The Demo city echoed with the blare of the starting buzzer.
Examinees scattered in every direction as the rumble of robots activated.
I adjusted my clothes one final time as my eyes darted across the chaos.
Tsunotori galloped beside me, her blonde hair swaying as two rigid horns hovered beside her like satellites around her head.
I smirked as we ran, "Stay close. Your horns are our artillery—and our best shot at scoring high."
Pony grinned, "You're acting like I'm a dang vending machine! How many do you want me to—?!"
BEEP BEEP BOOP BOOP
But she didn't finish as she was interrupted by a 1-Pointer that lurched from an alley—its' spindly, aluminum legs screeching right in front of us.
Its red sensor locked onto me almost immediately.
I snapped out on instinct, "Scout-class! Aim for the cervical wiring—now, Pony!"
BOOM
It slammed its leg against the ground right beside me as I leaped to the side.
"C-cervical what?!" Pony yelled in confusion as she ran towards me to help.
"The cervical wiring—!"
BOOM
I managed to dodge once again.
"I don't know what that is!" Pony yelled as she avoided debris flying through the air.
"It's spine—!"
BOOM
The robot's other leg stomped beside me as I barely dodged in time. It's steel claw inches from slashing my bicep open.
"Aim for the wirings on its spine!"
Pony immediately flicked her wrist once she understood.
The two horns spiraled through the air, embedding itself into the robot's neck joint.
Sparks erupted through the air, and—
Thud
it collapsed against the ground, cracking the cement beneath it.
Pony pumped her fist in the air, "Bulls-eye! Er, I mean— Robot-neck!"
I stood up, dusting my clothes before moving on ahead, "Save the celebration. That's only one point. We have plenty of more to get."
And we immediately began searching for our tickets into U.A.'s classrooms.
The cacophony of the exam zone intensified all around us as examinees scrambled for points.
Pony and I weaved through crumbling streets, but every robot we spotted was destroyed before we could strike it—a boy with electrified palms fried a 1-Pointer; a girl with vine-like hair strangled three 2-Pointers mid-charge.
'Dang it Ibara. Leave some robots for the rest of us.'
Pony groaned, her horns twitching impatiently, "This is like rushin' a Black Friday sale! There are no robots left for the rest of us!"
I scanned the chaos, muttering to myself, "The herd's fixated on high-traffic zones. A perfect example of the Pareto Principle. We need to make changes."
Pony blinked slowly, "The… Parrot what now?"
I veered down a narrow side street as Pony followed after me, "The Pareto Principle. Eighty percent of the robots are getting crushed by twenty percent of the examinees. We're wasting time here. Follow me."
(A/N: The Pareto Principle is a real thing. It's pretty cool, you should check it out :D)
We darted into a quieter district—a labyrinth of half-collapsed office buildings and empty plazas.
Distant explosions echoed, but the immediate area felt eerily still.
Pony's horns hovered warily.
She whispered, "This feels like a trap… Are you should we're allowed to be here?"
I crouched, brushing dust off cracked asphalt, "Tire treads. A Siege-class rolled through here recently. And listen—"
A low, mechanical hum vibrated the air, causing me to smirk.
"3-Pointer. Siege-class. The big leagues."
We ran for a bit and rounded a corner to find a 4-meter-tall robot patrolling a courtyard, its plasma cannon humming with energy.
A mangled fire hydrant gushed water nearby, creating a shallow flood around its feet.
Across the square, a timid examinee with bat-like wings cowered behind a bus stop.
Pony beamed, "Finally! Let's get our second robot!"
But I grabbed her arm before she could run off, "Wait. The Siege-class weakness is its cannon. When it charges to fire, the head compartment opens. We need to time this perfectly if we want to do this right."
The robot's sensor glowed red, locking onto the winged examinee.
Its head lowered, a compartment sliding open as the plasma cannon whined to life.
My voice sharpened, "Look closely for the blue wiring."
The robot fired.
ZZZTT!—
BOOM!
A searing beam obliterated the bus stop, but the examinee scrambled skyward, unharmed. But his face looked helpless given his lack of options to fight.
He tried to flight away, but the robot prevented him with wide swings of his arms.
For a few seconds, the cannon's fuel wiring flickered into view. A bright blue color amongst the dark green and black metal.
I ran forward, with a jagged piece of rebar in hand that I picked from the ground, "I'll jam this into the hydrant spray if we need to. But it would be easier if you used your horns Pony! Leave a small hole on the side, don't plug the hydrant completely!"
Confused but trusting, Pony stabbed the rebar into the gushing water hydrant.
The water stopped collecting into a pool, but the immense pressure caused it to blast outwards like a giant garden hose.
It didn't quite reach the robot, but the amount was enough.
I yelled at the winged examinee, "Lure it into the water!"
The kid looked to us, but then swooped lower, taunting the robot.
It stomped forward—and its titanium legs sunk into the pool.
It tumbled a bit before walking straight into the line of water, soaking its entire exoskeleton. Sparks erupted from the robots wiring.
The Siege-class shuddered, and its systems began short-circuiting.
Pony celebrated wildly, "Yeah! Now what?!"
I grinned "Now we exploit the real weakness."
I swiftly cimbed up the robot's stalled leg, using the two horns as a climbing pick.
As the Siege-class twitched, its cannon compartment reopened in a failed reboot.
I drove the horn into the exposed fuel wiring.
The robot began ticking down, and I leapt clear before it detonated in a shower of sparks as I was already rolling to my feet as the winged examinee mouth gaped open.
The Winged examinee stammered, "Th-thank you! I didn't even see the robot sneak up on me—"
"Stay out of closed spaces." I interrupted curtly while dusting off my sweater, "Stick to vertical evasion. It's an obvious advantage you possess. Don't be stupid enough to waste it."
The kid nodded frantically and flew off.
Pony jabbed my ribs.
Pony: "Coulda said 'you're welcome for the help'. Or even thank him for helping us to distract it."
I smirked, "I did. By not letting him get vaporized."
Then a tremor shook the ground.
My eyes were closed as I focused on my hearing, "Two-Pointer incoming—titanium reinforcement. Overheats under strain. We need to exhaust it."
Pony stood ready, but asked, "When did you find the time to take so many notes on the robots—?"
Boom!
A Bruiser-class robot smashed through a concrete barrier, its treads grinding the floor.
I sprinted toward a collapsed billboard ignoring Pony's question, while she ran behind me, at my heels.
I yanked a steel pipe from the debris, "Keep it chasing you! Aim for its treads and force it to pivot!"
Pony launched two horns, skimming the robot's base.
It roared, swiveling clumsily.
I dashed forward and jammed the pipe into its tread, jolting it to a halt.
Whatever wiring I messed up, I could already feel the heat steaming out from it.
"Heat rises—literally. Its—"
SWOOSH
"Woah!" I said as I ducked my head as the robot swung its arm at me.
"As I was saying…" I said as I took a breather, "Was that its exhaust vents are glowing. Eight more minutes of this, and it'll fry itself."
BOOM
The robots' arm extended, and tried to ram Pony with its fist.
She began sweating, "We ain't got eight minutes! That's almost all the exam time!"
I grabbed one of her horns from midair, "Then we help it along."
I vaulted onto a dumpster, and leaped from it to land on the robot.
Before the robot could throw me off, I drove the horn into the robot's ventilation duct.
Metal screeched, and the Bruiser convulsed, smoke billowing from its seams.
Pony blinked, "Did you just—"
Jumping down while catching my breath, "Improvised shrapnel. Now let's move quickly—it's gonna blow."
We ran and dove behind a car as—
BOOOM
—the robot detonated.
I peered through the smoke, spotting a green-haired examinee, his back against the wall as a 1-Pointer advanced toward him.
(FYI. This is not Midoriya)
"Mosshead!" I shouted as he turned and looked at me. "Aim for the neck joint—on his left side!"
The boy was clearly panicked, but he nodded and hurled a piece of rubble from the ground.
It flew through the air in a magnificent arc—
—And missed the robot completely...
Pony: "..."
Me: "..."
Mosshead: "..."
The Robot: "..."
Pony's horn flew through the air and finished the job.
Helping the boy up, Pony asked "You alright?"
"Y-yeah." He fidgeted. "I don't think I'm cut out for this Hero stuff…I-it's too dangerous…"
"Well if you head east and stop yourself from making too much noise, you can leave safely." I explained as my eyes began analyzing the next cluster of robots nearby.
"Pony—"
"Yup?!"
"Two-Pointer at 10 o'clock. Exhaust port's warped—it's already overheating. One good hit…"
Pony grinned, "Say less!"
As Mosshead ran away, she hurled three horns in rapid succession.
Two ricocheted off the Bruiser's armor, but the third lodged into its vent.
It staggered before combusting into a shower of sparks.
I snatched a fallen horn from the ground, testing its weight.
I smirked, "These'll do. Let's keep this tempo up partner."
"Mhm!" Pony beamed with excitement.
We vanished into the smoke, horns flying.
***
The air reeked of scorched metal and ozone.
Pony and I darted through the skeletal remains of a shopping district, her horns whirring like angry wasps.
Rescue points or not, the clock was ticking—and the exam's chaos had turned everything into a free-for-all.
Pony was panting, her horns skewering a fleeing 1-Pointer. "That's enough points for me! Now we need some more for you—"
But I cut her off, my eyes locked ahead, "Two Siege-classes. Three o'clock. Follow my lead."
Two 3-Pointers loomed at the end of the street, their plasma cannons pulsing.
I sprinted between them, boots skidding on debris.
I was looking for any signs of their timing, precision, and coded ignorance.
The robots pivoted, sensors locking onto the nearest target—me.
Pony shrieked due to me being unclose and personal with 2 robots that could easily blow my limbs off. "HAKURO, WHAT'RE YOU—?!"
I yelled over the whining noises of the cannons, "Trust me!" and I ran until I stood dead center between the two robots.
The first robot's head dipped, its compartment creaking open.
PEW!
I rolled left as its beam seared the asphalt beside me.
The second robot fired—
PEW!
—a blinding lance of light meant for me.
But I was already lunging sideways.
The blasts flew past each other in perfect parallel trajectory before—
BOOM BOOM
A deafening explosion of metal shook the air as the lasers hit the opposing robots.
The robots staggered, their torsos mangled into pieces, and their cannons sparking in failure.
'But the robots were still operational. Albeit barely.'
I grinned breathlessly, "Close enough."
I pulled out one of Pony's horns from my pocket to finish off the robots and get my points.
But suddenly, there was a blur of motion.
The same boy I saw before the exam began, the one with chainsaw arms, barreled past me, his blades shrieking.
He carved through both robots' exposed backs in a spray of sparks from metal against metal.
Pony eyes flew open, roaring from anger with her levitating horns by her side.
She spoke in Japanese, I'm assuming to make sure he understood her. "HEY! THOSE…OURS...POINTS! UGLY PIG… YOU—RAT! SMELLY—! LOSER!"
But I grabbed her shoulder to calm her, "It's fine Pony, let him have it."
She whipped around, eyes blazing. "But you've only got seven villain points! SEVEN! I'm sittin' on thirty-two! And he stole six points from you!! How're you gonna pass if—?!"
But I simply shrugged, "He's not making the cut."
I spoke loud enough for chainsaw boy to hear.
"Look at his stance—knees locked, center of gravity in his shoulders. Can't even handle a 1-Pointer solo. Desperation makes pathetic people greedy. He can only steal easy kills."
I saw the examinee's scowl deepen as I made eye contact with him and smirked.
'He wasn't in class 1A or 1B, so I doubt he made it through the exam.'
"As for my points, it will work out in the end. I'm sure of it. No point in losing our heads in the middle of an exam."
Pony opened her mouth to say something but then froze midway.
I was going to ask her unusual silence, but I saw her staring at something behind me and then—
BOOOOM!
I felt the Earth shake.
A shadow swallowed the street whole.
Without turning around, I said "Ah. That's the 0-Pointer, isn't it."
The gargantuan robot loomed over all of us, its foot crashing through a building like legos.
Screams from fleeing examinees echoed as rubble and debris rained down.
Pony and I ducked behind a shattered storefront, her horns trembling like arrowheads ready to fire.
Pony shouted over the chaos, "We need to get outta here!"
BOOM!
"That thing's gonna—"
But I interrupted her as I grabbed her wrist, my eyes locked on a collapsed alleyway. "Wait. There. Movement."
A boy with antennas on his head writhed beneath a slab of concrete, his leg pinned under a boulder.
"AGHH!"
Blood seeped through his torn pants.
His screams were raw, guttural, and begging for mercy.
I immediately sprinted towards him.
There was a time for schemes and amassing points, and then there were times for genuine help.
"Pony! Horns as levers to lift this—now!"
Pony ran up, already at my side, "On it!"
Antenna boy stared into my eyes, "P-p-please h-help. It hurts… I can't move my legs…"
"Don't talk." I told him. "And don't move either. Just try to stay calm. We're here to help."
Pony jammed eight horns, her maximum limit, under the slab, their jagged tips biting into the rubble.
I threw my weight under it too, my muscles burning as I pushed with all my might.
But the slab barely budged.
I grit my teeth, "It's… not enough. We need more hands!"
I looked around, scanning for help, and across the street, a girl with razor-sharp hair sliced through a 1-Pointer. Then a boy with granite skin hurled a chunk of wall at another robot.
I yelled out, "HEY! Over here! Help us!"
Granite Boy didn't even glance up at us, "Busy! Get your own points!"
The girl looked at us, but didn't even care to respond.
Pony snarled, "Selfish jerks. I hope they fail."
But watching them made my pulse quicken.
My calm and analytical demeanor was something I prided myself in. Especially in moments of extreme pressure, I knew the importance of keeping a clear mind.
But even I had my limits.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" My voice boomed with a sharp tone.
The street seemed to still.
Even the 0-Pointer's roar faded beneath my words.
I strode toward them, fists clenched, "You're really gonna let someone suffer for points?! Is that why you want to become heroes? To sell your souls for a ranking?!"
'It was one of the most pathetic qualities of humanity that I disdained.'
'Greed.'
'Complacency.'
'Turning a blind eye when you could clearly help.'
'So many issues in the world could be solved if people just did what they could instead of staying inside their own bubble.'
The razor-haired girl froze and Granite Boy's cheeks flushed in embarassment.
I pointed at the boy under the rubble, his face pale as chalk, "Look at him! That's not a robot—that's a person! You'd let him become a permanent cripple?! Get over here! NOW!"
For a heartbeat, no one moved.
Then the girl cursed, but began sprinting toward us. Granite Boy followed, shamefaced.
I barked orders, "You two—lift with the horns. Pony, brace the rubble. You—" I pointed at a trembling examinee who was spectating the whole thing.
He had seaweed-like arms that wriggled in place. "—secure his leg. Don't let it shift."
They obeyed, even if some were clearly unhappy.
Together, we heaved.
The slab groaned, rising inch by inch.
The boy's leg slid free, mangled like a chew toy, but still intact thankfully.
The Seaweed-Armed Examinee wrapped the leg, as I finished it off by tying a tourniquet with it.
"He's—he's gonna make it! I think…!" Seaweed-boy said.
BEEEEP!
A deafening BLARE cut through the air, freezing all robots in their position.
Including the 0-Pointer which froze mid-stomp.
Present Mic's Voice spoke through the speakers. "TIIIME'S UUUUP! Exam's over, lil' heroes! Stand down!"
Silence fell, thick and sudden.
Around us, the mock city laid in ruins—craters smoldering, dust drifting through the air, robots sparking, and examinees clutching wounds or each other.
Pony collapsed against a broken pillar, "Thirty-two points… Are you... really fine with seven points Hakuro? You think it's enough?"
I wiped some ash from my grinning face, "If it isn't, I'll eat a hat."
She snorted, but her smile faded.
Pony: "I hope you're right. You… You deserve to get in…"
I shrugged, "Seven's enough. It shows I've got some spirit. Especially with no physical quirk to depend on."
She stared at me, then burst out laughing—in a wild, disbelieving way.
"You're a lunatic, Hakuro. A reckless, genius lunatic."
I grinned, "And you're a hotheaded cowgirl with a horn fetish. Guess we're even."
We rose, battered but unbroken.
Sunlight pierced the haze. Around us, examinees limped toward the exit gates.
The exam gates buzzed with exhausted examinees and medical bots darting between stretchers and injured kids.
I glanced back at the ruins I was just at—the bloodstained rubble, the antenna boy being loaded onto a stretcher.
Pony lingered beside me, her horns finally still as we began walking to the exit.
She looked up at me and asked me softly, "See you in U.A.?"
I walked ahead of her, both hands in my pockets with a slight smile, "Obviously. Try not to miss me too much. I'm assuming you can wait two months?"
She playfully hurled a pebble at my back which I didn't bother to dodge.
After we started going our separate directions, "Hey!" Pony called out. "If they don't let you in… I'll riot for you! Just make a plan for us to storm the school and I'll be right behind you!"
I smirked, "A riot? How charmingly uncivilized. Rest assured Pony, if they reject me, it won't be me who'll regret it."
She smiled again before we waved goodbye for a final time.
We parted without another word.
Heroes rarely needed them after all.
***
A couple of minutes later, I lingered near the rubble on the outskirts of the city, my eyes sharpening on a man in a gray jumpsuit leaning against a supply truck.
'Not a proctor. Tablet in hand—he's logging data, not scores.'
His fingers tapped lazily at the screen, eyes glazed as he catalogued shattered robot parts.
'Ah~ He's support course. Here to salvage tech, and assess the damage and weaknesses of the robots.'
I adjusted my jacket, and sauntered over towards the possible source of two robot arms for my sisters.
I casually asked while behind him, "Siege-class alloy fractures under lateral stress. Bruiser-class titanium was sturdier but costs three times as much. Not worth it, was it?"
"Whah—!" Gray Jumpsuit man yelped in surprise, "Who—? Students aren't allowed here!" He yelled while adjusting the glasses that almost fell off his face.
Ignoring his comment, I patted his shoulder, "Let's skip the lecture. Two intact hydraulic arms please."
Gray Jumpsuit snorted. "Kid, this isn't a junkyard. That's U.A. property."
I leaned in with a lowered voice, "Correction—it's scrap metal. You're going to melt it down for parts anyway. Let me save you the recycling fee."
I pulled out a paper check from my pocket for 500,000 yen. "Half now. Half when the crate arrives at this address."
The man's eyes flickered to the cash, fingers twitching, seriously contemplating the deal, when suddenly—
"Scram, kid! This ain't a garage sale."
Power Loader gruffed as he walked in from behind us.
'...Dang it.'
I closed my eyes in frustration and turned around.
Power Loader, otherwise known as Higari Majima—strode into view, his clawed yellow gauntlets and robot suit retracting as he barked orders at a distant crew which was hoisting a mangled 3-Pointer onto a flatbed.
'This just got a lot more difficult. If only he didn't arrive at the worst possible time…'
The gray-jumpsuit man stiffened, hastily saluting as Power Loader snapped, "Focus on the plasma cores first! We're not paying overtime for your daydreaming!"
"Y-yes sir!" He yelled, before looking back at his tablet, but he was too nervous to even properly do his job.
Then he turned to me, "U.A. doesn't sell scrap to scheming brats, and it sure as hell doesn't employ morons who take bribes!"
I pocketed the check, "A negotiation, not a bribe. I was offering a… mutual solution. You could even think of it as tuition prep."
Power Loader stepped into my space, helmet whirring, "Listen close brat, U.A. tech doesn't end up in back-alley workshops. Try this again, and I'll personally ensure you never take a step into U.A."
I held his gaze, "Noted."
Power Loader then looked back at Gray Jumpsuit, "And you'll be transferred to janitorial if you even consider a deal like this again. Understand?"
"Y-yes!"
Then Power Loader stormed off while my eyes narrowed at the retreating flatbed of salvage on the pickup truck beside him.
'Well… that wasn't the worst scenario that could have happened. You win some, you lose some.'
I turned to leave towards the campus gates which were looming ahead like a finish line.
But then I froze—Midoriya Izuku was laid down on a stretcher near Zone A, his arm and legs bandaged tightly while his face was pale with pain.
I had thoughts about running over, spilling every single fact that I knew would happen to him in the future.
To give every warning I could.
All the challenges he would face, the villains he would fight, the knowledge he needed to surpass it all.
But it was impossible.
Not because I was scared of changing the future, but because I literally couldn't.
One of the earliest things I tried to do in this world was try to give people details of what was coming.
But as soon as I tried, I felt that same deathly white pain shoot through my mind, rebounding against my skull.
If I even had the thought of informing someone, the pain would put me in my place.
(A/N: I want to avoid spoilers, so I will say this. NO, this is not me being convenient for plot. Well, maybe a little, but there is a reason for why this is happening.)
But, I found that if I learned something through my own knowledge, I could talk about it.
Like the quirk convergence theory.
At first, just bringing it up the concept to others was painful. But after I did my own research on the theory, I was able to converse about it freely.
Not that anyone listened to me regarding it though.
Midoriya mumbled thanks to a nurse and my fists clenched in thought.
If I could just observe him for a bit. If I could find evidence about the powers of OFA—
"WHERE IS HE?!"
Bakugo's roar shattered the mood, explosions popping in the distance.
Students scattered like startled birds as he stormed the courtyard, palms smoking.
"THAT FAKE MUTE! I'LL BLAST HIM TO BITS! I KNOW HE'S HERE BECAUSE THERE'S NO OTHER EXIT FOR THIS EXAM SITE!"
"..."
I quietly melted into the shadows, weaving behind trees and crowds of fleeing examinees.
No confrontation today. No more pranks.
The gates beckoned me to leave, and I didn't refuse. I had already done what I came for.
After all, I had just completed the—
Chapter 6 - Entrance Exam
-------------------------
Hello Everyone!
I decided, screw this, here are 5 more chapters. I want people to enjoy this more.
Like always, any critiques about the Chapter are appreciated. I want to become a better writer obviously.
But some compliments about the story wouldn't hurt... (It motivates me to keep writing this for free.)
Leave any thoughts and suggestions here and I'll take a look! From OC's, to side stories you want to see. I have an open mind!