The Emperor's Dragon

First Meetings

"Don't worry, we'll find her," Hitoshi reassured Izuku as they made their way towards the exam.

Izuku looked at his purple haired friend. They were dressed in their uniforms and were surrounded by other Middle School kids. They were all here for the same reason - the entrance exam. They'd gotten up early and caught the train. For Izuku it was a little stupid, as he lived in Yokohama but his friends didn't know that, so he'd met them at the station and ridden the train here. At least the trip from Yokohama to the station had been via Kurogiri so it had been quick.

"I know," Izuku replied. "But I want to make sure you have time to meet Mei, not just say hi!" He explained.

"I'm sure we will be friends," Ochaco said.

"I know you will," Izuku assured her with a smile. He could hear that she was nervous. "And you are going to do great at the exam," he added.

She gave him a smile but still looked like she had used her quirk too much. Izuku grinned at her. "What's one by one?" he asked, in the tone of voice their teacher used.

"One," Ochaco answered.

"The capital of Australia?"

"Canberra," came the next response.

"The Battle of Sekigahara was when?"

"1600!"

Izuku grinned. "Three correct answers! You'll be fine, Ochaco!"

She did actually look a little better after his rapid fire questions. "Thanks, Little Dragon," Ochaco commented. "I'm still worried about the hero test though," she added.

At that, Izuku sighed.

"You'll be great at it," Hitoshi reassured their friend this time.

"But-"

"But nothing," Izuku interrupted before Ochaco could say anything further. They didn't know what the test would be like 'cos it changed every year. Well, that wasn't quite true. They knew some likely details. Even for a school like UA, there were only so many ways of testing students but they tended to mix and match. They knew what some aspects of the test were likely to be and had helped Ochaco practice as much as she could.

One thing that remained the same each year was the fact that the hero test required prospective students to use their quirks. They'd helped her practice and she could now hold an impressive amount of weight.

"I wish I had your confidence."

"It's not confidence if it's true," Izuku countered. "We all passed the practice exams," he reminded them. "And for the hero test, just remember to be a hero," he advised her. "Do your best and help people, and if that doesn't get you a pass, then-" He snorted dismissively. "They don't deserve you and another school will get the legacy of training the first revolutionary hero!"

And that wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing. They'd discussed that. UA had the reputation (and the statistics) as the best school, but as Hitoshi had determined years ago, most of UA's hero graduates were above ground heroes. They weren't underground heroes. Not that there was any problem with being a rescue hero. Those were the type of above ground heroes Izuku had the least problem with. They were usually really trying to help people in times of need. It was the patrol heroes, or the combat heroes who had the worst stats.

So yeah, if Ochaco could keep her word and become a revolutionary hero, one who showed the world what the lauded heroes of now were really like, and she had been trained by another school, then that would be a good thing.

"Target found!" An electronic voice interrupted anything Ochaco might have said in reply.

They all looked upwards, and Izuku saw the way the other groups of students around them did as well. Hovering in the air was something that looked like a flying camera. It had three little blade turrets for propulsion and that was really all he noticed before it zipped away. He grinned though. He didn't recognise it but he knew what it was, and that was confirmed when his phone beeped.