The Gates of U.A.
Tsubaki stood before the colossal gates of U.A. High, his body primed and his focus absolute. He wore his private schools standard uniform, he is stepping into a new part of his life. Today, he relied purely on the iron discipline forged though years of solitary suffering. He will earn his place here. He needed no handouts. He needed no ones name to make it.
As he moved toward the entrance, his attention snagged on a small drama unfolding just ahead. A scrawny boy with unruly green hair was about to trip, his arms flailing. Before Tsubaki could even register the pathetic spectacle, a girl with cheerful, rosy cheeks tapped the boy's shoulder. The green-haired boy floated momentarily, righted himself, and the girl released him with a friendly grin. The boy's face instantly flushed crimson.
'Amateur', Tsubaki judged, dismissing the pair.
He walked past them without a glance, passing through the gates of the greatest hero school in Japan and into the massive auditorium.
Tsubaki found a seat in the back corner, away from the nervous clusters of hopefuls. He watched the massive stage as the eccentric, yellow-haired Hero Present Mic appeared, his voice blasting across the hall.
"WELCOME TO U.A.'S PRACTICAL EXAM! YEAAAAH!"
Tsubaki adjusted his collar, maintaining his look of boredom as Mic laid out the scoring rules: the three types of robotic villains.
A one Pointer
Two Pointer
And Three Pointer
"Now, you will all be split into separate battle centers and where you will fight these robots and compete against each other for points!"
As Mic continued, a strict-looking boy with glasses and an almost alarmingly rigid posture (Tenya Iida) stood up, chopping the air with his hand.
"Sir! I have a question!" Iida's voice sliced through the noise. "On the provided handout, there are clearly four types of villains! We are here to prove ourselves as heroes, not be misled! Furthermore, you with the wild green hair—" Iida pointed a rigid finger at the same clumsy boy Tsubaki had seen outside, who instantly shrank in on himself. "—stop your incessant mumbling! It is distracting!"
The green-haired boy (Izuku Midoriya) ducked low, his embarrassment a tangible thing.
Tsubaki merely registered the interruption.
Present Mic quickly explained the Zero Pointer—the massive obstacle worth no points—and the hall descended back into organized chaos.
Tsubaki soon found himself on a bus, going toward his designated testing ground: Battle Center D. He sat alone, running through scenarios in his head, focusing only on the roborts and the time.
'I will not use Father's recommendation. I will not take his assistance. I will carve my own path to the top using the power he called weak.'
He would he was number 1
(The U.A. teachers are watching the feeds from the various assembly areas before the exam begins. All Might is anxiously watching the feed from Battle Center B, focused on Izuku Midoriya.)
Cementoss: Battle Center D looks interesting. We have Tsubaki Todoroki in that sector. It's unusual to see someone like him taking the general exam.
Midnight: That's that Endeavor 's other son. His brother took the recommendation exam. So why did Tsubaki chose the practical. A strange choice given his obvious access to the recommended track.
Aizawa: (Sighing) It's probably something about wanting to get out of his father's shadow we've seen cases like that before.
Principal Nezu: Indeed. Tsubaki Todoroki his quick is called Absolute zero. Choosing the practical exam is a clear statement of independence—or, perhaps, rebellion. He will want to score high enough that the achievement is entirely his own.
All Might: (His eyes glued to a blank screen) A hero isn't defined by their family name or power it is the heart and will that make a hero.
Battle field D
When the bus deposited the group at the massive gate of Battle Center D, Tsubaki did not wait for instructions. He crouched low, his muscles coiled tight, feeling the familiar, exciting sting of the cold beginning to pool in his hands.
As Present Mic yelled, "GO!", Tsubaki reacted instantly, a flash of white leaving the pack behind. He slid across the pavement on a sudden, thin sheet of ice, giving him an immediate advantage in speed.
A pair of 1-point robots clambered out from a Building. Tsubaki leveled his gaze, extended his hand, and targeted the joints.
A silent pulses of absolute cold shot out from him. The temperature drop was instantaneous . The knee and shoulder joints of the first robot instantly became brittle, their metallic structure collapsing inward like shattered glass. It fell in a heap. Tsubaki was past them before they hit the pavement.
Tsubaki's path was one of surgical precision. He didn't waste time on widespread, flashy attacks. His Quirk, Absolute Zero, allowed him to attack the structural integrity of the metal itself.
He encountered a cluster of three robots—a 3-pointer flanked by two 2-pointers—in a narrow alley. The 3-pointer immediately fired a volley of metal cables. Tsubaki didn't block; he shifted his weight, dodging the initial blast, and simultaneously released a quick, shallow pulse of ice beneath his feet, creating a ridge that caught the leading leg of the nearest 2-pointer. The robot tripped, disrupting the firing line of the 3-pointer.
As the 3-pointer reset, Tsubaki countered the delay, launching two silent, focused beams of ice: one targeting the control optics of the remaining 2-pointer, blinding it, and the other targeting the central hydraulic piston on the 3-pointer's chest. The targeted piston snapped instantly under the thermal stress, paralyzing the large robot's upper body.
He shot past the immobilized robots, finishing them off with subsequent, small blasts to their power cores. He was fluid, clinical, and fast—never spending more than two seconds on a single target.
He spotted a robot mid-air, having just been punched by a boy with spiky red hair and hardened skin (Eijiro Kirishima). Tsubaki ignored him and instead targeted the robot's remaining points. He was faster, more efficient, and spent no time in prolonged engagement.
Observation Room: Mid-Exam Assessment
(Six minutes into the exam. The teachers analyze the top scorers across all battle centers.)
Aizawa: The boy in Battle Center B, Bakugo, is an obvious prodigy he is only focussed on getting points and has shown good battle intincts.
Midnight: In Sector D Tsubaki Todoroki's point acquisition is phenomenal! He's using his Quirk efficiently. No wasted energy on mass freezing. He is targeting specific thermal and structural weak points. He's scored 58 villain points already.
Cementoss: His efficiency is near-perfect. He's treating this less like a fight and more like an engineering problem. His movements are sharp; the way he uses localized ice ridges to control the battlefield is masterful.
Principal Nezu: He understands the assignment completely. He is focused only on the mission parameters: maximum points, minimum time. Pure calculation, though quite cold.
All Might: (Frowning deeply at Tsubaki's screen) Hmm. Precision is vital, of course, but it takes more than that to be a hero he has the talent the question is does he have the heart!
Tsubaki had amassed a score well over seventy, moving through the tight city grid with devastating surgical strikes.
With two minutes left, a massive siren wailed, signaling the appearance of the Zero Pointer.
Tsubaki ignored the behemoth, his priority strictly tactical. He had secured his points, and he would not risk his energy on an unscoreable target.
Then, Tsubaki heard it—a raw, terrified cry cutting through the metallic screech of the giant robot. "Help! I'm stuck!"
The sound, genuine and uncalculated, bypassed Tsubaki's mask of indifference. His mind screamed Ignore it! Focus on points! But his body betrayed him. He saw a female examinee pinned beneath a length of concrete, directly in the Zero Pointer's shadow.
Tsubaki spun, throwing caution and discipline aside. He released his quirk for the first time this exam at full force a full ice glacier .
A massive, freezing wave erupted from his body, instantaneously shrouding the lower half of the towering Zero Pointer in a gigantic, multi-layered formation of dense, white ice. This was not precision—this was raw power, the kind of destructive volume he had worked so hard to avoid using. The machine's metal groaned, stressed beyond its molecular limit.
The Zero Pointer cracked, shuddered, and shattered into pieces, the sheer volume of the ice tearing its structure apart as it collapsed with a catastrophic roar that echoed across the sector.
Tsubaki stood amidst the sudden silence, his body instantly paying the price. The raw, unfiltered output of his Quirk instantly sent a shock of intense, agonizing cold deep into his bones. His skin became clammy and his entire body started to shake violently, his teeth chattering uncontrollably—the unavoidable price of his power.
He forced his muscles still, locking his jaw against the tremor. He shielded his shivering hands behind his back, turning his face away from the few remaining examinees who stared in stunned awe at the collapsed behemoth. They saw only the aftermath: the most devastating single attack of the entire exam. They saw power. They saw someone who is destined to be a hero.
They didn't see the cost.
He bolted, using the final thirty seconds to neutralize two more robots, ensuring his point total was indisputable.
U.A. Observation Room: Final Judgment
(The clock hits zero. The teachers review the final scores and the last moment of V-Sector.)
Cementoss: Final tally: Bakugo in B-Sector leads with 77 villain points. But Tsubaki Todoroki in V-Sector finished with 79 villain points. He got the top score with Bakugo following with a close 2nd that's not even accounting for his hero points
Aizawa: Wait. Look at the moment he neutralized the Zero Pointer. His strategic scoring was flawless, but that final move was chaos. He used the raw, unrefined strength a complete contrast to his behavior before, which shows it's not something he does often.
Midnight: He risked not getting for points for a intinctive rescue. He broke his own discipline to commit a act of heroism.
Principal Nezu: A fascinating paradox. He chose the difficult route instead of the easy way and still showed the mentality of a hero. And that power output! It confirms that he has the raw power for maximum destruction when pushed.
All Might: (Beaming) A strong score and the heart of a champion! He has proven his worth without the recommendation a power hero in the making!
Aizawa: (Muttering) Output that nearly gave him hypothermia. He hid his body shaking well but it still shows his limits. A score, earned through both calculated precision and unexpected raw power.
The final bell sounded, bringing the brutal exam to an end. Tsubaki, rigid with cold and exhaustion, walked stiffly toward the exit. He had secured his score, but he had revealed a dangerous truth: when instinct took over, he possessed the destructive power he always claimed he didn't need.
His war had just begun.
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Auther's note:
A bit of a longer chapter compared to the first 2. I know there have been a few timeskips but this is where the story gets good so trust the process.
Tell me what you guys think of the chapter and story and any ideas you guys have.