Takeru POV
The moment Present Mic's voice cracked through the speakers announcing that the gates were open, Takeru lifted off the ground with a powerful burst of force that sent dust swirling behind him. The visor built into his costume calibrated instantly, dimming sunlight and marking the nearest robots in glowing outlines. A grin spread across his face as he swept upward, brushing past Hanabi-chan.
The boy shouted something obscene as Takeru streaked by, but the wind swallowed his words. Takeru didn't slow down.
He accelerated straight into the first cluster of robots—one-pointers and three-pointers mixed—and simply flew through them. Metal sheared apart against his momentum, scattering debris across the pavement. He banked sharply and carved a line through the block, smashing another row of machines before they could even turn their sensors.
Within two minutes, his visor tallied close to a hundred points.
He hovered high above the city, scanning with thermal mode. There was still plenty of time, and he already had more points than he needed. Most of the others, however, were struggling. Their movements were clumsy, they were running around like chickens with their heads cut off randomly firing their quirks hoping for the best with no situational awareness . Takeru's grin faded slightly; he had been trained like a soldier by the HSPC since he was five, while these kids were having fun doing kid things he could not hold them to his standard.
A thunderous boom drew his attention back down.
Hanabi-chan had blown a three-pointer apart with an oversized explosion, but the idiot hadn't considered the building behind it. The shockwave shattered several windows and sent chunks of concrete raining onto the examinees below. Takeru streaked downward before anyone even screamed.
A girl with short silver hair was standing under falling rubble, frozen in shock Takeru embraced the girl as the rubble fell on top of him shattering in to pieces. He picked the girl up flew a few meters away from the building and dropped her off . The girl stared at him through wide, stunned eyes. "You're good now," he said gently. "Focus on getting your points. Good luck."
The girl stuttered a "thank you" and bowed and telekinetically picked up debris flung is at a one pointer. He shot back into the air. He found Hanabi-chan seconds later, still throwing explosions around like a toddler with a rocket launcher. Takeru hovered beside him long enough to say, "watch where you are blasting . You almost crushed a girl ."
"GET AWAY FROM ME, MEATHEAD!" the boy snarled, palm sparking as he aimed toward another three-pointer.
Takeru beat him to it, bursting past with an effortless glide and smashing the robot before the blond could ignite his palm. Then, because he couldn't resist, he turned midair and stuck his tongue out at him. Hanabi-chan nearly detonated on the spot.
Takeru flew off laughing.
His visor pinged another threat icon this one behind a pink-skinned girl with horns who was dodging a three-pointer's missile volley. Takeru dropped between them and let the barrage strike his chest harmlessly. The girl blinked up at him in shock before giving him a dazzling grin.
"are you ok ? " the girl asked concerned then saw Takeru completley unharmed and said " damn Thank you !".
Takeru winked. "Happy to help."
He moved on, weaving between alleys and open plazas, occasionally dispatching stray robots so others could score them. He paused only when he saw a very small boy practically toddler-sized using sticky purple balls from his head to trap the wheels of a two-pointer. Ingenious, and brave the boy was considering his size.
But another machine crept behind the boy, cannon preparing to fire.
Takeru blurred between them, his palm smashing the robot's faceplate and bending the steel inward. He didn't finish it completely; instead, he stepped aside and nodded at the boy.
"Go on. Take the points."
The boy trembled but launched himself bouncing of a purple ball on the floor and snagged the bot by hitting the off switch near the camera module , earning the score. "T-thank you!"
"Good work," Takeru said, then rose back into the air.
The ground shuddered.
A deep mechanical groan rolled through the mock city as the zero-pointer lumbered into view, dwarfing every structure around it. Students panicked instantly. The controlled testing grounds dissolved into chaos as examinees sprinted in blind terror.
Takeru tried to direct them. "Move left—keep the path clear! Don't run over each oth—"
Useless. None of them listened.
A sharp squeal of distress cut through the noise, high and close. He saw nothing at first—no body, no shadow until he toggled thermal vision. A glowing human shape struggled on the ground, trampled by the crowd. Invisible girl.
He dove, sweeping her into his arms before another foot could land on her ribs.
"I've got you," he said quietly. "Hold on." The girl must have been naked, he could feel her soft breast against his chest as he carried her and set her gently on a rooftop. She stammered out a shaking thank-you, her voice small but sincere.
Takeru gave her a reassuring nod. "You're safe. Recover and finish strong."
He turned his eyes toward the zero-pointer.
Honestly, he could ignore it. The instructions said it was worth zero points. But it was already causing half the examinees to lose their chance at scoring anything. Someone needed to stop the stampede.
He dropped back to street level, ripped a streetlamp clean out of the pavement, and shot upward. The advancing titan swung an arm down, smashing buildings like cardboard. Takeru dodged easily, flew straight toward the command pod near its head, and drove the lamp post into the central control array.
Sparks erupted. The machine froze, lights flickering out.
And then it started to fall.
The sheer weight of it threatened to crush several blocks. Takeru zipped beneath it, braced both hands against the collapsing mass, and slowed its descent until it settled gently across an empty intersection. Not a single additional building was damaged.
Silence swept the battlefield.
Students stared up at him, stunned. A few robots still buzzed weakly somewhere in the distance, but most examinees had forgotten entirely about their points.
And at the far edge of the plaza, Kendo stood with her fists still enlarged, shaking her head with a soft, fond smile.
Takeru cracked his knuckles and looked around calmly.
"Test isn't over," he called out. "Keep going."
Nobody moved for several seconds.
He couldn't blame them. He had been warned by Hawks and the Commission that a normal entrance exam wouldn't challenge him. He hadn't predicted it would feel this easy. Takeru waved at Kendo who was smiled at him and then ran off to find more robots to smash. Takeru turned to fly over the fellow contestants to see if anyone needed help and he saw Hanabi chan staring at him then when he caught his gaze he scowled and blasted off to blow up some robots. Damn that kid need some therapy Takeru thought as flew around helping a few contestants and destroying the occasional robot before the buzzer rang bringing the test to an end.
Kendo POV
Kendo let her fists shrink down once Present Mic called the end of the test. Her arms ached pleasantly, and the sand still clung to her boots, but she felt accomplished. The robots were tough, the terrain chaotic, but she had held her ground. All the training with Takeru and Nejire had paid off.
She was just catching her breath when she realized he'd already become the center of attention again. He stood near the plaza fountain, visor pushed up, his hero suit marred with dust but still intact, a confident smile on his face. And of course, a whole swarm of examinees had formed around him like moths to a flame. *He's not even trying,* Kendo thought, exasperated and faintly amused.
The first to fling himself at Takeru was a tiny boy with purple balls on his head. He threw his arms around Takeru's leg like a drowning man grabbing driftwood. "S-sir! Takeru-san! You—you saved me! Because of you, I got TEN EXTRA POINTS! TEN!!" the boy bawled. "My name is Mineta Minoru! Please accept my eternal gratitude!"
Takeru blinked, genuinely confused. "You don't owe me anything, Mineta-san. You stayed calm and acted when I told you. You are very good at using your quirk. Good job."
Mineta immediately began ugly-crying. Before Kendo could sigh, a pink-skinned girl with curly horns strutted up to Takeru. She was a bright ball of bubbly energy that would make Nejire proud, almost bouncing her way to him.
"Hey!" she chirped. "I'm Ashido Mina! And holy crap, Takeru-san, that missile hit your chest and you didn't even move. Are you made out of steel or something?"
Takeru chuckled, scratching his jaw. "Just durable. It would be hard to call myself a hero if I let a pretty girl get injured."
She blushed, turning a darker shade of pink. "Well, I'm not complaining," she managed between her giggles.
Kendo noticed the way Mina's eyes roamed appreciatively over Takeru's arms and rolled her own eyes.
Next, a girl with long dark hair and an eerie calmness stepped forward. Her voice was soft but clear. "My name is Yanagi Reiko," she said with a respectful bow. "Thank you for shielding me from the collapsing wall. Your assistance was… timely."
"Glad you're safe, Yanagi-san. Just doing what any hero would do," Takeru said politely. Reiko reddened slightly before stepping away.
Then came the lightest tug on Takeru's sleeve—so light Kendo barely noticed. "U-um… thank you… for saving me…" The voice belonged to someone invisible. They introduced themselves with a shy stutter: "H-Hagakure Toru… sorry… I know you can't see me…"
"Toru-san," Takeru said warmly, "you did well. I'm glad to see you are fine. Please check with the medics just in case."
The moment was sweet. Then the explosion happened. A harsh crack split the air as a blond boy with a wild explosion quirk stomped toward them, palms smoking, teeth bared like a feral animal. His mere presence made the crowd bristle. He jabbed a finger at Takeru.
"HEY! MEATHEAD!" he roared. "You think you can steal MY kills?! You think just because you can fly, you are better than me?! You stole my points, bastard!"
The crowd immediately pushed back. Someone snapped, "Dude, you almost blew ME up earlier!" Another yelled, "You destroyed half a wall for ONE robot!" A third added, "Take responsibility, man!"
The blond boy—Bakugo—twitched violently, veins bulging on his forehead. "SHUT UP, YOU USELESS EXTRAS OR I'LL—"
He never finished. A small shadow appeared behind him. Then a cane smacked the ground with a sharp clang. Everyone froze. A tiny elderly woman in a nurse's uniform looked up at Bakugo with eyes far too sharp for her age.
"I am Recovery Girl," she said sweetly. "And if you finish that sentence, young man, I will personally escort you off the premises and report your behavior for immediate disqualification. Do you understand?"
Bakugo stiffened. Her lips curled in a deceptively gentle smile. "Answer."
"…grr," he growled, teeth clenched, and stomped off. Kendo swore she saw sweat form on his temple.
Recovery Girl turned toward the rest of the crowd. "Move along now. You will all be informed of results later. No more shouting."
The moment she was gone, Kendo grabbed Takeru's wrist and pulled him away from the lingering crowd before anyone else tried to thank him or, worse, flirt with him. "What are you waiting here for? Should I wait while you sign autographs?" she muttered.
Takeru flashed a grin. "If I started signing, I'll make sure you get the first."
Kendo stifled a chuckle. "Keep walking, Mr. Hero."
He leaned closer. "Jealous? You know I love you, tomboy."
She scoffed, pretending not to blush. "Of that walking firecracker? Or the gremlin hugging your leg? Or of that acid whore? Please."
"Mm-hm." He didn't sound convinced.
When they finally stepped out of the plaza and into the quieter walkway leading toward the exit, Kendo let her breath settle. "Seriously," she said, shaking her head, "meathead?"
He grabbed Kendo by the waist and pulled her towards him, causing her to squeal. "I have never taken you flying."
"My bike," Kendo said weakly.
"It'll be there tomorrow," Takeru said with certainty.
As they flew, he added, "Keep the hero costume on. It makes me so stiff watching you in that thing."
Kendo shrank from a powerful heroine to a meek lamb. "Please don't tear it," she said desperately.