Chapter Text
I had long been prepared for all kinds of situations where I could be evaluated. It was something I should already have been used to.
But this?
“Friends?”
A single question was enough to completely dismantle my foundation.
I never had many friends, and the few I did have could hardly even be considered friends.
I came from a powerful family in the Japanese Hero Technology industry. They had been in the business since the beginning of the Quirk era, finding a way to profit from the fragility of that time of radical change, and ever since then they had been making money from the weak points that Quirks brought.
People with mutant quirks and fatal characteristics — in other words, people whose quirks made them a risk to everyone around them.
But deep down, they never really cared whether they were helping those people, or newly discovered children. They only wanted to find a way to squeeze money out of desperate parents.
And with that, the company kept growing and investing until it became one of the pillars of world hero technology.
Meanwhile, my Creation quirk came as a bonus.
“Yes sir.”
“Real friends?”
“What?”
“Friends who help you get back up on your own will, without that being your job?”
“Friends who will be by your side when you’re bleeding?”
“People whose side YOU will be on when they are the ones bleeding?”
Silence.
“You’re dismissed. Go straight down the hallway and enter the room on the left. There will be another teacher in charge of the written exam.”
Already bowing and saying goodbye, Yaoyorozu left the room with the giant 1-A sign decorating the door, where her interview had been held, lost in thought.
“I have friends,” she whispered. “Don’t I?”
In truth, no. I only had school friends. I came from a private school, and most of them went to other schools scattered across the country, where their parents had partnerships or something like that. In my case, U.A. was a way to increase contact with U.A. and try to establish some kind of contract for its laboratories.
“As always, he traumatizes the students before the school year even begins,” says a woman with black hair and a charming posture, the pro hero Midnight.
“Come on, dear, the written exam is starting now. Choose a seat and relax, okay?” says the woman, bending down slightly and speaking in a somewhat warmer voice to the young girl in front of her.
“Understood. My name is Yaoyorozu Momo. It was a pleasure meeting you in person, Pro Hero Midnight,” says Yaomomo to the woman in front of her, trying to compose herself.
“No need for all that formality, little one, but know that the pleasure is mine.”
“That’s why I need you to do your best so that for the next few years you’ll be in our care, Yaoyorozu,” says the dark-haired woman, placing a sweet smile on her face.
Entering the room, she looks at the classmates who are about to take the exam. The first boy is a blond-haired, blue-eyed boy. Neito Monoma, son of a family of politicians, possibly members of parliament.
Yaomomo had met him a long time ago, at some charity event, but the two had never exchanged a single word.
In another seat is a face she recognizes: Todoroki Souto. He was a constant presence at hero or business events his father, the Number Two Hero Endeavor, attended, or as the CEO of the Endeavor Agency.
Todoroki always seemed like a distant figure, but not in the sense of superiority — more like untouchable, as if he were an ethereal figure, especially with that gaze of his that never seemed focused.
Yaomomo had spoken to him a few times, but most of the time she was ignored, and in the few times he did answer, it felt like he barely existed, with his vague replies.
After a few seconds, a tall and loud boy arrived, making his presence known:
“WOAH!” he exclaimed, looking around the room. “This is getting more and more serious!”
His loud tone echoed through the entire room.
Yaoyorozu flinched slightly.
“YOARASHI INASA!” the boy announced loudly, while making an overly energetic bow. “A PLEASURE TO MEET YOU ALL!”
No one replied.
The uncomfortable silence lasted about three seconds.
“…Right!” he continued anyway, still smiling. “Silent group! Got it!”
Honestly, that almost made her smile, but she quickly had to regain her composure when the exam was placed on her desk. The test itself was done in a more old-fashioned way, with paper and pen. At first, that worried Yaomomo a little, since she had thought U.A.’s exam would be digital, through laptops. At least that had been the case in the previous tests.
When she looked up at the digital clock above the board, she realized only one hour and ten minutes had passed. There were still 50 minutes left.
She used that time to review the questions, make sure she hadn’t marked anything wrong on the answer sheet, and confirm that everything was correct. But every now and then, she found herself sneaking glances around.
Monoma seemed a little nervous about the exam, while Inasa, as he had introduced himself, was staring at the test as if it might stare back. As for the two-toned boy, he seemed to be staring into nothing, with his pencil, erasers, and pens laid out on the desk.
After a few minutes, the written exam ended and the students were guided to the cafeteria so they could eat something before the practical test.
A light sandwich sat on her tray. Looking at everyone there, they all had some kind of light snack, so it wouldn’t interfere with the practical test, but also wouldn’t leave them hungry if it ended up lasting longer. Everyone was eating, except Todoroki, who remained seated, once again with that empty gaze.
If Yaomomo didn’t know better, because of how long they had known each other, she would think the two-toned boy was just another snob, like Monoma, who wandered around mocking everyone.
But deep down she knew that sometimes he simply didn’t want to exist anymore.
And besides, she shared that same feeling.
The practical exam began: a race, something frantic and fast.
Inasa took off at the start, with Todoroki right on his heels. Monoma beside her seemed to try using a wind quirk, one that looked almost identical to the boy in first place.
As for Momo, she could only run.
She thought about making a skateboard or roller skates, but the terrain was too uneven, full of various bumps and what looked like huge pipes and debris.
Maybe some kind of strong cable she could use to tie herself and swing across?
She could make something that would allow her to fly, but trying to remember the exact atomic composition in that moment would be difficult.
So the only thing she did was make a rope with an icy gel that she wrapped around her body to help regulate her temperature and keep running for longer distances.
The more she ran, the more nervous she became.
The cold, along with the thick fog that formed, was overwhelming.
She would need to create some kind of visor if she wanted to keep running.
She couldn’t see anyone else anymore, and she thought she must already be many minutes behind.
She needed to climb the pipe.
Lie down to get through the iron cracks across the ground, slick with the ice melted by Todoroki.
Looking ahead, she noticed the blond boy was in the same position.
Maybe he had given up on using his quirk at some point, or maybe it had stopped working.
But he was just as exhausted as she was.
Still, both of them kept running, climbing, and pushing forward until the finish line.
There it showed her time, and most importantly, her placement.
4th place.
Her hair and clothes were covered in soot and mud, and her boot was torn somewhere from the ice spikes that had grown larger as they reached the finish line.
Monoma beside her was completely out of breath and in the same state.
The two of them were the only ones here who had had to become one with the ground.
The cold still burned her skin.
But not as much as the shame did.
Would she pass?
Had she not been good enough?