Chapter 2 - Just a Small Step

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"Good luck! I'm pretty sure you can do it, but as my final piece of advice – just try to stay focused and be careful. Everyone here at the agency is also cheering you on!"

"Thanks, I appreciate it! I'm just... worried, I guess? I know I shouldn't be, because it's going to distract me and all that, but...I can't help thinking – what happens if I don't get in?"

"We've been over this plenty of times, Atsuhi. It's not the end of the world and UA isn't the only hero school in Japan."

"But it's the one you and Mom went to... Settling for a different school wouldn't feel right."

"Hm, I knew you were gonna say that. Don't sweat it, I'm sure you've got it in the bag."

"I hope you're right. I'm about to go into the school, so that's it for now. I'll see you when I get home, so cross your fingers for now!"

"Of course! Bye, Atsuhi, and good luck!"

One long phone conversation with her father and a dramatic explanation of the rules, courtesy of none other than Present Mic, Atsuhi found herself standing in front of the examination grounds, gaping in awe at the sheer size of the city replica.

Ten long months after that warm, spring day and the incident with that horrific villain, she was ready to take on UA's Entrance Exam.

Well, maybe she wasn't ready. But she was most certainly there. No turning back now.

And to think UA has seven of these examination grounds... Hearing and reading about it is nothing like seeing it in person, alright.

Unfortunately, the amazement could only last so long. Soon enough, the anxiety she couldn't seem to get rid of for the past few hours settled in. Try as she might to rationalize it, to tell herself there was simply no reason to worry like that, this was simply too important for her not to be concerned.

Her entire life's worth of hopes and dreams were resting on this single day. Entering UA was the only way she could achieve what she had always yearned for – following in the footsteps of her parents and becoming an awe-inspiring hero to others, just like her parents had been to her.

Atsuhi was the only examinee from her middle school here, and being alone leading up to such a big event was never easy on the mind. A single look around was enough to confirm that she wasn't the only one struggling like this – everybody else was lost in their own world, just as worried and alone as she was, if not more so. That, at least, brought her a little bit of comfort.

She needed a way to distract herself, so her eyes swept the small crowd of students, all dressed in their own preferred kind of sports attire. She didn't really expect to find any familiar faces among them in the first place – while she was quite social, she had never really befriended many people outside of her own school, let alone any that would have been ambitious enough to try their hand at getting accepted into UA.

So that's why the sight of a familiar head of green hair made her eyes briefly widen. She looked at his big green eyes and small, oddly symmetrical freckles, which only served to confirm her suspicions.

Midoriya-kun? Ha, guess I was right that we'll probably see each other again someday. Hmm, but if he's here, then I guess Bakugo-kun must be at another examination site, huh? I had almost forgotten that I ever met these two.

For a while she contemplated if there would be any use in approaching him – just to say hi and wish him good luck, you know? In the end, he appeared to be very worried though, so she decided against it

He needs his space and peace. So do I... We can always talk once the exam is over, so better make use of every second of spare time for now.

She focused on coming up with a strategy. Knowing that they'd have to destroy robots and be awarded points based on that was better than not knowing anything at all. But even with that knowledge and the sight of the examination site before her, she could hardly even imagine what those robots were like.

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