Rising Waters

Part I: Entrance Exam

     Welcome to UA High! The most outstanding hero school in the world! My parents once walked the halls of this school. They learned everything they could possibly learn about what it takes to be a hero here. I hope to be just as great as them one day!

Today's my first day here! I'm excited, but I'm also nervous. I haven't gone to public school ever since that incident in kindergarten... I shuttered, thinking back on that time.

Better not to think about it.

I took a deep breath, feeling overwhelmed by all the other students flooding through the gates. Today was the entrance exam! There's no way I can beat enough of them... I'm toast! My mind was racing with self doubt, but I'd still be giving this my all!

The thing about UA High is that it has the lowest acceptance rate of all the schools. To get in they put you through a course of entrance exams, but I have no idea what kind of entrance exam it's going to be... Or how difficult.

The first step to achieving your dreams is facing your fears! Kingdom Hearts Three taught me that and I intend to follow it's advice! Therefore, I will take my first step among these other students and give it my all!

Oh crap... I shouldn't let my nerdy side slip out too much here, I might get bullied or something.

"Wow!" I gasped in amazement as other students shoved their way past me. I didn't mind much as I looked up at the tall building. I took another deep breath before I entered through the doors.

I didn't quite know where to go, so I just followed the crowd until I found myself in a giant room. They must have had over a thousand seats, and most of them were already filled. A stage was at the bottom of the room, with flashy lights and booming speakers.

My eyes sparkled with excitement as I took a seat next to a kid, probably about my age, with green short hair and freckles. He seemed almost as excited as I was. Yet there was something about him that was somewhat familiar.

The crowd was hushed as a tiny mouse walked on the stage. Well I mean, he wasn't tiny, he was just small. Like a mouse-man. Hey, that would make a good hero name for him probably! Like Spider-Man, but 'Mouse-Man'! Yeah, I like the ring to that.

"He's so cute!" I squeaked quietly. I've always thought mice were cute... And animals in general. Thank goodness the kid next to me was too busy taking notes to realize that I said anything.

The mouse went on to introduce himself as the principal of UA. He explained a few other decently boring things before introducing Present Mic. And let me tell you, he's not called 'Mic' for no reason.

His blonde hair defied gravity as it stood up and curved toward the top. He had a microphone in his hand and headphones resting on his shoulders. His clothes looked kind of cool, being black with little bits of white on his shoulders and a red belt. The strangest thing about his outfit was his neck piece that looked like a speaker instead of an actual piece of clothing.

His voice was booming as he spoke. I almost felt like he didn't really even need a mic. He sounded extremely excited though, which was great for getting everyone pumped up. As he spoke up the kid beside me started to mutter something, but I easily ignored it until another student called him out.

Present Mic went on to explain how the exams were going to work. He said that we would all be sectioned off into separate rooms where we'd be forced to fight in mock battles. The giant screen behind him lit up with four different types of enemies. One worth zero points and the others worth one, two, and three respectfully.

As he spoke, someone came around and gave each of us a card. The kid beside me seemed to be analyzing everything, including the cards. He looked at the boy beside him and mentioned something about his card, but the boy seemed to get mad at him.