We took the 10 months to train and study for the U.A. exams.
Himiko decided that she wanted to become a heroine by my side.
I focused heavily on training my body and my Kagune, but I also studied a lot.
I've been practicing new things, I learned that I can discard my Kagune, make it hard and immobile like a wall, or even leave it more flexible.
It's a shame that I can't control the Kagune outside of my body, but I've been thinking of some creative ideas.
My Ukaku and Bikaku finally appeared, but they're a bit peculiar.
I use them more as a trump card than anything else, at least for now.
Himiko also focused a lot on physical training, mainly on reflexes and accuracy, and she's very good at it.
We've been testing her transformation Quirk, trying to find a way around the clothing problem, which I think I might have come up with a good idea to solve.
Himiko can also use my Rinkaku when she transforms into me.
It seems weaker than the original, but it's enough.
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February 23rd, 9:30 AM – Entrance Exam Day.
I walk with Himiko by my side, passing through the large entrance of U.A. The two of us observe the grandeur of the place with curiosity.
The sky is clear, a perfect day for the exams.
We see a large number of students walking and chatting with each other, all wearing different uniforms from their own schools.
Among them, a messy-looking blond boy yelling at a shy green-haired boy seems to stand out.
We ignore the commotion and head to take the written exam. We studied a lot, so it should be easy.
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"I thought it was pretty easy. How did it go for you?" I ask Himiko beside me.
She has to lift her head a little to look me in the eyes.
"Same here. I thought it would be harder."
"The main thing is the practical exam. The written one is more like a filter," I say as we walk toward the auditorium, where they'll explain the exam.
I sit next to her in one of the rows, waiting.
Then the screen on the stage lights up with a gigantic U.A. symbol. In front of the screen, a blond man with a piercing voice shouts:
"To all the candidates tuned in, welcome to my show today!"
"Everybody, say HEY!"
Silence
The silence doesn't seem to shake the man at all, as he continues talking.
"What a refined response. I'll quickly present a summary of the practical exam!"
"Are you readyy?! Yeahhh!"
Silence...
I seem to hear someone say with an excited voice, "It's the Voice Hero, Present Mic! Amazing!" followed by some nonsense and a short, dry "Shut up" coming from someone else.
'Weird people…'
I exchange a look with Himiko, which almost makes her burst out laughing when she sees my expression, probably only changing slightly, but enough for her to notice and find it funny.
Summing up what Present Mic said, we'll have a 10 minute battle, being separated into areas ranging from A to G.
I glance at my card. I'm in Field C, while Himiko is in E.
There are three types of fake villains, each worth a different number of points, in sequence: 1, 2, and 3 points each.
The presentation is interrupted by a guy asking about there being four robots on the printed sheet and saying that if it was a printing error, U.A. should be ashamed, since it's the most prestigious school in Japan.
The guy even points at another student and complains that he should stop muttering because it's getting on his nerves.
'Whaa…?' I exchange another look with Himiko, incredulous, eyes narrowed.
She can barely hold back her laughter again and gives me a light tap on the shoulder.
Apparently, the last robot is worth 0 points, serving more as an obstacle than a target.
After we leave, we're taken to our respective buses, which will take us to our designated fields.
"Good luck, Himi" I say goodbye to Himiko before we're led to our respective buses.
"Good luck, Kaneki-kun" She gives me a mischievous smile and heads to her bus.
I head to mine as well.
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I warm up in front of the gigantic test field gate.
Looking around, I see most of the students trying to control their anxiety.
"Tec!"
The snap of my fingers echoes through the restless crowd, making a few gazes fall on me, only to quickly turn away.
'Hm… looks like I left my Kakugan active by accident… whatever.'
I turn off the Kakugan, since it won't work against robots and I don't want to disturb the others.
"Let's begin!" I hear the examiner shout from atop the tower.
"..."
"What's wrong? There's no countdown in real battles!" He adds.
As soon as he finishes those words, I dash forward, activating my Rinkaku and using it to swing between buildings.
Then I find a two-point robot.
"Target found! I will kill you!"
The robot roars threateningly with a pre-programmed cliché phrase, but it's immediately immobilized by a swing of my Kagune.
'This is a strange test…' I think after decapitating another robot.
It doesn't seem fair to people without combat-oriented Quirks, even if these robots don't seem very complicated.
"Target fou—"
The phrase doesn't even finish before I pierce the machine's body with my Kagune.
I hear a sound in the distance, it seems like some students are having trouble with the robots. I decide to help.
Since this is a hero course, there must be some compensation for heroic acts, right?
To be honest, I didn't pay much attention to the presentation...
Just the part about breaking the little robots.
My Kagune pulls the young man away before he can be crushed by the robot.
I take the opportunity to pierce the robot with another free tentacle.
"Th-Thank you…" He says, still a bit shaky.
"You're welcome." I leap across the buildings, trying to find more opportunities for points, or to help people.
A dark green-haired girl jumps between three robots, looking a bit overwhelmed by the number. I decide to help.
I crash down onto a three-point robot with my Kagune, instantly crushing it, leaving the other two for her.
"Thanks, Kero," She says as she uses her tongue to disable the other two robots.
I continue swinging through the buildings, helping some students and collecting points, when I feel the ground shake.
Then, from the dust, a massive robot emerges, beginning to advance toward the students, each step making the ground tremble violently.
"Tec"
"This… should I break that?" I murmur, hanging from a building as I watch the zero-point robot.
I shake my head, clearing the dangerous thoughts from my mind. My method of defeating the robots already seems very aggressive, so it's best to be careful with my actions.
My gaze shifts to the students fleeing from the giant robot, some tripping or frozen in fear.
"Tsk." I leap from the building and use my Kagune to pull students out of harm's way.
Beside me, I see a red-haired girl with a huge fist carrying other injured students. The frog girl I helped earlier is also rescuing others.
I continue moving students out of the way.
A warning about the remaining time echoes through the artificial city, but I barely hear it, still thinking about taking down the giant robot. But it would take too much energy, and probably wouldn't even be worth it.
The robot then freezes, followed by an announcement signaling the end of the exam. I feel my body tingle and snap my fingers restlessly.
Maybe I should have broken that robot. I hope I get another chance.
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[A/N]:
A thing I forgot to mention during the A/Ns: Himiko is a year younger here.
This way she fits in with the age of the rest of the students in 1A.
I've also been thinking about creating a page on the "P @ t r 3 o n" for support.
I could post advanced chapters, spoilers, content about future projects, and other stuff there.
Would anyone be interested?
And just to be clear, everything would still be released here for free eventually, following the normal upload schedule.