— — START — —
[1st Person POV: Sorashi]
The moment my foot crossed into the city proper, something clanked.
I skidded to a stop just long enough to scan the street—and there it was.
A 3-Pointer right from the start?
Big. Boxy. Loud. Standing in the middle of the road like it paid rent here. Its single red eye flickered as it turned, locking onto me with all the subtlety of a fire alarm.
"…Wow," I muttered. "I'm flattered you noticed me first."
The robot's gears whined, shoulders shifting as it raised one massive arm.
Right. No sightseeing.
I inhaled, feet planting against the pavement. The city around me felt suddenly sharper—edges clearer, sounds louder. Somewhere behind me, people were shouting. Somewhere ahead, metal scraped against metal.
But right now?
It was just me and the walking refrigerator with anger issues.
"Okay, Sora," I whispered to myself. "Nice and clean. One hit. You've practiced this hundreds of times with Tensei-nii."
My body moved before my brain could finish the pep talk.
I sprinted forward.
The 3-Pointer roared—they can do that?—and slammed its arm down where I had been a second ago. The pavement exploded in a spray of concrete.
I jumped, barely clearing the shockwave, heart slamming against my ribs.
Note to self: robots should not be allowed to hit that hard.
I landed awkwardly, knees screaming in protest. Instinct screamed louder.
'Legs first.' Tensei's voice echoed in my head like an annoying conscience with great advice.
I rolled instead, letting momentum carry me across the street. My palms burned as I skidded to a stop behind an overturned car.
"Okay," I panted. "So maybe not one hit."
The robot turned, slow but relentless. Each step shook the ground.
I peeked around the car, brain racing.
3-Pointers weren't smart. They were tough, but simple. Which meant—
"Hey, buckethead!" I shouted, waving my arm.
The red eye snapped toward me immediately.
Yep. Simple.
It charged.
I bolted out from cover, leading it straight down the narrow street. Windows rattled as it barreled after me, arms swinging wildly.
"C'mon, c'mon," I muttered, eyes scanning—
There.
A narrow intersection. Tight turn. Cracked asphalt.
I cut sharply left at the last second.
The robot didn't. Its foot hit the damaged pavement, weight shifting just enough—
—and that was my opening.
I slid to a stop, spun, and finally let my quirk breathe.
A compact cloud formed above the robot's head, dense and coiled.
"Down," I said, calm and clear.
The cloud slammed into the robot's upper frame like a hammer.
Metal screeched. The 3-Pointer toppled forward, crashing face-first into the street. I sent another solid cloud down its head, crushing it.
Its eye flickered wildly before going dark.
Silence.
I stood there, chest heaving, staring at the wreck.
Then—
BEEP.
I blinked.
Then I laughed. Loud. A little hysterical.
"Oh my god," I said, hands on my knees. "That actually worked."
I straightened, grinning like an idiot.
One robot down. City still full of them.
I cracked my neck, clouds hovering lazily at my feet now—waiting, not carrying me.
"Alright," I said, stepping forward into the city. "Let's see how far I can push my luck."
...
I glanced down at my empty hands as I jogged forward, adrenaline still buzzing under my skin.
"…Man," I muttered, flexing my fingers. "This would've been way cooler with my staff."
It really was a shame. The metal pole was basically an extension of me at this point—balance, reach, comfort.
But no weapons were allowed unless they were part of your quirk or your body, and unfortunately, bonking things with a stick did not count as a supernatural ability.
Rules were rules. This is why I never really liked them.
I pushed the thought aside as another metallic clatter echoed from the next street over.
Ah. More customers.
I slowed, peeking around the corner. Two 2-Pointers this time.
They stood apart, one partially blocking the street, the other scanning aimlessly like it had lost its keys. Their movements were stiff, predictable.
My shoulders loosened.
Okay. Yeah. I could do this.
I stepped out into the open. Immediately, both heads snapped toward me.
"Hi," I said politely. "Please form an orderly line."
They did not, and both charged at me.
I broke into a sprint, but instead of running away, I ran straight at them.
At the last second, I dropped low, sliding between their paths. As I passed, I flicked my wrist.
Two clouds formed—thin, almost translucent.
"Bind."
The mist thickened instantly, wrapping around their legs like coiling ropes. The robots took another step—
—and crashed forward in a spectacular pile of metal and sparks.
I popped back to my feet, blinking.
"…Huh," I said. "That was easier than I thought."
Before they could recover, I raised my hand again.
"Down."
The clouds compressed, slamming both heads into the pavement in unison.
BEEP. BEEP.
That would bring me to 7 points already.
I grinned, jogging past the smoking wreckage.
Alright. Pattern established.
As I moved deeper into the district, the city started to feel less like a maze and more like a playground. Narrow alleys, broken stairs, abandoned cars—terrain mattered here, and I finally had the space to use it.
A robot burst through a storefront ahead of me, glass raining down.
I jumped back, then sprinted up the side of a nearby wall, boots pounding against brick.
Mid-run, I summoned a cloud beneath my foot—not to carry me, just to kick.
The extra push sent me higher. I twisted midair, palm outstretched.
The cloud formed at the robot's shoulder, shoving it sideways just enough to throw its balance off. It stumbled, arms flailing.
I landed behind it.
"Fall," I said as I crashed a solid cloud above its stumbling head.
It did.
Hard.
BEEP.
Somewhere along the way, I realized I wasn't panicking anymore.
My breathing was steady. My movements felt… natural.
"Oh," I murmured after sending another 1-Pointer face-first into a mailbox. "So this is what it's supposed to feel like."
Effortless.
A robot lunged from my blind side.
I sidestepped without thinking, cloud snapping into existence at my shoulder to shove me just a bit farther. My foot caught itself. Legs first.
I twisted, palm out.
"Bye-bye, stupid clanker."
The cloud smacked the robot's head down into the asphalt.
BEEP.
I laughed again, breathless.
"Sorry," I told the unconscious machine. "No rematch."
As I jogged onward, I glanced at the timer mounted on a nearby building.
Still plenty of time. Still plenty of city.
"…Yeah," I said, clouds swirling lazily at my feet as I picked up speed. "I'm starting to really like this exam."
I rounded the corner—and then slowed.
An idea clicked.
"…Oh, right."
I looked down at my feet.
Then at the open stretch of road ahead of me.
I grinned.
"Okay," I muttered. "Let's try this."
I stepped forward and formed a cloud right under my soles. It puffed into a dense shape, hovering just inches above the asphalt.
I gingerly put my weight on it.
It dipped. It didn't vanish, and didn't wobble too badly either.
"…No way."
I shifted my stance, knees bent, one foot forward.
The cloud responded immediately, firming up where I leaned, thinning where I didn't. It felt—surprisingly—like standing on a board.
I extended my right arm, and with a thought, the cloud slid forward.
I yelped—half panic, half delight—as the city began to move beneath me.
"OH. OH THIS IS—"
I leaned too hard.
The cloud shot forward.
"—FAST."
Wind whipped past my face as I zipped down the street, laughing like an idiot. I extended my other hand, summoning another cloud to the side, nudging my direction like a rudder.
Left turn.
Smooth.
Right turn.
Smoother.
Let's stick to the ground for now.
I crouched slightly, instincts kicking in, balance coming from my legs first—then the cloud compensating.
"Okay," I said, eyes wide. "Yeah. I'm never walking again."
A scream snapped me out of it.
I swerved hard, cloud skidding sideways as I followed the sound into an intersecting street.
Up ahead, a girl had backed herself against a bus stop, hands shaking as a 2-Pointer loomed over her. Its arm rose, gears whining.
She was frozen.
"HEY!" I shouted.
The robot turned just in time for a trash can—riding a cloud like a missile—to slam into its head.
I leapt off my board, landing in a run.
"Down."
The cloud beneath the trash can compressed, smashing the robot into the pavement.
BEEP.
The girl stared.
I skidded to a stop in front of her, breathing hard. "You okay?"
She nodded rapidly. "Y-Yeah. Yeah! I—thank you!"
"Anytime," I said, already stepping back onto my cloud.
I kicked off.
I turned towards another block. Another scream.
This time it was a boy trapped under fallen debris, a robot clawing at concrete inches from his head. I leaned, the cloud ramping me up the side of a car.
Midair, I thrust my palm out.
"Pull."
The cloud yanked the robot backward by its torso, dragging it away from the boy.
I landed, sprinted, and finished it off with a sharp downward strike of compressed cloud.
BEEP.
"You good?" I asked, helping the boy to his feet.
He stared at me like I'd descended from the clouds themselves.
"…You're insane."
"Correct," I said cheerfully.
I didn't keep count after that.
A kid pinned by rubble—I lifted the debris just enough for her to crawl free.
Two examinees cornered by three robots—I bowled through, clouds slamming machines into each other like toys.
One familiar pink girl mid-run, excitement spiraling—and I skidded in sideways, cloud catching her before her face met the ground.
Each time, I barely stopped.
A word. A shove. A command.
Then I was gone again, cloud-board carving through the streets like a madman, mist trailing behind me like a comet's tail.
— — END — —
A/N: Do y'all like the 1st Person POV writing? Want to see more of it in the future?