Entrance exam

Well, this should be fun.

Plopping down on the floor, I go over the notepad that had been placed on the single desk within the room, reading through the little information the school was willing to give me. Just a few days ago I had been reeling from the written exam alone, the questions on that thing truly something that had my head hurting. Now, I'm faced with a physical I'm unaware of, but very excited to take nonetheless. There's an objective here and that is to apprehend the villain and the valuables they had stolen. The information on the villain is insufficient, a single picture of who I presume to be an older student, a cryptic name, and little to no details on the quirk. It's an emitter, that much I know, but what it does is something entirely lost to me. Though I would appreciate a configuration of the establishment to better help me out here.

The door nearby opens again, a familiar freckled face boy stumbling through with baggy clothes and a laptop tucked under his arm. When he manages not to fall on his face he sighs, tugging the laptop from under his arm as well as something similar to a blueprint. His mind is running with theories and scenarios about the situation at such a fast pace that I have to forcefully ignore him to avoid a headache. He startles when he sees me, going rigid where he stands before smiling this awkward thing. He rubs the back of his neck, his mouth moving in words that don't come out until he sighs, defeated.

"Hey, uh, I'm your partner it looks like" He finally speaks, his voice almost making me smile, I always liked the awkward way he sounded. Just my luck that I'm stuck with him as a partner for this test, huh? I wonder how this works. Will we be judged individually or as a pair?

"Fox Zena" I introduce with a small wave, glancing back at my clipboard and then to the blueprint he seems to have. The schematics to the building evidently.

"Midoriya Izuku" He chuckles, moving to sit next to me, opening the laptop he carries and handing me the blueprint. "We're allowed to bring anything that will help us so I brought my laptop" He explains.

Oh? That's curious.

"There's a camera system that spreads throughout the entire building" He reveals, doing something on the laptop until video footage appears on his entire screen and he smiles happily. "With this, I can see everything"

Wait a minute, is this Izuku the hacker template? What kind of reality did I end up in?

He switches between footages until he finds out the supposed villain strolling down a hall and he quickly locates where exactly the person is, seeming proud of his quick achievement. This isn't half bad, I'll admit. I'm curious to see what this Izuku can really do, could it be that he didn't inherit one for all in this reality? He's far more different than I had expected.

"I can fight, though I doubt I'll be much help in combat," He says with a sigh. "I can make sure you always know where our villain is and everything he's doing at all times so you'll never be blindsided, I'll make sure you don't get lost or walk into traps"

"Not a bad idea" I admit, we only have one problem.

"We have no idea what this guy's quirk is and will have to move with extreme caution until he reveals some part of his quirk"Izuku mumbles, voicing our very prominent problem. "This exam is to simulate the real-life experiences of heroes, the random team up as well as the lack of useful information on the suspect on top of the fact that more often than not hero-villain exchanges may take place within buildings"

Ah, he's muttering. It's truly something to witness but not something that can continue for too long as our time runs out, a loud sound piercing the building to signal the start of this exam. Welp, looks like I'll have to go in as blind as a bat and hope this guy's quirk doesn't end the battle the second it begins. From Izuku's laptop I can determine that the guy's stationed on the third floor, his loot and valuables in a room nearby, one he seems determined to guard. He's either going to try to stop me physically or his quirk could be something revolving around traps, or at least something that could alter the area to better protect his treasure.

Or maybe I'm thinking too long and hard about him standing nearby his loot. Why wouldn't he be nearby when our objective is to retrieve it?

I'll have to go in alone because Izuku is not suited for battle, at least he says he won't be very usual in this situation should there be a confrontation. Lucky for him, I'm a good fighter; unlucky for me, I have no clue what to expect.

"You'll stay here?" I ask when he hands me an earpiece, instructing me on how it works and how to properly wear it. It was given to us by the school itself to keep us in contact.

"Yeah, I'll try to stay out of your way"

"Good" I nod. "I have two quirks"

He perks at this, excitement in his eyes, exactly as I had anticipated from him. If we're meant to be working together, this is vital information to be exchanged, and knowing Izuku he will find a way to use my abilities to our advantage.

"One is mental, I can hear the thoughts and my range is ridiculous. On top of that, I can control another person as long as I manage to get through their mental, though I can only control through mental command" He's typing away on that laptop of his, noting down my quirks and likely already finding perks and drawbacks. "Second quirk is the control of the four natural elements and with them certain sub-elements that I'm attempting to master as well. So far I have the natural elements down as well as ice and a bit of metal manipulation"

"Oh wow, that's cool"

"I'm a lucky person in this life" I grin. "Also, I'm adept at fighting and have four styles under my belt"

He nods, staring at his laptop until he blinks, looking up at me with actualization that slowly turns to nervousness.

"I uh.."

"You are quirkless" His thoughts are very loud and his debating whether or not he should tell me is even louder.

"Yeah, I'm quirkless" He seems to shrink in on himself, suddenly this nervous and anxious ball of green

"No worries" It really isn't something I'll be bothered with, especially since he seems to have gone down another path that would make him useful. "You've got other skills, no?"

"I'm good with electronics and I have a vast knowledge of quirks" He admits almost hesitantly. "Well, I can analyze quirks and determine the pros and cons as well as how useful they would be in certain situations"

I smile to offer him some sort of encouragement as to not have his anxiousness rub off on me because it will be a tad bit distracting if I have to worry about him. The electronics part is the only thing new to me about him, the rest checks out just fine. Now we know a bit about each other and what skills we have, we can get to work and the first thing I do is pinpoint the thoughts of our would-be villain in hopes of learning something about his quirk or whatever plan he may have. Then I consider the fact that he may know of my quirk and the likes because I truly think they would put us at such a disadvantage. In reality, villains often know of the quirks of the heroes trying to stop them while the heroes may not be as knowledgeable.

So then when I don't find much info on his ability, I am not too surprised.

Well then, I'll just take control of his mind.

"Can you control anyone within your range?" Izuku asks just as I attempt it and my smirk must be answer enough.

"I'll take it as a yes"

"Yup, I'm off, wish me luck and keep me up to date"

~~~~~~~~~~

Izuku watches in confusion as Zena doubles over not thirty seconds after meeting the second floor, his teammate suddenly heaving and stumbling before leaning against a wall for support. She groans in misery, slumping down against the wall and uttering obscene words to herself, all of which Izuku had heard, and from what little he could see and the way Zena sounded as if she was ready to empty her stomach on the floor he assumes she must have been struck with a sudden feeling of nausea, her stumbling around could be dizziness. Glancing at the cameras on the third floor he could clearly see their target, still lingering where he once was, casually leaning against the wall near the other room. His expression is one Izuku couldn't read, but he seemed relaxed, not at all concerned about either of them. He's nowhere near Zena to have done anything to her and he hasn't moved since Izuku had located him. He had been watching him the entire time, glancing between him and Zena as to not miss anything that could be important.

"Awe man" He hears Zena through the mic, impressed with the quality of the little device as he hears her as if she were right there with him. "I feel like I've been spun around a thousand times"

She attempts to continue on and Izuku winces when she trips on her own feet and falls onto the stone floor with a thud, groaning when she rolls over and rubs her nose.

"That's embarrassing" There's a small laugh with her words, Zena not sounding too bothered by her predicament. "This has to be the work of that guy's quirk, but he's on the other floor, which could just mean his quirk has incredible reach or he had set it in play before we even entered the building"

Izuku agrees as he takes a better look at the older boy, observing his costume and taking note of every small detail. Some sort of mask hangs around his neck, either a gas mask or a respirator. Both are used to protect the wearer from inhaling airborne pollutants and toxic gases. Through further observation, Izuku notices vent-like openings along his suit, small enough that they would not be noticed with a single look. Along his waist, the boy where's a utility belt that holds what looks to be bombs of some sort, the design reminding him of the smoke grenades he has seen in video games and the likes.

A mask, vents, grenades

Returning his attention to Zena, he shifts between each camera on the second floor and realizes that all windows are shut tight, the same goes for the third floor while the windows on his current residing are open, at least some of them.

"I think he has a gas-based quirk"Izuku realizes just as Zena suggests the same, the latter laughing at their timing as she once more forces herself to her feet.

"Can't you filter your air?" Izuku wonders remembering that she has control of air amongst other things.

"I'm not that skilled, man" Zena replies, sounding as disappointed as she is curious. She manages to keep herself on her feet by manipulating the stone on the floor to hold her in place. She's still swaying, her movements reminiscent of a drunkard leaving a bar after hours of drinking. It would be amusing if she didn't feel like absolute shit. It's hard to focus on what she wants to do when her stomach feels all kinds of sick and bile rises to her throat. Hard to make precise movements when the world appears to be spinning, so she's slow as she feels the wind, careful with how she handles it before she does something stupid. Her objective is to shatter all closed windows in hopes of letting in fresh air and ridding herself of this terrible feeling.

Her movements are practiced, however a bit arduous in her current state. Still, she manipulates the air around her, focusing it and increasing pressure as well as speed, imagining air bullets that she shoots towards any windows in sight. The shattering of glass could be heard from a distance, the sound cautioning the boy on the third floor as his posture morphs from relaxed to alert within seconds.

Zena continues to move the air around her, sending it out the open window to speed things up and within a minute or so the terrible feeling begins to fade and she can take deep breaths again. The stone around her feet revert to the floor and she's walking normally once more.

"There goes all hopes of being stealthy"

"At least we have some idea as to what his quirk is now" Izuku's voice rings in her ear as she continues down an empty hallway. "Turn right"

She follows his words almost automatically, turning down the right corner, focused on the pressure in her mind as she attempts to enter the villain's mind once more.

"Stop"

She pauses, glancing above when she notes how loud the thoughts are all of a sudden. Seems she's standing right beneath him.

"If you go through the window, straight upwards you'll be at the window leading into the room with the valuables" Izuku explains. "His back would be turned to you if you manage to get up there and if you're quiet you can take him down quickly"

"And what are the chances of him having activated his quirk up there?"

"Slim, at least that's what I'm assuming" Izuku informs. "He has a respirator, so I'm going to guess his quirk affects him just as it does everyone else. And since he's not wearing it, he likely doesn't have his quirk in effect"

"It could be a ruse" I'm still certain the school has informed him of my quirk and Izuku's skill, it would only make sense if they did. Meaning he would know that Izuku could hack into the camera system.

"Yes, I know, but I'm fairly certain it is not," Says Izuku with confidence. "I figured he must know more about us than we do him, but then I took into consideration the fact that he's standing within the sights of a camera. If he had known he would be avoiding the cameras like the plague"

He has a good point, Zena will admit.

"Add onto that the fact that the school knows I'm quirkless but know not what I can actually do" He sounds proud as he says that. "Being quirkless can sometimes work in my favor"

"Heh" Zena smirks. "I'll take your word for it then"

With those words, Zena climbs onto the window at her side, for a moment resting on the windowsill and looking downwards. Then with a single intake of breath she jumps, free-falling for a few seconds that has Izuku worried until she's flying up past the second floor and grabs onto the window on the third. She sticks herself to the wall, only remaining through the use of the wind on her body as she carefully opens the window. The pressure on her mind ceases just as she steps into the room, her steps light with the help of the air around her. Just as Izuku had said, the boy's back is turned to her, and just as he had guessed his quirk isn't at work here. Zena smiles in victory when she takes in the two bags stuffed with who knows what, looking from them to the boy in front of her as she tries to decide what to do first. Things won't be much of an issue now since she has gained access to his mind just moments ago, meaning he has already lost.

So she gets the bags, slings them over her shoulder, and alerts the boy to her presence. He jumps in surprise before quickly pulling on his respirator, surely ready to attack until he couldn't. His eyes widen in both shock and horror as his body refuses to listen to him no matter how much he fights against the sudden stiffness.

"Sorry pal" Zena apologizes as she takes his hands and binds them with the cuffs she had been given. He's pliant in her arms, unable to do anything with her mental hold on him.

"Dammit" The boy curses, defeated. "This is why I said I don't want to face anyone with mental abilities"

"Again, sorry"

~~~~~~~~~~

Izuku disappears the second we are allowed to return to our homes, which is disappointing as I planned on asking for his contact info. Not much I can do about it now though, so I'll just ask him whenever I see him again. Or should I say "if" I see him again? I'm not even sure how this exam works as it had been completely different from the original and I haven't noticed any hidden objective. It was a simple hero vs villain game as far as I can tell. Again I'm wondering if we're judged independently or as a duo. Also, how do they decide who passed and failed despite the obvious capture of the established villain? Is there still a chance of passing even if you don't capture the villain? Is there still a chance of failing even when you do get the bad guy?

I guess I won't know until I get a reply from the school, which is likely to be a week or two. Maybe a few days if they're as fast as they were with the written exam. Then there's also another test to be taken if I pass the physical as all students within the hero course must also choose another one of the available departments alongside their original. This is a rule that had been added after the whole situation with the kids being attacked on the streets. Many of them decided to give up on their original dream of being a hero and with that dropped out of the school. The rule is there in case anyone changes their mind or realizes they can't handle the pressure of being a hero in training, and if they decide not to continue they can always focus on their second chosen course. That way they don't have to go through all those complicated problems of switching schools.

General studies was my first pick as I found it to be the greatest choice for me. General studies is quite like any ordinary school and after that, I could attend any college of my choosing and become anything I want. If I just give up on being a hero I would like to be a photographer or a writer. Though my second pick is the hero management course. The name says it all. I would be able to stick close to the whole hero business while not being a hero myself. Next to that is the fact I think such a study would be good for a job like my parents'.

So, I'm stuck between general studies and hero management.

Decisions, decisions.

But before any of that, it would be ideal for me to be accepted into the school. Actually, I should've just accepted the recommendation, as it would just mean I was most definitely getting in.

Guess I'll just have to wait a bit.