[One month later - Hero's Gate Apartments - Metal's POV]
"Metal!"
Clank, clank, clank.
Metal's camera lens turned on as his creator knocked on his head with her knuckles, making the sound echo through the still half-empty living room.
"Come on! We can't be late on the first day of school!"
Metal tilted his head back to stare at his creator's yellow eyes before turning around and walking towards the apartment door.
"Where do you think you're going?" Mei asked as she grabbed the small robot by one of the metallic quills on his head.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk...you're not ready yet!" Mei took a step back after releasing Metal, letting the machine turn around to look at her.
The girl was wearing the U.A. gym uniform. Her hair, as always, was a jungle of pink dreadlocks that she never bothered to control.
"Hehehe...You have to wear this!"
Mei grinned down at Metal as she pulled two small magnets from the pockets of her uniform.
In her right hand was a golden magnet shaped as the U.A. logo, but what caught Metal's attention was the magnet on the girl's left hand.
The magnet was shaped like two M's standing side by side, the M on the left was a metallic grey while the one on the right was a rusty yellow. In the center of both letters were two gears on top of each other.
"This is our logo!" Mei exclaimed with enthusiasm as she moved the magnet from side to side.
"Now that you're officially in the Hero Course you'll need to start advertising Hatsume's Industries...now where do I put this?"
"It has to be somewhere where everyone can see it...now I regret making that hole in your chest..."
Mei circled around Metal for a few seconds until—
Cling!
Mei stuck the magnet right on Metal's head just between his ears before nodding in approval.
"That's perfect! Now for this one..."
Mei crouched down before sticking the other magnet on the right side of Metal's left sneaker.
"That's your pass for U.A. in case you're wondering." The girl said as she stood back up.
"Yes, Metal?"
"Yeah, like a fridge filled with magnets, now let's go!" With that Mei grabbed Metal's left hand and pulled the robot towards the exit.
[Memories Found...
Constructing Data...
Success]
[Hatsume's Residence - Living Room.]
Metal stood in the center of the living room with an envelope with the U.A. seal on his hands. Meanwhile the rest of the family stood behind the small machine.
"Open it already! I'm dying over here!" said Mei as she stood between her mother and father.
Metal quickly tore open the envelope, letting a familiar small disc fall into the table in front of him with a small thud before turning on.
"Well, well, well! Seems like we meet again!"
A squeaky voice came from the projection showing the U.A. principal sitting on his chair behind the desk of his office.
"As you can guess I'm here to deliver the results of your practical exam! So let's jump right into it!"
Nezu took a small sip of his tea before continuing.
"You managed to score 46 Villain Points in an impressive show of combat prowess!"
A small tab appeared beside Nezu's head displaying various moments of Metal throughout the exam.
"A pretty decent score overall, not enough to get on the top 10 but enough to secure a desk in the Hero Course and, as promised, Mei's spot on the support course!"
"YES!"
Mei put her hands below Metal's armpits before lifting the robot as if his frame didn't weigh anything.
"We're going to U.A! I already have soooo many ideas for new babies I can make with their budget!"
Mei hugged Metal close to her chest while being careful to not stab herself with the metal quills on the back of his head while Kyosuke and his wife watched with amusement.
"But that's not everything!"
Nezu's voice cut through Mei's enthusiasm, making the girl pause and focus back on the projection.
"Let me introduce you to Rescue Points! While combat ability is important, a Hero's priority should always be rescuing those that depend on them! What kind of institution would U.A. be if we didn't reward heroic actions?"
The tab beside Nezu's head switched to another recording, this time showing Metal's smoking form standing below the 0 Pointer's fist.
Seeing the scene, Miku quickly turned her head to the side not wanting to look at the poor little robot struggling.
"You put a stranger's wellbeing above your own, risking your integrity to keep someone else safe! And not only that,"
The recording showed small rocks landing on the 0-Pointer's arm.
"Your actions inspired another person to act! That in itself is a valuable skill. It doesn't matter if you did it because of your programming or any other reason, the fact is that you're willing to save others before saving yourself! So congratulations to not only you but also to your creator! Metal is officially the first machine entering a Hero Course in history! Ah! Before I go let me tell you that Mei's uniform, along with your IDs and schedules, should arrive soon!"
With that Nezu's image was replaced by the leaderboard with the entrance exam scores:
Metal Hatsume-46 Villain Points-45 Rescue Points-Total Points: 91
Katsuki Bakugo-77 Villain Points-0 Rescue Points-Total Points: 77
Eijiro Kirishima-39 Villain Points-35 Rescue Points-Total Points: 74
...
...
...
"FIRST PLACE?!"
Mei shouted as she started shaking Metal around before dropping him onto his feet.
The robot's circular red eyes moved all over his face monitor for a moment before setting back into place.
"You're amazing! Ohh! I can already picture so many things to do with this! Imagine all the advertisement we could do with your score!"
Mei walked around the living room while muttering about sponsorships and ways to attract the attention of support companies.
"Welp, there she goes," Kyosuke chuckled as he walked forward to stand in front of Metal. "Good job, kiddo, we're proud of you."
"Oh, of course we're proud of Mei," Miku said before crouching in front of Metal and petting the spot between his metal ears.
"But that doesn't mean we can't be proud of you too, after all you're the one who managed to pass the exam."
"Metal, being humble is good but being too humble is annoying," Kyosuke leaned down slightly to tap Metal's head with his knuckles. "Just accept the praise, okay?"
Kyosuke rolled his eyes at the designation before standing straight again with Miku following.
"Mei! Stop daydreaming and get over here!"
Kyosuke called out towards his daughter, making the girl pause and focus back on the present.
"We have something to tell you both,"
Miku said once Mei was standing beside Metal.
"Your father and I have been discussing this for a while and now that you're officially going to U.A. we want to tell you both."
"Tell us what?" Mei asked as her eyes moved from her mother to her father.
"U.A. is not exactly a short trip from here. Of course you can still make it by train but you'll have to leave the house way early, so your mother and I decided to rent an apartment closer to U.A." Kyosuke told his daughter while staring right at her.
"Wait, really?! You trust me enough for me to live alone?!" Mei's face slowly started forming a smug expression.
"We don't." Kyosuke and Miku stated at the same time.
"But we trust Metal. He's been taking good care of you for years, plus he'll keep us updated on anything that happens."
Miku added after a moment before giggling at her daughter's betrayed expression.
[Present Time - U.A. Entrance - Metal's POV.]
Metal's eyes focused back on the present as him and his creator arrived at the blue gates of U.A.
Other students walked around them on their way to their own classrooms, some of them stopping for a moment to stare at Metal's shiny form before continuing on their way.
"Welp, here's where we split paths. I'll meet you back here once classes are done," Mei walked ahead of Metal before stopping after a few steps.
The girl glanced over her shoulder to look at her small creation with a smile.
"I didn't tell you back then, right?"
Metal asked with a slight static in his voice that could be interpreted as confusion.
"I'm proud of you!"
[Main Command: Completed...
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Saving Core Memory With Designation: "I'm proud of you."
Core Memory Successfully Saved.
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Software Instability: 35% -> 45%
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Creating Own Directive: I want her to keep smiling
Directive Successfully Created]
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Hatsume's industries logo.