The last ten years could be summarized in three words: Budgeting, Buoyancy, and Boredom.
Growing up as Ochaco's twin in the Uraraka household meant being part of a two-person logistics team. If a heavy beam needed moving at a construction site, or if Mom needed the groceries brought in without making two trips, the "Gravity Twins" were on the job.
But while Ochaco was out there doing finger-tip pushups and practicing her "Zero Gravity" release until she got motion sickness, I was busy trying to solve the puzzle in my gut. No matter how much I practiced, the Reversal—the ability to make things heavy—remained locked. I could feel the "Positive Energy" scratching at the door of my brain, but every time I tried to multiply my Cursed Energy, I just ended up with a nosebleed and a craving for an energy drink.
'Negative times negative equals positive,' I'd mutter to myself while floating six feet off the floor of our shared bedroom. 'It's basic math. Why is my soul so bad at math?'
"Kanata! Stop daydreaming and help me pack!" Ochaco's voice snapped me back to reality.
We were currently in our room, surrounded by half-packed suitcases and U.A. brochures. The entrance exam was in a week, and we had to take the train out to Musutafu.
"I'm not daydreaming," I said, leaning back in mid-air, my hands behind my head. I wasn't sitting on anything; I was just negating the gravity on my own body to lounge in the atmosphere. "I'm visualizing success. It's a mental exercise. Very taxing."
Ochaco rolled her eyes, throwing a balled-up pair of socks at me. They passed right through my "Lapse" field, losing their weight and drifting aimlessly toward the ceiling. "You're just being lazy! The U.A. Entrance Exam is the hardest in the country. If you don't take this seriously, you'll fail and I'll have to be a hero all by myself."
"Psh. Fail? Me?" I chuckled, catching the floating socks. "I'm the guy who found a way to make my school bag feel like a feather. I'm a genius of convenience, Ochaco. Besides, I've got a plan."
"Is the plan 'hope the robots give up because you're too funny to fight'?"
"Actually, it was 'hope you do all the work and I take the credit,' but your idea is good too."
She lunged at me with a playful "Release!" and I had to drift just out of her reach, spinning like a top in the air. We spent the next few minutes playing a high-speed game of tag in our cramped room, two blurs of brown hair defying physics until our mom yelled at us to stop shaking the house.
One Week Later: The Gates of U.A. High School
The campus was massive. It looked less like a school and more like a futuristic fortress. Thousands of kids were pouring through the gates, all of them looking nervous, intense, or like they had something to prove.
"Wow..." Ochaco whispered, her eyes wide as saucers. "It's really happening, Kanata. We're actually here."
"Yep," I said, sticking my hands in my pockets and looking around. I felt that familiar cold reservoir of Cursed Energy churning in my gut. My "Anti-Gravity System" felt twitchy, sensing the massive amounts of metal and machinery nearby. "Try not to throw up on any of the other applicants, okay? First impressions are important."
"I won't! I brought my anti-nausea wristbands!" she chirped, looking determined.
As we walked toward the orientation hall, a green-haired kid in front of us tripped over his own feet. He started falling toward the concrete—the classic 'protagonist faceplant.'
Ochaco reacted instantly, reaching out to tap him and stop his fall. But I was closer. I didn't want to touch a stranger, so I just flicked my wrist, expanding my Lapse field by a few inches.
The kid didn't hit the ground. He just... stopped. He hovered about two inches above the pavement, looking like he was lying on an invisible air mattress.
"Huh? I'm... I'm not dead?" the kid stammered, his eyes bulging.
"Careful there, Greenie," I said, walking past him with a lazy wave as I retracted the field, letting him drop gently onto his feet. "The ground is usually pretty hard. Bad for the skin."
Ochaco beamed at him. "It's a bad omen to trip! Good luck on the exam!"
The kid just stood there, vibrating with nerves and looking at us like we were aliens. I didn't stick around to chat; I was too busy looking at the giant "Orientation" sign.
'Lapse is great for saving clumsy kids,' I thought, my gaze hardening slightly as I looked at the massive Mock City where the exam would take place. 'But those robots are going to be heavy. If I want to make a statement... I really hope my brain decides to figure out that Reversal today.'
I patted Ochaco on the shoulder. "Alright, sis. Let's go break some robots. Or at least make them wish they had better tires."