Chapter Text
It’s said that only those with the most powerful quirks manifested some kind of soulmate marking, and while this rang true in the majority of instances - it was, after all, deemed a sign of evolutionary advancement - it wasn’t always the case. Nevertheless, these ‘marks’ remained extraordinarily rare.
I was lucky to possess such a quirk as my own, and even more lucky to have words etched over my heart.
“Move it or die, extra.”
Perhaps I should have been more intimidated by those words, but after so many years, I was itching for the moment to arrive.
My nerves and excitement bubble up in my chest and overflow with every combative move I make, the emotions indistinguishable from one another as they intermingle and set my nervous system alight. In my wake I leave a trail of scrap metal along the streets of the makeshift cityscape, evidence of the points I’m vying for. Regardless of how many I have now, I still need more - this is more than a training exercise, it’s my future.
My thoughts are cut short as a series of tremors snatch the attention of everyone in my examination zone, plumes of dirt and debris sent flying as a hulking machine rounds the corner.
This is a zero-pointer?
The behemoth’s fist slams into the ground, sending a shockwave of dust our way and for a moment, our vision is obscured. Blind panic sets in amongst the examinees and we don’t know how to react, but soon everyone around me is sprinting away. A frown etches itself across my features, mind whirring to process the sight before me - how could this just be considered a mere distraction? If this was a real hero situation, surely that thing would be the primary focus.
A pained cry diverts my attention, my eyes darting towards the noise to spot a girl stuck under rubble. An announcement rings out, counting down our two remaining minutes in the exam, and I suck in a deep breath. My jaw is clenched painfully tight as two options present themselves to me. The zero-pointer is rapidly approaching. With a moment of hesitance, I dart towards it.
I fling my arms up, and as I do, a stalagmite of ice shoots up, skewering the machine, slowing its movement. I strain to keep it rooted in place, but from behind me I hear pounding footsteps - I look over my shoulder to see some meek boy sprinting towards us.
“I’ve got it steady, do something!” I yell out to him. He meets my eye for barely a moment before launching himself into the air, practically glowing.
The sound of the impact ricochets throughout the urban layout, the zero-pointer knocked back off its balance and my jaw drops as I watch the machine begin to crumple to the ground, but not before the damage done sets off a chain of explosions throughout. Against the blue sky, a speck begins to fall to the ground. It gets closer, and my eyes widen as I realise it’s the boy that beat the damn thing.
My feet move me forth, working only on an assumption as to where he may land, but a voice calls out to me. “I can stop his fall, but I have to get over there!” The girl from the rubble has managed to crawl out from where she was trapped, blocks of cement floating precariously above her. Putting two and two together - or at the very least hoping I have - I make a beeline for her, yanking her onto a piece of scrap metal so she can better reach him. It begins to hover, just in time for her to smack the falling boy, halting his deadly descent mere moments before what would be an unfortunate collision. She grunts, mutters something, and everything she was making float falls to the ground, but no extra damage is done.
Okay, never mind, it looks like she’s throwing up.
The speakers screech as the announcer’s voice rings out again, informing us that our time is up, and murmurs break out from the other examinees. I take a few deep breaths before standing up straight, a grin spreading across my face as I laugh to myself, the adrenaline in my veins leaving me amped.
“That was fun,” I turn and offer my hand out to the floaty girl. “We should do something like it again some time - uh, without you getting injured, though.”
She takes it tentatively, offering me a slightly queasy smile; she’s either particularly shaken up by the events of the past couple minutes, or it’s a drawback of her quirk.
The nurse - Recovery Girl - shuffles over from the boy to check up on this girl. While the scrapes on the examinee’s legs are fixed, she stares up at the zero-pointer behind us.
“That’s a lot of ice.” She observes, wrinkling the nose as the sensation of her bodily being forcibly healed. I cross my arms, a frown once again gracing my features as I observe the icicle I created.
“Wasn’t enough to stop it, though.” I say, silently berate myself for not aiming it better. She looks back at me, surprised.
“You still got it to stop moving. That was more than enough!” She tells me, and I smile.
“Well, you actually saved a life, so I mean...” I trail off, looking over to where the boy passed out. I sigh, untying my jacket from my waist and shrugging it on, cold now that the fight is over. “It was nice meeting you. Maybe I’ll see you around!” I wave at the girl as I begin to head off to prepare for the written exam. She grins and returns the gesture as I mentally prep for the next task.
Stepping outside again, I find myself wishing I had someone to rant about the day with. It’s not as though there weren’t people I knew taking the exam - my background has lent me certain advantages I’ll admit, I knew others taking this exam - I just didn’t like those people. They meant well, for sure, but it didn’t change the fact that they were incredibly annoying.
I resign myself to just walking in silence away from the grounds when, through the crowd of chattering teens, I spot the girl from before. I quicken my pace to catch up with her, not quite willing to yell over all these people just yet.
“Hey, uh, levitation girl?” I call to her when I’m close enough. She spins, looking around before pointing to herself. “Yeah, sorry, I don’t know your name.”
She beams at me. “I’m Ochako Uraraka.”
“(Y/N) (L/N).” I reply, smiling at the shorter girl.
Evidently we’re on the same wavelength after the events of the day, and we chat until we reach the point at which we have to part ways, though not before trading phone numbers and wishing each other the best of luck.
Shortly thereafter, when our acceptance letters arrive, she’s officially the first friend I have at the UA.
The words on my heart are warm, too.