Second Scenario: Disaster Challenge
Dagoba Stadium: Anteroom
"The current number of people that have passed thus far is seventy," said the voice of Mera over the intercom as Clay, Slade, Momo, Jirou, Tsuyu and Shoji entered the waiting room for those who had already passed, "The test will end after another thirty have passed." 'It's getting down to the wire,' thought Clay as he looked around the spacious area, noting a few couches and chairs for those who wanted to sit down as well as a table of refreshments. The back wall sported a massive screen which was broadcasting the progress of the exam. But one thing he didn't see was the rest of class 1A, at least not at first.
Fortunately, he wasn't the only pair of eyes searching the room. "Todoroki," Said Momo as the ice/fire user emerged from the crowd of other examinees, "It's good to see you passed as well."
"I guess we shouldn't really have expected anything less," said Tsuyu, who was now over the effects of hibernating from earlier in the exam.
"Have you seen anyone else since you got here?" Questioned Jirou as she looked around the room.
"It was just me here until the rest of you showed up," replied Todoroki, "What's happening out there? Everyone was together when I left."
"We were, but then we were split up when Shindo used his quirk to break apart the ground," explained Momo, "It was just the four of us until we ran into Clay and Slade on the way here."
"Well there's still a chance the others can pass," Slade pointed out, "But until then, there's nothing else we can do but wait for the exam to end." Everyone else agreed with a nod, not wanting to discuss what to do should the worst happen and some of the class not make it.
"Whatever the case," said Clay as he pointed towards the refreshments table, "I'm gonna be over there if anyone needs me." He walked away from the group then with a quick wave and moved towards the drink section.
"He doesn't seem too worried about the current situation," Observed Tsuyu as she turned her attention back to the group.
"Clay just needs to replenish his fluids," Slade explained, "Even if he didn't go completely all out with his quirk, it's likely phase two of the exam is gonna be stressful. So every little bit of rest we get now is beneficial."
"I need to replenish some lipids for my quirk as well," said Momo, "And those dumplings do look good."
"Screw it, I'm thirsty too, let's all just go," Said Jirou as she followed after Clay.
"Will you be coming as well?" Shoji questioned Todoroki from one of his dupli-arms.
"Maybe in a bit," replied Todoroki, "Though I am curious. Where did Clay get that hat?" As it turned out, Jirou and the others had the same question.
"So that Chewbacca cosplayer tried to drown you in a waterfall of hair. That sounds more than a little unpleasant," Jirou summed up as she took a sip of her own drink.
"It was itchy and suffocating if nothing else," replied Clay, "I was just barely able to encase myself in a shell cloud before I was overwhelmed. Also, off topic, I didn't know you knew about star wars."
"I, uh, studied movie music a bit when I was a kid," Said Jirou as her jacks tapped together in slight embarrassment, "That Williams guy came up with a few good pieces. A-anyway, you clearly got out of the hair trap, but did you eliminate that Mora guy?"
"All of his targets were covered by his hair," Said Clay, "So the best I could do was reel him in with my clouds then pummel him until he went flying. Knocked his hat off in the process and now it's mine until I see the guy again. You don't think he'll be mad do you?"
"His own trap was turned against him in a way he didn't expect," said Slade, "If he's smart, he'll be reevaluating his own strategies for future encounters. So I say don't even worry about it until you find out whether or not the guy has passed."
"Speaking of which, look who just walked in the door," said Tsuyu as she indicated a group of six people from Class 1A. It was Midoriya, Uraraka, Sero, Kaminari, Kirishima and Bakugou.
"Everyone, over here!" Exclaimed a relieved Momo as she waved the group over, "I'm so happy to see that you all made it!"
"Yeah we're all good here," said Kaminari with a salute, "Safe and sound. But it looks like we weren't quite as fast as you guys."
"We actually just finished ourselves," Shoji clarified, "Todoroki was the first one here."
"I thought Bakugou would beat us here," said Jirou, "But it makes sense he'd be a little later with you tagging along Kaminari."
"Oh come on!" exclaimed Kaminari, "I actually saved both of those guys!"
"So in total, we've got thirteen people from our class here," Slade counted.
"That's going to be a problem," said Midoriya with a hand to his chin, "the last announcement said only eighteen spots were remaining, and there are still nine of us left." As if the situation didn't sound dire enough, another announcement came over the intercom stating that eight people had just passed.
"Now only ten spots remain," said a dismayed Momo as she watched the screen with more than a hint of worry.
"Jeez, if only there was something we could do to help," said a frustrated Jirou.
"But there isn't," Said Clay as he downed another beverage, "All we can do now is wait, hope and pray that the rest of the class can pull together. If they can't, it only means today wasn't the day for all of us." Jirou wanted to say something about his statement until she noticed the trembling grip he had on his drink cup. The announcements sounded again at that moment, and kept sounding as a countdown began.
"Amazing!" said the speaker as he began counting down the number of spots left, "U.A. has managed to pull together at the final minutes with some incredible combos!" The footage on the screen changed then to show the field where Class 1A had been separated and it was a sight to behold. Koda had called forth a mass of pigeons to confuse their enemies while Mineta used his purple balls to create a sticky minefield.
The other students like Ojiro and Tokoyami were able to take advantage of these distractions and land the needed hits to pass the exam. Hagakure also used her new super move to create a blinding light to distract even more opponents and create openings for her and Sato. Mina was moving like a dancer through the field, using her acid veil to melt any target balls thrown at her before leaping up and tagging a wolf-like student who attempted to charge her. And finally, with only two spots remaining, Iida and Aoyama managed to tag two other restrained students, marking the end of the exam as all 100 spots were now filled.
"Oh that was amazing!" cheered Sero along with the rest of the class.
"We did it!" Exclaimed Uraraka, "We all managed to pass the first part of the exam!" The rest of Class 1A either cheered or sighed in relief at how close it had been. Clay let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding.
"So you were just as worried as us then?" said Jirou with a slight smirk.
"I wouldn't say worried," said Clay as he took a big swig from another cup, "I just wish everyone else hadn't cut it so close. I mean seriously, passing by the last two spots."
"It certainly made it dramatic if nothing else," added Slade as he crossed his arms with a smile on his face.
"Yeah, but try telling that to Aizawa sensei," said Clay, "He's only gonna have one thing to say about our performance for this part of the exam."
"More training," Slade and Clay both said at the same time. Momo and Jirou simply sighed at the implication as the rest of Class 1A finally showed up. But their little reunion was short-lived as yet another announcement called for their attention.
"To all one hundred examinees who passed the first stage of the exam," said Mera, "please direct your attention to the screen." All of the gathered students did as instructed and looked at the live feed of the stadium. Multiple detonations sounded as all of the buildings in the simulated city and factory district were rocked by explosions that toppled them over and reduced them to rubble. Similar explosions caused numerous rockslides in the mountain areas. In hardly a minute, the entire field looked like a disaster area, which appeared to be the point. "For the second and final portion of the exam, you will all be performing a rescue exercise as bystanders in what is now a disaster zone."
"We're gonna be, bysliders?" questioned Kaminari and Mineta with confused looks on their faces.
"Not 'sliders'," said Hagakure as she held up a floating glove, "By-'standers'. People who just happen to be at the scene of something. We went over this in class not long ago."
"It can also mean ordinary citizens as well," added Momo as she continued to watch the screen with everyone.
"In this scenario," said the speaker, "It will be assumed that you have all received your provisional licenses. This test will allow us to gauge how capable you are of carrying out proper rescue procedures."
"Are those, people, staggering around in there?" Questioned Shoji as he used one of his arms to make an eyestalk. Sure enough, as the gathered examinees looked closer, a mass of children and elderly, all seemingly injured to one degree or another, emerged from hiding within the ruined area.
"The ones scoring you have all undergone training to become professional people-who-need-rescue. Currently such people are in high demand and answer to the 'Help Us Company' more commonly known as the 'H.U.C.' for short," explained Mera.
"Professional rescuees?" Questioned Sero with a look of slight confusion.
"I guess there are all kinds of jobs out in the world," said Tsuyu with a finger to her chin.
"It only makes sense though," said Ojiro, "it's a necessary industry for a world full of heroes and heroes in training."
"Yeah, but how much training do you really need to sit there and yell 'help,'" Clay wondered aloud as the explanation of the exam continued.
"The H.U.C have dispersed their people throughout the disaster site and disguised themselves as injured civilians," continued the announcer, "As you undertake the rescue operation, they will be scoring you on a points system. If you still have points at or above the benchmark when time is up then you will have passed the exam. The test will be starting in fifteen minutes, so take care of all necessary business now."
'Something about this disaster zone seems familiar,' thought Slade. Clearly Iida and Midoriya were thinking the same thing as they waved over their two friends. "This whole scenario," said Midoriya, "You don't think it's based on what happened at Kamino Ward, do you?"
"It's got the same feeling of destruction to it at the very least," Clay admitted.
"Back then we were focused on getting Bakugou away from the villains," said Iida, "We also wanted to stay out of the way of the other pros. I learned later that numerous casualties occurred at the site of All Might and All for One's battle."
"And we'll be facing possible calamities like that in the future," said Midoriya, "So we'll need to do our absolute best on this exam." His three friends nodded in agreement as Iida walked off to check his gear one last time before the test began. Midoriya was about to do the same before he was suddenly confronted by the surprisingly angry faces of Kaminari and Mineta.
"Midoriya!" The both of them yelled before the grape-headed student began angrily questioning him. "Just what in the world were you up to during that last test you bastard!"
"While we were all out there working our hardest you were messing around!" Added Kaminari before Slade put the both of them in a high density headlock under each arm.
"Now hold up, what's with you two all of a sudden," questioned Slade as Mineta struggled against his grip with his feet flailing in the air before pointing towards the black body-suit wearing girl from Shiketsu.
"What in the world were you up to with that person over there," questioned the purple-headed student. The group's antics were unfortunately noticed by the Shiketsu girl who waved at Midoriya with a happy smile on her face. "You see! That's the type of greeting a man and woman only exchange once they've reached a certain point in their relationship!"
"I can't believe how badly I misjudged you!" exclaimed Kaminari as he too struggled against Slade's strong grip, "You were actually a smooth-talking, curly-haired playboy all along!"
"Uh, Midoriya," said Clay as he pointed a thumb at his two raging classmates, "Any idea what these two perverts are talking about?"
"I guess Sero told them about my fight with her," explained Izuku, "But it's not what you think. You see her quirk allowed her to change her appearance, but when she changed back she was-."
"So you did see her naked after all didn't you?!" Mineta said as more of an accusation than a question.
"I mean I wasn't trying too," said a nervous Midoriya as he waved his hands in denial, "she attacked me after we got separated. I had no idea what was going on."
"Then why is she still waving at you?!" Questioned an irritated Kaminari, "How far did you two get in your little 'fight?'"
"I told you that isn't what happened," Midoriya said before turning to Clay, "You guys believe me right? Nothing happened between us."
"I believe we may as well ask them ourselves," said Clay as he pointed towards the Shiketsu students, "Because they're coming this way now." Indeed, all but one of the students they'd met at the entrance to the stadium were approaching Bakugou and Kirishima, who happened to be right in front of them at the moment.
"Bakugou was it," asked Mora who looked slightly more ridiculous without his hat. "Did you happen to encounter Shishikura, our purple-haired classmate?"
"Yeah I did," replied Bakugou, "I knocked him out too."
"I though as much," said Mora as he raised a hand, "I imagine he acted somewhat rudely as well. You see he has a bad tendency to impose his own values on other people. Being that you're all relatively famous, he probably couldn't help himself and went off on his own. But I would prefer to build a good relationship with U.A. if possible, so I would like to apologize for his behavior. Also, if you wouldn't mind," Mora turned his attention to Clay.
"Oh right," said Clay as he pulled the hat off of his head and presented it to its rightful owner, "Your school makes some comfy stuff. I forgot I was wearing it for a moment."
"Given how you outfought me, it was more than appropriate that you kept my hat," said Mora, "So I'll need to work harder on this half of the exam to prove I'm still worthy to wear it." Having said all he wanted to say, the Shiketsu students turned and walked back to their own little corner, but not before Todoroki stopped Inasa to ask a question. Clay didn't hear what all was said but it was obvious that the apparently cheery Shiketsu student had some sort of beef with their classmate.
"See you later," said the girl in the body suit with a wave at Midoriya.
"U-uh right," stuttered the green-haired student. Unfortunately, this was quickly taken the wrong way by Kaminari and Mineta.
"What do you mean 'right' huh?" Questioned a once again angry Kaminari and Mineta as Slade had to resume his headlock on the both of them.
"You blasted sexual maniac," exclaimed Mineta, who was tearing up for some reason. 'Says the pint-sized pervert,' thought Clay with a sigh as Midoriya had to again explain that it wasn't anything like they were thinking.
"Oh dear, could you both stop acting so disgraceful," chastised Momo with a hand on her hip. "We still have another test to complete, so stay focused." The two class clowns groaned in disappointment and tried to protest. But any further argument, or discussion for that matter, was cut short by the sound of a ringing bell.
"Villains have begun a large scale attack on the city!" Announced Mera, "It is occurring in all areas of 'insert city name here.' A number of injuries have occurred due to multiple collapsing buildings. Furthermore, heavily damaged roads have delayed the first group of rescue workers. Until they arrive, rescue efforts shall be led by any heroes currently within the area, so it is up to you to save as many lives as you can." As he spoke, the anteroom began opening up in a similar manner to the entrance.
'There's shock and awe and then there's just showing out,' thought Clay with annoyance as he pulled his goggles down and placed his mask back on, 'But either way, it's time to get serious.' The horn sounded then, signaling the beginning of the final test as all the examinees rushed out towards the disaster area. As before, Class 1A stuck together as a group, except for Bakugou, Kirishima and Kaminari who all veered off towards the more mountainous section of the stadium.
"We should head towards the more urban areas first," suggested Iida as everyone yelled in agreement before turning towards the area, conveyed by either their legs or their quirks. As class 1A entered the disaster site it was plain to see the video feed hadn't done it justice. Rubble was everywhere and some debris still had chances of falling. A number of the buildings seemed to be dangerously close to collapsing even further while others were still smoking.
"Midoriya, what is it?" Asked Slade suddenly as he noticed his friend had stopped.
"I think I hear a child's voice," replied the green-haired student as he rushed off towards the noise. Everyone else followed behind him until they reached the source of the voice, which did indeed appear to be a crying child with a bloody forehead under a baseball cap. "Oh no, this looks bad."
"What's up with you? Minus points!" yelled the 'child' suddenly as everyone realized, to one degree of horror or another, that it was a very short man with a round face. "The first thing you should be doing is determining if I can even walk! Not to mention my breathing is off, right?" 'Who can tell? A moment ago you had a child's voice,' Clay almost said but managed to bite his tongue in time.
"I'm also bleeding fairly badly on my head at the moment. If you have a provisional license you should be able to determine a victim's condition in an instant!" 'So this is how we lose points,' thought Slade, 'the H.U.C 'victims' will be scoring us based not only on rescuing people but also how we rescue people.' "Look around and pay attention, this whole test is meant to show how much you've trained in this particular area!"
"You need to remember that until the police and firefighters arrive, you're not just doing search and rescue but exercising authority in place of them. Also, you must insure that things go smoothly when authority is handed off to them. Heroes must accomplish a number of tasks when saving people, and above all you have to remember: as ordinary people we're scared, hurt and worried out of our minds, so don't just say things like 'this is bad' when you show up." Everyone mulled over what they just heard as the reality set in. They couldn't treat this like another test, but like a real occurrence, in fact it would be best if they forgot it was a test altogether.
Midoriya was the first to realize this as he slapped his own face and stepped forward with a smile. "It….it's fine. Everything's alright now." Whether the H.U.C employee was convinced or not, Clay didn't know as the man went back to whining like a child and saying that his grandfather had been crushed. "Don't worry, we'll definitely save him and you." Midoriya turned to the rest of the class for a moment. "I'll take this kid to the first aid station, the rest of you go on ahead."
Everyone nodded as they headed off into the other ruined parts of the mock city. 'I guess when it really comes down to it, this is where our experience is lacking,' thought Clay as he flew up to do some recon, 'the other students here have had a chance to get some actual rescue training. Our first session was ruined by villains and we haven't really had any other opportunities since then.' The sight of some 'civilians' waving for help drew his attention as he altered his course towards the area. 'But we weren't technically ready for a villain attack either, so no freakin' way are we gonna let something like this slow us down now!'
"Alright everyone, stand back for a moment," said Clay as he approached the hole in the building, "We're all gonna get through this just fine, but only if you remain calm. Now who here can move and who can't?" A couple of the civilians raised their hands. "Those who can move, gather in the center, as for those who can't, please just bear with me for a moment." The cloud user produced a number of clouds which he guided underneath those who 'couldn't' move before gathering them all together on a cloud raft.
"Now stay together and hold on, I'm gonna move us out of the building now and towards a first aid station. Just try not to look down." He directed the massive raft out of the hole and steered it towards the first aid station that had been set up by Shindo and the rest of Ketsubutsu during the beginning of the test.
Meanwhile, Slade was busy directing some of the other students with Momo while also using his body as a temporary support. "Is the second support set on your side?" Questioned Slade as he braced his currently high density body against some unstable rubble.
"We're clear over here and Uraraka and Sato are moving the rubble now," Momo called back before turning to Sero, "Get some more tape on those beams over there." Sero called back an affirmative as he continued using his quirk to secure loose rubble.
"Iida," said Slade as he directed his attention to some of his other classmates who couldn't currently help at the moment. "We've got everything under control here. Efficiency is key right now so it'll be best if the rest of you split off from us and locate other civilians in need."
"We'll have Koda, Jirou and Shoji use their quirks to locate more people," Mina suggested.
"And given the situation, we should cooperate with other schools as well," Said Iida, "Let's disperse everyone!" Class 1A did as instructed and split off in multiple groups to cover more ground. Momo's group followed shortly after as soon as they managed to pull the faux rescuee from the rubble.
"Your class seems to be doing an okay job for the moment," commented Ms. Joke from the stands as she rested her head on her hand, "though they were a bit slow on the uptake."
"It's only natural I'm afraid," replied Aizawa, who was more than a little annoyed that she'd been able to find him in the stands, "With everything that's happened so far this year, combat is all Class 1A has really been able to focus on aside from typical school work. However, something seems a bit off about the setup here."
"How do you mean?" Questioned Joke with a raised eyebrow as she turned her attention to the U.A. teacher.
"The announcement earlier called the scenario a large scale villain attack," explained Aizawa, "In previous tests it's simply been a disaster scenario. It's possible the scenario's been changed due to the Kamino incident and All Might's retirement. But even then, why not refer to it as the aftermath of a villain attack if rescue efforts are all that's being performed?"
"You're so cute when you overthink stuff, you know that," said Joke with a smirk, getting an irritated huff from her former co-worker. "But now that you've brought it up I'm going to start thinking about it too. What other parameters would go into a rescue exercise like this?" The answer to both of their questions came in the form of a large explosion at the edge of the arena.
A number of other explosions also erupted around the arena before an announcement broke through the noise and confusion. "Villains have been sighted in the area and are closing in. All hero candidates should continue rescue efforts while repelling them."
"I sometimes hate it when you're right, Eraser," Said Joke as a look of surprise came over her face.
"A situation like this would be difficult even for a pro hero," Aizawa noted with concern as he watched the stadium get flooded with men in bluish black suits with four-eyed masks and some type of silver, U-shaped gauntlets on their hands. What was even more disconcerting was who was leading them.
"Oh you got to be kidding me," said Clay as he spied the pro hero that looked like a killer whale dressed up in mobster clothing. "Of all the people we had to face for this, it had to be my second favorite." The hero ranked number ten in the nation and third on the list of 'heroes that resembled villains,' Gang Orca. And as of right now, he would be the villain to overcome if any of them hoped to pass.
The final portion of the exam is not cutting any corners for our heroes-in-training as one of the strongest, and coolest in my opinion, pros steps forward to further complicate an already tricky scenario. Will our heroes choose to fight, flee, or defend against his might?! All dramatics aside, I hope you all enjoyed this latest chapter, and, I've also got a bit of news for everyone. Just like my Re:Zero fan fiction is on hold for now until the second season is released, I will also be halting this story once I reach the end of season three, because I know the anime will be a bit different and because I'm a bit lazy. I will of course continue the story once season 4 comes out in October, but I also realize that's a bit of a wait for everyone. So to fill that gap, I'll be starting another fan fiction or two that will hopefully prove at least a little entertaining until I resume my other stories. One of my gracious readers has given me a suggestion for such a fan fiction, The Rising of the Shield Hero. I also have some plans for a Kill la Kill fan fiction in the works, though I need to get the story a little straighter. So feel free to let me know what you think of these two ideas in your comments and reviews, along with what you liked/disliked about this chapter or any neat ideas you might have for future chapters. Be sure to stop in next time as the disaster area becomes a full on mock battlefield. 'Til then.
