Chapter 1 - Recommendation Exams

Four days passed in the blink of an eye. Yoshihara had personally been amused at how fast it all went by as well, but then again nothing really happened in the time between her encounter with Taro and his Stand Renegades and her time in recovery.

It was a change of pace. A good change of pace mind you, but a change of pace nonetheless. However, the issue lay within the wording. Nothing happened in the time between her encounter with Taro and his Stand Renegades and her time in recovery.

Literally. Nothing.

Sure, there were no threats from other Stand Users, which was a good thing, but there was also no progress made in tracking down the origins of the Stand Creating Bullets or, as the group was now calling them, The Stand Bullets.

Izuku, for all his knowledge on all things hero and hero news related, he couldn't find any relevant information on the bullets, nor could he find out what the stuff was made of, i.e., the material the outer shell was made of, the stuff inside the bullet, nothing!

Even after sending them in as an anonymous tip to the police, they couldn't figure out what it was that was allowing the bullets to turn Quirks into Stands, nor was it helping them track down the manufacturer.

While that was negative in terms of productivity, on the plus side, the wounds that had been inflicted on her by Renegades had healed perfectly, although they did leave behind small circular scars on her neck, left shoulder, right thigh, and waist.

All in all, it wasn't all that bad for her. She could be dead, which she wasn't, so there was that.

Currently, she was staring at herself in the mirror in her bedroom, her eyes glazed over, a blank expression on her face as she let out a sigh, tracing her finger over the scar on her neck. "What front should I put on today? Annoyance? Excitement? Joy?" Yoshihara muttered to herself, looking down at herself.

She was wearing a black shirt with white and black long sleeves. The shirt itself stopped at the lower waist, exposing her midriff. Just peeking out from the upper left-hand side of her hip was the scar that Renegades put there, a haunting reminder of that fight.

She wore black jeans, the knees of which were shredded, but in a stylistic sense. Her hair was done up in a braided ponytail, mostly because the day prior Sakunami-san showed her how to do it.

It was almost as if that merely hanging around Sakunami-san was making her clothing choices more varied. She would NEVER expose as much skin as she was now, but, perhaps being around more people and being more comfortable with herself allowed her to open up to new ideas?

It was a possibility. That didn't mean she liked the idea of change, after all, accepting change was also accepting the gateway to inevitable disaster. But, in the same breath, it wasn't all bad.

Perhaps, opening up, even if it was just a little bit, would help her wound heal. Ever since she left behind that town, she had felt a pit grow in her heart. A wound that, no matter how much time had passed, would never heal. Even as a kid she knew the damage done to her by her so-called mother was irreversible.

Then, Izuku showed up, and she could feel that wound that her mother placed there heal ever so slightly. It wasn't much, but enough that she could allow herself some lee-way in how she acted.

Still, she couldn't be truthful about herself. She refused to be truthful about herself. Not again. Not ever again.

Yoshihara shook her head. She had to distract herself, lest she spiralled into a mental fit. She looked at the mirror, trying desperately to focus on something else, when then, out a random happenstance, she glanced at her hands, and a frown came to her face.

At least it was something else to focus on.

"T'ch… they're dirty. I guess I have to clean them… and wear gloves. The last thing I want is for my hands to get dirty again," Yoshihara said, shaking her right hand. She was a mess of a person. She knew she was, and despite that, she also knew that, no matter what, no one should be allowed to know about it.

No one needed to know about her Sociopathy, no matter how much it was instilled into her, no matter if it was a coping mechanism created by her mind in order to protect her from that bitch.

No one needed to know about her hand fetish, even if it was only toward her own hands.

No one needed to know that she put on a masquerade.

"No one can know… no one can know that I'm like this…." The blond said, putting on a well-practiced smile as she walked to her bedroom door.

As soon as she opened the door to her room, she was met with Nemuri, who had a bright smile on her face. It was almost mocking, but Yoshihara didn't take it that way. "Today's the day of the recommendation exam! Oh, I'm so excited! I expect to see you at U.A. on April 3rd, young lady, don't disappoint me," Nemuri said, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry, Kayama-san, I know I'll get in!" Yoshihara responded, putting a hand on her chest. "Especially after everything I've been through… I can't afford to fail now. Besides, I think I put you through enough heartache as it is, right?" the blond added, her smile turning to a smirk as Nemuri ruffled her hair.

"Yeah, you little rascal. Oh, and you might want to brush your hair and don't forget that tracksuit I got for you, it's on the counter downstairs. You're going to be doing a lot of running today," Nemuri said, crossing her arms as the blond moved past her.

"Will do, Kayama-san," Yoshihara replied, glancing over her shoulder before walking down the stairs. As she made her way downstairs, she saw the tracksuit and mentally frowned. It was bright pink. Don't get Yoshihara wrong, pink was her favourite colour, but bright pink? It was a bit too much for her liking. Not that she was going to complain about the colour, but it was something she should have at least have had a say in.

"Stop being petty. Just put the damn tracksuit on when you get to the testing facility when they require it."

Grabbing the tracksuit and tucking it under her arm, she looked over to Nemuri, a faint smile on the older woman's face. The blond sent a soft smile back to her, then turned around, grabbed a black bag from off the coat hanger, stuffed the tracksuit into it, put the bag strap over her shoulder then went for the door.

She didn't need to brush her hair, it looked fine enough as it was. She quite liked the job she had done with her impromptu ponytail.

That, and it was already 7:30 AM and the tests started at 10:45 AM. If she wanted any sort of time to interact with any of the students and see what kind of competition she was up against, and whether or not any of them were Stand Users, she'd have to leave now.

That, and if she wanted to get there on time, she needed to make some headway for her trip. Since the testing center was further away than the Café, she would need to take the bullet train there, and take the stop to Musutafu, which was where it was located.

If she decided to walk the entire way, it would've been a five-hour-long walk, and she would've most definitely been late.

As the Elevator continued to lower to the bottom floor, she felt her stomach plummet. Maybe it was the added pressure Nemuri gave her, or maybe it was the fact that she felt like she didn't deserve to be a hero, but regardless of the facts, she was going to get into that Hero Course.

She didn't fight three Stand Users and almost die all three of those times just to be turned away. There was absolutely no way she was going to let that happen.

The walk and the subsequent train ride to the testing facility were nice and quiet. Not a single person bothered her, which was a plus. She heard a few bits of commotion on the train but paid no heed to it. It wasn't her problem, and it didn't involve her, so she didn't bother to step in and break it up. It wasn't quite the mindset of a hero, but she wasn't a hero yet, nor a hero in training, was she?

Keyword there being: "Yet."

When she got off the train and began her short walk to the testing facility, the churning in her stomach only seemed to get worse. It was like her body was telling her to stop while she was ahead. That, by going into that facility, life as she knew it was only going to change for the worse.

No. That wasn't possible. Surely that doing something she considered her "dream job" would only serve to ruin whatever stable life she somehow scrambled together?

Right?

As the building came closer into view, her heartbeat increased, and the mask that she had put on began to crack. It was almost as if the closer she got to the building, the more it broke her façade. It was like it was trying to break her before she even entered the building. It was suffocating. It was all-powerful.

It was as if the very concept of becoming a hero was breaking down each of her walls, slowly destroying the façade she had built up over the passing months. It was as if the world was screaming at her, telling her that the kind of person she was, that a sociopath, couldn't be a hero. It was telling her to turn around, to go back and try something else.

But she wasn't going to turn around. Not after everything she had been through.

It was for that very reason alone she pushed forward. She wasn't going to back down, not by a long shot.

Kira Yoshihara never backed down from a challenge. If this was how the world was going to push her, she was going to push back with everything she had.

She stood at the gate and rummaged through her pants left pocket. Pulling out her phone, she quickly glanced at the time. It was 9:30 AM. Was her trip from her suite to the testing facility that long? Had it already been two hours? If it hadn't been for the fact that she knew her phone was right, she would've tried to soft reboot it for telling her the wrong time.

She assumed the time just happened to fly by when one was deep in thought.

Yoshihara had about an hour and fifteen minutes before the tests began. A wave of relief washed over her as she put her phone away. That would give her enough time to actually interact with the other attendees.

Stepping past the foreboding gate, she made her way to the front door. A few people were loitering outside of the door, all of which appeared to be male. They all looked basic, and it wasn't apparent what their Quirks were, or if they were a Stand User or not, but that hardly bothered her.

However, that did beg the question: How many of these people actually worked for their spot in the test? Taro was a striking example of a person willing to kill for a spot to become a hero, especially if it meant through U.A.

It was quite the conundrum. One that, if Yoshihara hadn't been a victim of herself, she wouldn't have cared about.

But there was one person that did catch her attention. The boy had white and red hair, and pale skin, and was wearing a blue jacket with a white and black striped shirt underneath, and a pair of black jeans. When the two saw one another, it was an instant connection.

The boy looked at the girl, and the girl met the boy's eyes.

Her cerulean blue eyes met his heterochromatic eyes.

"I can sense it. This one. This one is powerful. I don't know if he's a Stand User, but I need to watch out for him. Whatever his power may be, it could be devastating."

"Hmm… this girl. I don't know what it is about her, but I'm getting a bad impression off her aura alone."

When Yoshihara entered the building, the boy simply watched as the doors closed. He couldn't shake the feeling that something was off about her. Regardless, he didn't care. So long as it didn't affect him, it wasn't his problem. After all, he was here to prove someone wrong.

After all, Todoroki Shoto cared not for what others did. As long as it didn't involve him, and as long as he wasn't adversely affected, he was fine.

But then again. That girl. She gave him chills, a feat not easily accomplished. It was strange. Not once in his entire life had he felt that… scared? Was that the right word? No, no it wasn't—Concerned was a better word for it—after meeting someone in the eyes.

That sheer dead look in her eyes. It was almost uncanny. What was also uncanny was just how fast it changed from a dead-eyed look to one of acknowledgement. It was almost as if she had scanned him, like a computer.

But surely that wasn't possible. Maybe he was overthinking it? Perhaps. But whatever the case may be, he had to watch out for that one. She might have been wearing "skimpy" attire, at least according to what Fuyumi would've said, but she seemed dangerous.

With that in mind, Todoroki continued to wait outside of the doorway, watching as new people walked in and out of the facility, allowing him to watch their movements and actions carefully. After all, scoping out the competition was the best way to know your enemy.

Meanwhile, in the lobby of the testing facility, Yoshihara stood at the front desk, registering herself for the exam. The woman in front of her looked unremarkable, after all, how could a basic civilian who was hired as a registrar be any sort of remarkable?

She glanced down the sheet, filling out the respective form in an orderly manner:

Name (Last – First): Kira Yoshihara

Age: 15

Height: 165 cm

Weight: 52 kilograms

Date of Birth: 10/13/2108

Quirk:

Quirk Description:

Yoshihara paused. Quirk? What was she going to list as her "Quirk?" A few ideas came to mind such as "Psychic Punch Ghost" but that sounded too redundant. The registrar stared at her for a few seconds, looking at her quizzically.

"Is everything alright sweetie?" The woman asked as Yoshihara put on a faux smile.

"Oh! No, it's just… I never really gave my "Quirk" a name. I'm just trying to think of something flashy, you know, to catch people's attention!" Yoshihara said, dismissively waving her, and subsequently, the question away.

"Okay, well, take your time. You're the last person to sign up, so it doesn't matter," the woman said as Yoshihara nodded, a mental sigh of relief escaping from her thoughts as she looked back at the piece of paper.

She couldn't just put the name of her Stand on the paper. That would not only be A. Corny, B. Stupid and make no sense—most Quirk names were nice and snappy and to the point. And C. potentially give away the fact that it is not a Quirk, but rather something else entirely.

Of course, if it was hyper-specific, and she ended up doing something that isn't normal for the name of her Quirk to do, then it would be potentially really, really bad and open to suspicion.

After a few moments of thought was allotted to the situation, she finally came up with something that would work out and allow for a majority of her abilities to make sense to those who weren't already Stand users.

Quirk: Bomb Creation

Quirk Description:

The next thing that she needed to fill out wasn't as hard to fulfill as the last question, as it was pretty obvious given the name of the "Quirk" that she put down. Then again, those with more of an open mind would most likely overthink things, so, it was best to put in as much detail as possible, as to not get too many of the staff suspicious.

But then again, putting down too much information would also make it suspicious. So, she had to hit the perfect sweet spot. And it just so happened that she could do that.

After all, the saying was: Do not be too descriptive, lest you make people suspicious of you, but be careful to not spare too many details, lest you make people believe that the transcript is fake.

Quirk Description: My Quirk allows me to create Bombs from simple things I touch. Upon touching an object, the object will inflate until it implodes, creating a large explosion. Additionally, I can shoot bubbles out of my fingertips that contain contact bombs that, once touched, will explode on impact.

With the application done, Yoshihara folded the piece of paper in two, then put it into the box. The registrar smiled, passing her a sticker with the number 42 on it.

"Now, just so that you are aware, before any of the tests begin, there will be an interview with one of the staff. You will be addressed by your number, as they won't know your name. After the interview, there is a written exam, then, there is the physical exam. At the end of the tests, and a short while for deliberation, you will be told whether or not you made it in. Have a good day, and remember to always go PLUS ULTRA!" The woman said, a cheery smile on her face as Yoshihara nodded, a smile on her face as well.

As Yoshihara walked away, she looked down at the number in her hand. If she was going to be honest, she quite liked the number. It was even, and it didn't show any sort of imperfections. It was the perfect number for her.

She sat down in one of the nearby chairs, waiting for her turn. A bell rang through the building as numbers were called out, seemingly at random, and in groups of six. The first group was 1, 24, 40, 13, 18, and 39.

Of course, none of those people were her, so she didn't care.

After an hour passed, the group of individuals left, all looking exhausted, and some having surface wounds. But they all shared one key aspect, and it was interchangeable between the group of six: They all looked disappointed. Did none of them make it in? Was the testing really that harsh?

Yoshihara began to worry about her chances of making it into the famed U.A. academy. If the staff were judging as hard as they were, and a good majority of the attendees weren't making it in, then that went to show just how brutal the judging system was.

The rumours of U.A. only having a 0.002% acceptance chance might have been true after all.

This pattern became more evident as time went on, The numbers kept getting listed, and each time they would be sent back with some of their ranks crying, some being sent back with casts around their arms and legs and downtrodden faces, and some not coming back at all.

Despite all the logic that was firing off in Yoshihara's brain, and despite all of it telling her that she still had a chance, the more irrational side of her became even more concerned.

This little fiasco continued as it did until finally, a group with her number was called, and fear flew through her veins.

It was her turn to be judged.

"A-hem, can these six numbers please come to the two double doors east of the registration table: 23, 16, 41, 42, 33, and 19! I repeat, can numbers 23, 16, 41, 42, 33, and 19 please come to the two double doors east of the registration table, thank you!"

The voice was chipper, almost far too energetic, which was perfect for their job. Yoshihara stood up, and without any delay, she began to walk down the east hallway. It had been 5 hours since she had first got there, and it was nearing 4:00 PM. All in all, it had been a stupidly long day for no real reason other than the fact that the tests were just that brutal. Though, it gave her a perspective on how the time was divvied between the events.

She had to assume that the interview was 15 minutes long, seeing as it wasn't the most important part in her eyes. The written exam was also most likely to be 15 minutes, and the practical exam was probably 30 minutes long, seeing as it was the most important.

15 minutes for the interview didn't seem too bad, the test might be a bit of a squeeze, and the practical seemed to be the perfect length. Considering that she wasn't too stressed out by the thought of doing a written exam, or an interview, it was perfect for her.

Plus, she was physically fit, so the practical exam would be easy.

Arriving at the two double doors, Yoshihara noticed that she was the first one there. She saw five seats, all adjusted for what appeared to be a massive individual—go big or go home if she remembered the saying right. The blond was about to take a seat, only for the double doors to open and reveal a blond-haired man with an overly aggressive ponytail styled like something you'd see on a cockatoo.

The man wore orange sunglasses over his eyes, and over his upper lip was what appeared to be, in Yoshihara's opinion, the world's most pathetic mustache she had ever seen.

Outside of that, however, he wore a black leather jacket with a very tall collar, upturned, completed with studs, and matching black pants with knee-high boots. The man had two tan shoulder pads, a red belt around his waist, and two tan elbow pads as well, all of which were studded. He also had black fingerless gloves to boot.

Then, there was the elephant in the room. The massive speaker around his neck. It seemed omnidirectional, and whether or not it was there for simply design or not, Yoshihara didn't know, and she didn't want to find out.

The pair made eye contact, and a wide smile appeared on his face. "Well, you know what they say, the early bird gets the worm!" The man said, putting his hands in his pants pockets. "Uh, just so I know, since you're not wearing your number, which one are you?" He asked, raising an eyebrow as Yoshihara felt stupid.

"Ah, sorry about that, I planned to slap it onto my tracksuit when I put it on. My apologies, sir. I'm number 42," Yoshihara replied as the man nodded.

"Got it! Well, seeing as you're the first one here, step into my office, and let's get this interview goin'!" The man said, gesturing her into the room as Yoshihara wanted to pinch the bridge of her nose. This guy was way too energetic for his own good.

Stepping into the office, despite the man's loud demeanour, the office was rather peaceful. There was a singular plant in the corner, followed by the calendar, which was similar in appearance to her own, though, with a different Hero, that being Edgeshot. The date read as March 24th so it was, most definitely, the same calendar as hers.

Outside of that, there wasn't much else, outside from the barren desk, the shuttered windows only allowing for minimum light to be let inside the room, and a few other miscellaneous things that didn't quite matter in the long scheme of things.

"Take a seat, little listener, and let's get this show on the road, shall we?" The man asked, pointing to the seat in front of the desk. She sat down, getting comfortable as she folded her hands and placed them in the center of her thighs, keeping a straight posture to seem professional.

The man grabbed a piece of paper, his radiant smile dropping in favour of a more professional-looking face. "Okay, I know you probably filled out a similar form, but just for brevity's sake, please answer all these questions so we can continue," the man said, clearing his throat.

"Name?"

"Kira Yoshihara."

"Age?"

"15."

"Height?"

"165 cm."

Weight?"

"52 Kilograms."

"Date of Birth?"

"October 13th, 2108."

"Quirk?"

"Bomb Creation."

At this, the man raised an eyebrow. He glanced at her, and while physically she didn't react, mentally, she did. "Shit, does he know?" she questioned mentally, as the man looked back at his paper.

"That sounds like a really, really deadly Quirk. Do you mind explaining?" The man asked as Yoshihara cleared her throat. A part of her was relieved that was why he gave her that look. It meant that he didn't know about her status as a Stand User.

"Ah, okay. My Quirk allows me to do two things, and while they are technically the same things, they really aren't. I can generate bubbles out of my fingertips, which, upon coming into contact with other things, will explode immediately. These explosions, while seemingly normal in size, do roughly the same amount of damage as an atom bomb, at least, from what I've seen, though in a small, contained area. Anything they detonate disintegrates into nothing but smoke. It has a variety of uses and considering it destroys rubble almost instantly, I've used it once or twice to… well, make the situation less bad for someone trapped underneath something. Alternatively, I can simply touch something to force the bubble inside of it and detonate it from there, though the explosion is more of an implosion at that point. I can also adjust the size and damage of the implosion, as I've found out in my spare time."

When Yoshihara finished explaining her "Quirk" she saw the look on the man's face as he wrote it all down. He didn't seem worried about it, and he clearly believed it, which was a plus. However, there was something in the back of her mind that was worrying her, and that was the initial stare he gave her after she told him the name of his Quirk.

Something wasn't sitting right, which prompted her to ask him a question.

"Um, if I may ask, do you know a Kayama Nemuri?" Yoshihara asked as the man stiffened for a second.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I do, why?" the man asked as Yoshihara raised an eyebrow.

"Do you know the hero Eraserhead?" Yoshihara asked, which caused sweat to pour down the guy's face.

"U-Uh, yeah…?" The man said, which caused Yoshihara to smirk.

"I see. So that's why you looked at me like that. You already know," Yoshihara said as the man let out another sigh.

"Sorry, little listener, I… I kinda just wanted to keep things a bit more vague for you. But I guess when living with Nemuri, things do tend to get crazy, don't they," the man said, smirking. "But yeah, I already know about that. Shouta never stopped talking about how weird it was being patted on the head by an invisible person that could be summoned out of thin air. My only question is why it is that you're lying on the transcript?" The man asked as Yoshihara sighed.

"Well, that's the thing. Technically speaking, I'm not. The only thing I'm omitting is the name of my Stand and its appearance. The abilities are the exact same, nothing has changed. I just don't want to draw suspicion from other Stand Users," Yoshihara said as the man nodded.

"Got it. Then I'll keep this between you and me. Anyways, with that out of the way, I need to ask you a few more questions before we can continue. So, what school did you last go to?" The man asked, sweeping his bangs out of his eyes as Yoshihara sighed.

"Aldera Junior High."

"Hmmm…. I've gotta say, that school does have a knack for sending people here. Four people in the normal entrance exam are coming from that school. Gotta say it harbours some certainly bizarre individuals, if you ask me, er, but anyways. What was on your last report card?"

"I got an A in maths, an A in science, a B in English, an A in language arts, an A in physical education, and a C+ in social studies. I've never been good at social studies, always rubbed me the wrong way."

"Hm, better than your average report card. Alright, now, the biggest question here. Most people struggle with it, so please, take as much time as you want. Why do you want to become a hero, and why did you specifically pick U.A.?"

Yoshihara bit her lip. While she didn't exactly choose to become a hero, it was a better option compared to what she used to work as. She closed her eyes, debating with herself whether or not she was going to say the truth. For a few more moments, she thought, her expression contorting into one of indecisiveness until finally, she relented.

"Well… the thing is, I didn't choose to become a hero. In reality, if I didn't opt for this career path, I would be in a worse place mentally, financially, and health-wise. I won't go into specifics, but, to make things short and sweet, U.A., and by extension, becoming a hero is my last hope. From the day I moved here to Musutafu, to the day I moved in with my current caretaker, my life has been one roadblock after another, and I cannot will not, let this opportunity slide past me. If I don't make it to this school, I don't know what I'll do. I have no real plans outside of this, my life for the past nine and a half months has been me hardcore focusing on this one thing, and nothing else. Maybe I'll go back to that stingy place I used to work at, who knows? Honestly, my future is no longer in my hands, it's in U.A.'s, and what they decide to do with it is completely up to the staff at the school."

Yoshihara finished her explanation to the best of her abilities, opening her eyes as the man sat in his chair, an uncomfortable silence between them. It didn't take long for the silence to be broken, as there was a knock on the door. "Well, that's the end of the interview. I'll be sure to pass everything on to the higher-ups. Just go into the room down this hall to start on the written exam, alright, NEXT!" The man said as Yoshihara got up to leave the interview room.

Doing as she was asked, she made her way to the next room, and when she got there, she was met with two other people still writing vigorously, and a man with a cement block for a head wearing a pure black bodysuit with two golden buttons by the collar. "Ah, I see, please take a seat and grab the pen from the desk you choose. I'll be there with the test in just a moment," the talking cement man said as the blond took the desk closest to the exit of the room.

It didn't take long for the piece of paper to be put in front of her, and when it was, she was given the cue to start in the form of her own personal digital clock. The test contained almost every question a test could have in the book. It was eight pages thick, all with difficult mathematical, language-based, science-based, and most importantly, heroics-based questions.

The first two pages dealt with mathematical questions, all of which were at least advanced algebra. Yoshihara struggled for a little bit but quickly caught on to the pattern each question laid bare to her. It wasn't long, 3 minutes to be exact, for her to finish the first two pages. The next two were language-based, relying on simple and easy slip-ups, all written in English.

It took Yoshihara a while to catch these small things, but eventually, she was able to finish them. She only had 8 minutes left on the clock after the 3rd and 4th pages were complete.

The science-based Questions were a breeze, Yoshihara completed them rather effortlessly, leaving her with exactly five minutes to complete the final two pages.

The list of Questions left was only two, one for each page, but they expected, at the very least, 3 paragraph answers in perfect Japanese. Those two questions were:

If a Hero were to come in contact with a Villain that had 30-plus hostages, what is the hero do?:

And the second question…

You're in a collapsing building with one person on each shoulder. What do you do?:

The questions were loaded ones, that much was for sure. The blond didn't know how to answer them, at least with such a short time limit over her head. So, she answered them to the best of her abilities. Once the time limit was up, she placed the pen down, and strangely enough, there had been sweat on her forehead.

The man with the cement block for a head picked up the piece of paper, overviewed it, nodded, then continued onward to place it into a basket with the label "unmarked" before then returning to her. "The next place it is you need to go to is the set of black double doors at the end of this hall. There is a change room for girls on the right, get into whatever sports attire you brought with the label of your number on it, then line up with the rest of your fellow attendees."

Yoshihara nodded in response, picking up her bag and number sticker before making a beeline for the change rooms. The man watched her leave, a concerned expression on his face as he turned to the desk. "That kid had some rather…. Interesting answers for those last two questions. I don't know what to think. Logically speaking, they make the most sense, but in an optics sense, not so much…" the man said as the kid disappeared from sight.

The blond made her way to the change room, picked out a stall, stripped, took out the pink tracksuit, placed her clothes in the bag, grabbed the number sticker, placed it smack-dab in the center of her chest, then put the bag on a hanger on the back of the door, then rocketed outside as fast as she could to line up with two other people who were already there.

There was the heterochromatic boy from the front of the school, which she recognized immediately, and another well-built-looking guy wearing a blue tracksuit similar to her own. He had flat black hair, a smile on his face, and the stance of a militant soldier getting ready for roll-call.

Eventually, three more people showed up, one with a distinct skull-like appearance when his jaw was brought up and was wearing a brown tracksuit. Next to him was a very, very skimpy-looking girl with green hair, who was wearing very little clothing outside of a crop top and shorts so short that it gave Nemuri a run for her money. Finally, next to that girl was another girl wearing a jacket, and form-fitting pants, and had their hair up in an upward ponytail.

There was chatter exchanged between the attendees, not that Yoshihara cared, but it didn't last for long, as the same guy who gave the interviews came out with a stopwatch in their hand. "Alright, little listeners, welcome to the practical. The last thing we will be doing is an obstacle course. Those with the fastest times will make it into U.A. as par with the program. But just so that everyone is aware…" His face suddenly became ridden with shadow, and a horrific, condescending smile came to his face. "Not a single person has been able to pass this test. So please, do not disappoint," the man said, the creep factor skyrocketing. Even the ever-stoic Todoroki felt the chill go down his spine.

It didn't take long for the overwhelming aura of terror to wash over, and for his expression to return to normal as he coughed into his fist. "First, you'll have to deal with some vaulting hazards, then, after that, you'll have to get creative with a tight rope section, spanning over a kilometre-long gorge. And finally, you'll have to avoid some mines, be careful not to set them off~! All the while you are free to use your Quirks!"

The explanation was just lacking enough to allow for some forethought, which was usually a trick in most cases, but Yoshihara believed that what the man had said was far more literal in the sense that there was no room for imagination when it came to what was coming up.

After the explanation was finished, everyone turned around to face the direction of the obstacle course, and as Yoshihara got into a running position, she summoned Killer Queen to her side. She looked to see if anyone reacted, which no one did, confirming to her that she had an advantage. Killer Queen shadowed itself over the blond's body, and when it did, a loud horn echoed out into the air.

BWWWWAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

When the horn finished blaring, the boy with the heterochromatic hair froze the ground around him and created an icy path for himself, destroying his obstacles in the process. The large lumbering boy dashed ahead because of some wind that was generated around him. The boy with a skull-like face dove into the ground like it was pool water. And finally, the other two girls ran normally.

For Yoshihara's part, she dashed ahead, jumping over the obstacles with ease thanks to the boost Killer Queen provided. The blond didn't know how long the obstacle course was, but considering they had 30 minutes to complete it, it was probably longer than she had originally thought. She was far behind the first two that had launched off, and the third one was nowhere to be seen, so she had to assume she was either tied with him or behind him.

She jumped over the fence-like objects (she forgot what they were called) one after another without fail, continuing to do so up until the last one, where her foot got caught on it. In a split-second decision, Killer Queen tapped the thick plastic bar and blew it up, freeing Yoshihara's foot as she landed semi-gracefully.

The tightrope section was the second part of the obstacle course and by far the longest. There was an 8-foot drop with a net to catch anyone, and a ladder right next to it, and the pit spanned at least a kilometre, as the blond-haired man had said it would. Yoshihara gulped, placing one foot on the rope, and the other behind it before she slowly began to shuffle to the other side.

Thanks to Killer Queen, she had better balance, but outside of that, she wasn't going nearly as fast as she wanted to. She had been nervous when it came to this part, knowing full well it would impact her time greatly.

"Don't think about that. You've come this far, don't screw it up because you're a little bit worried about performance!" Yoshihara thought to herself, pushing through the tight rope section with very careful footsteps.

It took her 5 minutes to cross the gorge, and 3 minutes in, the first two had already passed it! At least she knew she was in front of the other guy, who was just a few feet behind her.

Once her feet made touch with the solid ground, she kicked off running. There were lumps in the ground, most likely the mines the guy was talking about, so she tried to steer clear from them. She continued to run, using her Stand's boosted jumping to her advantage as she bounced off of the ground as if she was on the moon, and eventually, she was able to catch up with the other two.

The two of them looked at her, and the boy with heterochromia looked shocked. He hadn't expected for the blond to actually catch up with them, and the other guy was a pain in the ass as it were, so having another person to compete with this close to the finish wasn't all that good.

"Hey, look! She caught up!" The boy with the black hair said, giving her a thumbs up. "Congrats!" His smile radiated blissful energy, and honestly, in her opinion, it was kind of cute, in a platonic kind of sense.

Yoshihara didn't answer the boy, only smirking in response. Then, there was the boy with the red and white hair that only increased in speed thanks to his ice, but she noticed that it was encroaching on her space, and also the other kids. She scowled, knowing full well the boy was trying to sabotage them, and she wasn't the only one to notice it. The boy looked at the back of the head of the dual-coloured-haired boy with a shocked expression, knowing full well what he intended to do.

And Yoshihara was not one for allowing such rude behaviour. So, she did a little bit of sabotaging of her own.

Killer Queen reared back its left arm, and with a gentle 'tap' to the boy's inner knee, the boy's left leg folded ever so slightly, causing him to dip in speed and tumble for a moment. Of course, he picked himself up in time and skated faster than ever before. His expression was filled with annoyance, but that didn't matter.

The finish line was in sight, and she hopped between mine from mine, picking up speed from her hops ever so slowly, and as the two became three, they all reached the finish line as a man with a completely black head with yellow lines going through it, wearing a brown trench coat, clicked his stopwatch as they crossed over the line.

"TIME!" The man shouted as the three attendees stopped to catch their breaths. "Todoroki Shoto, 10 minutes and 36 seconds. Yoarashi Inasa, 10 minutes and 37 seconds. Kira Yoshihara, 10 minutes and 38 seconds. All of you were a single second apart, not bad. All of you wait over there for the rest of your peers.

The group of three finishers sat down on a bench. Yoarashi sat between Todoroki and Kira, holding a large water bottle. He sprayed some water in his mouth, then gestured it to Todoroki. "Want some? I got plenty to spare?" The boy asked.

Todoroki eyed the bottle, then pushed it away. "No thanks," the heterochromatic boy replied as Yoarashi frowned. He gestured to Yoshihara, who eyed the bottle, then took it. She sprayed some of the water into her mouth, then passed it back to Yoarashi.

"Thank you, uh, was it Yoarashi?" Yoshihara asked as the boy nodded.

"Yeah, that'd be me. No problem, Kira!"

The three remained in silence as the last three finished, Yoarashi giving them the same offer as he did with the other two, all of which accepted, and all of which thanked him.

"Damn! That was hard! I'm glad I saved my Quirk for the ropes and the end part. That would've been a nightmare if I didn't," the girl with the skimpy attire and the green hair said with a smile on her face. "Ain't that right, Honenuki-kun?" The girl said, elbowing the boy with the skull-like face in the shoulder playfully.

"Yeah. I was nervous that I'd fall into that pit," the boy said, glancing at Yoshihara. "But you seemed to have no problem. Does your Quirk have something to do with reflexes? You were jumping those barriers like a pro, same with in-between those bombs," Honenuki pointed out as Yoshihara shrugged.

"Nope. I just had a really good trainer, that's all," Yoshihara replied. "Without reflexes, especially quick ones, getting through most obstacles, be it in battle or be it in an obstacle course like this one, isn't ideal. At least, that was what she told me," Yoshihara responded sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck.

"Can I ask who you trained with?" for once in the entire time since the end of the exam, Todoroki spoke. His voice contained no curiosity, his words were direct and to the point. Clearly, he was interested, but not for curiosity's sake.

"Hmm? Oh, I trained with the Pro Hero Midnight," Yoshihara responded, earning a few gasps, mostly from the girl with the green hair.

"Ooooohhhh~ How scandelous~! Tell me, what's she like? Is she as sexually charged as the media makes her out to be?" The girl asked as Yoshihara cringed.

"Uh… well, she has her moments, though mostly contained." "It's annoying, especially considering the fact that sharing a suite with her doesn't help," the blond said, keeping the last part to herself as the girl with the green hair huffed.

"Well, that's a bummer. Oh well. Ah! I just realized, I forgot to introduce myself and Honenuki! My name's Tokage Setsuna, and this guy over here is Honenuki Juzo!" Setsuna said, a smile on her face as Honenuki waved.

"Ah, where are my manners," the girl with the long black ponytail spoke up, a straight expression on her face. "My name is Yaoyorozu Momo, a pleasure to meet you all," Yaoyorozu said, clasping her hands together by her legs.

"We already know your names, seeing as we heard that guy compare our times with your guys' times. You guys easily have a shot into U.A.! Even Yaomomo, hope you don't mind me calling you that, has an easier shot in than I do… I got the worst time out of everyone here," Setsuna said, looking away.

"That's too bad," Todoroki said, walking away. "I apologize, but I must be leaving, my… family, is waiting for me at home," and with that, the heterochromatic boy left. Yoarashi scowled when he did, crossing his arms.

"That guy is ice-cold. Honestly, his Quirk suits him perfectly," Yoarashi said, huffing.

"What a jerk!" Setsuna said, sticking out her tongue and pulling down on her left eyelid in a taunting gesture. The boy seemingly didn't care nor seem to be interested in the insults as Yoshihara watched the boy, her eyes narrowing.

"He's like me, at least in a roundabout sort of way," Yoshihara thought, lessening her glare as the blond-haired man came up to them.

"I told that Todoroki kid the same thing I'm going to tell you. After reviewing everything, and watching over the footage, the following people are going to be accepted into U.A.'s hero course. A-hem: Todoroki Shoto, Yaoyorozu Momo, Kira Yoshihara, Yoaroshi Inasa, and Honenuki Juzo." Setsuna looked away, clearly upset as the blond-haired man looked over to her. "I'm sorry, Tokage-san, better luck next—"

"If I may!" Yoaroshi spoke up, interrupting the man. "I would like to relinquish my invitation to U.A., and give it to Tokage-san!" the boy said, catching everyone off guard.

"Huh?"

"What?"

"Why?!"

The last reaction came from Setsuna, who seemed the most confused. "Why are you going to throw your chance away at becoming a hero and give it to someone who failed?!"

"May I ask why?" The blond man asked, his expression filled with confusion.

"Well, you see. Even if I didn't want to become a hero, I can get into a school no matter what, I'm a shoo-in for Shiketsu, but I wanted to try my luck at U.A. to see if I could get into this one school in particular, and it turned out that I can. While it pains me to do so, I want to give it to someone else for one sole reason, and that's that Todoroki dude. if that Todoroki guy is in the school, I'd rather choke on dirt. He's cold-hearted, and he even tried to sabotage me and Kira in the last stretch of the race! Had he not tripped and fallen at the last moment, we would've fallen on a landmine and seriously injured ourselves! I don't know what was in him that made him do that, but even so much as being in the same school as that guy is going to bring my spirits down. I'd rather someone else take my spot than go. I hope that makes sense," Yoaroshi replied, a serious expression on his face as Setsuna's eyes widened.

The blond-haired man sighed, nodding. "Well, that is a perfectly good reason. Thank you for trying out, Yoaroshi, and when you do get into Shiketsu, tell Ms. Joke I said hi!" The man said as Yoaroshi nodded, a smile on his face.

"Yes Sir!" Yoaroshi said. Just before he left, he patted Setsuna on the back, his smile more radiant as the green-haired girl looked at him. "Have a good time at U.A., Tokage-san, you deserve it!" and with that, he left, exiting the training field as Setsuna smiled.

"Thank you, Yoaroshi-kun!" Setsuna said, waving as Yoshihara watched the scene play out, a hint of disgust in her chest as the blond narrowed her eyes. That scene looked like it was ripped out of some stupid shonen manga than a real-life event, but then again, sometimes people are just selfless like that. On the other side of things, she was glad she got into U.A., and she'd also have to tell Nemuri she was wrong about the whole letter thing, but she digressed.

The group was dismissed, and they were sent back to the change rooms. When she and Setsuna got to the change rooms, she watched as Setsuna simply picked up her bag and didn't bother to change. She had worn that entire outfit the entire time, and didn't even change into a new pair of clothes? Disgusting.

After she got changed back into her clothes from before, she exited the building via the front door, but she was stopped from leaving the premises by a hand clasping her shoulder. Yoshihara turned around and met eye to eye with Todoroki of all people, which had confused her.

"I thought you had to leave early. Why are you still here?" Yoshihara questioned, her eyes narrowing as Todoroki huffed.

"I miscalculated traffic times, and I put too much faith in my sister's bad driving skills. Regardless, I wanted to ask. Your eyes, what's wrong with them?" that question came out of nowhere, to the point where it actually shocked the blond.

"What do you mean?" Yoshihara questioned, pushing away from the dual-hair-coloured boy.

"Well, I've noticed, even when I first made eye contact with you at the entrance, your eyes always seem to glaze over when you're not talking to someone. It's almost like you're hiding something. Whatever it may be, I am going to find out," Todoroki stated rather bluntly as Yoshihara scoffed.

"Yeah, sure, you do that," the blond replied, turning away. While she was playing cool and calm on the outside, on the inside, she was freaking out. "This isn't good, does he know about my condition? Does he plan to expose me once we get to U.A. on the 3rd? This isn't good, not at all!"

Yoshihara scowled, glancing behind her as the boy seemingly went back to waiting. Whatever the case might have been for his reasonings on trying to find out why she was the way she was, Yoshihara didn't care or at least tried not to.

The trip home was full of silence, just how she liked it. There were only a few things on her mind, such as what class she was going to be in, who her classmates would be, and that strange girl Setsuna. For whatever reason, the girl had made an impression on her. She reminded her of Sakunami. Maybe the pair were related in some way? They looked similar enough to be at least cousins.

When she got back to the suite, she was met with a note on the door. The note had stated that Nemuri was in a meeting, which was predictable. Like she did with every note, she balled it up and threw it into the trash can, this time pretending it to be a basketball. When it landed into the "hoop" she mentally shouted "score!" in her mind before dropping her bag to the floor.

With the house all to herself, Yoshihara decided that she was going to try the hot tub, and seeing as the house was empty, she saw no need for a swimsuit. A small, coy smirk found itself across her face. Why not, she had the house all to herself, and no one was going to stop her. That, and it would be a treat for passing the exam.

Maybe Nemuri's style of life really was rubbing off on her, which was concerning in some aspects, but Kira didn't care.

She walked over to the hot tub, turned on the jets, then began to strip.

This was going to be a rather interesting experience.

xxXXxxXXxx

"Okay, let's go over those who passed the exam, and their profiles. After all, the more we get to know them through these tests, the better it will be when we divide them up into their classes," the voice of Nedzu, U.A.'s principal, spoke out into a room with a round table, of which 9 people sat, as he stacked a few pieces of paper in front of him. Normally there would be 11, but a few of the staff members were off doing their own thing, and couldn't come to the meeting.

Nedzu wasn't particularly normal compared to most others. In fact, he was something that was typically seen as "abnormal" in a world where people could have snakeheads for hands. Nedzu was a chimera of multiple different small animals, particularly a bear cub, a rat, and a dog, all fused into one, with the intelligence of all the pre-quirk era scholars, such as Einstein.

And he was the person behind all of U.A.'s programs, its staff, and most importantly, its hero courses and how they were created.

"Well, let's start with Endeavors son, Todoroki Shoto," a heavily accented voice spoke. The voice belonged to a guy wearing a gas mask of sorts with dreadlocks coming out from the back. He wore a cowboy hat, and a red poncho over top of his left shoulder that acted as a cape. The armour he wore was only over his chest, with elbow pads and knee pads being the only things to protect him from any damage outside of his chest. Underneath the armour, he wore a black sleeveless shirt to show off his well-built arms. He also wore a pair of brown over pants and black pants underneath those.

This man's name was Snipe, and he was in charge of the third-year students.

"Hmm… yes, I agree, he is one of the more interesting ones from the exam that got picked," a tough-sounding voice responded. The man from which the voice came from wore a red latex suit with a black outline around his neck. He had two pipes protruding from his back and into his arms, of which those two pipes were connected to two tanks. He was also built like a mountain in terms of muscle.

This was Vlad King, and he was responsible for one of the two first-year hero courses, specifically Class 1 - B.

"I think his attitude needs to change a little bit. But outside of that, he belongs in the hero course, but which class is the better question. 1 - A, or 1 - B?" A man with a rather scrawny appearance spoke, his hands covered by massive metal claws, and his head covered by what looked to be a massive bear skull-like metal helmet coloured yellow. He also had no shirt on, which was bizarre in its own right.

This man was Power Loader, and he was the overseer of the support course.

"Well, that is why we are holding this meeting, is it not? To decide who goes in what class and why?" The voice of Aizawa Shouta rung out, wearing a yellow bag over his body. "Personally, I would like to take him as one of my students. Do you have any objections, Vlad?" Aizawa asked as Vlad shrugged.

"Honestly? You have more of a knack for dealing with those trouble makers than me. I'll send him your way," Vlad retorted, crossing his arms. "but I want Honenuki and Setsuna. End of story. They seem far too close to separate them," Vlad stated as Nedzu nodded.

"Well, then that leaves the last two," Midnight perked up, a soft smile on her face. "Kira Yoshihara, and Yaoyorozu Momo," the ravenette said, leaning back in her chair. "I vote Shouta to take them, simply because A. he has experience in dealing with Kira and B. I want Shouta to suffer," Midnight stated, a sadistic smirk on her face as a laugh bellowed through the room.

"Ha! That does sound like something you would say, Ka—I mean, Midnight-san!" Present Mic stated, brushing a hand through his golden hair. "Although, I do want to point out something that is concerning. That being Kira Yoshihara's answers to the last two questions on the written exam," Present Mic stated, crossing his arms.

"Yes. They are a bit… morbid in how factual they are. Midnight, you take care of this kid, do you not? Have you checked her out for any sort of mental disorders?" A man who, for all intents and purposes, looked like an oversized bear dog, spoke, a mouth guard over his, well, mouth. He wore a yellow vest with spikes on the shoulders and a pair of torn-up pants.

This man was Hound Dog, and he was the school's counsellor. Despite his rough appearance, he was quite the chill guy, at least that was what the older students said.

"I mean, I would wait for the hostages to stop screaming, then take them down the building, all the while trying to find a way to kill the aggressors is quite the answer. Plus, not to mention, not very heroic, at least in terms of the "kill the aggressors" part of the answer. Even the beginning of her other answer, which is: incapacitating the two people on my shoulders is my first priority is something that you'd see a villain put down as an answer," Hound Dog said, a shade of concern in his voice as Midnight sighed.

"I… look, I don't think she actually means those things. I'm sure Yoshi-chan was most likely just putting down what came to mind the moment it got there, not thinking about the consequences. But, I will consider getting her some counselling when she gets to school. As much as I want to give her the benefit of the doubt, those answers are troubling," Midnight responded, looking away from the scornful eyes of Hound Dog.

"Hmph, well, I don't want her. No offence, Midnight-san, she sounds a bit difficult to deal with," Vlad King stated, leaning back in his chair. "And as you said, Eraser has more experience with her, according to you," the man continued, earning an annoyed glare from Aizawa.

"While it is true that I helped her protect her friend from a villain, I don't know her that well. However, considering you're not willing to take her, I guess I have no real choice in the matter. I'll also take Yaoyorozu as well," Aizawa said, slipping deeper into his sleeping bag.

"Then that's that?" The man with a black head with yellow lines and bare teeth spoke, said man being Ectoplasm, the school resident math teacher. "Because if that is the end of the meeting, I have to prepare my curriculum for this new year's batch of students," Ectoplasm said, nodding as he stood up.

"Yes, I believe you are correct. This concludes the meeting for the students being picked for Classes 1 – A and 1 – B respectively. However, Midnight, please speak to your adoptive daughter about her circumstances," Nedzu said, and with that ball of information being dropped, everyone, outside of Present Mic and Eraserhead, turned to look at Nemuri with wide eyes and confused stares.

"Thank you, Nedzu, for that. I'm going to skin you alive one of these days," Nemuri thought, with murderous intent boiling in her blood as it coursed through her eyes like a fierce storm at sea. All the while Nedzu had a shit-eating grin on his face, skipping away back to his office on the top floor of the school.