Kyoka had never been the type to get overly sentimental. She was more the 'go with the flow' type—keep things simple, focus on what was in front of her, move forward, and don't dwell on things that couldn't be changed.
But there were some things even she couldn't ignore. Some things that stayed with her no matter how much time passed.
Tatsuo was one of them.
She wasn't as close to Tatsuo as Ryoto had been, of course. They were twins, after all—two halves of the same whole. But Tatsuo had been part of her world too. The three of them—Ryoto, Tatsuo, and her—had spent hours together playing dumb games, daring each other to try increasingly stupid things, sneaking into places they definitely weren't supposed to be. Even now, she sometimes found it hard to believe she'd been such a troublemaker. Anyone who saw her these days probably wouldn't even consider it.
Then there was Himiko, who'd transformed their trio into a quartet of chaos. At first, Kyoka had assumed Himiko was the quiet, prim-and-proper type. Then she gradually morphed into this energetic ball of chaos that matched Ryoto's energy perfectly. It was actually kind of impressive how completely she'd flipped. Only later did Kyoka learn about the quirk counseling issues, about Ryoto talking her through it.
While Ryoto had always been the louder twin—more reckless, more impatient—Tatsuo had been different. Calmer. More like her, actually.
Sometimes, Kyoka caught herself remembering those quiet afternoons when it was just her and Tatsuo, sitting together and listening to music while Ryoto was off getting into trouble somewhere with Himiko tagging along. Tatsuo understood music the way she did—not just as background noise, but as something alive. Something that spoke when words couldn't.
Then, one day, without any warning, he was just... gone.
The police had assured them they'd find him, but weeks became months, and Tatsuo remained nothing but a missing person's report.
She never really asked Ryoto how often he thought about his brother. The weight of that absence sat between them—unspoken but understood.
Now, as they stood at the entrance to U.A. High School, surrounded by dozens of hopeful students, she couldn't help but think that Tatsuo should have been here too.
But he wasn't here.
And so it was just the three of them.
Kyoka was scanning the crowd when she noticed Ryoto's eyes beginning to glow purple. A faint glow flickered at his back—the telltale sign that he'd activated his quirk.
"Whose quirk are you checking out?" she asked, following his line of sight.
"That girl over there helping the boy out." Ryoto's tone was casual, analytical. "Gravity manipulation, I think. Pretty strong quirk."
Kyoka looked where he'd indicated and spotted a girl with brown hair helping a green-haired boy who was currently in the middle of an impressive stuttering session. The poor guy looked like he might pass out from embarrassment.
"Are you sure the quirk isn't just an excuse to check her out?" Himiko grinned.
Ryoto rolled his eyes. "I've told you a hundred times, I'm more into mature women."
"Oh, so you like them big then?" Himiko's grin widened.
"Obviously."
"Then I guess Kyoka's out of the picture!"
Kyoka felt her eye twitch. "Hey, why are you dragging me into this? And who'd want to date this dork anyway? He only cares about winning and eating."
Seriously, how does she put up with these two hyperactive idiots? Sometimes she felt more like a babysitter than a friend.
Before Himiko could fire back with another teasing comment, Kyoka deliberately changed the subject. "What exactly did you get from her quirk?"
Ryoto caught the subject change—she could tell from the knowing look he shot her—and Himiko's grin somehow managed to grow even wider, but thankfully they let it drop.
"Anti-gravity," Ryoto answered. "Pretty cool, right? I really hope she gets into U.A. If she does, I'll be able to make it permanent."
Kyoka wasn't surprised anymore. Ryoto's quirk—Archive—was genuinely unfair. Honestly, she'd become somewhat numb to it—the sheer number of quirks he'd collected, the variety, the potential applications. She really couldn't see him losing to anyone in a straight one-on-one fight. Not with that kind of versatility.
Ryoto's quirk was genuinely unfair when you thought about it. Borderline cheating, actually. The way it worked was simple: he gets different quirks by targeting someone who was actively using their quirk. He didn't copy the quirk exactly—instead, he'd get something opposite or similar to the targeted ability, never quite the same but often just as useful or even more so. The really broken part? He could potentially get a powerful quirk even by targeting a weak one. The strength of what he gained didn't necessarily correlate to the strength of what he'd targeted.
But to make a quirk permanent, he needed to target the same person seven times while they used their ability. Each successful targeting let him use the acquired quirk for twenty-four hours, so it wasn't a total loss even if he never hit that seven-time threshold. It was like a trial period before the permanent acquisition.
The only real weakness of Archive was that he could only use two quirk at a time and the stamina drain. Using multiple quirks, especially powerful ones, could exhaust him quickly. But of course, Ryoto had solved that problem too by acquiring a quirk that transformed food directly into usable energy. Now he could just eat his way through stamina issues, which explained the constant snacking.
Sometimes Kyoka wondered if there was actually any limit to how broken his quirk could become.
They stepped forward, joining the stream of students moving toward the auditorium. Some were loud and confident. Others were quiet and focused. Kyoka took it all in—the different quirks, faces, the sheer number of people who wanted the same thing.
As they walked, her enhanced hearing picked up snippets of conversation:
"—heard only one in three hundred applicants actually gets accepted—"
"—did you see that guy with the explosion quirk? Looks like he's ready to murder someone—"
"—my cousin went here last year, said the practical exam is absolutely brutal—"
"—what if my quirk isn't good enough—"
"—bet half these people wash out in the first five minutes—"
Kyoka sighed, turning to Ryoto. "Everyone's so amped up. It's making my head hurt."
"Want me to cause a distraction?" Ryoto grinned. "I could always use Archive to make it look like Present Mic's wig fell off during his announcement."
"Oh my god, yes, let's do it!" Himiko's eyes lit up with that slightly unhinged enthusiasm that had become her trademark.
Kyoka snorted, trying and failing to keep a straight face. Sometimes she was genuinely surprised by how much Himiko had changed. It was like they'd somehow swapped personalities—Kyoka had been the troublemaker in childhood while Himiko played the proper girl, and now it was completely reversed. "Don't you two dare. We haven't even made it inside yet."
"Tch! Party pooper." Himiko's displeasure was immediate and dramatic, complete with an exaggerated pout.
"Just trying to lighten the mood," Ryoto shrugged, but his eyes still had that familiar trouble-seeking glint that meant he was absolutely still considering it.
"Your way of 'lightening the mood' got us banned from the corner store for a month last summer," she reminded him, remembering the disaster with Ryoto's quirk and the slushie machine.
"Totally worth it," Ryoto and Himiko countered in perfect unison, not missing a single beat.
Hopeless. They were both completely hopeless.
They reached the auditorium doors, and Kyoka paused, taking a deep breath. This was it. The first real step toward becoming a pro hero. Everything she'd trained for, all the hours of practice pushing her quirk to its limits, all the preparation—it all came down to what happened beyond these doors.
She closed her eyes, letting the sounds wash over her—hundreds of heartbeats, whispered conversations, the hum of electricity. Using her quirk like this centered her.
"Hey." Himiko's voice cut through her concentration, impatient as always. "Quit meditating already! We need to grab good seats before all the best spots are taken."
Kyoka opened her eyes and released the breath she'd been holding. Right. Seats. Practical concerns.
With that, they stepped into the auditorium together, ready or not.
---------------
Kyoka sat among the gathered examinees, her earphone jacks twitching. The seating had been arranged by middle school, which meant she, Himiko, and Ryoto were side by side—a small comfort.
She'd barely had time to settle in when the speakers blared to life, and Kyoka immediately winced as the volume.
"WELCOME, YOUNG HEROES, TO THE GRAND OPENING OF U.A.'S ENTRANCE EXAM! ARE YOU READY TO TAKE YOUR FIRST STEP TOWARD THE FUTURE? LET ME HEAR YOU SAY HEYYYYY!"
The reaction from the crowd was... not what he'd probably hoped for. Complete, awkward silence followed his enthusiastic greeting, save for two very distinct sounds:
Crunch crunch.
Mutter mutter mutter mutter—
Kyoka sighed, glancing around to identify the sources. The rapid muttering was coming from a green-haired boy several seats away, hunched over and clearly in his own world as he analyzed every single word Present Mic said with an intensity that bordered on obsessive. The crunching, on the other hand, was emanating from none other than Ryoto, who was busy demolishing a bag of chips without a single care in the world.
"Your timing is impeccable," she muttered sarcastically, giving him a sidelong glance. "Why did you even bring those?"
"I need fuel for the exam later," he replied through a mouthful of chips, completely shameless. "You know how Archive works. Gotta keep the energy reserves topped up."
"Hey, give me some too!" Himiko directly snatched the bag from his hands.
Ryoto sighed with the long-suffering air of someone who'd been through this exact scenario a thousand times before, then pulled out another bag from his seemingly endless supply. How many bags had he brought?
"WOW, WHAT A CROWD! YOUR SILENCE IS MAKING ME SHIVER WITH EXCITEMENT!" Present Mic continued, either oblivious to or choosing to ignore the lack of response. "ALL RIGHT, LISTEN UP, BECAUSE I'M ABOUT TO BREAK DOWN HOW THIS EXAM'S GONNA GO! ARE YOU READY?!"
More silence.
Crunch crunch.
Mutter mutter mutter—
Kyoka suppressed an eye roll. Typical. Ryoto wasn't even pretending to pay attention to the actual explanation. Instead, she could see that familiar purple flare in his eyes—he was scanning for quirks instead of listening.
She reached over and nudged him sharply in the ribs. "Oi, Ryo! Would it kill you to pay attention? Present Mic is literally explaining the exam rules right now, you know. I'm warning you—I'm not helping when you come running to me later asking what you missed."
Ryoto barely reacted, finishing his current chip before responding with a dramatic sigh. "Don't be like that, Kyoka! It's not like I can actually ignore the announcement with Present Mic's volume anyway. My ears are ringing like crazy. Help me out with your quirk, please? Block some of this out?"
"Me too, please!" Himiko looked genuinely frazzled by the volume, her usual energy dampened by the auditory assault.
Kyoka smirked. She'd known he would ask—had been fully prepared to say no just to watch him squirm for a bit—but the way both of them were wincing with each of Present Mic's exclamations made her relent. Besides, her own ears were starting to hurt from the sheer volume. Present Mic's quirk was no joke when it came to raw sound production.
"My quirk isn't free, you know," she said, playing hardball out of principle. "What's in it for me?"
Ryoto didn't even hesitate. "One Choco Monaka Jumbo for you, and Himiko covers the next time."
"Hey! I don't get allowance money like you two do!" Himiko protested.
"Shh! You're not gonna go broke buying ice cream," Ryoto shot back.
Himiko grumbled but eventually nodded in agreement, which made Kyoka grin. Time to raise the stakes.
"Before that deal goes through, I want fried chicken too," she said firmly, knowing her price and fully intending to stick to it.
"Fine, deal. Just don't tell your mom I'm the one who let you eat it."
Kyoka chuckled. "Even if I did tell her, she'd yell at me first for eating junk food, then come after you for being a bad influence."
With that settled, she activated her quirk along with the small amplifier device built into her jacket, subtly manipulating the sound waves around their immediate area to reduce the intensity of Present Mic's voice. It was a technique she'd developed over the years—similar to her Counter Balance move that she'd practiced extensively with Ryoto, but on a much smaller, more localized scale. Instead of completely nullifying sound, she was just dampening it to more manageable levels.
The relief on both their faces was immediate and gratifying.
"You're a lifesaver, Kyoka," Himiko breathed out, her shoulders visibly relaxing.
"And don't you forget it," Kyoka replied with a small smile of satisfaction. "I'm counting on that fried chicken. Extra crispy."
Meanwhile, Present Mic continued his presentation, completely oblivious to the conversations among the students. On the massive screen behind him, images of robot silhouettes appeared, each one labeled with point values in bold numbers.
"EACH BATTLE CENTER IS FILLED WITH THREE KINDS OF VILLAIN BOTS!" Present Mic gestured dramatically at the screen. "POINTS ARE AWARDED BASED ON THEIR DIFFICULTY LEVEL! SO USE YOUR QUIRKS TO BEAT THESE VILLAINS AND EARN POINTS! THAT'S YOUR GOAL, EXAMINEES! AND OF COURSE, ATTACKING OTHER EXAMINEES IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED, OKAY?!"
Kyoka listened carefully now. Her quirk wasn't the most overtly destructive ability—she wasn't going to be blowing up robots left and right like some of the flashier quirks here. But with precision, she could disable robots without getting close. She'd trained for this.
She was mentally running through potential strategies when a hand shot up in the crowd.
"Excuse me, may I ask a question?"
A blue-haired boy with glasses stood up, his posture rigid and formal, his voice carrying clearly through the auditorium. Kyoka recognized him immediately—Tenya Iida, younger brother of the Turbo Hero: Ingenium. His family was pretty well-known in hero circles, a legacy of speed-based heroes. His reputation for being serious and by-the-book preceded him.
Present Mic gestured for him to continue, seeming pleased that someone was actually engaging.
"On the handout provided, there are clearly four types of villains listed," Iida stated. "However, you only mentioned three in your explanation. Such an oversight would be the height of embarrassment for a top-tier academy like U.A.! If the school makes errors at the entrance exam itself, there will naturally be questions regarding its overall teaching capabilities and attention to detail."
Kyoka blinked. Wow, this guy's intense. She glanced down at her own handout and, sure enough, there was indeed a fourth robot type listed that Present Mic had conveniently skipped over. Good catch, actually, even if the delivery was a bit... much.
Then, without warning, Iida suddenly turned and pointed directly at two students—Izuku, the green-haired muttering boy from earlier, and Ryoto, who was still working through his chips. "Moreover, what's with you two?! You, with the curly hair, and you, with the silver hair—you've both been making disruptive noise this entire time! It's distracting to those of us trying to focus! If you believe U.A. is some kind of playground where you can do as you please, then you should leave immediately!"
Izuku flinched visibly, looking absolutely mortified, his face going pale. The poor guy looked like he wanted the floor to open up and swallow him whole.
Ryoto, on the other hand, didn't even blink.
"First of all, I need to eat for my quirk to function properly. It's not a snack—it's fuel. I don't see any rules in the handout prohibiting necessary quirk preparation." He paused. "Second, if something this minor distracts you, you should seriously reconsider your career choice. What are you going to do if there are distractions during a real fight? Stop everything to lecture the villain about proper etiquette? Ask them to keep it down while you concentrate?"
Several students nearby snickered, and Himiko was grinning from ear to ear, clearly enjoying the show. Classic Ryo. She'd watched him talk his way out of trouble countless times before.
Iida stiffened, clearly caught off guard by the logical response. His rigid posture somehow became even more rigid, if that was possible. "I... Oh. If it's genuinely for your quirk's operation, then I apologize for my rudeness and the assumption." He gave a stiff, formal bow before sitting back down, apparently satisfied with this explanation.
Kyoka raised an eyebrow, leaning slightly toward Ryoto while keeping her voice low. "I can't believe he actually bought that so easily."
Ryoto flashed her a smug look that said I know exactly what I'm doing, which made her roll her eyes even as she fought back a smile.
Present Mic, seemingly unbothered by the interruption—probably used to this kind of thing—took it in stride and continued with his explanation.
"OKAY, OOOKAY! THANKS FOR THE SEGUE, MUCH APPRECIATED, EXAMINEE 7111!" He pointed at Iida with finger guns. "FOR YOUR EXCELLENT QUESTION, THE FOURTH TYPE OF VILLAIN YOU'LL ENCOUNTER IS WORTH ZERO POINTS! LET'S CALL THEM 'ARENA TRAPS'! LIKE THE OBSTACLES IN SUPER MARIO BROTHERS—THEY'RE JUST THERE TO GET IN YOUR WAY! YOU CAN AVOID THEM IF YOU'RE SMART!"
Iida nodded, seemingly satisfied with this answer. "Thank you for the clarification, sir. I apologize for the interruption."
"NO WORRIES, YOUNG LISTENER!" Present Mic gave him an enthusiastic thumbs up. "NOW, THAT'S ENOUGH TALK FROM ME! AS THE GREAT HERO NAPOLEON BONAPARTE ONCE SAID—" he struck a dramatic pose, "—'A TRUE HERO NEVER STOPS OVERCOMING THE MISFORTUNES IN LIFE!' SO, EVERYONE, LET'S MOVE TO THE MAIN EVENT AND GIVE IT YOUR 'PLUS ULTRA!!' MAY YOU ALL SUFFER GREATLY IN THE TRIALS TO COME!"
A chill ran down Kyoka's spine at those final words. They weren't exactly encouraging—actually kind of ominous when you thought about it—but then again, U.A. had never been known for taking it easy on its students. This was the top hero school in Japan for a reason. They wanted the best, and they'd make damn sure only the best made it through.
"Hey," Ryoto's voice broke through her thoughts. She looked over to find him checking his battle center assignment card. "We've got different testing sites."
Kyoka blinked, quickly pulling out her own card. "Battle Center C," she read aloud.
"Battle Center B," Himiko announced, holding up her card with a slight frown. "They're really splitting us up, huh?"
"I'm in Battle Center E," Ryoto confirmed, tucking his card away. "Makes sense though. They don't want friends helping each other out or coordinating strategies. Everyone has to prove themselves individually."
"Well," Kyoka said, standing and stretching, feeling her joints pop, "guess you two idiots will have to manage without me saving your asses for once."
"Please." Ryoto grinned, that competitive fire lighting up in his eyes. "If anything, I'm the one always bailing you out."
"In your dreams, maybe," she shot back without missing a beat.
"We'll see who's dreaming when the scores come out," Ryoto countered.
Before their bickering could continue, Himiko held out her fist, that grin still firmly in place. "Let's see who scores the most points then. Make it interesting."
Kyoka felt her own competitive spirit rising to match theirs. She bumped her fist against Himiko, and Ryoto quickly joined in, their three fists meeting in the middle. "Yeah. You're on."
As they separated to head to their respective battle centers, Kyoka allowed herself a small smile. Whatever happened next, at least she wouldn't be bored.
Time to show U.A. what she could do.