The tremor started small, just a faint vibration under Megumi.
He felt it through the broken pavement as he moved through the quiet side street, but he kept going. It could have been another robot collapsing somewhere, or an examinee with a shockwave quirk slamming into a wall.
Then the second tremor hit, stronger. A distant metal groan rolled across the fake city like thunder.
Megumi stopped.
He turned his head toward the sound, shoulders loose but ready.
Other examinees didn't notice. They were still rushing around corners, shouting about points, sprinting in circles looking for robots that were already scrap.
Another vibration rolled under his feet. This one wasn't random. It had weight.
That's too heavy for the one-, two-, or three-point machines.
He waited.
The answer arrived with a metallic roar that rattled his bones. At the far end of the street, the front of a building shivered, then exploded outward as something enormous pushed right through it.
Concrete chunks crashed onto the road. Windows shattered in a ripple. A cloud of dust swept across the intersection.
Gasps and cries cut through the air.
"What is that?!"
"Is that the zero-pointer?!"
"They said to avoid it!"
Megumi narrowed his eyes.
The Zero Pointer stepped into view like a walking fortress, easily higher than the surrounding rooftops. Its sensors glowed as they swept lazily over the field.
Panels slid off rooftops and shattered on the ground. A streetlight bent almost in half from the air pressure alone when it passed.
The students near Megumi freaked out instantly.
"It's not worth any points, right?!"
"Run!"
"Move, move, move!"
They scattered, shoes skidding on debris.
Megumi's gaze slid past them, to the corner where half of a fake building had already collapsed. A group of examinees huddled behind the rubble, blocked on one side by fallen concrete and on the other by the street the Zero Pointer was now rolling into.
They looked like they'd forgotten how to move.
The Zero Pointer's arm began to lift, casting a wider shadow over them.
There isn't time to wait and see what it does.
"Rabbit Escape."
Shadows surged from under his feet, rushing forward as a swarm. Rabbits bloomed like dark ink across the pavement and raced down the street. Their small bodies piled and spread, forming a moving platform that rose up beneath Megumi.
He stepped onto them and felt the push as they began to run.
The ground blurred.
Wind stung his eyes as the Rabbits carried him down the street faster than his own legs ever could. As he neared the trapped examinees, the Rabbits spilled out, rushing under their feet, shoving at their shins and knees.
"Wha-?!"
"Something's pushing me-!"
"Move, just move!"
They stumbled away from the impact zone, forced into motion even while they were panicking.
The Zero Pointer's palm crashed down where they had been.
The pavement shattered. A shock of air hit Megumi's face even from the edge of the blast radius. Fragments of concrete skidded across the ground. A few Rabbits disappeared under the impact, shadows snapping like they'd been erased.
Megumi slid to a stop, shoes digging into the ground as the Rabbit platform broke apart beneath him and sank back into his shadow.
Dust rolled toward him, thick and chalky. He raised an arm over his mouth and nose, blinking grit from his eyes.
The Zero Pointer's sensors turned and settled on him.
He held its stare.
Big swing radius. Power is obvious. Slow reaction time. If it decides to move further into the city, anyone who trips is finished.
The machines under its base ground forward, pulling its bulk a step closer. The wrist joints whined as the same arm began to lift again.
Behind him, voices shook.
"Is he crazy?!"
"Why didn't he run with us?!"
"Just leave him!"
Megumi tuned them out.
He didn't need the whole picture. Just enough.
The Zero Pointer's arm tore through the air with a sound like a collapsing building.
Megumi didn't wait for the shadow to fall over him. His fingers moved.
"Rabbit Escape."
The ground burst open beneath him as a flood of shadowy rabbits shot forward, crowding under his feet in a surging wave. The mass lifted him immediately shadows swelling, bodies overlapping, carrying him sideways faster than his legs ever could.
The Zero Pointer's hand crashed down where he'd just been standing.
The pavement exploded.
Shards of concrete spat across the street as Megumi skimmed along the rabbits' backs, boots barely touching them. The swarm shifted with every tiny twitch of his weight, correcting his path instinctively.
He dropped off the wave the moment he reached clear ground, landing in a crouch as dust washed over him. His breath hitched once from the gritty air, but he forced it out and stood.
He ran toward the machine.
Each step bounced in his bones as the ground continued to vibrate. Another student off to the side shouted something about him having a death wish. Another tripped in their rush to get away and crawled behind an overturned car.
Megumi didn't look their way.
The Zero Pointer started to lift its other arm, metal fingers curling.
He needed height. Fast.
"Toad."
The shadow at his feet swelled and erupted as the massive toad burst from it, planting itself in the street ahead of him. Its huge eyes blinked once, then its tongue snapped out, coiling around Megumi's torso.
"Careful with the angle," he muttered.
Toad flung him upward.
The world dropped away. Wind tore at his face. For a brief second he saw the whole street spread out below him, students scattering like ants, rubble, and the looming face of the Zero Pointer.
He twisted midair, eyes locking onto the joint where its shoulder met the torso.
"Rabbit Escape."
Rabbits spilled out again, this time forming a quickly shifting staircase beneath him as he came down. Each one lasted only a heartbeat before melting back into the shadows, but it was just enough for him to land, push, land, push, using them as stepping stones in the air until he reached the top of the Zero Pointer's forearm.
His boots hit metal.
The surface vibrated under him as the arm kept lifting its way through the motion it had already started. He dropped low, pressed a hand against the plating, and felt the hum of power inside.
'One misstep and I'm paste.'
He started to run up the arm, body almost horizontal with the incline. The paint was slick with dust. His hand skidded once on a bolt, but he caught himself and kept moving.
Below, the Dogs darted in circles around the machine's base, snapping at exposed mechanisms to keep its attention split.
"Don't overdo it," he told them quietly.
The Zero Pointer's sensors glowed brighter, trying to track both the boy on its arm and the shadows by its legs.
Megumi reached the shoulder.
Here, the armor wasn't perfect. He spotted a narrow gap between plates, where heat vented out in shimmering waves.
He could probably attack the robot's control systems through the gap.
He set his jaw, planted his feet, and drew a breath.
"Great Serpent."
The shadows behind Megumi opened up a as a massive serpent erupted from behind, coiling around the robot's arm, striking the exposed gap in its armor with its fangs.
Metal screeched.
The serpent twisted, tearing free an entire slab of armor, exposing the internal structure beneath, the gap Megumi needed.
Sparks flickered inside the opening.
Megumi inhaled sharply.
He planted one hand on the robot's arm and pushed himself closer to the opening.
"Rabbit Escape."
This time the shadows didn't propel him, they swarmed past him.
Dozens of small shadow-rabbits flooded the gap, slipping between the cables.
He didn't need to tell them exactly how.
They understood movement, pressure, angles.
The inside of the Zero Pointer lit with tiny sparks as the swarm shredded cable after cable.
The robot lunged foward.
Its arm sagged.
Students watching from the street cried out.
"What's happening?!"
"It's arm!"
"Is someone inside it-?!"
Megumi didn't move.
He felt the Rabbits chewing through the last set of conduits. He felt the moment the machine's internal system faltered.
Time for the final blow.
He dropped from the arm.
Air rushed up to meet him. He twisted mid-fall, shoes pointed downward, eyes scanning the street.
"Nue."
Lightning split open the sky as the thunderbird erupted from the robot's shadow, wings snapping wide. It soared upward above the Zero Pointer's exposed shoulder.
Megumi felt the air charge.
Then...
A blinding bolt of lightning speared down from Nue's wings straight into the opened joint. The machine locked violently, sparks erupting in every direction.
The Zero Pointer froze.
Then a deeper rumble echoed from its frame as the internal systems overloaded.
Before Megumi hit the ground, he was swept up by Nue. Letting Nue reduce him momentum so that he wouldn't get hurt once he touched the ground.
Above him, the Zero Pointer swayed, systems fried from inside out.
It leaned.
Tilted.
And collapsed sideways, the entire street shaking as thousands of pounds of metal slammed into the buildings.
Silence flooded the air.
Megumi straightened slowly.
Behind piles of rubble, examinees stared at Megumi with wide stunned eyes.
A few whispered.
"…He took it down by himself."
"How?"
"Did anyone see him do it?"
"What even IS his quirk?"
Present Mic's announcement echoed through the ruined streets:
"AND THAT'S TIME! EXAMINEES, PLEASE RETURN TO THE FRONT GATES!"
The exam was over.
Megumi rolled his shoulders once, feeling the fatigue settle in under the leftover adrenaline. His breathing had finally started to slow.
He turned away from the Zero Pointer and walked toward the exit, stepping over smaller robot parts along the way.
He hadn't counted a single point.
Either it was enough or it wasn't. Obsessing over the number wouldn't change what he'd already done.
Up in the monitor room, U.A. staff stood in front of a wall of screens as the last feeds wound down.
On one you could see green-haired kid destroy the Zero-pointer with a single punch.
And on one, they replayed the segment of a black-haired boy riding a wave of shadow rabbits, being launched by a giant toad, and climbing a giant robot while calmly coordinating a small army of creatures made of darkness.
Power Loader whistled. "Well, that's official. One hundred thirty points. Highest in the last decade."
"Decade?" Present Mic leaned closer. "Try ever. That kid just broke the school record."
Midnight tapped the screen, "Combat points that high without collateral damage… that's rare. Most top scorers leave a mess. Like a certain explosion boy."
Vlad King folded his arms, eyes narrowing. "If he's that disciplined, he belongs in 1-B. My class is structured. Stable. He'd fit there."
Aizawa finally looked up from his tablet, one brow lifting. "You want the highest-scoring examinee? Since when do you get top picks?"
"Since 1-A gets overloaded every year," Vlad shot back. "Give someone else the top student for once."
"He's not a toy," Aizawa said flatly. "And if he's breaking records on day one, I'm not letting another homeroom teacher handle him."
Present Mic snickered. "Aizawa, you say that like you don't complain about every child you meet."
Aizawa ignored him. "He'll be in Class 1-A."
"That's presumptuous," Vlad argued. "Principal Nezu hasn't-"
"I've decided," Nezu said cheerfully from his seat, swinging his legs. "Fushiguro Megumi joins Class 1-A."
Vlad groaned loudly. "Why?"
Nezu smiled wider. "Because Class 1-A will have the best students it's had in years. I want to see what happens when we add so many strong students in one class. There'll be endless competition, who knows what levels they'll reach."
Aizawa tucked the tablet under his arm. "I'll adjust the curriculum."
"Good," Nezu replied. "You'll need to."
Vlad slumped back into his chair. "Next year, I'm filing a formal request for early choosing rights."
"It still won't make up for the fact that this year's 1-A will dominate the Sports Festival." Midnight said with a grin.
...
A few days passed.
The chaos of the exam faded back into regular life. Megumi went back to his usual routine: early mornings, physical drills, refining how quickly he could call each shikigami at the same time, going to his regular school just long enough not to get in trouble, visiting the hospital.
On the fourth afternoon, a plain envelope with U.A.'s seal waited in the mailbox by his apartment door.
He paused, key still in hand, looking at it.
His heartbeat didn't spike. His hand was steady when he picked it up.
He closed the door behind him and sat on the edge of the couch before opening it.
A small disk slid out into his palm.
He pressed the center.
The hologram flared to life in front of him, brighter and louder than he expected.
"YOUNG FUSHIGURO!"
All Might's huge, muscled form appeared, grinning so wide it looked like his face might split. Megumi's shoulders tightened for a second at the sudden volume in his quiet apartment.
He didn't flinch away, but he did lean back slightly.
"CONGRATULATIONS!" All Might boomed. "YOU HAVE PASSED THE U.A. ENTRANCE EXAM!"
Footage appeared beside him: clips of Megumi running the Dogs through robots, Rabbits carrying him through the streets, Serpent crushing a cluster of machines, Toad shielding a fallen examinee.
Megumi watched himself fight from the outside, eyes half-lidded.
So that's what it looked like.
All Might continued, voice just as energetic. "YOUR WRITTEN EXAM SCORES WERE VERY HIGH, AND YOUR PRACTICAL EXAM PERFORMANCE WAS EXCEPTIONAL! NOT ONLY DID YOU DEFEAT MANY ROBOTS, YOU ALSO PROTECTED OTHERS IN DANGEROUS SITUATIONS!"
There was a pause, just long enough to breathe before the numbers appeared.
"YOUR TOTAL SCORE…" All Might jabbed a thumb toward him, "IS ONE HUNDRED THIRTY POINTS. THE HIGHEST IN U.A.'S HISTORY!"
The number hung in the air beside the image.
Megumi's fingers tightened slightly on his knee.
Highest.
He let that settle for a moment. Not as something to be proud of, exactly, but as proof that all the hours hadn't been wasted.
He didn't smile.
But his chest felt lighter.
All Might's projection leaned closer, still beaming. "WELCOME TO U.A. HIGH SCHOOL, HERO COURSE, CLASS 1-A!"
The hologram flickered and disappeared.
The room went quiet again.
Megumi sat there for another few seconds, looking at the empty air where the hologram had been. Then he slid the disk into his pocket, folded the acceptance letter, and put it carefully on the low table.
He grabbed his jacket and left.
The hospital room looked the same as always when he walked in: pale walls, thin blanket, the steady beep of machines that no longer fazed him.
Tsumiki lay there, hair laid over the pillow, face peaceful in a way that didn't fit someone stuck between being here and not.
He took the chair by her bed, sat down, and rested his forearms on his knees.
For a while, he just listened to the machines and the faint sounds of footsteps in the hall.
Then he spoke.
"I got in."
His voice was even, but there was something in it that hadn't been there when he'd first started visiting every day. A thread of direction.
"Hero course," he added. "Top score."
He looked at her face, waiting for nothing and everything.
'You'd tell me not to skip meals just because I'm busy,' he thought. 'Or nag me about trying to talk to my new classmates at least once tommorrow.'
He huffed a very small breath that almost counted as a laugh.
"I'll make it work," he said softly. "I don't know how yet. But I will."
Before leaving, he adjusted her blanket and smoothed a wrinkle near her shoulder.
"I'll be back tomorrow," he said. "And the day after that."
On the walk home, the city lights felt a little sharper. The streets were the same. The air was the same.
But the path in front of him wasn't.
He didn't know what U.A. would do to him, or what he would have to do there.
He just knew one thing clearly as he walked under the streetlights with the acceptance letter resting against his chest.
'I'm not stopping here.'
...
Please leave comments, so that I can know what you think about it. See you next week.