14 Exams

Everyone was knocked out after the events of last night.

Haru was sleeping on the couch and we hadn't bothered to put Gale back in his room so he was sleeping in the living room. Sam was sleeping atop of him, looking rather comfortable.

I could see Haru's eyes crack open as I walked by. He was somehow a light sleeper, always alert, despite his personality.

He looked up at me and suddenly hid his face with his blanket, "Today's the day you become a…super spy?"

"If I pass."

"If you pass?!" He stood up suddenly, "You're the Boss! There's no way you don't. Hey Sam, Gale," They both roused from their sleep, "Do you think the boss could ever fail the exams?"

Sam yawned, "No way," and Gale mumbled, "She's too capable to fail," before they both fell back asleep.

Nodding solemnly Haru said, "Look at those ringing endorsements." 

I sighed and made my way to the door. However, I could see Haru look at me expectantly.

"Out with it."

"You think I could join you? I'd bet I'd make a good hero." He grinned.

I looked at him incredulously, "You dropped out of high school, you really want to go back?"

"Don't say it with such disbelief! I'll have you know I'm quite the intelligent man."

"What's the equation of a line."

He paused.

"You know, maybe you're right, school just might not be for me."

Rolling my eyes I walked out the door.

—

The building truly was a sight to behold. I was rather surprised they didn't already have dorms set in place, the campus was practically a college one already.

"Koko!" Called out a familiar, rough, voice. Bakugou. Turning around I could see him storming up to me. His face was red with anger.

"You're really back in Japan? Why didn't you tell me!? I thought that Deku was lying."

"You know how it is. I was busy… training, and I just got back not even a month ago."

"Training? That stupid bubble quirk?"

That was one way to say 'Nice to see you again'. I did kind of miss his abrasiveness though, it was humorous at times. 

I moved to walk away but he grabbed my arm. 

"Don't just leave! You really have nothing to say?" I could feel his palms heating up. Deciding to retaliate before he burned my precious skin I started creating some bubbles.

I could have used a toned-down version of my signature acid bubble but since he's a fire-type Quirk user I decided to fight fire with fire. I created at least five small bubbles where he grabbed me, I willed them to be filled with an ignitable gas, in this special case nitroglycerin and manipulated the hardness of the bubbles to become sturdier.

 The reason for this was that when the hardened bubbles pop they create a small spark, just enough to ignite the gas within. All of this culminated into my new technique, Ignition Bubbles, as named by Haru.

The process barely took a few seconds and before Bakugou could react to the feeling of bubbles I willed them to pop. His hand instantly flew back and he stared at it in shock.

The damage was minimal, the burn wouldn't even last a few minutes due to the nature of his quirk. I could have made them much more deadly but they still would remain small. From all my tests, the structure of hardened bubbles at a large scale never held.

"Stings right?" I taunted, "Don't be threatened though, my stupid bubbles aren't going to do much."

"What." He growled, barely restraining himself.

"Anyways, good luck to you as well Bakugou. Enjoy second because the first place is mine." I beamed at him before walking away.

The smile instantly fell away. There goes my pride getting me into uncomfortable situations, the last thing I wanted was the attention but it might be worth it for some fun. Life seemed dull after the riveting experience of killing that villain.

Plus, Bakugou's perspective of me should have changed from being that distant friend to an up-and-coming rival. Midoriya, on the other hand, most likely sees me as some type of goal. 

I felt like a puppet master orchestrating a play. This school was ripe for conflict so it made it all the more interesting. How far could I diverge from canon? How different could I make things? If I was going to be trapped around heroes for the foreseeable future, I might as well have some fun messing with them. 

—

The written test was easy, extremely easy.

Now all that was left was the hero simulation.

I zoned out for most of the introduction, nothing I hadn't heard before. 

And now, after changing, I stood at the doors waiting for the call.

I would have felt rather comfortable if it wasn't for both Bakugou's and Midoriya's eyes on me. I looked at them both in quick succession and they averted their eyes.

I had no clue what was up with them. If they had something to say just say it already. 

Just as I thought that Midoriya turned to wa-

"ARE YOU READY!!!!"

Present Mic's voice boomed through the room causing everyone to stop in their tracks. The doors opened revealing the mini-city created for this simulation. Just how much money did U.A have?

"GOOOOOOOOO!!!!!"

Hearing the call I leaped out into action, being one of the first people to start.

"YEAHHH THAT GIR'S GOT THE RIGHT IDEA!!! WHAT ARE YOU ALL WAITING FOR? HEROISM DOESN'T WAIT FOR ANYTHING!!!!"

Everyone else started running.

—

I sent out a stream of bubbles and with hundreds of my acid ones popping all around it, the robot swiftly melted, falling to the ground in a gooey heap. 

This wasn't very fun. 

The robots stood no chance against my acid bubbles. There was no pleasure in destroying them either. They had no voice to scream out or face to contort in pain. Everything enjoyable was taken away.

"Wow! We both have acid-type Quirks! That's so cool!" A voice behind me suddenly said.

I turned around to see the pink girl, Mina, standing there. No matter how much time I spend in this world I don't think I'll ever get used to the mutant types. I glanced at my slightly translucent hands. Even I'm slightly mutant type and still find it freaky.

"Not really, it's just an aspect of my base power."

"Oh," She said unfettered in her enthusiasm, "Well it's nice to meet someone similar ya know?"

"5 minutes left in the simulation! RIGHT ON!" Screamed Present Mic.

"Ah! I gotta get more points, see you later!" And just like that she was gone, rushing toward the nearest robot.

Objectively my Quirk was probably better than hers due to the versatility I had. However, the only thing I was really jealous of was the mobility she'd have in the future. 

She would be able to slide on her acid while I couldn't even apply pressure to my bubbles without them popping. Even with my hardened bubbles, it didn't work. I felt like it could be possible, there were crazier things in this world, but I just had no idea how. Once I got accepted I'd probably ask the support heroes if they had any clue. It would be good to make use of my resources while I have them.

"Spacing out like that isn't going to get you first!" He yelled.

Before I could respond a resounding thud reverberated throughout my body. Turning around I could see a massive machine towering over the simulation.

That would be the zero pointer.

I instantly dashed towards its location. I had no intentions of interfering with canon at this point but there was something I wanted to test. That was, whether my acid bubbles would affect the zero pointer.

So far it held up against almost everything I put it against but the zero pointers were built studier. Maybe I'd be able to see a limit.

Once I arrived on the scene I observed the area to see Ochaco stuck in the rubble. Just a few seconds later I could spot Midoriya running. I'll attack as it's being destroyed. That shouldn't affect anything.

So, just after Midoriya jumped, I sent out a stream of bubbles towards the leg of the thing. The metal started to lose its consistency immediately with the leg falling off not too long after. 

The limit remains unfound.

Another loud crash resounded.

Looking up I could see a broken Midoriya plummeting. It was quite comical.

Having witnessed a major canon moment, satisfied, I turned towards the locker rooms.

The test was over.

—

Sitting in the locker room I was intensely contemplating what to eat for dinner. Maybe I'd bring something home for the group.

Everything happened as it should have. Ochaco got caught under rubble, and Midoriya saved her heroically.

"...just go up to her." 

Catching the tail end of a conversation I turn to see a clothes walking towards me. The invisible girl. I forgot her name.

"Hey! I just want to say thanks for saving me!"

What is she talking about?

"When did I do that?"

"It was when you destroyed the leg on the zero-pointer! I was right in its path.."

Was the security in this simulation really that bad?

"You went like 'Bam!'" She outstretched her arm, "and covered that thing with bubbles, totally melting it up."

"I see." Standing up I grabbed my bag and made my way to the exit.

"Hey!" Someone grabbed my arm, is this seriously going to be a common occurrence at this school? "You're not even going to say anything? You may not be in the mood for a conversation but that doesn't give you the right to be rude!" 

It was Ochaco with Tsu nodding along behind her. This was strange. I could have sworn she was timid up until the apprenticeships. Maybe it was the hero instincts kicking in, helping someone who was wronged.

"Let go of my arm."

"Ah, sorry," She seemed to realize what she was doing and let go looking slightly embarrassed "I shouldn't have grabbed you like that and I'm sorry but at least acknowledge her." 

Seconds of silence played out and the confidence was completely gone from her eyes. Only uncomfort. However, there was a hint of something else. I surveyed the room and saw the same thing. Apprehension. They all looked at me with apprehension. 

I wondered what always caused people to look at me with those eyes. Even the adults at my old orphanage looked at me like that. Just what about me made them so on edge? I knew I was a rather poignant person but these people have just met me, they know nothing about me for them to already feel such a way. 

Interesting.

"I find you all very interesting." With that, I continued to the exit.

Who knows, maybe I'd find out.

—

"There was something wrong with that girl," Ochaco said to her new friend.

"I know what you mean, I've never met someone so rude before. Makes you wonder what she's even doing at the hero program."

Hearing those words Ochaco instantly felt regret for saying her thoughts aloud. She prided herself in not taking part in any badmouthing.

"I take that back, anyone can be a hero. Maybe she's just not too sociable we shouldn't judge too early."

"No, you were right." Looking towards the voice Ochaco saw a girl with bright green hair.

"What do you mean?"

"My Quirk allows me to sense emotions, I see them as colors. For example, right now you have a red of outrage mixed with a yellowish green for confusion. Usually, an average person has colors of empathy, sympathy, contentedness, and the like in their day-to-day lives. But for her it was different. She was almost completely gray, save for some colors of intrigue and contemplation."

"What does gray mean?"

"That's the thing," She shuddered, "It doesn't mean anything at all."

Ochaco wasn't sure what to say and the girl seemed to be done with the conversation so she and Tsu turned to leave.

The conversation weighed heavy on her mind, though. She just didn't know what to think. Could someone like that really be a hero?

—

When Koko said she didn't know the invisible girl's name that was just me saying I didn't know it.💀 It makes sense to say that with her character though. She doesn't care about inconsequential people.

It's kind of weird writing a character that truly doesn't care about others. She finds people interesting but she doesn't care about them if they don't add anything to her life, the only limit she has is that she's fond of kids. But even then is more akin to how someone would feel for a cute animal.

Also writing the canon plot is so boring, hopefully, this doesn't feel too disjointed as it was a slog to write

This one goes out to Black_Reven888, no clue why you've been giving power stones so consistently to a mediocre story such as mine but I appreciate it.