Chapter 3: The Cog in the Arena
"Finally, I've arrived at the place."
U.A. Academy.
In the grand scheme of things, after the odyssey he'd been through, (Suzuki Saito) didn't feel a great sense of awe. But he did feel it—the tangible proximity to the goal he wanted to reach. The towering, H-shaped main building didn't inspire poetic thoughts; it looked like a very efficient, very expensive machine for manufacturing heroes. He felt like a spare part hoping to be slotted in.
That feeling, however, didn't stop him. He began searching for the characters he knew, his red eyes scanning the crowd like a targeting system. The air was thick with the smells of fresh concrete, grass, teenage sweat, and the sharp, clean scent of industrial cleaner. It smelled like opportunity and antiseptic.
In the same moment, he heard a voice coming from near the entrance gate.
"You there. The one with the unkempt hair."
The voice was firm, authoritative, and at the same time, it sounded like it was born from a deep, abiding love for rulebooks and tax codes. (Suzuki)'s gaze snapped towards it.
A boy with neatly styled blue hair and glasses. His body was muscular in a rigid, textbook-perfect way. His arms were crossed over his chest, a posture of absolute certainty. He was looking at a boy with messy green hair who seemed to be vibrating with anxiety beside him. A girl with brown hair and a severe expression glared daggers at the green-haired boy.
"Just what the hell are you saying?!"
She was on the verge of shouting. But the bespectacled boy spoke again, his voice cutting through the pre-exam chatter like a scalpel.
"Listen well. I am not saying this because I look down on you. I am saying this for your own benefit. You cannot enter this place and become a hero without a Quirk."
The other participants nearby heard the boy speaking. The green-haired one didn't say anything. He just looked... locked up. His mouth opened and closed, but no coherent sound came out. He stammered, his words a jumbled mess of half-formed syllables. He didn't seem capable of uttering any comprehensible speech.
Anyway, for (Suzuki), it was obvious. This was the beginning of the story as it existed. That person was (Ida Tenya). The scion of a wealthy hero family. Furthermore, he was known in the original story as a rule-abiding, rigidly principled person. As for the green-haired one…
(Suzuki)'s eyes narrowed for a moment as he watched the future Symbol of Peace's fumbling performance. He clicked his tongue softly against the roof of his mouth.
"Is this the behavior of the future Symbol of Peace? I'm really starting to feel this boy isn't sensible."
He'd never trained a single day until after he got One For All, and only then did he begin to change. What kind of madness was that? If (Mirio Togata) had been the one to receive One For All, he would have been the world's strongest hero from day one. But thanks to the current Symbol of Peace, All Might, who chose sentiment over operational efficiency and picked such a stupid option… Of course, (Suzuki) was aware that (Midoriya) had the makings of a hero. He had a great desire to sacrifice himself for others. But compared to that, what had he done all the previous years?
Got bullied.
Never thought to train.
Never thought to do anything substantial to improve his situation.
He'd acted as if nothing mattered, and in the end, he asked others if he could become a hero. A question bubbled up inside (Suzuki). What had he actually done to make the person he was asking think he could become a hero?
All these criticisms, honed from years of reading the story and the manga, swirled in his mind. But now, seeing the real main character in the flesh, he couldn't help but let these feelings erupt from within him. Perhaps it was an outburst of bitterness. Because he had no Quirk, and (Midoriya) was similar, but he got a superpowered Quirk handed to him. On the other hand, (Suzuki), who got nothing, was forced to learn from scratch, to build himself, to make himself a person worthy of being a hero. Maybe he didn't possess the noble, self-sacrificing spirit of a true hero, but he was self-aware enough to know he would try to save people. At least until he could become famous.
[Yes, those were my reasons.]
And while he was thinking this, (Midoriya) didn't know what to say. There were no clear thoughts in his mind. He was nervous, he couldn't believe he was actually at U.A., he had a chance to become a hero... but (Tenya)'s words made him hesitate, filled him with doubt.
But in the end, the exam began.
A large screen flickered to life with a sharp crackle-hum. On it appeared a hero, grinning widely as he explained the rules. The voice boomed across the assembly area, echoing off the high walls.
[You will be divided into practice grounds!]
The students who looked at the screen saw the grounds, which looked like real, miniature cities. They were all fabrications built by the academy itself, which had managed, quite impressively, to construct such realistic buildings. The detail was insane—fake shopfronts, mock traffic lights, even tiny, non-functional cars.
[Your enemies will be these faux villains!]
A group of robots appeared on the screen. Most were small and medium-sized. The hero commentator pointed them out.
[For each robot you destroy, you will earn points! There are three types of robots! The first is worth one point! The second is worth two points! As for the third... we advise you not to approach it! It is not part of the point program!]
His voice was terribly, painfully clear as he indicated each type of robot. (Midoriya) nodded his head, writing these words in his mind as if repeating them to memorize them. At the same time, the other students were also looking at the robots. Some trembled because these robots looked fierce, all sharp angles and glowing red sensors. Others looked excited, finally ready to use their Quirks in the open and become a student at U.A., the most famous hero academy in Japan. Plus, the chance to be taught by the number one hero, the Symbol of Peace, All Might, who would also be joining the academy.
"The test... begins now!"
In short moments, the students began to divide as the faculty members sorted them into several designated areas. They were labelled A, B, C, D.
(Suzuki) went to area C.
He looked at the students who were beside him, taking them in with a quick, analytical sweep. And finally, he recognized one of them.
A boy who looked angry. Not the kind of hot, shouting anger, but the kind that was controlled, banked, and yet still visible in the violent curve of his grin. Small, crackling lights, like firecrackers, popped and snapped in his palms.
(Katsuki Bakugou).
He'd recognized one of the main characters of the work, the one with the extremely powerful Quirk: [Explosion]. The nitroglycerin-like sweat he could secrete and ignite from his hands. The power of the explosions was high enough to easily destroy buildings if used properly.
"I need to be careful of that one," (Suzuki) muttered to himself, his voice lost in the ambient noise.
He assessed if there were any other characters, but in the end, he didn't recognize anyone else nearby. No pink skin, no half-red-half-white hair. Just a crowd of anxious, powerful strangers.
Above them, from a viewing platform, the pro hero watched. He raised a hand, then brought it down in a swift chop.
A klaxon blared, a deafening BWAAAAAAAAH that shuddered through the ground.
On the giant screen, the words flashed: [THE EXAM BEGINS.]
In that moment, the students launched forward.
A chaotic stampede of superpowers erupted. A boy with engines in his calves, (Tenya), shot forward with a roar of torque and a blast of air that ruffled (Suzuki)'s hair. A girl with vines whipped them out, snaring a one-pointer. (Bakugou) blasted off the ground with a thunderous BOOM, propelled by his explosions, laughing maniacally as he flew towards the first cluster of robots.
The U.A. practical exam had officially begun.
(Suzuki Saito) didn't run with the frenzied crowd. He took a single, deep, calming breath. The air was now filled with the cacophony of destruction: metallic screeches, electric zaps, the crunch of crumpling steel, and the victorious shouts of applicants.
He unslung his backpack, dropped to one knee, and unzipped it with a swift zzzzip. His hands moved with practiced efficiency, pulling out his first pieces of gear. Not flashy. Not loud. Just tools.
He stood up, a compact, multi-lens visor now secured over his eyes, and a pair of reinforced, mechanized gauntlets covering his forearms and hands. They whirred softly as he clenched his fists, servos humming.
A one-point robot, a spidery thing with spinning saw blades, skittered around a corner, its red sensor locking onto him.
(Suzuki) didn't flinch. He sidestepped its lunge, the blades whistling past his torso. His left gauntlet shot out, not to punch, but to clamp onto the robot's main limb with a hydraulic hiss-thunk. He pivoted, using its own momentum, and slammed it into the concrete wall. The impact was a satisfying CRUNCH-WHIRR-GRIND of dying machinery.
No Quirk. No inherited power. Just leverage, timing, and six years of preparation.
He glanced at the sparking wreckage, then forward into the faux city, where the sounds of battle were already reaching a fever pitch.
The cog had entered the machine.
Now, it was time to see if it would hold, or be spit out as scrap.
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End of Chapter.
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The practical exam is underway! Our gadget-dependent hero-in-training faces off against killer robots and the overwhelming power of his peers. Will his preparation be enough, or is he about to learn a harsh lesson about the world of Quirks? Share your predictions in the comments!