POV: Izuku MidoriyaLocation: U.A. High School Entrance
U.A. Academy isn't just a school. To society, it is Mount Olympus. It is the factory where dreams are turned into stock shares and children are turned into symbols. For years, I looked at this H-shaped building the way an atheist looks at a church: admiring the structure, but knowing I wasn't welcome inside.
Today, the doors were open.
I tightened my backpack straps. I felt the comforting weight of the Atlas Mark II hidden at the bottom, and the phantom hum of One For All sleeping beneath my skin. I was no longer the kid looking from the outside. I had an entry ticket. I had a Quirk. And I had a team.
"You're walking too slow, Deku," Kacchan said, passing me with his hands in his pockets, radiating that arrogant confidence I always admired. "If you're late for registration, I'll kill you."
"I'm enjoying the moment, Kacchan," I replied, smiling.
"Enjoy walking, then."
Toga was skipping around us, wearing her perfectly ironed sailor uniform (Mitsuki's work) and a smile that made the other applicants nervous. "It smells like nerves!" she hummed. "It smells like cold sweat and vomited breakfast! What a fun place!"
I laughed nervously. "Please, Toga-chan, don't say that out loud..."
I took a step forward, distracted by trying to manage Toga. The tip of my reinforced red sneaker (with the new alloy sole Kacchan had installed) caught on a raised tile. My balance failed. Gravity did its job. I'm going to faceplant right in front of the gate. How cliché.
I prepared to roll and recover, using Ogawa's training. But I didn't hit the ground.
I was floating four inches off the asphalt. "Eh?"
"You're on time, but it would be bad luck to fall, right?!"
A girl was beside me. She had short brown hair, rosy cheeks, and a kind smile. She touched my shoulder and righted me, releasing her Quirk. My feet touched the ground gently. "Sorry for using my Quirk without permission!" she said, clasping her hands together. "But you were going to take a nasty fall."
I stood there blinking. "Oh... uh... T-thanks. Zero Gravity, right? That requires tactile pads on the fingers to negate gravitational mass..."
"Wow! You guessed it!" She smiled wider. "I'm Uraraka Ochako. Good luck on the exam!"
I was about to respond, but I felt a presence at my back. Toga appeared out of nowhere, invading Uraraka's personal space with the speed of a curious cat. Uraraka took a step back, startled.
"You smell nice," Toga said, leaning in to sniff the air near the girl's neck. "You smell like sugar. Like sweet mochi. And you're very kind."
"Eh? T-thanks?" Uraraka looked at Toga with confusion and a bit of fear.
"Toga, stop scaring the competition," Kacchan's voice cut through the moment. Kacchan grabbed Toga by the collar of her jacket and pulled her away from Uraraka as if she were a rebellious kitten. Then he looked at the brunette girl with disinterest. "Move it, Round Face. You're blocking the path."
"Kacchan, don't be rude!" I scolded him, bowing to Uraraka. "Forgive her, she's... very expressive! And forgive him, he's... like that! Thanks for saving me!"
Kacchan was already walking away, dragging Toga. "Let's go, Deku!"
I looked at Uraraka one last time. "Good luck, Uraraka-san!"
I ran after my team. "Toga-chan, you can't just sniff people like that..." "But she smelled sweet! I like her! Can we keep her?" "She's not a pet..."
(...)
The Written Exam: The Silent Battle
The classroom was a mausoleum of silence and tension. U.A.'s written exam was famous for its difficulty. It didn't just ask about hero stuff; there was advanced math, law, history, and ethics.
I looked at my sheet. Question 4: Calculate the trajectory of a projectile in free fall considering variable wind resistance... I smiled. Kacchan had made me calculate this a thousand times in the quarry while dodging his grenades. My pencil flew across the paper. Easy.
To my left, Kacchan was in a league of his own. He wasn't writing; he was attacking the paper. He marked the answers with aggressive circles, finishing the exam in record time. His leg bounced under the table, not from nerves, but from impatience. For him, this was bureaucratic paperwork.
To my right... was the real battle. Toga was frowning, chewing on the cap of her "special pen." I glanced at her sheet. She was muttering under her breath, almost inaudibly. "If X is the villain fleeing... and Y is the police chasing him... then the intersection is where the massacre happens..."
I saw her eyes light up. She wrote down the correct answer. Good job, Toga-chan, I thought, suppressing a laugh. The "Crime and Punishment" study method works.
(...)
The Auditorium: Noise and Signals
"EVERYBODY SAY HEY!"
Present Mic's voice boomed through the auditorium, amplified by his Quirk. Silence was the answer. "What a tough crowd!" the Voice Hero complained, before starting to explain the rules of the practical exam.
I was vibrating. "It's the Voice Hero! Present Mic!" I muttered to myself, but loud enough for my team to hear. "His radio show is great, I listen to it every week. His Quirk allows him to..."
"Silence!"
A stiff, authoritative voice cut off my muttering. A tall boy with glasses and the look of a strict class representative stood up a few rows down. He pointed at the stage and then at me.
"Excuse me, sir! The pamphlet says there are four types of villains, but you have only mentioned three! If this is a printing error, it is a shame for an institution like U.A.!" The boy turned and pointed an accusing finger at me, rigid as a board. "And you! The one with the curly hair! You've been muttering the whole time! It's a distraction for those of us who are here to take this seriously! If you're here on a field trip, leave!"
The auditorium went silent. Everyone looked at me. I felt shame rising up my neck. I was about to apologize, as the old Izuku used to do.
But I wasn't alone.
"Hey, Four-Eyes," Toga said. She didn't shout. Her voice was soft, but loaded with that "presence" she had practiced with Gran Torino. Toga peered over my shoulder, looking at the boy with glasses with a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "The veins in your neck are very swollen. Doesn't that much blood pressure give you a headache? You should relax... or someone might want to relieve that pressure."
The boy (Iida, I assumed from his posture) paled slightly at the cryptic comment and the predatory gaze.
Before he could respond, Kacchan spoke. He was leaning back in his seat, with his feet resting on the back of the seat in front of him. "Besides," Kacchan said, with a bored voice that cut through the air, "if you can't concentrate with a simple mutter, you're going to die on your first real mission. In a disaster zone, there are screams, sirens, and explosions. Are you going to ask the villain to shut up so you can think?"
Kacchan looked at the boy with disdain. "The nerd is analyzing the enemy. You're wasting time complaining about the environment. Sit down and shut up."
The boy with glasses opened his mouth, offended, but the crushing logic (and Toga's implied threat) stopped him. "I..." He looked around. He saw some students nodding at Kacchan's words. "You have... a valid point. My apologies."
He sat down stiffly.
"Thank you, candidate 7111!" Present Mic shouted from the stage, saving the moment. "And thanks to the explosive candidate for the tactical advice! The fourth robot is the Zero Pointer! It's just an obstacle, so run!"
A few rows away, I saw a redhead boy (Kirishima) looking at Kacchan with admiration. "Wow... that was so manly," he whispered.
(...)
We left the auditorium for the buses that would take us to the battle centers. The crowd dispersed.
"Alright, time to split up," Kacchan said, adjusting his gloves on his belt. "I'm going to Center A. Deku, you to B. Toga, to C."
"It's a shame," Toga complained, pulling out one of her special pens and twirling it between her fingers. "I wanted to watch Kacchan explode things."
"Focus on your exam, vampire," Kacchan ordered. "Remember: switch points. Deactivate, don't try brute force against the big ones. And if you see someone in trouble..."
"Save them to score rescue points," she finished, rolling her eyes. "I know, I know. Strategy."
"And you, Deku." Kacchan turned to me. He looked me up and down. My Atlas gauntlets were hidden under the long sleeves of my tracksuit, but he knew they were there. My scar on my arm itched.
"Don't break," he said simply. "And show them why you're the successor."
I nodded, feeling the fire in my stomach. "I will. See you on the passing list."
We bumped fists. All three of us. A triangle of knuckles. The Delta Squad.
We turned and walked toward our respective destinations. The air was charged with electricity. The written test was a formality. The social drama was a warm-up. Now came the war.
And for the first time in my life, I wasn't afraid of losing. I was afraid of not winning by a large enough margin.
I boarded the bus for Center B. Here I come, U.A.