Entrance Exam!

[Kirishima house]

-Beep! -Beep!

"I'm ready!"

Eijiro sprung out of bed, going full bulletproof, ready for anything!

"You still have three days left, dear!" A motherly voice shouted down the hall, and looking at the time, he realised it was a bit early.

But he set the alarm on purpose to not be late and miss anything. 'I always have to be prepared,' he said, plopping back on his bed.

"Three days, just three days, and I'll take part in the entrance exam. Screw sleep!"

He jumped out of bed and went outside. 'I can at least practise passing the time.' He thought arriving in the backyard.

'Alright, bulletproof!' He mentally shouted as his whole skin hardened.

He swung left and right, pushing the air around, following with a leg sweep and front flip-axe kick. In the next nine months, he'd become a greenbelt in karate, and with a dedication to the art, he mastered ways of defence and offence, becoming adept in close combat.

'Maybe I should also learn Muaythai,' he thought, coming out of his hardened state. He flicked his fingers one by one, solidifying each of them. It was a control exercise so he could be more specific with his quirk.

After some light stretching, he hardened his scalp and pulled out a black strand. "Alright, let's try this again." His fist hardened, and soon the hair strand also became a thin, metre-long pole.

"How long this time?" This was something he discovered with his control exercises. He dropped the piece and watched it. A small bead of sweat came down his face as the piece turned back to normal hair. Beautifully thirty seconds, but it's still a great improvement.'

The day was spent with nothing but light training; the second day was the same; the third as well, which was accompanied by his parent's complete support every five minutes; and finally, the day of the exam.

-Beep! -Beep! -Boom!

A hardened fist smashed the clock. Eijiro opened his eyes with a burning flame and said, "Yeah!"

"Yeah!" His parent's shouts also echoed down the hall! They were pumped up too!

It was time. After a long shower and tying his hair in a ponytail, he went downstairs in his uniform and his outfit to change into for the exam. Upon entering the kitchen, he gasped, "Woah!"

He was awed at the breakfast set on the table—eggs, bacon, and more bacon! "Surprise!"

"A growing boy needs his meat!" his mother smirked, "and the winner must eat like a king!"

"Hehe, this is so cool. Thank you for the meal!" He got down and started coming down.

His father gave a knowing smile, nodding, with his mom leaning on him, to say their support spurred him on further.

Right before leaving, though, they pulled him in for a tight hug. Not wanting to let go, his dad used his quirk to keep an Iron grip on him: "Just a little longer, remember to give it your all. When they see your spirit shine, they won't hesitate to bring you into UA."

"No, even if the worst-case scenario happens, there is nothing wrong with coming back with your head down; nothing can go as expected; you have to keep thinking about what comes next, improve, adapt, and overcome," She said, rubbing his cheek.

"Cough, she read that from a website." His dad muffled his breath. But it didn't make the words any less true.

...

[UA Academy]

'I can do this!' Eijiro steeled himself, staring down the building's doors.

"Pretty big, right?" Mina said as she popping into existence beside him.

Woah, where did you come from?" He never felt her coming.

"You looked like you were about to chicken out, so I waited," she patted his shoulders, "come on, let's go in!" She ran in, smiling.

"Hello, wait for me," he said, running after her. Entering the lecture hall, both found seats next to each other and sat down. One by one, the room filled until it was a sea of students.

"Wow, so many people! Man, competition is looking tight!" He slammed his fist in excitement.

It wasn't long, though, as a banana-haired hero walked up to the stage—none other than present Mike!

"Ahem, WELCOME ONE AND ALL TO MY LIVE SHOW! Everyone says YEAH!" His voice boomed, reaching everyone.

"ALRIGHT! NOW PAY CLOSE ATTENTION!" He continued and went on to the details of the exam.

...

[City A]

'So after ten minutes of practice in one of their constructed cities, villains worth 1 point are easy, two points are alright, and three points are a challenge, but I should also help as many people as I can; a hero doesn't just fight bad guys after all. But at least I should rack up six points a minute.'

He was in deep thought after the presentation, and as he was getting changed, he wore nothing but Red shorts and a black shirt with a printed picture of "crimson riot" on it.

He set his watch to buzz every minute, and the moment he arrived at his city, where the people were waiting, he bolted straight in!

"Eh, wait, what are you doing?" One of the students shouted, and soon many were waiting for the bus.

"There's no countdown in a real battle!" He shouted back.

-Whiirrr!

The motorised humming of wheels reached him as a one-point robot raced to him! 'Just the arm,' he said, hardening into a blade. He jumped to the side, clashing with it.

-Boom!

Another one came immediately behind him: 'Bulletproof. It tackled him, but he didn't budge. Pushing it back, he jumped with an axe kick, crushing it. Two!'

"That's cheating!" Another yelled, but as soon as they said that, Present Mike appeared.

"THE KID'S RIGHT, THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS A COUNTDOWN IN A REAL BATTLE RUN! RUN!"

The others charged in immediately, as Kirishima smashed another two small robots.

"Come on!" He grinned and went bulletproof as a larger one appeared, a two-pointer. It moved on four legs and had an extra appendage like a scorpion. He dodged its stab and grabbed its tail!

-Crunch!

'Hup!' he lifted the thing and threw it, "Hah!" into a one-point robot. 'That's seven!'

He grinned and ran further into the city; if he stayed close to the beginning, then most of them would be taken out.

-Whiirrrr!

Three small ones and one three-pointer burst through the walls. The big one launched rockets; he didn't plan on dodging and took the blasts!

"My Shirt! They don't make these anymore!" He screamed and tacked on the nearest small one and sliced it in two, causing an explosion in the smoke. He punched through the second one.

Beeps echoed, and the Three-pointer launched more missiles while charging, "Thc." He swerved past the attacks as the one-pointer charged, and he clashed with it before using its momentum and throwing it into the big one and slamming into the two, unleashing a barrage of blows.

-Boom!

They exploded in a glorious flame, and he walked out unbothered and still bulletproof, 'thirteen and still nearly two minutes.'

"Ah, I can't do this!" He snapped immediately at the voice of a student who was on the floor against a medium robot.

"Hey, tin can!" He threw a piece of scrap at it and charged, shouting to the guy, "Move now!"

"Ha! Yeh!" He crawled away and watched Eijiro ram into the robot, cracking through the fake building and both exploding and stepping out completely fine.

"Are you okay?" he asked, turning off his hardening and checking for any wounds people can get after all.

"Yeah, thank you so much!" He bowed to him and looked up; his pupil shrank upon seeing another two-pointer leaping from the roof.

"No problem, just take care."

-Boom!

It landed right on top of him. "Gah!" The kid squealed back but was then in awe as Eijiro stood fine, but his hair was all hardened and pointing upwards like a porcupine. He skewered the robot!

"What is that now, 17 points? I guess their hair band was for nothing," he said, moving so the pieces fell off. He said nothing and went back into the fight.

"Two three-pointers! Hell yeah!" He smirked, going bulletproof once more. "Charge!" He ran straight towards them, sliding past and jumping over their rocket. Getting close, he formed blades.

-Screech!

The sound of metal tearing drew some attention as he slashed through their armour. 23 points and 6 minutes remained.

Another set of small ones was coming towards him, but they were chasing a student. "Can I get some help? My quirk needs to be reset!" The person jumped, avoiding a strike.

"Get behind me!" Kiri ran in his direction, and as he passed him, he got into a stance, going full force.

-Bam! -Whirr!

They slammed into him, and he barely held them back. "How much time do you need?" He shouted, pushing them back a little. His grip was tearing into the metal.

"Ah, T-two minutes!"

"That's too long!" He pushed them back and got into a stance. His front fist hardened and the back sharpened, and he charged the small robots, delivering a kick, slash, and full-force punch, each exploding.

"Recover and get back in, okay?" He smiled, gave a thumbs-up, and said, "Good luck." 25 points in 5 minutes.

He was careful in his fights, taking on three medium-sized threats by punching through them, a large robot by grabbing its missiles and using them against it, and three smaller robots sprinkled throughout. His total points are now 37.

All of this happened in a little over a minute, as the other students fought, he saw a girl with her back against the wall clutching her ankles. Really?'

He walked up to her; there was no need to ask, so he just said, "You're too close to these fights; you might get caught up."

"No, I'm fine." She tried to get up but hurt herself. "It's okay." He was careful and lifted her, and she started sprinting near the outside.

"I'll take care of her," a medic said to them. "You go back to the fighting kid," he reassured him, taking the girl. Kirishima nodded before giving a thumbs up and sprinting back into the city.

"I've barely got three minutes left!"

-Whirr!

A medium robot, he picked up the pace and headbutted the thing, pushing it back and not letting up. He followed with a full-power sidekick, destroying it. He went further back to where most were fighting, and another one burst through the building beside him, which he crushed with an axe kick.

Just as he was done, a large one came leaping off a rooftop and launching missiles. Avoiding them was an easy thing, but it was a goal for him. 44 points.

So he did what he knew: he hardened himself and braced it from crashing into him; he rose and tore it from the inside out.

Just as he got out of the rubble, the ground shook. The mother of all robots revealed itself: the zero-pointer.

"That thing is huge!" Many realised that it was worth nothing and decided to run against it, taking any points that remained.

It roared and struck a building, sending pieces of debris flying all over the place.

"Let's go!" Eijiro roared and ran towards it, not to take on the thing; he couldn't, but he was quick to analyse; someone running away tripped, and a chunk of debris was flying towards him.

"It's okay!" He jumped in front of the man and blocked the impact, saying, "Get up and run!"

'Is it going to swing?' he asked, seeing the giant robot going in for a punch.

"Someone help!" A voice shouted, "Please help!" And another closer to the machine; the moment he met eyes with them, his mind was taking him back.

'Man up, Kirishima!' He willed himself and charged right ahead, "Not on my watch!" He got up close, pushing, going full bulletproof. "Not again!"

...

"We should stop that one from going any further," one of the many heroes watching the current scene said.

"Let's not be too hasty; that boy there is going right in; look at his face; he's smiling too; maybe he's got a plan." Another voice spoke.

"Well, how about we go to the last minute, and if so, well, stop it; it's the final minute after all." A third voice joined in, silencing the two as they watched on.

...

He stopped as its fist descended—the most basic of karate blocks—and steadied himself as it came down!

-BOOM! -Woosh!

A massive collision followed by a large gust of wind! He blocked it with the most basic of moves! 'JODAN UKE!' Or its other name, the High Block! High risk, higher reward!