My League Of Villains - Chapter 3 Soul Crushing Exams 1

Tokyo’s Metropolitan Police Academy was one of the best high schools in the country. Even if one didn’t want to become a police officer or to start a career in the military, it still was one of the top choices of many ambitious Japanese students, thanks to its association with the National Defense Academy. Together with the University of Tokyo, it was the door to a successful future and many important positions at the lead of the whole of Japan.

Despite the crucial role in the developing of the top minds of tomorrow, TMPA’s building was simple and strict without a hint of frippery, like all the beauty and finesse in the art of architecture were sacrificed in favour of imposingness and practicality. The only sign indicating that this giant of steel, concrete and glass was indeed a school, was the wonderful garden full of Sakura and Chrysanthemums surrounding it. The busy streets around it were, as always, full of people busy with their own problems. There was also one boy running like a madman with his nose buried in a city map. As he reached the summit of a slope, a ray of light blinded him. After he opened his eyes again, he saw downhill a golden sign set on the facade of a cold looking building surrounded by an emerald sea studded with flowers. But that sign wasn’t cold at all. It was warm and reassuring. It meant safety. It meant trusting. It was the Metropolitan Police Departement symbol.

The guard at the gates checked his watch, then he started to close them. They were about to shut when a cloud of dust darted through and a sweaty kid slid in. The guard was so impressed he was about to yell ‘Safe!’, but the kid didn’t give him the chance.

“I’m sorry! I’m late!” he yelled as he sprinted towards the main entrance.

“HEY, kid! It’s the other way! They are all in the gym! In the back!”

Midoriya tripped, fell, stood back up and made a thankful bow towards the man, then he restarted to run.

It was dark inside. A teacher was on the podium giving his welcome speech to the examinees. With his face red, he looked for a free seat trying to make as little noise as possible. He couldn’t find any. Until he saw it. Right in front of the stage, there were a few spots still waiting for latecomers and absent. He wanted to hide in a hole in the ground but, in the end, he sat down under the disapproving judging sights of the crowd. Also, the stage and the zones near it were the most illuminated. Once again he wanted a hole to hide in.

“… Well then, that being said, good luck with your Exams! Remember, always ready!”

The teacher stepped down with a smug smile, happy he even managed to put at the end of the speech the motto of the Academy (“Semper parati”), apparently not noticing the annoyed gazes from his colleagues. He was the only one who liked the motto, everyone wanted to change it in Plus Ultra, like U.A. but he always found a reason to delay the decision.

A certain latecomer’s mood dropped even lower. Not only did he come late and everyone noticed, but he also had to stand up right after. His embarrassment level was already off the charts.

The mass of students flowed out and followed the guides to the places were, according to alphabetical order, they had to do the Written Exams.

When Izuku got out of his assigned classroom, he was sure his brain actually melted. All the questions were hard and, even if he prepared for more than ten months, there were some impossible ones, requiring way too obscure knowledge about the subjects. He thought he managed to get a decent score, but he wasn’t idle enough to have time to worry: the exams were one after the other!

Luckily, the school put the Oral Exams between the Written and Practical Exams which were the most difficult ones, to give time to the students to “relax”. That didn’t mean it wasn’t important, it was just regarded as an easier and less stressful hurdle to overcome. Like a pillow between two anvils, but the pillow was filled with nails. In the waiting hall, he could see calm and gloomy faces alike, regardless they brimmed with confidence. Or at least, they knew how to feign it well.

A teen girl wearing TMPA’s uniform opened the steel door leading to an interrogation room where the seniors practised their questioning skills. Right now, it was being used for the interviews. They officially did this because of some issues with the classrooms, but unofficially there was a rumour about the increased difficulty of the test to weed out more candidates than usual. Apparently, it was to guarantee a finer batch in prevision of some new laws, which were going to put some limits on the hero profession and put more responsibilities on the State forces. So, this was done to put additional pressure on the “newbies”.

“Izuku Midoriya! Izuku Midoriya, it’s your turn!”

Hearing his name he sprang from his chair and followed her. The metallic door eerily closed behind him.

In front of him, there was a small black table, under which were stuck a few chewing gums, and around it, crammed on their chairs were four teachers. Another one, who probably found the setting too uncomfortable was leaning against the one-way mirror. The feeling was the same as he was a dangerous villain guilty of some particularly heinous crimes. He barely refrained from shuddering in front of the examiners.

“Izuku Midoriya… Hey! I remember you, you are the one who was caught in the spotlight earlier. That was one hell of an entrance!” said the standing one.

“I’m sorry I was late!”

He was about to say he lost the way, but he figured it wouldn’t sound too good for his awful first impression. Sighing internally, Midoriya cursed his misfortune.

By the looks of it, gaining some bonus points was impossible… He just hoped the Practical Exam wasn’t going to be completely unfeasible for a quirkless person like him. He trained a lot and Jinnai helped him so much… but would that be enough?

He steeled his heart and renewed his resolution. He knew it wasn’t going to be easy from the beginning, this wasn’t the place to falter. After all, he still had to finish the second Exam. From his figure exuded an aura of confidence. Or, at least, he was good at feigning one.

“Don’t be so nervous, young man. It was just a joke.”

Ok, he wasn’t good. He wasn’t good at all!