A bit of a timeskip, not much of one but we ride.
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Mikhail PoV:
It was a remarkably sunny day outside, the birds chirped, the sound of neighbours going about their day being audible outside our small window.
I sat on the old, creaking chair that i promised Sora to fix years ago but never did.
I looked around myself, the old table, my smiling wife, the simple breakfast consisting of eggs, bread and bacon, and then my gaze landed on Kyso, my son.
I zoned out, it felt like yesterday when the boy's quirk first awakened, we were terrified, his quirk was not even closely similar to ours, but we saw past the quirk. Kyso was like a ball of sunshine, always wanting to help, always seeking friendship and connection. I remember the day he came home from school the day after his quirk got awakened, he killed the class pet, a hamster. He didn't mean it, but the kids though different, kyso's little tears confirmed it.
But until a while ago, kyso never had friends, before he suddenly revealed in the car how he made a new friend, and then a week later proceeded to go to the carnival with that 'friend', who sora has high suspicions of being a bit more than a friend. But i could tell kyso got happier recently, i could hear him awake late at night texting on his phone, i was proud. My little boy finally got out of his shell and started living the normal life of a teenager, he was finally smiling again.
"Mikhail, are you okay? You didn't even touch your food." Sora's voice pulled me out of my thoughts as i gave her a sheepish smile, realizing i haven't even started eating.
"Yeah i'm okay, don't worry."
Sora narrowed her eyes at that, but didn't press the issue further.
I then looked across the table, seeing kyso eating his food i spoke up. "Kyso."
"Yes, dad?"
"Come help me in the garage after breakfast."
"Alright."
And then breakfast came and went as I took kyso to the garage towards my old mustang.
"I just need your help fixing her up, just help me with a tire."
"But i don't know how to fix a tire."
"You'll learn."
I instructed kyso on what to do, and started speaking as we worked.
"You're going to that U.A entrance exam today, right?"
"Yeah."
Seeing his answer, i nodded.
"Are you nervous?"
"A little bit."
"Why? Do you think that you'll fail?"
I asked, raising a brow.
"... Well no but-"
"Then why are you nervous?"
"... I don't know, maybe i am scared i won't pass."
"Kyso, i won't start talking about how that even if you fail that the point is you've tried, you've seen enough movies to know that line too well. But what I will tell you is that even if you fail, you can simply keep doing it again until you pass, because there's always a better tomorrow."
Kyso thought deeply over my words, zoning out while tightening a lug nug on one of the tires, his grip tightened unconsciously, and the metal beneath his hand started to groan, tiny puffs of grey dust rising. He panicked, jumping away from almost ruining my car.
"S-sorry dad, I almost-"
I shook my head, reaching out and taking his hands in mine. My hand was thick, covered in grease and marred with old scars, kyso's hand was grey, cracked. Yet my grip was firm and grounding as I reached into my pockets, pulling out a pair of black gloves, they weren't flasy, or special, they were nothing of the sort but they were mine. And now I was giving them to kyso.
"Kyso, I want you to have these, to remind you what we do. We don't just tear down, son. We control, wear these, keep your head up."
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Kyso was on the train, his hands tucked into his pockets, the gloves from his father equipped on his hands. The old leather seat was a bit uncomfortable to sit on, but kyso has sat on worse. He listened to the Click Clack of the train, muting out the low murmurs of other passengers as he silently stared on the condensation on the window.
The train rounded a bend, and U.A high-school came into view. It was a massive, towering structure of glass and blue steel shaped like an H. it was modern, perfect architecture, looking like a giant mirror reflecting all his flaws.
As the bus neared to a stop, kyso waited till the last passenger stepped out before stepping out as well, joining the sea of endless teenagers walking towards the gate. The atmosphere was intimidating, enhanced by the nervous chatter of hundreds of kids and the weird sights.
A kid with a giraffe head, a kid with a spray can for his head, which made kyso give a silent second of pity to, and even some broccoli hair kid who fell only to be saved by a brown haired girl, kyso could swear he remembered that kid from the news.
———
The kids were packed into what looked like a massive dim theater, but kyso flinched as a loud screeching ran across the theater before a booming, annoying voice rang out.
"WHAT'S UP U.A CANDIDATES?WELCOME TO MY LIVE SHOW TODAY! EVERYBODY SAY HEY!"
silence, not even a cough, not a clap out of pity, not even a cricket. The loud blonde man was frozen, as if not having expected this reaction, but he recovered fast enough.
"What a refined response... then i'll quickly present to you the outline of the practical exam! Are you ready? YEAH!"
The screen behind him lit up with a map of the testing locations, showing lettered battle centers from A to G.
And the loud man spoke again.
"As says in the application requirements, you listeners will be conducting ten-minute mock urban battles after this! You can bring whatever you want with you. After the presentation, you'll head to the specified battle center, okay?"
He paused, waiting for a reaction that never came and continued again.
"Three different types of faux villains are stationed in each battle center. You earn points for each of them based on their level of difficulty. Your goal, dear listeners, is to use your Quirks to earn points by immobilizing these faux villains! Of course, playing the anti-hero and attacking other examinees is a UA no-no!"
The screen behind him lit up with retro, video-game styled silhouette of the three 'villains' with their point values.
The one-pointer had an 'easy' next to its name, it was a small, wheeled robot.
The two-pointer had 'medium' next to it's name, it was a sturdier multi-legged robot.
The three pointer had 'hard' next to it's name, it was a large, heavy-duty robot.
Before the blond man could read out the information, a stuck up voice range out through the silence as a tall, blue haired student in glasses stood up and raised his hand, demanding attention.
"May i ask a question?"
"Sure." The blond man pointed at him and agreed.
And then the boy's stuck up voice spoke up.
"On the handout, there are four types of villains listed, but you only spoke of three! If this is a misprint, then UA, the most prominent school in Japan, should be ashamed of such an error! We examinees are here because we wish to be molded into exemplary heroes!"
He supposedly wasn't finished as he turned and pointed to the broccoli haired kid that kyso saw earlier.
"And you! Stop muttering, you are being a distraction which prevents us from concentrating!"
The poor boy didn't even know what he did wrong.
The blonde man just laughed it off and adressed his question, bringing up a graphic of the massive, looming fourth robot.
"Okay, okay! Thanks for the feedback, Examinee Number 6767! The fourth type of villain is worth zero points! That guy's an obstacle, so to speak. There's one in every battle center, a gimmick that will rampage in tight spaces. It's not impossible to defeat, but there's no point in defeating it either. I recommend that you listeners try to actively avoid it!"
The boy bowed, looking deeply satisfied.
"Thank you, and i apologize for the interruption."
And then he sat back down.
And the blonde man spoke up once again.
"Alright students, this will be it from me. And finnaly i'll give you guys a present, our school moto! The great hero Napoleon Bonaparte once said: 'A true hero is one who overthrows misfortune.' Go beyond! Plus Ultra! Okay, everyone, good luck suffering!"
And end of chapter.
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How'd yall like the chapter? And if anyone is wondering why i stoped capitalizing Present mic's yelling... It was just a handfull. And yes, it may have looked like i dropped the fic but i didn't. (I came back just to fix my minor spelling mistakes) so see you next chapter