Chapter 1: chapter 1
The curtains flung open as daylight poured into Tanya's room. "Ahh. It doesn't matter how many lifetimes pass, it's nice to be home in Japan."
'This world has taken some adjusting to get used to; there are heroes, villains, and having powers or Quirks is the norm. In my first life, this would have been fantastical, but then again so would reincarnation. Being X has seen to it that my third reincarnation's start remained fairly similar. I'm still a small blonde girl and was once again an orphan.
However, this time around I decided to go slower. There was no need to rush out of the orphanage and off to the military again. I waited, kept my grades up, kept myself fit, and was rewarded for my patience. I found a family, my father is nice enough; he's a simple and straightforward man. Sometimes he's a bit intimidated by my intelligence but I don't think anyone is prepared for a child with two lifetimes of experience. With a guardian figure, a roof over my head, and food on my plate, this life is already turning out better than the last one.'
Getting dressed in the morning was always a hassle for Tanya, ever since her Quirk came in. She was three years old when her mutation began. At first it was a simple back pain, one that got worse with every passing day. Then wings erupted from her back. The growing pains, the discomfort, the difficulty of obtaining functional clothing, all of these things she added to her long list of grudges against Being X. Now, 15 years later, they were strong, large, white wings shaped like those of a falcon.
Shirts needed low cut backs or slots to accommodate where they connected to the base of her shoulder blades. Jackets were easier to put on though as their open fronts made them manipulatable. After having spent the morning fumbling with her ill-fitting highschool uniform, she finally left her room.
She grabbed a plate of eggs and toast before sitting across from her father. He was a short, sturdy man with bushy eyebrows and a strong facial shape. If he ever grew a beard he would be indiscernible from a fantasy dwarf. Already painted on his face was a splash of worry, the long term variety.
"Go ahead." Tanya said before digging in.
"Are you sure this is what you want to do?" Mr.Tenikari asked. "I know you always think of your future, but I still fail to see how being a hero is in your best interest. You have a great head on your shoulders, way better than mine."
"It's not a matter of intelligence, it's a matter of my safety and capabilities. My skill set would be wasted behind a desk." Determination coursed through her veins, always keeping her blood at a low simmer. 'I yearn for a peaceful life, preferably retired. However, after living through and dying in a world war with wizards, the idea of sitting in an office doesn't sit right. It can be taken away in a heartbeat, flashing before your eyes like a train passing by, gone with a single phone call. Peace in this life will not come as easily as something so flimsy as an office job. I need to maintain peace and retire as quickly as possible.'
"Then come and work down at the yard. With your strength, you'd fit right in."
"Father, every other day villains brawl onsite. Sometimes it's heroes vs. villains, other times it's a gang fight. Something is always happening. I can't even ride the train to school without a fight breaking out."
"If you're so concerned about safety… Why become a hero? You'll be up against dangerous villains every day." He pointed his fork at her, blackened egg holding strong. "At least onsite the worst we had was a skirmish." He took a bite, finishing his thought before his food. "None of us got hurt." He added. "Nothing severe anyway."
"As a hero, I would have the ability to guarantee my own safety, to take my protection into my own hands." She sighed, looking at her burnt eggs. 'Last thing I need is Being X throwing another Mary at me when I'm not prepared. I gotta play this life right.' "Besides, your Quirk was practically designed for a labor job."
"We are not defined by our Quirks but by our character. I could have gone into wrestling if I stuck with it after high school. I could have become a salaryman and outpaced the competition by never getting tired. Heavens, I could have strengthened my Quirk and been a pro hero."
"Your Quirk is passive, they couldn't restrict you if they tried. I have a mutation, I can't do anything with these wings without a hero license." She spread her wings out, almost hitting the fridge. Their little two bedroom apartment wasn't doing her wings any favors.
"Are you selling your intelligence short? Tanya, sweetie, you've been helping me with my taxes since middle school. There isn't a job in the world that is too complicated for you. You don't need those wings."
"I want to fly without having to go on camping trips. The only way to fly freely is through a hero course." And that was the honest truth. This world had restrictions on Quirk usage. They couldn't fine or arrest her for having wings, but flying had to be done off the books or she had to obtain a hero license. She wouldn't admit it to anyone other than her father, and even then he didn't know the whole story, but ever since her second life she had fallen in love with flying. Some of that love may have been her Quirk talking.
Mr.Tenikari relaxed, brow still worried. "I couldn't stop you. I wouldn't either. You're determined, smart, strong, and you've got a Quirk cut out for the hero gig. I don't think I'd need to tell you to keep yourself safe. Heh."
She got up, putting her dish away before slinging her satchel bag over her shoulder. "Don't worry Father. It can't be any more dangerous than your cooking." His laughter wafted out after her, muffled by the door.
One train ride later, and she was at the gate of UA college. It was the most prestigious hero academy in Japan, and arguably the world over. The massive yellow sign spoke boldly of their identity, while the gate that seemed to stretch on indefinitely spoke quietly of their power. This was every inch as much a school as it was a fortress in disguise.
The students were an eager lot. She could smell the focus and drive in the air. It reminded her of the Imperial Academy, but rather than fueled by patriotism and war, it was fueled by idealistic views of heroism. She wasn't certain yet which was more dangerous.
She watched in silence as one green haired boy managed to trip over the only lip in sight, then saved by a bubbly girl who made him float. 'Looks like he's having a rough first day.' Tanya thought with a smirk before continuing on to the lecture hall.
She took her seat higher up amongst the rows. Having a high vantage point always felt more comfortable to her. Out on stage, a man with very tall, blonde hair walked out to the podium.
'Present Mic, the loudest hero in Japan. I personally never got into listening to him on the radio but I can respect what good he brings. He's managed to take his booming voice and cheery attitude and provide a service to the people. Any hero can blow away a villain but very few can diffuse the tension afterwards.'
"For all you examinee listeners tuning back in, I hope you enjoyed the written exam! Everybody say 'Hey'!"
Tanya didn't know what to do as only silence responded to Mics hype. 'You can't seriously expect a focused audience to go along with this? After a thirty minute written exam?'
Present Mic shivered in defeat. "What a refined response. Then I'll quickly present to you the rundown on the practical exam! ARE YOU READY?! YEAH!"
She looked around, awkward amongst the silence. 'Perhaps his charisma is better suited for things other than lectures.'
"As it says in the application requirements, you listeners will be conducting ten-minute mock battles after this!" The screen behind him turned to a display of the facility map. There was the central building labled 'you are here', and a series of lines connecting to alphabetical battlegrounds. "You can bring whatever you want with you. After the presentation, you'll head to the specified battle center, okay?... OKAY?!"
Silence broke out once more. 'Perhaps hype wasn't the purpose, but humor. It's good to let a little stress out, especially before a big fight.' She checked her card.
Exam Ticket. Examinee Number: 2222. Test Location: Battle center B.
The screen once again changed, catching her attention. Silhouettes of combat robots were being displayed around an image of the battle center, before changing to footage of a game version of Present Mic smashing his way through the bots. "Three different types of faux villains are stationed in each battle center. You earn points for each of them based on their level of difficulty. Your goal dear listeners, is to use your Quirks to earn points by immobilizing the faux villains. Of course, attacking other examinees and any other unheroic actions are prohibited!"
'It's a little gamey but understandable. Many of the examinees here haven't been in an actual fight before, so this would be a simplistic and easy way to bring them into the fold.'
Bursting up from his seat in the middle of the room, a tall young man with glasses raised his hand whilst calling out "May I ask a question?"
Present Mic pointed to the loud student, "Okay!"
"On the print out, there are four types of villains. If this is a misprint, then U.A., the most prominent hero academy in Japan, should be ashamed of that foolish mistake. We examinees are here in this place because we wish to be molded into exemplary heroes." He spun around, pointing to another student. "In addition, you over there with the curly green hair – You've been muttering this whole time. It's distracting!" If you're here on a pleasure trip, then you should leave immediately!"
"Okay, okay. Examinee Number 7111. Thanks for the great message. The fourth type of villain is worth zero points, that guy's an obstacle, so to speak. There's one in every battle center. An obstacle that will go crazy in narrow spaces. It's not impossible to defeat, but there's no point in defeating it, either. I recommend that you listeners try to avoid it."
"Thank you very much! Please excuse the interruption!" The loud one yelled, bowing out.
'Hmm. An enemy worth zero points? It must be there to test our ability to retreat. With all of these aspiring idealists, many of them may end up too eager and too reckless to be heroes.'
"That's all from me! Finally, I'l give you listeners a present – our school motto! The hero Napoleon Bonaparte once said: 'A true hero is someone who overcomes life's misfortunes.' Go beyond. Plus Ultra! Now, everyone, good luck suffering!"
A quick change into her gym outfit, a warmup, and a bus ride across the enormous campus later, they were outside of battle center B. Impossibly high walls of concrete stretched out to surround the entirety of a model city. Each road, each sidewalk, each building front, everything was to scale and all of it was made from the same materials as what the real ones were. The buildings lacked personality, only vaguely resembling reality. One could recognize a restaurant but it had no furniture or soul and would never serve a dish. Another had large display windows, but nothing to display but empty space. The entire place gave off a very liminal feeling.
The air was alight with the familiar sense of motivation and dread, everyone felt like today was their chance to be seen. Some contenders were going through their last minute stretches, others were performing small routines to keep their nerves down. Tanya was busy flexing her wings, getting warmed up for the fight ahead.
'I have ten minutes to smash as many robots as I can. There's more to this test than the description. Surely? The written exam had us answering questions about heroics, this is where we see who can follow through on their answers.'
Present Mic screamed from his tower "Okay, start!"
Take off! Tanya was up in the air and flying through the gate at breakneck speeds.
"What's wrong? There are no countdowns in real fights. Run, run! The die has been cast, you know?!"
Wings beating like jackhammers, she aimed for altitude. Up past the signs, up over the roofs, and up into the sky. Never even thinking about losing speed, she jetted across the battle center and away from her competition.
'The bots don't appear randomly spread out. The 1s are straggling the most. Often staying close to corners. 3s move the least. They take to middle sections with long sight lines. 2s operate in groups typically nearby 3s.'
The 1s had a humanoid shape and rolled around on a single wheel with two large arms that hide gatling guns beneath their shields. The 2s were shaped like scorpions without claws. Finally, the 3s were wheelbase tanks with heavy arms on the front and two sets of bulky rocket tubes.
From all the way up, the ground felt like it was moving slowly. She was well aware that she'd make it to the other end of the arena in less than a minute, but it felt good to fly.
Spotting a cluster of 2s, she closed her wings and dove out of the sky. The wind whipped through her hair, the ground came hurtling towards her, and her targeted 3 was none the wiser.
At the last second, she spun around, posed into a flying kick, wings opened and full of wind.
Tskrirch! She pierced through the metal hide, the bot collapsed with a massive hole punched through its midsection.
Her feet never touched the ground. She picked up speed as the 2s lept into action, attempting to surround her.
The 2s pounced towards Tanya but not before she dashed skywards and beyond their reach. A particularly slow to act 2 leapt up to meet her, tail reared back for a smash.
With a reversal flap of her wings, she spun into a bicycle kick, cleaving through the 2's head.
As the bots came crashing back down to earth, she dove out of the sky once more, driving her foot through their metallic skulls.
The dance continued between her and the 2s. No matter how fast they pounced, no matter how well they grouped up, she continued kicking her way through the horde. They could strike with their tails, yet she would never be there to receive the hit. She was untouchable to them.
Another 3 rolled into the arena, locking onto the winged menace. WIth a whir, it took aim with its launchers. With a bang, a volley of comically slow rockets came darting out.
Hearing this, Tanya spun to see the rockets come careening towards her. With a smile that cut her face in two, she tucked her wings in close. The missiles came whistling towards her.
In a display of her might, she opened her wings as fast and wide as she could. A wall of wind sailed forth around her, knocking the missiles off their path. Rockets rained wildly around the arena, detonating and destroying everything they touched.
As the smoke cleared and she stood triumphant over the scrapheap, a resounding boom shook the earth. She shot up into the air to witness the marvel of engineering itself.
The 0 pointer, the Executer, stood high above the skyline. It wheeled along on street sized treads as it grabbed onto buildings with arms the size of houses. The very world seemed to stop around it… before breaking into chaos. Even from across the arena, Tanya could hear the sound of screaming as the Executor continued its march.
With a grunt of exertion, she took flight towards the bot. 'There's more to it than a giant obstacle, I'm sure of it. That 0 pointer is an obstacle to be avoided, but not everyone is going to be able to escape.'
"Less than two minutes left!" Present Mic screamed from his distant tower, voice splitting through the chaos. She could hear the smug grin on his face.
Just as she made it above the 0 pointer, a green blur like lightning cracked the sky. For the second time that day, it felt like the world had stopped. Thunder struck.The Executor's entire body folded back, its faceplate smashed in.
'What kind of power!?' She thought, stunned by the display of force. She saw the green boy plummeting to their death. 'An obstacle to be avoided. They're asking us to be heroic!'
With a pump of her wings, she dove after the boy. She could see his limbs flapping like noodles.
Midoriya had thought that this was the end for him. He hadn't had the chance to prove himself. With the first heroic act he ever got to perform with One for All, he would be dead on the pavement. His only option left was to use his final limb and aim a smash at the ground. He prayed to whatever was above as he braced himself for a Detroit Smash.
6th story, 5th, 4th. The ground was getting too close for comfort. 3rd, 2nd. He wound back his arm.
Thwap . Uraraka slapped Midoriya, canceling out his momentum and leaving him spinning above the ground.
Meanwhile, Tanya banked hard, straightening out her flight path. She swerved and surfed around falling rubble. Her eye's locked on to another examinee that was about to be crushed by a chunk of concrete and steel.
She reached down and scooped up the small boy, tucking him close into a bridal carry. The wind knocked against her wings as they opened like a parachute, swinging her legs out front. Dust and gravel kicked up as she skidded and scraped on her heels to a stop.
The small boy stopped screaming once he realized where he was. 'An, an angel! I'm being carried by a beautiful angel!' He pouted. 'No chest, what a shame. But those legs! They're so long and powerful. She's all lean muscle! Thick leggings, slim tennis shoes, a runners tank top, and soft elbow protectors. All of which are in a style of white and yellow.'
"Are you okay?" Tanya asked coldly.
"Yesh!" Mineta replied, face nestled into the cruck between her arm and torso.
"Good." She said before dropping the grape goblin.
Present Mic screamed victoriously, "Time is up!"
Tanya groaned, stretching out her sore muscles. '38 points worth of bots isn't bad. If there were more three pointers, I could have scored higher.'
A week later a letter arrived with the emblem of UA. She smirked to herself, noting how long it's been since she's seen a wax sealed letter.
Slicing it open with a paper-knife, two things were within. One was her letter of acceptance, the other was a small black projector she sat on her desk.
All Might's huge face filled the holographic screen. "I am here as a projection! Congratulations Tanya Tenikari, you have passed the entrance exam in both practical and written! During the practical, you showed focus, competence, and bravery. All valuable traits for an aspiring hero!
During the practical, you scored 38 villain points. However, that is not all we were testing for! There were also rescue points! Handed out by a panel of judges for your actions; you scored an impressive 30 additional rescue points for your death defying dive after midoriya. However, seeing as Uraraka saved him first, these points were actually rewarded for saving Mineta.
As for why I'm here! I will be teaching at UA Academy! Tanya Tenikari, I look forward to having you in my class." With that, he disappeared leaving Tanya in a state of shock.
'I'm being taught by All Might himself! No Being X, no Mary, and being trained by the greatest hero in the world at the best academy! This life is shaping my way!'
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone