Hey guys this is the first fanfiction that I've ever properly written, and I hope you like it. This came about from a conversation that a couple of friends and I had a few months ago that's been kinda percolating in my head. Anyway, More notes at the end, but this is an OC fic where I enter in one of my personal OCs into the My Hero universe. A few more OCs will be present, but mostly as side characters to fill out the world. I'm gonna try and stick with the canon roster as much as possible. Enjoy!
A massive blue and gray building stood before me, inspiring awe and intimidation at the same time. So this is the great U.A. High School, huh? It was way more impressive in person. Potential students milled about all around me, each as awestruck by the building and what it represented as I was.
It was the morning of the U.A. Entrance Exam, the one chance a year that wanna-be heroes had a shot of getting into the best hero course in the country. Each one of us was going to give a physical test our all today, and the atmosphere reflected that. Most of the examinees had gathered around the front gate, waiting for it to open and allow us into orientation with nervous anticipation. Anxious whispers filled the air as people grouped up with others they knew, either from school or other training opportunities.
I stood off to the side, waiting on my own. It was understandable that everybody would want to group up with people they already know, but it really doesn't help with the first day jitters. Most of these people won't make it in anyway.
At exactly 8:00 AM, the gates slide open of their own accord, revealing a clear path towards the prestigious school. I decided to wait a few minutes, observing the other examinees as they passed by. Most of them wore hopeful expressions, but none actually seemed to be confident that they would gain enrollment. I, at the very least, was hoping for a half decent score to show that I had given it a fair shot.
"Hey, excuse me?" A tap on my shoulder interrupted my musings. I glanced back to see a muscular guy around my age, with large pointy red hair and a small scar that nicked his right eyebrow. "Are you here for the practical exam?" His frown betrayed some stress and embarrassment, and he didn't quite look me in the eyes. He stood a little shorter than my height, shifting with the demeanor of someone who didn't often have to ask for help.
I gave a smile. Might as well try and make friends. "Yeah, I was just headed towards the auditorium for orientation. What's up?"
He let out a sigh of relief and his shoulders relaxed. "Oh, thank god. I feet kinda dumb to ask, but how do you get there? I'm totally psyched to get my fight on, but I don't know my way around."
I felt a curious smile touch the edges of my lips. "Well, we have to head up towards the main building, and swing through the doors marked for first years. Didn't you see the instructions on the orientation packet that you received when you applied?"
He slouched, giving a resigned sigh. "Not really. After I applied, I got so hyped up that my Quirk activated and I totally ripped it up on accident!" As if to prove a point, he pulled the tattered remains of said packet from his jacket pocket. The poor paper looked like it had been impaled on a rack of knives.
"Jeez, that sucks!" I laughed, scratching the back of my head, my pale green hair flapping messily in the wind. "I can totally relate though! I've had a quirk or two blow up in my face without wanting it!" My hand flew up to my mouth as I realized what I had said. Luckily, he had been too busy putting away his papers to have seemed to notice. Shit, that was close.
He perked up, regaining some of what seemed like his normal vigor. "Yeah, it's so annoying! You'd think after training with it for so long, I'd totally have it under control!" He seemed much more confident now, as if he'd shaken off his nervousness. He stood up straight, eyes shining with determination. "I guess that's why we're gonna go to U.A. though, huh? I'm gonna learn how to be one of the strongest and coolest heroes here!" He half-shouted, raising his fist into the air.
I smiled. This guy seemed pretty cool. His attitude was really contagious, I could help but get excited that the thought. "That's right!" I raised my fist as well, mimicking his stance. "Once we pass that exam, we're gonna be the best!" After a second of enjoying that mental image, I lowered my fist and gestured for him to walk with me. "By the way, what's your name? I didn't catch it earlier."
"Oh yeah!" He smiled, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "Mine's Eijirou Kirishima, but all my friends just call me Kirishima."
I gave a wide smile. "Nice to meet you, Kirishima. I'm Kyousuke Watanabe, but you can call me Kyou."
After weaving through the halls of U.A., Kirishima and I made our way to the auditorium where all the other examinees were waiting. The room, like everything else on this campus, was massive. The staff filed us all in, one by one, until everyone was seated. The seat were lush and comfortable, and they even reclined!
Kirishima seemed to be mirroring my thoughts. "Damn, these are some nice digs!" He exclaimed. "I can't wait to see what the classrooms are like, if their auditorium is so nice! I wonder how they afford it all though?"
"Maybe it has to do with all those celebrity alumni?" I ask, feeling as if I'd hit it dead on. "Once you get ranked, you start making a bunch of money, an U.A. has several graduates in the top ten, including All Might."
"Yeah, that makes sense." He stretched out, reclining his chair all the way. "Remind me to thank All Might, if I ever- "
"You there!" A stern voice from a row above us interrupted, pointedly speaking at Kirishima. "How dare you lounge about when we're waiting for such a momentous speech to begin!" The voice was connected to an equally stern looking boy with a wide from and clean cut hair. He ajusted his glasses as he pointed at my new friend with professional grade authority.
Kirishima seemed embarrassed and a little taken aback. "Look man, I woke up super early this morning, and was just enjoying the nice chairs. I didn't mean to be rude."
"That is no excuse! We are all here as potential hero course students, and it would be best if you showed respect to us and the school by being attentive!" As if to emphasize the point, the boy straightened his chair from it's default position to what looked like an uncomfortable ninety degree angle. "True heroes should be an example to all others, and not laze about whenever the opportunity arises!"
I leaned over to Kirishima. "Just go with it." I whispered. A little louder I said, "Thank you, I appreciate you setting my friend straight. We'll make sure we're more respectful."
The boy seemed skeptical, but slightly reassured. "Thank you. It is nice to see that some of my potential peers can be respectful." He sat down, and seemed to stop paying as close attention to us.
Kirishima poked me in the ribs. "Hey man, why'd you go sucking up to that guy?" His tone was more curious than perturbed.
I sat back, arms folded in front of me. "I know his type. He wasn't trying to be mean or anything, but he's nervous and taking it out on others. Honestly, I don't blame him. We all should be nervous."
Kirishima's face lit up. "Wow, that makes sense. So, by letting him be right, you took the manly route!" He flexed his bicep, as if to accentuate the word manly.
I grinned sheepishly at my new red-headed friend. "I don't know if I'd say that, but it did seem to take less effort than arguing with him." I turned and pointed in his direction. "He seems less nervous now, doesn't he?"
Kirishima nodded. "Yeah, guess so." He leaned back against his chair, without reclining it this time. "You're a pretty cool dude, Kyou. I hope we get paired up when we start classes!"
I shrugged, a grin touching the edges of my lips. "We have to pass the test first, but yeah, me too."
"Sweet!" Kirishima exclaimed. "Oh, and speaking of that, is that a teacher coming out?" He pointed.
Following his gaze, I saw a moderately sized man with long, blonde hair walk out on stage. The man had on a pair of rocker style sunglasses and a punk leather jacket. The teacher, which is what I assumed he was at this point, walked with swagger, more akin to a celebrity than a member of school faculty.
As he reached center stage, the house lights dimmed, and the man loudly said "What's up U.A. candidates! Thanks for tunin' in to me, your school DJ! Come on and let me hear ya!" He exclaimed, his already loud voice accentuated by the auditorium sound system.
He was met with silence, and more than a little confusion. I wasn't above it myself. School DJ? This man was one of the people in charge of our education?
He seemed unaffected by the lack of response from the audience. "Keeping it mellow, huh? That's fine, I'll skip straight to the main show. Let's talk about how this practical exam's gonna go down, okay? Are you ready!?" He shouted, trying for audience interaction again.
Again, he was met with silence.
Apparently not one to be dissuaded, the teach continued. "Like your application said, today you rockin' boys and girls will be out there conducting ten minute mock battles in super-hip urban settings! Gird your loins my friends! After I drop the mic here, you'll head to your specified battle centers! Sound good? OKAY!?"
I shifted uncomfortably as the teacher was once again met with silence.
Kirishima leaned over to me, pointing at the application card I had pulled out. It was marked A, whereas his had a D on it. "Ah man! they have us going to different battle centers." He whispered, looking dejected. "Looks like we won't be able to work together on the test."
I felt touched. I'd known this guy less than twenty minutes and he already wanted to team up. "It's okay buddy." I patted him on the back. "That just means we both have to pass and team up later."
That reignited the spark in his eye. "Yeah, sounds good!"
"Okay, Okay. Let's check out your targets." The teacher started up again. "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! 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!" As he was speaking, the screens behind him lit up with graphics similar to an old 16-bit game, showing examples of what we should do during the exam. "But check it! Make sure you're keeping things heroic. Attacking other examinees is a U.A. no-no, ya dig?"
"Excuse me sir, but I have a question!" An urgent call out came from a row above us, again. Without even looking up, I knew it was the stern guy from earlier. His willingness to interrupt a teacher, even one as out of touch as this one, confused me. My first impression had him as someone who followed the rules to the letter.
"Hit me!" The teacher yelled, keeping the same extreme amount of energy that he'd had the entire presentation.
The lights above the boy clicked on, and he held up a piece of paper that had been included in our application packet. "On the print out, you've listed four types of villains, not three. With all respect, if this is an error on official U.A. materials, it is shameful! We are exemplary student. We expect the best from Japan's most notable school! A mistake such as this won't do!" I face palmed. However, he wasn't done. Turning around, he pointed up a few rows towards a student that I couldn't see. "Additionally, you with the unkempt hair! 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."
Up above him, I could hear a very muffled and weak voice mutter out "Sorry.."
Poor guy.
The teacher didn't seem to share my opinion. "Alright, alright. Examinee number 7111, thanks for calling in with your request." He gave a thumbs up. "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 hurtle you should try and 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 one's on top of the charts!"
The boy seems satisfied. "Thank you very much. Please, continue." He sat back down, and the lights above him clicked back off.
"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.' Mm hmm, now that's a tasty sound byte! You ready to go beyond? Let's hear a PLUS ULTRA!" He yelled, and animation and sound byte going off at the same time to give the motto extra emphasis. "Good Luck! Hope you practiced hitting more than just books!" He waved as he turned and promptly walked backstage.
The lights came back on, blinding everyone for a few seconds. As they started herding us out of the auditorium, Kirishima turned to me. "That was exciting, huh?" He smiled wide. "Now I can't wait for my exam!"
As nervous as I was, I couldn't disagree with him. "Yeah, I hope we do really well, so we can both get into the top class!"
"Heck yeah!" He jumped up and raised a fist. "Go Plus Ultra on your exam!"
"No need to worry, I'm all fired up now!" I turned and grinned. Now was the time to let loose, and let my skills do the talking.
After changing into clothing that was more fitting for the combat exam, Kirishima and I parted ways and boarded buses towards our respective exam locations. The roads there were nothing to write home about, the exam site was jaw dropping.
In front of me, there was a wall easily three or four stories tall, and several taller buildings peaked out from behind it. It seemed to stretch for a mile in either direction, before turning to form what I guessed was a massive square of mock city. Off in the distance, I could see other exam sites, each equally as large and impressive.
U.A. really doesn't do anything halfway.
As I disembarked the bus, other examinees began to mill about around me. Unlike at the gates this morning, however, no one really grouped up or began to talk to anyone else. Instead, people began warming up, or concentrating on getting rid of their nerves. It didn't look like anyone was completely successful though. By splitting everyone up, U.A. was really seeing what each of us could accomplish. It was intimidating, sure, but it maked sense.
"Start." A voice echoed from high above our heads, startling just about everyone. The source of the voice was a tired sounding man, clad in black besides a pair of neon yellow goggles that covered his eyes and a long white scarf that wrapped around his lower face.
We all stood there for a second, no one quite reacting to what he had said. A loud sigh came down from the figure. "I said 'start'. That means go." He said again, waving his hand dismissively.
I turned around. In the few seconds we had been watching the man, the massive doors to the city had silently opened, leaving the faux-city open. Immediately, people began to catch on to what was happening. All around me, potential students surged forward, all nervous and eager to prove themselves. The sound of footfalls filled the air as dozens of hopeful candidates of the hero course sprinted towards their futures.
Entering the city arena was immediate chaos. Students pushed past each other, each recognizing that every other student was competition. People tried to use their quirks to push themselves ahead, or slow others behind them. Different energy attacks, like fire and lightning, were released onto the street. Explosions filled the air as one student launched himself above the rest, screaming "Die!" all the while.
As for myself, I concentrated on gaining mobility and leaving the crowd of students that were still tightly packed together.I uncurled my fingers, performing an action that had long since become a reflex. "Quirk Activation: Amber Flare!" I shouted. Flowing my concentration towards my hands, long golden-orange whips of flame sprouted from each of my fingertips. I couldn't see them, but I knew that my normally dark brown eyes were now shining a fiery orange.
I reached upward with my arms, whipping the coils of energy around a light post that was several meters off of the ground. With a surge of strength, I pulled myself upwards and away from the mass students. Luckily for me, the ropes conjured by my Amber Flare were just solid enough that I could exert force on objects, instead of just bathing them in strands of heat and light. Moving from light post to light post, I quickly pulled ahead of most of the competition, other than single students who had gone off in different directions, like explosion-boy and a few others.
Ahead, a rumbling noise began to echo down the street as the faux villains came into robots, humanoid drones with machine guns for arms and a singular wheel in the place of legs, rammed through the sides of buildings and light posts alike, giving little regard to their surroundings. Along their machine-metal grey arms was a large 1 in block letters and neon yellow ink.
I shook my head. The one pointers weren't worth my time. Better to head off the beaten path and get to the higher point villains sooner. I swung to the left, narrowly landing in an alleyway between two large buildings. When I turned the corner again onto a street mostly devoid of other students, I was met with some variation of a robot scorpion, with four armored legs and a massive tail. Spotting the massive 2 spray-painted onto its side, it was obvious which faux villain this was.
I felt a smile crack my face. A two pointer was a definite improvement. I began to flank right, but feinted toward the left at the last second, noting the two-pointer's reaction time. It moved slowly, barely keeping up with a basic maneuver. As I ran around it's left flank, I struck out with my Amber Flare. They passed through the metal easily, striking through it's rear armor like butter. Molten metal popped and bubbled down its sides, looking like blood from a wound. My smile evaporated as quickly as it had appeared. It made no sense for U.A. to make their test robots both slow and weak. There had to be a catch.
Like a sarcastic god responding to my thoughts, the robot turned, moving with far greater speed than it had just seconds before. It swiped out with its front claws, almost nailing me in the side as I leapt backwards. I barely landed on my feet and stumbled into a wall behind me. I brought up my flare whips again, spinning them in front of me, trying to draw the two-pointer's claws away as I tried to come up with a solution. Unfortunately, a metal blur above my head reminded me that I had forgotten a major aspect of this particular robot.
Crash!
Cement rained down as the tail barely missed my head and pulled back, ready for another strike. I tried to roll away. But the robot had its front legs on either side of me, barricading me in. A whirring noise signaled the tail coming down again with another powerful strike.
Shit! It's tail was moving too fast, there's no way I can stop it with my whips in time! In that split second, I closed my eyes and dropped my concentration on Amber Flare, trying something relatively new and muttering one phrase for dear life: Please work, Please Work, Please Work!
Clang!
Oh thank god.
Opening my eyes, I spotted the remnants of the two-pointer's tail scattered around it, crumpled as though it had struck a brick wall. With the tail out of the way, I summoned my energy coils once again and swung my arm forward, slicing off the front two legs with ease. Though the robot had suddenly increased its speed, it was still made out of a garbage material and thus, it was easy to cut through.
Taking a second to rest, I noticed that others had begun to join me in the side streets. A myriad of quirks were on display against the two-pointers, and it looked like all of them were having the same difficulties that I'd just had with the two-pointers hiding their true strength at the beginning of the fight. It was a sure strategy to surprise the overconfident examiners and weed out the weak. I shrugged. U.A. was already proving to be a harsh place.
I jumped back into the fray against two more two-pointers, making sure to take care of their tails immediately. Now that I knew more about their abilities, it was easy to make short work of the poorly constructed robots. A few minutes and a baker's dozen of robots later I was feeling pretty confident. Twenty-eight points in just a few minutes was more of a lead than I could have hoped for, though I was still keeping an eye out for the three-pointers.
The ground began to rumble as dozens of tank-sized robots began steamrolling through the streets. Unlike their lesser-valued counterparts, these robots looked ill-equipped for melee. Instead, each three-pointer had two mounted sets of missile systems on their backs. The robots came out in full force, firing randomly towards the crowd of distracted examinees. When the missiles hit their target, however, they didn't explode like you would imagine. Instead, the explosions were bright pink, and did more to push back the other students than anything else.
"Five minutes left." A familiar voice called from above. The dark clad faculty member who had let us into the stadium stood on a tower at the edge of the city, using a megaphone to amplify his voice.
I jumped up from the scrap mound of scorched robot parts and unfurled my Amber Flare and swung them upwards. Wrapping around an elevated signpost, I pulled myself through the sky, intent on reaching the higher valued villains before my competition. What I did not expect, however, was to immediately collide with another eager student as my head smacked against his midair through our respective jumps. We both hit the ground with a resounding thud as our classmates passed us up to take a shot at the new villains.
"God damn it, fat ass! Get out of my way!" The other candidate yelled as he stood up from the asphalt, his voice as scathing as his words. It was the explosion boy from earlier. No surprise there, I guess. "I don't have time to get held up by fucking rejects like you!"
Getting up myself, I had time to notice my accidental assailant before he took off. Spiky blonde hair and a vicious expression to match his attitude, this guy seemed like bad news. "Nice to meet you too, asshole." I muttered as he turned to walk away.
He turned back to face me, crimson eyes seething. "You're lucky that I gotta go get first place, or I'd kill you till you died!" He snarled as he thrust his hands behind him with purpose.
Boom!
An explosion ripped from his palms and sent him flying towards the faux enemies. He soared through the air, adjusting course with even more explosions. As he landed, he brought his fist down directly into the missile compartment of a three-pointer, obliterating the robot with chain detonations.
I stood there for a second, absorbing what he had said. "'Kill me till I died?' Doesn't he get how redundant that is?" It took another second for my purpose to return to me. "Shit, the exam!"
I ran into the crowd, whips flying as I sliced through the faux enemies. The three-pointers were more heavily armored than the two-pointers, but still child's play to cut through. I swept outwards with my whips, amber energy flaring and melting through the outer plating of a nearby three-pointer. The missile launcher on its back fell to the ground with a large CLUNK as the robot lost its main source of firepower. It turned, attempting to swipe at me with its heavy front arms, but it was much slower than its two-pointer brethren. I easily dodged to the side and brought my right arm up in an arc, ready to strike downwards into the robot's head.
There was a burst of light, like a flash bang filled with rainbows, and a ring of prismatic light burst into existence above the three-pointer. It hovered there for a moment before a blonde girl streaked out of the sky, delivering a powerful kick to its ruined back. The damaged and fatigued armor crumpled underneath her strike
She looked up from her kill, directly at me. "Thanks for making this easy!" She stuck her tongue out, blue eyes twinkling mischievously. Before I could utter a response, another ring of light appeared and she vanished through it, reappearing almost a block away to attack another weakened robot.
She had stolen my kill, and I couldn't decide whether or not to be annoyed or impressed.
Shaking my head from getting distracted once again, I went back to robot slaying. Racking up point after point in twos and threes, as I was letting others go after the one-pointers, I was yet again feeling secure in my position of fifty points. The thought was immediately followed by multiple muffled crashes, as though there was a nearby localized earthquake. About a block away, a monstrously large form began to loom above the buildings, shaking the entire city as it moved.
I sighed.
"Three minutes left." The exam proctor warned us from above.
With that, and with the appearance of the terrifying and ultimately worthless giant that is the zero-pointer, most of the students scattered and fled, looker for weaker villains to fight. I could see a few others though, the explosion boy and a couple of students that I hadn't seen before, still fighting among the three pointers. It occured to me that continuing here, even with the looming danger, was the smart play. The rest of the city, if it still had robots to fight, would only be populated with one and two-pointers. This is the real test. Do you run, and go after the low value villains, or do you stay and fight with the risk of go up against something that you can't beat?
The answer seemed obvious. This was U.A. High School, the training ground of heroes. They wouldn't want the students who would abandon their mission at the first sign of danger. I turned and ran head first into the center of the three-pointers, eagerly awaiting the arrival of the monstrous zero-pointer. I might just have a little fun with this one.
So yeah, hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter of Just Another Hero. This is my first fic, and I would love some reviews to tell me what you think, and where I could improve my writing. Tell me what you think of Kyou, though I haven't given out too many details yet. This was a pretty long chapter, with quite a bit of regurgitated material that I had to work through to get where I wanted, so don't necessarily think they'll always hit this length. I'll do what I can, but no promises. I'm going to try and hit a bi-weekly schedule, so expect another chapter somewhere around Thursday, Nov 15. This is Rel - signing out.
**Edited 7/14/19** for small formatting changes and typo fixing.