Welp, today's the day of the entrance exams. I wanted to walk to school with Deku and Toga, but Deku's probably off getting One For All from All Might right now. He doesn't know that me and Arata already know, but we still plan on helping him train with his quirk when the time comes.
As for me and Arata's quirks? We've improved a lot. I can now go partial Phoenix Mode, generate healing flames from my skin, and launch superheated blasts. I call it the Phoenix Burst—yeah, I totally stole the name from some Roblox game called Grand Piece Online.
Arata's quirk, though… his is way more destructive. I hate to admit it, but he's stronger than me. Most of his training has been about control, but at this point he can replicate moves from multiple anime characters. His fighting style draws a lot from Avatar—Azula and Zuko especially.
He can't go full "Ace mode" yet because Ace's fruit would probably level buildings if he wasn't careful, so he has to hold back. Still, right now, Arata's easily one of the strongest people in the verse—stronger than most Pro Heroes. Honestly, the only people I could see him losing to are All Might or All For One.
I spot Deku and Toga waiting by the massive front gates of U.A., the morning sun gleaming off the gold letters above them.
As we're walking in, Deku's dumbass trips over his own foot, about to face-plant into the pavement—until he suddenly starts floating. A brown-haired girl catches him mid-fall and sets him down gently. She gives him a good look, but his jittery self just freezes and says nothing. Smooth.
The written exam was easy. I know I aced that thing—probably got a perfect score, even better than Momo. The only person who might've done better than me is Arata. We had to split off with Toga because she's going into general education, not the hero course.
Me, Deku, and Arata head into the auditorium to get our seats. A blonde-haired guy with sunglasses gives us the rundown of the exams—Present Mic. Halfway through, Tenya Iida shoots up from his chair like a spotlight just hit him.
"There appear to be no fewer than four varieties of faux villains on this handout! Such a blatant error—if it is one—is highly unbecoming of U.A., Japan's top academy! We're all here today in the hopes of being molded into model heroes! And you, with the curly hair! You've been muttering this whole time—it's distracting! If this is some sort of game to you, then please leave immediately!"
I swear, this is way funnier in person.
…
Me, my brother and Deku got separated, I hope he does well. "Start!" The moment I heard that I rushed into the field going partial phoenix mode. I saw a 1 point and I used my wings to rush it with my talons extended, crushing it with ease.
I shot forward again, weaving between buildings and swooping low over the streets. The air was thick with shouts, explosions, and the pounding footsteps of other examinees. Somewhere out there, my brother and Deku were fighting their own battles — but for now, it was just me, the clock, and a city full of targets.
A two-pointer's head swiveled toward me, its turret whirring. I grinned. "Bad move." My wings flared, sending a burst of heated wind forward as I slashed down with another talon strike. Metal screamed. Sparks flew. I kept moving. Always moving.
I scored about fifty villain points by the end of the exam. Not bad, considering the chaos out there. But honestly? I have no clue how many rescue points I managed to rack up.
Me and Arata had to wait for Deku to come out, when he came back he was all bandaged up. 'So Deku you wanna come get some food with us?" Deku replied with an expression filled with sorrow on his face "I think I'll pass on that."
At this point in the story Deku thinks he got 0 points on the exam so it makes sense why he's so sad.
[1 Week Later]
Arata and I were at Dagobah Municipal Beach. The reason was simple—this was the place Deku came after he found out he passed the entrance exam, and it was also where All Might had shown up before. If we were going to have as much involvement in the story as possible without looking suspicious, the best way for that would be to have everyone spill the beans to us.
"ALL MIGHT!" Deku's voice carried across the sand as he ran toward a tall, skinny, blonde-haired man. Even from here, I recognized him instantly. He didn't see us, so Arata and I stayed low, creeping up behind him listening in on the conversation.
Deku was rambling—about "One For All" and how he was having trouble controlling it. That was all the confirmation we needed. "Deku?" My voice cut through the conversation like a blade. "What the hell is a 'One For All,' and why did you just call that man All Might?"
Deku spun around so fast you'd think someone had yanked a fire alarm. His eyes went wide, and his voice cracked. "Hinari? Arata? Wh-When did you two get here?" I folded my arms, keeping my gaze locked on him. "Long enough to hear something about a 'One For All.'"
Arata tilted his head, his tone way too calm for the situation. "And that stick-thin guy you just called All Might… funny, because All Might's supposed to be a walking wall of muscle." Deku's face went pale. His mouth opened, closed, then opened again, like he was buffering. "I–It's not—It's not what it sounds like!" The tall blonde man cleared his throat, trying to play it cool. "Young Midoriya, perhaps we should—" "Nope," I cut in. "You're not weaseling out of this one. Spill it. What's going on?"
Then All Might told us everything about his injury and one for all. This way we could get involved with their business without us looking suspicious.
"So, Midoriya, what happened at the entrance exams?" I asked, narrowing my eyes. Midoriya scratched the back of his head. "I… managed to rack up about sixty-six rescue points, but I broke all my bones in the process trying to use my new quirk." I tilted my head. "Can you use your quirk right now? If you break anything, I can heal it.
He stepped back, took a deep breath, and clenched his fists. Red light ran across his arm as he wound up. Then—BOOM!—he threw a punch so powerful it split the waves in two, a wall of seawater rising on either side before crashing back together.
The force was insane… but so was the backlash. His arm hung limp, already swelling. Blue flames burst to life around my hands as I stepped forward, pressing them to the injury. The fire sank into his skin, knitting bone and muscle back together in seconds.
I exhaled, pulling my hand back. "So the problem is you're using too much power. Every punch you throw is at your absolute max." Midoriya frowned. "I don't understand what you mean."
I groaned. "Dumbass. Think of when Bakugo uses a huge explosion—he strains his hands, sometimes putting himself out of commission for a bit. The only reason it's not worse for him is because his body's used to his quirk. Yours isn't."
"Try this," I said, stepping back. "Use, like, five percent of your power and throw a punch. See what happens."
Midoriya nodded, focused. This time, green lightning flew across his arm. He threw his fist forward—whoosh—and the punch sent out a small shockwave, nowhere near as dramatic as before… but his arm stayed perfectly intact.
He stared at his hands, eyes wide with excitement. "It didn't… it didn't break!" I smirked. "Congrats, genius. You just learned how not to destroy yourself every time you fight." Arata snorted in the background. "Took you long enough."
"Oh, and one more thing before you go," I added, stepping closer. "Try running your quirk through your whole body instead of just one part. Keep it at that five percent level and use it every day, with every task you do. Even if you're just sitting around doing nothing, keep it flowing. That way, your quirk will integrate into your body quicker, and your body will adapt to higher percentages naturally."
Midoriya tilted his head. "So… like muscle memory for my quirk?"
All Might gave a small smile at that. "Sound advice, young Hinari."