THIRD PERSON POV
Inside the darkened monitoring room, the air was thick with the glow of a hundred screens and the silent scrutiny of the U.A. faculty.
"A diverse crop this year," Principal Nezu chirped, sipping tea. "Battle Center A and F has shown candidates with huge potential.
"explosive potential" Aizawa muttered, his eyes narrowed at a screen showing a girl moving with terrifying fluidity.
On the monitor, was Riko Akabane, she didn't seem to be having trouble fighting, she even seemed to having fun. She dancing with the robots. She slid under the legs of a 3-Pointer, tapped its chassis, and was already ten feet away before it detonated. She used the recoil of explosion, pivoting in mid-air to flick charged marbles into the sensors of distant robots.
"She's not just using her Quirk," Midnight observed, leaning in. "Look at her footwork. Her combat instinct is incredible. She's adapting to the robots' patterns in real-time."
"She looks like she's having fun," Vlad King added, a bit unsettled.
Indeed, on the screen, Riko's face was split into a wide, manic grin, one that would've made Sukuna proud. Every explosion, every metallic crunch, seemed to feed a fire in her eyes. She was turning into a battle junkie and, for some reason, appeared to be in her element among the chaos.
RIKO POV (Battle Center F)
Ahh….SUBARASiiiiiiiiiii. Riko all but moaned
A 2-Pointer's head snapped backward as I flicked a marble into its sensor. I didn't even stop to watch it fall. I was already sliding under the legs of a 3-Pointer, my hand grazing its chassis for a split second....just enough to dump a lethal charge into its gears.
BOOM.
Sooooooooo funnnn…..
Was I turning into a battle junkie….Sure I mean growing up with Bakugo was sure to have its after effects.
I came up from the slide stop, my pulse beating frantically. The dull ache of the cancer, the existential dread, the stolen stories, all vanished. In the heat of the fight, it didn't matter, for now it was just me and my opponents, for right at this moment, I felt like I was alive.
My heart and soul were screaming with joy. The joy, the feeling I felt, at the moment couldn't be matched by any substance....it was exhilarating. Every time a robot moved, my body moved on its own, there was no grand planning, just pure instinct and madness. Every time I dodged, my body felt lighter, faster. I was adapting. I was evolving.
Flick. Snap. Detonate.
"Points: 54," I breathed, spinning a steel pellet between my fingers. "More. I need more."
I was a junkie for the rush. The smell of burning grease and the shockwaves of my own explosions were more addictive than any bestseller I'd ever published. I was a blur of motion, clearing entire streets.
Suddenly, the ground groaned.
Finally, I thought
The sky seemed to darken as the Zero Pointer mechanical mountain emerged from the dust. It was a terrifying sight. A skyscraper-sized monstrosity designed to be avoided, not fought.
The students around me didn't hesitate. They turned tail and ran, their screams filling the air. For a second, I turned to follow. I wasn't an idiot. There were no points for this thing.
"HELP!"
The voice was small, muffled by the grinding of gears. I skidded to a halt. A boy was pinned under a heavy concrete slab, his leg crushed, eyes wide with terror as the Zero Pointer's massive tread loomed over him.
Without thinking, I moved. I lunged toward him and slammed my palms against the concrete, channelling a sharp, localized blast through my fingertips. The slab spider-webbed and shattered. I hauled the kid out by his collar, tossing him clear of the robot's path just as the massive tread began to get close.
He didn't stick around. With a breathless "Thank you," he scrambled to his feet and sprinted toward the exit. I watched him go, but there was no rush of adrenaline, no warmth of a "good deed" done. Instead, a hollow question sat in my gut: Why? Why did I help him?
The thought flickered for only a second before the cold logic of the exam settled back in. Rescue points. Of course. Why else would I risk my neck? I'm no saint.
I looked back. The Zero Pointer was right there. It was so close I could feel the heat radiating from its massive cooling vents.
It was…. huge
THIRD PERSON POV (Monitoring Room)
"Center F! The student has stopped!" Present Mic leaned forward, his voice losing its theatrical edge. "Is she having cold feet? Look at her….she's trembling!"
On the screen, Riko Akabane stood alone before the giant. Her hands were shaking violently, it looked like the paralysis of fear.
"She saved the other student, but she stayed too long" Midnight whispered, her hand folded over her chest.
"The Zero Pointer is right on top of her! Is she in shock?" Cementos commented.
"Nezu, stop the robot," Present Mic urged, his hand reaching for the emergency kill switch.
"Wait," Aizawa said, his eyes narrowing as he leaned closer to the monitor.
"Look at her face. That's not fear."
Through the high-definition camera, they saw it. Riko wasn't trembling from terror. She was vibrating with a terrifying, manic excitement. A wide, jagged grin was spreading across her face.
"She is excited", Aizawa deadpanned
a drop of sweat rolling down the rest of the teachers present temple.
RIKO POV
I should run. That's what a sane person would do. But looking up at this thing... this massive, thousand ton destructive machine...
I couldn't walk away.
My blood was on fire.
If someone saw my face they have seen a massive grin on my face
Ahhhhh….fun…so funnn
Not when there was something this big to break.
"Come on, you oversized toaster!" I roared, my voice losing all sense of rationality.
I leaped, charging the ground and using its explosion as a boost to propel myself thirty feet into the air. I landed on the robot's massive knee joint. I didn't stop. I climbed, my fingers digging into the gaps in the armour plates, my body moving with a fluid, desperate hunger.
I reached the center of its head, right over the core. My hands were glowing a blinding, incandescent light, my skeletal structure till my shoulders where visible.
"Everything", I whispered, my vision blurring with a sudden surge of internal heat.
"I'm giving you everything!"
I slammed my palms flat against the core plating. I didn't just charge an object. I turned myself into a conduit. I opened the floodgates, letting a massive flood of energy to pool into the robot.
The Zero Pointer stalled. Its internal fans shrieked. A low, guttural groan vibrated through its entire frame as the metal began to glow cherry-red.
I stopped pouring in my energy mid-way, knowing it was about to explode, I jumped, soon followed by a
"KABOOM!"
The Zero Pointer's chest cavity blew outward in a spectacular supernova of fire and exploded like a small nuke had just gone off. The shockwave shattered every window for three blocks.
The shockwave launched me, effectively getting me out of the blast radius. I adjusted my flight and crashed onto one of the roofs of a building.
Then turned to look at my masterpiece and there I saw…..
The massive robot, or where it once stood, was a just an empty carter, smoke coming out of it.
THIRD PERSON POV
The monitoring room was silent.
On one screen, in Battle Center B, Izuku Midoriya was falling from the sky after shattering a Zero Pointer's head with a single, suicidal punch.
On another screen, in Battle Center F, putting it lightly was pure destruction; if the teacher didn't know any better, one would think it was a terrorist attack.
Aizawa sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "A boy who breaks his own body to save a stranger... and a girl who nuked a robot just for the thrill of it."
He looked at the two screens side-by-side.
"Principal," Aizawa said, his voice flat but weary.
"This year's class... they're going to be nothing but trouble."
________________________________________________________________________________________________
Authors Note
"..."
I'm pissed.... I uploaded them chapters, thinking they were good, layout-wise at least... it's my fault or not previewing them.... I thought you guys would see it as I did when writing...ma bad.
Also, this is my first attempt at a fight scene, I know it's shite....But I think the USJ one (currently in progress) is gonna be better.... no promises though...fingers crossed
Also, there will be a bonus chapter as an apology
peace out