The three of us are looking down on three envelopes laying on the table in front of us. We are gathered here today to look at each others results from the test, including Uiharu, Shiina and Haru that are watching through a video call.
The tension was palpable, not for fear of failure, we know we're all going pass. No, the tension came from the experience of opening the letters themselves, kind of like how people can get drunk off of the atmosphere even without drinking.
"I'll go first." Declared Saten. And under everyone's eyes, she tore through her letter and flipped it over. What came out was a small circular device with a size that can fit at the palm of one's hand. A beam was released from the center of the device and a hologram was transfixed in the air between us.
"Good day, Saten Ruiko." Greeted a shirtless man with a stature smaller than me. "I am the Pro Hero: Power Loader, but you may refer to me as Majima-sensei."
There were gasps from the video call and I found myself matching Saten's growing grin. "Does that mean...?"
"Congratulations. You have passed."
"YES!" She jumped in her seat and caught me and Kuroko in a crushing hug.
"You did extremely well on the written portion, scoring an average above eighty-seven. As for the practicals, although power armours are a classic, you have managed to impress all three judges with your creation. You have passed with flying colours. So once again, let me just say: Saten Ruiko, welcome to your Hero Academia."
Saten is beyond ecstatic, we let her have her moment and congratulated her a job well done. It took a while to calm down the energetic girl and by the time Kuroko reached for her letter, she was still vibrating in her seat.
"I AM HERE!" """"All Might?!"""" "AS A PROJECTION!"
I hurriedly took a picture of their reactions.
"So the rumors were true?!" Exclaimed Saten. "Is he actually going to teach at U.A.?!"
Kuroko was also surprised, I kept it from her just so I can get her reaction to it too. Getting pinched in the waist is a small price to pay for something that's priceless.
"GREETINGS, YOUNG SHIRAI! I AM HERE TO INFORM YOU THAT YOU HAVE PASSED YOUR WRITTEN EXAMS WITH A GRADE ABOVE NINETY-FIVE! AN IMPRESSIVE FEAT PUTTING YOU AT THE TOP THREE OF YOUR ENTIRE YEAR!"
"Oh ho?" She arched an eyebrow. She isn't a stranger to having someone smarter than her, but to know that someone can rival her outside of Academy City must have made her feeling competitive.
"AND YOUR PRACTICALS! MY GOODNESS, YOU'VE MANAGED TO SCORE A WHOPPING EIGHTY-FOUR POINTS, ALLOWING YOU TO SNAG THE TOP SPOT!"
"That's so cool!" Said Saten as she raised a thumbs up in her direction. "That's prime bragging rights, right there."
"BUT WAIT! THERE'S MORE!" The image of All Might was replaced by a recording of Kuroko saving other examinees. "WE WOULDN'T BE A HERO SCHOOL IF WE OVERLOOKED SOMEONE'S DEEDS! YES, THAT'S RIGHT! THERE WAS HIDDEN SYSTEM SPECIFICALLY SET TO GIVE POINTS ON ONE'S HEROIC ACTIONS! AND YOU, YOUNG LADY, HAVE SHOWN THAT YOU HAVE THE HEART OF A HERO!"
I took another picture of Kuroko blushing.
"THE HIDDEN PANEL OF JUDGES HAVE DECIDED IT BE RIGHT, TO AWARD YOU WITH AN ADDITIONAL FORTY POINTS. AND WITH AMAZING SUM OF ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY FOUR POINTS, YOU HAVE MADE U.A. HISTORY, BEATING THE RECORD OF BOTH ENDEAVOUR AND BEST JEANIST! WE EAGERLY AWAIT YOUR ATTENDANCE, HERE, AT YOUR HERO ACADEMIA!"
We naturally congratulated her for being able to set up a new record. Me and Saten sandwiched her in for another hug and she was flustered, but proud and beaming.
Now it was my time to open up my letter.
"Greetings! Am I cat? A mouse? Or a bear? Why, I am non other than the principal of U.A.!" Said a hologram of Nedzu. "I assure that this goes without saying, but I'll do it anyway! Shuzenji-kun, whether it be the written exams, the practicals or the interview, you have passed! And passed quite stunningly, might I add!"
I'd like to think that I have a smug expression right now, but it's now my turn to be squished a d sandwiched.
"Knowing of your vast endeavours so far, and anticipating of what you will eventually attain, some might say that there is little left for you to learn."
"Hm?" 'Where is he going with this?'
"But here at U.A., We hope to see you understand that there is more to heroism than simply saving other people... We hope to have you eventually comprehend that being a Hero isn't just about arresting villains or healing the injured. It is also about inspiring others, about bonds and friendships, about hope."
"..."
"You might not completely understand it now, but that too, is quite alright." He chuckled. "You are still young after all. That is why, I look forward to how you spend your time here. Because this is your Hero Academia!"
"...But I do have friends?"
"That's what you picked out from that?!" Saten smacked my back with a paper fan. Where did she get that? "Also! What the heck was that? it sounded personal!"
"Eh." I shrugged.
"What I think-" Kuroko eyed the small device. "-Is that he's trying to be helpful. Or at least, implying that you can get help." She turned to me. "You do have some mental scars."
"Mental scars..." Uiharu spoke. "Shuzenji-san, did something happen to you that you never told us?"
"...Yeah. A lot of stuff, actually." I said with lies. "They didn't really get brought up."
"Dude, don't you trust us?" Asked Haru.
"I do, I really do." I clarified. "I already told you guys about some of it, remember?" They nodded. "That was just the tip of the iceberg. I just don't think you guys deserve to be tainted any more than that, y'know? It's already enough to know you guys have my back."
There was a beat of silence, then Uiharu let out and exacerbated sigh. "Fine, but going by your admission letter, you take it down a little."
"Relax, I was already planning on that." I assured her, but it didn't seem to do much as she was giving me the side eye.
"Right... Shirai-san, Ruiko-san, I trust that the two of you can pull him out of whatever hole he digs himself in?"
"Naturally." "You know it!"
"Then I can rest assured." She smiled, but then she gave me pointitative stare. "Although, Shuzenji-san, you should be more aware of yourself this time. I worry that people would misunderstand you without us to clear it up."
The lack of trust was a tiny bit disheartening but the show of care more than made of for it.
~~~~~~~~~~
Wearing a black cargo pants with red accents and a plain red blouse shirt, I stepped out of the elevator wearing my iconic ribbon and choker.
In the middle of February, I just finished setting up my room at the new U.A. dorms, the Heights Alliance. It took a few round trips as I was now located at the top floor, and I have to say, this place is a lot better than the previous dorm.
From the outside, the dorm is a very large, comparable to a small mansion. The building has two wings and five floors, including its base one. It is surrounded by a small fence, except for the small path at the entrance which leads to the front doors that are large and possess a curved sign with the name "Alliance" on it. Above those, there is a larger sign which showcases the Class assigned to the dorm.
The entire building has many arched windows, with the first floor's ones being larger and the other floors' ones being smaller but more numerous. The roofs are even shaped like triangles.
Despite not having offensive security, each building is said to be built sturdily to resist many kinds of impacts and attacks.
On the interior, the first, second and third floors are all connected on both edges, acquiring a square-hollow shape. The fourth and fifth floors only connect at the back edge and thus have an U shape.
The first floor houses the main lobby, joint bathrooms, and a large laundry. Said lobby has a kitchen and living room, while the bathrooms are divided by gender. The second to fifth floors all house four rooms on each side.
The rooms, when not customized, are all very simple but still very large. Each possess a toilet, closet, fridge, veranda, bed, desk, and an air conditioner, not to mention sound insulation. It isn't completely sound-proof, but it is enough that talking normally wouldn't disrupt your neighbours.
All in all, it's a complete upgrade from the previous one.
The school allows us to move in three days before class begins and I haven't seen anyone else from my class yet. Partly because it's still early in the morning, most people would still be on the road by now. And the reason for me doing this early is because I wanted to help Kuroko and Saten move their things.
Although I do find it unfortunate that me and Kuroko are in different classes, it is already something we're used to. The only difference this time is that rather than being separated by a few kilometers, were now only being separated by a few meters. Not to mention that we attend the same school now, and our --mostly hers-- schedules being a lot more lax now than it was before.
The dorms are located a few minutes walk to the left side from the main building close to the gates. The dormitories themselves close together so it didn't take much time for me to arrive at the dorms of class 1-A.
I wouldn't have to knock as the door was already open but Kuroko appeared right in front of me. She's in a casual outfit of a plain black skirt with stockings, a pink frilly buttoned-up blouse shirt and a gray baret.
"I already moved in the smaller things so let's get started on the larger items." I nodded.
We spent the next half an hour moving her stuff. It was a lot faster than I expected but the process was accelerated because I had some heads work together to carry the other boxes. Most of the time spent after that was attributed to unboxing and organising her stuff as well was decorating the room.
My room looked to be an artisan's studio bedroom, an objectively clean and organized mess along with art supplies and other items seemingly placed in random places. Whereas Kuroko's room was leaning more towards efficiency and comfort, it was neat and tidy that showcased professionalism but since I helped her put it together, I am also aware of just how many outfits, 'toys' and 'materials' she's had just out of plain sight.
I ignored her smug grin --I wasn't blushing!-- in favour of checking my phone.
"Saten's close by." I told her before she can get handsy, her paws inches away from teleporting my clothes. "She'll be here in two minutes."
She pouted in disappointment so I gave her a quick peck on the lips. "C'mon you horndog. We can save the fun for later, ok?" I smiled as I placated her.
When we got down by the elevator, there was a blonde boy our age carrying two boxes, blocking his face. We silently made way for each other as he got in and we got out. "Introductions can wait after we've all settled in." She said to me when the elevator closed.
The two of us arrived just in time to see Saten arrived by the gates. We helped her move in to the support department dormitory and let her get settled in before the three of us decided to make a late lunch.
Surprisingly, Saten wasn't alone in the building as there were already a handful of her classmates there. I figured that they wanted to get settled early so they can revise their projects or the like. In any case, as we were using their community kitchen, I offered if they wanted to eat lunch with us, to which they graciously accepted as they have missed their meal for being too focused on their work.
Seeing that Saten was getting along with her classmates/dormmates, me and Kuroko decided to say goodbye and let her get acquainted with them.
I would have said that we retired to our rooms, but Kuroko remembered about the blondie from earlier and decided to drag me out of campus for some fun and 'fun'.
It wasn't until night had just fallen when we returned, but by then we the only thing in our minds was sleep.