Ch 37 - Sounds Like the Provisional Licensing Exam III
"Rescue, huh?" Neon murmured, "That can't be good...With our class track record, bad things happen when rescuing is involved."
The UA first years had all passed with the last of the 100 slots filled up by them. Both a sense of relief and pride washed over Neon when everyone had come through the doors. She knew from the whispers that no one expected much of Class 1A to pass, much less the entire group.
As soon as everyone returned their equipment, the first exam came to a close and Mera had turned on the big screen at the center of the wall. The examinees had watched as the field outside, the field they had just left, was suddenly demolished in an instant. Their task was revealed to be a rescue exercise as bystanders in the newly formed disaster site.
"But... bystanders usually refer to ordinary citizens," Momo said.
"We will assume that those of you who have passed the first test have received your provisional licenses and test how well you can carry out suitable rescue procedures," Mera informed over the intercom.
"Wait! There are actual people there," Shoji gasped as they watched hundreds of people, from the elderly to children, disperse through the various destroyed terrains.
"These are people who have undergone training to be professional people-in-need-of-rescue," Mera explained, "And are in high demand now. 'Help Us Company' or HUC for short! They are dressed up as civilians and are on standby throughout the disaster site."
"Wow...Hero work really fuels the job market, huh?" Neon muttered.
"So pro heroes can also influence the strength of the economy?! That's amazing," Tenya breathed next to her.
"We will now have you all carry out their rescue," Mera said, "In addition, you will score your rescue based on points and if you have more points than the benchmark at the end of the exercises, then you pass. We will start in 10 minutes so please use the restroom and take care of any other necessary business right now."
The examinees dispersed from the monitors as they rushed around trying to prepare either individually or by schools. Some of Class 1A headed for the bathroom but Neon stayed put with some of her classmates.
"Do you think…" Tenya murmured and Midoriya started to nod.
"That this is based on the events of Camino Ward?" Midoriya finished.
"Yeah…" Tenya said, "Back then, we were focused on getting Bakugou far away from the villains and staying out of the way of the pros. There were many casualties in the midst of all that. What do you think we should do, Neon-san?"
"Give me a bit of time...I need to remember what I read about standard rescuing procedures. There were so many books about it from your brother's library, I need to go through it all to remember all the important stuff," Neon said.
"Go through it all?" Midoriya asked.
"Yeah," Neon said. She snapped her fingers, bubbling her head to drown out the noise. She closed her eyes, folded her arms over her chest, and started to mumble under her breath everything she remembered starting from page one of the first book she could think of. Usually, facts would come to her when she needed it to, like a question on a test, but given the circumstances, this is something that she shouldn't do on the fly. This rescue operation had to be done as a class, or at least with multiple people, so planning was an absolute necessity...And they couldn't plan if they didn't have all the facts.
"Oooh. What's Nagano doing? Is that some sort of meditation?" Yoarashi laughed as he approached the class with the rest of the Shiketsu students that passed.
"She's preparing for the upcoming exam," Tenya said as he stepped in front of her just in case anybody tried to interfere.
"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt!" Yoarashi yelled and he bowed to them.
"It's fine. You did not know," Tenya said with a chop of his hands.
"Wow," Kirishima whistled, "Between Yoarashi's clear cut bowing and Iida's hand gestures, it's like watching two robots trying to communicate." He looked over at Bakugo to see if he reacted to the joke but then Kirishima's smile fell when he saw the serious look on his friend's face. He followed Bakugo's eyes and saw that the Shiketsu student covered entirely in ashy blonde hair was walking right up to them with Yoarashi and a female student.
"Bakugo…" the hairy guy said, "Did you see Shishikura, the guy whose eyes look like slits?"
"Ah. I knocked him out," Bakugo stated.
"That's what I thought," the hairy guy sighed, "I think he probably acted rudely. He must have caused offense. He has the tendency to impose his own values on others. He probably couldn't help himself after seeing you, since you're pretty famous. I would like to build a good relationship with UA. I apologize on his behalf."
"A good relationship?" Mineta asked skeptically.
"A good relationship?" Todoroki murmured to himself. He clenched his fists to his side and he took a step forward. If the school truly meant what they said, then this interaction will either confirm or deny it, "You...The loud guy with the shaved head."
Yoarashi slowly turned in his direction, while the rest of his school kept on walking.
"Did I do something to you?" Todoroki asked coolly.
"Oh?" Yoarashi looked down at him from the tip of his nose. His facial expression hardened more and more with each passing second and then he sniffed. "Well, I'm sorry, Endeavor's son...but I hate you. You've changed a bit since back then, but your eyes are the same as Endeavor's."
Todoroki's eyes widened. Whatever he expected from Yoarashi to say, he could've never expected that and it left him speechless.
"Oy...Yoarashi…"
"Eh?"
Todoroki and Yoarashi turned their heeds to see Neon step out from behind Tenya. Her bubble was gone but for how long, they could not tell.
"Endeavor's son'..My mom's daughter..." she said, "If you're just focusing on who our parents are then maybe Todoroki's eyes aren't the problem here."
"Speaking up for him again?" Yoarashi sighed to Neon.
Todoroki blinked. "Again?"
"Yoarashi! Something wrong?" the hairy guy called out to him as his class headed off.
Immediately, Yoarashi turned on his heels. "Nothing, sir!" he called out with a grin on his face. He rushed to rejoin his school.
"Ahem...I'm not sure what just happened but...Midoriya-kun?" Tenya said as he adjusted his glasses and cleared his throat, "Why is that female student from Shiketsu waving at you?"
"Huh?" Midoriya, Todoroki, and Neon turned to see the female student with dark round eyes and pouty lips smiling at Midoriya and waving her gloved hand at him.
"See ya," she sang out, which made Midoriya jump up in surprise.
"R-Right!" he blurted out.
"What do you mean by that 'right'?!" Denki seethed as he and Mineta stormed towards him.
"You sexual maniac," Mineta spouted with disdain.
"Who?! Midoriya?!" Neon asked incredulously and she shared a confused look with Tenya. Then she turned to Ochaco, who no longer had her usually bright and cheery attitude. "Ochaco?"
The gravity user jumped a foot in the air. "Ah! Neon! You startled me," she gasped.
Neon raised an eyebrow. "Guys like Midoriya don't go for girls like her," Neon muttered under breath.
"Excuse me?" Ochaco asked.
"I'm just saying...Look at Midoriya," Neon said as she nudged Ochaco with her elbow, "He looks more like an antelope scared of getting eaten up by a lion. That girl is too aggressive for him. Don't you think?"
"Eh?" Ochaco asked.
Neon sighed and decided to let it go. "We should cheer him up and get him prepared for the test."
"Yes, the test," Tenya said as he turned to Neon, "Did you finish preparing or did the students from Shiketsu interrupt you?"
"Sound barrier, remember? I didn't hear anything anyone else said. I finished just as Yoarashi was talking," Neon said, "And good thing I did. That guy...Reducing people to their lineage. He should go judge a dog show."
"Eh? You didn't seem to mind when he talked about your mother," Jiro pointed out, which made Todoroki's ears perk up ever so slightly.
"We were talking about my mother...He wasn't comparing me to her. That was different."
Todoroki gritted his teeth. Neon had never spoken to him about her mother so how did Yaoroshi do that already?
Brrriiiing!
"Villains have begun a large-scale terrorist attack! This is occurring in the urban areas," Mera voice called out as the screen flicked on to show the different disaster zones and alarms started blaring around them, "Due to buildings collapsing, there are many injured."
The ground shook beneath their feet as the walls around them unfolded once more.
"This opens up too?!" Kirishima exclaimed.
"Due to heavily damaged roads, the first group of rescue workers has been delayed," Mera continued, "Until they arrive the heroes in the area will lead the rescue efforts. Save as many lives as you can. Well, then.."
BRIIIING!
"START!"
The class took off with Tenya leading the way towards the nearest collapsed building.
"Saving lives! That is the greatest ambition of a hero!" Tenya shouted as he pumped his fist in the air.
Neon glanced over her shoulder and saw that Noisy Boy, Kirishima, and Denki were once more separating from the group and she let out an exasperated sigh as she regrouped mentally. At least, Todoroki stayed with the class this time.
"Even if this is just an exercise, this is pretty crazy," Tsu commented as she ran alongside Neon.
"What's the plan?" Ojiro asked as he raced past them.
"Shut up and let me scan for signs of life!" Neon snapped, "Jiro! Shoji! You guys too"
"Ah!" they said and it didn't take long for them to hear the cries of someone nearby.
They ran through the devastated city streets, wary of any falling debris or weakening foundations, and found a boy in a blue cap, kneeling in the ruins and crying at the top of his lungs.
"H-HEEELP!" he shrieked.
"There! He's over there!" Midoriya shouted
"My grandpa! He's been crushed!" the boy screamed.
"What? This is b-"
Whack!, Neon slammed her hand over Midoriya's mouth as she crouched in front of the victim.
"Hello, little...boy…" she said as the person looked up, revealing a rounded face of a middle-aged man, covered in fake blood and dressed to appear as a young child, "We'll get you out of here and take a look at your head. Some of my friends here will look for your grandpa, okay? Can you walk? You were breathing a little heavily. Are you hurt anywhere else besides your head?"
The man looked at her skeptically and then to Midoriya. "Good save…" he muttered, "I would've deducted points if you let him finish his sentence...and you caught my breathing pattern too."
"I thought so," Neon said as she looked to her classmates, "The proctor never said how they were going to score us so I had a feeling it would be the HUC people. Iida-kun and Shoji, take him to the nearest first aid station. I'm sure the other schools are setting up an area as we speak. If not, communicate with the other schools and create one. It's best to keep our efforts efficient on a mass scale. Little boy, what was your grandpa wearing? Do you know his name?"
Immediately, the HUC personnel went back to his crying boy state. "Grandpa is grandpa!" he wailed, "And...and I can't remember what he was wearing...But...But he was right behind me when the building fell!"
"Okay. We'll take a look. Just go with him, okay?" Neon said as Shoji took the victim.
"I'll go too," Momo volunteered, "Since we might be setting up a base, I'll create some basic medical supplies and first aid kits we can use there."
"I'll help," Tsu and Aoyama said as the group took off with Shoji scanning for a first aid location.
"Th-thanks, Neon," Midoriya sighed, "You saved me from getting points deducted."
"No matter what, always act calm, cool, and collected in front of the injured...especially little kids" Neon said, "Causing any additional panic or alarm will not help things."
"Amazing...It's not just remembering what is written in the textbooks…," Midoriya murmured to himself but stood just close enough for Neon to hear, "Neon can use her experience with being kidnapped and rescuing Akia to understand the urgency of action and what is needed in a rescue situation and when-"
"That's enough out of you," Neon said as she lightly shoved Midoriya to get him to stop.
"Ah! Sorry!" Midoriya gasped.
"What else needs to be done?" Mina asked.
"Besides having a secure location and retrieving any victims, we need to secure and section off any dangerous areas," Neon said, "We'll need to work in smaller groups. Each group needs to have someone who can break or secure any dangerous sections, someone with a calming presence to talk to the civilians, and someone who can locate civilians and wherever Iida-kun has set up base."
"Yosh!" her class shouted.
"Do not touch or approach any civilians until you can secure the area around them," Neon warned, "And also confirm their injuries before you touch them. If they can scream and shout, those are good signs since it means their lungs and heart are intact."
"What if they're not?!" Ochaco shrieked.
"I doubt that would be the case here…" Neon admitted, "I...hope at least…"
The class sprang into action, dividing themselves into smaller groups.
"Little bird friends!" Kota called up to the sky while Jiro squatted down and jabbed her earphone jack into the ground, "Please help us find any civilians around this area!"
Neon broke off into a group with Sato, Hagakure, and Tokoyami. They managed to retrieve and take a married couple with fake broken limbs to the first aid base. They were in the middle of bringing back an elderly woman with an alleged strained back when explosions fired off in every direction.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
"Ah! What is happening?!" Hagakure shrieked.
"Villains have appeared and started their pursuit. Hero candidates at the scene should continue their rescue efforts while also suppressing the villains," Mera called out.
"Continue rescue efforts while fighting?" Tokoyami asked, "The provisional license does not come easy."
Rescue and a fight...They really are preparing us for another Camino Ward incident.
Neon looked to the woman in Sato's arms, who had a knowing smirk on her face, and Neon sucked in a breath. "This does not change anything. We are still going to help you, Granny, and keep you safe. Sato and Hagakure! Get her as far away from the explosions as possible. Tokoyami...You and I need to go help evacuate the first aid area! "
"Yosh!"
Suddenly, an ear-piercing sound stabbed through Neon's head. She crumpled to the ground and covered her ears.
"NEON!" Hagakure shouted.
Snap!
A bubble formed around her head and Neon shakily got up to her feet. She looked towards the direction of the sound just as a building collapsed in that direction. "Someone...someone is using a high-frequency sound as an attack…"
Snap! Snap! Snap! Snap!
Sound bubbles formed around her group's heads as well as the elderly women and Neon motioned for them to keep running as they split up. Then she waved to Tokoyami to carry on. She bubbled up her hands.
"Alright...Let's go!" Neon shouted to herself as she rocketed through the air towards the first aid site, where Midoriya and Ojiro already were with a few other hero hopefuls and a dozen or so civilians that were yet to be moved.
"Neon!" Midoriya shouted when she landed, "Look out behind you!"
Pop!
"What did you say?" Neon asked as her bubble broke.
BAM!
Neon whirled around just as a huge ice wall emerged behind her, blocking off a blow from a large Orca man in a suit.
"Todoroki?!" Neon gasped, "And...Gang Orca?!"
"That's the villain!" Ojiro said as he hoisted an old man on his back, "Hurry! We have to get these people to safety."
"R-Right!" Neon said as she hurriedly pointed a finger to her throat. "All civilians, who are still in the first aid area, say your name if you can!"
"Eh?" The HUC civilians asked.
"Say it!" Neon shouted before regaining her composure, "Please...So that I can bring you to safety."
"Botan."
"Emiyo."
"Sakuko."
Snap! Snap! Snap! Snap! Snap! Snap! Snap! Snap!
With every name that was spoken, a bubble formed around the person and when Neon lifted her hands, she had ten civilians up in the air.
"I'll carry these guys to safety," Neon said.
"Leave them to us," MIdoriya said, "Everyone is heading towards the river. I assume that's the safest place."
"Okay. Here...just in case whatever that sound guy is doing happens again," Neon said as she bubbled up her hands and the heads of those around her. Before any of them could ask any questions, she flew off towards the river, taking along the civilians. When she set them down to safety with the rest of the injured, a blast of fire shot up to the sky near the first aid grounds.
What the hell, Todoroki?!
Before Neon realized what she was doing, her hands were already bubbled and she was flying back to the first aid area where the fire dissipated along with a strong gust of wind. The sinking feeling that had formed in her stomach got heavier as she approached the scene with Midoriya, Tokoyami, and Ojiro running beneath her along with the rest of the civilians they were protecting.
"We're good now, Neon! Come back! There's no need to-" Midoriya started to shout but Neon was already gone.
Please let this hunch be wrong...Please…
"What the hell does that have to do with me?!"
"You...You with the same cold and angry eyes...You and your father are the only two heroes I will not recognize!"
Dear God, no!
Neon gritted her teeth as she closed in on the two shouting first years. She was fully prepared to tear both of them a new one until she saw both of them strike an attack at Gang Orca simultaneously.
Fwoom!
The currents of both forces split them in two, sending fiery winds in opposite directions, away from their target. One towards the boy Neon recognized as the cocky Shindo and one towards...
"NEON?!" Todoroki gasped as Neon rolled out of the way and avoided being burnt to a crisp.
"Look what you did!" Yoarashi shouted, "Neon, are you okay?!"
"Don't call her that" Todoroki snapped.
Neon ignored both of them and she got to her feet. She was just about to run out but Midoriya appeared out of the air and grabbed Shindo.
"What are you two doing?!" Midoriya roared, "Get your head in the game!"
"Thank god…" Neon breathed as she got to her feet and dusted the debris and pebbles off of her suit.
Her hot and cold classmate stared at her. He was floored by his careless mistake and he couldn't figure out who was more to blame for it. That arrogant wind guy, who kept throwing Todoroki's old man in his face and who has no boundaries when it came to befriending others…Or himself for caring in the first place. He thought he had made great progress when it came to his old man but maybe it was still far from good...And...as for Neon...As for her...
"What...What are you doing here?!" Todoroki heard himself yell.
"I'm trying to pass this test. What about you?" Neon snapped back.
"I don't need you to help me."
"Yeah, you seem to be doing a great job fighting-" Neon started to say and then quickly snapped her fingers.
Snap! Snap!
Two bubbles formed - one around Yoarashi and another one around both Neon and Todoroki's - just as Gang Orca let out an ultrasonic beam towards the wind user.
"That guy," Neon finished.
"Shoot the bubbles! It's protecting them from boss' Quirk!" the henchmen shouted as they fired their guns, unloading globs of cement.
Bam!
A wall of ice formed in front of Neon as Todoroki blocked their attacks.
"Neon…" Todoroki asked softly, keeping his eyes on the wall in front of him, "Why are you here?"
"I saw your flames and I got worried," Neon admitted.
"About me or about that windy idiot?" Todoroki blurted out and Neon raised a brow.
She was too wary of their predicament and the test to spend any energy on dissecting the personal situation between her and Todoroki. It was easier to tell the truth instead of analyzing it. "Oy...Cool Hair."
Todoroki felt his throat tighten and when he looked her way, he saw that she had her middle finger up and directed at him.
"I give a fuck about you, alright?"
Todoroki's lips twitched up but he stifled it, unable to let himself smile yet, but on the inside, he felt a weight roll off his entire existence and his lungs expand as if it had been constricted this entire time. "Ah…" he said as he turned his attention back to the wall, "Alright."
"Now let's finish this already," Neon said.
"...Ah."