Mind-numbing, explosive, inescapable, wretched pain gripped her little body for what felt like the millionth time.

The inescapable mammoth of a human being towered over her, his dark, baleful stare razing a hole through her miniscule, insignificant being.

"Why can't you get this right? Not good enough. Go again, and do it right this time."

Thalia Dragomir's eyes snapped open, her heart beating fast. Sweat dripped down her face, and she struggled to calm her breathing for a few minutes, the nightmare she had slowly slipping away. One of her cats, a gray-and-white long-haired tabby with bright green eyes, looked down at her, curious. The other, a short-furred Russian blue, was undisturbed, still sleeping soundly between her ribs and arm.

"Meow?" Trjegul mewed in a way that sounded as if he were asking if she was okay.

"G'mornin, Trje-Trje. Hello, By-By" Thalia heaved herself up off her back, rubbing the elegantly-posed cat's head, and disturbing Bygul's sleep, which she apologized for by scratching his head as well.

"Thalia!" She heard her mother's voice calling her out of bed. It must've been what dragged her out of her nightmare. It's early. Why did she wake me up? It's the weeke-

Thalia's eyes widened in realization, shooting upward, scaring Bygul and Trjegul off the bed, shock and excitement dropping in her stomach.

"Sorry, guys!" She apologized to her kitties, unable to keep down her excitement.

It's the day of the entrance exam!

Thalia yawned as she sat up, stretching her taut, nervous body. Her eyes were half-lidded, her thick, spiky ashy lavender hair an absolute rat's nest and tangled in her thick ram horns that grew on both sides of her head. Her bangs were a wreck, half of it sticking upwards. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves, but she couldn't stop the nervous tingles that rose up her chest. Eyes closed, she sifted through her three blankets, easily finding the two things she needed- her earbuds and her phone.

Before she could connect the headphones, she heard her mother again.

"Thalia!" Came the more annoyed call. Slightly irritated but understanding her mother didn't know Thalia was awake, she called back.

"I'm awake!"

"You have an hour before you have to leave!" Her mother called in Norwegian, their home spoken language.

07:45

No kidding… She had an hour to get ready. That would be worrying to her if she needed anything more than a few snack bars. Thalia unlocked her phone and connected her phone to the speaker in her room, turning on some rough rock music. She disembarked her bed, which was basically a circular nest of blankets and pillows, which hung from four metal cords connected to the ceiling- about a meter or so off the ground in the corner of her rather large room. Under the massive TV mounted to the wall, against the other corner was an apothecary table that Thalia used as an altar to honor her gods, in particular, Yggdrasil, Freyja, Thor, Loki, and Odin.

She plopped in front of the altar and lit the big candle in the center, careful with her blowtorch, and took out her offering to them- a chicken nugget from her meal last night that she had set aside before indulging herself. She tore it up so it would burn easier, and she set the pieces around the flame underneath a layer of rose and lavender taken from little glass jars so it would smell good in the bowl that was due for a clean soon.

This will be my last offering to you, All-Father, before I clean the bowl, I promise. Thalia prayed in her head, asking him for luck, and prowess and energy from his son, the god Thor. She asked of Freyja that her cats live another happy day with perfect health and both her and Yggdrasil that nature and her wild side be in tune for her big day. Finally, she asked of Loki to gift her wit in case one wanted to test her today, and for good luck with her quirk. The two of them had very similar abilities, after all.

Warmth spread throughout her body as she stood. She was never a hundred percent sure of the existence of the gods, but sensations like that kicked it up beyond fifty-percent sure. With her gods behind her, her conviction grew ever stronger. Her cats purred and rubbed against her legs.

Yawning again, Thalia turned and walked across the big, dark purple, oval rug and to her walk-in closet and packed the outfit she had prepared into her duffel bag for the… the entrance exam for U.A.! It was still pretty hard for her to believe. She did an excited little dance while she got ready, a wide, childlike smirk crossing her face.

The outfit she decided would be best suited for her quirk was a bodysuit her mother had made for her by a support company. It was pitch black with short sleeves and cut off mid-thigh with a turtleneck-like collar. When she shoved it in her backpack, she changed into her school uniform. Seeing as it would be cold, she shouldered on a high-collared, velvet-red coat and threw on some gray sweatpants.

Turning around to her body-length mirror, she inspected her outfit. Striking a few low-effort poses, she looked down at her cats, who stood and laid next to her, respectively. Trjegul gave her an approving mew, so she was satisfied.

She then sat down at her black vanity table, Bygul and Trjegul instantly hopping onto the table to join her.

"No, no. What did we say, guys?" She lightly pushed them off, causing them to mew in protest but listen and hop off, deciding instead to move around her feet. She combed her bangs down and tied her hair into a loose, low ponytail, allowing the longer strands to fall out and frame her face. Risking her time limit, she used her dexterous fingers and muscle memory to very quickly add small, tight braids starting above her ears and ending in a way that showed four braids pouring out from her head, her whole ponytail not unlike a waterfall. Happy with the final outcome, she hastily ran downstairs, bidding farewell to her kitties who, despite having the freedom to wander the house, normally chose to stay in her room. She slotted her phone in her jacket's pocket- but not before checking the time.

08:01

Downstairs, her mother, a woman with her lavender hair- though it was more silvery than ashy- and antlers that were much taller and elegant than her own curly ram horns, Ljufvina Rhoades, the pro hero Gypsy, was scrambling eggs. Her little half-sister, Elmla Rhoades, was at school already, and her brother, Ivan Castle, was eating egg salad at the kitchen bar, his coily ink-black hair tied into a low ponytail.

She was so jealous of his hair- Thalia's had been completely straight for as long as she could remember. He had horns that were more similar to a gazelle's horns, kind of a mix of their parents'. Their step-father (Elmla's father), Nash Rhoades, was already at the police station, where he had a job as a detective.

The two dogs- both Australian shepherds, one blue merle and one tri-color- laid on the couch. The blue merle one was named Safiyah and the tri-color one was named Maya. At the sight of Thalia, they both wagged their tails and went to greet her. The teen giggled and scratched them both on the head as they surrounded and revolved around her.

Thalia looked at her mother with a grimace- she knew the woman would make her eat the eggs, though her appetite went AWOL, due to the morning hour and her nerves.

Her mother seemed to notice she was there with a glance and a twitch of her thin, perfect eyebrow. Obviously, she sensed her energy approaching, as had her brother, though he'd only shown it by looking up at her as she approached- they had close to the same quirk, though Ivan's was a bit more interesting, and probably had more potential than Thalia's own, as hard as it was for her to admit.

"Good morning, little hero!" Said her mother teased excitedly, turning around to reveal a huge smile. She turned back to the eggs on the stove as Thalia returned a tired smile, sitting down at the bar. It was rare that her mother could make her breakfast, as she was normally out doing hero work by now, but she took today off so she could send off Thalia with a healthy breakfast, knowing the girl would have gone off with nothing in her stomach without her intervention.

"Hey, Thall." said Ivan through a mouthful of eggs. She tugged on his horn in response, causing him to protest and slap her hand away.

"Good morning, Ive." She greeted her brother, looking up at her mother. "I haven't even passed the Entrance Exam yet." She replied with a small giggle, looking down at her phone as she took it out, looking at all her notifications from her social medias.

"Key word: yet. It's written in fate, my daughter." Ljufvina reminded her, her own excitement thinly veiled behind a sly, knowing tone. Thalia smiled at her mother's enthusiasm. It didn't come from a place of expectation, but from conviction that her daughter was capable of doing whatever she set her mind to.

Thalia then saw a message notification from one of her best friends, Ochako. She was one of her first friends- actually, the first to approach her in her new school once she had moved to Japan. The two were very close.

07:57 ochako :

Do you wanna walk to U.A. together?

Thalia smiled down at her phone, typing out her reply.

08:06 thallie

yeah sure, what time are u gonna be here

She replied almost immediately.

08:06 ochako :

Give me twenty minutes! See you soon lol

Thalia looked up at her mother, catching a delicious whiff of the eggs- her appetite returned.

"Ochako said she'll be here in twenty minutes. She said she's walking with me, so I'll probably head out when she gets here." Thalia reported to her mom as she pocketed her phone.

"Ochako's coming over?" Ivan asked, side-eyeing her with raised eyebrows. Thalia gave him a side-eye glare in return.

"Not for long, weirdo." She said, her tone hard. Their mother giggled.

"Sounds good to me!" Ljufvina replied with a smile. She knocked some of the eggs onto a paper plate on the counter. The toaster oven across the kitchen dinged, the bread in it well-toasted. Ljufvina perked, turning the stove's heat off and placing the pan down away from the heat and walked over to the toaster oven. Thalia yawned as she sat up from her seat to grab a tall glass cup, filling it to the top with ice, then filling it three quarters with recently-brewed coffee, then topping it off with milk and creamer, satisfied at its caramel color.

Ljufvina placed the plate of eggs and buttered toast where Thalia had been sitting earlier. Now hungry, Thalia eagerly returned to her seat, placing her glass of iced coffee next to the plate. She forked her eggs on the slice of buttered toast and took a big bite.

By the time Thalia was placing her fork and empty glass in the dishwasher, she heard knocking on the door. The dogs dashed to the foyer and started barking, blocking the door with their wiggly bodies, already aware of who had appeared. A smile spread across her face.

"Chako-chan!" She exclaimed, shutting the dishwasher and moving to get the door. She ushered the dogs away, and turned the doorknob. The moment she opened it, the image of Ochako waving at her with a sunbeam-like smile greeted her. She wore a brown duffle coat, and half her smile was hidden behind a pink scarf that matched the pink-and-black penny board that Thalia had gotten for her for Christmas just a few months earlier. The dogs, despite Thalia's orders, ran up to Ochako, their tails wagging. They barked in excitement and recognition.

"Thali-chan!" She exclaimed with equal happiness, not pronouncing the 'h', as always- though the lavender-haired girl learned to love that about her over time. It had only been a few days since they'd seen each other, since they went to the same school. Nevertheless, Ochako always pulled a cheerfulness out of her that she didn't think she was capable of sometimes. Her energy just seemed to rub off on her.

Safiyah and Maya both jumped on Ochako trying their best to reach her cheek with their tongues. Thalia felt embarrassed each time they swarmed her, but was equally grateful that Ochako truly didn't care when they basically attacked her out of excitement. The girl giggled like rays of sunlight and knelt down, petting the dogs, allowing them to calm down.

"If we wanna get there by eight forty-five, we should probably head out now. Let me grab my things, and we can be on the way." Thalia said with a lingering smile as she turned away.

"All right!" Ochako agreed cheerfully, standing up to follow her out of the foyer, the dogs following her as if she was holding a treat.

"Hello, Ochako-chan!" Ljufvina called from the kitchen once they rounded the corner into view. The girl waved and smiled.

"Hi, Ljufvina-san!" She called back, standing up.

"I told you, you could just call me Fvina." Ljufvina called. She was never keen on pretending her name was easy to pronounce, especially to those who spoke the Japanese tongue, but Ochako was proud of herself for being able to nail the pronunciation. She laughed nervously, an apology spilling out of her mouth. No matter how long they'd known each other or how proud she was of getting the pronunciation correct, knowing one of the top pro heroes in the country was something she thought she'd never get used to.

"Hey, Ochako." Said Ivan as he placed his dishes in the sink. The girl directed her radiant smile at him.

"Hi, Ivan!" She called back with a wave. He blushed, quickly turning away out of shyness. Thalia slapped her face and groaned, sticking her tongue out as she picked up her duffel bag from the ground next to where she was sitting. Taking the cup of coffee from the counter and guzzling it down, she ran to the garage and back with her bright-colored penny board, with an aquamarine board and light pink wheels. It was filthy with the dirt and grime of the streets from her and Ochako's constant outings, and the wheels needed to be replaced soon, but she loved it dearly.

"I've got everything, let's get out of here. Bye mama! Bye Ivan!"

"Bye!" called Ivan.

"Bye, little heroes! Good luck, you two!" Ljufvina called after them as they departed from their residence.

The two reached the station, stopping their motion with their non-dominant feet on the concrete and sliding their boards to a stop with their dominant feet, propping their boards upwards when their toes reached the tail with a loud, synchronized tap! and picked them up.

They boarded the train, sitting down with their boards on their laps. The other people around them, crazy and diverse, settled calmly around them, not giving their nasty skateboards a second glance. As the door closed, Ochako looked over at Thalia.

"I'm so glad we don't have to run from cops anymore as we skate." The brown-haired girl thought out loud. Thalia chuckled as she combed through memories of their past.

When she first got here, Ochako was her only friend, and to this day is her closest one by a lot. Skateboarding was something she'd learned as soon as she could walk from her older cousin, so of course, it was the first thing she taught Ochako aside from a little Norwegian in exchange for better Japanese.

The first time the cops ran after them for skating in public was the first time she saw the side of her that was terrified of the law, and of breaking rules. Not only was Thalia an American, but she was also pretty resistant to the rules, so her first instinct was to run, while Ochako had to be dragged along with her so they could avoid trouble. She cried all night, terrified that the cops would bust in and take them both to jail.

"I can still barely believe you'd say something like that." Thalia smirked at her, even though it had been years since she'd become brave, it was never something anyone could expect from such an innocent complexion. "But I agree… I guess that's another perk of having a pro hero as a mom- and a stepdad in the police force."

For the rest of the way, they let loose their worries and tribulations over the entrance exam and released them from their captive state in their chests. They arrived at the school at 08:40, right before schedule, and felt much lighter than they did when they entered the train, each others' encouragements making them stronger.

The two teen girls looked up at the school in awe, having reached their destination after just a bit more skating. They exchanged huge, excited grins. Tons of students from all over Japan walked past them, people that they'd had to swerve around in order to get to where they were, one foot off their boards, frozen in astonishment. The building was mammoth, and Thalia felt as if she'd come face to face with the World Tree itself.

Trotting gleefully ahead, holding their skateboards on their laps, Thalia smiled widely. She looked to Ochako, about to comment excitedly on how she couldn't believe they were here, but stopped herself when she noticed her vision was trained on something else. Thalia followed Ochako's gaze, which was fixed on a messy-haired, rather short boy who was just a few steps ahead of them. He was facing their direction with a determined expression, before turning around with conviction and immediately tripping on himself, slowly toppling forward. To Thalia's confusion and slight amusement, he didn't even stick out his arms or try to even break his fall.

Ochako gasped and took action, dashing forward faster than she could see.

"Ochako, wait up!" Thalia exclaimed, rushing forward with her. Ochako quickly slapped a hand on his backpack, leaving him floating diagonally in place. Thalia caught up with the two quickly, confused.

"Nice catch." Thalia commented, straightening her posture.

"Are you okay?" Ochako asked him, concerned. The boy started freaking out instead of responding, kicking his legs in midair before stopping and looking to her for help undoing her brazen use of her quirk on him without permission. Thalia couldn't help but laugh to herself as Ochako helped him into place.

"I stopped you with my quirk," She explained, releasing the zero-gravity effect with a smile, "I'm sorry I didn't ask first! But... I figured you wouldn't mind me catching you." The boy just stared, wide-eyed. Thalia stood next to the much-shorter girl, an amused look crossing her face. Standing next to her best friend and the shorter boy, she felt tall at 176 cm or 5'7", though next to her 185 cm or 6'1" tall mother, or even her 195 cm or 6'4" grandfather, she was dwarfed.

"Isn't this all like, way nerve-wracking?" Ochako decided the silence between them was an invitation for small talk, closing her eyes. The boy seemed to come to his senses, blushing and stuttering.

"Ochako, didn't we talk about making small talk with random people?" Thalia spoke up, giving Ochako a sideways glance, her lip quirked upwards on one side. Ochako laughed nervously, rubbing the back of her neck.

"Ah! I'm sorry about that! Well, guess we'll see you inside! Bye!" And with that, Ochako turned to Thalia with a nod, and they walked forward again. The two exchanged glances once they were out of earshot, trying to hide a laugh.

"What was with him..? He looked like a deer in headlights!" Ochako laughed. Thalia laughed with her.

"He was totally beet red. Imagine if you were some scraggly little boy that never talks to women aside from his own mother, and you tripped, and some goddess from the heavens had decided she didn't want you to faceplant?" Thalia teased with a smirk, her hands in her skirt's pockets. Ochako blushed, and she slapped her cheeks.

"S-stop that! He was just caught off guard!" She protested. Thalia gave her a look, her eyebrows raised, resulting in Ochako pushing her cheek away with her finger and a laugh from the both of them.

The written exam was difficult, as she had expected from a top-notch school, but Thalia had no doubt she'd aced it. She studied for it every night for weeks, more than she'd ever studied before- which wasn't much. It surprised her mother and even her stepfather, who rarely showed emotion other than anger, annoyance and amusement.

After that was over with, Thalia met up with Ochako and they proceeded to a room labeled "U.A. Hero Course Exam Orientation" after asking an octopus man for help. They received little ID cards with examinee numbers, a picture of them, and a few other things she was sure the orientalist would go over.

Her and Ochaco were seated in the very middle, Thalia noticed that they were a few rows under the messy-haired boy they met earlier. Luckily, since they attended the same junior high, they were seated together. They exchanged quiet, excited looks. Their skateboards laid sideways on their feet next to their bags.

The girls' gazes turned upward as they heard three lights turn on behind them, and a screen in front of them with U.A.'s logo flickered on. In front of it, behind a podium, to Thalia's surprise, the pro hero Present Mic himself stood. While it wasn't a huge shock to see pro heroes at U.A., Thalia didn't expect Present Mic himself to be giving the orientation speech. She and Ochako exchanged excited looks.

"What's up, U.A. candidates!" His amplified voice rang around the auditorium, making several flamboyant poses, "Thanks for tuning in to me, your school DJ! Come on, and lemme hear ya!" He spread his arms wide, a grin on his face. Unfortunately, he was met with silence as he turned to the side, cupping his ear, only disturbed by murmurs and whispers. Something in Thalia was screaming to take advantage of the silence, but Ochako gave her the shut the fuck up look that she gave her every time she said something out of pocket in class. At this point, she could predict it before it happened… Which has actually saved Thalia from more punishments in the last school year, making going into U.A. more plausible for her. At that thought, Thalia took a second to feel grateful that Ochako looked out for her like that.

Present Mic's expression didn't shift in the slightest, his atmosphere unchanged as he continued.

"Keepin' it mellow, eh? That's fine, I'll skip straight to the main show. Let's talk about how this practical exam's gonna go. Are ya ready!?" He near-screeched again. Thalia put her hands on each side of her head, the sound actually causing her ears to ring. She had no fear of loud noises, but she preferred being prepared for them. She glanced at Ochako, who shared her pain, and they exchanged quiet giggles.

Once again, the man didn't skip a beat. "Like your application said, today, you rockin' guys, gals and non-binary pals will be out conducting ten-minute mock battles in super-hip urban settings!" he explained. The screen behind him changed to an image of a section that was labeled "you are here" and the letters A-G branching off it.

"Gird your loins, my friends, after I drop the mic here, you'll head to your specified battle center, sound good?" Present Mic explained, waiting for a reply. He was, again, met with silence. He's so corny… Thalia thought to herself.

"Okay!?" He shouted again, seemingly agitated, showing a differing emotion for the first time. Thalia just looked down at her card- a piece of information she wondered about earlier just became clear to her.

"I'm in battle center B, what about you?" Ochako questioned quietly. Thalia frowned, disappointed.

"A," She replied, just as quietly, dismay lacing her tone, "they must've split us up on purpose, so we can't work together… Looks like we're on our own." Thalia muttered. Ochako hummed in agreement, pursing her lips, bummed out.

"That sucks." She mused quietly, with a short huff.

"Okay, okay, let's check out your targets." Present Mic resumed, the screen behind him changing once more. It showed a city with three threatening-looking silhouettes surrounding it, labeled from 1-3P.

"There are three types of faux villains in every battle center." Thalia looked down at the sheet of paper that occupied the desk in front of her, seeing four different designs, not three. She exchanged glances with Ochako, who just shrugged. She mentally brushed it off, returning her gaze to the pro hero, assuming he would explain in time.

"You'll earn points based on their level of difficulty, so better choose wisely! Your goal in this trial is to use your quirk to raise your score by shredding these faux villains like a mid-song guitar solo!" He pointed his finger at the crowd, "But check it, make sure you're keepin' things heroic! Attacking other examinees is a U.A. no-no, ya dig?" Before Present Mic could continue, a boy with a deep voice and a serious tone interrupted.

"Excuse me sir, but I have a question." He said, sounding just outside of respectful, standing up perfectly straight, stiff as a board. He was a few rows below the two girls, and as a spotlight shone on him, Thalia noticed his excessively gelled down, stick straight blue hair shining in the light.

Once again, not missing a beat, Present Mic acted naturally. "Hit me!" He acknowledged, pointing at the tall boy. The teen held up a sheet of paper.

"On the printout, you've listed four types of villains. Not three." Thalia rolled her eyes. That's what this is about? She thought, glaring down at him with derision. "With all respect, if this is an error on official U.A. materials, it is shameful." Thalia curled her lip with surprise and slight disgust.

"The nerve!" Thalia hissed quietly to her friend. Ochako looked just as perturbed as her. They heard some muttering coming from above them, but Thalia couldn't place who it was, not with her so focused on this guy and his big-ass goody two shoes.

"We are exemplary students. We expect the best from Japan's most notable school." He put down the paper as he continued, "A mistake such as this won't do." Suddenly, he turned around, pointing above the two girls, causing the two teens to flinch before they turned to see who the blue-haired teen's accusing gaze was set on.

"Additionally, you with the unkempt hair!" The accused, the poor green-haired boy from earlier, made a confused sound, pointing at himself. With an icy glare, he scolded him further. "You've been muttering this entire time. Stop that." It took everything in Thalia to not bust out laughing. She covered her mouth, and Ochako gave her a desperate glance, as she hid her own laughter as well.

"If you can't bother to take this seriously, leave. You're distracting the rest of us."

"Sorry," The boy muttered apologetically, covering his mouth with both his hands, looking down as if he was riddled with regret. Poor dude, he did not deserve that! Thalia thought angrily. Some laughter resonated around the auditorium, igniting her annoyance. She was reminded again of how different the people here are than they are in Norway, and why she can't keep her words inside her brain, despite how it's encouraged here.

Thalia managed to stop silently giggling, and leaned on the desk, her hand in a fist, covering part of her smiling face, despite her very negative emotions. She couldn't resist herself any longer, that boy had embarrassed himself too much and she felt as if Loki himself were goading her to say something. Guide my tongue, Loki.

"Are you sacrificing your pride in the name of being 'exemplary'?" Thalia sneered, her tone hard, catching the attention of the boy, whose eyebrows were raised, as if he couldn't believe her audacity. "What you said to that boy and your actions couldn't be further from 'exemplary'. If you held your words in, maybe Present Mic would've explained your question and you wouldn't have embarrassed yourself." The crowd made some 'ooooh' noises at her roast, and Thalia mentally thanked Loki for his guidance.

In that moment, the blue-haired boy was feeling exactly the mortification he had bequeathed upon the student he had berated. Without another word, he turned and sat down in his seat. When Thalia turned to Ochako, she was staring with her jaw dropped.

"What?" Thalia whispered to her, "Chako-chan, you're going to catch flies." Ochako closed her mouth.

"I was about to be upset, but… That was… You're crazy good with words in the moment, you know that? Every time I put myself on the spot, I get my words all jumbled." Thalia chuckled.

"Thanks, Chako-chan."

She had flaws and embarrassing moments too, but her Norwegian family along with lots of Norwegian people are very eloquent and poetic with their words, so consuming Norwegian media, she had a wider vocabulary than most, but even after living here for most of her life, she still often struggled to find and remember Japanese words for the Norwegian words she wants to say, such as fysen or attpåklatt.

…But moments like these filled her up with satisfaction. Ochako was the most goody two-shoes she could handle.

"Alright, alright," Present Mic spoke up, trying to calm the room down. "Examinee number 7111," Wait, how did he know what his number was just by looking at him? Thalia thought, confused.

"Thanks for callin' in with your request. Like examinee number 6958 made clear, I wasn't about to leave that up to you all to figure that out for yourselves." He continued as if nothing had happened, treating it like a radio show, "The fourth villain type is worth zero points. That guy's just an obstacle we'll be throwing in your way. There's one in every battle center. Think of it as a hurdle you should try to avoid. It's not that it can't be beaten, but there's... kinda no point." Present Mic continued with the flamboyant poses, talking about the zero-pointer in a blasé fashion.

"I recommend my listeners try to ignore it and focus on the ones toppin' the charts! Does that answer your question?"

"Y- yes… Thank you." Examinee number 7111 kid bowed his head, embarrassed.

"That's all I got for you today," Present Mic concluded, "I'll sign off with a little present." Thalia's eyebrow quirked upward.

"A sample of our school motto! As General Napoleon Bonaparte once laid down, 'A true hero is one who overcomes life's misfortunes.' Mm-hm. Now that's a tasty soundbite." Thalia seemed expressionless, but her eyes held determination beyond understanding. It matched up with her own logic- if the odds weren't in her favor, anything can be done to turn the tables.

"You ready to go beyond?" He continued, raising his hands one last time, "Let's hear a Plus Ultra!" The last two words appeared on the screen behind him with very bright and diverse coloring and effects. For the very last time, no response. Present Mic was probably used to it by now, or he didn't let any disappointment leak onto his expression. "Good luck!" He shouted, filling the silence. "Hope you practiced hitting more than just the books!"

Oh, I sure did.

With that, the rest of the lights turned on and everyone got up from their seats and exited the auditorium. The two girls picked their things up, and Thalia took Ochako's hand and led her through the crowd to the bathroom, where they would change instead of the locker rooms which would inevitably be crowded and uncomfortable. There, the two changed into their second pair of clothing- for Ochako, she had gifted her a baby pink bodysuit from the same support company she'd gotten hers from, and for Thalia, she kept her outfit the same, but left her jacket with her things. She needed as much flexibility as she could get. Seeing as her quirk wouldn't allow her to wear shoes, she just left herself barefoot, deciding to deflect any odd looks she got.

Wishing Ochako good luck, she made her way to Battle Center A.

Upon arrival, she noticed that she wasn't the only one barefoot. In fact, probably a third of the applicants were barefoot. Unfortunately, however, she didn't recognize anyone there, not the faces she barely knew from her school. She did notice that the kid that was sitting next to the green-haired doe-like boy she saw stand out to her twice since appearing at U.A., and recognized him from the news a few weeks before. His expression looked hardened with conviction, but his pride was clear in his self-assured posture and stance.

I hope he's alright… Thalia thought. That looked scary. I wonder how he'll do here.

"Right, let's start!" Present Mic's voice rang out. Everyone turned to look in his direction- at his tower by Battle Center B.

"Get moving!" He shouted. Thalia was confused, "There are no countdowns in real battles, run, run, run, listeners! You're wasting airtime here!" The girl paled, and turned around, the gate in front of her already opened. Motion-blurred visages of fellow applicants rushed past her. She took her hair out of its tie.

Everyone's already past me, no use rushing in with these legs.

Breathing deeply, Thalia willed herself to change. It used to be painful, but she could no longer feel the pain as others would feel it. It was like moving, like breathing, a completely natural feeling she had intertwined herself with. As her bones reformed, organs shifting, in just a few seconds, she turned into another being. A strong lioness.

Dragomir Thalia

Quirk: Shapeshift

Dragomir can change any part of herself into any biological creature her heart desires! As long as she knows what goes where, inside and out, she can create hybrids and chimeras out of multiple different creatures! However, shapeshifting takes a lot of energy from her, and she needs iced coffee to regain it. Her horns remain with every animal she shapeshifts into, making it difficult to be discreet!

The suit she wore stayed on her, morphing with her, fulfilling its purpose. She hadn't gotten a ridiculously expensive bodysuit from a renowned support company for no reason- though she was more than willing to do that for Ochako, she deserved the expensive things her family couldn't afford.

Thalia bounded forward, ignoring the cries of fear as the other examinees noticed her. She ran down the streets of the faux city, taking down whatever bot she could in just a few seconds. Pounce, shred, proceed. She heard all kinds of noises in the background- cries of battle, crashing, and explosions.

In the middle of the chaos, she stumbled back to her normal self, her hands on her knees and panting. She had a weird relationship with pain. Shapeshifting back was an unnecessary pain, but rarely, if she was tired enough, the tearing of her cells and reformation of her bones and organs gave her a rare, sharp pain that resulted in a burst of energy. Her messy lavender hair pooled around her face, much messier than it was before, tangled in her horns. Adrenaline pumped through her veins. Her heartbeat echoed in her ears.

To her left, she saw the ash-blonde from before, heaving breaths over the destruction of a robot. He slowly turned around to meet the girl's gaze, his eyes murderous. Any normal person would be terrified at the sight, but Thalia was impressed.

"I guess that sludge monster didn't dim your glow, dynamite." Thalia said hoarsely, unsure that he'd heard her over the sound of his own heartbeat and the panting of his own breath.

However, his eyes were trained at her, wide open as if he were shocked by her statement. Thalia huffed a laugh and decided she needed to hurry, as she had sacrificed enough time to admire him already. With that, she shapeshifted into a leopard for the stronger bite force and rushed toward another robot that came into view.

He stared in her direction, rather than annoyed or enraged, confused and enraptured. She outwardly looked the same as how he felt inside- wild, unhinged, but the heat of battle was too much for him to ponder on at the time.

Thalia had taken down about five more bots and counted almost forty points when suddenly, the ravaged metal before her lost its glint- the sunlight was suddenly blocked, and screams of alarm and fear filled the atmosphere.

Thalia stepped back, concerned, and lifted her large head to see- to her surprise- a zero pointer. It was much, much larger than she imagined it would be, and she was about to run away with her fellow applicants. However, she noticed two people caught underneath rubble at its feet. A few thoughts running through her head, watching how the robot didn't slow or change its course, she came to a morbid conclusion.

They're gonna die! They would actually let people die here!? She thought, panicked, looking up at the very large and very hostile goliath.

Before she could think it through, she was bounding toward the two.

When she realized what she was doing, she realized they probably wouldn't take kindly to a leopard, and stopped her running and quickly tried to morph herself into a German Shepherd- enlarged, in case she would have to carry them, and keeping her human voice box intact in case she had to speak. She had to put more thought into her shape-changing since it wasn't something that really existed. It worked well, however, since the design was simple.

Once she reached them, the gargantuan robot was almost upon them. She gave a gentle but urgent bark at the two people to get their attention- a small girl with dark skin, short, white, curly hair and tears in her purple eyes, a taller boy with jet black hair, red eyes and pointy teeth. One of his arms looked like it was made from rock, and was trying to lift the huge piece of concrete that held the two down. They looked up at her, and she used her snout to help move the large chunk of robot and concrete off of them.

"Get on! Quick!" she barked. Thankfully, her voice was fully intact, though it had a difference from her normal voice that she couldn't describe. When they hesitated, she growled gently, looking up at the bot, who's eyes were trained on them, its fist raised. Quickly, they climbed on her back.

"Hold on tight, I run fast." she warned them when she felt the weight of the two of them on her back. I'm gonna have a serious backache tonight, she mentally groaned. The boy in the front nodded, hugging her neck. She dashed forward, feeling the giant's foot fall where they had just been. I didn't even know it was there! She thought, pushing away images of what would have happened if she hadn't moved then.

They were both heavy- though most of the weight was from the boy- and tried her best to use that weight to make her faster, though it was difficult. Once they were out of sight from the gargantuan robot, she laid down, and they crawled off. Immediately, she shifted back to her original form with a huff, her hands on her back.

"That shapeshifter girl..." Midnight breathed, surprised.

"She could've left them for dead, but she even changed her form to make sure they wouldn't panic more than they already had. She's already got innate qualities of a hero. Unlike that blonde, spiky-haired boy from earlier. He seemed truly villainous." Added Power Loader.

"They both have insane potential. For them both as well as any student that passes this exam, we'll just have to guide and watch their growth. They'll be fine heroes some day, I'm sure. If they make it past the exam." Principal Nezu commented.

"Thank you so much, I thought I was going to die!" The girl cried. Thalia looked up, straightening her posture. She wiped the blood off the middle of her nose.

"Yeah, thanks a lot! Really thought I was a goner there. I'm Kirishima. Kirishima Eijiro. I'm sorry you got hurt saving us, is your nose okay?" The dark-haired teen added, worry in his tone at the end.

"I'm Flavia Ayano." The girl introduced herself.

"I'm Dragomir Thalia. And don't worry about it. I barely felt it." Thalia replied, a ghost of a smile on her face. I'm lying my ass off. I had no idea this even happened! She embarrassedly covered her bloodstained face and was about to speak again when an announcement reverberated off the towers around them.

"And that's it. Time's up!" Present Mic's voice projected throughout the city, followed by an alarm, interrupting the teen girl's sentence. Thalia paled, worried about her points, instantly trying to calculate her score in her head.

"Well, then... I hope to see you both in class this year!" Kirishima told them both cheerfully, a tired look in his eye. Thalia reciprocated his expression and energy. She'd only racked up forty-four points, as far as she knew. She hoped that would be enough to get her in the top twenty or thirty, at least.

"Agreed, and try not to get yourself crushed on the way out, yeah?" Thalia chuckled. Kirishima seemed to take it better than Flavia, laughing while she sighed, embarrassed.

"You've got an accent, Dragomir. That last name isn't Japanese, either. Where are you from?" To anyone else, Kirishima's question might've seemed invasive, but Thalia didn't mind talking about herself at all.

"Nice catch. I thought I'd gotten better at hiding it. I'm from Norway." Thalia imparted. Flavia's mouth went into a small circle, the eyebrows on both of them raised.

While they stood and waited for the clear to go, a small old woman she instantly recognized as the old hero Recovery Girl entered the battlefield.

"Good work, good work!" She praised them all in a kind voice that sounded like honey. She approached Thalia, obviously knowing what fatigue looked like all too well. "Here, have some gummies." She offered, dropping a few gummy bears in her hand. Thalia was caught off-guard for a moment, but gave her a grateful look.

"Thank you, Recovery Girl-san." Thalia said calmly, eating the gummies one at a time.

"Yes, of course, young one." She replied, quickly moving on to the next student. She assumed that was her go to leave, so she turned and left. With wide eyes, she realized that the gummies gave her a small boost of energy- actual energy, and suddenly she was much more thankful for them- not that she wasn't thankful in the first place. She could never reject candy, especially gummies.

Thalia saw Ochako waiting for her at the entrance of the school, sitting on a bench with her skateboard on her lap. She noticed the horned girl and stood up, meeting her halfway.

"So, how did you do, Chako-chan?" Thalia asked, approaching the girl. The girl turned around with a tired smile as they started to walk down the courtyard.

"I only got twenty-eight points, I'm not sure if I'll make it." Ochako responded glumly.

"Hey, that's not bad. I'm sure you got a higher score than others. Twenty-eight is a lot!" Thalia said, her voice encouraging. Suddenly Ochako's eyes brightened, but more as if she was remembering something.

"Oh, that poor boy! Do you remember the guy we ran into on the way here, the same guy you defended during orientation?" Ochako prompted. Thalia nodded, a bit confused.

"Were you in the same battle center as him?" Thalia questioned.

"Yeah!" Ochako nodded, "...But he didn't get any points. His quirk was amazing, he had the strength of a titan! -Sorry." Ochako apologized quickly when she saw the change in expression from Thalia. But it was gone as soon as it came.

"You're fine. A small boy like him with strength like that... I wondered what his quirk was, and it was far from super strength. How come he didn't get any points? You'd think it would be easy with a quirk like that." Thalia said, dismissing any painful thoughts or memories originating from that word, giving more thought to her story.

"I have no idea. He broke three of his limbs throughout the test- and they were all broken to save me! The zero-pointer- you saw it, right? It was massive! And it was about to crush me when that kid jumped super high and punched the crap out of that thing, destroying the whole thing! With one punch!" She ranted, her hands moving everywhere as she explained. Thalia nodded, her eyes widened as her friend raved on.

"What in the… I wonder how he wasn't able to accumulate any points, then, with a power like that." The girl said, astonished.

"Oh! Right! I wanted to give him some of my points." Ochako said, stopping in her tracks. Thalia looked at her like she was insane.

"What?! But you said you only got twenty-eight points! Ochako, I got, like, forty points. If anyone's gonna be donating points, it'll be me." Ochako's eyes widened at that. Thalia didn't want to mention the score she'd gotten, but she didn't mind it if she were giving some up to help someone else who deserved it.

"Forty!? Well, I guess I shouldn't be surprised, with a quirk like yours!" Ochako said, scratching the back of her head. She paused. "Wait, you'd donate your points?" Thalia shook her head, her thick hair moving around her.

"Yeah, because I know you wouldn't stop even if I told you not to. Besides, I think he really deserves a chance to be able to improve his quirk if he keeps breaking his bones like that." Thalia lowered her voice, grabbing Ochako's hands. "Let's go to Present Mic. I'm sure he'd be on board." The horned girl assured her. Ochako gave an embarrassed smile.

"Thank you, Thalia!" She said, truly grateful for her cooperation. They both ran back into the school, and found the pro hero- Present Mic- in a classroom going over some paperwork.

"Herr- uh, Present Mic-san!" Thalia called, panting in the doorway. Ochako came in behind her, not panting at all- she'd just powerwalked there, looking much more dignified than Thalia did at the moment.

"S-sorry to interrupt." Ochako added, taking a step forward, past Thalia, who was leaning against the door frame.

Present Mic looked up at the two girls, standing up and walking in front of them.

"Heya! How can I help you two listeners today?" He said cheerfully, a grin on his face, clearly intent on keeping his radio star persona. Ochako spoke up, her voice shy.

"You know that boy with the really messy hair and all the freckles?" She asked, moving her hands above her head for emphasis, "It's hard to describe his face, he's kinda plain looking? Doesn't really stand out or anything, you know?"

"Ochako, are you trying to insult or describe the boy?" Thalia demanded bemusedly. Ochako blushed, rubbing her cheek.

"S- sorry. That's not my intention." Ochako cleared up, waving her hands.

"Anyways," Thalia picked up, her expression staying neutral, her blue eyes having a soft glint to them. She stood up straighter. "Would I be allowed to give this boy any of my points?"

"I heard him saying something about wanting to get just one point in," Ochako added, looking determined and passionate, "Which just seems crazy! How could someone who took down that huge villain all by himself not have any points in the end? He would've had a better score if he hadn't stopped to help me!" Ochaco closed her eyes, her words coming directly from inside her heart. "He saved me! I have to make it up to him! I was going to offer my points, but Thalia wouldn't let me. Please, sir!"

"He deserves a chance to improve his quirk if he has something as crazy powerful as that. Can't you just... give him some of my points?" Thalia finished, stepping closer and looking him in the eye. Present Mic seemed moved by their words.

"Thanks for showin' up to the station with your request," He began, "but there's no reason to give him your points." He patted them both on the head. "The kid's chartin' well on his own! See, combat wasn't the only factor involved in the point system." Thalia and Ochako gasped, shocked, their eyes widening. "Rescue points were also a factor! Now, you two listeners shouldn't be worryin' about him- or yourselves, at all! I can't reveal the score to either of you, or even if you passed, but I'll just assure you both. It was very noble of you both to do that. Now go on home, and you'll get your results in a week! Bye-bye now!"

The two exchanged shocked looks and said their farewells and thanks to the pro hero, who was already going through his paperwork once more. Once they had reached the entrance once more, Ochako took Thalia's hands, spinning her around in a circle excitedly.

"I can't believe he said that..." breathed Thalia, an air of excitement around her. Ochako squealed beside her.

"I can't believe we're probably gonna go to U.A.!" Ochako exclaimed, a huge grin on her face. They laid down their skateboards and pushed off.

"What do you mean, 'probably'? If you helped anyone out, and I know I did, we're definitely gonna make it in!" She squealed, more excited than Ochako had seen her for years.

On the way home, they both talked excitedly about their practical exam, and contemplated what their points might be. They deduced, since rescue points were a thing now, that they had a good chance of making it.

"Ochako!" Thalia said once they had arrived at her house, "If my mom says it's okay, you wanna sleep over?" Ochako's eyes lit up, a huge grin crossing her face.

"Hell yes!" She exclaimed. Thalia laughed- Ochako wasn't usually one for cursing like Thalia was. Of course, Thalia's mother was perfectly fine with Ochako staying over, but they couldn't be loud, as Thalia's stepfather needed to wake up early tomorrow morning.

While Ochako went back to her house to pack her things, Thalia showered the blood and dirt off of her and cleaned her room. Once Ochako arrived, Thalia had some snacks ready and a movie pirating app on her TV. Trjegul and Bygul were huge fans of her, running up to her with cute little mews of greeting as soon as she arrived.

Ochako was slightly against pirating movies- her and her sense of justice. But she caved in after Thalia assured her that lots of people did it and the law didn't really care. As long as they didn't watch any super new movies or too frequently or tried to download anything instead of just streaming it, they'd be fine. They both sat in Thalia's bed and binged the movie series Grown Ups before falling asleep to it with both cats asleep on top of the pair of best friends.

"This is like, the first sleepover I've ever had since I moved to Japan!" Young Thalia said happily. Ochako laughed, hugging her new friend.

"And it certainly won't be the last!" She giggled assuredly. Thalia grinned and hugged back. They sat on Thalia's bed the way they do now, watching Winx Club and eating kettle corn until they passed out.

Thalia smiled at the memory as she sipped on her hot chai, looking out the window from her bed, both of her kitties sleeping on top of her.

Ochako and Thalia ended up sleeping over for three more days after that. Eventually, they decided against sleeping over again so they could do some solo training and studying for the remainder of the week. Plus, her parents were starting to miss her.

Thalia's phone buzzed, and she saw a text from her mother, telling her to come downstairs, but not revealing the reason she should. Sighing and expecting her to ask Thalia to empty the dishwasher she had loaded a few hours ago, she got up without disturbing her cats' slumber and she trotted downstairs to meet her mother in the kitchen, behind the bar.

She had this huge grin on her face and she was holding up an envelope with the U.A. logo. Her stepfather, a tall, half Japanese, half American man with spiky brown hair that stood straight upwards, a hairline that receded at his temples, Nash stood next to his wife, Ljufvina, with a grin on his face, seemingly back early from the station and excited for his step-daughter. At that sight, Thalia's eyes widened and her annoyed look was immediately replaced with an excited one.

"Thalia! Your results from U.A. came in!" Ljufvina said, her voice oddly calm, yet her green eyes glinting with excitement. Thalia beamed, turning to the living room.

"Ivan! Elmla! Wanna see my results from the U.A. exam!?" Thalia called to her siblings. Ivan immediately came running to the kitchen with a grin. Elmla leapt up from the couch and came running over, hugging Thalia's leg. The oldest sibling sat at the barstool, plopping Elmla on her lap, brushing down some frizz on the back of her dark violet hair, taking one of her teeny antlers and shaking it slightly to tease her, releasing her after several giggles and good-natured cries of protest.

Her mother handed her the envelope. With terrified conviction, she tore it open, her expression reflected her confused thoughts as she took out a small, gray disc and a singular sheet of paper.

Place on flat surface.

Thalia followed its instructions. As she placed it down on the counter, almost instantly, a holographic screen appeared above the disc, showing a close-up of All Might's face. Nash turned off the lights so it would be easier to see.

"Booyah! I am here as a projection!" He exclaimed, backing up from the camera. Thalia yelped in surprise, as did the others that were watching. Ljufvina grinned at the screen.

"Is that Uncle Toshi?" Ivan said confusedly.

"Aah Might!" Elmla exclaimed. Ljufvina shushed her with a finger to her lips.

"This is from U.A., isn't it!?" Thalia asked her mother. Ljufvina just winked and shushed her other daughter.

"It may come as a surprise, Young Thalia, but you're looking at the newest U.A. faculty member!" Thalia's expression turned to one of awe and shock, and she looked at Ljufvina, who wore a knowing look on her face.

"You knew this, didn't yo-"

"You passed the written exam, and you earned forty-four combat points in the practical exam! Fortunately, as Present Mic explained to you, there were other factors. The practical exam wasn't graded solely on combat points. How could a hero course reject a heroic action? So we have rescue points! A panel of judges watched you rescue those two from the zero-pointer and awarded points for heroic acts beyond just fighting villains. Thalia Dragomir, thirty-five rescue points! You passed the exam on top of the leaderboard with seventy-eight points in total! I'm so proud of you!" He gave a thumbs-up. Thalia was speechless, tears gathering at the bottom of her eyes. All Might turned to the screen once more, holding out his hand.

"Welcome, Thalia, to your hero academia." And the hologram stopped. Everyone exploded, screaming and hugging and shaking Thalia.

"You made it! You're in U.A.! You're gonna be a hero!" Thalia heard coming from Elmla.

"Top of the fuckin' leaderboard, god damn, kid!" Nash lauded her. The family's praise devolved into incomprehensible screeching and laughing, jumping around and celebrating.

I made it, holy shit! I'm in the best hero school in Japan! Tears leaked down Thalia's cheeks.

And that was the start of her hero academia.

edited 11•09•21

edit 11•16•24:

hello everyone! let me just address the changes:

i changed the name from arya castle to thalia dragomir, as well as changing her ancestry so as to make her less of a self insert/projection character (lmao) she is now half norwegian and half japanese, though she identifies more with her norwegian side because she hates her dad lol (same) but also i wanted to add more depth to her character and have her and her mom's side be religious.

also i wanted to make her seem like her age. she's young and she thinks she knows everything. she needs to be a little insufferable, especially because of her powerful quirk. speaking of that, i've also come to realize that because of her backstory, it would be logical if she just didn't notice the pain anymore, but it's still there. instead, it just exhausts her.

i'm not as young as i was when i started this, she used to be me with purple hair basically and now i have a jellyfish cut with shaved sides. i also played assassin's creed valhalla and she's got a lot of influence from the main character, eivor.

and of course, i got better at writing so i can now edit and continue this story and be proud of it. ive never gotten this much attention from something i created and i feel like i can't let you all down with a piece of shitty writing. plus, the manga is finished.

reviews

guest: Question can thalia turn into a plant or strictly animals
yes, thalia can only turn into animals unfortunately lol

guest: I have something to say can Thalia become a hybrid like one piece zoan devil fruit user sorry it's just that does she have to fully transform or can it be midway
i've never seen one piece, but i can say that she can morph any part of her body into anything, so she could probably, indeed, make one piece zoan devil fruit user hybrids.

guest: Can't wait for more
neither can i HEHEHEHEHEH

M: Love this! Great start! Love Thalia!
thank you ily :0

guest: You got my interest
fantastic news, i hope it stays :D

guest: You got my attention
this makes me very happy

word count: 10,185