Itsuka's martial art Sensei had taught her many things. One of the most important was to keep a calm mind, no matter the situation.
She was trying really trying to stay calm right now.
But that was hard when she had probably just ruined her chances of getting into U.A. by running ahead without waiting for the signal from the staff.
Why had she run in the first place?
It had felt like the right thing to do at the time. But now, standing there with her heart pounding, it just felt stupid.
To make things worse, she could hear the sound of metal being ripped apart up ahead.
And her competitive brain was screaming at her to run faster to not let that black-haired boy steal all the villain bots.
Itsuka instinctively dodged a surprise attack from a faux villain, immediately shifting into her fighting stance.
The villain bot lashed out with its tail. She rolled to the side, dodging the metallic limb, then used her momentum to swing her now-enlarged fist forward.
With a single, powerful punch, she smashed through the bot, taking down a three-pointer in one hit.
And just like that, her adrenaline surged.
Her muscles pumped with excitement, fueling her determination. The early start? Forgotten.
Now, all that mattered was taking down every villain bot in her way.
"Bring it on!" she shouted, grinning as she faced the swarm of machines ahead.
Yui Kodai was confused.
She had just watched two people run ahead without the go signal from the pro hero.
The first guy had literally ripped the gate open to get inside.
And the orange-haired girl the one Yui had spoken to on the bus had followed him without hesitation.
She was confused.
First, what were those two even thinking? Forget the signal the gate was still closed, meaning the test hadn't even started yet.
Second, Midnight was just standing there being all elegant and sexy as usual but saying absolutely nothing.
Third, everyone else seemed to know something she didn't.
Students around her whispered and scoffed, mocking the two who had run ahead.
"They're disqualified for sure."
"How dumb can they be?"
"Seriously, what a waste."
Yui frowned.
She didn't like the insults being thrown at the orange-haired girl.
She seemed nice.
Then, suddenly, a horn blared through the air.
Everyone flinched, startled by the sudden noise.
But no one moved. They all stood frozen, waiting for something to happen.
Midnight placed a hand on her hip and let out an amused chuckle.
"What are you all waiting for?" she teased, flashing a playful smirk. "There's no countdown in real life, darlings.
Those two?" she pointed toward the mock city "are already racking up points.
If you don't move now, you're going to lose out."
The entire crowd stiffened.
Wait.
Not only were those two not disqualified, but they had a head start?
A wave of panic rippled through the students.
"W-WHAT?!" someone shouted. "WHY ARE YOU LETTING THEM CONTINUE?! THEY BROKE THE RULES! THEY SHOULD BE DISQUALIFIED!"
Midnight raised an eyebrow, her smirk widening.
"Rules?" she mused, tilting her head. "Darling, there's no such rule."
Silence.
"So why are you all still standing here?" Midnight waved toward the entrance. "You still have a practical exam to pass. Now, go, go, go!"
The moment she said it, chaos erupted.
Students bolted forward, racing to make up for lost time.
Yui didn't hesitate. She took off running, grabbing small pieces of debris along the way anything she could use to fight the villain bots.
Ai had already secured 50 villain points more than enough to pass.
He could keep going, rack up more, but that felt... unnecessary.
Greedy, even.
And greed was a sin. Eve said so.
Besides, his body was currently synced with his best friend. That meant every injury and every bit of exhaustion he took 'would transfer to her too'.
So, instead of fighting, he had taken a break.
Perched on the edge of a rooftop, Ai lazily swung his legs over the side, watching the other participants scramble through the city.
12.
27.
4.
39.
His eyes flicked over their numbers. Some were barely scraping by, still stuck in the 'single digits'. Others, already drained from fighting, were pushing themselves past exhaustion.
Ai was confident. With 50 villain points, he was safe.
Unless 40 students somehow managed to score 51 points or more, he had a spot in the hero course locked in.
He let out a breath, about to cancel out his quirk
Then the building shook.
Ai snapped his head up.
"So one of my guesses was right, huh?"
A towering zero-pointer rose above the city, its massive frame blocking out the sunlight.
"A freakin' big-ass boss robot."
His golden eyes gleamed with interest as he took in the machine's absurd size.
Down below, students screamed and ran, not wanting to get flattened under the thing's massive wheels.
Then he saw her.
A black-haired girl staggered out of an alleyway, injured. She tried to limp away, pushing through the pain
But she wasn't fast enough.
The zero-pointer was closing in.
Ai summoned two Gentle Palms, ready to grab her
But before he could send them, he noticed something else.
Someone was running toward her.
An orange-haired girl.
Her face was set in pure determination as she sprinted as fast as her legs could carry her, sweat dripping from her forehead.
She wasn't running away.
She was running toward the danger.
Ai grinned.
"Now that's a hero."
Without hesitation, he summoned four Gentle Palms.
Two to grab the injured girl And two more to assist the orange-haired girl, who is about to pull off something crazy.
Itsuka ran as fast as she could but it wasn't enough.
She could see Yui struggling to move, pain written all over her face. She was barely able to crawl.
The zero-pointer's massive form loomed over her, its wheels grinding the pavement as it advanced.
She wasn't going to make it in time.
She refused to accept that.
Itsuka clenched her teeth, pushing her legs harder then something appeared beside her.
A big floating, metallic looking hand.
It moved at her speed, hovering right next to her, fingers outstretched.
Her brain clicked.
An idea.
Or maybe… they had the same idea.
Without hesitation, she grabbed onto one of the giant fingers, using it as support before leaping onto the palm.
The moment she steadied herself, the hand shot forward, launching her straight toward the zero-pointer's head.
The wind roared in her ears.
Itsuka sucked in a deep breath, cocking her free arm back.
She had one shot.
One moment to make it count.
Just like All Might.
The zero-pointer saw her coming.
It raised its arm to block her.
CRUNCH. CRACK.
Something blurred past her gold and fast.
The zero-pointer's arm exploded mid-motion, completely obliterated before it could reach her.
The guy's doing, she realized.
She grinned.
The path was clear.
Her heart pounded.
She let go of the floating hand, bending her knees.
Her fist was still normal-sized but not for long.
Just before impact, iches away from the metal surface, she released control.
"SMASH!"
Her quirk expanded at ridiculous speed.
The sudden growth was so fast it broke the sound barrier.
The moment her fist made contact
The zero-pointer's head disintegrated.
Metal shattered. The force of her blow sent the entire machine toppling backward, crashing into the city ruins with a deafening BOOM.
Itsuka barely had time to celebrate before she realized.
She was still in the air.
Then gravity kicked in.
Her stomach dropped.
She fell.
Fast.
She braced herself, ready to enlarge her other fist to break the fall.
But before she hit the ground, something caught her.
A metallic big hand, the same one that had launched her into the air now gently lowered her back to the pavement.
Itsuka gasped, her body aching.
Her eyes darted toward Kodai.
She exhaled in relief.
Another set of metallic hands had grabbed the injured girl too, pulling her away from the wreckage.
Itsuka let out a small, breathless laugh.
They did it.
She glanced around, searching for the person behind the floating hands.
Her gaze locked onto a rooftop
Where the guy stood.
Black hair. Darkened skin. Strange patterns glowing across his face.
And he was clapping.
His expression was unreadable amused, impressed.
Itsuka didn't know what to say.
She had mixed feelings about him.
Sure, he had helped her. He had saved her.
But at the same time… he could've done it himself.
With that much power, why hadn't he just defeated the zero-pointer and saved Kodai on his own?.
She barely had time to process her thoughts before Ai stepped away from the roof's ledge, vanishing from the rooftop without a word. Itsuka frowned.
"Could you at least talk to us before walking away?"
she muttered under her breath.
Itsuka's feet touched the ground, and the moment they did, her body reminded her just how much she had pushed herself.
Pain shot through her arm, sharp and relentless.
Her muscles screamed in protest.
She barely managed to stay upright, her breath coming out in ragged gasps.
Nearby, Kodai was gently lowered to the pavement by the last remaining floating hand.
The floating metallic like hands flickered then vanished into thin air.
Itsuka exhaled heavily, relief washing over her.
Yui was safe.
That was all that mattered.
But then, her eyes snapped up, scanning the rooftops.
Her jaw tightened.
She had so many questions.
Why hadn't he just taken down the zero-pointer himself?
With that much power, he could've ended it in seconds.
Instead, he had watched from the sidelines, only stepping in at the last second.
It made no sense.
Her fingers curled into a fist, then immediately regretted it as a fresh wave of pain burned through her arm.
"Fuck" she hissed under her breath.
She glanced down at her injury.
Her entire forearm was trembling, her fingers barely able to move. The backlash from her attack had been worse than she'd expected.
For the first time, she truly felt the consequences of letting her quirk run wild.
Her fists weren't just big they were dangerous.
A shaky exhale left her lips.
She turned her attention back to Yui, who was sitting up, wincing as she touched her leg.
"You good?" Itsuka asked, voice hoarse.
kodai blinked, looking up at her.
Then, slowly, she nodded.
"...Yeah."
Itsuka let out a tired chuckle. "Glad to hear it."
Around them, the other students were finally catching up.
Murmurs filled the air.
People were staring.
At her. At Yui. At the wreckage of the zero-pointer, now lying in ruins.
Whispers spread.
"Did she take that thing down?"
"She punched its head clean off what the hell?"
"That was insane…"
Itsuka sighed, rolling her shoulders.
She didn't care what they were saying.
Her arm was throbbing. She was exhausted. And all she wanted now was to sit down and rest.
She glanced at the rooftop again just to check.
no sign of the guy.
Her lips pressed into a thin line.
"...Tch. Whatever."
She wasn't done with him.
Not by a long shot.
But for now?
She had more important things to worry about.
Like getting her arm check for injuries.
With one last deep breath, Itsuka turned her head on the wreckage
And admire her work.
End of chapter 7