First Person Omniscient: Rikiyama

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I dig myself out of the rubble as the zero point villain's hand lifts and I race towards the crater in its leg, bracing to grab Aki and rush her to whatever medical staff is nearby. Just as I make it to the edge of the indent, Aki pops out and groans, beginning to rub the middle of her back.

"Jeez! I know that Big Sis said I could take a hit from one of these things, but she should've said it'd still hurt!"

I stare in awe as Aki stretches her back, completely unharmed by the weight of the villain's fist. She turns to me and opens her mouth to speak, but a shadow falls over both of us. We both look up to see the other looming hand of the giant villain bearing down, ready to smash us both. With Conviction still recovering from both being denied the rematch against the zero pointer and the shock of seeing a girl get smashed by a building sized robot and then get back up unphased, it's left to Aki to pull me out of the danger zone once again. She snatches my wrist and tears me off the platform and into the cover of a ruined building just as the hand lands where we stood, burying us both in concrete and shadow. She flattens against the ground and goes completely still as the entrance collapses, and I lean over to whisper to her.

"How did you take a hit like that so casually? You said you had the characteristics of a cockroach, you didn't mention anything like this."

Aki glances at me from the furthest side of her eye, not moving her head as dust pours from the ceiling onto us in response to the zero pointer trying to free itself from the building lodged in it's abdomen.

"I couldn't tell you much 'cuz we ran out of time to talk, but my quirk is called Roach Body. Y'know how roaches are super duper durable? It's 'cuz their organs are all liquid and their skin is actually their bones, just on the outside. I've got the same thing, so it makes me super tough and super quick!"

Her antennae flicker as the ground rumbles, and she sinks even deeper into the ground.

"Plus, my antennae help me sense vibrations. They aren't really good for making out details about stuff, but I can get an outline of things that are moving pretty easily.

I watch her antennae bounce for a moment longer before more dust and pieces of rubble fall next to us. Aki shrinks away from it and buries herself next to me, clearly unwilling to move. My breath comes heavy as I shut my eyes and try to spur Conviction, but the challenge of the fight and the glory thereafter has become overshadowed by how I could've died or, worse yet, how Aki could've died. I ignore my apprehension and shake the doubt from my thoughts as best as I can to gather myself, and I glance around the remains of the interior we're in to figure out a way to the floor above. I nod to myself, then lift up to one knee before Aki grabs onto my sleeve and tries to pull me back down. Her voice is shaky and her grip is loose and trembling, but I let her hold me.

"Don't tell me you still wanna fight that thing! There's, like, three minutes left before the exam ends! Please, just wait here and we can-!"

"I can't do that, Aki."

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First Person Limited: Aki

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Rikiyama's eyes begin to glow again as he grabs onto my hand, slowly pulling my fingers off his wrist. He looks at the back of the room again and starts walking towards it, mumbling as he paces forward. I try to lift myself off the ground to follow him but another rumble shakes my wrists as I push up, and I slam my belly back against the dirt. I can't will myself to move so instead I call after him, barely managing to speak louder than a whisper.

"Stop being so freaking stubborn! You're not even supposed to fight that thing, why can't you just let it go?"

Rikiyama pauses and his head tilts back slightly as he thinks.

"I want to be a hero. Heroes can't ignore a villain when they see one, even if they don't really need to take them down."

He turns back to face me, the dull glow of his eyes slowly beginning to brighten. A small smile quirks at his lips and he seems almost embarrassed to admit what he says next.

"Well, that and the fact that I never really learned how to walk away from a fight. Sorry, Aki."

"A little less than three minutes left on the clock, listeners! Better make the most of it, or you're going home!"

His eyes flick towards the ceiling as Present Mic's voice echoes through the battle center. He turns back around and bends down to one knee, jumping up to the second floor. The silence that follows is quickly replaced by the sound of fists against metal from above, and my antennae quiver again as I sense the zero pointer's main body twisting to fully face the building. The sickly feeling in my stomach cries for me to keep hiding and try to escape the danger from above, but Rikiyama's simple words say otherwise. I run them through my mind over and over until I finally make something of them, and I try to steady my hands enough to pull me out of the safety of the rubble.

"I was definitely right when I guessed he was the toughest guy around back on the bus, he had the same look that Sis does when she talks about beating up villains!"

I manage to pull myself to my knees and stand shakily, fighting for every step towards the wall that Rikiyama jumped off of to make it up to the second floor. I duck as the building quakes again, but I manage to shake off the urge to flee.

"I want to be a hero just like her! If he's doing what she would, then I need to do whatever he's doing! He's not scared at all, so I can't be either!"

I manage to speed up to a run before I reach the wall and I hop, rotating to plant my heels against the concrete. I push off the wall hard enough to put cracks in it, and I land on the second floor. I try to find the way that Rikiyama took to make it higher in the building, and I manage to make it up to the roof access stairs but before I can ascend it a massive hand cleaves through the door, slicing a part of the roof with it. I jump up onto the roof and see Rikiyama leaping over another slap from the zero pointer which lands against the wall of a neighboring building, and he manages to land two heavy punches on its forearm before the arm retracts and he's forced to dodge the other hand. It almost clips his legs but I manage to dash towards him and grab on to the hood of his jacket, jumping up with him to give him the boost he needs to make it over. He's covered in bruises and scrapes and his left arm dips considerably below his right, but he doesn't look hurt other than that. His eyes aren't as bright as they were when he first started fighting, though. He whips around but turns back to the zero pointer when he sees me, gritting his teeth and digging his heels into the crumbling roof.

"I'm not leaving this roof unless I'm riding that thing's head on the way down. You're not going to-."

"I'm not gonna tell you to leave. I'm here to help!"

His head cocks up and to the left as the zero pointer winds up another massive slap. I step to his left and crouch down as deep as I can, ready to scurry or hop over whatever comes at me.

"I can't leave my new bestie alone to fight a giant robot, even if it's totally scary!"

He glances at me and smiles as his eyes brighten a little bit more, a single blue spark flying off his right hand. The smile drops as the zero pointer swings its hand at us from the left, and I grab on to his arm as I jump over the punch. He grips the zero pointer's finger with his free hand and digs his feet into its middle knuckle as we evade, bending it backwards as the hand passes. The zero pointer takes a moment to examine its ruined digit and we take the opening to come up with a plan. Rikiyama points to a spot on its neck where the forest green metal plating has been torn off, speaking quickly as the zero pointer assesses its injury.

"I took a chunk of armor off its neck joint before you got here, but I couldn't do anything with it before it slapped me off. If you can distract it then I can get back into the opening and take its head off."

The idea of being used as a distraction against something so large terrifies me but I nod, putting on a brave face.

"Buggin'!"

Rikiyama returns the nod and juts his chin at the robot. I look back at it and see that it's turned its focus back on us, now readying for another punch. I run ahead of Rikiyama and start waving my arms in the air, sprinting towards the taller building to the right of the roof.

"Hey! Hey! Over here! Look at me, I'm really distracting! Yoo hoo!"

The zero pointer's head shifts as I yell. It watches me run for a moment and then tugs its hand into the air, readying to chop at me. I skid to a stop as I see its wrist sweep a shadow across the roof, the villain's hand eclipsing the sun. Out of the corner of my eye I see Rikiyama begin to rush towards the robot's chest and quickly jump onto it, climbing up to its exposed neck as the robot swings down at me. I barely manage to dodge out of the way as its hand smashes into the roof, but it reels into a backhand across the entire roof that sends me flying through the opposite wall and into a corridor in the next building over.

"AGH!"

The impact empties the air out of my lungs and my vision dims, and I barely keep conscious as I try to stand. My left leg buckles as I put weight on it and I almost pass out again when I roll up my pant leg to look at it, my armored skin cracked and dark green hemolymph oozing freely from the gap. I take off the sock on my left foot and try to tie it around the gap in my skin, the zero pointer's echoing siren urging me to go faster. I limp out of the hole in the wall and land back on the roof, seeing Rikiyama jumping off the robot's chest and onto its shoulder. He dives under a swipe from the zero pointer and makes it to the neck, slamming his shoulder into it and beginning to try and push its head off the joint. The villain's head quirks to an angle as he pushes, red eyes flashing with danger, but the movement eventually slows as Rikiyama encounters more resistance. He tries to dig back in and keep pushing but quickly realizes that he won't be able to push the robot's head off, and he screams at me to help.

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First Person Limited: Rikiyama

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The cry for help feels like ice cold water on Conviction's energy but I try to ignore it and focus on keeping my shoulder against the joint, pushing against it with every muscle in my body. Aki speeds off the roof and hops over another blow from the zero pointer which completely crumbles the roof, the resulting rubble cascading onto the weakened floors below which causes an avalanche of concrete as the building collapses. Aki rushes up the robot's arm and pancakes against the villain's giant metal joint, pushing her back against it and scraping her heels against the sheet metal of the robot's shoulder. The joint gives a little bit more and then stops again, electricity flying off the now exposed wires which whip around us. My eyes linger on the collapsed building as the gravity of the situation settles in, and I mumble as just as many sparks begin to fly off my arms and shoulders as leave the zero pointer's unarmored neck.

"There's no way out now. If we don't win, we'll die."

Conviction's full current begins to course through me as the stakes rise, and I begin to push the head of the zero pointer further and further off its joint. Aki slips and falls onto her back as the joint begins to break apart, staring up at me as the sparks around my hands travel up my sleeves and settle into my eyes, a wide smile set beneath the blue beams of light where my eyes sit. The zero pointer raises a shaking hand up to its shoulder as its eyes flash between lively red and dormant grey, its fingers twitching and falling limp as it begins to lose power.

"Do or die, that's the only way I can bear to live! The feeling of having no other way but straight ahead, with nothing but my own will to win, it's what keeps me alive!"

I reel back and stab my fingers into the robot's neck, slowly pulling upwards as I shout. Its hand falls to its side and its shoulders droop as I completely disconnect the head from its body, sending it flying down the street as the body begins to fall backwards. I notice Aki begin to slip and grab onto her hoodie before she can fall, pulling her next to me as I ride the zero pointer's falling torso until it crashes against the ground, crushing an unfortunate group of smaller robotic villains. We lay on top of the fallen villain and catch our breath as the sounds of chattering examinees begins to draw closer, which is when I remember what I'd wanted to do since I set my sights on the zero pointer. I walk down from its shoulder and onto one of the massive vents peaking from its chest, pulling Aki gently along with me.

"One quick thing before we go to the nurses, alright?"

A crowd of examinees gathers the base of the fallen robot and watch as I plant one foot onto the edge of the vent and raise my right hand into a fist above my head, copying All Might's signature gesture to mark my victory. A small chorus of cheers whoop from below and I let my hand fall back down to my side, hurriedly gripping my elbow as Conviction fades and the pain of my injuries becomes harder to ignore. I turn to Aki as I begin to walk down and find a way off the robot's chest.

"Sorry, I've always wanted to do that. How's your leg?"

She begins to hop alongside me and lifts her ankle up to her waist, quirking her head from side to side as she examines it.

"It stopped bleeding but I still need to get it checked out. I gotta be careful about blood loss since I can't get transplants, so it's better to get it looked at than leave it."

She drops her foot back to the ground and begins to walk normally, though still with a slight limp. Suddenly her friend Mina rushes over and grabs her into a hug.

"Oh my god, Aki! I was so worried! What the heck were you thinking, fighting that giant robot?"

Aki droops in Mina's grasp and groans, her antennae flopping down to the sides of her face as she slumps into Mina's chest.

"It was super scary! Rikiyama kept going after it and I couldn't just leave him alone with that thing! It was really big and really strong, too. Totally uncool."

Mina glares up at me and I hold up my hands, embarrassed by the realization that Aki only fought to help me.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean for her to get involved. I got too excited about fighting the zero pointer and Aki lent me a hand."

Mina eyes me for a moment longer but lets me off with a warning not to let it happen again, then slings Aki's right arm over her shoulders and begins to walk her towards the exit gate.

"C'mon, bestie. Let's get you to the nurse so you can get that leg looked at."

I step forward and close my hand around Aki's left bicep, keeping her shoulders level as I support her other side. I wince as I flex my left arm, pain shooting through it as I move.

"I'll come with you, I was hoping to get checked out anyways."

The three of us walk towards a large white tent marked with a red cross and Aki and I are quickly guided to cots. A nurse tugs the sock off of Aki's leg and examines her exoskeleton while another checks on my arm and torso. The nurse tugs off my jacket and frowns when she sees the cuts and scrapes criss-crossing my back, quickly waving over another nurse who holds a small plastic case with the UA emblem. She guides me onto my stomach while the other nurse digs through the case and pulls out a medicine bottle and a cotton ball.

"These wounds aren't as bad as they could be but we're still going to have to close the larger cuts. The staples will dissolve naturally soon after the wounds heal so you won't need to worry about getting them removed. Just try to stay still, 'kay pumpkin?"

I nod and brace my chin on my forearms as the nurses begin to work on my back. I sigh when I look at the damage to my jacket and jeans, preparing for the fuss Inko will raise when she sees how I was injured. I look over to Aki and see her sitting on the edge of her cot, a small strip of paler brown skin striping her already scabbing left leg. I call out to her and ask how she's doing, both out of curiosity and to avoid focusing on the nurses above me.

"I'm alright! Little cracks like this close pretty quick, so I'll be good to go once the nurse comes back. I'll wait outside for you though!"

Aki smiles and gives me a thumbs up, one which I return to her. She leaves the tent soon afterwards and I'm left to make small talk with the nurses helping me.

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I leave the tent with a dozen different staples in my back, a sling keeping my sprained elbow in place, and a small band-aid covering my right cheek. Once they're done I meet back up with Aki and Mina and we ride the bus back to the UA campus, where I call Izuku to check on how he did. He sounds much more tired than I expected, which I choose to take as a sign that he fought well. We arrange to meet back up at the front gate and then head home from there, so I turn to say goodbye to Aki and Mina.

"I'm gonna meet up with my buddy and then head home. It was nice to meet you two, and thanks again for your help."

"No problem, bestie! See ya!"

I turn to leave but Mina suddenly leaps forward and grabs onto my arm, shouting for me to wait. She leans towards Aki and whispers conspiratorially, after which Aki nods and holds out her phone.

"Hey, Riki! Lemme get your phone number so we can hang out!"

I raise an eyebrow but nod, taking her phone and saving my number into her contacts as "Riki". Aki smiles at me while, oddly enough, Mina smiles even wider as she glances between the two of us. I start to walk back to the front gate and wave goodbye to the two girls, texting Katsuki to let me know how his exam went and eventually meeting back up with Izuku. I approach him happily but he doesn't seem to share in my energy, so I bend down towards his eye level and speak gently as we head back to the apartment.

"You look like you just lost a dog or something. Is everything okay?"

Izuku smiles weakly for a moment but small tears prick at the edges of his eyes, and his chest heaves as he tries to speak. I place a hand on his shoulder and ask what happened, to which he begins to openly cry.

"I blew it, Richan! I didn't get a single point on the practical exam and I only did average on the written test, there's no way I got in! I wasted everything you and All Might gave me, the last ten months have been for nothing!"

I stop and bring my arm over his shoulders and huddle him closer to me, hugging him and whispering to try and cheer him up.

"Hey, don't say that. There's no way you didn't get in no matter how many points you got. I don't care what they said the exam was about, there's no chance that UA is gonna let someone as cool as you pass through their fingers just because you didn't bust up a couple robots. Let's call All Might later and talk to him, we can figure out what to do from there. Don't worry, okay?"

Izuku sniffles and wipes his eyes, nodding and trying to compose himself.

"O-Okay."

I pat him on the shoulder and guide him down the street back to the apartment, quickly wiping the redness away from his eyes with my sleeve before we go inside.

"Auntie'll focus on me when she sees how banged up I got, so you slip past her and grab some eye drops. Hopefully your eyes will clear up before she notices."

"O-Okay, Richan."

Inko stumbles out of the kitchen when I open the door, quickly switching from asking how the exams went to panicking over my clothes. Her worry worsens when I slip the jacket off and reveal the ripped tank top underneath, a dozen small staples shining through the gaps on the back and my left arm hanging in its sling.

"Oh my gosh, Rikiyama! Your arm, your face, your back! What happened?"

Izuku shuffles past her as she cups my face in her hands, alternating between peering over my shoulder at my back and wincing at the sling my arm sits in. I hold onto her wrist and pat her on the arm while Izuku sneaks into the bathroom, then try to waive her concern.

"There was some fighting involved with the practical exam and I got tagged a few times, but it's not as bad as it looks. I'll be out of the sling in a few days and my back will be fine pretty soon after, so-."

Inko cuts me off as she leads me into the dining room and sits me down at the table, still too spooked by the sight of my injuries to listen to me. I keep trying and failing to reassure her until Izuku enters the room, wiping his cleared eyes as he sits down next to us. Inko whips to face him and looks him over, sighing in relief when she sees that he's alright.

"At least you didn't get hurt. How did your test go? Did you pass?"

Izuku pauses before he answers and glances at me, so I flash him a thumbs up from behind Inko. He puts on a smile and tells Inko that his test went well and that he's sure he got a good score, which gifts Inko a moment of joy before she returns back to fussing over me.

"Izuku, go get changed and wash up for dinner. Rikiyama, you sit right here and wait while I finish cooking, don't move once muscle!"

I nod and resign myself to the care of Mama Bear while Izuku leaves the room to change. After dinner, I sneak into Izuku's room and quickly lock the door, stuffing a towel into the door gap and slipping my phone out of my pocket. Izuku hovers behind me and puzzles as I open my contacts and select "All Might", quietly wondering why I didn't bother to use a code name. I explain that the idea of the number actually belonging to All Might is too ridiculous for anyone who sees it to consider while the phone rings, but I stop as the call drops to Toshinori's voicemail. Izuku looks up at me and shifts from one foot to the other as I stare at my phone.

"Alright, no need to panic. I'll call him again, maybe he just didn't get to it in time."

I call Toshinori and the call goes to voice mail again, and a small bead of sweat begins to fall down Izuku's forehead.

"Again, no need to panic. He's just busy with something. Let's call him again in the morning and talk to him then."

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A week passes without any reply from Toshinori. I leave a voicemail for him every morning before I leave for the Awatas' store and every night when I get home from the beach, but never get an answer. Izuku grows more despondent with each day that passes until eventually he's left too drained by worry to focus, every hour without word from his mentor weighing heavier than the last. Inko finally takes notice when she sees him smiling blankly into the eyes of the fish she prepared him for dinner, and she sets down her chopsticks to speak.

"Izuku? Izuku! Snap out of it! Why are you staring at that fish?"

I take notice as well and begin to glare disgustedly at the fish. I pull my bowl of microwave ramen away from Izuku and stoop over it defensively.

"Gross. Keep that thing away from me, I hate how weird its eyes are."

Izuku quickly pulls himself out of the reflection in the fish's eye and apologizes, picking away at his meal. Later, he sits quietly and squeezes a yellow grip trainer while I help Inko clean the table. Inko smiles at him and offers a comment on the tense anticipation of our test results, a sentiment that I pretend to share to comfort Izuku.

"No matter what, I just want you to know I'm proud of you. And I happen to think you're really cool, sweetie!"

"Same here, bud. You're the coolest."

Izuku nods and shifts lower into the couch, not bothering to speak. Inko leaves the apartment not long afterwards and the two of us are left to talk, so I approach the topic I'd been meaning to bring up ever since the exam.

"Are you absolutely sure you don't want to tell Auntie about One For All and All Might yet? It's one thing to take this long to tell Katsuki, but I think Inko deserves to know ASAP."

Izuku's eyes lower shamefully as he thinks about the conversation he has to have with his mother, and shakes his head slowly.

"I'm going to tell her eventually, but I can't yet. Not until I know I made it into UA at least."

I sigh and glance at my phone, my irritation at Toshinori growing by the minute.

"You got in, I know you did. But fine, if you don't want to tell her until you know it's official, that's your choice."

"I-I-Izuku! You got a letter! It came, look! You got a letter! And you too, Rikiyama!"

Inko scrambles against the floor as she slips through the doorway, shoving two envelopes stamped with the UA emblem towards the both of us. I walk speedily out of the kitchen and help Inko up, then take the letters out of her hand. I flit Izuku's letter towards him and stare at mine, then turn back to Izuku. He stares apprehensively at the envelope in his hands and looks between me and Inko, clearly uncomfortable. I point a thumb at the hallway leading to the apartment's bedrooms and suggest opening them in his bedroom, which he accepts. Inko follows us to Izuku's room and clicks her nails together nervously.

"G-Good luck!"

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First Person Limited: Izuku

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Richan crosses his arms behind me as I stare at the envelope in my hands, waiting for me to open it. I run my thumbs along the edges of the UA emblem and build as much courage as I can muster, then tear the envelope in half. A small ring falls out and begins to glow, shooting a beam of light above my desk which soon takes the shape of a screen with All Might in the center. A quiet theme of trumpets plays in the background as he begins.

"Boo-yah! I am here as a projection!"

I flinch away in shock of the hologram as the holographic All Might adjusts the tie of his bright yellow suit, Richan leaning forward expectantly behind me.

"Ahem! I know it's been a while, but with great power comes great paperwork! My apologies, young man. The truth is that I didn't come to this city just to fight villains. You're looking at the newest UA faculty member!"

"Woah, you're seriously going to be working at UA?"

Richan smirks and taps me on the shoulder, holding a finger against his lips.

"It's a recording, bud. He can't answer you."

I shrink in my seat and dial in on the projection as a hand appears from off camera and signals for All Might to hurry. All Might sighs and he converses with the hand's owner before turning back to face us.

"Right, so! Even though you passed the written test, you got zero points on the practical exam. I'm sorry."

An invisible weight presses on my shoulders as I stare at my hands, disappointment settling back into my chest. I feel Richan staring at the back of my head, probably trying to think of something to say that he hasn't used in the last week, but All Might beats him to it.

"Fortunately, there were other factors!"

Richan's hand drifts to my shoulder and squeezes it as we both focus on the projection.

"But before we get to that, I have another surprise! Here, for your viewing pleasure!"

All Might produces a remote from his pocket and activates a screen behind him which begins to play a recording of the girl that saved me during the exam.

"It's that nice girl!"

"Oh, right, I remember her. You said she helped you out again during the exam, right? Something about her catching you again?"

A bead of sweat falls from my cheek as I nod, trying to remember the cover story I told him to avoid telling him that One For All had broken my limbs.

"She showed up after the exam to talk about you, young man!"

She approaches Present Mic with her jacket folded in her arms.

"You know that boy with the really messy hair and all the freckles? It's hard to describe his face. He's kind of plain looking, he doesn't really stand out of anything. His friend had super pretty blue eyes and two birthmarks, does that help?"

"She means us!"

"Izuku, no, don't agree with that."

Richan's nose curls as she speaks, looking exasperatedly at me.

"You really left an impression on her, huh? I thought you said you talked to her."

"I was wondering if it would be possible to share my points with him?"

I'm saved from having to explain myself when she begins to negotiate with Present Mic.

"I heard him say something about wanting to get just one point in, which just seems crazy! How could someone who took down that huge robot all by himself not earn any points in the end?"

Richan pauses and stares at the projection while I begin to lose myself in my thoughts, flashes of doubtful voices interjecting against the girl's words.

"How's someone with no quirk gonna hang with the best of the best? Just give it up already, you damn nerd."

"He would've had a better score if he hadn't stopped to help me!"

"There was no reason to put yourself in harm's way!"

"He saved me! I have to make it up to him! Please, sir, can't you just give him some of my points?"

The recording stops and the screen returns to focus on All Might.

"You have a quirk now, yes, but it's your actions that inspire others! You see, the practical exam wasn't graded on combat alone."

I feel Richan grin and glance at me at the mention of a second grading category, clearly proud of his correct prediction of a second layer of testing. The screen switches back to the brunette girl and Present Mic, the latter thanking her for her request but reassuring that it wasn't needed. All Might stands in front of the screen and looks off to the side, arms locked behind him.

"How could a hero course reject someone so determined to do the right thing no matter the consequences to himself? That's what makes a hero, after all."

He turns to face us, his smile widening.

"That's what my Alma Mater is all about! Training those who would risk their lives for the greater good!"

My jaw drops as a giant list of names and scores appears beside All Might, one column labelled "villain" and another "rescue".

"A panel of judges watched the exams and awarded points for heroic acts that went beyond simply fighting villains. Izuku Midoriya-!"

The screen transitions to show seventh place and I flinch as I read my name, running my eyes back and forth over the kanji.

"Sixty rescue points! The girl who tried to offer you a life line? Ochaco Uraraka, with forty five rescue points! You both passed the exam. Congratulations, young man!"

Misty tears fill my eyes as I listen to All Might's words, Richan whispering congratulations behind me. I mumble in awe of the news that I had not only passed but made it onto the leader board of passing students as All Might welcomes me to my hero academia, and I wipe the tears with my sleeve. Richan pats me on the shoulder and grabs his letter off my bed.

"My turn!"

The projection cuts out and Richan opens his letter, an identical disc falling out of his envelope. The disc activates and the same beam of light fires a projection, forming the image of a much more tired and disheveled All Might.

"Woo boy! You wouldn't believe how many of these I've had to do! Who's this last one for, again?"

All Might glances off screen and flinches, quickly turning back to the camera and coughing into his fist. He stares at his hand for a long second before grabbing a cloth out of his suit and wiping his palm, then stuffs it back into his pocket.

"Young Ikima, my boy! You don't mind if I keep this quick, right? So, as I'm sure you've already guessed, you passed with flying colors! Well done!"

Richan stays completely still as he listens to All Might, unblinking and unresponsive as he waits.

"Show it to me, c'mon. I know I did it, now let me see it."

He mumbles as All Might hurriedly explains the scoring system, only reacting when All Might begins to speak about his score. The same leader board that was shown in my recording appears behind All Might, though the first name quickly detaches from the rest of the list and begins to glow a playful gold. A small crown emblem forms over Richan's name, similarly radiant laurels holding up his first place entry.

"Rikiyama Ikima, seventy five villain points and twenty eight rescue points make for a combined score of one hundred and three! I'd like to congratulate you, young man! Not only did you score the highest amount of combined villain and rescue points this year, you've landed yourself smack into the top ten scores in this exam's history! Well done!"

My jaw drops as I stare transfixed by Richan's score. I turn to him to try and speak but any attempt at words die in my throat. Richan looks at his score and inhales deeply through his nose, closing his eyes as he digests the news. After a moment of thought the sides of his lips twitch and tremble, slowly breaking into a wide smile. He releases a loud exhale and opens his now shining blue eyes, satisfaction evident in his face.

"Perfect."

The glow in his eyes settles as he listens to the rest of All Might's speech, and he doesn't say anything else until the projection cuts out and the room falls dark, illuminated only by the lamp on my desk. He stares at the disc sitting on the floor and turns to me, completely silent until he suddenly explodes with energy. He bursts forward and wraps me in a hug, lifting me off the ground as he laughs.

"We did it! You did it! Izuku, you got in!"

I stiffen in his arms before relaxing, laughing and returning the hug.

"I-I did it! I'm going to UA!"

"Oh, god, buddy! We gotta tell Auntie! She's gonna be-!"

Richan sets me down and looks at me for a while, seriousness falling across his face.

"Izuku, we need to tell Inko."

I stare in confusion at him as he repeats himself, then ask what's wrong.

"Izuku, you made it into the greatest hero academy in the nation. She's not going to avoid asking how someone with no quirk made it into the hero course, and even if we convince her you managed to get in with no quirk, there's no way we could keep up a lie like that. You need to do what you should've done ten months ago."

A sinking falling sets in my stomach as he speaks, and I dread to even think about doing what he says next.

"You need to tell Inko about One For All."

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