I Am Not Number Seven (TUA/MHA Crossover)

11. Sero: New Age

The bus ride to the battle center was quick but silent. UA's self-driving busses were a testament to their wealth, even the Academy just used regular drivers in order to cut down on unnecessary cost and maintenance. Vanya sat pressed against the window, the student next to her sitting as far away as he physically could without falling off. He glanced at her from the corner of his eye as he whispered to another boy across the aisle.

Vanya didn't need her enhanced hearing to know that they were talking about her.

Nevertheless, she gave him the distance he clearly wanted and massaged her wrists and ankles in preparation for the exam. A physical test that accurately depicted her abilities and impressed the evaluators would likely be strenuous, even for an Academy graduate. To do that, she would need to go all out- using every bit of energy she had stored up. A quick mental evaluation of her power counter relieved her, the girl was teetering on the edge of 98 points, just close enough to not worry about an explosion of energy that would come when she hit 100 but also enough firepower to give the judges a great show.

Vanya bandaged up her hands and wrists with boxing wraps after getting the blood flowing with the massage, taping it up just as the bus came to a stop outside the battle center. The applicants quickly shuffled off the bus, each of them now in an outfit similar to what Vanya had already been wearing. She was glad she didn't stick out as much anymore but from the way people side-eyed her, the damage had been done- they already thought she wasn't taking things seriously by showing up to the written portion in activewear.

They all gathered in front of large wooden doors, exclamations of the size of the center filled the silence as they waited for a signal. The giant doors swung open and everyone dissolved into chatter, raring to go but no one dared to enter the center without an announcer letting them know that they wouldn't be disqualified for entering the center.

"Hey there, cuties!" a woman's voice echoed from a pillar high above the crowd. Everyone looked up and gasped.

"It's M-Midnight! The pro hero!" a girl squeaked.

The hero cracked the whip in her hand and leaned over the side, a wicked smile on her face. Vanya noted that she was really pretty offhandedly, she definitely looked good on camera from what Vanya had seen when researching the pros of Japan but seeing Midnight in person kind of took her breath away.

The pro in question tossed her hair over her shoulder as she grinned down at them, "Hope you all are as excited about this as I am! Let's get this party started, ready, set, go!"

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Sero Hanta was nervous, more nervous than he had been in his entire life. I mean, this was the UA entrance exam he was at! This was the moment that would affect his entire hero career. Although graduating from UA wasn't a requirement for becoming a great hero, it sure did help. And Sero did not want his first step to the hero path to fail.

His leg did not stop bouncing during the entirety of the written test, the practical exam explanation, and the bus ride here. Though he easily chatted with people around him, small talk mostly, his stomach had not stopped turning from the moment his alarm woke him up from his uneasy sleep that morning.

That day, Sero had bid goodbye to his dad, little sister, and his aunt, said a small prayer at his mom's shrine asking her to look out for him, and left as soon as he had gotten dressed, the nerves threatening to overtake him if he stopped moving for even one moment.

So when he and everyone else had been waiting by the large gates of Battle Center C, Sero rubbed at his elbows in nervousness and looked around. A boy Sero had made nice with on the bus glanced at him, "Scared?"