The early morning sun cast a warm glow over U.A. High's training grounds, where Class 1-A stood silently in their gym uniforms. Their breath caught in their throats, more from the presence of their homeroom teacher than the brisk wind sweeping across the field.
Shota Aizawa stood before them, half-mummified in his signature capture weapon scarf, eyes dull with exhaustion and irritation.
"So," he began flatly, holding up a regulation softball, "you've taken your first step into U.A., the top hero school in Japan. Time to see where you actually stand."
The class collectively blinked, glancing at one another with confused expressions.
"Didn't we have an entrance ceremony this morning?" Tenya Iida asked with raised hand.
Aizawa didn't even blink. "That's for other departments. If you have time to waste standing in an auditorium, then you don't belong here."
Kaminari muttered something under his breath. Uraraka looked unsure. Aizawa sighed and held up the ball again.
"You'll be doing a Quirk Apprehension Test. Physical fitness with full Quirk usage. Simple."
He turned toward the tall, green-eyed boy near the front.
"Ishiro. You scored highest on the entrance exam. Come show them what that looks like."
Kael Ishiro stepped forward without hesitation, his posture smooth and confident. He wore the U.A. gym uniform like it belonged on him — snug navy and white fabric stretched across his broad shoulders. With his lean muscles from years of training clear beneath the sleeves, all the girls of class 1-A couldn't help but stare.
His white hair swept cleanly back, and his eyes flicked toward Aizawa with casual focus.
From behind him, deep blue tendrils shimmered into view — soft light glinting off the semi-transparent texture of his Quirk, DarkBind. A single tendril lifted the softball gently from Aizawa's hand and coiled backward like a whip.
Kael spun once and launched the ball with the force of a small cannon, making some of his classmates stammer. The ball tore through the sky, vanishing beyond the treetops. A second later, the handheld monitor in Aizawa's hand blinked with the reading: 924.5 meters.
Gasps echoed across the field. Kaminari's jaw dropped. Kirishima broke into a grin. Even Bakugo's usual smugness twitched into a frown.
"My Quirk is called Shadow Tether. I can manipulate shadowy tendrils formed from my body or surrounding surfaces, with limited range however. Their flexible and respond only to my will."
Kael said and walked back to his spot beside Yumi Hoshino, who leaned forward with a bright, amused grin on her face.
"Way to expose yourself," she whispered.
"My Quirk file is public knowledge. And besides, that not everything it can do," Kael said with a smirk.
Before anyone could get process his Quirks abilities, Aizawa turned around again.
"One more thing," he said casually. "The student who ranks at the bottom in total performance… will be expelled."
The class erupted in protest.
"WHAT?!" Uraraka shouted.
"That's messed up!" Kaminari groaned.
"You can't do that!" Mineta roared.
"I can," Aizawa replied. "And I will. This is U.A., not a daycare."
Just like that, the weight of the test shifted. No one was safe. Everything was on the line.
One by one, the tests began. Kael breezed through every event with effortless control. During the 50-meter dash, he used Flexweave to perform a spring-loaded launch and Silent Soles to land noiselessly, like a ghost in motion. His time left even Iida blinking.
In the side-to-side test, he displayed graceful footwork, his movements sharp and calculating. When it came to grip strength, he didn't even use his Quirk — and still scored near the top.
Yumi brought flair to every event she touched. Her cosmic energy laced around her limbs like nebulae, radiant and fluid. She rocketed over the long jump with a burst of violet propulsion and scored high on reflex with star-like flashes dancing along her fingertips. She looked like she was having fun — smiling, encouraging others, even complimenting Uraraka on her floating trick.
Bakugo tore through the events with his usual explosions, steam rising from his palms. Todoroki was cold and efficient. Kirishima laughed through the tests with hardened arms and a bold spirit.
And then finally, the pitch test. Bakugo stepped up to the plate, cracking his fingers, and rubbing his neck. He looked at Kael who was talking to Izuku. Seeing this, he spat out a loogie then cocked his arm back.
"DIE!"
He screamed as he through the ball porpulsed by his Explosion Quirk. The sound of his Quirk going off was almost deafening as the ball launched into the clouds.
A few seconds later, Aizawas machine beeped, revealing a number: 767.34.
"Tch." He kicked at the homeplate, causing some dust to fly up.
"Katsuki Bakugo. 767.34 meters. Impressive." Aizawa said as bakugo walked by him with his hands resting in his pockets The class made faces of shock. Even Kael was a little surprised.
'This guy is a beast..'
Kael realized that he and Bakugo would be on par in power if he hadn't secretly received training from a Pro Hero. Kael had already mastered the full potential of Darkbinds. He could merge with his shadow tendrils, enabling him to move seamlessly through shadows. He could even create his own weaponry. Additionally, he could sense movement up to 100 feet away. Over the years, he had developed a myriad of abilities that even Darnbinds' original user was unaware of.
If Katsuki had received the same training as me, I wouldn't be anywhere near as cocky. Alright, that's a lie, but my point still stands.
Others stepped up to the plate after and the scores weren't all that hyped up like Kaels and Katsukis.
'There she goes..' As Yumi stepped up to the pitch, she winked at Kael. Holographic stars began to surround her figure. Also they seemed like an illusion, they were warping the space around her just a little. Its hard to see with the average eye, but if Kael was to use Eagle Hunting then he'd be able to see it.
"Hoshino, huh?" Aizawa put down his clipboard. "You're Father is Voidflare? Guess I can expect great things from you."
The class went silent for second as they began realizing that Yumi actually was the daughter of VoidFlare, The NullFire Hero. A man whose flames was hotger than Endevour. The man who could draw heat directly from the depths of space.
"She's his daughter?! No wonder she's so storng. Hey, Todoroki! It looks like you have competition eh?" Kirishima nudged Todoroki who stared daggers back at him. Krishima jumped a little and walked away slowly,
"Don't worry teach. I never disappoint." She grabbed the ball from Aizawas hand and tossed it around a little. Seeing her play with the ball like that, Kael sighed and backed up a bit, tendrils coming out from his back and forming a sheild in front of himself.
"Uh, what's that for?" Izuku titled his head a little as he came up behind Kael. "She's way too competitive," Was all Kael said.
Seeing him brace for something, the other students did as well.
"Yumi, this is just a simple training exercise. Don't overdo it." Kael said, but his words went through one ear and right out the other.
She constructed a baseball bat entirely out of cosmic matter and threw the ball up. She then swung the bat back then forward.
{Yumi Hoshino: Quirk, Cosmic Energy Manipulation. Yumi can generate, control, and shape cosmic energy — an otherworldly, radiant force resembling stardust, nebulae, or raw galactic matter. }
Before the ball collided with bat, it burned up into nothingness. No ash, no leather, nothing.
"0 meters. Congratulations, Hoshino. Back in line."
Kael chuckled as Darkbind dissipated. Initially, the other students were taken aback, but they eventually found it funny themselves. With her head hung low in shame, her arms swung side to side as she made her way back to Kael.
"Well Kael, this sucks butt. Guess you're gonna be the No.1 Hero before me. Sighh…"
"Don't worry. I'll still need a sidekick." He teased her back. She groaned and sat down on the grass.
"Next up, Uraraka." Aizawa said, another ball dropping down from a drone overhead and landing in his hands. Stepping up was a girl with reddish brown hair and a small petite build.
'Rank Five with a gravity based quirk. Ah wait, she's gonna…'
"There is goes…" Kirishima said, looking up as the ball literally floated past the clouds and seemingly into space.
"It appears we have achieved a new high score," Aizawa announced, displaying the class her score, which read "Infinity." Kael uttered a murmur that even Yumi, who was seated next to him, couldn't hear
The class sort of expected that from her as her Quirk was perfect for this test. As she walked back, she went over and started talking to Izuku.
'Those two seem to be really close. Good for him.' Kael smirked as he went over to the water fountain. As he began taking a sip, Aizawa called out to Izuku.
"Midoriya, its your turn. After your trial, I'll tell everyone the final results and expell whoevers in last."
Izuku's skin crawled, and other students got nervous. Bakugo grinned as he stared at Izuku walking over to the plate. Kael, on the other hand, remained calm and composed.
He stood at the line, softball in hand. His heart thundered in his chest. Everyone was watching, waiting to see his power. The power that one shotted the Zero Pointer. The power that was heard from miles away.
Kael finished his sip and went back over to the line up of students. He also wanted to see this power in person. One that even he wouldnt take without knowing about it first.
"You may begin whenever you are ready."
Izuku sighed and nodded. 'If I can't do this now, then I'll never be a Hero..," Izuku thought as he raised his arm, focusing.
'You're so cool now!' His moms voiced bounced around in his head.
'You Can Become A Hero.' All Mights words resonated in his soul.
These red thick veins with sparkles in them appeared around Izukus right arm as it also began glowing bright.
'I won't let them down!' As he was about to throw the ball, the tension in his arms vanished. The surge of power was gone.
"46 meters," Aizawa's meter-tracking machine read aloud. Shock and disbelief were etched all over Izuku's face.
"Wha… Huh? I tried using it now for sure.."
Aizawa, who was standing behind him, his hair floating, eyes glowing red and scarf floating slightly off his figure said,
"I erased your quirk…" The yellow goggles which were beaneath the scarf made Kaels eyes widen.
'It's him!'
…