Chapter 06 ~ After one week.
A full week had passed since the entrance exam, and it had been the longest week of Po's life. However, the tension was not really coming from him, but from everyone else around him.
In his modest middle school, no one ever dared to apply to U.A. High School. To his classmates, Po was just the friendly neighborhood giant panda who was great for a hug and could eat a dozen steamed buns in under a minute. He was not exactly who they pictured when they thought of professional, elite combat heroes.
Po sat in his third-year classroom, trying his absolute best to squeeze his massive frame into his tiny, wooden desk. It was a comical sight. His thick knees were practically touching his chin, and his large, white stomach rested comfortably on top of the desk like a giant, soft cushion. He was supposed to be paying attention to the math teacher, but the whispers from his classmates were entirely distracting.
"Do you think he actually survived?" a girl whispered from the front row, throwing a quick glance at Po's broad back. "I mean... it is Po. He is super sweet, but can you imagine him fighting robots?"
"I heard the practical exam had giant metal monsters," another boy whispered back. "If it were me, I would have fainted right at the starting line."
Takeshi leaned over from the adjacent desk. Po was currently busy using a small pencil to draw a very detailed picture of a bowl of noodles on the margin of his notebook.
"Po, stop drawing," Takeshi hissed softly. "Everyone is staring at you. Are you doing okay? You are acting way too calm. The mail should have arrived by now."
Po let out a long, heavy sigh, causing his stomach to expand and lift his entire desk an inch off the floor before setting it back down with a clatter. "I am fine, Takeshi. Honestly, I am just hungry. Thinking about my future career path burns a lot of calories."
Suddenly, the math teacher stopped writing on the chalkboard. A heavy, highly unusual silence fell over the hallway outside. The classroom door slid open slowly, revealing the school principal. He was a small, stern man who rarely left his office, but today, his hands were slightly trembling. In his grip was a thick, pristine white envelope stamped with the deep red, wax seal of U.A. High School.
The entire classroom stopped breathing. Even Po stopped drawing, his dark eyes widening.
"Excuse the interruption," the principal said, his voice unusually tight. "The courier just dropped off a very special delivery. It is addressed to... Po Ping."
Po stood up. The wooden chair creaked loudly in protest, practically groaning in relief as his weight was lifted. He shuffled his heavy feet toward the front of the classroom. The silence was so profound that the soft thud, thud, thud of his padded paws echoed off the walls.
The principal handed him the envelope as if it were a fragile, priceless artifact. "Po... you are the first student from this school to apply to U.A. in a decade. We are all... very curious."
Po held the envelope in his massive hands. It looked like a tiny business card between his thick fingers. He looked at the seal, then back at Takeshi, who looked like he was about to explode from anticipation.
"Should I... open it right here?" Po asked innocently, tilting his large head.
"Open it!" the entire class shouted in perfect, desperate unison.
With extreme caution, trying not to rip the contents, Po slid his claw under the flap. He tipped the envelope upside down. Instead of a letter, a small, heavy metal disc fell out, landing on the teacher's desk with a sharp clink.
Instantly, a bright blue light shot upward from the disc, projecting a massive, three-dimensional hologram right in the middle of the classroom.
The image of a towering, impossibly muscular man in a bright yellow, pinstriped suit materialized. His iconic, booming smile filled the room.
"I AM HERE... AS A PROJECTION!" the legendary, booming voice echoed, rattling the classroom windows.
"All Might!" several students shrieked in absolute shock. A few actually fell out of their chairs.
Po let out a gasp so sharp he inhaled a piece of floating chalk dust. He stumbled backward, his heavy back hitting the chalkboard and wiping out half of the math equations, but he did not care. His jaw dropped open. He was completely geeking out.
"Young Ping!" All Might pointed directly at the screen, though his eyes seemed to look right into Po's soul. "You must excuse the delay in the mail! The paperwork was heavy this year! Let us get right to your results!"
The hologram shifted, showing a digital scoreboard.
"First, the written exam!" All Might announced. "You scored a respectable seventy-five percent! Not the top of the class, but well above the passing grade! Excellent work!"
Po let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. He had studied incredibly hard for that.
"Next, the practical exam!" All Might's voice grew serious. The hologram displayed a video feed of Po in Battle Center B. The entire classroom gasped as they watched the gentle giant from their school effortlessly absorb a punch from a two-pointer with his belly, then violently obliterate the robot with a single, fluid strike.
"Your mastery of your own unique physiology is nothing short of breathtaking!" All Might praised, his voice swelling with pride. "You scored an impressive thirty-five villain points! However... that is not the whole story!"
The video shifted. It showed the terrifying, towering form of the Zero-Pointer. Po's classmates watched in horror as the giant robot approached. Then, the camera zoomed in. It showed Po lifting a massive concrete pillar off a trapped girl without breaking a sweat. Then, it showed a green-haired boy falling from the sky, and Po acting as a living cushion, perfectly catching him and absorbing the lethal impact.
"A hero is not just someone who destroys villains," All Might said, his voice dropping to a warm, resonant tone. "A hero is someone who puts themselves in the path of danger to protect others. How could a hero course reject someone who risks their own score to save their fellow examinees?"
A new column appeared on the scoreboard next to Po's combat points. Rescue Points.
"Forty-five rescue points!" All Might cheered, raising a fist in the air. "Giving you a grand total of eighty points! Young Ping... you passed with flying colors!"
The projection of All Might extended a hand toward the camera. "Come, Po. This is your Hero Academia."
The blue light faded, and the metal disc powered down, leaving the classroom in total silence.
Po stared at the empty space where his idol had just been standing. He blinked, slowly processing the math. Eighty points. He was in. He was actually going to be a hero.
"YEEEEEAAAAAH!"
The silence shattered. Takeshi leaped over his desk, sprinting forward and launching himself at Po's stomach, hugging him with all his might. The rest of the class erupted into deafening cheers, rushing the front of the room. Even the strict principal had to take off his glasses to wipe a tear from his eye.
Po just stood there, smiling a wide, goofy, toothy grin as his classmates celebrated around him.
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