Aftermath

The silence stretched on, punctuated only by the distant clanging of a falling metal beam from the deactivated 0-pointer. The students, still rooted in shock, watched Akaeru as he stepped down from the 0-pointer's scrap metal, leaving a trail of dust in his wake. A nervous murmur finally began to ripple through the crowd.

"Who… who was that?"

"He… he controlled time?"

"Did he just… beat the 0-pointer?"

The questions flew around, unanswered, as Akaeru continued his path through the city. He wasn't done yet. The thrill of the fight still coursed through him, and there were still robots to be dismantled. He spotted a group of students huddled around a malfunctioning 1-pointer bot, its massive drill arm spinning wildly out of control.

With a sigh, Akaeru activated his quirk once more. The world slowed to a crawl as he weaved through the panicked students, their movements sluggish and exhausted. Reaching the bot, he placed a hand on the base of the spinning drill arm. With a focused burst of forward time, he accelerated the arm's rotation, forcing the bot to drill a hole into it's own chest, deactivating it.

He deactivated his quirk, and in real-time, the drill arm screeched to a halt, embedded in the bot's chest. The drill-not shuddered and powered down, collapsing into a heap of metal. The students, finally regaining their senses, stared at the deactivated bot in disbelief. They hadn't even seen him move, just a blur that appeared and then vanished.

News of the green blur's rampage spread like wildfire through the UA staff monitoring the exam. Present Mic, still speechless, pointed at the screen displaying Akaeru's feed.

"Did you see that? He… he used time manipulation to accelerate the drill! That kind of control…"

Eraserhead, his eyes narrowed in thought, finally spoke. "This kid… he's not just rewinding time. He can manipulate it in specific ways. A terrifying power in the wrong hands, but…" a hint of respect flickered in his voice, "potentially a game-changer in the right ones."

Nezu just continued looking at the screen in thought.

Meanwhile, Akaeru continued his relentless march through the cityscape. He dismantled robots with a calculated precision, each takedown a testament to his mastery over time. He was a whirlwind of green energy, a one-man wrecking crew, leaving a trail of robots turned into scrap metal and awestruck students in his path.

By the time the exam buzzer finally sounded, signaling the end, Akaeru comfortably sat atop a mountain of scrap metal, the remains of countless robots. He deactivated his quirk, a satisfied smirk playing on his lips. He had conquered the exam, not just by strength, but by skill and the sheer power of his quirk.

As the students filed out of the ruined cityscape, they carried with them the image of Akaeru standing atop the remains of the 0-pointer, a legend whispered amongst themselves. UA had just witnessed the arrival of a new hero, one who could bend time itself to his will. And the world, whether they were ready for it or not, was about to learn his name.

The walk back to the designated exit point was a surreal experience for Akaeru. Students, still buzzing from the events they'd witnessed, made a path for him alone to walk through. Some looked at him with awe, others with fear. A few even bowed, muttering apologies for getting in his way during the exam.

He reveled in the unexpected attention, a stark contrast to his isolated life back home.

Reaching the exit, he spotted a familiar haircut. Spiky blonde hair. Bakugo stood there, arms crossed, a scowl etched on his face. The competitive fire that Akaeru had seen simmering earlier had morphed into something different – a grudging respect, perhaps even a hint of… admiration?

Looking up to where Bakugo was looking, a screen so large that it filled up a portion of the sky was playing his feats on repeat. Looks like the judges found him so impressive that they decided everyone else should see it as well.

Their eyes met. Bakugo, ever the prideful one, simply grunted, "Not bad. But don't think you've stolen the spotlight."

Akaeru smirked. "Think it's too late for that, Kacchan." He used Bakugo's childhood nickname, a playful jab that seemed to momentarily disarm the blonde.

"The name's Bakugo," he growled, but a flicker of a smile tugged at the corner of his lips. "And during the hero course, you'll be eating my dust."

Akaeru chuckled, a genuine laugh that surprised even himself. "You get funnier by the day, spike-head."

***

Weeks had passed since the entrance exam, the dust of robots and the thrill of competition replaced by the nervous anticipation of UA's acceptance letters. Akaeru fidgeted with the crisp envelope, his heart hammering a frantic rhythm against his ribs.

He'd aced the exam, of course, but the acceptance letter held the key to his future—a chance to hone his quirk; to become the strongest like he'd strived for.

He ripped open the envelope, the familiar crest of UA gleaming in the afternoon sun. As he scanned the official acceptance letter, a small, holographic projection flickered to life above it. All Might's face, the number one hero, materialized, a wide, reassuring smile plastered across his features.

"Young man!" boomed the voice. "Congratulations on making it to UA! You wowed us all with your... let's say… unique skillset. We're expecting great things from you, Green Blur!"

Akaeru scowled at the codename. He made a promise to himself to change that nickname they'd given him as soon as he could.

All Might's booming enthusiasm, even through a holographic message, was annoying.

"Anyways! Onto the scores!" As he said that, the screen switched to a leaderboard of sorts, with Akaeru's name at the top.

[NO. 1|Akaeru Hado|Villain: 176|Rescue: 20]

Akaeru was somewhat surprised at the score difference between him and second place, which was surprisingly Bakugo. He only had 77 villain points, and 0 rescue points. That meant, combined, he almost had three times more points than Bakugo.

"Congratulations, young man! You've gotten into class 1-A! If there were a class 1-S, you would have easily reached that as well!" All might praised loudly as he laughed out loud at the absurdity, and in the next second, the hologram video ended.

Suddenly, a loud pounding echoed through the thin walls of the condo. He knew who it was without even opening the door.

"Hado!" Himiko's voice rang out, laced with barely contained excitement. "Open up, you slowpoke! I got mine too!"

Akaeru chuckled and flung the door open, revealing a beaming Himiko, clutching a similar UA envelope.

"Good job," he said, rubbing her head. "Looks like you got in."

Himiko practically vibrated with excitement. "Did you see? I got into Class 1-B! Maybe we'll still have some classes together."

Akaeru's smile faltered slightly. Though he expected it, being in a different class than Himiko is more annoying than he expected. "Maybe," he responded, "but at least we'll be under the same roof."

"Mm," Himiko cutely hummed in response.

"Anyways, you should get home. It's almost midnight," Akaeru said as he went and sat on his bed.

As soon as he suggested the idea of her going home, surprising him, she quickly jumped onto his lap, wrapping her legs around his body.

"I-I don't want to."

Akaeru froze, not accustomed to this level of closeness. He had set a boundary with her a few years ago and told her to stop doing this since they weren't kids anymore, so he hadn't expected her to be so forward. "Himiko," he bluntly spoke, as he felt her breath since her face was nuzzled into his neck, "we're too old for this now. I don't think I have enough self-control for stuff like this just yet."

"That's why I did it in the first place," Himiko whispered to herself, but Akaeru heard what she said.

"So if I do what I want to you right now you won't regret it?"

Akaeru could feel her head shaking no against his neck.

Getting his answer, he grabbed her by the waist and flipped her onto the bed, getting on top of her. "As long as you're sure."

***

As he woke up, Akaeru felt Himiko's nude body on top of him. Her cheeks were flushed, and a smile played at her lips even in her sleep.

"Cutie," he murmured, and wrapped his arms around her body, which caused her to wake up as well.

"G'morning," she said as she pushed herself up to look at Akaeru's face.

Once she did, he started kissing her lovingly, flipping her over on her back and getting on top of her once again as he marked every place he could see on her body, and made sure both of them left for UA satisfied.

***

Standing in front of the entrance to UA with Himiko, Akaeru kissed her on the lips while his hands roamed her body as a goodbye, and went to look for class 1-A.

It didn't take him long to find it since each class had its label on the door, and as he walked in calmly, he was met with the other students, who just stared at him in awe.

He scanned the room, his gaze sticking on two figures in particular: Bakugo, a familiar scowl etched on his face, and Midoriya, his usual nervous energy replaced by a shy, curious smile.

Whispers danced around Akaeru like smoke tendrils.

"That's him, right? The Green Blur?" a girl with rosy cheeks and short brown hair asked to the girl next to her. Akaeru remembered her as the girl who helped Midoriya when he tripped at the entrance exam.

"The one and only," the friend breathed back, eyes wide with a mixture of awe and trepidation. "They say he can control time; one of the strongest quirks in the world."

Akaeru couldn't help but smirk internally. The rumors were a little exaggerated, but they definitely added to his reputatation. He noticed Bakugo's scowl deepen. The competitive fire in Bakugo's eyes burned bright, and the entire class whispering about how strong his rival is was bound to throw fuel on those flames.

But even with the deep scowl on his face, Akaeru opted to sit in the desk closest to Bakugo. After all, at the moment, Bakugo was the only person he was really "friends" with.

As he sat down, Akaeru noticed that he wasn't the only one Bakugo was staring daggers at. Midoriya was even worse-off than him.

Still, Akaeru couldn't blame him. Why would they let a quirkless loser into class 1-A?

As he was thinking, the door suddenly opened, and an exhausted-looking man in a yellow sleeping bag walked in, unzipping the sleeping bag and exiting it as he walked.

"I'm your homeroom teacher, Shota Aizawa. Nice to meet you."

Hearing that the lazy and unkept looking man was their teacher, most of the students in class made a noise of disbelief for a second.

He then pulled a uniform out of his sleeping bag. "Put these on and come to the field."

***

A few minutes later, Akaeru was standing on the side of the baseball field with his classmates next to him, when the Mr. Aizawa said we'd be taking a quirk assessment test.

"No ceremony or orientation?!" The rosy-cheeked girl asked, raising her hands up in mock-disbelief.

'Himiko's way cuter,' he thought to himself looking at her. 'Both in looks and demeanor.'

"If you want to be a hero, you don't have time for that," Aizawa said, facing away from everyone. "U.A is known for it's unrestricted style. And that goes for the teachers as well."

He then turned his body a little more to the left and looked at everybody, though his gaze stayed on Akaeru for a beat longer.

"You've been doing this since middle school, right?" He asked, pulling his phone out that showed a list of physical tests. "Physical fitness tests without using your quirk."

"The country continued to calculate averages based on uniform results, which is not logical. The ministry of education is just lazy.

"Akaeru, you came first in the physical examination. In junior high, how many meters was your softball throw?"

"Quirk or no quirk?" Akaeru asked.

"No quirk."

"Not sure. Around 78 meters or something." He answered.

"Now stand over here and do it using your quirk."