Chapter Text
The walkway leading up to the doors of U.A. was packed with every kind of person you could ever imagine. Never before had Akira seen so many powerful teenagers in one place. Walking in behind this spiky-haired blond kid who had obviously never heard of a belt in his life she spotted Uraraka. She changed her course of direction and headed towards her gravity-defying pal. “Hey Ocha-!” Akira was cut off as Ochako stared right past her and ran. Akira turned over her shoulder to see the commotion and then noticed that Uraraka had used her quirk on this straggly green-haired kid to keep him from falling as he tripped. Akira made her way towards them, noticing that they had just finished a brief conversation. She grabbed Ochako’s hand, pulling her away from the beet-red boy. “Come one! We’re going to be late! Do you know that kid anyways?” Uraraka shook her head to signal that she hadn’t. “I’ve never seen him before in my life, he seemed really nice though!”
The pair followed the signs directing them towards the auditorium, looking in awe at how large it was and how many seats were filled. Seating seemed to stretch high into the heavens and as far as the eye could see. Akira and Ochako held hands so as not to lose one another in the vast sea of bodies. They finally found two seats next to each other somewhere in the middle of the auditorium, collapsing into the hard plastic with anxious relief. A loud voice cut through the silent room, only emphasizing the intensiveness atmosphere radiated by Akira’s fellow peers. Amidst the silence was this annoying muttering in front of her. Akira looked towards the source of the disturbance and saw the broccoli-esque kid from earlier. She nudged Ochako with her elbow. “Look, it’s that kid from earlier”, Akira whispered bluntly. Before Uraraka had the chance to respond, the holder of the booming voice, a Pro Hero who introduced himself as Present Mic, continued to explain the practical portion of the U.A entrance exam. Each of the examinees would be given a period of ten minutes to gain points from defeating “villains”(targets set up by the school). There were four sets of targets, each worth an amount between zero and four. Present Mic equated the exam to Super Mario Brothers, which Akira though was slightly unprofessional of such a prestigious school, but then realized at their level they could probably do whatever they wanted in the entrance exam and no one would bat an eye.
The students were dismissed to classrooms that had been converted into temporary changing rooms for the practical. Akira waved a solemn goodbye to Ochako; the two had been split up into separate groups for the exam. She followed the horde of students down the hallway as everyone trickled into their designated classroom. Trying not to show how self-conscious she was, Akira quickly changed into the monochrome black outfit she had packed. Consisting of military trousers, combat boots, and a high neck muscle top, Akira thought she looked pretty bad-ass. Too bad she didn't actually feel that way. Her chubby cheeks still made her look like a little kid, she'd never truly lost the baby-fat on her face and she was already 14. Akira checked her braids for loose hairs and pinched her cheeks to get color flowing. She took a deep breath and felt the electricity flow into her body as her lungs expanded. Her clothing wasn't as baggy now that her muscle fibers had swelled to their max. Breathing out slowly, she walked out of the classroom door and started following the signs directing her to Battleground A.
Akira eventually fell in line with the other students assigned to her same practical site. Once again she found herself behind the ashy-blond from earlier. Eventually arriving at the gate of Battleground A, Akira saw that a large group of applicants had gathered in front of the large metal gates blocking the entrance. Feeling awkward and out of place, Akira shook herself back into focus. She did belong here. She. would beat the kids standing around her. Each and every one of them. She found herself pacing next to a shaggy dark-haired boy. "Hey don't worry about it," he said with a shark-toothed grin, "You're going to do great, we all are." Akira stared back into his red eyes and could tell he wasn't being secretly mean or conniving, he really meant it. It felt like the right thing to introduce herself, "I'm Akira Inazuma." "Eijirou Kirishima." Akira smiled back at him, hoping she had found a future friend in this guy.
"BEGIN!"
Present Mic's voice really spared no eardrum, no matter the distance. The two gave one last nod at each other and burst through the newly opened metal gates. This was Akira's chance to shine. At first glance she saw the targets were robots. Robots made of metal. It was time to deep fry them. Akira flooded her hands with electric energy, causing them to gain a sparking glow on the outside of her pale skin. She brushed a palm against a three-pointer, only looking back to make sure it short-circuited. This exam was made for her. Grabbing two bars of metal left behind from an explosive attack on a robot, Akira started swinging at any hunk of junk she could find. Points started adding up in her head. She probably needed at least 50 points to have even the smallest chance of passing so she needed to aim higher than that. Akira moved into a sprint, time was not on her side. She hit 30 points at the guesstimated halfway point in her head. Only 20 more to go, so about 6 more 3-pointers. Flying through the streets she hunted down all the robots she could. A large explosion sent a gust of wind that sent her to the asphalt, splayed on her back. There was a high-pitched ringing in her ear, and a hand grabbing her and pulling her up. Squinting through her blurry eyes she saw Kirishima pulling her away, and a feeling of curiosity sent her gaze to look behind her. Akira saw the biggest robot she had ever seen, a target with a huge number zero painted on its front. Her hearing and eyesight came back into focus, and she finally heard Kirishima asking if she was alright. "Yeah I am, I guess the force of its appearance was just too much..." Kirishima pulled her behind a corner, "Okay we should be good here, are you good if I leave you?" Akira was surprised he had even stayed with her this long. "Go ahead, I'm going to head back and see if anyone else got knocked flat like I did. It shouldn't do me bad to pass along your help.". Kirishima gave her a grin and sprinted down the street, and the scraped-up girl brushed off the dust and headed back the way she came.
Akira entered into the cloud of dust left behind in the wake of the giant robot's destruction and searched for stray robots and anyone in need of her help. She saw a guy sparking with electricity as he struggled with his leg, which was trapped. under a large piece of iron scaffolding. Running towards him she got her hands under the iron bar and squatted down. "Stop! I could electrocute you!", shouted the boy. Akira only grinned, and pushed up with her legs. Never in her life had she ever lifted any weight this heavy, and felt as if the muscle fibers in her legs were being pulled apart. She felt the bar slowly start to lift. "Hurry, I can feel my fingers slipping." The boy scrambled out from under the bar and struggled to get his thanks out. Akira could have sworn he didn't look so... goofy... when she first got over here. She slapped her thighs to bring back feeling again. With a quick wave she ran back off into the fray, there must be some robots out here somewhere. There. She spotted a group of three-pointers and sprinted towards them, sending the electricity she had gathered from that trapped boy's electric surges to her palms. Akira added 15 more points to her roster and was to head towards the metallic clanking on her left when Present Mic called the ending of the practical exam. Hanging her head low, she recalculated her points gained by taking down the robots. Only 45... It would have to do. She made her way back to the entrance of the battleground site as directed by an automated recording played over the speakers hidden in the cityscape. Once her examinee group had all gathered at the starting point, Present Mic began to inform them that decision letters determining the applicants acceptance status should be arriving at their mailing address by the end of the week.
Akira didn't feel like changing, she just wanted to find Ochako and get out of there. She picked up her duffel from the classroom and rushed to find her friend. Feeling a buzz from her pocket, Akira grabbed her phone and looked down to see a text from her friend,
"Go on and head home without me, I need to take care of something really quick. Hope you did well!"
Relaxing her shoulders, Akira picked her chin up and started walking towards the exit. The written examination wasn't until later this afternoon so she would have time to grab some lunch and maybe take a shower too. As she was walking down the wide brick pathway she felt a hand on her shoulder. Turning over her shoulder she saw Kirishima, smiling with closed eyes. "Want to go grab some lunch and take a break before the written exam? You look pretty banged up and look like you could use some tea." Akira nodded exhaustedly in agreement and walked alongside him to the train station. She emphasized the hope that if they both got in they would be in the same class. He seemed so genuine. They talked about why they wanted to become heroes as they sipped their tea and ate ramen. Akira looked at the clock and realized if she wanted to have time to shower and change into a clean uniform she would have to leave to her apartment soon. "Bye Kirishima, I'll see you for the written exam, good luck!" Akira made her way back to her apartment and sat on the floor of her shower, watching as the dust and dried blood made its way down the drain.