Entrance Exam

With a woosh, two balls ejected behind me. I turned around and the mist transformed into a falcon. With a swish of my arms, a gust of wind attacked the balls. Upon the pressure, those circular things exploded with a pop.

Landing back down, two projectiles shot towards me. The mist transformed again and with a roar, the jaguar appeared. Turning around, I positioned my hands and took out my batons.

As they extended, I raised them high. With a pang, the batons sliced through the wooden projectiles. After that, more came like a machine gun. I sliced and parried, quickly blocking and dodging all the flying objects.

The firing ceased and I stood perfectly still as a silhouette of a man appeared in the corner. The mist around me jerked and growled. The man stared at me, and within seconds he disappeared.

With my heightened senses, I ducked and the man's arms whooshed above me. Turning around, I faced him and delivered a kick. His chest collided with my foot and he flew towards the wall.

Wasting no time, I jumped to the wall and climbed above a pillar. When the dust subsided, the man was already gone. I sat at the pillar and waited.

My senses were now in overdrive as I searched for him. Turning my head, a slight motion appeared in the corner. I leaned my head back and a kick was delivered in front of me.

Before he could retreat, I grabbed his leg and tossed him over my body. He twisted his ankle and pushed, landing a hit directly above my head.

Letting go of him, I rolled out of the way and steadied myself. I tensed my muscles and ran forward. He braced himself and I turned my body and sent a kick to his face. He dodged it and I retreated.

He jumped right up to me and punched me in the gut. Pushing away the pain, I took his arm and twisted his wrist. With a crack, I secured his arm and elbowed him directly above his neck.

My elbow was covered in mist as it took on the form of a jaguar claw when it collided with his body. He dropped on the floor but quickly stood up.

He stared at me and stood there in silence. After a good minute of just breathing, he laughed and patted me on the shoulder.

"Good job Haru, you really deserved the highest marks" My coach praised.

"It's because I have the best teacher of course" I snickered.

Ever since I passed the training course, coach and I have been sparring every now and then. From the first year up until now, I have really grown to like him.

"Good luck, Haru. I know you'll make it" Coach cheered as we each bid our farewell.

Today was the day I have been waiting for 15 years, the moment where I can finally start this story. I walked outside with a skip in my step, as I imagined all the things that would happen tomorrow.

———————

"This is it....Og god!" I looked on the towering building that is UA.

It practically rose to the skies and had an air of prestige to it that I can only expect from Japan's no 1 hero school. The place was covered with teens just like me, some were eager, excited, while others were already mourning their loss.

Looking around myself, I waited for two specific individuals to appear. I waited at the side, away from prying eyes. To distract myself, I fidgeted with my totem and felt the aura around here.

The red was everywhere, as it connected every living organism on the planet. After tapping into it and harnessing its raw power, my body was now unconsciously able to feel a tinge of the red.

Everyone had their own aura, their strength to be specific. This strength would then reflect itself on the red, as those with bombastic attitudes coupled with their quirks, would usually have the red circling them like storm.

And speaking of bombastic attitudes, the living bomb itself has arrived. In front of him a cute little brocolli tried to calm his jitters, but his attitude was no help. I rolled at their confrontation, and finally decided to talk to him again.

After I transferred, I removed all connections with him, the only way I saw him was through the Ashes I would send. Even though he was a nice kid, I couldn't help but worry at his reaction, but oh well we're gonna be classmates...I hope.

"Hey..." I said. The green haired boy jumped at my words and looked at me.

I kept my body lax as I looked at him stutter. Yup, the gears are already turning. I expected for him to remember me, but I hope he doesn't hold a grudge.

"H-haru!?" He let out and I just snickered.

"I told you we'd meet again, didn't I?" For a second he seemed excited, but that excitement was now drown out by a long silence.

He was fidgeting with his fingers and he seemed to want to talk. The silence was just killing me though, and now I kinda wanna get away. My mouth twisted at the thought, Midoriya caught on to this and he was now darting around.

"Anyways, see you at UA Midoriya" I said to him, my hand clutched into his shoulder.

I gave my most supportive, yet laid-back smile and left the scene. I didn't want to be caught, so I hid within the bushes to wait for those two wires. Surprisingly, it was comfy, although getting surprised stares from the students that noticed me was not good.

I clutched myself beneath the bush, my eyes followed Midoriya as the original plot played forward. He was floating mid-air, with a brown-haired girl chuckling at him. I snickered at the situation, my eyes staring at the two. They soon entered the school and I emerged victorious.

My victory was enough as it had finally summoned the two. They looked ready and determined, aside from almost being late. They waved towards me, but I had no time. I grabbed on to their out-stretched hands and pulled.

"Hey, wait a moment" Jiro retorted, her jacks clutching on to my fingers.

"We're here, no need to be pulling..." Kaminari sighed as his feet dragged on from the ground.

I let their squeals of retort pass through, today was a historic day and I am gonna experience it to the fullest. Although UA was huge, the crowd was massive as well. The entire place was filled to the brim with kids.

"There sure are a lot of people" Kaminari said to himself worringly. I scoffed at his statement, gaining a weird look from him.

"Don't worry. It'll all be fine" I comforted the blonde boy who just sighed at my words.

"And how are you so sure about that?" Jiro was skeptical, but I waved it off.

"Just do your best" I answered.

The crowd around us began to move as people appeared from the side, directing the kids to the exam room. The three of us were separated as the examinees were arranged in alphabetical order. I waved at them and disappeared amongst the crowd of T's.

The place was big, but the fact it was filled to the brim made it feel small. No kidding, it's like the entire of Japan came here, which if you though about it kinda made sense. It was the no 1 hero school after all.

The walls around me were lined with white concrete while students marched on like ants to their fate. I breathed in slowly and looked on determined. All these years, it wasn't just my quirk and my body I was honing, but my mind as well. It wasn't hard at first, since I was an academic achiever in my last life.

Now, it was the real deal though. I was complacent back then, and let my laziness ge to me, but now I had to work harder and it seemed my mind was now gearing up to overdrive.

I took another glance at the kids, they all had the same look on their face. They were in this to win and I'm not gonna be any less different.

___________________________________________

All of us were led to our room, chairs lined the entire place and our names were plastered on our papers above the desk. One by one, we arrived and the moment everyone was seated, the doors closed. The proctors looked at us and started the count down.

The exam was fine, it was what I studied. My heart still beated wildly, thinking something was gonna catch me off guard. The sound of pencil's scribbling on the paper, coupled with the slight rumbling if the A.C. and the foot steps of the proctors were enough to lull me into a trance.

The smell of newly printed paper wafted through the air, it reminded me of the school supply area in a supermarket.

My hands dotted around the paper in front of me, I focused my mind on the answers in front. The ambiance around me drifting off into a buzz in the back of my head.

"Ok that's enough!" The man in front of us stated, resolutely. "Pass your test papers and head towards the auditorium"

I sighed at his words and stretched my arms in the air. It had been hours just to finish that test, my muscles were starting to cramp as well. I eyed my fellow T's, they were also tired and some even yawned. I smiled and stood up, I made my way to the door and exited the facility.

Without haste, I bulldozed through the halls and arrived at the auditorium. Sure enough it was already filled with young hero hopefuls. I scanned the area for a seat and the familiar sight of Jiro and Kaminari, but only succeeded on the former.

I shrugged and went to the seat situated at the lower center, right at the front of Present Mic. Minutes passed by and the place was now filled, the sound of feedback ringed in our ears.

"HEY KIDDOS! WELCOME TO THE UA ENTRANCE EXAM, CAN I GET A HEY!?" Present Mic's voice boomed across the stage and I swear I could feel the floor rumbling. Ironically enough —but not surprising— no one answered.

"I see you like to keep it low-key, so let's get on with the practical exam. YEAH!" Again silence. "For the practical, you'll be assigned to destroy 3 faux villains each one varying in points based on their difficulty. It will be held in mock-urban settings to simulate the real-life experience of being a hero"

I closed my eyes and right on cue, the sound of a boy called from the stands.

"It says here on the hand-outs that there are four faux villains, not three. If this is an error than it is highly undignified for a school as prestigious as UA. And you!" He then turned around, I opened my eyes to see and the familiar mop of green hair appeared. "You've been muttering all this time, it's distracting. If you're not taking this seriously then I suggest you leave" The boy in box-shaped glasses said and sat back down.

"Thanks for the concern Examinee xxxx, as for the 4th villain, it will only serve as a mere obstacle so I suggest you just ignore it" Present Mic stated and the said Examinee bowed. "Anyways, let me give you the motto of our school. Go Beyond, Plus Ultra!"

And with that, the briefing ended.

I stretched my arms and changed into more appropriate clothes. Jiro and Kaminari were still nowhere to be found so I'll just let them be. The paper said I will be in battle center B. Interesting, I wonder if I'll meet one of the cast.

I walked calmly to my battle center as I observed the people around me. There auras were rising, like boiling water beginning to bubble. Some were more lazed than others and some were firing with spirit. Some people around even managed to conjure their animal spirit.

After I tapped into the red and learned to see people's auras, I discovered that each individual had an animal spirit. There spirits were a manifestation of their souls, it's when people unconsciously tap into the red in times of stress and danger. These spirits can actually influence people in many ways, like giving them extra strength or foresight. Though, I never saw someone fully utilize their animal spirit.

As I stared at those that managed to manifest it, some were shaking and others were relatively calm-looking. I grimaced at the thought as in the past, only times of extreme emotions managed to conjure spirits.

The spirits would circle around them, growling and roaring. Some had a robin or a kind of bird for a spirit, flying in circles around their head. While others had a snake or a massive anaconda slithered around their body.

As I walked pass, their spirits would look at me. It seems they know, I can see them. As for me, I had multiple spirits. Since I'm now fully connected to the red, I can fully manipulate my aura, and thus my spirits, besides I also had the Ashes.

Forgetting about those people, I continued my walk to battle center B.

The place was jammed with students, some here even had their own spirits. I looked around and my eyes widened at the scene, it seemed Monoma was here. I always found his quirk fascinating, the ability to borrow them. I wonder if he can borrow my quirk.

I shrugged at the idea and focused up ahead. I was wearing a black tracksuit, my totem hanging brightly in front of me. Feeling it was about to start, I tapped my chest and released the same old silver mist.

"TIMERS UP, LET'S GO!" The voice of present mic boomed and same as always, everyone stood shocked. Already expecting this, I lept into the gates. The mist around me growled and the silhouette of the cheetah appeared. Just like the wind, I disappeared.

I kept out all distractions and focused on the task at hand. Fortunately, a 3-pointer arrived and aimed its laser at me. I smirked and disappeared. Arriving behind it, I used the momentum of my speed and kicked it straight in the head. My feet passed through it like butter and I just scored three points.

Smiling, I turned around and ran to the city. Using my speed, I dodged the incoming attack of robots and kicked straight in their heads.

That's 20 points! It was still 2 minutes and I could feel the adrenaline rushing into me.

I need more!

Looking forward, I saw an army of robots approaching. By this time, everyone was now in the battle center, each of them striking down robots and yelling their score.

Without hesitation, I ran like the wind. One of the robots raised its fist and aimed it towards me. Dodging it, I took my hand as silver mist surrounded it, for a second sharp claws appeared and I descended my strike.

As if knifes hit it, the robot's arms were sliced off. Turning my hips, I jumped up and delivered a spinning kick to its head. Upon contact, it broke off and flew to a nearby building. Steadying myself, I attacked the army one by one, to fast for any of them to retaliate.

"That makes 31!" I yelled, and I continued on my search. My eyes glowed menacingly and I growled, disappearing again amongst the buildings.

It's been exactly five minutes, I waited for the 0 pointer to arrive. At this point I already had 48 points, and a couple of rescue points. Even though I didn't want to change the story that much, something inside of me still wanted to succeed and by that, I mean getting first place.

Right now, I was dangling on a building, the Ashe of the cheetah over me. Very nimble creatures, I have to say. Cats really do land on their feet.

I looked around myself and steadied my body. I tapped my chest and switched the cheetah with an eagle. My eyes glowed once again as it zoomed on to the ground below. I looked for any more robots when my eyes caught an oppurtune moment.

I raised my arms and dived towards the scene. The mist around me spread like wisps as I flew through the air. Below me, a robot was about to fire at a teen who caught his leg in rubble.

Before it could fire, I arrived and grabbed it with my hands. I raised it to the air and threw it to a nearby building. Below me, more robots came and I spun around. A mini tornado surrounded my body, feeling enough energy, I stopped and spread my arms.

Arcs of highly pressurized wind escaped from my body and sliced the robots in half. Their bodies let out a shock and groan as they fell to the ground.

With a thud, I landed gracefully onto the rubble. The air lightening up and spreading like a deflating balloon. The person in front of me stared in awe and a smile crept up my face. I raised my hand to take theirs when all of a sudden, a thorn-like feeling pierced my nerves. Like a tsunami, it raced across my body and into my head. It buzzed and rang and all I could do was turn around. This feeling, it was like a compass pointing, forcing me to look. However, instead of north, it pointed at a building.

My eyes widened but hardened immediately as I curled my back and braced myself. Just as I got my bearing, a shock of energy vibrated across the ground, sending students and those who weren't bolted to the floor flying. I checked my side and relaxed when they seemed to be fine.

The buzzing in my head grew bigger until all I could hear was nothing but that sound. My heart beated faster and every muscle in my body tensed.

It felt danger.

But why? It was just the zero pointer, I could handle this. Yet as I thought about the situation at hand, my mind drew back into my head and I failed to notice the looming foot of the robot.

As it descended like a meteor shower, the buzzing turned into a jolt pushing me sideward. Letting myself be pushed, I unknowingly evaded the crushing step of the zero-pointer. My heart raced and the tension in my muscles tightened.

I took in a deep breath and the silvery hue around me wrapped like a blanket. The mist danced around my limbs as I calmed my nerves.

You got this.

The mist danced it's way up my neck and circled my face. My eyes opened and the mist covered my iris. My eyes glowed with silver and the world around me felt different. My muscles relaxed and the last thing I knew, I moved forward.

You've practiced this scenario. You know what to do.

I repeated the line like a mantra and the adrenaline in my body spiked. Somewhere in the back of my head, drums and horns blared like a battle cry and a new found excitement welled through me.

The mist gathered as my steps quickened. The robot moved forward and away from me. Some students were frozen in place and I couldn't let them be squished.

I appeared right at their front, a roar from the cheetah signalling my arrival. Quickly, I grabbed each of them and took them to the other side.

I looked forward and saw the robot moving towards us, it's mechanical head seeming to zone in on us. I took my first step and the buzzing in my head silenced into a hum.

A single student walked up to the robot, though I didn't feel so alone. The sounds of drums and battle quickly fastened and a smile arched my face. It was hard to explain, it just felt so right. The mist around me broke the silence and along with the drums, roars, screeches, and hisses invaded my ears. A symphony of the wild and untamed.

To others, my body was now fully covered in the white mist and various animals appeared. A lion roared and was then replaced by the hiss of a snake, a screech of an eagle, and the wail of an elephant. It all blended together and with one push, I tackled the robot.

My body passed through like a cannon ball and it's mettalic body fell right over me. Before I could be sandwiched by the ground and the robot, I was embraced by the falcon, and my body moved like the wind. Escaping the robots grasp, I flew through the air.

I rocketed upwards and the sight of the robot trying to stand up caused my face to sour. Not just gonna die are you.

I flew up high, the wind brushed off the sweat in my face and a temporary relief washed over me. That was gone, as a weight tugged on my body. Arching up in the air, I laid, back face to the ground. My face was met with the light and I let the mist blanket me once again.

The mist covered me and spread out, casting a shadow bigger than a boat. The mist morphed and a soft yet stern hum sounded. The mist transformed into a blue whale, it's back faced to the ground, with me at the center. Without the aid of the falcon, gravity took over me and I descended.

The whale transformed into a trail of mist. It followed me like a comet's tail as rained down like a meteor. For a second, the robot looked up and I smiled. My feet collided with the robots chest and just like paper, it flattened. The point of impact sunk into the earth leaving a crater in the robots chest and in the city's road beneath.

The robot head flickered and I stood up. Every movement caused the earth to shake and the robot to flattened as the last of the lights flickered.

I raised my arms.

The mist gathered around my limbs and the silhouette of a tail fin appeared. I rammed down with the tail behind and the robots body broke in half. The two halves flew apart and landed on the opposite sides of the streets. The ground. Around me was now a twenty meter whole that span a radius of 30 meters.

I looked around and saw the faces of the examinees watching me. I moved forward, but with every step I took the earth would shake. I scratched the back of my head and waved a sorry. I tapped my chest and felt the whales presence leave me. The glow around me dissipated and the mist vanished.

I stepped forward and nothing happened.

As I made my way to the group of onlookers, a hum of the intercomms sounded for the end of the practical exam.

I smiled as I had remembered the last couple of minutes. Oooh how long have I wanted to do that. I snickered as I made my way out. The eyes of the examinees not leaving me one bit.

Now that is how you make an entrance.