---
The sky above Musutafu that morning was criminally blue.
The kind of blue that looked edited. Birds chirped. The wind blew softly. A few hopeful clouds drifted by, probably auditioning to become background fluff in someone else's success story.
But not his.
Nope.
This was his moment.
The gates of U.A. stood wide open, and the entire plaza buzzed with hundreds of teens — each one either trembling with excitement, psyching themselves up, or trying way too hard to look edgy.
He was leaning on a bench, arms crossed, and sipping a juice box like a smug little emperor.
"So this is what it feels like to be the main character…"
His name hadn't been called yet, so he waited near the zone entrance — Zone D, apparently. Not the same one as Midoriya or Bakugo. But that was fine.He didn't need to compete with them.
"They can go blow each other up. I'm here to make waves. Literally."
The exam briefing was straightforward — run, destroy robots, don't die. But what people didn't know was that the Zero Pointers weren't supposed to be defeated.
"Guess what I'm gonna do anyway."
As he adjusted his U.A.-approved track shirt, a faint hum reached his ears.
Music?
He turned. Near the edge of the zone, sitting against a pillar, was a girl with short purple hair, half-lidded eyes, and earphone jacks dangling from her earlobes like lazy snakes.
Her gaze was fixed on the ground, fingers tapping her thigh in rhythm.
Her vibe screamed "don't talk to me".
Naturally, he walked right over.
---
"Yo," he said, flashing a cocky grin.
She looked up. Blinked once.
Then looked away.
[Cold. I like that.Challenge accepted.]
"You here to melt robots or just melt my heart?"
That got her attention.
She slowly turned her head, squinting. "What?"
"Too forward? Sorry. Let me rewind— Hi, I'm the guy who's gonna score higher than everyone today. Including you."
Jiro stared.
Then sighed. "Great. I get the talkative narcissist."
He chuckled. "You'll thank me after I save your ass."
She smirked, finally standing up. "Tch. Arrogant and delusional. You're two-for-two."
[ Okay, she was fun.]
📣 "START!!"
---
The gates slammed open.
People sprinted. Robots roared. Explosions erupted in the distance.
He took one step forward, hand flicking sideways.A fire hydrant exploded open behind him.Water swirled around his arms like twin serpents.
He smirked.
"Let's make a splash."
---
Three seconds later, he'd already obliterated his first two robots.
The metal torsos crumpled under water-boosted punches. The high-pressure stream wrapped around his legs and launched him into a backflip — directly over a crowd of stunned examinees.
He stuck the landing like a ballerina on steroids.Then waved to the stunned audience.
---
( Minutes later)
A few blocks away, Jiro ducked behind a wall, blasting robots with sonic pulses from her earphone jacks. Her aim was precise, and her footwork was clean — not flashy, but smart.
Then she turned a corner—
And stopped.
Boom.
A deafening mechanical roar echoed across the arena.
A Zero Pointer.
---
It wasn't supposed to come here.
The hulking machine crashed through the test zone like a steel godzilla, its metal fists smashing through buildings.
Examinees screamed and scattered like ants.
Jiro stood frozen.
"No... they said it wasn't worth points. Why is it HERE?!"
She turned to run.Her leg twisted.A support beam had cracked the pavement earlier — she slipped.
"Of all the stupid—"
---
WHOOOSH!!
A column of mist exploded from the side alley. Jiro blinked.
Something surged past her.Like a blue blur wrapped in water and cocky energy.
---
"Didn't I say I'd save your ass?"
She blinked up.
There he was — standing between her and the Zero Pointer — with water wrapping around his limbs like a living armor. His shirt clung to him from the steam, hair spiked from impact, eyes locked onto the towering machine with full confidence.
"...You again?"
He smirked. "Name's Kai, by the way."
Then he raised his palm.A thousand tiny droplets hanging in the air snapped into movement.
The mist crystallized, forming a massive spiral drill — all compressed pressure and razor rotation.
He launched.His legs absorbed water from the atmosphere. His muscles swelled just slightly — enough to match All Might's warmup punches.
The ground cracked beneath him as he rocketed upward.
💥 CRACK!!!
The water-drill slammed into the Zero Pointer's eye-socket like a cannon shot.
The entire head snapped sideways, exposing the joint. Kai twisted mid-air, flipped upside-down, and with a smooth flick of both hands, pulled moisture from the machine's hydraulics.
The robot's movement halted for half a second and that was all he needed.
---
His next punch, water-enhanced, landed directly on the neck-joint.
Boom.
Steel bent.
The Zero Pointer fell.
---
The entire block was silent for a moment.
Then someone shouted from behind a wall:
"WHAT THE HELL?! DID THAT KID JUST DROP A ZERO POINTER?!"
Kai landed beside Jiro, panting slightly but grinning like a fox.
"Told you I'd save you."
She blinked again, genuinely stunned. "You… you destroyed it."
He winked. "I'm very high maintenance, but I do deliver."
She stared. Then smirked. "Still a narcissist."
[ Yes. But a hot one] she didn't say.
As the robot's body was scanned and confirmed shut down, Recovery Bots raced to the scene.
Sirens echoed.
And from the control room far above the arena, Nezu and Aizawa stared at the monitors.
"Who is that kid?" Aizawa muttered, squinting.
Nezu grinned. "An outlier. A very interesting one."
---
Back in the dust and broken pavement, Kai extended his hand to Jiro.
"Truce?"
She took it and didn't let go right away.
---
[End of Chapter 2]
" " = Talking
[ ] = Inner thoughts