The sterile white of the recovery room was a stark contrast to the chaotic, dusty faux-city.
Kaito lay on one of the beds, his right leg encased in a soothing cryo-cuff.
The nurse, Recovery Girl, had given him a once-over, chiding him for the "reckless strain" he'd put on his body before giving him a kiss that flooded him with warmth and exhaustion.
The pain was gone, replaced by a deep, bone-aching fatigue. But the anxiety remained, a cold knot in his stomach.
He'd done it. He'd saved that girl, Uraraka. But at what cost? He'd barely scraped together any villain points, and his one heroic act had been against a target that was worth zero.
He'd also, he recalled with a wince, essentially assaulted the engine-legged boy, Iida, to steal his Quirk. Not exactly a heroic first impression.
The written exam had been a blur of fatigue and second-guessing.
Now, all he could do was wait for the letter. The letter that would either be his ticket to the future or the end of his dream.
Days later, it arrived. The sleek U.A. hologram projector sat on his desk. His hands were clammy.
The projection of Principal Nezu appeared, cheerful as ever.
"Kaito Sōma! A wonderful performance on the written exam, top marks! Now, for the practical…"
Kaito held his breath.
"…you managed to earn 12 Villain Points! A commendable effort, but unfortunately, not quite enough to pass on its own."
His heart plummeted. He'd failed. He—
"However!" Nezu chirped, "At U.A., we are not looking for mere brawlers! We are looking for heroes. And a hero's worth is not always measured in destruction!"
The screen shifted to show a video of him using Uraraka's Quirk to hurl the concrete slab at the three-pointer.
"Rescuing another examinee from certain danger using a borrowed power! And then…" The video changed to his desperate, painful Recipro Burst to save Uraraka from the zero-pointer. "…putting your own body on the line for a complete stranger! For that, you were awarded 45 Rescue Points!"
Kaito's eyes widened.
'Rescue points?'
"Your total of 57 points places you firmly within the passing threshold! Welcome, Kaito Sōma, to your Hero Academia!"
The projection ended. Kaito sat in stunned silence for a full minute before a slow, disbelieving smile spread across his face. He'd done it.
***
The U.A. campus was even more imposing in person. The massive H-shaped main building loomed over him, a monument to the world he was about to enter.
He found Classroom 1-A, its huge door making him feel small. He took a deep breath and slid it open.
The scene was… chaotic.
The engine boy, Iida, was chopping his hands through the air, lecturing the messy-haired boy from the exam, Midoriya, about putting his feet on a desk.
The explosive blonde, Bakugo, was slouched in his seat, radiating fury.
And there, in the second row, was Uraraka. She saw him first.
"Hey! It's you!" she exclaimed, her face breaking into a bright smile. She waved him over. "The boy who saved me!"
All eyes turned to him. Iida's posture went ramrod straight, and he fixed Kaito with a stern, bewildered look.
"You! The individual who engaged in unsanctioned physical contact during the exam! Explain yourself!"
Kaito flinched slightly under the intensity.
"Right. Sorry about that. It was an emergency. I needed your power. Kaito Sōma." He offered a slight bow of apology.
Iida looked utterly flummoxed.
"You… needed my…? For what purpose?"
"To save her," Kaito said simply, nodding toward Uraraka. "Your engine was the only thing fast enough. I didn't have time to ask. It's my Quirk."
Before Iida could process this, a new voice, laced with a lazy, deadly seriousness, cut through the room.
"If you're just here to make friends, get out now."
A shaggy-haired man in a black jumpsuit was unrolled from a bright yellow sleeping bag on the floor, looking like a disheveled caterpillar.
The class fell into a stunned silence.
"I'm your homeroom teacher, Shota Aizawa. Pleasure." He straightened up, his tired eyes scanning them all, lingering for a half-second on Kaito. "Put these on and meet me on the P.E. grounds in ten minutes. We're doing a Quirk apprehension test."