Third year for Gray was finally coming to a close. It went by a lot quicker than he expected.
His grades were among the best in his year, his school record was clean, the Antarctic work study had gone better than he could have hoped, and Endeavor's recommendation had officially been submitted.
All that remained was to finish preparing for U.A's entrance exam.
He had trained for years, but the last couple years were where he truly improved by leaps. Antarctica was extremely beneficial and it had drastically improved his control. Academically, he had little reason to worry either. He kept his grades high without much trouble, and the written portion of the recommendation process was the least of his concerns.
Still, it felt he hadn't done much since arriving.
Almost fifteen years had passed since he first opened his eyes in this world. There was no magic in this world. The technology was even more advanced then what he had seen on Edolas. And almost everyone had unique abilities through their quirks.
At first, Gray had spent years simply trying to understand what kind of world he had been reborn into and making sure it wasn't just some extremely grand scale magic that was cast. Now he was thinking about entrance exam for schools.
That realization still made him chuckle from time to time.
One afternoon, Gray leaned back in his chair and looked across the room at one of the strangest things he had ever seen.
Natsu was studying.
Actually studying.
He sat hunched over a textbook with his brows pulled together, one hand buried in his hair while he silently worked through whatever subject it was. Several pages of notes were scattered across the table, despite all this time, somehow he still made a mess so easily. Every few minutes, Natsu would stare at one of them intently before looking for something else.
Gray watched him for a little longer than necessary.
Of the two of them, Natsu had adapted far easier than Gray had. It took him almost no time to settle down.
Probably had something to do with the fact Natsu was extremely childish already.
He had made friends his own age almost immediately. The two would come by to pick him up for whatever they had planned. He attended school, complained about homework, snuck out food when he thought no was looking. Gray was almost envious since he had wrestled with their new situation.
He could talk to his classmates. He got along with people well enough. But parts of him continued seeing most of them as children, which made forming close friendships more difficult than he liked admitting. Maybe it will be different in the future.
Maybe U.A. would be different.
At the very least, the students there would have something serious they were working toward and be more mature.
Gray looked back toward Natsu just as he erased something hard enough to nearly tear the paper. He cursed out loud. He could've sworn he saw steam coming out of Natsu's head. He remembered when Erza had to literally force Natsu to learn how to read and write properly.
Yet there he was, doing it on his own.
Natsu had not changed where it mattered. He was still reckless, stubborn, competitive, loud, and incapable of backing down when he decided on something.
Gray respected that about him. He leaned back further, shutting his eyes. Maybe he too would fully adapt to this place one day like Natsu had.
–
The final stretch toward the end of the year was tense. Every third year was preparing for their entrance exams.
Shoto approached it the same way he always had. He was calm, and just memorized the lessons. His preparation was geared towards his self training. He felt that memorizing everything from class was enough, so he didn't study as much. He rarely talked about being nervous, and Gray believed him. He had seen the efforts that Shoto put in.
Natsu was practically the opposite.
Gray would see him studying at the kitchen table in the afternoon, outside training an hour later, and then returning after dark smelling faintly of fish? The ocean? Sometimes Fuyumi would be helping him with coursework. Other times Glowl and Shou would be over, helping him study. It was a hectic period.
Rei was just glad Natsu was trying. She made him and his friends foods every time they visited. However, he noticed they would immediately leave when Endeavor showed up. It almost looked like they were fleeing.
Gray's own preparation was going smoothly.
After Antarctica, it almost felt anticlimactic.
He reviewed the material he expected U.A. to test, and took the mock exams. He aced almost all of the ones he took. And, he continued training without pushing himself into exhaustion. There was little benefit in destroying his body when the most important thing now was arriving at the exam in one piece.
Most of his training centered on refinement.
He continued using the techniques he had developed in Antarctica, maintaining control over ice after creation and incorporating that control into the Ice-Make techniques he already knew. He incorporated his training into his daily life. To help with his control further. He used it instinctively in most cases. Like grabbing something from the shelf, grabbing his towel after a shower. He even once opened the door while seated on his bed. He felt he went too far when he made a spoon and fed it to himself. He wanted to have better control, not become a lazy bum.
There was also a few other things he took care of.
Over the years, Gray had joined a few clubs, although none had mattered to him enough to dominate his schedule. He felt that maybe he could learn more if he participated in gatherings. But it wasn't anything he was interested in so he did his part with them and parted amicably. The one club he remained in however, was the sculpting club.
It had originally been something to do.
A teacher had noticed his eye for shape and suggested he try it if he was looking for an extracurricular. Gray expected to quit within a few weeks, but he found himself enjoying the work. Sculpting was like his ice make, except with clay. It was relaxing, and he didn't really have to talk with anyone. It also helped him visualize the shapes and attacks in his head without needing to use his quirk.
Looking back, the club may have even helped him a little.
His final meeting was quiet. The club had never been large, and most third-year students were already reducing extracurricular activities as entrance exams approached. Gray finished the small sculpture he had been working on, cleaned his tools, and handed over the responsibilities he had accumulated during his time there. A few of the third years had also returned most of their things. Now that exams were, everyone became focused on what mattered.
A few younger members wished him luck.
Gray thanked them and left without ceremony.
He did the same with the other clubs he had joined over the years.
One by one, he gave a courtesy farewell to the club and returned their things. He suddenly found himself with a lot of extra time.
A few people wished him luck at U.A high school.
By then, most people at school knew where he was applying. He didn't know how they had heard it. He didn't recall telling anyone. But a lot of these kids were children of elites. So it probably wasn't that hard for them to get information on where he was headed. It wasn't too big of a deal. Gray wasn't hiding it, so it was fine.
Some students did come up to ask him about it. But there were a few who just asked him Endeavor.
A few wanted to know about Antarctica, they were thinking about applying after finding out Gray went there.
Gray answered, but he kept it short. He didn't realize how popular he was.
His teachers were considerably less annoying about it.
They knew his grades. They knew his record. Several had already provided evaluations over the years, and his three-month work placement had only strengthened what was already there. Endeavor's letter was a sure thing after all his accomplishments.
He thanked his teachers and went home. He donated the sculptures to the club. He told them they could keep them or throw them away.
-
December felt as thought it arrived instantly.
The weather around Shizuoka grew colder, though Gray barely registered the change after Antarctica. Entrance-exam talk increasingly dominated school conversations. Students compared schools, discussed acceptance rates, complained about studying, and tried not to think too hard about what happened if they failed.
Gray mostly listened. He wasn't nervous. Maybe he should've been. After all, the recommendation examination would put him against some of the strongest students applying to U.A. Applicants with excellent grades, powerful quirks, impressive school records, and people willing to personally recommend them. But that was precisely why Gray wanted to be there.
Gray wanted to see what they could do.
The weeks before the test were surprisingly relaxed for him. He continued studying, training and spent the rest of his time relaxing. Occasionally he lounged around the house while Natsu tore through his practice exams. He looked much more frantic than normal. He was constantly running in and out of the house. He barely had time at home. Because of that, he didn't have anyone to mess with.
They had agreed to wait until the entrance process was finished, and Gray intended to keep the agreement. Still, it was really boring waiting.
Shoto was handling it much better then Natsu
Shoto was also preparing for the recommendation examination. Gray respected his work ethic. He was training as well as studying. However, Shoto mainly just memorized everything.
Eventually, there was nothing left to prepare for.
The morning of the examination arrived near the end of December.
Gray woke before his alarm.
For several seconds, he remained on his back staring at the ceiling. His room, as well as the entire house was quiet.
Gray sat up with a small smile.
He was excited. Today was finally the day.
Breakfast was quieter than usual. Rei made sure both Gray and Shoto had everything they needed despite both of them assuring her more than once that they had checked already. Fuyumi wished them luck before leaving them alone, while Natsu was still asleep. The examination started early and it was the day off for Natsu. He had been running around a lot and probably decided to finally sleep in.
Eventually, Gray and Shoto left together. They were both wearing a simple track suit. It was easy to move around in.
The trip to U.A. passed without much conversation. Neither needed encouragement from the other, and Gray preferred the silence anyway. He spent most of the journey wondering what kind of quirks the recommendation applicants would have.
Then U.A. came into view.
Gray had seen pictures of the campus before, but seeing it in person was different. The grounds were enormous, with multiple buildings spreading beyond the main entrance and security built into nearly everything surrounding the property.
Students were already arriving.
Not many.
That was the first thing Gray noticed.
The general entrance examination would draw enormous crowds, but recommendation applicants formed a much smaller group. Almost all of them carried themselves with extreme confidence. All of these students were the best of the best.
Gray looked around with considerably more interest. There weren't many students present, it was close to a hundred students.
Some quirks were immediately visible through physical mutations. Others gave nothing away.
Shoto walked beside him, his expression remaining almost completely unchanged.
Gray smiled faintly.
This was what he had been waiting for.
They passed through U.A.'s entrance with the other applicants and followed staff deeper into the campus. Eventually, they were directed toward a large examination hall where students began taking their assigned places.
Gray sat down and looked around.
After three months in Antarctica and weeks of waiting, Gray finally felt that familiar anticipation settling into his chest again.
'Let's get this started.' Gray thought.