10 - U.A. Entrance Exam

*Knock knock knock*

A set of knocks echoed into the kitchen, where I had been enjoying my morning cup of coffee. I walked over to front door, opened it, and found Tsu waiting outside patiently in her school uniform with a warm jacket on top.

"hi."

"Morning Kiyotaka-kun." She replied, her eyes still scanning the outside of my property. "Um... I know you said you had gotten emancipated around a year ago, and were allowed to live and decide things alone, but your not being support by the government, right?"

"that's right, surprised?" I replied, pushing the door open wider so she could see the inside.

"Well, my parents both work full time jobs... and our house is smaller than yours, kero."

"you can come in if you want. we have some time before the entrance exam."

She stepped inside cautiously, slipping her shoes off before walking any further. Quickly moving from the entryway way into the average sized living room.

"This feels so much bigger when your inside." She commented, going around the building. "I guess you made a ton of money from the internship thing."

"most of the clients where i intern at are rich people." I picked up the coffee I had placed down before and took a sip as Tsu started travelling throughout my house. "i end up being paid significantly more than i should be."

I hear my bedroom door open and turn my head towards it. Tsu had finished looking through all the rooms and finally moved onto where I slept, but exited as quickly as she went in and glanced at me in disappointment.

"It's kind of empty though." She said, already bored of looking around the bare rooms. "are you a minimalist or something?"

"i just haven't found anything i wanted to add." I answered, taking one last sip of my coffee, before placing the empty cup into the sink.

Tsu drifted back over to me, her arms casually bent down in the way you might expect someone to be typing on a keyboard. 

(Edit)

"Oh. That reminds me, other than... bullying people, I realized I don't know much about what you like to do. What do you spend your free time doing?"

I looked at her blankly. "killing things."

There was no shift in her expression, no signs of surprise or a fear. She simply stood silently, having grown accustomed to my intentionally misleading remarks and thinking that I was joking.

"i take the souls of living things for my quirk." I added.

"Oh." She replied, realizing I was serious. " Like what?"

"plants, insects, and some animals. though mostly aquatic ones."

She placed her finger finger onto her cheek, a common thing she does when thinking something over, then inquired more about my quirk training.

"Does that make you feel guilty, ribbit?" She asked, her voice calm yet curious.

"do you feel guilty when you eat vegetables?"

"I meant when you're taking the souls of animals for it, not plants or insects." She reiterated, though her indifferent tone suggested she didn't particularly care about my answer.

"a little bit. i try to see them as tools you might use to work out, plus it works as free food too." 

While I absorb the body instead of consuming it, it still provides nourishment, making my statement a partial truth, because I usually leave most of the animal's carcass behind. 

That doesn't mean I always leave the animal's body; I can use it as food too, but eating hundreds of whole raw animal carcasses isn't exactly a very appealing activity.

 "I see." Was all that she said, choosing not to question it further.

Instead, she adjusted her jacket, shifting the conversation with her actions rather than words, and glanced at the clock sitting on the wall.

"We should get going now."

I followed her gaze, confirming the time, which was 8:00am. 

"yeah."

Approaching the front door, I inhaled my phone, that was left on a side table charging, into my arm.

(Gif)

It's a habit I've picked up since my quirk awakening, far more convenient for me than carrying it in my pocket. 

I moved quickly to my walk-in cabinet filled with shoes. My choice of footwear were slides, while Tsu put on her school-induced shoes, and then we both exited the building. 

The weather was colder than usual; that's the reason why Tsu decided on wearing extra clothing. We walked side by side down the path leading away from my neighborhood, entering onto the city streets, standing in silence at the bus stop for a short time until the bus arrived.

The bus rolled to a stop with a small creaking noise coming from the wheels, and the door folded open. Tsu stepped on first, then I followed. We swiped our transit cards and moved towards the middle, finding seats beside each other as the bus was only half-full.

Apart from the sound of the bus's engine, the ride was mostly quiet, It was standard etiquette to keep quiet on public transportation, and Tsu and I weren't the talkative type anyway.

When the bus finally pulled up near UA, the front gates were filled with students eagerly entering for their chance at admission, the air alive with a mix of excitement and nervous anticipation.

"I can never really tell because your face is even more unmoving then mine, but are you nervous for the exam?" She asked, as we stepped off the bus.

"not really, i think i'll be passing it pretty easily." I replied confidently, as we travelled down UA's paved walkway.

"I should of expected that from you, kero."

There was a slight quiver in her voice as she spoke, her words coming out faster and quieter than usual, with the awkward way she was holding her arms while walking only reinforcing the impression that she wasn't as composed as she appeared.

"are you nervous?" I asked, not looking at her.

"... I can't help it." 

She hesitated before elaborating, her eyes glued onto the floor as we walked.

"I know I told you that I've always wanted to become a marine rescue hero, but I'm not sure If I can even make it into any of the hero schools." She admitted, her voice barely above a whisper. "I have a frog quirk. It's not as useless as something like a fingernail extension quirk, or having a spray bottle as a head, but compared to others around me today, it's really basic. Take you, for example—you're my age, were already scouted because of your powerful quirk, you make enough money to own and live alone in an above-average sized home, and honestly, you probably don't even need to be here to be successful."

What she was saying about me was true, but she doesn't seem to realize that I wasn't scouted because of my quirk's latent power or my future potential as hero. Rather Principal Nezu scouted me for my quirk's powerful medical ability despite only being a child, that I demonstrated by healing the Rabbit Hero: Mirko.

In fact I'd turned down every offer that mouse gave me to train me to becoming a hero. Nezu pushed for it several times, offering me much more money than I currently make, and even specialized training with several famous pro heroes. He was adamant that my quirk could be used for more than just saving lives, but I never needed the training, so I'd always decline.

Oddly enough, when I applied to UA's hero course, Nezu didn't bring it up at all, even though he'd been so enthusiastic about getting me to apply. If he knew, he kept quiet about it—maybe he thought I wasn't interested in more training and would reject any tea party invitation.

"I don't know... I feel like I might not only get rejected by UA. What if all the other prominent hero schools reject me too?

I wasn't sure why she was telling me all this. 

We weren't exactly close enough to be sharing our insecurities together and it seemed a bit out of character for her to be voicing out her worries to me, someone who intentionally goes out of my way to create drama.

I suppose it may be because I was the only one she thought of as a friend, since neither of us spoke much to our classmates. She wouldn't want to tell her family either; her parents would worry too much, and her younger siblings wouldn't be able to handle something like this.

"you've seen the ua sports festivals" I stated, redirecting the conversation. "if you paid attention to the senior student's in hero Classes a and b, you'd notice not all of them were admitted because of their quirk's power. and a good example of that is.... that blonde-haired student who's quirk allowed him to phase through objects, appearing two years ago on tv."

"You mean that naked guy?" She asked, having remembered that public embarrassment.

"yeah, despite not having good control of his quirk, they accepted him into ua, probably because of how powerful it could get. they'd likely see your quirk the same way—your tongue is ideal for rescues, you can camouflage to avoid detection, and you can paralyze opponents, which are all things they'd be looking for in a future-hero."

Tsu's gaze once again dropped to the floor, a small smile appearing on her face, as her shoulders untensed and she let her arms fall to the floor.

"I-I guess that could be right... Thanks, ribbit."

A few more words were exchanged between us after that, then we fell silent as we made our way into the auditorium. 

Most of the students in the auditorium had spaced themselves out, leaving empty seats scattered around. We ended up finding two available spots in the middle row, sitting together in silence until orientation started by a flash of lights being shinned on President Mic.

"FOR ALL YOU EXAMINEE LISTENERS TUNING IN, WELCOME TO MY LIVE SHOW!" President Mic said in a very loud voice. "EVERYBODY SAY HEEEEYYYYYYYY!!!"

Not a single person in the audience spoke up; nobody felt stirred by his enthusiasm or had the courage to support him out loud. Present Mic, however, stood confidently under the spotlight, completely unbothered by the deathly silence in the room.

"KEEPING IT MELLOW, HUH?" He voice echoed, breaking the silence. "THAT'S FINE! I'LL SKIP STRAIGHT TO THE MAIN SHOW. LET'S TALK ABOUT HOW THIS PRATCIAL EXAM'S GONNA GO DOWN, OKAY?" 

He paused, sweeping his gaze dramatically over the crowd.

"ARE YOU REEEEEEEAAAAAAADYYYYYYYY!!!???"

Once again the response he got was... nothing.

Except for the faint muttering coming from a green-haired boy two rows in front of me. His lips moved quickly, muttering so fast it was impossible to make out his words, prompting the blonde-haired boy next to him to immediately tell him to shut up.

"LIKE YOUR APPLICATION SAID, TODAY YOU ROCKING BOYS AND GIRLS WILL BE OUT THERE CONDUCTING 10 MINUTES MOCK BATTLES IN SUPER HIP URBAN SETTINGS!" He said loudly, as the screen behind him changed to show a summary of the exam. "AFTER I DROP THE MIC HERE, YOU'LL HEAD TO YOUR SPECIFIED BATTLE CENTER—SOUND GOOD?.. OOOKAAAAYY????"

(Edit)

I picked up the Exam Ticket I'd left face down on the desk. Turning it over, I saw that I'd been placed in City F.

Though what caught my attention was my Examinee Number: 401.

(Edit)

These coincidences are too scary. 

First, I was born with the same name as my previous life—a statistical impossibility—and now being numbered 401 again. Let's not forget the quirks that break all biological logic. Genetic mutations might be able to explain some quirks, yet abilities like having a rifle in your elbow or morphing into a vehicle really didn't seem like accidents of nature.

"What city were you assigned to, Kiyotaka-kun? I'm in Battle center C."

"city f." 

Well, not like thinking over it now is going to give me any results.

"We won't be seeing each other then. It makes sense that they would want to split up people from the same middle-school's." Tsu added, still looking at her exam ticket.

"seems to be the case."

"PAY ATTENTION, EVERYONE! ON THE SCREEN, YOU'LL SEE THE TWO EXAMS: BATTLE CENTERS A THROUGH D AND E THROUGH G. THESE ARE YOUR TARGETS! THERE ARE FOUR KINDS OF FAUX VILLAINS IN EVERY CITY, AND THE POINTS YOU EARN WILL DEPEND ON THEIR DIFFICULTY." 

The auditorium dimmed slightly as the screen behind him grew brighter. Four different robot designs appeared on the display, each labeled with a point value: one, two, three, and four.

 "CHOOSE YOUR TARGETS WISELY! YOUR GOAL IN THIS EXAM IS TO USE YOUR QUIRK TO RACK UP POINTS BY DESTROYING THESE ROBOTIC MENACES OR BY ARRESTING YOUR MALOVOLENT EVALUATORS!" Present Mic announced enthusiastically as silhouettes of the faux villains appeared on the screen.

(Edit)

"BUT CHECK IT, MAKE SURE YOU'RE KEEPING THINGS HEROIC. ATTACKING OTHER EXAMINEE'S OR SENDING ANY ATTACKS DEEMED LETHAL TO THE EVALUATORS WILL GET YOU DISQUALIFIED ON THE SPOT."

A tall boy with a serious expression, short dark-blue hair, and rectangular glasses stood abruptly, raising his hand sharply as he posed his question without waiting to be acknowledged.

"Excuse me sir, but I have a question!" He began, his tone as stern sounding as he looked. "Why wasn't the fourth faux villain shown on the screen? And why are there two different exams being conducted? It seems unfair to evaluate candidates under vastly different conditions."

"GREAT QUESTIONS FOUR-EYES! SKIPPING OVER THAT OBVIOUS FIRST QUESTION, THE ANSWER'S SIMPLE. A HERO'S JOB IS TO HANDLE THE UNEXPECTED, TO THINK FAST AND ADAPT TO WHATEVER THROWN AT 'EM!" 

The blue-haired boy narrowed his eyes, clearly unhappy that his first question was ignored. Yet he thanked the teacher, bowed, and sat back down silently.

"ANY MORE QUESTIONS?" He asked, nearing the end of the orientation. "THAT'S ALL I GOT FOR YOU TODAY, BUT I'LL SIGN OFF WITH A LITTLE PRESENT." He said, his grin widening slightly. "REMEMBER THE JOB OF A HERO ISN'T ONLY ABOUT TAKING DOWN VILLAINS, SOMETIMES IT'S WHAT YOU DO FOR OTHERS THAT REALLY COUNTS. GOOD LUCK OUT THERE KIDS!"

With that the screen displaying a short presentation on the exam shut off, and president mic gave a final wave, before he walked off the stage as other students made there way out. 

Following the flow of students, Tsu and I exited the auditorium, watching as the students naturally broke off into smaller groups on their way to their assigned buses.

"Good luck in City F." Tsu said, giving me one last smile before leaving.

"yeah, you too."

After she headed to her bus, I boarded mine and took a seat near the front. Being one of the last to get on, I found myself sitting alone, gazing out the window as I waited for departure.

---

Ch 10 End

What do you all think of the story so far?

If you exclude the SS chapter because of how short it is, this is the 10th chapter of my first real fanfiction. 

I've gone back and re-read the whole thing and I really dislike the introduction chapters now, if I were to redo it I'd change a whole lot, enough that I kinda wanna remake this but i don't wanna restart either since it's not terrible, that's what u expect from ur first fan fiction ig.

The new part of the exam was only a small thing I added cuz the original would only 'accurately' scale ppl with destructive quirks, though it's not meant to be too big difference from canon yet. heroes can arrest villains (still have to be picked up by the police tho) and the 0 pointer being worth points. 

If you've watched that one MHA OVA, you'll notice that tsuyu never become friends with that snake girl in middle-school, that's because she was friends with kiyo so the snake girl never noticed her. (actually its also cuz shes as irrelevant as an oc, so i skipped her)

She's also slightly changed from cannon due to offscreen kiyo's influence since I thought it'd make more sense that way.

I know kero and ribbit mean the same thing but I wanted to put both so I did.