Waking up to the sound of people working outside, just the usual morning around here people just can't seem to take a break. The walls of the house aren't thick enough to block the noise of the neighbour's early morning activities.

Still, I set an alarm, just in case they learn to quieten down one day.

*brrrrr brrrrr brrrr*

And there it goes again. Sometimes I wonder if it's even worth it. It's been about 9 years now and the alarms never done it's damn job. Now I need to climb across my bed to switch it off.

Am I lazy, possibly but I still end up doing this everyday.

Switching the phone alarm off I get out the bed and walk over to the window.

The house I stay in is an old Japanese style one, so it was wooden floors for me. Luckily it wasn't cold and never caused any discomfort. Sliding the window open, the fresh air hits me as I take in the hustle and bustle of the early mornings around here.

Honestly I've got no clue where they get all their energy from, they're not young anymore but they still wake up extra early to meet a new day.

As nice as the fresh air is, I went to wash my face with cold water it's the only thing that can fully wake me up in the mornings.

After splashing my face with water and ridding myself of the gunk that plagued my eyelids, I grab a dark blue yukata and went down stairs to make myself some breakfast.

The noise from the streets begins to die down as the kitchen was near the centre of the house. It let me have my first meal of the day in peace, something I've always liked since I began living here alone.

Breaking my peace was the sound of hot toast coming out the toaster. Good thing it automatically released the bread when it's done, or the birds would've had a free burnt breakfast.

With well practiced movements I spread the condiments onto the toast while it was still hot. Picking it up I began eating the first slice, normally I don't sit down to eat my breakfast, just lean against the worktop or eat it at the window. Unless it's a heavier meal. Saves the hassle of washing the plate I'd use if I never.

The first bite was all that was needed to remind me why I love jam, the sweet but not too sweet flavour tickled my taste buds, making my tired looking face light up for a splt second before returning to normal.

Polishing the food off I check the time on my phone, 6:43 huh. The train leaves at 7:30, take away the 15 minutes it takes to get to the station and I'm left with about half an hour to get ready. Should probably check in on Konro and the twins, they'd never let me hear the end of it if I left without showing face.

With my plan of action my legs took me back upstairs to go and get changed.

The weathers quite warm today, so I ditched the kimono and just wore a white baggy t-shirt along with a black vest and trousers. It only took a few minutes to get changed and grab the things that were necessary to take, so there was plenty of time to spare before I had to leave.

Sliding open my back door that led out to the engawa, I take a quick look at my garden to make sure everything's okay before flipping over the 6ft fence to land in my neighbours back yard.

Not bothering to knock I walk in through the back door and step straight for the kitchen, where a man and two young girls sat at the table eating a hearty meal.

The man called Konro had long brown hair which he ties back while also sporting a distinct horizonal facial scar across his nose. He sat across from the two petite girls with identical sizes and facial features. They even had the same haircut and put it in the same style, although right now it was looking a bit wild since they just got up. Hinata and Hikage both stay with Konro who has acted as their caretaker since their parents passed.

Seeing me arrive Konro put his plate down and greeted me "Morning Beni, you get a good sleep last night".

"It was alright, still could use those extra couple minutes in the mornings" I replied taking a seat at the table.

Chuckling slightly Konro grinned "You would've though you'd be used to it by now".

Before I give my thoughts on the matter the twins had already finished their food and began bombarding me with questions in their cheery voices.

"You ready to kick some ass today Waka?"

"You going to show the rest their places underneath you?"

"Remember if you do crap you might as well not come back hehe"

"Yea, yea what she says" and the both laugh in unison. Twisted midgets.

Honestly these two have such rude mouth on them, wonder who they get it from.

"You know that Konro doesn't like-" I tried to tell them

"Sorry, not taking any complaints right now" They both happily sang with cheeky smiles on their face.

Konro pipes up and says "They get it from you, you know"

"Not taking any com- crap" I cut myself off realising my mistake causing Konro to show a sly grin.

"But really how you feeling about today, you nervous or anything" Konro sincerely asks, unlike the twins before him.

"Me, nervous, what a joke. I honestly think it would be harder for me to fail than pass." I tell him, if I somehow managed to fail this exam something horrible must've happened to me.

"Full of confidence as usual, but that's just like you" he speaks before turning back to his meal.

"Hinata, Hikage, I've got some time before I need to leave, want me to do your hair"

"Of course!"

"Who else would do it"

Like that the rest of the time I had was spent fixing the girls hair for the day. Something I've always done since they first arrived under Konro's care. By the time I finished with the hair, Konro has begun taking away the plates.

"Right, it's about time I made a move" I said as I walked over to the front door.

Konro gave the the thumbs up "Give 'em hell"

"Make sure you whoop some ass for us Waka" The twins said in unison as I waved the three of them off and left for the train station.

Walking out onto the street I start to get a move on. If I miss the train then there's no chance I'm making it to the exam in time.

As I briskly strode pass on comers on my way to the station many of them spewed some sort of encouraging nonsense to me.

"Show those guys at UA who's boss!"

"Go smash it today Benimaru!"

"Good luck with the exam!"

"I made daifuku!"

Well maybe not the last one. That old bat's daifuku's going to be the death of me, she puts way to much sugar in them. Probably contains enough of it to kill a small animal.

Still I never told anyone other than Konro and the twins. He must've snuck around telling everyone, while I was away.

After breaking free from everyone, I finally managed to arrive at the station.

On the platform were others just like me, all prepared for the entrance exam to the famous UA high school's hero course.

Not having to wait long the train arrives, and I hop on along with the others. It's an hour trip from here to the nearest station so I plug my headphones in and prepared to relax for the rest of the trip.

After getting off the train I made my way for UA, it ended up arriving slightly head of schedule so there was no rush as I moved through the city to my destination.

Soon enough the gates of UA were in front of me. The vibrant mix of colours that coated the ground gave the entire complex an energetic feel.

As I walked through the front gate I passed a girl holding this freckly guy up with her quirk. Looks like he was in the middle of falling. Shame, would've been pretty funny to watch.

Although, his facial expressions just now are equally hilarious. Seems like someone's not got much experience talking to girls.

After having my fun, I entered the building where the written exam would take place.

Once inside we were escorted in groups to our desks, all that was left was to wait for the papers. I was feeling confident about my chances for passing so there was no panic as the written exam was placed on my desk

After the exam timer ran out we got moved to a large theatre where we waited for the instructor to give us the run down on the practical section.

The lights are cut darkening the room, a spot light shines on stage revealing the pro hero Present Mic.

Who the immediately tried to get the crowd going, but the clearly never got the MEMO so he quickly got on with explaining the practical.

During his explanation we were given cards that told us which site we'll be attending for the exam.

This is when some guy who looks like the definition of straight laced asks Mic a question about the fourth 'Villain' that he hadn't gone over, while at the same time chastising the same messy haired boy I saw at the gate. The little skit got some laughs from people around the hall until Mic changed the projector to show us the 0 pointers.

The zero pointers thought seemed pretty strong, but there don't give any points so there's not really a point in fighting them. Better just steer clear and get as many easy targets as possible.

After telling us about them he finished the lecture and sends us away to our respective zones, while allowing those who weren't wearing suitable clothing to go and get chanced in the specified UA facilities.

The bus on the way to the facilities was packed with aspiring hero's and the smell of nervous sweat.

Seriously don't these people know what anti-perspirant is. A spray a day keeps the smell away and all that, shit that actually a good catchphrase for a company that does stuff like that. Maybe I could sell it or something.

Breaking me out of my money making thoughts was a small girl with dark sea green hair, big eyes and a tiny nose.

"Are you nervous" she asked me.

We were holding the railing across from each other so she must've decided to make some small talk.

"No, you?" I replied.

"A little bit, I try not to let it get to me though. I'm more excited about how I have the chance to become a hero if I do well in this" She explained as her free hand began to play with her brown locks.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

"I can tell your handling it better than these guys, you can literally smell the nervousness off them, this bus reeks." I said without fear or repercussion.

Nearly everyone on the bus looked at me after those words, while the girl just laughed while whatever was left of her nervousness disappeared.

When everyone got back to minding their own damn business she held her hand out towards me.

"By the way, my name's Tsuyu Asui"

Inspecting her hand for a moment, my own goes out to meet hers. As they touched it felt as if her hands latched onto mine, the grip from them was incredible.

"I'm Benimaru Shinmon"

As our hand's separate I ask her "Has your quirk got something to do with your hands? They feel abnormally grippy"

"Yea my quirks called Frog. It gives me a frogs physiology and lets me do anything a frog can"

Guess that explains why her hands were like that, I wonder how that quirk effects her strength.

"What about your eyes, have they got something to do with your quirk?" she asked looking at my red eyes, one with and a O and one with a X.

"Something like that" I replied.

My haves don't have much to do with my quirk, it's just the appearance change I got when it awakened.

Before Asui could say anything else the bus came to a halt and a mechanical voice told us to get off. It stopped right in front of our specified battle centre, so as soon as we alighted the bus we were greeted with the huge gate blocking us from the urban terrain behind it.

As the gates opened, there were nervous and confident faces mixed in the crowd while we waited for the test to begin.

Another thing I noticed was that some students had equipment tailored for their quirk. The stuff pro hero's use while doing their job. Does things like that not cost a fair bit of money? Seems like these people really want to be accepted into UA.

Can't really blame them though, UA's on a different level compared to the other hero schools in Japan, bar Shiketsu High but that's just too far away from where I live to even think about attending. I'm already taking an hours train to reach here, anymore than that's just too much.

With no warning a voice coming through a loud speaker, who I think is President Mic told us the test had started.

After a momentary lapse, the group outside the gate began to rush in, ready to begin the hunt for points.

As soon as we got the all clear, my eyes lit up as orange and yellow flames ignited on each of my hands which propelled me through the air, clearing the distance between me and the rest of the competitors.

Landing on top of a building I use small bursts of flames to throw me short distances and pass over the roof tops quickly.

Reaching the end of this row of buildings, my jet black hair waves in the wind as I look down on the variety of villain bots scattered around the streets beneath me. Observing them momentarily, one of my hands form a ram sign as multiple spears of fire formed around me.

Waving my hand in front of me, the flame spears were launched towards the bots at high speeds. Once they hit their respective marks, the projectiles exploded on impact dealing heavy damage to the walking piles of points.

The explosions lit up the streets, leaving behind only charred chunks of scrap metal and dark plumes of smoke that rose into the sky.

"I knew this was going to be dull" I sighed in disappointment.

Honestly I was hoping for a little more exhilaration from the practical after that snooze fest of a writing exam, but I guess you don't always get what you wish for.

As the students began arriving at the location, I left the scene and boosted my way over to the next area that had a decent amount of bots.

Flying over the rooftops it never long to reach another batch of robots, only this time there was a couple students clashing with them and earning some points.

There was quite a few funky quirks going around, some scarecrow looking fucker was spewing glue over bots and immobilising them for the points. While not far form it an athletic looking orange haired girl was crushing bots left and right with her massive hands.

Damn, wouldn't want to be hit by those things.

Standing with my feet on the edge of the roof, a ball of flames appears in the palm of each of my hands. Taking a second to rise their temperature higher I throw both constructs at the targets below, but unlike last time I never made the flames explode on impact.

This time I kept their shapes, and with their high temperature and condensed form the fizzle straight through the bots metal plating, leaving their prey with hollow charred holes through them.

Once they burned through one bot I just manipulated them to home in on the next closest, causing a chain of scorched automations to be left in their wake.

Suddenly my head jerks to the side as a large metal appendage narrowly missed my face. Making some distance between my attacker, I take a quick look at the two pointer that must've climbed up the side of the building.

I think this model was called an imperial bot or something, anyway getting a closer look at one, they kind of resemble a robotic scorpion with the long metallic arm connected to its back.

Not dwelling on that thought for long I dash at my opponent as it's mechanical telson lunged for me again.

Coating my fists with fire, I slipped it's jab, then swung at the machines appendage. It's metal outer coating stood no chance in the clash as my fist melted straight through, cutting it off from the main body.

Not letting up I hold my fists in front of me and command my flames to burst outwards. The resulting blast deformed the robot beyond fixing and it's parts were scattered over the rooftop.

With no more points to be gaining sitting around I move onto another area where the Villain bots were amassing.

This process was repeated until the final minute. The zero pointers were activated and colour me surprised when I saw a robot towering over the surrounding buildings.

I thought the 0 pointer would just be a stronger version of the others. On the slideshow President Mic talks us through it was shown as the same size as the others, so I wasn't expecting much from them.

But looking at the colossal hunk of metal tear through buildings like it was nothing got my blood boiling.

It was on the other side of the battle centre and with the clock ticking I had to get there fast if I wanted a crack at it.

Finding a nearby rod of iron or some other metal, one of its ends ignites as it began to flyat high speeds towards me.

Just before it passed by my hand latched onto it with a firm grip as it flew me in the direction of the huge bot.

In next to no time I was next to it, circling around looking at for it's weaknesses.

As I done that the participants on the streets beneath crazily ran away from the beast. Those with speed type quirks making it away easily, while the others we cutting it close and praying for the exam to end before it caught up with them.

While this was happening my excited mood dropped. There was just too many openings and weak points on the 0 pointer, so there wasn't going to be a blood churning battle taking place anytime soon.

Maneuvering under one of its punches I got round to its rear, while the fist smashed into a nearby building.

Letting go off the rod I fall towards the ground, sticking the landing before the bot had the time to swivel around.

Aiming for it's ankle joints, flames being roaring on my palm and I get into a certain martial art stance.

'Iai Hand-Sword: First Form - Fire Moon'

The slice of my arm caused an intense wave of crescent flames of fly at the machine, crushing it's way straight through its legs.

With nothing to balance on the zero pointer lost it's balance and began to tumble forwards.

Underneath the shadow of the falling mech were some injured students, terrified at the the prospect of being crushed.

Luckily for them before it could happen, several pieces of flaming debris moved them away from its landing site.

Why I saved them you might ask?

Well apart from being a decent human being, it's not my style to get bystanders caught up in the damage from my fight... and because UA probably wouldn't like it if students got injured because of me.

Basically I was saving myself from a future headache.

As the zero point smacked the ground, the surrounding buildings began to tremble but that was the only effect it had.

Before I could do anything else I condensed a large ball of fire above my head. Taking aim, I was shot at the bots head.

The resulting explosion was massive, lighting the entire street up with a yellow glow. Once the smoke cleared all that was left of the head was a seared mess of electricals.

Seconds after I finished disabling the zero pointer the alarm went off, signifying the end of the test.

The robots still around all began to power off, slouching over in what must be their resting position. While the most students heaved in exertion, tired from the constant fighting and quirk use.

"All participants please leave the battle area. If you have any injuries, report to the infirmary where UA staff will be stationed. If you don't you are free to leave the UA premise, the entrance exam is now complete" Said a mechanical voice through the speakers.

With that I began to make my way out, leaving the destruction behind for someone else to clean.

As I passed through the gates the girl from the bus hopped over to my side.

"Wow, Shinmon that's quite a powerful quirk you've got there. I never thought a student would've been able to take down that massive zero pointer, and you took down so many of the other villain bots I thought there wasn't going to be enough for the rest of us." she excitedly mentioned.

"What is your quirk by the way? It seems similar to Endeavours the number 2 hero"

Endeavour, that a name I've not heard in a while. I don't really watch tv but I've watched bits and pieces of him using his quirk for ideas. Hibachi used to talk about him a lot back in the day, although it was normally him gloating about how he could take him in a fight.

"My quirks called Ignition, lets me create my own flames. Not sure if it has much in common with Endeavour though apart for it being a fire type quirk" I responded.

"Sure, Sure, whatever you say. Anyway what you doing now the exams finished, have you got somewhere to be?" she asked curiously.

"Not really, I need to get a train back home at some point though" I stated in a plain tone.

"Want to come get something to eat? I know some good places near here ribbit"

While walking I mull over my answer. It wouldn't hurt to get to know the area better, and Asui seems nice enough might as well go with her.

"Sure, seems like a good idea" I answered as we left the UA premises.

"Great! follow me, I'm sure you'll love this place" Asui cheerily said as we went off into the city of Musutafu.

After spending a nice afternoon with Tsuyu getting some food and her showing me around the area, she sent me off at the train station where I made my commute back to Asakusa later in the day. While out in the city of Musutafu she gave me her thoughts on the exam and how she done in it.

The frog girl thought she done good compared to most others and was confident she would make it even though the ratio of acceptance was only 1 in 300. This confidence came from the speed advantage her quirk gave her, it allowed her to move around fast that other participants and therefore lowering the time it took to go from one villain bot to the next.

Which was something I noticed during the exam as well. Many students wasted a lot of time trying to find another target after claiming their points, since most of the time when the reached a bot someone else was already attacking it.

All in all Tsuyu's a nice girl compared to most, she put up with my lazy walking pace throughout the day and never complained once. By the time I left, we traded contact info to keep in touch.

The city where UA is stationed is quite large, although that is unsurprising considering it hosts one of the largest hero academies in japan along with a variety of top hero's stationing their agencies there.

We even got to see a few pro hero's in action, one being this enormous lady with long blonde locks. She had a type of gigantification quirk the allowed her to turn from a normal side woman to a giant similar in size to the zero pointers in the exam.

It was interesting seeing heroes doing their jobs, although it was commonplace for the citizens here, seeing heroes in action in Asakusa was basically impossible. There's next to zero patrols due to it being a low priority area, because of that we're left to deal with any villainous activities ourselves.

Nothing interesting happened on my way back to Asakusa, I took my time with a slow relaxed walk from the station to Konro's soba shop where I would probably spend a couple of hours before going to train.

Konro's shop was a medium sized store, that supplied the town with delicious food. It had the old Japanese style with the hidden roof and the majority of it being made of wood.

Stepping under the curtains I seen Konro with his feet up looking through a bunch of photos while a few customers ate his noodles at their tables.

Noticing me immediately he puts his feet down and moves closer to the divider separating the kitchen and the rest of the shop.

Looking at me with a mix of excitement and nervousness he asked "How did you do? Do you think you passed? Was it difficult?" This got the attention of the rest of the customers as the quietly awaited my answer with anticipation.

After almost blowing me away with a flurry of questions I state "Seriously Konro, your taking too many bad habits from the girls." which made a silly looking smile appear on his face.

"But to answer your questions" I looked at Konro along with everyone in the shop "I thought it was easy, I was leagues in front of everyone I tested with".

At my words the customers broke into cheers, clearly happy that I done well in the entrance exam.

If there was one thing I had to say that I liked the most about living here, it has to be how tightly knit the community is. Although it does get annoying at times with everyone's enthusiasm, it feelings good knowing that everyone cares for you, and will have you back no matter what.

It's for this reason me, Konro and many others can fight crime that comes to this area without complaints for the inhabitants. They know that heroes don't come round here, so they're all grateful for the vigilante work we put in to keep the town safe.

Although there's been a few times where the wreckage from a fight got too noticeable and heroes were called over, every time it's happened the townsfolk covered us and prevented the police from charging us with quirk misuse.

This is the reason I want to become a hero in the first place, so I can protect this place in the light instead of the dark, and let everyone live the rest of their days smiling and drinking.

"Well then everyone will eagerly await your acceptance letter" Konro stated, while the emotions on his scarred face showed me just how proud of me he was.

Taking a seat on a barstool I order plate and ask about the twins "Where's the two menaces? I thought they'd be here with you."

"Hinata and Hikage's at the old granny house, probably stuffing their face with sweets I'm guessing" Shivering as he mentions the biddy's treats, "Her sweets are just too much, my stomachs had enough of them over the years"

"I swear, that fossil's probably going to find a way to keep pumping out daifuku from beyond the grave, she tried to make me take a bag of 15 this morning" I complained about her unhealthy obsession with sweets.

Putting a fresh bowl of noodles down in front of me Konro pulls his phone out and says "Give me a minute and I'll call them".

At those words, faster than he could react I snatched the mobile phone from his hands and put it in my pocket.

"No way, at least wait till I'm finished the meal so I can eat in peace" I told him.

As I was about to dig into my dinner I heard two voices came from behind me.

"Waka the old crone gave us lots of deserts!"

"The old bags treats are the best!"

As they bombarded me with questions I just zoned out as best I could, need to get some energy before I deal with these two.

"What were the teachers-"

"You realise you've both been talking non stop for the last 10 minutes" I said with a deadpan stare, my red eyes staring at the two of them.

"Nope never noticed~" They both said cheerily.

Sighing in exertion I tell them about my day, before saying goodbye and heading back to my house for some training.

Getting through the front door, I walk straight to the dojo out back. Inside the wooden flooring was complete covered in tatamis, on one side was all of the martial arts training equipment, on the other was filled with different types of weights and calisthenics bars. In the middle of it all was fire proof mat where it would train my control over fire.

It work well because if I wasn't careful the flames could end up burning the entire place down.

Taking a seat on the mat I got into a meditation pose and formed a ram sign on one hand. Moments later bright orange flames fanned out from my back, slowly climbing higher they began to form a wheel that spun at slow pace.

With this I began my training, patiently awaiting the letter from UA.