Kyandi: Hey all! We're back!
Halyn: She was really excited about this part so we've got three chapters for all of you today.
Kyandi: I got a little excited.
Halyn: She also has a drawing of my new costume, but she still hasn't set up the scanner since moving.
Kyandi: I might not know exactly where it is just yet. But I will!
Halyn As soon as she finds her scanner and gets it set up, she'll post the new drawing.
Kyandi: If I can't find it in the next week, then everyone is just going to have to deal with a less quality picture of it until I do find it. Sorry.
Halyn: With that should we get on with it?
Kyandi: Yep. Everyone, please enjoy and review.
Halyn: Kyandi-sama does not own My Hero Academia.
Chapter 26 Day of the Exam
The next few days found Halyn making changes to her costume. With the combined help of Hatsume and Heavy Loader, Halyn was able to make a lot of big changes to her costume. Changes that would accommodate her current quirks and any others she could possibly assimilate. Of course, that meant that her costume had to be sent out to be modified. In the end, while still keeping her basic concept for her costume, she needed up changing a lot about it.
Then again, she wasn't the only one to make changes.
Even Midoriya made changes by adding arm braces and iron soles to his shoes. Midoriya, himself, was surprised to see the changes his classmates made to their costumes.
"Everyone's upgraded their costumes, too!" Midoriya said, looking over Kirishima and Kaminari's costume upgrades.
"Ah!? So you noticed!?" Kaminari said, grinning.
"You ain't the only one with a new style! The rest have been making little improvements to their costumes, so we can't let our guards down!" Kirishima said. "Though I can think of one person who probably hasn't changed her costume much."
"I hope you're not talking about me."
Midoriya, Kirishima, and Kaminari turned when they heard Halyn's voice behind them...and all three stopped when they got a look at Halyn's new costume design.
"Whoa, Leander!" Kaminari exclaimed.
"I take back what I said." Kirishima instantly said, grin on his face.
Halyn's new costume stuck to the same black, blue, and silver color scheme, but covered more skin than the last one while still leaving a lot exposed. Halyn had traded the barely there, bikini-like top for a blue, halter top with a zip-up keyhole in the front and had exchanged the panty-like bottoms for skimpy black shorts with blue straps extending up from the waist band and over her hips, as if she was wearing high-rising underwear under the shorts. Her blue, fingerless gloves now extended up to mid-bicep while she had kept the silver, thigh-high stockings, now complete with a knife holster on her left thigh.
She had also changed the type of boots she wore to a pair of toe-less and heelless, black ankle boots that showed that the toes and heels had also been cut out of her stockings. The design had probably been made to accommodate the claws she grew when she used her father's quirk. To finish the new design, she had made her hoodie longer so that it now hung down to her hips, probably so it could hold more pockets and more "toys" for her to use, and she now had a ribbon much like the scarf Aizawa wore, tied around the length of her tail.
"Damn, Leander. You made a lot of changes." Kirishima remarked.
"Yeah, I did." Halyn remarked, fiddling with the placement of her belt.
"But I thought you wore so little so to accommodate your quirk." Midoriya remarked.
"I did, but Heavy Loader-sensei introduced me to a material that can expand and return to it normal size to accommodate any new additional limbs or anything I might grow. It's normally used by heroes whose quirks make parts of their bodies grow and shrink. Kind of like Itsuka's quirk." Halyn explained. "Once he showed me that, I knew I could afford to cover a little more without compromising the over all design."
"So what's the new features?" Kirishima asked.
"Well, I had to change a few things in order to make my costume suitable for the new quirks I have. You know, toe-less shoes and stockings because of the claws Reborn Tiger makes me grow, for one. Then, like I said, I had to change the material. The material I have now is a mix of a fire-proof material because of Touch of Fire, stretchy material for both new quirks and to accommodate the expanding of my limbs when using Reborn Tiger, the material I used before which is reinforced in order to absorb most of the damage, and material woven with my own hair and DNA so that it adapts to new quirks as my body does. Apparently, there's a third year here at UA whose costume had to be made in a similar fashion because he kept losing his pants due to his quirk. All of this was changed while keeping as much skin exposed as I could in order to use Null and Void. Of course I made the hoodie longer and added more pockets and goodies inside to use." Halyn explained.
"And the ribbon?" Kaminari asked.
"Oh, right. That's made from the same material as Aizawa-sensei's scarf and it's made for the same purpose as his scarf. It just seemed easier to carry it this way instead of wearing it like Aizawa-sensei does." Halyn replied.
"Nice! You really do put a lot of thought into your costume, don't you?" Kirishima asked.
"Yeah, kind of. With the new additions to my quirk line-up, I now have to rely even less on my actual quirk so I knew I needed to change a few things up to make it easier to move and use them without incident." Halyn replied.
"It's cool." Kaminari admitted. "That being said, my style change beats the pack! You're gonna be dumbfounded when you see! Wanna see!? You do, right?! It's too damn awesome for-"
"Time's up, Class A!" Vlad King's roaring voice was what cut Kaminari off, making all the students from Class A turn to where he was leading Class B into the gym. "Today we arranged for Class B to use TDL this afternoon! So make haste outta here, Eraser."
"We've still got a few minutes left. Not very good at making the most of the time allotted." Aizawa replied.
It was then that Monoma popped into the conversation, managing to look almost like a butler in his hero costume.
"Hey, do you hear!? They say half the people who take the test for provisionals fail! So why don't you all fail for us, Class A!?" Monoma exclaimed.
"That's Monoma's costume? For real?" Kaminari asked, turning to Kendo.
"He told me that because he has a copying ability there was no need to draw attention with some strange getup." Kendo replied.
"So that's not suppose to be strange?" Kaminari asked.
"My own quirk isn't too different from his and I still put a lot of thought into my costume." Halyn remarked.
"Yeah, I'm liking the style change." Kendo told her.
"Thanks. I had a lot to think about while changing things. Monoma, though, just looks like a butler." Halyn said.
"Yeah..."
Kendo heaved a sigh. It seemed that Monoma gave more than just Class A a problem.
"However," Tokoyami said, joining the conversation. "He's not wrong. So long as we're taking the same test, then we are anathema to each other...destined to crush on another's hopes."
"That's why we applied to have the two classes take the exam at separate arenas." Aizawa remarked.
"The hero qualification exam occurs with the same challenges at three locations twice every year. In June and September. To prevent students from the same school from crushing their own, the standard practice has been to make students from every school take the test at different times and places." Vlad King explained.
The look of relief on Monoma's face was obvious to Halyn before he wound himself back up and went on a tirade, again, about not being able to crush them directly. Halyn just shook her head.
"Monoma, be honest...would you really want to go head-to-head with someone like Shoto or Deku?" Halyn asked, making Monoma freeze on the spot. "Or even me?"
At the last one, all of the students and teachers present watched as Monoma, his grin still on his face, broke out into a cold sweat. Moving stiffly, he turned his eyes to Halyn and she could almost see the panic there. That alone was answer enough to her question. While he could copy her quirk, he wouldn't know which of the quirks she held that he would be copying and she would always have more quirks to use against him. It would be like fighting an uphill battle on a muddy hill.
Eventually, his feet would slide out from under him.
"Why Monoma...I didn't know I frightened you so." Halyn teased, making him instantly deny it.
It was then that Sero spoke up from where he had been busy wrapping a clone of Ectoplasm up in his tape.
"'Every school'...Wow, I'd overlooked it before, but each school's gonna be eating into each other's pass rates." Sero remarked.
"And we're skipping over the normal course for obtaining licenses, too." Midoriya added.
"I can just imagine how much the other schools will be gunning for our heads." Halyn remarked.
"Yes, only a minority of schools have their freshmen get provisionals. To put it another way, it'll be a gathering of kids who have had more time to train and whose quirks you know nothing about. We can't know what will be on the exam but there's no doubt it'll be rough. Don't fixate on that too much, of course, but don't forget, either." Aizawa warned them.
When put that way, Halyn had to stop and think. They wouldn't know the quirks of those they were going up against, but, at UA, it was different. UA broadcasted their Sports Festival every year for all grades. That meant that, while they didn't know the quirks of those they were going up against, the other schools' students would have seen the festival and would know their's. It was going to be a big disadvantage, but Halyn was sure it was one they could overcome.
The way she saw it...bring on the challenge.
-0-0-0-0-
Later that night, the girls of Class A gathered in the common area, coming together to relax on the couches. Mina and Jiro slumped back into the cushions while Uraraka and Asui drank juice. Halyn was perched in the floor between where Toru sat at one end of a couch and Yaoyorozu sat on a stool, helping Yaoyorozu to fold some laundry she had just finished doing.
"Whew-ee, everyday with this!" Mina complained.
"They weren't kidding when they said they'd compress all the training." Toru remarked.
"And I'm stuck trying to play catch-up with all of you with not even a week remaining." Halyn sighed.
She was managing, of course, but it was difficult trying to recover and catch up to her classmates, all at the same time. Toru gave her a pat on the shoulder in a show of support.
"How's your super move coming, Yao-momo?" Toru asked.
"Hmm...while there are things I'd like to try, my body still can't keep up with those ideas, so I need to extend my quirk, even if only a little." Yaoyorozu replied.
"How about you, Tsuyu?" Toru asked.
"I'm putting the finishing touches on a move that'll be more frog-like. You'll be surprised, too, Toru." Asui replied.
"I know you're still catching up, but what about you, Ha-chan?" Toru asked.
"Well, while I complain about being behind all of you...I already have two moves that I'm finalizing now." Halyn replied.
"Really? So soon?" Yaoyorozu asked. "You aren't pushing yourself too far, are you?"
"No, I'm fine, really. After talking with Aizawa-sensei, I realized that I can take my quirk a step further and work on trying to combine some of the quirks I've assimilated. By combining Touch of Fire and Reborn Tiger, I got my first super move, Igneous Tiger. I then took that one a step further and added in Tide to make my second super move, Starburst Tigerlily. The difference between the two is that, for the latter, I use Tide in order to fuel a larger scale attack instead of burning my own energy and strength." Halyn explained.
"That's amazing. You managed it in less time than us." Mina whined.
"You have to remember, given the nature of my quirk, I'm constantly having to adapt and adjust to how to use new quirks. It means that my mind is use to this kind of thinking and now that my body is recovering from the shock of assimilating all of those quirks, it's easier to put theory into practice." Halyn told her. "As sad it is to admit, it seems the only way to push my quirk past it's limits is to, first, break my body. I don't think I'll be doing a lot of that. I'm not sure my body could take it."
"Right. It's best not to do anything to harm your health until you have a better grasp of your quirk." Yaoyorozu agreed.
Halyn agreed, wholeheartedly. She really did not feel like putting her body through all of that again. It had hurt way too much and had taken too long to recover from.
"And you, Ochaco?" Toru asked, turning to Uraraka.
Uraraka, however, was spacing out, her mind obviously somewhere else. It took Asui poking her to finally get her attention.
"You must be exhausted to space out that bad." Halyn remarked.
"No, no, no! I can't afford to be tired. I've still got more in me...is what I want to say but, I don't know. Lately I've been feeling disconcerted." Uraraka said.
"It's a boy." Mina flat out stated, making Uraraka break out in a sweat.
Uraraka instantly flew into a spew of denial, waving her hands about before covering her face and floating off up towards the ceiling.
"Is it Midoriya or Iida!? You're with them a lot!" Mina said.
"NOOOO, NOOOO!" Uraraka insisted, her face blood red.
"Who is it!? Which one!? C'mon, you've gotta tell us!" Mina called to her.
"You know, if you confess now then your crime gets lighter." Jiro told her.
"I'm telling you, that's not it! I swear I don't know anything about that." Uraraka insisted.
"It's not good to pry, and it won't accomplish anything." Asui said.
"She's got a point." Halyn agreed.
"Then what about you, Ha-chan!?" Mina asked, turning all attention to her.
"Me?" Halyn asked, blinking as she pointed to herself.
"Yeah! What about you? I've seen the way you look at Todoroki!" Mina accused, pointing a finger.
"Well, yeah. I like Shoto. So what?"
All of the girls paused when Halyn flat out admitted she liked Todoroki, not trying, even for a second, to deny it.
"Wait, seriously?" Jiro asked.
"Like, as in like-like him?" Mina asked.
"Yeah. I thought it was obvious. I mean, I do spend almost all of my free time with him and Shoto always has my back." Halyn admitted, giving a shrug of her shoulders.
"Then why aren't you two together?" Toru asked.
"I don't think Shoto has noticed and if he feels the same way about me, he doesn't say anything." Halyn said, heaving a sigh. "And I also don't think he wants to be together with me. You know he has issues with his dad and his dad wants us to be together simply because of the possibility of a child between us coming out with a mix between our quirks. It's awkward and weird."
"Uh, yeah." Mina agreed. "But that shouldn't be a reason for him to ignore your feelings!"
"Shoto doesn't want to do anything his dad wants him to do. And besides," Halyn gave them a sad smile. "I don't think he even notices my feelings and I don't want to lose my friendship with him, so things are fine as they are. For now, at least."
"Ha-chan..."
Halyn gave her friends a smile, promising she would be fine before raising to her feet. Stretching her body out, she presented them with a bright smile.
"Anyway, we have to get up early tomorrow morning. We should get to bed." Halyn said, Yaoyorozu agreeing even while Mina protested.
While it hurt to think that Todoroki might not feel the same way about her that she felt about him, Halyn was fine with the way their relationship was. She wouldn't push him to do anything he didn't want to do and right now, he didn't want to be in a relationship with her because his dad wanted them to be. She would respect his feelings.
Even if it hurt to do so.
-0-0-0-0-
The next day found Halyn taking a break, giving her body a chance to cool down without cramping on her by heading outside the gym for a little light jogging and stretching. It was in the middle of her stretching that someone called out to her.
"Leander."
Pausing in mid stretch to reach for her toes, Halyn peered between her legs at the person approaching her, one eyebrow inching up in surprise and questioning as her tail gave an idle flick. Straightening up, she turned to face the person.
"Shoji? What is it?"
Walking towards her, probably taking a short break himself, was Shoji. He came to a stop as she bent down towards her bag and pulled out two water bottles. Standing up, she tossed one to him.
"Here. You look like you could use a drink." she told him.
"Thanks."
Shoji easily caught it as she opened hers and took a swing. Recapping the bottle, she turned towards him.
"So, what's up? You don't normally seek me out." she remarked.
"Yeah, about that..."
Halyn raised an eyebrow when he trailed off. Judging by the look in his eyes and the way he looked away from her, she knew it had to be something important to him. In general, if Shoji sought someone out, it was important.
"What's up, Shoji? It's got to be important if you're taking time out of your training to talk to me." Halyn said, tilting her head to one side.
Shoji looked up at her, Halyn quirking one eyebrow up at him as if encouraging him to continue. When he still hesitated, she offered him a smile, finally managing to get him speaking.
"You remember at the summer camp when the villains attacked, how you jumped in front of those flames to protect Midoriya, Todoroki, and me?" he asked. Halyn nodded because there was no way she could forget. "I just wanted...to say I'm sorry."
Halyn jolted to attention, blinking in surprise as he bowed his head to her. She hadn't been expecting this. When she had jumped in front of those flames, she hadn't done it for thanks and she certainly hadn't done it to make him feel like he had to apologize to her.
"Shoji...what are you talking about?" she asked.
"Don't be mad but Todoroki warned us about your assimilation limit." Now she knew where this was going. "We were trying to get you out of there before you could hit rock bottom and because we weren't fast enough, you took all that damage to save us and ended up in villain hands. You, yourself, have said that if someone feels like they might be in the wrong, that they should apologize. I hope you can forgive me."
"We all do."
Halyn looked up over Shoji's shoulder to find Midoriya and Todoroki standing behind him. She stared at them in shock. Did all three of them feel like they had to apologize to her for a choice she, herself, had made?
"Just like we should apologize for not being able to help you as we did with Bakugo."
Halyn turned, this time finding Iida, Kirishima, and Yaoyorozu. Her eyes shifted between her six friends, her expression showing just how surprised she was. It was obvious that she had not been expecting any kind of apology. Then, with a sigh, she smiled at them.
"You guys...you're too much." Reaching out, Halyn laid a hand on Shoji's shoulder, making him raise his head to look at her. Her head tilting to one side, she gave him a bright, kind smile. "Being a hero is about helping others, even when they don't ask. You would have done the same for me. All three of you. Of that, I have no doubt."
She turned to Todoroki and Midoriya, giving them a smile too. Turning again, she looked at Iida, Kirishima, and Yaoyorozu. Her smile grew as she looked over her friends.
"As for you guys...don't feel bad about not being able to help me. From what All Might told me, All for One had hid me using one of the quirks he had stolen. You wouldn't have been able to do anything for me without getting yourselves hurt, or worse. So I'm grateful that you weren't able to find me. It would have killed me if any of you had gotten hurt on my behalf." she told them. "In fact, if anyone needs to apologize, it's me for making all of you worry. For that, I apologize and, even though he would never say it, I'm sure Ka-chan is sorry, too."
The smile she gave them, so understanding and so grudge free, was enough to slay their hearts. They had all known that Halyn was understanding, but she honestly hadn't held them the least bit accountable, hadn't thought for even a second that any of them were to blame for anything.
Just as she hadn't blamed her father for not being there to protect her from Flame Lash.
"Ha-chan..." Midoriya started, but trailed off when she smiled at him.
"Things happen, guys. Both good and bad. The world is filled with it. I believe a person shows their true colors in how they handle it." she said, sheepishly reaching up to scratch a cheek as she grinned. "I just happen to have a little more experience with handling it. There's no point in being needlessly angry or anything like that. It's not going to help anyone. As long as we all still have our futures, then consider the whole situation...soul searching."
"Soul searching?" Yaoyorozu asked, confused by what Halyn could mean.
"Yeah. I'm not afraid to admit that it was tough on my end, both this time with All for One and the previous time with Flame Lash, but through the struggle, I was able to find out a little more about myself and who I really am as a person. Adversity gives you a chance to grow and there's still a long road ahead of us, so that's means there's going to be many chances for all of us to grow. Like with this latest villain attack. Through the long road and the struggles, all of us will be able to recognize who we are and all that we can be."
Her classmates stared at her as she explained this, smiling at them as if she hadn't gone through something that normally would have broken a person. But...she had a point in what she was saying.
"If there's anything I've learned through all the villain attacks we've been through, it's that, together, we're strong and we make each other stronger because we're willing to jump in front of fire for each other." Halyn gave Shoji a wink here. "We all have something we can bring to the table and we work hard to pull our fair share and to insure that, next time, the same person isn't the one jumping into the line of fire. We're exactly who we need to be. So yeah, I consider the whole incident a chance to figure out who I am. It's just...sometimes finding yourself is hard and painful, but it's worth it in the end. So don't apologize to me. In a case like this...you never have to apologize to me."
Watching her smile so sweetly at them in that way of hers that made it seem like she could never begrudge anyone, Todoroki felt his heart give a heavy thud in his chest. Halyn really was a kind person and one who knew how to see the bright side in even the darkest situations. She refused to let another's actions decide how she would live her life.
Halyn leaned over, grabbing her bag to drape the strap from her shoulder, tucking her water bottle back into the bag. Half turning away, she gave them a grin.
"You guys have got nothing to be sorry about. After all...I was the one that got kidnapped in the end. Looks like I still have a lot of training to do in order to catch up." Halyn said, a sheepish look on her face. "But...thanks guys."
"What are you thanking us for?" Iida asked.
"Just knowing that you guys cared enough about me to apologize, makes me happy. I didn't have many friends before moving here, so it's really reassuring to know I have such great friends to watch my back now." Halyn replied.
It wasn't the result any of them had been expecting when they had approached her to apologize, but, somehow, they all felt better than they had before. Todoroki knew that was just how Halyn was. She had a way of seeing what troubled people and figuring out just what to say. Especially when it came to her classmates. It was like she truly was the beating heart of the class.
Perhaps that was just what she had to bring to the table.
-0-0-0-0-
Their remaining days of training until the exam for their provisionals, seemed to pass by in the blink of an eye. Halyn and her classmates worked hard in those days to prepare themselves for whatever could be thrown their way during the exam. The current morning found all of them all standing before the National Stadium in Takoba where their exam would take place.
"Ugh, I'm getting so nervous..." Jiro groaned.
"Man, what'll they have us do for the test, phew, I hope I can earn a provisional." Mineta said, fidgeting from nerves.
"Mineta. There is no "I hope". Return back here with your provisional." Aizawa told him sternly.
Halyn, herself, was a little nervous, but she was pretty confident in all the training her teachers had put her and her classmates through. She had even doubled up on training with some of her teachers in the last few days. All in hopes of finalizing her super moves and prepare her for the exam.
"Remember, if you can just pass this exam and obtain your provisional license, then you will cease to be mere eggs and hatch into chicks...into semi-pros. So give it your all." Aizawa told them.
With the class now fired up, Kirishima went to lead them in the school's motto of "Plus Ultra" only for an outsider to butt in, saying it louder than the whole class. The guy was a student from another school, his classmate scolding him about crashing other schools' circles without invitation. The guy went overboard, in Halyn's opinion, with his apology, bowing so deeply, he smash his forehead into the ground.
"What's up with this guy!? He's totally the type who just gets through everything by being intensely chipper!" Kaminari declared.
"He's like Iida and Kirishima squared." Sero added.
"Wait a minute. That uniform is from that famous school in the west." Halyn remarked.
"The east's got UA and the west's got Shiketsu." Bakugo confirmed.
"Out of all of the schools out there with heroics departments, their's is the one considered to be UA's rival school." Halyn said lowly.
When she had researched schools with the top heroics departments, UA and Shiketsu had been at the very top of the list. Naturally, considering she had looked up to All Might, who reminded her of her mother, Halyn had chosen his school to attend. Now, looking at this guy with his head planted on the ground, she was somewhat grateful that she had.
"I've always wanted to say it at least once! "Plus ultra!". I love UA Academy! It's such a pleasure, the highest honor, to be able to compete against UA!" the guy exclaimed.
"Yoarashi Inasa." Aizawa said lowly as the boy followed his classmates after leaving them with those statements.
"Do you know him, sensei?" Toru asked.
"Talk about enthusiastic, huh. And everything he said sounded good-natured and normal." Kirishima remarked.
"That kid...he's no pushover. His name's Yoarashi. At the end of the last school year...or, in other words, when you were all applying for the entrance exam, he was selected as one of the recommended students. But, for some reason, despite his top of the line grades, he declined to enter UA." Aizawa told them.
Halyn's head whipped around to look at Aizawa.
"Top of the line grades? But that means..." Halyn turned to look at Todoroki who stood beside her. "He's stronger than Shoto."
Which meant that, depending on the kind of quirk he had, Yoarashi was possibly stronger than her. That would make this exam difficult depending on the task they assigned them.
"I don't get it. He says he loves UA, but he tosses his chance at entering?" Sero said.
"So weird." Mina agreed.
"Oh he may be weird, but make note: he's the real deal." Aizawa warned them.
Someone calling out to Aizawa, reached their ears then. When they turned, they found a pretty, young woman walking their way. And she seemed to know Aizawa pretty well.
"I saw ya on TV and at the Sports Festival and whatnot, but it's been forever since we bumped inta each other like this!" she called cheerfully, happy to see Aizawa.
The look on Aizawa's face said, very clearly, that he wasn't as happy to see her.
"C'mon, let's get hitched!" she told Aizawa.
"No." Aizawa replied in a flat manner.
"That lady...she's the heroine of smiles, Miss Joke! Her quirk's called Peals of Laughter! She can use her quirk to dull the thoughts and deeds of anyone near her by forcing them to laugh their heads off! The way she dispatches with villains is really crazy, too!" Midoriya said.
"I like a good laugh just as much as the next person, but I don't think I would ever want to go against her. There is such a thing as laughing one's self to death." Halyn said.
"If you put a ring on my finger, we could build a blissful home with no end to the laughing!" Miss Joke told Aizawa.
"That'd be a far cry from "blissful"." Aizawa retorted.
"You're being really friendly." Asui remarked.
"Our offices use ta be close! We kept helpin' each other out and before we knew it, we were in love!" Miss Joke said, Aizawa quickly replying with, "Lies." from behind her.
"Honestly, Aizawa-sensei...you could do worse." Halyn told her teacher, grinning at him when he turned a glare on her.
"Haha! I like this girl!" Miss Joke said, clapping Halyn on the shoulder with enough force that, if it wasn't for Todoroki catching her arm, Halyn would have been knocked off her feet.
Aizawa heaved a sigh, changing the subject.
"What's this, you brought your school, too." Aizawa remarked.
"It's always a blast teasin' ya, Eraser!" Miss Joke said, turning to look at her class. "C'mon kids, c'mhere! It's UA!"
The group was a class of second years from Ketsubutsu Academy. The obvious leader of the group was a boy by the name Shindou who seemed to be overly happy, greeting Halyn's classmates with a big smile and handshake. Halyn had only to take one look at the look in his eyes to know she didn't trust him even as far as she could throw him. Apparently, Bakugo thought the same thing. Shindou held his hand out to Bakugo, but Bakugo slapped it away.
"Don't patronize me. Your words don't match your eyes." Bakugo said.
"Dude, rude! I'm so sorry about his-"
"It's okay! It's just all the more proof of his strong heart!" Shindou said, cutting off Kaminari before his eyes landed on Halyn. "Oh! You're Leander! It was so awesome to watch your matches! It was like watching a feline!"
When Shindou reached for her hands, Halyn took a step back, stepping closer to Todoroki's side. This had all of her classmates turning to look at her.
"Ha-chan?" Toru asked, stepping up to her side.
"Sorry, but I don't trust him. Not one bit. He makes my fur stand on end." Halyn said lowly.
Shindou just smiled at her, but nothing could hide that calculating and sly look in his eyes. She knew, once the exam started, she was going to have to keep an eye on him.
When one of the girls from Shindou's class approached Todoroki, fan-girling over him, Halyn took hold of Todoroki's hand, making him look at her instead of paying attention to the other girl.
"We should get going, Shoto. We still need to change." she told him.
"Yeah, right." Todoroki agreed.
Without another glance at the other girl, Todoroki let Halyn pull him away, Halyn casting a look towards the girl before turning away. It was then that Aizawa called for them to hurry and go change. They headed on inside, the girls splitting away from the boys to go change. Once in their costumes, all students from all schools gathered in the room where they would be told what they were going to be doing. The man that stepped up to the microphone was one that looked like he hadn't slept in a while.
"Ehem...Right, so, yes, let's begin. The provisional license thing. Uhmm...Hello, my name is Mera, with the Public Safety in Heroics Committee, and my favorite kind of sleep is non-rem sleep, it's a pleasure. I've been so busy with work that I can't catch a wink...! Not enough personnel...! I wanna sleep! And now that I have espoused our principles, I shall humbly explain how the exam will be conducted." the man said, half draped across the podium.
Halyn couldn't help but feel sorry for the poor man. He seemed utterly exhausted and worked to the bone. It was obvious the man could use some sleep when this was all said and done.
"Gathered in attendance are precisely one thousand, five hundred, forty examinees. You'll be vying for victory all at once. In the present age, in our so-named "Hero-saturated" society, there has been no shortage of voices raising doubt over the state of heroics since Stain's apprehension." Mera told them all. "But, well...if you ask me, regardless of their actual motives, telling people who're risking their lives out there to save people not to want anything in return...it's hard not to think that'd be a bit merciless, given the realities of the modern world. In any case...no matter whether it was for material gain or for the valor of it, at the end of the day they applied themselves diligently to rescue operations and villain cleanup."
In a way, Halyn could see Mera's point in the whole thing. Considering some heroes put their lives on the line on a daily basis, being paid to do so seemed like such a little price to pay. No pun intended.
"The time that elapses between a case materializing and its resolution, has become very swift indeed. When you obtain your provisional licenses, you throw yourselves into that raging torrent. To be blunt, it will be very harsh on those who can't keep pace. As such, it's your speed that will be tested! Only the first one hundred to clear the terms of the exam will make the cut." Mera declared.
Of course, there was an outcry from the students gathered because most of them had been promised a 50/50 pass rate and that certainly wasn't a 50/50 pass rate.
"Well, a fair bit's happened in the world...so, those are the breaks. Do as you do. So, the terms of the exam, are in these." Mera held up a little red ball and some kind of electronic target for the whole room to see. "Each examinee will receive three targets. You may place them on any part of your body, so long as they're always open and visible. So no soles of the feet or armpits. In addition, you'll carry six balls on your person. The targets are built to respond only to contact with the balls. If you're hit in all three places, you're out. If you hit somebody's third target, you have defeated him or her. Victory is attained upon defeating two other contestants. And those are the rules."
It was simple enough to understand but the execution of the rules would be completely different. The number of balls given perfectly aligned with the pass rate they had set. A person could either pursue a target until they had gotten all three targets on their person, or they could merely sit back until someone else had gotten the first two targets and merely steal the third. There were several ways they could go about this.
"Alright...we'll distribute the targets and balls after that happens. The exam will commence one minute after everyone spreads out." Mera told them.
"After what happens?" Todoroki asked from beside Halyn.
A sound like a machine starting up, filled the room before the walls around them begun to unfold. The whole thing flopped open to revel that they had been standing in a tiny section of a larger setup. Several different types of terrains spread out around them, giving them many types to choose from.
"I believe you all have types of terrain you like and dislike. Please do your best and capitalize on your skills." Mera told them.
The targets and balls were handed out then. Halyn took her three targets, stopping for a moment to think. Ultimately, she put two on either side of her belly button and put the last one right between her collar bones. She wouldn't be likely to let someone close enough to get all three. Especially since, for the last one, it would look like the person was going for her throat.
"If only the fastest to defeat others pass the exam then there won't be any infighting amongst schools...on the contrary, teaming up with comrades who know each other's powers is the only way to win...! Guys!" Midoriya called, turning to his classmates. "Don't stray too far away from each other! Let's move as a group!"
"You fuckers can pour each other tea if you like, but this ain't a goddamn picnic." Bakugo yelled before running off, Kirishima and Kaminari following after him.
"I'm cutting too. The larger the group I'm in, the less leeway I have to use my power." Todoroki said, turning to take off, too. "Halyn, come on."
Halyn turned to look at him, her head whipping back and forth between Todoroki and the rest of her classmates. Finally, giving Midoriya an apologetic smile, she started backing off towards Todoroki.
"Sorry, Deku, but I'm going with Shoto." Halyn told him.
Halyn turned on the spot and ran past students from other schools as she fought to caught up with Todoroki. With a minute on the clock, everyone would be working to find the best vantage point for them. Little did Halyn and her teammates know, once that minute was up, it would signal the start of an annual event for the exam.
UA hunting.
END
Kyandi: I'm not ashamed to admit it, but...
Halyn: You would have stuck to a large group, right?
Kyandi: Oh, you betcha! Especially if I was from UA. If I was alone and saw a big group coming after me, I'd run for the hills.
Halyn: So you answer to the flight part of the Fight or Flight Response?
Kyandi: Not always. I answer to the Let's-think-logically-about-how-to-save-my-ass part of the brain. Unless I have someone with me. Then I have this really annoying voice in my head called Loyalty, that won't let me back away.
Halyn: Is it really all that annoying to be loyal?
Kyandi: ...Damn it, no. The annoying part is the injuries I've gotten because of that little trait.
Halyn: Then don't get injured.
Kyandi: Ha! I'm accident prone. That's easier said than done. Anyway, off topic.
Halyn: Right. We have two more chapters to go.
Kyandi: Yep, so everyone, enjoy and review.
Halyn: We'll be right back.
Kyandi: Bye-bye!