Reiji erged from his room already dressed in dark athletic wear. He wasn't carrying a backpack or any unnecessary accessories; only the sa wristband i had given him earlier.
After so subtle modifications, it was indistinguishable from a training wristband, or even just a regular piece of clothing. It wasn't as if he wanted to hide it since he wasn't actually cheating, but he also hadn't had ti to check it.
The rest of the house was already awake.
The sll of freshly brewed coffee still wafted through the dining room as his parents finished breakfast before heading to work. The television played softly on so morning channel, discussing the U.A. entrance exam and the huge number of students who would be trying again that year.
His mother looked up as soon as she saw him appear.
And she smiled imdiately.
"You look just as calm as you did when you were taking your first exams in elentary school."
Reiji just smiled back.
"It's not that different."
"Of course it is," she replied, placing her cup on the table. "Today you're literally competing to get into the most prestigious academy in the country, just like Himiko."
Her father looked up from his newspaper for only a few seconds before nodding slowly.
"Just don't underestimate the physical exam, and don't overdo it."
"I know."
There were no grand motivational speeches.
No exaggerated tension.
Just that tranquility that cos from confidence.
Because everyone there knew perfectly well that Reiji was perfectly capable of getting in.
As he was about to leave, he found Himiko sitting on the steps with a cup of tea in her hands and an oversized sweatshirt partially covering her legs. Her blonde hair was still a little ssy, clearly because she had woken up early just to see him co out.
But unlike Reiji… she did seem excited.
Too excited.
She tapped one foot constantly on the floor and wore that restless expression that appeared whenever she was expecting sothing important.
"Weren't you supposed to sleep in tonight?" Reiji asked as he closed the door behind him.
Himiko imdiately looked up at him.
"And miss the day you finally enter U.A.?" She replied as if the idea were absurd. "Even I don't sleep that much, and besides, being on vacation doesn't excuse from my responsibilities."
After entering the hero course and settling in, Himiko and Nejire had been recruited by the hero Ryukyu. This ant that in addition to their hero duties, their vacation was also shared with their hero duties.
Reiji let out a small exhalation through his nose as he adjusted his sleeve.
She looked him up and down for a few seconds before speaking again.
"You look too calm."
"Because I am calm."
Himiko followed him with her eyes the whole ti.
"Nervous?" she asked after a few seconds.
"No."
"Anxious?"
"None of that."
"Then what do you feel?"
Reiji took barely a mont to answer.
"...Curiosity."
And honestly, it was true.
Because beyond the exam, beyond U.A. and everything he knew about the future, there was a certain curiosity to see how much the natural course of things had really changed since his arrival in this world.
Himiko smiled slightly at the answer.
"How boring you are."
"And yet you still got up early to see off."
"Because soone has to be excited for both of us."
Reiji just looked at her for a mont and nodded; it was reasonable.
"You know what the worst part is?" He continued as he finally stood up from the steps. "You don't really have any reason to get excited or nervous."
"Is that so?"
"Reiji, you got perfect scores on almost all the practice tests, and you can fight better than half the students in the hero course... in my generation!"
"Don't exaggerate."
"I haven't been able to beat you even once, and I'm one of the best..."
"...That's because you don't fight seriously."
Himiko let out a short laugh before moving a little closer to him.
"Just try to enjoy it a little."
Finally, Reiji opened the front door.
"Well..." Himiko murmured as she sat back down on the step. "Don't be late."
He nodded slightly.
And started walking down the street.
But before he turned the corner, he heard Himiko's voice behind him again.
"Make your older sister proud by getting first place!"
Reiji closed his eyes for just a second as a small exhalation escaped through his nose.
Then he continued walking toward the station as the sun slowly finished rising over Musutafu.
***
The architecture of U.A. no longer surprised him.
He'd been there too many tis in the past few months for that to be the case. But this ti was different.
This ti he wasn't a visitor.
He was an applicant.
Reiji walked through the enormous main entrance, his hands in the pockets of his sports jacket, watching the steady stream of applicants passing through the automatic doors. Beside him, Shinso walked with his usual tired expression, though the slight movent of his fingers in his pants pockets made it clear he was much more tense than he let on.
Behind them, Izuku literally didn't know where to look first.
He had decided to take the hero course exam; there was always a small chance of being accepted and becoming a hero at the best academy in the country. He could apply to another one, but he wasn't sure it would be the right place for a kid without a Quirk.
I an, U.A. could compensate for his lack of a Quirk with sothing else, right?
His green eyes scanned every corner of the main building as if he had just entered a sanctuary. The giant screens, the heroic symbols on the walls, the training structures visible through certain windows… he absorbed absolutely everything with a dangerous mix of admiration and anxiety.
"Midoriya," Shinso said.
Izuku reacted imdiately.
"Y-Yes!"
"You're going to bump into soone if you keep staring at the ceiling."
The boy blinked briefly before realizing that he had indeed almost bumped into another applicant.
"Sorry!"
Shinso let out a small, tired exhalation as they continued moving through the crowd.
"How do you manage to be more nervous than ?" he muttered.
"I'm not nervous!" Izuku replied too quickly.
They both looked at him in silence.
"...I'm a little nervous."
"Quite."
The number of people inside the main hall was absurd. Aspiring students paced back and forth, carrying notes, reviewing strategies, or simply trying to project more confidence than they actually possessed. So spoke too loudly to mask their nerves; others remained completely alone, ntally rehearsing what they would do during the practical exam.
Reiji silently observed the scene as they moved forward.
And honestly…
many didn't seem truly prepared.
It was evident in their posture, in how they constantly compared themselves to other students, or in their constant trembling, fearing they would make a bad impression from the start.
They dread of getting in.
But that didn't an they were ready.
Among the crowd, so faces seed strangely familiar. Faces he vaguely recognized from hazy mories of the manga or secondary scenes lost in a mory that had already spanned more than a decade between two different lives.
The major events remained clear in his mind, but secondary characters, small scenes, and specific details were slowly beginning to blur into distant mories.
'Too many years have passed.'
Even for soone like him, certain details were simply starting to fade.
Shinso barely glanced at the crowd as he adjusted his headphones around his neck.
"There are too many people."
"And there are still more to co," Reiji replied calmly. "Relax. Most are more concerned with looking like heroes than actually passing the exam."
Izuku barely raised his hand as he continued to look around.
"That sounded... strangely cold."
"Because it's true."
Shinso studied the area for a mont, noticing so visible Quirks or mutations.
"...U.A. really attracts weirdos."
"Say it looking at us."
"That's an excellent point."
Izuku let out a small, nervous laugh just as several giant screens finally began to activate above the main hall.
An amplified voice imdiately blasted throughout the building.
"GOOD MORNING, FUTURE HEROES!!"
Present Mic.
Obviously.
Many students imdiately jumped at the volu, while others looked up at the screens.
"THE EXAM BLOCKS ARE READY TO BEGIN!! SO GET MOVING OR YOU'LL BE FALLING BEHIND BEFORE YOU EVEN START!!"
The three of them looked down at the card in their hands, which indicated which block they had to head to.
Izuku swallowed hard.
Shinso let out a small sigh.
And Reiji simply started walking toward the designated area while the other two did the sa.
First would co the written exam.
Then the practical.
And although he didn't really doubt himself…
Izuku and Shinso were another story.
The two relied much more on strategy, physical ability, and adaptability than most of the applicants. Even so, he honestly trusted them far more than he'd probably admit out loud.
Because if soone like Toru Hagakure managed to get in using only invisibility and basic physical training… then they could too.
***
Reiji sat in a pitch-black room with hundreds of students arranged in perfectly aligned rows. From above, the suspended lights barely illuminated the individual tables and the tense silhouettes of the applicants waiting for the U.A. entrance exam to begin.
The atmosphere was thick with barely contained nervousness.
So were crunching on notes at the last minute. Others were muttering formulas or heroic regulations under their breath while shifting their legs under the tables. Even the constant sound of fingers tapping on desks or ragged breathing blended into the collective tension before the start of the test.
Reiji simply took his seat and waited.
Without speaking to anyone.
Without paying much attention to the rest of the room.
Until a voice to his right broke the silence just minutes before the official start.
"Hey, you're the kid who was on the news a while back, right?"
Reiji barely turned his head.
Spiky red hair.
Open expression.
Eyes full of energy even while sitting in front of an entrance exam.
Kirishima Eijiro.
Recognizing him was imdiate. There were certain people whose image simply remained etched in mory even after so many years.
Reiji barely nodded.
There was no point in denying it.
Kirishima imdiately smiled, resting both arms on the table as he spoke in a much more relaxed tone than the rest of the students around him.
"What you did was pretty amazing," he comnted bluntly. "I an... charging at a giant villain like that when even several heroes hesitated to approach. That was truly manly."
The word ca out with such direct honesty that it was almost strangely refreshing.
"I hope I can do sothing like that soday," he added before settling back into his seat. "Good luck today."
Reiji glanced at him for just a mont before replying.
"Good luck to you."
That was enough.
There was no unnecessary conversation after that. They both simply turned their gaze toward the enormous stage at the front of the room just as several lights finally began to illuminate the main platform.
Contrary to what he rembered, the one who appeared before the students wasn't Present Mic.
It was Midnight.
The heroine calmly walked onto the stage as several screens activated behind her, displaying basic information about the exam. Reiji supposed it made sense; the number of rooms used for the practical and theoretical exams probably made it impossible for a single teacher to cover everything simultaneously.
The instructions were clear from the start.
Sixty questions.
One hour and thirty minutes.
Limited ti considering the expected level of difficulty for the most prestigious academy in the country.
Then they explained the practical exam again.
The sa robots.
The sa scoring system.
The sa categories he rembered perfectly.
Nothing seed to have changed.
And honestly, that was a small relief.
Once the instructions were finished and the few questions from so students had been answered, the desks began to activate automatically. Small chanical panels erged from inside each table, creating individual partitions, while the exam sheets appeared from hidden compartnts.
'If i were here, she'd probably be more interested in dismantling the desk than in taking the test.'
The thought elicited a small, silent exhalation from his nose as he took the exam.
The questions weren't particularly difficult.
Tactical analysis.
Basic laws of urban combat.
Civil evacuation protocols.
Rapid calculations applied to scenarios with Quirks of mass destruction.
Indirect psychological assessnt hidden within hypothetical situations.
Reiji answered calmly, turning page after page without pausing. The Commission had prepared him for far worse exams too many tis to feel pressured by sothing like this.
He knew all the answers with ease, and it didn't take him more than a third of the allotted ti to complete the entire exam.
He finished first in his room, obviously.
Kirishima looked up as soon as he saw him hand in the exam.
And imdiately smiled before giving him a thumbs-up.
Reiji held his gaze for barely a second before calmly returning the gesture.
Then he left the room in silence as the automatic doors opened again onto the main halls of U.A.
Now only the practical exam remained.
***
The area designated for the practical exam was enormous. A covered complex built to simulate a complete small city, with artificial streets, buildings of varying sizes, and huge tal gates distributed around the grounds. Even from the waiting line, you could see so partially destroyed structures from previous simulations, making it clear that U.A. He spared no expense when it ca to evaluating applicants.
The instructions had been simple.
Points for destroying enemies; whoever had the most points would pass the test.
Nothing was said about points for saving other contestants.
He walked to his position unhurriedly, maintaining the relaxed pace he'd kept all morning. He wore a plain black T-shirt, dark sweatpants, and simple sneakers. The wristband i had designed rested discreetly under one of his sleeves.
At first glance, he looked like just another student.
Or at least that's what he was trying to do.
Because even without doing anything at all, several people kept glancing at him. His appearance on national television facing the sludge villain had destroyed any real possibility of anonymity within hero circles, especially after Himiko's outstanding performance.
Luckily, no one approached him.
Most were too focused on dealing with their own nerves.
Kirishima stood a few ters away, stretching out one arm and smiling as if he were about to enter a sports competition rather than an entrance exam. Even standing still, he radiated energy.
Noticing Reiji's gaze, he imdiately raised a hand.
"See you inside!"
Reiji responded with a small nod before turning his gaze forward.
Then he closed his eyes for just a mont.
He automatically reviewed what he'd been hearing for weeks: avoid drawing too much attention, minimize unnecessary exposure, and maintain a controlled profile within the academy.
Although honestly…
after the sludge villain incident, it felt more like an impossible suggestion than an actual order.
A robotic voice then echoed throughout the building.
"On your marks."
The surrounding noise disappeared almost instantly.
Dozens of students leaned slightly forward as the enormous tal doors in front of them slowly began to unlock.
"Ready..."
Reiji opened his eyes.
His posture shifted just enough to prepare every muscle in his body. His breathing stabilized automatically, and all his senses focused on the interior of the examination field.
Then ca the final sound.
"GO!"
The beep echoed through the arena like a gunshot.
And the next instant, hundreds of applicants shot out toward the artificial city.
***
I want to thank you all for the support the story has received lately. Amazingly, we've already reached our goal of 100 Power Stones, and we're only halfway through the week!
I guess it's because we finally made it to U.A., or maybe I'm doing sothing right. In any case, thanks to your support, I feel motivated to keep writing.
The last thing I want to ntion is that I changed the cover, so I'd love to know what you think of the new cover and all that.
And if you like it, leave your Power Stones to unlock the additional chapters, or if you don't want to wait, you can support by buying breakfast so I'll publish more chapters.
Support the project for just $2 USD. → [patreon/MisterCreator]
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