The transition from a chaotic ten-year-old to a fourteen-year-old candidate for the greatest hero school on Earth wasn't a sudden jump; it was a grueling six-year marathon of puberty multiplied by three.
Every morning for six years started with a three-way argument over the bathroom mirror. Imagine trying to shave when your Wind personality is floating and using air currents to spin the razor like a buzzsaw, while your Earth personality is insisting that facial hair is a "natural mineral defense" and shouldn't be touched. I—the Lightning-Original—usually ended up having to static-shock both of them just so we could get out of the house.
By the time the UA Entrance Exam arrived, we had reached a functional harmony. I had grown taller, my frame athletic and lean, and my sparks had turned from erratic static into a controlled, dangerous hum. We weren't just "shards" anymore; we were a highly trained tactical unit.
The Departure: A Billionaire's Blessing
The morning of the exam, the Arisawa estate was buzzing. My mother, Hana, was in peak "Super-Mom" mode, her Aura of Bliss making the local birds so relaxed they forgot how to fly and just sat on the fence like fuzzy tennis balls. She adjusted my three different caps—Yellow for me, Brown for Earth, Blue for Wind—for the hundredth time.
"My little heroes!" she sniffled, wiping ash from Wind-Kenji's cheek. "I packed three bento boxes! Earth-Kenji, yours has the extra-heavy protein. Wind-Kenji, yours is mostly whipped cream and strawberries. And Original-Kenji... try to keep them alive."
Earth-Kenji adjusted his cap, his expression like a bored gargoyle. "No promises, Mom. If Wind tries to fly into a jet engine again, I'm letting nature take its course."
My father, Masaru, handed me a custom-made protective case. "High-conductivity contact lenses. They'll help you track electrical currents in the robots. Don't just pass, Kenji. Set a record they'll be talking about for fifty years."
We walked to the gates of UA. I didn't want a limo; I needed to feel the ground. As we stepped onto the campus, we were an immediate spectacle. Hundreds of students stared at the "triplets" who moved in perfect, eerie synchronization.
The Orientation: The Voice Hero's Stage
The UA auditorium was a sea of nerves. I sat in a row toward the middle. To my left sat a kid with a permanent scowl and ash-blonde hair (Bakugo), and to my right was the tall, rigid kid with engines in his calves—Tenya Iida.
Suddenly, the lights dimmed and Present Mic exploded onto the stage.
"WELCOME TO TODAY'S LIVE PERFORMANCE!! EVERYBODY SAY 'HEY'!!!"
"HEEEEEEY!" Wind-Me screamed, standing up and waving his arms.
The rest of the hall remained deathly silent. Bakugo cut a side-eye toward us that could have melted steel. "Shut it, you breezy brat, before I blast you into next week."
"Try it, Sparky," Earth-Me countered, leaning back with his hands behind his head. "I'll bury you so deep you'll need a map to find the surface."
Present Mic didn't miss a beat. "I LIKE THE VIBE!! NOW PAY ATTENTION, LISTENERS! WE'RE GONNA GIVE YOU THE LOW-DOWN ON THE ROBOTIC VILLAINY!!"
He explained the 1, 2, and 3-pointers. Then he got to the "Gimmick"—the 0-pointer. Suddenly, Iida stood up like a human ruler.
"I HAVE A QUESTION! On this handout, there are four types of villains! Such a mistake is a disgrace to UA! And you!" He whirled around, pointing a stiff finger at us. "The boy with the clones! You have been floating, whispering, and eating dried mangoes throughout this entire lecture! If you think this is a field trip, then leave at once! You are distracting the serious candidates!"
I (Original) stood up slowly, a faint yellow hum beginning to vibrate in the air. "First of all, I'm not a clone user. I'm one soul in three bodies. If I'm whispering, I'm talking to myself about the joint-tension of the 3-point models. Second, the 0-pointer isn't 'worthless'—it's an obstacle designed to test heroics, not just combat math. Maybe if you focused on the subtext instead of the printing errors, you'd be half the hero you think you are. Sit down, Four-Eyes."
Present Mic let out a howl of laughter. "ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT!! COOL IT, LISTENERS!! GET TO YOUR ASSIGNED BATTLE CENTERS!!!"
Battle Center A: Urban Warfare
I stood at the gates of Battle Center A. This was the heavyweight division. I saw Iida nearby, and a girl with pink skin (Ashido) stretching with high energy.
"START!" Present Mic's voice boomed from the tower.
While everyone else waited for a countdown, I flickered. Lightning-Original moved like a yellow spark, crossing the gate line before anyone else had even taken a breath.
"Wind! Thermal scans! Earth! Foundation control!"
Wind-Kenji shot into the sky like a blue rocket. "Cluster of three-pointers at the central plaza! Go, go, go!"
I hit the plaza like a kinetic missile. I didn't just punch the robots; I used my speed to build up a massive static charge and discharged it directly into their central processors. Zap-CRACK. +9 Points in three seconds.
Across the street, Earth-Kenji was doing the "heavy lifting." A group of 2-pointers lunged at a student who had tripped. Earth-Me didn't run; he just stomped. A wall of solid asphalt rose up, blocking the robot's path, and then a giant stone fist emerged from the ground to crush the machines.
"You're welcome," Earth-Me grunted to the stunned student. +10 Rescue Points.
The 0-Pointer: The Emergency Sync
The ground began to groan. A shadow taller than the buildings loomed over the city. The 0-Pointer crawled in—a massive, green-plated wall of death. Students scrambled. I saw a boy with purple hair (Mineta) frozen in terror. Above him, a piece of a crumbling building began to fall.
"Boys! NOW!" I yelled.
Earth and Wind rushed toward me. I knew the "Merge" was still unstable, but I had to do it. We grabbed hands in a triangle.
"SYNC: ELEMENTAL OVERDRIVE!"
KABOOM.
My hair turned white-hot, my eyes glowed with a terrifying orange-yellow light, and the air around me screamed. I didn't run. I flew.
I shot toward the falling rubble. With a flick of my hand, a concentrated blast of Wind shattered the falling debris into dust. I didn't stop. I shot straight toward the 0-Pointer's massive chest plate.
"ULTIMATE MOVE: CORE BURST... TECTONIC THUNDERSTRIKE!"
I slammed my palm into the metal. The vibration of Earth shattered the armor, and the Lightning followed it in, frying every wire in its massive body. The giant machine didn't just fall—it imploded into a heap of glowing scrap.
POP.
The Sync shattered. I hit the ground, separating back into three exhausted pieces.
Lightning-Me had a nosebleed. Earth-Me was face-down, snoring. Wind-Me was dizzy, spinning in a circle.
The silence in the battle center was deafening. Every student, and every teacher in the observation booth, was staring at the scrap metal that used to be a 0-pointer.
"EXAM... OVERRRR!!!" Present Mic shouted.
I looked at my hands. We had the highest Villain points, and the highest Rescue points. We had set the record. Now, all that was left was the first day of school... and the chaos that would follow.