Chapter Text
The UA High Entrance Exam was taking place on a February morning. The sun shone brightly, but the weather was cold. Students from all across Japan came to take it. Yuuto was among the large group. He had an ordinary appearance-- he was tall, had short, white hair, red eyes, and wore a brown coat over a white shirt and a black pair of pants. However, his existence was an enigma. Those who were extremely observant would notice that his records weren't quite right. His identity was a lie, hiding who he truly was. After all, the son of the most powerful villain to exist doesn't seem like the type of person to apply to a hero school. Regardless, he had applied, having left his old life behind. The boy walked with the crowd towards UA, feeling all the Quirks around him.
A fire nails Quirk. It's a little interesting. Feels hot and sharp. Air solidifying. It's a high potential Quirk. The user can... exhale solid air? Feels light but thick. Stubby Spikes. A pretty uninteresting Quirk.
Yuuto’s Quirk allowed him to sense the Quirks of other people in a large radius around him. He could even see the ones within his sight. Every Quirk has its own feeling. He could tell a lot about a Quirk just from the feeling each one gave off. Feeling all the Quirks in such a large crowd was almost overwhelming, but he kept calm as he was trained to. A hunger surged inside him-- his own Quirk reacting to others around him. It was an uncontrollable side effect that he always fought off until he had to take a Quirk after a few days. He took a deep breath, pushed the Quirk hunger down, and ignored the empty feeling and the itch in his hands.
Hmm... some sort of appendage growth Quirk? A Mutation-Transformation type. The user has six arms. It's really interesting. That seems like a very strong and useful Quirk. Item storage. It's limited though, not too powerful. Lemur. Straightforward, and not too interesting.
Yuuto entered UA’s campus and walked up to the main building. He registered for the exam in the lobby, and received a piece of paper with his information on it. Then, he was told to go to a room to take the written test. Once he followed the directions and arrived at the room, he looked around, seeing a few other examinees already there. At the desk in the front of the room was a teacher-- the pro-hero Cementoss. Yuuto went to the desk he was told to sit at and sat down. He waited for the exam to begin. They began the exam shortly after the last person walked in the room twenty minutes later.
The exam wasn’t bad. I think I did well.
After the written exam, the examinees were given a break in the cafeteria. The school was offering snacks and meals for them to take. Yuuto decided to get udon, tempura, and miso soup, and then went to sit down away from as many people as possible. He was starting to get a bit of a headache due to the crowd. He sat down in an area with quiet and friendless people, which had plenty of places to sit as people were spread out. Yuuto scratched his hands before eating. Eight minutes had passed when he finished eating, and he went to the auditorium where there would be a presentation for the practical exam.
As the remaining fifteen minutes went by, the room slowly filled with people. Then, the voice hero Present Mic walked on the stage.
“What’s up, UA candidates? Thanks for tunin’ in to me, your school DJ. C’mon, and lemme hear ya!”
The crowd was completely silent, but Yuuto ignored that. He was more curious about Present Mic.
His Quirk’s pretty interesting. I got something similar myself.
“Keeping it mellow, huh? That’s fine, I’ll skip straight to the main show. Let’s talk about how this practical exam is gonna go down, okay? Are you ready?! Yeah!”
The man moved around a lot as he spoke. Yuuto didn't know a lot about the hero, but remembered he had a radio show. He briefly wondered how he had the energy to handle three jobs.
“Like your application said, today you rockin’ boys and girls will be out there conducting ten-minute mock battles in super-hip urban settings.”
The screen behind the hero, which previously displayed the school’s symbol, changed to show the letters A, B, C, D, E, and F. They formed an arc around a sign that read, ‘You are here.’
“Gird your loins, my friends. After I drop the mic here, you’ll head to your specified battle center, sound good? Okay?”
“Okay, okay. Let’s check out your targets.”
Behind the hero, the screen changed. It showed three figures with a miniature city in the middle.
“There are three types of faux villains in every battle center. You’ll earn points based on their level of difficulty, so better choose wisely.”
Yuuto looked at the pictures of the robots. Each type had a different shape. After the hero had finished talking, the screen changed, showing a video game style demonstration of what they were going to do.
“Your goal in this trial is to use your Quirk to raise your score by shredding these faux villains like a mid-song guitar solo.”
The Present Mic pixel sprite walked around the city, jumping on the robots in his way, causing them to disappear. Yuuto started to plan on how to deal with the robots. He looked at the pamphlet he was given for details on them, such as their design and weak points.
Huh, he thought. If it's just robots, this shouldn't be too bad. I've fought worse, after all.
“But check it! Make sure you’re keepin’ things heroic. Attacking other examinees is a UA no-no, ya dig?"
After Present Mic finished speaking, a boy stood up straight, raising his hand, and asked a question.
“Excuse me sir, but I have a question.”
“Hit me!” The hero replied.
“On the printout, you’ve listed four types of villains. Not three.” The boy pointed to a fourth robot on the paper he was holding. “With all respect, if this is an error on official UA materials, it is shameful. We are exemplary students. We expect the best from Japan’s most notable school. A mistake such as this won’t do.” The boy then turned around to glare at a green-haired boy. Apparently, he wasn't done talking. “Additionally, you, with the unkempt hair!”
“Me?” The boy in question meekly responded, pointing at himself.
“You've been muttering this entire time. Stop that. If you can’t bother to take this seriously, leave. You’re distracting the rest of us.”
“Sorry.” The boy he'd scolded apologized quietly. Yuuto couldn't help but focus on his Quirk, however. There was something about it-- something very special-- and it was drawing his attention toward it. Before he got distracted, Present Mic continued to speak. He needed to listen, and he could worry about Quirks later.
“Alright, alright. Examinee number 7111, thanks for calling in with your request. The fourth villain type is worth zero points. That guy’s just an obstacle we’ll be throwing in your way. There’s one in every battle center. Think of it as a hurdle you should try to avoid. It’s not that it can’t be beaten, but there’s... kinda no point. I recommend my listeners try to ignore it, and focus on the ones topping the charts.”
The boy who stood up replied, bowing. “Thank you very much. Please, continue.”
“That's all I got for you today. I’ll sign off with a little present. A sample of our school motto! As General Napoleon Bonaparte once laid down, ‘A true hero is one who overcomes life’s misfortunes.’ Mhm, now that’s a tasty soundbite. You ready to go beyond? Let’s hear a Plus Ultra! Good luck! Hope you practiced hitting more than just books.”
Just over a year ago, Yuuto had been preparing for this exam. While he had been living on his own for a bit, he didn't have a legal identity. Without one, not only were there many things he couldn't do, but he would also be unable to apply to UA. Getting into UA would offer him a lot of protection from his past life. So far, he had done a good job at keeping himself hidden, but this safety was only temporary. If he wanted to apply, he would have to forge records so that he could seem like a regular citizen. Fortunately, it was easy to find someone who could help him forge documents.
When he had to write down a Quirk, he had to fake one. His actual Quirk, Quirk Transfer, would only cause suspicion, fear, and hatred in others. He also couldn't just use all his Quirks-- people would wonder how he could do so many things, and would also become suspicious of him. In the end, the Quirk he had written down was simply called Might. Supposedly, it was a Quirk that greatly increased his physical abilities, mainly his strength. In reality, he would be using multiple Quirks, those being: Muscle Augmentation, Reflex Boost, Agility, Brawn Boost, Kinetic Booster, and the copies of those last two Quirks. The majority of the Quirks were copies he had received years ago, back when he still lived with his Father and brother. He had stolen Reflex Boost and Agility in the time he had left. Yuuto stole them from hospital patients on death's door. He hated doing so, but he had little choice. It was that or his own Quirk would drive him mad if he didn't take Quirks regularly, and that would lead to a far worse situation. In addition, he had a Quirk that changed his appearance-- Shapeshift. He only used it to hide the divots in his palms, which were a physical mutation of his original Quirk.
Once the presentation ended, they were allowed to go to the locker rooms. Yuuto went into a separate stall and put on a loose-fitting black shirt and red shorts. After everyone had changed, they headed to the buses, which had a letter corresponding to the letter of each battle center. Yuuto was assigned to Battle Center D, so he got on the first of the two D buses. They reached Battle Center D ten minutes after taking off. He and the others on the bus got off, and waited for the exam to start. He felt a Quirk away from the crowd, and looked up to see a tower. Inside was the heroine Critical, one of the second year teachers. Her Quirk, with the same name as her hero name, allowed her to hit objects in specific spots with a lot of power. It was very strong, capable of bringing down buildings. He felt guilty for his interest in the heroine’s Quirk as he mentally prepared for the exam. Yuuto kept his Quirks active and prepared to start at any moment. The doors slowly opened, and Critical announced the start of the practical exam.
"Students, the exam starts now!"
Everyone started to rush into the fake city. Yuuto sprinted in with everyone else,and easily overtook most of the other examinees. In the middle of a larger street he found two robots, both of which were 1-pointers. He approached the first one and punched it. The punch went straight through the robot into its mechanical insides, molding the metal around his fist. The robot was instantly down, and he headed for the next.
I can tear through these things like paper. I'll have to hold back, and not take all of them out. The others deserve a chance, too.
Meanwhile, in a dark room, the entrance exam was being spectated. The teachers in the room were primarily the first year teachers, as well as the school's principal-- a creature resembling a rat and other animals, Nedzu. In front of them was a large screen showing various examinees, periodically switching to others. The spectators remained silent, closely watching the examinees’ actions. Then, the principal spoke, “In this exam, the examinees have no idea how many villains are present, or their locations. They have a limited time to cover a vast area and hunt down every last target.”
On the screen, a camera was focused on an examinee using his arms to look over the area from atop a building. “Some use information gathering abilities to plan out strategies,”
The screen displayed a boy with engines in his calves rushing around the city. “While others rely on speed to pull ahead of their peers.”
After he paused, the screen showed an examinee with a special belt striking a pose, looking straight into the camera. “Of course, remaining calm under pressure can be a huge advantage,”
Then, the screen changed to a blond haired examinee breathing heavily while standing over multiple destroyed robots. “As can pure power and combat ability. The most successful students use a combination of all these tactics. They are the ones who rack up the highest scores.” Once the principal finished speaking, one of the teachers spoke up.
“Hm, I'd say this year's group looks promising.”
“The boy with the explosion Quirk has a lot of potential. As does the girl with the vine hair.”
“Have you seen the boy with the strength Quirk?” A lanky blond man perked up at that question. “He’s taken out quite a few robots, and has multiple rescue points as well. He also has good fighting technique. He’s been trained.” A teacher with long, black hair narrowed his eyes, inspecting the examinee in question.
“Some of the others have potential, too. That gravity Quirk could be very powerful. Do you all think she’ll make it?”
“Well, there's still plenty of time before it's over. The real test is yet to come. Let's see how they react.” A button was pressed, and a giant was released into each city.
As he ran through the city, he was able to find and defeat more robots. The 2- and 3-pointers he found were tougher, but still easy to take out. Yuuto decided to leave some robots for other people to fight. With how easily he could break them, he would have not given other examinees much of a chance to gain points. He came across a few examinees that were in trouble, and helped them out. He didn't try to take points from others-- he had enough of stealing from others in his life already.
After more than half of the time had passed, the ground started to rumble. Yuuto climbed up a nearby building, looking for the cause.
It must be that zero-pointer. That’s the only robot that hasn’t showed up. It must be huge.
The giant robot came out from under the ground. When it stood up, it was taller than the cityscape of the battle center. Yuuto decided to listen to Present Mic’s words and ignore the behemoth. He went to hunt down a few more robots, but stopped when he heard screaming coming from the direction of the 0 pointer. He ran towards the screams, seeing some people unable to run away fast enough. He jumped from the building he stood on and made his way down to help them. He carried two people away from the behemoth. The boy he carried, which he noted was the one with the air solidifying Quirk, thanked him.
“Thanks, man! I thought it would be over for me!” Then, the girl who he saved also thanked him for his help.
“Yeah. That thing is scary. I didn’t wanna die.” She said, still seeming panicked.
“No problem. I’m gonna go make sure there isn’t anyone else in the way.” He ran off and went to help more examinees. He freed a few from debris that was covering them. The giant robot had destroyed parts of the buildings of the mock city. Soon enough, there was the sound of an alarm, signaling that the exam was over. Even though he was free to leave, he made sure to help injured examinees. By the time the other nurse of UA, Medic, arrived, most of the hurt people were already waiting at the entrance to the city. Yuuto was bringing a person who sprained their ankle back when he heard Medic speaking with the injured examinees.
“Hey, I'm the pro hero Medic, one of the nurses at UA. I wasn't expecting everyone to be waiting here for me! I thought that I’d have to hunt you all down.”
Medic walked to one of the injured and kneeled down. The person put their arm out, and the hero checked their arm. One of the examinees asked, “Someone helped bring us here. Are you gonna heal us?”
Medic smiled and grabbed some bandages from his bag and wrapped the person's arm, before saying, “That's my job! Who brought you here?”
Then, he put his hands on the person's arm to use his Quirk, causing his hands to glow yellow.
“It was that guy over there! He's got another person!” The girl talking pointed towards Yuuto as he started to set the person he was carrying down. Medic finished, got up, and turned around and looked at him.
“Thanks kid, you helped me out a lot here. But you know that you're not gonna get any bonus points, right?”
“Uh- yeah, I figured. I just wanted to help.” So I can atone for what I've done, he finished in his head.
“That's good at least. Thanks again for the help, if you get in you'll be one of my favorite students!”
Then, the hero went back to his job. Yuuto left the city, hearing a few people thank him. He smiled, feeling good about himself for the first time in a while. They took the bus back to the school’s main building, where they changed and gathered up their stuff. Yuuto briefly had the urge to steal someone’s jacket. It looked cool, but he didn’t really need it. Earlier, it had been explained that they would not get their results until the next week.
On the day after the UA entrance exam, the school’s staff gathered to discuss the results of the exam. Many of the teachers were impressed with the examinees compared to previous years. They all expressed their feelings about the future hero students.
“Bakugou displayed exceptional skill in taking down the robots. However, he completely trashed them, and he seems prone to anger. His school reports show that he’s a great, well-behaved student. Still, I’d suggest putting him in Class 1-A.” Cementoss said. The teachers voiced their agreement.
“What about first place?”
“Tanaka was also very skilled, more so than Bakugou in hand-to-hand combat. It’s clear he was trained. Unlike first place, the boy scored a large amount of rescue points while also getting a large amount of villain points. When I watched him, it seemed like he ignored some of the robots.”
“Why do you think he did that? It’s kinda weird that he would just ignore some of the robots. Most examinees try to steal points from others.”
“Maybe he wanted to give the other examinees a chance? Besides, who will teach him?”
“I hate to admit it, but I may not be able to teach him as much as Aizawa. He’d benefit from someone who’s fighting style isn’t as reliant on their Quirk.”
“Yeah. What about his records?”
“About that,” Nedzu had chimed in. The staff looked at him, clearly curious. “I’ve noticed something. They appear to be quite strange! I believe he has forged these records. They don’t line up perfectly with other homeschool records. On top of that, when I did some digging, it appears that all of his legal documents are similarly faked.”
“So, you’re saying this guy technically doesn’t exist? Are we even gonna let him in?”
“Of course we are! Tanaka applied to this school shortly after his legal records were added. I believe that he does want to be a hero. We’ll figure out why his identity was faked eventually. No one hides the truth from me, after all.”
The underground hero Eraserhead, also known as Aizawa, spoke up, surprising his colleagues. “I agree. I’ll watch him. My experience as an underground hero is perfect for this. It’s only logical.”
“Perfect!”
Eight days later, a letter from UA arrived. Yuuto got the letter from his mailbox, which was on the first floor of the building. He went back to his small apartment, which was cluttered with various items he had randomly stolen. He opened the letter, and inside was a disc that played a video.
“Hello! I am here!” Unexpectedly, All Might was on the recording. “Young Tanaka! You did marvelously on the exam! You’ve passed both the written and practical parts of the exam!” Yuuto sighed with relief, not realizing he had been tense. The hero beamed on the camera. “On the written portion, you scored a solid 92%. Very impressive! And on the practical, you got 56 combat points for taking down the faux villains. That would be enough for you to pass, but...” The man paused. Yuuto’s heart beated faster at the pause. “That wasn’t all there was to the exam! Watch closely.” The man turned to a screen behind him and held out a remote, pressing a button. Another video played within the current one, showing Yuuto saving other examinees. “You see, the practical exam was not graded on combat alone! After all, what kind of hero doesn’t save people in need! For your heroic actions, you’ve received one hundred rescue points. They were decided by a panel of judges. Congratulations, Tanaka. This is your Hero Academia!” He looked at the scores. He was in first place, over 60 points ahead of second place.
The top ten list was as follows:
1. Tanaka Yuuto - 51 VP - 100 RP - 151 Total
2. Bakugou Katsuki - 83 VP - 0 RP - 83 Total
3. Kirishima Eijirou - 39 VP - 40 RP - 79 Total
4. Shiozaki Ibara - 48 VP - 30 RP - 78 Total
5. Uraraka Ochaco - 27 VP - 50 RP - 77 Total
6. Kendo Itsuka - 35 VP - 40 VP - 75 Total
7. Iida Tenya - 61 VP - 10 RP - 71 Total
8. Midoriya Izuku - 8 VP - 60 RP - 68 Total
9. Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu - 25 VP - 40 RP - 65 Total
10. Tokoyami Fumikage - 54 VP - 10 RP - 64 Total
Yuuto smiled, and his hands lightly sparked red. Maybe I can become a hero, he thought. I don't have to hurt innocent people anymore.