, only to find a gargantuan robot rolling towards her. Her jaw dropped in shock.

THAT'S the zero pointer?

"What the hell is that?!"

"Is that the zero pointer?! That's way too big for this arena!"

"RUN!"

Crap. Willing her legs to move, Hitomi ran as the zero pointer smashed a building dangerously close to her. She felt the wind blow around her from the impact, tripping over her own feet with a yelp. A few feet away from her she noticed an unstable portion of the building about to fall on a boy with black hair.

He's going to get crushed!

Without thinking, she sprang to her feet, sprinting towards him. Hitomi tackled him to the ground, her force field forming around the two of them before the debris could hit.

"Ow…"

Hitomi could feel a headache coming on.

"Hey, are you okay?!"

Hitomi looked up as the dust settled around them. She noticed the boy had spiky teeth. Maybe that's part of his quirk…?

The boy snapped his fingers in front of her face, bringing her back to reality.

"Hey, you're okay right? You're not hurt or anything?"

Another crash sounded above them, and Hitomi just barely had enough time to set up a barrier above the two of them.

"It's not safe here. We need to go, NOW!"

She leapt to her feet and grabbed the boy's wrist before fleeing from the zero pointer, keeping the force field above them intact as debris fell from the building.

Right as they ran out from the dust and smoke, they heard Present Mic's voice yell that time was up. A horn sounded, signaling the end of the test.

"The test… is over?"

Hitomi bent over, hands on her knees, panting from her run from the zero pointer. I don't even know if I was able to destroy enough robots.

Her hands clenched, bunching up the fabric of her sweatpants. Shit… I should've kept track of my points…

"Hey…"

She looked up, realizing the boy from earlier was still standing next to her.

"Thanks for saving me back there! I don't know what I would've done if I got squished under all that, uhhh…"

She blinked, realizing they couldn't really introduce themselves while they were trying to avoid getting crushed.

"Hitomi."

His cheeks were tinted a slight pink. "Ahh, Hitomi? That seems like a first name, are you sure you're okay with me using that?!"

Hitomi nodded her head and gave him a slight smile as they headed to the locker rooms to change. "Go ahead! I prefer that people call me by my first name, especially since my last name is kinda long, but you can call me Kanetsukabe if you don't want to."

"No, that's ok, I just wanted to make sure it was really fine with you."

Such a gentleman.

"I'm Eijiro Kirishima! You can call me whatever you're comfortable with."

"Ok then… Kirishima-san."

"Hey, no need to be so formal! We're friends now, aren't we?"

Friends…?

By then they had arrived at the locker rooms, and thus had to part ways.

"Will I be seeing you around, Hitomi?"

Hitomi face fell into a melancholy smile, turning to look at the ground.

"Maybe… I don't think I got enough points to pass, though. It was nice to meet you, Kirishima-san."

She shot him one last smile before disappearing into the locker rooms.

A/N: I honestly have no idea how to pace stories, haha. Official canon characters have officially made cameos (or appearances in Kirishima's case), as well as mentions of Hitomi's family. [June 2021 UPDATE] The redraws I made for this chapter I'm actually pretty proud of! The backgrounds especially were definitely an improvement ^^

Again, I highly suggest reading this story on AO3 or Wattpad, as I'm able to put my drawings there as well as give you music to listen to.

See you next chapter!