Author's Note

Hey again everyone, no I haven't forgotten about this story. I don't want to rush this at all and write this at my own pace because I want it to be both a good story and a good read, so I apologize if updates are slow…

Uploaded

02/08/2025

LEGEND BELOW

"So you want to be a hero?" = Normal speech.

''He's not serious...'' = Normal thoughts.

Chapter 6

Rated-M

M rating for violence, mature themes, romance, and language.

Music of the day

Sonic Unleashed - Adabat Jungle Joyride Night

One month had come and gone in the blink of an eye since Melissa's sudden arrival in their lives, the bubbly blond girl finding it rather easy to adjust to her new surroundings and daily routines.

While it had been unfortunate to have merely thirty days left before the entrance exam for Yuuei, leaving very little time for the girl to whip her body into a shape that was even capable of containing One For All, it had been decided before she even arrived that she would be the one to get in on All Might's recommendation as his secret pupil and as such would spend her time at the esteemed school training her body to handle the raw power given to her and learn the proper hero course provided.

That was all well and good, managing to settle any issues brought forth by Izuku's lack of ability to acclimate to the quirk. But with that problem solved it meant that All Might didn't really have time for them anymore, now spending his time training the girl at Yuuei for both her safety and to get her a head start since she was already so far behind.

And so that's how Shadow again found herself standing by Izuku's side on the beach once more, the night ending their final day of training together before the entrance exam tomorrow morning.

And…

She was anxious.

Not because she thought she'd fail the exam or even perform poorly, it wasn't anything like that at all. She knew that she'd ace the test like it was nothing to her, hell she was probably a little bit overconfident in her own abilities as a hero in training.

No, that wasn't the issue at all.

The simple fact of the matter was that everything was about to get real from here on out. There was no more playing around, no more pretending, no more going through the motions. Once she passed this exam, her life was going to change, surrounded by the world of heroes and villains.

Up until that point she'd been simply going along with everything, spouting the things everyone wanted to hear from her. That she was going to become a hero, that she was going to do her very best to be the woman everyone expected her to be, to climb the mountain to the top to become the Number one hero.

Or something along those lines of thinking. She'd been training for the exam for so long that she'd completely forgotten what it meant for her once she passed.

She was going to become a hero, a real bonafide member of the state backed by the government for her support to protect the people, just like Izuku always wanted.

But…

That wasn't what she wanted.

She didn't want to become a hero…

She didn't want to become someone that others wanted to depend upon, someone that others needed to depend upon.

She didn't want to go out there and fight to protect people and save others, risking her life and the lives of those she'd come to care about every single day, knowing that one slip up, one mistake, could cost important people their very lives…

She didn't want that weight upon her shoulders, that stress upon her heart…

That…

Anxiety!

She didn't want it! She didn't want any part of it at all!

She wanted to be a normal girl that did normal things, worked at a cafe and met normal people and at the end of the day went home to her cute nerdy boyfriend who she would one day marry and they'd all live normal lives.

That's what she wanted, what she's dreamt of.

But she didn't get that.

She instead had to fall in love with the idiot that wanted to go out there and become a hero who risked his life every day just because he wanted to, because he felt he needed to help people. And instead of him being born with amazing powers and talent that would have had all eyes on him, instead she was the one cursed with these abilities. She had to become a hero, not because she wanted to, but because she had to.

She had these powers that the world expected her to use, and at first she'd decided to do so because he couldn't. But now that he had powers of his own, his original dream was going to become a reality.

Together they would attend Yuuei and become heroes.

That was his dream, his goal, his ideals…

That wasn't what she wanted. It would have been easier if he never got a quirk, that way she could still achieve his dream for him and come home to a relatively normal life with him. She had the powers to protect herself and achieve his dreams, and all he had to do was just stay his normal nerdy self who did the whole stay at home boyfriend role.

Now she got neither of those things.

But she felt that she had no other choice but to do what he wanted, because at the end of the day she wanted to make him happy, wanted to keep her promise to him…

Wanted to prove that she was worth it.

And now that the time had come, she was getting cold feet.

It felt all encompassing, a swirling negative aura drowning her in anxiety and fear.

Fake…

Fraud…

Pretend hero…

Those were the words floating around in her head that night before the exam, the words that swirled around overhead, taunting her relentlessly as she tried to sleep, tears staining her pillow. As much as she hated to admit it, even Bakugo knew what he was, what he wanted to be and believed in it. She envied his determination to do what he wanted to do, and not for the first time wished she had his confidence in his every day life.

Yet here she was, a girl with a chip on her shoulder stepping into a line of work she was not mentally preparing for nor did she believe that she may ever be. She had anger issues as bad as Bakugo and a level of power to pose a bigger threat than him if she were to lose control of herself. She was a ticking time bomb that could go off at any moment and hurt those around her instead of protecting them.

''Fake it till you make it, huh?'' Were her last thoughts before she drift off to sleep that night, nightmares plaguing her dreams.

She wondered, just how long that was going to get her by before someone noticed…

And when they did?

She didn't know what she was going to do…

The day had finally come, the imposing tower that loomed over her mocking her with its height. She stood just outside the massive entrance to the exam center, the place where everything was going to begin, where everything became real.

She sniffed, an indifferent look plastered over her face that did little to hide the black bags hanging underneath her ruby red eyes. She'd arrived early that day, impatiently waiting outside the front door for Izuku to arrive so they could go in together. She had a feeling that they were going to get separated rather quickly if they didn't, and even then she had a feeling the examiner wasn't planning on letting friends take whatever test it was together.

What a total bother…

After waiting for a while she decided to throw caution to the wind and go inside. If Izuku was already there then she'd eventually run into him, and if not…

Well she supposed she'd see him during the exam.

Still, though, hundreds of potential students had decided to test their mettle today as it would seem, hundreds of faces every which way she would look. It was almost overwhelming at one point, but she didn't let it faze her.

She was above this.

There was no time to be panicked because of a few too many faces in one place.

"Came alone?" The voice that rung out with that familiar snark was easily picked out amongst the crowd with her tall pointed ears, the frown marring her face only worsening slightly once she realized who it was that had called out to her. She spun around to find the cocky face of one familiar Explosion quirk user, the blond teen strutting up to her with his hands shoved in his pocket. It felt just like that day nearly a year ago at Izuku's old school, but…

At least this time he was forty percent less of an asshole.

Or…

At least he made sure not to piss her off because he knew she would match his attitude bar for bar.

Maybe it turned him on…

She snickered.

Wouldn't that be funny.

"What're you laughing about, edgelord?" He barked with a sneer, feeling as if she was making fun of him.

She smirked back at him. "Nothing, you explosive pomeranian." She teased, smirking at the way his cheeks turned red, mouth falling open in shock. She turned away to begin her trek to her seats, finding it increasingly difficult to not just speed there like she'd done all her life.

Stupid quirk laws…

"O-Oi! Don't you walk away from me!" The blond barked indignantly, rushing after her. "Stupid sow!"

Her eyebrow twitched. "Loudmouth brat." She murmured.

"Edgy slut." He retaliated, egging her on.

She stopped where she stood, rounding on him with a dark look. "Uptight prick." This little back and forth battle of insults was something that they'd gotten into more than a handful of times recently, and he was almost always the one responsible for instigating it.

Maybe he just loved watching her lose her cool, or her just got really into poking her buttons.

Either way, she wasn't one to take it laying down.

"Stupid bitch!"

"Insufferable asshole!"

"Spoiled rich girl!"

"Ungrateful little shit!"

The notion of the game was pretty quickly forgotten as they found themselves head to head, growling as they stared each other down, both of their egos having been prodded a few too many times.

Fortunately someone had come around to intervene before it got out of hand.

"That is quite enough! The nerve of the both of you, getting into a petty argument on the day of the esteemed Yuuei high exams! Can't you see that you're upsetting the peace?" It was the sound of the uptight and trying to sound way too mature voice that broke them apart, literally separating them physically. The two of them stopped their little bickering fight to instead focus on the tall man standing in between them.

And why was he repeatedly chopping the air as if to help accentuate his point?

Weirdo…

Shadow glanced around to find, unsurprisingly, that a good handful of people did stop to stare at them. But to her amusement, most of them were staring at the tall man that had separated them. She placed her hands on her hips, glaring up at the taller teen. "Actually I think you're the one causing a scene…" She grunted, backed up by Bakugo's smirk of agreement. "We're just having a little fun to stave off anxiety before the exam, no thanks to you." She clarified, much to the tall boy's mortification.

"S-Such crass way of thinking! Should potential heroes in training be speaking in such a vulgar and rude manner to one another?" He was appalled by their behavior, much to the amusement of said vulgar heroes in training.

"Why do you care? We're not hurting anybody." Bakugo grumbled lowly, stepping forward. He paused only when Shadow grabbed him by the arm, telling him to drop it. His eyes narrowed, stepping back in line with her. "Whatever, let's get out of here." He snorted, turning away to follow the other girl into the exam center.

The teen left alone bristled. "The nerve! This is an esteemed facility. There is no doubt that they will not pass such crass teenagers like you if you do not clean up your acts!" He called out after them.

Shadow didn't stop in her stride, but she did turn around to toss him a challenging smirk. "Don't hold your breath." She called out before stepping inside, taking some solace in the more dimly lit facility.

She felt a little bad at how she reacted to the guy, but she was already anxious as she was, and her best way of hiding that was being angry or crass. It had carried her this far in life, why change now?

Eventually she found herself sitting in a rather massive auditorium, the lights dimming as all the examines took their seats, eyes on the center stage. She'd still yet to see Izuku-

Oh.

There he was, on the other side of the auditorium, waving at her with that stupid cute grin of his.

Wait…

What was he doing?

Was he…?

Passing her a bottle of something?

Her eyes narrowed as she watched him levitate a small soda her way with nothing but the little green outline around the item there to give it away. She snatched it out of the air with a smirk, cheeks warming up at the thought.

Guess he could sense her unease these last few days and wanted to do something about it.

She flushed, smirking at the white haired teen across the way.

"What're you smiling about now? It's creepy." Somehow she'd forgotten that she'd taken a seat literally next to the loud mouthed explosive user, and he was apparently way too fucking keen on her emotional status at every point in time.

Her cheeks burned at being called out, a sneer forming on her face. "Nothing, you jackass." She grumbled in response.

"Bitch."

"Loser."

"Emo."

"Bitchface."

"OKAY EVERYONE! CAN I GET A HECK YEAH?!"

The booming voice shook them from what was rapidly evolving into their little bickering contest again and drew their attention to the main stage as a rather gaudy man exploded onto the scene with a wild grin, his finger snap echoing throughout the instantly empty auditorium. His bombastic entrance enthusiasm was not returned with the excitement and cheering that he'd expected would come his way, instead with a deafening silence in its place, those in the audience staring pensively down at him.

The blond haired man in black leather sighed in defeat, reaching up to rub the back of his head nervously. "Sheesh, tough crowd…" He murmured in a voice that sounded like it should've been barely audible yet was boosted far louder than it had any right to be.

And it was certainly beginning to get on someone's nerves. "Fuck! Why is he so loud?!" Shadow hissed like a cat that had just been slapped awake, holding her gloved hands to the top of her head to shield her poor little ears from the banshee that had threatened to make her go deaf. Apparently her voice carried very well, practically echoing throughout the dead silent audience with her angry shout.

"This girl's trying to become a hero and she can't even handle a little noise?"

"I know, I saw her arguing in the lobby over something stupid too. Does she seriously think Yuuei's looking for someone who can't keep their cool if she can't even keep hers before the test even started?"

"What sort of hero in training has that kind of temper issues, man?"

"She should've just stayed home if she was going to complain all day."

"I bet she's scared! That loud mouth attitude's probably there to cover how nervous she is."

"Yeah you're probably right! Bet she doesn't even have a good quirk!"

"I saw her makings a scene outside with the dude sitting next to her. What a bad time to have a break up, am I right?"

"And what is she wearing? Is she trying to look slutty or something? What does her quirk require she show all of her legs or something?"

Like a switch had been flipped all of a sudden all eyes were on her, some people muttering to each other about how embarrassing it was to make such a scene. The girl's face turned as red as the streaks in her hair, something that many brutally pointed out like childish high school bullies.

Shadow felt her teeth grind together angrily at the words sent her way, whether she was supposed to hear them or not didn't matter in the end. Tears welled up in the corners of her eyes in embarrassment and anger, sharp fangs glinting in the light as she clenched her teeth so hard she was afraid they might fracture, fists clenched tightly by her side as she began to shake, an ominous aura beginning to seep out from her skin.

Who were they to question her?

Who the hell were they to begin spouting nonsense without even knowing who she was, what she had to go through?

Who the fuck did they think that they were badmouthing?

She wore her short shorts because she knew Izuku liked them, not because she was some attention starved little girl. And she got hot while running around so fast that the open air felt good on her skin!

Of course she didn't want to be here! She didn't want to be a stupid hero! She just wanted to be normal but she wasn't allowed to, and it made her want to scream!

Who the hell did they think she was?!

But before she could even utter a single word that might have sent the punks scampering or cowering away in fear, someone beat her to it.

And she hadn't expected it to be him.

"Oi! Fucken bastards better keep your words to yourself before I shove my hand so far up all of your asses that you'll be tasting explosions for the rest of your lives!" The snarl erupted from the back of Bakugo's throat with such vitriol that it practically washed away any anger Shadow had bubbling up in that moment, her eyes wide as she turned to glance at the red eyed blonde beside her in disbelief.

Crass as it was, it had the desired effect in muting the rampant mutterings of those who really should have kept their mouths shut, even though it had the side effect of drawing everyone's ire towards the explosive teen in question. But he seemingly easily tuned them out as he turned his red eyed gaze on her.

"Don't pay attention to those extras. They don't know shit, so the shit they spout is nothing worth listening to anyway." He muttered lowly, eyeing her with a sharp gaze. She struggled to work her mouth for a moment, struggling with something she couldn't quite put her finger on for a minute.

But…?

She swallowed thickly, biting her lips as she crossed her arms underneath her breasts roughly, eyes snapping towards the stage. She sniffed, a frown marring her face. "Thanks…" She grumbling out, the image of the guy in her head fluctuating with what she'd expected from him. She'd been so caught off guard by his act of standing up for her publicly that she wasn't sure how to react.

She was still steamed by the harsh words those around her had sent her way, but that anger had subsided into something far more manageable, her attitude shifting away from murderous to bitchy at best. Either way, he'd managed to defuse a bomb before she went off…

And she was thankful for it, if a bit embarrassed about it if the redness to her cheeks was any indication.

Bakugo snorted, a red tint on his face as he turned his attention back to the stage as well, a frown taking over his face. "You're fuckin welcome. Stupid fuckin extras should know their damn places…" He grunted sharply, arms crossed firmly as he leveled an intense gaze down at Present Mic. The proctor was beginning to sweat at the intensity of the teenagers in his exam this early in the morning.

"Right then! Well it seems to me that everyone here's getting a bit antsy so I'm going to jump right into the explanations!" He was quick to get his groove back as he snapped his fingers, a wide mouthed grin on his face as screens rose up from the ground behind him. "Everyone here today will be going into fake cityscapes to conduct mock battles with our very own custom made villain robots! The applications everyone was handed out explains it a bit better, okay!"

Shadow frowned as she glanced down to the papers clutched in her hands, unfolding it to find out that she'd indeed been separated from both Izuku and Katsuki for the duration of the mock battles going forward. She knew that it was unlikely they would be grouped in together, but it was still annoying to see it come true.

That said, it did mean that she didn't need to worry about stepping on either of their toes in the battle. She could go all out, for better or for worse.

She clicked her tongue, knowing that this exam was going to be a breeze.

"Damn it, I was really looking forward to going up against you out there." Bakugo grumbled under his breath, having taken a moment to look over at the card in her hands. They were all going to different battle centers once they left this auditorium.

"Get past this exam and you'll get your chance in Yuuei." Shadow smirked at the wild teen, enticing a wicked grin from him.

"Now we're talking." He grinned widely, thrusting his fist into his open palm.

"Alrighty! Cut the chatter because here comes the rules, baby!! Whoo!" Present Mic exclaimed loudly, snapping his fingers as he pointed towards the massive tv screens towering behind him. "There are three types of faux villains in every battle center, and everyone is going to have to face the same challenges. So don't worry about getting an unfair matchup!" He wiggled his finger with a smirk.

The screens displayed three different robots, each bigger and more powerful than the last. There were the one pointers, two pointers, and then the three pointers respectively. "You'll all earn points based off of which villain you defeat, so choice wisely when deciding who you're going to go after out there!"

"Your goals here are to use your quirks to gain as many points as possible before the time's up. But check it folks! Make sure you're keeping things heroic out there, because friendly fire is a big turn off! You get caught turning up the heat on your fellow examines then you're out, kiddos!" He snapped his fingers again, bringing up a display of the battleground, a large spacious cityscape.

However, before Present Mic could continue a voice spoke up to cut him off with a question. "Excuse me, sir, but I have a question!" The rather firm and uptight voice was familiar to the hedgehog girl's ears as she saw the tall blue haired guy from earlier stand up, his sharp facial features almost elegant in the dimly lit building. She'd never caught his name, so she decided to call him Choppy, because he seemed to enjoy chopping the air when he spoke.

"Hit me!" Present Mic exclaimed, pointing towards the teenager.

Blue hair stood up, clearing his throat as he pointed a finger sharply at a certain section of the application he alongside everyone else had been handed out. "On the printout is listed four types of villains, yet you've only mentioned three! With all due respect if this is an error on official Yuuei materials it is shameful!"

The cleared his throat again, holding a fist to his chest as he set a stern gaze on the stage. "We are exemplary students! We expect the best from Japan's most notable school. Such a mistake as this won't do." He added lowly, before snapping over to Shadow for a second time that morning, easily singling out her head of wild black and red spiked hair. "And you! You've been making a scene since you first arrived here this morning. If you can't keep a lid on your emotions during the exams then you shouldn't be here at all. You're distracting the rest of us."

The judgment in his eyes was staggering, as if he'd seen right through her fragile outer ego to the girl on the inside and didn't approve at all.

And he was probably right.

She wasn't the type of person that should become a hero.

She wasn't mentally conditioned for it, nor did she even want to.

Her being here was probably a stab at the pride of those who had actually spent their lives training for this very day. And one look at him told her everything that she needed to know about him. He'd spent a large majority of his time training to become a real hero leading up to this day, and he could probably pick up on someone who was faking it until they made it.

And just like that her anxiety from the night prior came flooding back in at full swing, throat clamping up in the tell tale signs of an incoming panic attack. The first time she'd been accused that morning by the crowd of people it had been easy to brush off their accusations because they were all faceless nobodies, people she wouldn't probably ever see again after this exam. She was able to cover it with anger instead of letting those insecurities bubble up and take hold of her.

But Choppy wasn't some nobody, for she could feel the determination and the intensity of his presence from across the auditorium. He was here because he wanted to be a hero, and it showed. And she was here because she felt that it was her responsibility to become one, not because she wanted to. And it seemed he had picked her apart almost immediately.

So when he called her out, all she could do was shrink away back into her seat, her face burning hotly in embarrassment and shame. Outside it probably looked as if she was fuming with anger so bright it was going to set fire to the seats around her, but inside she was struggling with not breaking down in the middle of the auditorium.

Either way, she doubted anyone would notice the difference between her reaction from previously and hers now.

Thankfully Present Mic chose that moment to draw all the attention back towards him and away from her. And it remained that way till the end of the explanation. "Okay okay everybody, simmer down! Now then, to clarify something you pointed out, yes there is a fourth faux villain in play today. That would be the zero pointer. Your job when facing this opponent is not to fight it, but run. That's not to say that you can't destroy it… but there's like zero reason to. I recommend that all of my listeners just try to aim for the others while avoiding this guy!" He swung his arms out widely, drawing everyone's attention.

"Alright everyone! That's a rap for today! But I'll sign off with a little present, a sample of our school motto!" The grin on his face suddenly turned serious, his gaze locked onto the hedgehog with an understanding look that was missed on everyone else. "As General Napoleon Bonaparte once laid down, 'A true hero is one who overcomes life's misfortunes.' Now ain't that a tasty little sound bite?"

He smiled, the look strangely reassuring as he lowered his voice for a brief moment. "You ready to go beyond?" He asked seriously, locking eyes with the troubled speedster. Shadow's breath hitched. "Let's hear a Plus Ultra!!!" He reared back, raising his arms to the sky as he shouted. The screen directly behind him exploded with a giant vibrant decal, the words (PLUS ULTRA) spelled out in giant lettering, the booming sound effects echoing throughout the auditorium.

Then finally came the cheering, everyone standing up from their seats as they cheered at the hero, having been unable to ignore the excitement anymore.

"Good luck everyone! Now get out there and show me what you all can do!!"

Chapter

6

End