Very quick note: some words spoken by characters will be italicised from here on out. These words will be for characters speaking in English, so there's that.
For all it was worth, U.A was definitely as much of an intimidating yet regal sight as Yosetsu had thought it to be.
For the past year-plus, the Welder has been training alongside his friend to get here… and though he knew that he stood before the gates of the most prestigious (Hero) High School in Japan thanks to his own efforts, he still couldn't help but feel a tad bit overwhelmed as he eyed the structure before him with widened eyes, and in the end, it took a quick nudge to his ribs, courtesy of Mikazuki, to snap him out of his trance-like state, and even then, he still felt himself having to breathe in a lot deeper than necessary to actually break free from it completely.
"You alright, Yosetsu? We can spend a few more minutes in the car if you need more time," offered Mikazuki, with Fukukado Emi, who was dressed in a ridiculously puffy dress to hide her Hero costume and, by proxy, her identity from the general public (rather poorly might I add), snickering a little as he spoke. Yosetsu then exhaled, with him shaking his head a little as he ignored how his pal might've just made a joke, intentional or not, and just acknowledged how delaying the inevitable was not really something he wished to do, and as such, he straightened his shoulders and shook his head.
"Fuck no. Let's move, Mika!" said Yosetsu firmly as he held a fist up, smiling all the while. Mikazuki nodded at this, with him finding Awase's nervous enthusiasm to be very much on brand, and as such, they began to walk towards the gates of U.A. His body still shook a little as he walked onwards, but he kept his mind off his somewhat nervous disposition by speaking to Augus and Fukukado, who, apparently, had a special invitation to observe the exams despite being from a rival Hero School. "So… we've got two exam portions; the Written and the Physical. We've studied a lot for the Written part, so we should be alright there, but we have no idea what the Physical portion will be about, aside from it being related to a mock urban battle… any ideas, Fukukado-San?"
"I just might, but I can't exactly tell you, now can I?" grinned Emi as she walked alongside them, eliciting a dour grimace from Yosetsu as he acknowledged the playful tone she had spoken in. Mikazuki found some amusement in seeing this, though he didn't say anything on that as he turned back towards the path ahead of them… only to be stopped when…
"Ice cream for you, kiddo."
… all of a sudden, a cone of neopolitan ice cream was shoved in front of his face. Its sudden appearance in front of him was more than enough to make Yosetsu yelp out in shock, with the tension within him causing him to overreact whilst backing into Emi. Mikazuki was less surprised by it as he fell into a more defensive stance, having seen it as an offensive gesture at first, as evident by how his Tail had quite literally burst out from between his bag and back and assumed a defensive posture as well, though before either could attack on instinct, Fukukado waved the two of them off as she acknowledged the guy that had offered them ice cream.
"Erm… thank you?" hummed Yosetsu as he awkwardly accepted the ice cream with a raised brow. The ice cream man, a scruffy looking guy with a blue winter coat, long pants and an apron/ice cream seller's hat combo, simply grinned at this, with him bowing his head down gingerly before offering Mikazuki one as well, and though he refused, the Rex Tail still grabbed onto it by wrapping its tendril around the cone and pulling it towards itself with ease, much to Augus' irritation and Emi's amusement.
"You're welcome! A cool treat tends to ease the mind! Now off you go, you've got more than one exam to take!" stated the ice cream man, who shooed the two away before offering what seemed to be mochi ice cream to a girl with permanent blushes on her cheeks. Fukukado snorted as she followed the two into the main building, with her shaking her head as she watched the two would-be-Heroes lick their respective ice creams, and for all it was worth, the sight of Mikazuki's eyes lighting up when he tasted his… did make her day.
"Who was that?" asked Mikazuki flatly as he glanced up at Emi with a raised brow, eliciting a snort from her as she glanced back at the ice cream man with a knowing grin. She did so just in time to see some blonde pomeranian growl at him whilst explosions were set off in his palms, seemingly as a warning, only for a cold breeze to shut them down almost immediately thereafter.
"Oh, him? Well, he's the ice cream man!" stated Emi with a laugh, to which Mikazuki nodded.
"... alright then."
Some time later
"Ugh…"
"...?"
For all it was worth, Yosetsu could say that the written portion of the exam was very much the worst thing he's experienced in the past few years. There were so many questions on things that he could barely even remember… but even so, he had made it through regardless, and now, he would have to deal with the Physical portion of this nightmare.
Ah well… at least he had trained for this one. He was certain that he could power through whatever physical test they had to accomplish with… relative ease.
Currently, Yosetsu and Mikazuki were both sitting with the massive auditorium found within U.A, and they weren't the only ones present in the massive area. There were several hundred other middle schoolers present as well, all of them having just survived the Hell that was the U.A Written Entrance Exam, and as the two friend spoke to one another in a somewhat subdued manner, more and more students filtered in, with one particularly sparkly student making his way over to sit beside Augus after quite some time. There was a slip of paper on every single auditorium desk, one for each participant, Awase reckoned, though he didn't care to look at it just yet as he leaned back in silence.
"It's… nothing, Mika. Just got a mild headache is all," assured Yosetsu, with him smiling as he eyed his friend awkwardly. Mikazuki found himself nodding at this, with him reaching into his school uniform to fish out a raisin for his pal, and upon doing so, he offered it to him, and despite him not being too fond of raisins, the Welder still gobbled it up with little recourse. "Thanks…"
"If it means anything, I struggled with the Written exam portion too," said Mikazuki flatly, eliciting a snort from Yosetsu as he nodded in acknowledgement.
"Well, that's a given. It was a fucking meat grinder…" lamented Yosetsu with a scoff, prompting the Rex Tail to croon a little as it nodded in agreement, with it remembering how Mikazuki had forcefully sat atop it during the Written exam to stop it from spying on other people's papers. It was… an awkward ordeal that had made the exam overseer, the Pro Hero Cementoss, sweatdrop a little at just how ridiculous it was, though aside from that, nothing really eventful happened outside of general brain-fuckery.
"At least the ice cream helped," said Mikazuki, with him almost smiling when Yosetsu snorted in amusement at his words… yeah, he had a point there, though he didn't voice out his apparent agreement on the matter as he watched the last of the students funnel in. One girl with strange earphone jacks for earlobes caught Mikazuki's attention, with him humming a little as he acknowledged how he missed his own headphones… without that music to calm him down, his Quirk had almost gone off during the Written Exam! It was a miracle that the Quirk inhibiting collar managed to suppress it…
Seemingly noticing his gaze, the earphone jacked girl turned to eye Mikazuki wordlessly, prompting him to divert his gaze once more. No point in drawing unnecessary attention to himself, he reckoned, and the purplelette seemed to agree, perhaps unintentionally, as she dismissed it with a shrug and turned back to get to her seat.
"Someone caught your eye already, Mika?" smiled Yosetsu, with his grin appearing rather teasing as he wiggled his brows at Mikazuki, who shook his head as he turned back to him.
"No. Just got curious about someone else's Quirk is all," stated Mika with a shrug, eliciting a snort from Yosetsu as he begrudgingly accepted that response. If he were a crueler person, and if he wasn't so nervous, Awase would've teased just a bit harder, but for now, as the lights to the auditorium began to flash on, the Welder reckoned that it was probably best to keep silent for now.
"For all you listeners tuning in…"
Blinking a little when he heard that voice, both Mikazuki and Yosetsu raised their brows when they saw the speaker walk onto the auditorium stage. Said speaker was… eccentric in appearance, with his yellow sunglasses, predominantly black outfit with a red belt, massive popped collar, headphones and, last but not least, that massive bundle of hair that was swept upwards. He would've been hard to miss, even in a massive crowd of people, and for all intents and purposes, that was probably the intent, as this was the limelight Voice Hero; Present Mic!
Seeing him in the flesh made the two friends feel a little nice, with Yosetsu smiling a little at the bombastic blonde Hero before them while Mikazuki hummed at his presence. He wasn't his favorite Hero, but Mic was still worthy of respect, and whilst he didn't show his endearment for him, the Rex Tail certainly did, as it bobbed up and down excitedly, catching the eye of a few students all the while, only to be stopped when its host grabbed onto its tendril.
"Calm down," instructed Mikazuki, to which the Rex Tail crooned sadly before complying.
"... welcome to my show!"
As he said this, Present Mic twirled around in a surprisingly elegant manner, bowed to his audience and crossed his arms in front of himself in an X shaped pattern, making the rock horns all the while. A few rows ahead of them, the purple haired earphone jack user grinned and nodded in approval, though as for everyone else present, they more or less ignored the gesture, either out of nervousness or just disinterest.
Mikazuki himself snorted at the sight while Yosetsu smiled, finding it rather endearing for the Voice Hero to be this enthusiastic about the exam.
"Now then… can I get a HELL YEAH?!" yelled Present Mic, with him using his Quirk, albeit at a lower level so as to not destroy the examinee's eardrums, as he roared. As he yelled this, the amplifier neck brace he wore amplified the volume of his words, just enough to carry around the auditorium as he spoke, and though some found it to be uncomfortable, no one was really injured by it as they simply… remained silent, with no one feeling brave enough to give him a Hell Yeah at the moment, much to his dismay. "Sheesh, tough crowd, eh?"
"I'll fuckin' say," groaned Yosetsu offhandedly, only to get a snicker from a guy sitting behind him with a black thunderbolt pattern on his otherwise completely blonde hair.
"But even so, it is rather refined, but I'd digress! You're all immaculate Little Listeners, here to become Heroes, so allow me to quickly present the rundown on the practical exam so that we can skedaddle on with it!" proclaimed Present Mic, having not lost his enthusiasm as he spoke. "ARE YOU REEEEEEADY?!"
"..."
A cricket would've tried to do its thing, but a girl with a frog Quirk shot her tongue out to consume it before it could ruin the silence, eliciting a bemused look from the ghostly girl sitting next to her.
"APHEM! As it says in the application requirements, you little listeners will be participating in ten-minute mock urban battles for your physical exam!" continued Present Mic, undeterred by the second bout of silence. As he spoke, the screen behind him, which once showed the logo of U.A, showed a sizable YOU ARE HERE at its center before several branches leading off to various sites, specifically sites A to G, popped up as well. "For these battles, you may bring whatever you wish along with you, and after this presentation, you'll head to the battle center specified on the Exam Ticket atop your respective desks, Okay?"
As he said this, everyone present, Yosetsu and Mikazuki included, picked up their Exam Tickets, with Awase seeing that his number was 1215, and his test location was Battle Center F. Mikazuki, on the other hand, was Examinee Number 4815, and his location was Battle Center B.
"Hmhp… so we'll be separated, huh? Guess it's to prevent friends from working together or something," hummed Yosetsu, sounding just a bit disappointed as he spoke. In response to this, Mikazuki nodded.
"They want to see what we can really do. Alone," stated Augus as he held his ticket up so that his Rex Tail could have a look as well. It seemed perturbed by this, with it whining a little as it shuddered in annoyance at not being able to fight alongside Yosetsu, though it eventually settled down as Mikazuki set his ticket onto the table. "You'll be alright, right?"
"F'course."
"Three different types of faux villains will be found in each battle center!" continued Present Mic after he deemed everyone present to be done reading their tickets. Whilst speaking, the screen behind him changed to show a simplified model of a city, with three silhouetted figures fading into view all the while; a single wheeled machine worth one point dubbed Victory, a four legged scorpion machine worth two, dubbed Imperial, and what looked to be a threaded machine with two front legs and twin five-tube missile batteries on its back worth three, with this one named the Venator. "You will earn points for destroying each of them based on the level of their difficulty!
"Of course, attacking other examinees and performing other unheroic actions are strictly prohibited!"
"MAY I ASK A QUESTION?!"
Blinking a little at that sudden disruption, everyone present glanced over at a bluenette that had suddenly jolted up from his seat. Even Mic himself appeared mildly perturbed for a moment, though not long thereafter, he cleared his throat and pointed towards the guy, with him striking his best action pose as a stage light shone down on the speaker for an even greater dramatic effect.
"Shoot!" yelled Present Mic, grinning as he posed dramatically for no one in particular, and at that, the bluenette spoke, with him holding up a printout and pointing to the part that spoke of the faux villains.
"Pardon my interruption, but on the printout I have here, there are four villain types. If that is a misprint, then U.A, the most prominent school in Japan, should be ashamed of that foolish mistake!" protested the bluenette, with a metaphorical fire in his eyes as he spoke these words. Off to the side, Mikazuki snorted as the Rex Tail shuddered a little as it 'laughed' at the guy's words, and behind him, the black thunderbolt blonde simply grinned as he shook his head.
"Talk about high standards…" chuckled the blonde, with the Rex Tail turning towards him and 'nodding' in agreement, much to his delight as he shot it a thumbs up. Yosetsu didn't have much of an opinion on all this, even as he listened to the bespectacled guy go on about how they were all here to become exemplary Heroes and all that… but not long thereafter…
"In addition, you over there."
Turning on a dime, the bluenette turned to fix Mikazuki Augus with a harsh glare, one that approved of absolutely nothing as he eyed him coldly. Raising a brow at this, the Rex Tail user felt himself growing curious as to what this oaf was going on about, with the Rex Tail itself humming as it hovered in front of its host.
"Your Tail, it has been distracting those around you from the presentation. I implore you to exercise restraint and stop it from moving any further," reprimanded the boy, with his yammering making one of Mikazuki's brows raise higher and higher onto his face with each passing word. "If you wish to treat this examination like a joke, then I suggest you leave here immediately!"
Mikazuki… took little stock of the taller boy's words as he crossed his arms and glared at him flatly. Yosetsu and the Rex Tail, however, took to them rather coldly, however, as the former got up in his seat, with him instinctively ready to spew vulgarities at this uptight brat, consequences be damned, while the latter was about to skewer him on its blade. However, before either could even happen, Present Mic, noticing that the tension was reaching its breaking point, brought his hands up to stay the potential conflict.
"Whoa now, whoa now! Examinee Number 7111, chillax! Examinee Number 4815's Quirk is partially sentient, so he doesn't have full control over what it can or cannot do!" said the blonde Hero, with him moving his hands in a relax bro gesture as he spoke. Upon realizing this, the bluenette stiffened, with him seeming almost as though he had bitten into a lemon when he acknowledged this, though before he could properly act on it, the man continued. "However, that aside, I must thank you for that reminder!
"Aphem… the fourth kind of Faux Villain you will encounter is worth Zero Points."
Whilst saying this, the screen showed the final Faux Villain, worth nothing, showing it to be a tank with arms and what seemed to be a six-tube missile battery for a head. Its name was the Executor, which was… somewhat worrying for an apparent Zero Pointer.
"He's not really an enemy, more of an obstacle, so to speak. There's one in every battle center, and trust me when I say that it will go crazy in narrow spaces. It's not exactly impossible to defeat it, but considering the points that come with managing to do so… or the lack thereof… I'd personally recommend against it. If anything, do try to avoid it."
Upon concluding, the bluenette bowed stiffly, with him seeming a little shaken as he did so, but it didn't stop him from doing so nonetheless. "Thank you for your clarification! Please, excuse my interruption!"
And with that, the guy sat down, with the spotlight dimming all the while. It didn't stop Yosetsu from glaring into the back of his head, however, with him grimacing at his words towards Mikazuki all the while, but even so, the Rex Tail user nudged him and assured him that it was fine, with him stroking the side of his Quirk all the while. Awase… didn't think it was fine, but for his friend's sake, he let it slide.
"But regardless, that is all from me! Before we wrap things up, allow me to give you listeners a present, our school motto!
Two kids in matching middle school uniforms listened with varying intentness, with the blonde scowling while the freckled greenette smiled in childish wonder.
"The Great Hero, Napoleon Bonaparte once said: A True Hero is someone that overcomes life's great misfortunes."
The bluenette smiled as he listened to the Voice Hero's words, seeming inspired by them, while not too far ahead, a girl with vines for hair clasped her hands together and took those words to heart.
A brown haired girl with permanent blush marks focused on what Present Mic was reciting, with a bob haired girl doing just the same, with her rubbing her chin thoughtfully all the while. Not too far off, a plain looking young man hummed to himself as he considered Mic's words, with one of his fingers spinning at the knuckle as he did so, and to his side, an examinee with the appearance of a fuzzy monster nodded in apparent agreement with Mic's words.
Mikazuki himself felt his shoulders slacking a little as he listened on, seeming… unsure on if he should agree with this as he did so, though before long, he felt Yosetsu's hand gently resting on one of his shoulders, prompting him to glance up at him and see that he was smiling reassuringly at him whilst giving him a thumbs up.
Augus saw fit to mirror that gesture, with him knowing that despite the misfortunes set upon him by life… he would still walk onwards with his head held high.
"Go Beyond…
"PLUS ULTRA!"
The very same words were quick to pop up on the screen behind him as Present Mic used his Quirk to add on to the power, shaking the auditorium all the while. And for all it was worth, he got quite a good response to this as well, with the entire hall echoing his words with very little issue, and with all that said and done, he grinned and bowed at the examinees before him.
"Now, have fun suffering~"
Mikazuki knew that there were people staring at him, even as he pulled off his school uniform to reveal his dark blue undershirt beneath. But even so, he found it prudent to ignore any and all of the stares directed towards him as he frowned and set his briefcase down onto a bench in the locker room and began to open it up.
Not too long ago, the Rex Tail wielder, after wishing his friend good luck once more, alongside everyone taking the Physical exam in area B, were shepherded onto a bus that took them deeper into U.A's campus. Thereafter, they were brought to a locker room and given a maximum of fifteen minutes to prepare. Mikazuki appreciated the time he got to himself as he was allowed to stretch and calm himself down, but even so, his nerves seemed to be reflected in the form of the Rex Tail shuddering as it remained subdued whilst he prepared.
As with most of the other combatants present, Mikazuki had his own attire for the upcoming test. His attire was more or less what he always wore; his blue Chryse undershirt, his long pants and his Chryse jacket, though rather than wearing it around his shoulders, he wore it around his waist like a kilt. Call it his way of bringing the orphanage along with him for the fight, he supposed. After changing his clothes, Mikazuki then went on to open up the briefcase that the other orphans had given to him before he left, and upon doing so, he found himself slightly gobsmacked at what was within it.
Simply put, it was… armour. Well, not a full set, per say. It was more of a gauntlet meant to go over Mikazuki's right arm. Picking it up, the Rex Tail wielder studied it briefly before noticing some instructions on how to equip it, and after some fiddling, he managed to get it on. The gauntlet fitted perfectly, with its bright blue 'shield' piece sitting on the outside of Augus' right forearm, acting as a defensive armament all the while, and the parts that wrapped around his forearm sat comfortably around his limb, providing no obstruction to his movement as he stretched and flexed his arm to test his mobility.
'Ride, Yamagi and Takaki outdid themselves,' thought Mikazuki fondly, with him having no problems with identifying who crafted this piece of equipment as he smiled a little. Those three gremlins may have been problematic at times… but even so, their skills in creating… anything from metal, really, was practically unmatched. He'd have to thank them for this, but regardless, after equipping the gauntlet onto his arm, the Rex Tail wielder shut the briefcase and turned around, with him ignoring all the looks he was getting thanks to his new defensive armament. Some of the staring seemed to be directed at his Quirk Suppressing Collar as well.
Whilst some were eyeing his collar, however, others had their eyes glued to the rough skin that lined Mikazuki's scar-riddled arms. The Rex Tail Wielder knew that there was no point in hiding them, as, sooner or later, they would be exposed to those around him, but even so… while he could ignore being stared at thanks to his collar or his gauntlet, something about having others stare at his healed-over injuries just felt… uncomfortable to him, and though he kept his gaze as neutral as he possibly could, he still hastened his footspeed as he walked over to the gates of Battle Site B.
Before he got there, however… Mikazuki, upon leaving the locker room, heard someone calling out his name, prompting him to turn around and see… nothing, really. Confused, the Rex Tail wielder turned back around to continue walking to Battle Site B's gates, with him assuming that he was just hearing things thanks to the… stress that came with all this, but then, he heard his name being called a second, and this time, the Rex Tail crooned at him, prompting him to turn back once more… and see that the one calling to him had been none other than Ms Joke, who was hiding around the corner of the locker room… with a bush atop her head. Strange…
"... Fukukado-San?" muttered Mikazuki, who was, for one of the few times in his life, caught off guard as his eyes went cartoonishly wide at the sight of Emi staring out at him. In response to this, Fukukado held her finger up to her lips and shushed Mika before motioning for him to come to her. Complying, Augus did as she wished, and as soon as he had rounded the corner, he saw the Joke Heroine standing before him… with her wearing a bush all the while. "What the…"
"Shush, I'll explain while I work. Just c'mere for a moment," requested Emi as she motioned for Mikazuki to move a little closer towards her. Thereafter, once he was close enough, she knelt down and gently moved his face so that he was staring upwards at an angle, and with a bit of fiddling, she fished a key out of her back pocket and slid it into a keyhole on the back of the Quirk Suppressing Collar. "I managed to get approval from Nedzu to allow you to remove the Quirk Suppressor for the duration of the Physical exam. Told em' that you'll need it off to go Plus Ultra."
"Huh…"
Click
And right as he said that, Mikazuki felt the collar around his neck loosening up before being removed by Fukukado, and shortly thereafter, she pocketed both the collar and the key to it before gently booping Mika on the nose, a gesture that he wasn't a fan of, but he said nothing of it as she continued.
"Listen, kid, I know that, to a certain degree, you're still afraid of what your Quirk is capable of. I've seen the reports on what happened all those years ago, which is why you, at least subconsciously, force yourself to be… how you are. But there are times where you need to cut loose and show everyone what you can do, and though it might be a stretch, this might be one of those times," stated Emi, with her grinning as she gently pinched Mikazuki's cheek. Again, he didn't really like that gesture, but he couldn't say he hated it either. "Go show them that you can be a Hero, Augus-Kun. Go beyond, Plus Ultra."
"I will, Fukukado-San," muttered Mikazuki, with him… almost smiling as he gave his guardian a firm nod, and to that, she giggled and pinched both his cheeks, something that made him groan a little as he brushed her hands off. "Why are you dressed like a plant, though?"
"Oh, Mic placed a bet saying that I wouldn't be able to get your collar off without drawing any attention to myself, so I got my plant suit out and snuck in!" said Emi, with her pumping her chest out and grinning widely as she spoke. Mikazuki responded to this with a deadpanned look as he opened his mouth to say that was ridiculous, though before he could do so, the two of them heard some footsteps coming their way, and moments later, the head of a short boy with blue hair appeared over the corner.
Before he appeared, however, Emi abruptly crouched down and hid all her limbs into her bush disguise, with her moving so suddenly that it was almost absurd.
"Oh, I was wondering why I was hearing some things from here. I apologise for cutting into whatever you were doing here, but I should inform you that we have about four minutes before the exam begins," informed the short guy rather kindly, to which Mikazuki nodded. "It would be wise for us to move ahead sooner rather than later."
"Ah, thanks. I'll be there, just give me a while," assured Mikazuki as he waved the guy off. The blue haired boy nodded at this, with him jogging off to rejoin the main group of examinees, and once he was gone, Fukukado stood up, stretched and sighed to herself in relief.
"See? Worked like a charm!"
"Hmph… you got me there, I guess."
Meanwhile
Tapping his feet against the ground, Yosetsu found himself growing slightly nervous as the seconds ticked by. This was to be expected, really, though he wished that it wasn't, as time always seemed to slow down whenever his nerves began acting up.
Bouncing his heels against the ground, Awase sighed as he pulled one of his legs back and gently kicked the ground with its steel tipped toes, which impacted the concrete beneath him with a barely audible knocking sound. These boots were gifts to Yosetsu just a few days before the U.A Entrance Exams had begun, and if he managed to get into the school, he'd definitely try to find a way to incorporate these into his Hero Costume, if only to honor his parents in some way.
The rest of his attire wasn't exactly too noteworthy. His shirt was a simple gym shirt, one that wasn't skintight, but still tight enough that it wouldn't be easy to grab onto, and his pants were a set of short pants. Covering his elbows, fingers and wrists were quite a bit of wrestling tape, which would help increase their durability by a bit, and on his shins were a pair of titanium braces made for him by Ride, who, upon discovering that he had been given steel tipped boots, said that kicking would be his greatest strength. Yosetsu didn't refute that, more so because all those jogging exercises with Shino were starting to get to him, and within less than a week, Mass, by using Yukinojo's equipment, was able to hammer out a pair of shin braces for Awase, made out of recycled parts.
As with his shoes, Yosetsu hoped that he could find a way to incorporate these sturdy, if a little unsightly, shin braces into his Hero costume… if he got into U.A, anyways.
"Nervous?" came a voice to Yosetsu's side, prompting him to perk up a little as he turned to see a guy walking up to his side. Said guy was… incredibly black in a very literal manner, so much so that Awase had trouble seeing the outline of his chin, but he said nothing of this as he watched the guy walk up to him and… smile? It was hard to tell…
"A little, I guess," admitted Yosetsu, with him appearing a little sheepish as he adjusted the wrappings around his wrists, eliciting a nod of understanding from the guy beside him, causing his unruly white hair to bounce up a tiny bit all the while.
"I can understand that much. As soon as those gates open, we'll all be clawing our way to the top, and only a few of us will be rewarded for our efforts," lamented the white haired boy, eliciting a shrug from Yosetsu. His verbose words didn't really strike much of a cord with him, but even so, he did have a point there, as, despite this fight being against the Faux Villains, beneath it all, this was a fight against his fellow Examinees to become a Hero, and he'd have to do his best to make it to the top. "In a way, we are enemies in this battle… but even so, hostility breeds only hostility, and as such, I will not see you as one. Rather, I would rather see you as a potential ally."
"Well, I'd like that too. Better to have more friends than enemies, as the saying goes and all that," grunted Yosetsu, with him grinning as he spoke. To this, the black skinned boy nodded in approval, though thereafter, they were quick to turn towards a commotion to the side, where they spotted a blonde pomeranian snarling at a guy with spinning fists while a furry looking dude with glasses who seemed to be trying to diffuse the situation to little avail.
"If only more people could have such a mentality…" mumbled the black skinned boy, lamenting the sight before him as he turned away, to which Yosetsu nodded. "Have you a name, my friend?"
"Huh, friend? That was fast," hummed Yosetsu as he crossed his arms and shrugged. "But yeah, name's Awase Yosetsu. You?"
"Kuroiro Shihai. It is an honor to make your acquaintance, and I wish you all the best for the exam."
"Kuroiro-Kun… huh? Well, I wish you the best as well."
There was still a minute left for them to prepare… and with this minute, Mikazuki began to make some final checks on his stuff.
His gauntlet was firmly secured onto his right arm, immovable and ironclad with its defense. Staring down at his combat boots, Mikazuki stomped them against the ground, with the thud that came shortly thereafter proving to be a good sign to him, as evident by his hum of approval. Thereafter, he stared over at his left arm, which was unarmoured as opposed to his right one. In place of this, his left arm had wrestling wraps coiled around it firmly, with the wraps being the exact same as the ones used by his friend. They would provide some level of protection when it came to some particularly hard hitting punches, and though it wasn't much, it was still better than nothing.
'Everything's in place… almost everything, anyways…' thought Mikazuki, only to trail off mentally when he realized that his pistol was still nowhere to be found. Though he doubted that he'd be able to bring it with him in the first place, Mika was still fond of that gun, and despite a few requests from him over the course of the past year-plus, Fukukado has denied his requests to have the weapon back, if only because of legal issues surrounding his firearm. He could have it back once he was a legal adult and after he had firearms training, not a moment sooner… and though it was unfortunate to say the least, he accepted those terms, however begrudgingly.
Tap tap
The sudden tapping sensation on Mikazuki's shoulder snapped him out of his initial thoughts, and without pause, he turned to face whoever was trying to get his attention. Upon doing so, the Rex Tail wielder found himself coming face to… well, chest with that blue haired boy from back at the auditorium, only this time, he was wearing what appeared to be a typical set of jogging attire. Glancing down at his legs, Augus noticed how he had a set of six engines sticking out the backs of both of his calves; a byproduct of his Quirk no doubt, though he thought very little of it as he raised a brow up at the guy before him.
"Excuse me, Examinee 4815, may I have a word?" inquired the bluenette, Examinee 7111, if Mika recalled. Seeing no reason to deny him of this, Mikazuki simply nodded, giving him the go ahead to say what he wanted, and with that, he continued, though not before bowing a solid 90 degrees so quickly that Augus recoiled in surprise. "I must apologise for my rude and tremendously disgraceful words from back in the auditorium! I should have kept my hurtful words to myself, and to learn that your Quirk is semi-sentient only makes me more ashamed at my actions!"
"..." nothing was ready said in response to this, as Mikazuki, along with his Rex Tail, simply eyed the guy in surprise. Neither Quirk nor Host had expected an apology from the bluenette, but to receive one… it did feel rather nice, but even so… "It's fine."
"I must say otherwise, Examinee 4815! I have no excuse for what I've said. As a potential future student of U.A, such behaviour is unbecoming, and my words were needlessly cruel! I find it best to apologise and, if necessary, prostrate myself before you and beg for forgiveness!" stated the bluenette, with him almost bringing himself down to a dogeza position as he spoke, only to be stopped when the Rex Tail swung down and moved to place itself beneath his head, forcing him to remain on his feet all the while. Confused, the bluenette allowed it to force him back up onto his feet, and once he was back up, he eyed Mikazuki in confusion.
Vice versa, Mikazuki almost smiled out of amusement as he shook his head at the guy.
"You apologising is enough for me, so it's fine. Dirt under the rug," assured Mikazuki, with his tone of voice reflecting just a tiny bit of amusement as he gave the blue haired guy an amused side glance. He seemed rather relieved at this, with him smiling in appreciation before bowing his head, though before much else could be said…
"GOOOOOOOOO!"
Frowning upon hearing this, Mikazuki sprung into action, with his legs moving on their own as he forced his way past the crowd of other examinees, ignoring their protests all the while. As he did so, the gates into Battle Site B swung inwards, allowing him entry into the site all the while, and within moments, he, among a few others, were sprinting through the streets of Site B, eyes scanning for Faux Villains to destroy.
"WHAT'RE YOU KIDDOS WAITING FOR?! IN THE HERO BUSINESS, YOU DON'T GET COUNTDOWNS! SO GO GO GO!"
And upon hearing this, the examinees all began bumrushing their way into the Battle Site, with all of them realizing that if they delayed, their position in U.A would no doubt be jepordized.
Up front, Mikazuki kept his eyes peeled for any and all Faux Villains within range, with the Rex Tail scanning the area overhead. It didn't take long for him to come across his first one, however, as it quite literally came drifting in towards him. A One Point machine, Victory, with a single wheel propelling it forwards, the Faux Villain rolled up towards Mikazuki with one of its sizable arms held up, ready to crush him beneath it.
"TARGET ACQUIRED! BEGINNING EX-"
And it didn't get to say much more than that as, in an instant, Mikazuki dug his heels into the ground and halted his charge, and at the same time, the Rex Tail sprung forwards and slashed itself towards the Faux Villain's waist. In a single slash, the Tail Blade managed to slice the One Pointer in half, causing it to barrel towards him as it was sent forwards thanks to its built up speed. Not to be deterred, Mika grimaced and sent his right fist forwards, aiming it at the Victory's head unit, and upon making contact with it, Augus raised his brows when he felt his fist going straight through the metal like it was nothing.
'Low quality metal… probably some sort of aluminum,' thought Mikazuki as he pried his fist from the now destroyed bot's head and added one point to his overall score. As soon as he did so, however, he ducked down low as his instincts screamed for him to dodge, and upon doing so, the arm of a One Pointer soared over his head, just barely missing his ahoge as he ducked. Grimacing at this, Mika turned on a dime and held his gauntlet up to block a second hit, and for all it was worth, the gauntlet held strong whilst the One Pointer's outer shell folded a little on impact with it.
Before it could attempt another swing at him, however, Mikazuki grabbed onto its arm, with his fingers denting the metal as he held it tight, and, with a grunt, heaved himself upwards and kicked the Faux Villain's head unit, folding the flimsy outer shell in on itself and cracking its head camera all at once. Thereafter, the Rex Tail swung itself towards the One Pointer's elbow, slicing it off in one go, and allowing Mika to wield it as a makeshift weapon, one that he wasted no time in whacking the One Pointer with little remorse. The first hit was blocked by its other arm, though the second one struck it right under the chin, causing its head to go spinning as it rotated around atop its long segmented neck, and as soon as it stopped, it fell onto its back, deactivated.
"Two," hummed Mikazuki as he turned on a dime and held the severed arm of the one pointer up to block an attack from a stinger, courtesy of a Two Pointer. Said Two Pointer's stinger had managed to stab itself into the severed arm of the One Pointer, though before it could capitalize on this, Mika used his Rex Tail to sever the unit's pincer, and upon doing so, it recoiled in apparent 'pain' before Augus jumped onto its back and, using the sharper end of the One Pointer's arm, stabbed the Two Pointer in the back. He seemed to have damaged its power core or, at the very least, destroyed something important, as the Two Pointer went still almost immediately, with its four legs going limp beneath it, allowing Augus to get off its back in a somewhat nonchalant manner. "That's four now…"
Perking his ears up upon saying that, Mikazuki turned and grimaced when he felt his instincts spiking up, only to come face to face with a Three Pointer that was barreling towards him from behind. Said Faux Villain attempted to crush Mika beneath its fist, only for the Rex Tail wielder to weave away from the strike and get ready to counterattack, though before he could do so, the Villain abruptly seized up and convulsed in front of him, with the lenses present on its chassis, all of which were acting as its optics, shattering all the while, and moments later, it fell to the ground, deactivated, as Augus eyed it curiously.
Not too long after, a somewhat familiar figure poked their head out from behind the disabled body of the Three Pointer. Mikazuki barely recognised them as that purple haired girl from the auditorium, and upon making eye contact with one another, the former nodded in appreciation while the latter 'saluted' him with one of her earphone jacks. "Thanks for the distraction, I guess."
"... you're welcome?" hummed Mikazuki, only to frown when he heard some inbound threats coming from behind him. Turning on a dime, Augus turned to see a trio of Faux Villains coming at them at a worrying pace, and, without thinking, he turned and grabbed onto the arm of the deactivated Three pointer before lifting it up. The Venator was surprisingly light, though considering how weak its construction material was, he reckoned that it was to be expected, and with just a bit of exertion, Mikazuki was able to throw it at its fellow Faux Villains. On impact, the flimsy aluminum outer shells of the bots folded in on themselves as they were sent flying back from the blow, and as he got up and dusted his hands off, the earphone jacked purplelette whistled, impressed.
"Damn, not bad," hummed the purplelette as she watched Mikazuki turn around to acknowledge her, and not a moment later, the Rex Tail hovered up to greet her in its own unique way, causing her to flinch a little as she stepped back, a little taken aback by its sudden appearance, though she didn't seem too wary of it as she chuckled. "Well, I'd like to stay and chat, but I can't exactly do that, now can I? Good luck, dude."
Without even waiting for a response, the punk girl ran off to find more targets, with Mikazuki remaining behind quietly all the while. What a strange person, he thought… though in all fairness, he wasn't exactly the best judge of character, especially considering his upbringing, but even so, he couldn't waste any more time just standing around, and with that, the Rex Tail wielder crouched down low before he sprung forwards, sprinting towards his next target with gusto.
"DIE!"
As it yelled this, a One Point Faux Villain closed in on Yosetsu, who grimaced as he sprinted towards it at maximum speed. One of the things he's learnt from the orphans was to never show any signs of weakness, especially when in a fight, and if you wanted to make an enemy falter, the best way to do so was to rush them head on and show them that you weren't afraid of them.
Those were words told to him by Ride Mass… and considering his track record, Yosetsu wasn't sure if he should believe him or not, but regardless, he decided to take his advice for now as he sprinted towards the One Pointer as it raised its arm up to punch him, and as it did so, Awase abruptly jolted downwards and, using his built up momentum, slid under the punch before coming to a stop behind the Victory class bot. Hastily getting up to his feet, the Welder lunged onto the mech's back before placing his hands atop its nape, with him using his Quirk to Weld his fingertips onto the surface of the metal in record time.
Training with his Quirk under the Chryse orphans has taught Yosetsu many applications for his Quirk, and experimentation has led to him learning that he was capable of doing so much more than fuse items together with it. He learnt that, with some concentration, he could directly fuse his own body to whatever he wanted to at an atomic level, and through this, he could turn his own body into a lever to forcefully rip his enemies apart.
Against humans… Yosetsu had his reservations, as he wasn't one to rip a fellow man apart. But against robots? Well, he had none, and as soon as his fingertips were Welded onto the surface of the Victory's nape, he yanked his arm backwards, and thanks to his training under the orphans, he was able to rip a portion of the Faux Villain's segmented armour off with minimal issue. Once it was off, Awase tossed the metal plate off to one side before slamming one of his fists into the now exposed wires that were on show, and with a strong pull upwards, he yanked them out and caused the mech to go haywire.
"Whoa!"
Perhaps a little too haywire…
"SYSTEMS DAMAGED! REPAIRS REQUIRED! SYSTEMS DAMAGED! REPAIRS REQUIRED! SYSTEMS-"
Without wasting even a second, the One Pointer began to roll around Battle Site F, with its arms flailing about as it did so. Yosetsu yelled out in shock as he was pulled along for the ride, though he soon realized that he could use the wires to 'steer' the Victory class bot with quite a bit of effort, and upon realizing this, he yanked the cables to the left before the bot crashed into a guy with cannons for arms, who watched as he rode the damaged mech like a clumsy cowboy.
"Damn" hummed the gun-armed examinee before going back to work, with Yosetsu continuing onwards atop the Victory class bot. It took him a moment to get his bearings back together after that near collision, though when he managed to do so, he saw that he was barreling straight towards a guy with spinning forearms who had his back turned towards him, with the aforementioned boy ripping his spinning arms out of the torso of an Imperial bot. He didn't seem to hear Awase approaching him, and in a last second decision, the Welder yelled out.
"GET DOWN!" yelled Yosetsu as his Victory class bot barreled into the scene, with him jumping off its back moments later. As he did so, the bot tripped over the destroyed remains of one of its fellow Faux Villains, causing it to go airborne all the while. The Spiral armed boy turned on a dime, with him widening his eyes when he saw the Faux Villain soaring towards him, though before he questioned it, he crouched down as quickly as he could to avoid being impacted by its large form, with him just barely managing to do so as he felt the very tip of his dark brown mop of hair brushing against the One Pointer's chassis.
Whilst the boy was saved from being put into a coma, however, the Two Pointer that was sneaking up on him was not as lucky, as the airborne Victory bot was sent crashing into it, scrapping the two of them whilst granting Yosetsu with three more points to his name. He smiled a little at this before getting up and brushing himself off, and moments later, he turned towards the guy with the spinning fists and hummed a little in apology.
"Sorry about that, I didn't mean to interrupt your killspree so abruptly," apologised Yosetsu as he glanced over at the spiral armed boy awkwardly, eliciting a shrug from him as he turned to find a few more targets to destroy, though much to his delight, instead of having to find them, they instead came to him, with five bots approaching both his and Awase's current position with malicious intent. The Welder grimaced a little at this as he looked around for a potential weapon, with him knowing that, despite the flimsy construction of this mechs, he wasn't strong enough to punch through a metal sheet, unlike Mikazuki, though as he did so, the spiral armed boy simply grinned and began rushing at the inbound Faux Villains.
Upon getting up close with his first target, a One point Victory class bot, the spiral fisted boy ducked under a punch before throwing one of his own at its waist. On impact, the spinning fist was able to rip the bot in half in one go, leaving it airborne for the briefest of moments, before it was punched by the boy's other spinning fist, drilling it directly in the chest unit and sending it flying towards a Two pointed Imperial class bot, causing it to fall to its side on impact.
Thereafter, the boy avoided a punch from a Three pointed Venator class that hit the ground beside him before using his fist to drill/punch a hole into its elbow. Said hole was large enough to destroy its elbow joint as its forearm remained embedded in the ground, even as it pulled its upper arm back, and upon noticing this, the drill fisted boy lunged at the Venator bot's severed arm and jumped off its side, dodging another punch in the process, before landing on its back, where he used his drill fist to drill into the bot's back. He only stopped once his arm was sufficiently tangled up in wires, and when that happened, he pulled his arm back and ripped out a substantial amount of wires, causing a few sparks to light up as the Venator bot went limp beneath him.
Jumping off the Three Pointer, the drill armed boy would've continued with his little spree, though before he could do so, he was stopped when he was suddenly attacked by an Imperial class bot, which jolted its stinger out at him. He was lucky to have been able to catch it before it hit him in the head, though he was still pushed back from the impact, which made him grimace a little all the while. Narrowing his eyes at the Imperial, the boy began to plan out his next course of action as he examined it closely…
… though before he could do anything to force it back, Yosetsu, out of seemingly nowhere, jumped in and made use of a sharpened plate of metal that was Welded onto his forearm to use as a blade to slice into the Imperial's stinger. The drill fisted boy's eyes widened as he watched Awase slash apart the stinger like it was nothing, though he was quick to snap out of it when he saw the Two Pointer barreling towards him, with its built up momentum from pushing forwards with its stinger forcing it to do so, and without wasting even a second, the boy fired up his Quirk and slammed his fist into the Imperial's head, drilling into it within seconds. Its internal mechanisms twisted themselves into oblivion long before the boy had ripped his arm out of its body, and once he had managed to do so, he turned towards Awase and nodded at him in appreciation.
"Thanks," hummed the boy as he offered Yosetsu a thumbs up, eliciting a grin from Awase as he flashed him a quick two fingered salute. As he did so, the opposing boy noticed how he had Welded two sizable chunks of scrap onto his forearms, scraps that had sharp edges but still potentially thick enough to act as shields if needed. He wondered if it had anything to do with his combat style, though that was something to think about in the future, he reckoned, as he heard a few more bots coming their way. "Damn…"
"Kh…" grunted Yosetsu in apparent agreement with the other's words, with him holding up his arm blades as he got ready for a small scale fight, though before either of them could even take a step towards the inbound threats, however, the duo took note of how a handful of small, rock-sized objects were thrown past their heads from behind, and moments later…
BLAM!
… said rock-sized objects suddenly increased in size by several times, revealing themselves to be various chunks of debris that had been affected by someone's Quirk. Upon reverting to their normal sizes, the thrown objects collided with the Faux Villains, destroying all of them with very little issue, and upon doing so, both Awase and the boy beside him widened their eyes to a comedic level, with the duo turning slowly to see who had done that all the while.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to steal any points from you two."
Their culprit was a girl with a bowl-styled haircut and dark, soulful eyes. Though she seemed a little neutral with her words, she did still seem genuine with them, and thanks to him having a mostly emotionless person as a best friend for the better part of two years, Awase could tell that she meant what she had said, and without pause, he waved her off with a small smile.
"It's fine. Appreciate the assist, though," smiled Yosetsu, with that comment earning him a nod from the girl as she rushed off to find more bots to take apart, leaving the two boys to their own devices all the while. Said boys remained mostly in silence for a while before the one with spinning fists chuckled and shook his head, with him grinning just a bit as he eyed Awase with a smile.
"Well, that just happened…" chuckled the boy as his fists stopped spinning, to which the Welder sighed as he nodded.
"Yeah… it did…"
Elsewhere
Smiling as he held his cup of tea up to his lips, the dog-mouse-bear-thing that most knew as the Principal of U.A, otherwise known as Nedzu, took a sip from his cup as he observed the examinees through the numerous hidden cameras dotted all around the Battle Sites.
A few of these examinees had caught his eye, with notable ones being one green haired boy in Site B with superhuman strength that allowed him to punch with incredibly force, a young man in Battle Site F with the ability to turn into a beast and a girl in Site D that could increase the size of her fists to pummel the machines into scrap. They were amongst the handful that were truly intriguing to the Principal, not because of their combat prowess, but rather due to their heroic nature.
'Neither strength nor will alone will be enough to make a true Hero,' thought Nedzu as he observed the tail end of the battle fought in Site F between a Welder, Gyrator and a Size Changer, who, whilst not working together, still actively supported one another in their endeavors, a sight that made the chimera smile happily as he drank from his cup of tea once more. 'Likewise, neither Quirk nor heart alone will be enough to grant you access into U.A. you will require a combination of both to prove yourself worthy of being one of my students…'
"WOOOOOO! GO AUGUS!"
Oh right… Nedzu had almost forgotten about his little visitor. Well, little in a metaphorical sense, anyways, as Fukukado Emi was certainly larger than he could ever be, and currently, she was one of the very few outsiders that had permission to oversee the U.A Entrance Exams. Off to the side, Sekijiro Kan, also known as the Blood Hero: Vlad King, sweatdropped at Emi's enthusiasm as he scooted away from her rather awkwardly, though on the flip side, Gunslinger Hero: Snipe found himself chuckling at her yelling as he pointed towards the screen showing Examinee 4815, who had kicked off the side of a building in order to cannonball himself into the body of a Three Pointer, ripping it apart on impact.
"That's one helluva kid you've got there, Joke," laughed Snipe as he observed Ms Joke's boy bob and weave around the area with deadly efficiency, eliminating Villain bots and earning himself both Villain and hidden Rescue points all at once. Beside him, Kurose Anan, or much better known as the Black hole Hero: Thirteen, bobbed her space helmet up and down in a somewhat awkward manner as she observed Fukukado's 'kid', as she enjoyed referring to him as, eliminate another Villain before crouching down to briefly check on another examinee that was on his back. He moved back into the fray once he confirmed that he was alright, though to see him show some heart, regardless of his current dilemma, was still enough to make Anan smile a little beneath her giant space suit.
"Fuck yeah, Snipe! WOOHOO! GO GETTEM SPORT!" cackled Emi, with her cheering more and more for her boy as he continued onwards. Thirteen and Snipe both chuckled a little at this, though by their side, Inui Ryo, or the Hunting Dog Hero: Hound Dog, found himself shaking his head at their antics before turning back to the screens before him.
"Hm, aside from that boy, therrre arrre otherrr examinees that'rrre measurrring up to U.A's standarrrds. In my opinion at least," growled Hound Dog, with him, admittedly, getting somewhat pumped up as he watched one redhead with spiked up hair bash some drones into scrap alongside a similarly spikey haired dude with steel skin. The duo marched up to a One Point Villain and slammed their fists into either side of its head, demolishing it in an instant and performing an unintentional fistbump, something that made the inner hot blooded man in Ryo act up as he grinned behind his mask. "Grrreat teamworrrk, good hearrrts and incrrredible strrrengths, with orrr without theirrr Quirrrks."
"Yeah, but I just wish that some of them could tone it down. Like, y'know, that brat," grumbled Majima Higari, head of U.A's Support Course and also more well known as the Excavation Hero: Power Loader, as he observed one explosive pomeranian blow his machines into scrap. Though the Faux Villains were made with the intention of being flimsy (they probably weighed less than your average fridge) and installed with the most basic of AI, they were still rather costly, and though U.A wasn't one to cut corners when it came to budget, Majima would've still preferred to reuse some of their leftover parts for next year's entrance exam.
"These kids mostly think with their Quirks, not their heads. Not all of them enjoy focusing on any alternative methods of ending a fight," groaned an exasperated voice over by the far corner of the room. Upon hearing this, everyone present turned to spot a man in black with a scarf around his neck leaning against the far end of the room, hands shoved into his pockets and with a bored look on his face. Aizawa Shota, or the Erasure Hero: Eraserhead, was his name… and considering how his (alleged) least favorite person in the world was here in the same room as him, he was feeling a lot grumpier than he usually was, not that anyone present really cared, the traitors…
"Well, not everyone's as logical as you, Sho~" giggled a sultry voice over by the front, and as she said this, the owner of the voice propped her legs up atop the observation room table and stretched a little, revealing herself to be the R-Rated Heroine: Midnight, or better known as Kayama Nemuri to her peers. Kayama giggled when she heard Shota groan and definitely rolled his eyes at her comment, though she said nothing else as Fukukado whined in her direction.
"Mou, Nemuri-Chan! I'm the one that's supposed to be teasing the everloving fuck out of Shota! Not you!" whined Emi playfully as she grinned at Midnight challengingly, to which the dominatrix grinned and moved to respond to said challenge, though before they could start whatever banter they had in mind, Eraserhead flared his Quirk up, immediately causing every non-mutant Quirk user present to feel the effects of Erasure, and to that, Nemuri and Emi turned their attention to him and began whining at him… in a somewhat flirtatious manner that made Shota wish he hadn't interrupted their little feud.
"... is this normal?" hummed a skeleton of a man as he sat between the Concrete Hero: Cementoss and the Duplicate Hero: Ectoplasm, both of whom shared a soft chuckle between one another as they shook their heads.
"Oh no, Yagi-San. This is the most enthusiastic this observation booth's been in years, in no small part thanks to Fukukado-San. I'm tempted to invite her back next year to keep it that way," laughed Ectoplasm, real name unknown, as he glanced back to make sure that Aizawa had not heard him. Thankfully, he did not, and he breathed a sigh of relief as Cementoss, or Ishiyama Ken, chuckled to himself, though he said nothing more on that as he turned back to observe the examinees.
"Oh, I see," hummed Yagi Toshinori, the newest addition to the U.A staff, as he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. The man's origins were mostly unknown, even after he's been training to be a teacher for the better part of a year, but Nedzu assured them that he was a trustworthy person, and by all means, their principal's word was more than enough for the members of his faculty. None of them knew that he harboured quite a massive secret, however, a secret that he would reveal to them if a certain green haired kid made it into U.A…
Speaking of, Yagi was quick to glance over at the screens before him to spot said green haired boy pummel a Venator bot into scrap in order to rescue another examinee from it. The corners of his mouth inched upwards at the sight, though he said nothing of it as Nedzu picked up his phone and spoke briefly to another member of his school.
"Is something wrong, Nedzu?" hummed Toshinori, to which the mouse-bear-dog-thing chuckled.
"Oh no, Yagi-San. Far from it, really. The Recommended Exams have just concluded, and Wei-San phoned in to inform me of it," stated Nedzu, with him grinning as he spoke. Yagi nodded at this, with him acknowledging how the Recommended and Public Entrance Exams took place at just about the same time, and half of the faculty would be overseeing the former while the other half oversaw the latter. Nedzu himself used to oversee the Recommended Exams personally, though after a few… mergers and business deals came through, the mammal of indeterminable species ended up finding some others who were more than qualified to oversee the Recommended Exams.
And, apparently, Nedzu just found the Recommended Exams to be boring. Don't get him wrong, he knew that they were just as important as the Public Entrance Exams, but even so… he still found more entertainment in watching the examinees squirm around the various Battle Sites as opposed to the more organised nature of the Recommended Exam. There was beauty in chaos, and with Nedzu being who he was, he adored chaos over order.
"Oh! I see! I hear that Enji's son is going to be taking the Recommended Exam!" stated Yagi, with him smiling fondly as he acknowledged how the son of Flaming Hero: Endeavor, AKA Todoroki Enji, was on the namelist for the Recommended Exam slot, and to this, Nedzu nodded.
"According to the results that are coming in now, Todoroki Shoto is the most qualified to be a part of U.A, not that I've doubted him in any way," hummed Nedzu, with him checking his comically oversized phone as he spoke. Peering over his shoulder with minimal effort, Toshinori could also see other names, such as Yaororozu Momo, Honenki Juzo and Tokage Setsuna present on the list of qualified examinees, among a few others, though he couldn't read much more before the device was shut off, and once it was, he chuckled and turned towards Yagi with a grin. "But that aside, you do remember that you too have one last exam to take, yes?"
"Ah… right," hummed Toshinori awkwardly as he scratched his chin, with him remembering how he had to balance his lessons for becoming a teacher, training a personal student of his and his… day job together over the course of the past year-plus. It wasn't easy, but as with the Heroes in this room, Yagi had gone Plus Ultra in doing all three of these things, and though he wasn't the best when it came to being a Hero teacher, he was confident in his ability to pass the final exam that Nedzu had for him.
He had to do this, for the sake of his personal pupil and for the sake of the legacy he carried with him!
"Oh my."
A mild hum from Cementoss caught Toshinori's attention, with him turning towards the aforementioned concrete Hero as he eyed him curiously. Said Hero was staring out at a specific screen as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully, and after following his gaze, the blonde skeleton saw what got him on edge. Two examinees were on screen, namely Examinees 1525 and 6668, with the two of them having rushed into a multi-storey car park after one of them had seen a fellow examinee injured within it. Once inside, however, they realized that they had been ambushed by the Villain bots, who emerged from the shadows within the structure to corner them off, and as for the apparently injured student, it turned out to just be a chunk of debris that, when illuminated at the right angle by the sunlight, resembled an unconscious body.
Seizing up on instinct, Toshinori winced as he surveyed the sight uncertainly. Examinee 6668 was the more combat oriented examinee of the two, with him making use of a belt around his waist to fire upon the surrounding Villain bots, though the recoil from his naval laser seemed to be taking a toll on him as his shots came out less and less, and as for 1525, her Quirk didn't see to be working all that well, much to the Hero's dismay as they watched her back into a corner. Yagi couldn't help but grimace as his instincts told him to rush in to help, though a hand… paw set itself down atop his own, stopping him before he ruined the exam.
"Calm yourself, Yagi-San. These machines were designed to inflict minimal harm to the examinees. They will show restraint," stated Nedzu, though he too sounded a little on edge as he spoke. Toshinori had half a mind to just charge in on his own, consequences be damned, but still… he restrained himself and nodded. "This portion of the exam is to show us that they can adapt properly to a combat-heavy environment. If they succeed, then we will know that they are worthy of being a part of U.A."
"...I'll hold you to that, Nedzu-San. I-" muttered Toshinori, only to pause when a sudden noise came through on the speakers of the observation room. The Heroes present all flinched when they heard this, though they realized that said noise was coming from the camera viewing Examinees 6668 and 1525, and upon hearing this, everyone curious turned back towards the screen displaying the lot of them and saw that a new examinee, Examinee 5034, had entered the fray to assist. Yagi ended up smiling a little when he saw the earphone jacked girl slide under the arm of a Venator bot before stabbing it with one of her jacks, and moments later, she used her Quirk to send a powerful shockwave through it, destroying it from the inside out.
Thereafter, 5034 jumped backwards and joined 6668 and 1525 near the center of the abandoned multi-storey car park, where they began backing away before they could be surrounded. Her earphone jacks were poised to strike at any given second as 6668's naval laser stood at the ready, regardless of his physical state, though as for 1525, she seemed to shrink down a little as her Quirk held very little combat effectiveness at the moment, and likewise, she didn't have any basic combat training, so she was effectively useless at the moment.
A quick exchange was made between the three, one that wasn't caught by the camera's audio functions, before the surrounding bots closed in on them. 5034 used her earphone jacks to stun it before 6668 blasted a hole into its side with his naval laser, though not long after, an Imperial bot attempted to stab its stinger down onto 1525, who yelped and jumped back, swinging her arm out at it on instinct. As she did so, some… spores were released from the tips of her fingers, and upon making contact with the bot… nothing happened, prompting her to wince in disappointment.
Moments later, however, 6668 used his naval laser to blast the bot into slag, and upon doing so, the heat from the melted scrapile caused the spores to grow at a rapid pace, causing mushrooms to sprout on its surface all the while. 1525 didn't seem too happy about that, though she said nothing about it as the other two examinees continued to hold back the machine advancement to little avail.
Whilst recuperating from the recoil of his naval laser, 6668 was almost taken down by a Victory class bot that attempted to punch him, only for 1525 to tackle him out of the way. The duo landed awkwardly on the ground… where a Venator class bot awaited them with its arm raised. Toshinori, as with the two examinees, widened his eyes as he watched it get ready to bring its arm down onto the two, though before it could do so…
SHNK!
… a tail blade swiped across its elbow joint, severing it almost completely, before a newly arrived examinee, one that their guest was very familiar with, jumped into the fray. Landing at the center of the group, he crouched down low and issued a quick order to the others around him, and after Examinee 5034 got down to the ground, the newly arrived examinee, Examinee 4815, spun around on a dime and used his Rex Tail to either slice the surrounding bots in half or knock them back from the aftershock.
And as he did so, Fukukado Emi jumped forwards, leaning towards the screen in excitement as she grabbed onto Toshinori's shoulder and the top of Nedzu's head for support, with the former seeming shocked at her sudden appearance while the latter didn't seem to mind as he made a cartoonish squeak sound upon being compressed.
"LET'S FUCKING GO! ALRIGHT AUGUS-KUN! SHOW THEM WHAT THE FUCK YOU CAN DO!"
Ms Joke is really getting riled up!
This, we begin the Entrance Exam arc! This one... was absurdly short in the original draft but as per tradition, I've beefed it up to be more entertaining. I hope you guys enjoy it! Also, funnily enough in the original draft, this used to be chapter 5!
That aside, expect Iron Blooded Heroes to be updated more frequently for a bit. Tekketsu No Kyojin is being put on ice for a while, though my other, smaller stories will be updated in the meanwhile alongside this. Same applies for my AO3 reposts of TNK and IBH.
Review replies!
wd12091111: personally speaking, I wouldn't bet on it, but it's a nice thought to have.
Roktoof: ... didn't I reveal it in chapter 10?
Spyro Fanboy: heh. Funny how in the original draft, this came in at chapter 5...
ANMBI: know what, I'll address this after this portion.
Lanser: I'm glad you like it!
Aphem...
The artist to the story's cover is known as Fujimoto Hideaki. That is all.
I hope ya'll like NSFW yaoi art cos that's what they specialise in.
Till next time.