The week following the U.A. entrance exam was, quite frankly, a shit show.
While I was confident about my points score, the same cannot be said about the whole making a fucking nuke out of zero pointer
I sat on my sofa, staring blankly at the wall of my apartment. My body had mostly fine apart from some micro fractures involving my roof top crash landing, which by now had recovered, but the mental fallout was worse. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw that empty crater where zero pointer once stood over in Battle Center F.
"I overdid it," I whispered, pulling a cushion over my face. "I definitely overdid it."
Kyaaaaaaaa....how embarrassing... the second-hand embarrassment was the real deal.
Also, it wasn't just the physical exam I was worried about. I was reasonably sure I'd hallucinated half the answers on the written portion. I mean the maths part…haa the audacity it was like they, were not taking hero students, instead human calculators.
Plus, there was the 'Arsonist' factor. U.A. looks for hero material, people who protect and serve. I had looked at a multi-billion-yen piece of school property and decided to turn it into confetti because I was lost in thrill of battle. Would they even let me in? Or was there a specialised SWAT team currently being briefed on how to contain the "Middle School Bomber"?
"Ri..Riko."
I peeked over my cushion. My dad was standing in the hallway. He was holding a thick, heavy envelope with the U.A. seal, and he was gripping it so tight his knuckles were white. He looked even more nervous than I wa..
My heart did a frantic against my ribs. "Is that...?"
"It just arrived," he whispered, his voice trembling with a mix of excitement and terror. "Whatever it says, Riko... I'm proud of how hard you worked. Don't forget it"
"I know dad" I said, taking the envelope, my fingers were trembling.
I tore it open, as a small, metallic holographic disk slid out onto the coffee table.
The room dimmed as a projection flickered to life. Suddenly, the "Symbol of Peace" himself filled our living room.
"I AM HERE... AS A PROJECTION!" All Might's voice boomed, making my dad jump nearly a foot into the air.
"All Might?!" Dad gasped, clutching his chest.
"Young Akabane!" the hologram continued, flashing a grin that could power a small city.
"You performed spectacularly in the practical exam! Your combat instincts were incredible, and your power... well, our maintenance crew is still looking for pieces of that Zero Pointer!"
I winced. Yep. Definitely an arsonist.
"But U.A. does not only look at destruction," All Might said, his tone shifting. "We look for the heart of a hero! When you moved to save that student before engaging the giant, you earned something far more valuable than combat points."
A scoreboard flickered to life next to his head.
Name Villain Points Rescue Points Total
Bakugo Katsuki 77 0 77
Akabane Riko 62 15 77
(author - not writing the rest, -_-)
I stared at the numbers. My jaw dropped.
"A tie for first place!" All Might laughed. "With 62 Villain points and 15 Rescue points, you have reached the top of the leaderboard alongside Young Bakugo!
Welcome, Riko Akabane. From Now on, This is your Hero Academia!"
The hologram flickered and died.
Silence stretched in the living room for three long seconds.
"I tied him," I whispered, the realisation hitting me like a physical weight. "I actually tied that bastard."
"Rank one?" Dad breathed, his eyes filling with big, fat tears. "First place? Out of everyone? My little Riko is the smartest, strongest, coolest girl in the whole wide world!" (Author -maybe a bit too much)
I didn't think. I just lunged forward, throwing my arms around his neck and hugging him so tight he let out a little oof.
"I made it, Dad," I muffled into his shoulder, tears prickling the corners of my eyes. This wasn't a plagiarized story. This wasn't a plot I was just observing. This was me. I had carved my name into this world's history.
"You did, kiddo. You really did," he said, patting my back with a shaky hand. "A hero... my daughter is going to be a hero."
I pulled back, wiping my eyes and trying to regain my 'cool mature' persona. I looked at the letter again. First place. Tied with Bakugo.
Oh, he was going to be livid. It would've been even better I scored more than him, just to see the look on his face, but eh….He is still gonna be pissed that we got the same score.
I picked up my phone, my thumb hovering over the messaging app. I had a deadline for the next Attack on Titan chapter, and there was also my terminal countdown, but it didn't matter cause for the first time in two lives, I felt like the protagonist of my own story.
"Hey, Dad?" I said, looking up. "Let's go get that high-end ramen. I think I earned the extra pork belly today."
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Author's dungeon
This was supposed to be the bonus chapter that I thought I published yesterday....but it seems I forgot.....
Gomen'nasai