"Whistle~, damn, this is a pretty big exam site~."
"It is, right? They really do go all out with this exam, huh?"
Izuku and Ochako both stood at the enormous gate entrance of Battle Center B, their designated site for U.A.'s Entrance Exam for the Pro-Hero course.
Both of them had changed into sporty jerseys, fit for what should be a quite intense robot-hunting exam—especially true for Ochako, who stood with a mix of anticipation and nervousness.
Her feeling was not unfounded, of course.
Alongside Izuku and Ochako were numerous other examinees, all prepping themselves for the upcoming trial and the dangers that awaited them inside...
Izuku could feel the nervous energy thick in the air. He wasn't particularly worried about the danger itself—already somewhat used to this kind of pressure—but...
He stared at the large gate for a moment, silently pondering...
But then suddenly, he felt it—a faint but unmistakable sense of hostility.
Someone... was glaring at him. A sharp, piercing one at that.
Izuku didn't fully turn his head, but at the edge of his vision, he caught sight of a familiar figure. The same bespectacled young man who had chastised him earlier.
'...He's in this exam site too, huh.'
The glare lingered a moment longer, firm and unwavering—before the bespectacled man finally turned away, redirecting his attention toward the exam site's entrance like everyone else.
"..."
He pondered again over that serious young man's attitude toward him.
Izuku briefly reflected on the earlier confrontation—being berated for seemingly acting 'foolish.'
It hadn't been his intention to act recklessly... but thinking back on it, maybe it was kind of inconsiderate of him to be joking around when everyone else around him was dead serious about their future as Pro-Heroes...
"Hmm..."
"Midoriya-kun? What's wrong?"
"...It's nothing," Izuku offered her a small, reassuring smile. "Just thinking about the upcoming exam, that's all."
"I-I see. Well... I'm sure you'll do great!" Ochako said, also offering her own encouragement. "I mean... your friend, B-Bakugou... san? She was so adamant about your strength and potential and all that, I couldn't help but wonder if you're really that strong..."
"Kacchan, huh..."
~~~~~~~
"—he's more fit to be a hero than any of you bastards sitting in this damn hall! Hell, he already IS one to begin with!!!"
"—you better ace this lame exam too. Got it?"
~~~~~~~
Her words rang true inside his head, reminding him once more of Katsuki's complete confidence in his ability.
Izuku still had lingering doubts about whether entering the Pro-Hero course at U.A. University—of all places—was the right move.
Not because he thought he couldn't pass.
He'd done pretty well on the written portion too, and now all he had to do was pass this practical exam. He was confident that he would be passing this exam as well...
What truly bothered him... was how people would react to the would-be re-emergence of the 'green armored vigilante.'
'The 24th Century Kamen Rider.'
That was the new nickname the world had dubbed him with, after footage of his fight against the Sludge Villain went viral across the globe.
At first, no one had understood what he was, more so wondering to what kind of power he had or what quirk he possessed.
But soon enough... the internet connected the dots.
The bug-eyed visor.
The mechanical 'Driver' belt.
It became clear that the supposed 'green armored vigilante' had been modeling himself after THE Kamen Rider, a fictional tokusatsu superhero franchise from the early 20th to 21st century—
A fad that, unfortunately, had died out after the emergence of 'real'-life Quirks and 'actual' superheroes, and so did many other fictional media there were.
Now... the world was on the hunt for him—some out of admiration for being the mythical Kamen Rider, others... out of legal concern of his illegal vigilante activity.
So, it was understandable that Izuku wasn't exactly thrilled about taking this exam—somewhat fearing... or more toward finding it troublesome to be under the spotlight's scrutiny.
But...
Katsuki believed in him. She truly did. That was why she was so defensive of anyone that tried to belittle his resolve to become a Pro-Hero.
And then there was... All Might.
Japan's No. 1 Hero had also shown support. Izuku clearly remembered how adamant he was—that if Izuku were to enter any Pro-Hero program, it had to be U.A.
Of course, it was not just from the outside influence that kept pushing him into this path, but also... his family.
His mother and even his usually reserved sister were fully supportive of his decision to go to the Pro-Hero course.
His mother especially had been shocked to hear it at first, thinking that Izuku was just playing pranks on her, but when he'd convinced her of his seriousness, his mother... cried a river while continually hugging him to death (metaphorically).
His sister, Chisa? Well... she kept things to herself, but... she also had been giving him supportive words here and there... in her monotone voice, which till this day, he wasn't sure if she actually supported him or was just pulling his leg.
Either way... they all supported him to take this path. So...
"...I can't let their expectations go to waste, huh."
"Hmm? Did you say something, Midoriya-kun?" Ochako tilted her head slightly, curious as to why he'd suddenly gone quiet again—and then started muttering to himself.
"Hehe, I was just hyping myself up for the exam~."
"Ah, I see. Then... let's do our best, okay?"
"Sure thing~!"
Ochako giggled at Izuku's lighthearted attitude, but... a thought crossed her mind.
"Oh yeah! By the way, since you seem to be pretty confident yourself, and you've been asking about my quirk to boot, so... I'm wondering..." She tilted her head curiously, "what's your own quirk, Midoriya-kun?"
"Oh, quirk? I don't have one~."
"Oh! I see! You don't have a quirk..."
For a moment, Ochako just smiled and nodded, matching Izuku's own cheerful expression...
"Wait... Huh?!"
...until her brain finally caught up with what he'd just said. Her eyes shot wide open as she stared back at Izuku's rather nonchalant expression.
"Waitwaitwait, hold on—! Midoriya-kun—! You don't have a quirk—"
"OKAY! START!!!"
"W-what—?!?"
A booming voice cut right through the tension, shaking not just Ochako but pretty much everyone out of their thoughts! They then quickly turned their heads toward the source of the loud voice—!
Standing tall on top of the distant watchtower was none other than the Voice Hero, Present Mic! His voice amplified, echoing across the whole exam site!
Naturally, everyone was confused by his sudden shouting, staring back at the grinning visage that could still be seen even from a distance.
Their confusion, though, served to further fuel the Voice Hero's amusement.
"WHAT'S WRONG?" he shouted again with unrelenting energy. "THERE'S NO COUNTDOWN IN REAL FIGHTS! GO RUN AND RUN WITH YOUR FUTURE ON THE LINE! THE DIE HAS BEEN CAST, YOU KNOW!!!"
Then the Voice Hero pointed his finger toward the entrance of Exam Site B—
"ONE OF YOUR RIVALS IS ALREADY ON THE MOVE!!! WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!"
All heads immediately snapped toward the exam gate—only to realize it had already been opened—!
And more importantly—
Someone had already dashed inside—!
It was the 'foolish' green-haired young man—Midoriya Izuku!
He was already deep within the faux concrete jungle that made up the exam site, growing smaller and smaller in the distance with every second—
For a moment, everyone stood frozen, completely caught off guard.
Ochako, still rooted in place, blinked in confusion. She was still processing Izuku's casual revelation about supposedly being quirkless.
Then... there was the serious, bespectacled young man—
He was even more stunned. Not only had the guy he'd berated earlier beaten him and everyone else to a head start, but also...
He was fast.
"...He's almost as fast as me...!"
And then, finally—
"Crap! He's already gone ahead!"
"Move, move, move!!"
"Damn it—!"
One by one, the other examinees snapped out of it and scrambled through the gate, rushing not to fall behind.
< | X | >
Meanwhile... Inside the towering watchtower where Present Mic had been standing on top, loud and proud—
A large, dark room, with the only lighting source coming from the many monitor displays both on the desktop and the wall—each one flickering with the ongoing 'practical' exam.
Many silhouettes did fill the room.
Dozens. Maybe more.
Their identities hidden in the black veil of the chamber, but their presence? It was anything but ordinary.
After all... many of them were, in fact, Pro-Heroes—some of the best in the country...!
And many of them were, in fact once more, the teachers of UA University, who had pledged themselves to protect and guide the many aspiring future heroes that managed to enter UA's prestigious Pro-Hero degree program.
Their eyes scanned countless examinees across the monitors, each monitoring the many activities happening inside of the exam site.
But... one screen—larger than the rest—had captured most of their attention, and it displayed one particular young man.
A green-haired young man—
Midoriya Izuku.
One of the first few examinees that had more initiative than the others, taking the head start from everyone else.
Silent murmurs spread across the room. But... none louder than the focused gazes of two figures near the front.
One, short—too short to be a man, and yet he stood like one. His form was small, round... almost animal-like, adorned with a head that looked somewhere between a dog, a mouse, and a bear.
The other, tall but thin... unnaturally so. A shadow with sunken cheeks that felt like he came out from a horror movie.
"Hmmm~, is this the young man you mentioned... All Might?"
"…Yes. That's him, Chancellor Nezu."
"I see~." The animal-like man leaned forward slightly, tail flicking behind him. "Quite the promising one, isn't he?"
The taller silhouette gave a low chuckle, his ghastly grin faintly visible through the shadows.
"You can say that again."
"…And... is he truly what you say he is?"
A pause followed—heavy and silent.
All Might didn't answer right away. For a second, it seemed like he might not at all.
But then...
"…Yes," he said, his voice calm… but certain. "He is... that Kamen Rider."
Nezu chuckled. A grin crept across his snout.
"Oho~... I see. 'The 24th Century Kamen Rider,' wasn't it?"
Both their gazes turned fully to the large screen again, just as the boy continued forward—step by step—into the concrete jungle.
And soon enough… the faux villains appeared...! Dozens of them!
They poured out from alleyways and side streets—metal limbs whirring, red optics glowing...!
"Hmm~ this is going to be quite the cinema to witness," the chancellor mused with amusement, ears twitching in delight. "Wouldn't you agree, All Might?"
The tall man didn't answer.
His sunken eyes stayed locked on the screen—worried, but firm.
After all, he was in one way responsible for the young man—essentially throwing him into a world of Pro-Heroes... even though the young man himself was, in fact, 'quirkless.'
But... Izuku would show them all.
He would prove to them that being a 'quirkless' didn't mean a thing for the likes of him—
On the monitor, they saw him abruptly stop on his track, raising both his hands to the air.
A soft glow—digitalized, faint—began forming over them.
"Hmm~! Is he going to pull out the 'Driver,' I wonder~?"
"No…" All Might said slowly, his eyes narrowing in understanding. "It's too early for that."
And then as if on cue... two objects suddenly materialized in Izuku's hands—!
A sword and a gun.