"Thirty-four… Thirty-six… Thirty-nine… Forty-two…"
Huffing as he counted off the points he now had as a whole, Mikazuki grimaced as he ducked under a punch from a Victory class bot and grabbed onto its arm. Thereafter, using all the strength he had in his upper body, he lifted it over his head and slammed it into the ground before pulling on its arm unit, ripping it off in the process.
Upon ripping it off, Augus turned behind himself and swung the severed arm at another Victory bot, demolishing it, before tossing it at an Imperial bot, impaling it on the arm of the Victory. As he did so, the Rex Tail swung itself up and stabbed itself down onto the neck unit of the Victory bot that Augus had torn the arm from, and after a few moments, the mech went still, allowing the boy to rip his tail out of its chassis all the while.
"Forty-six…" hummed Mikazuki as he took a moment to lean over and breathe in deeply. Though some might consider Augus to be the peak of human physique, for his age anyways, the Rex Tail wielder was still very much human, and like all humans, he had his limits. He probably wasn't too accurate with the timing, but the boy still knew that he had been fighting tirelessly for the past six minutes without pause, and for as well rounded as he was, six minutes of non-stop action would make even the strongest of Heroes give out in an instant.
Turning to his side, Mikazuki found himself frowning a little when he saw his reflection shining off the dented metal plating of a destroyed Faux Villain. He looked exhausted, and his breathing was stiff and erratic, and the blue of his eyes were starting to bleed into red, all of which didn't bode well with Augus as he forced himself up to his feet and held a hand up to his chest. Focusing himself, the young boy took in a deep breath, breathing in deeply all the while, and closed his eyes to focus. Holding his breath for the briefest of moments, the Rex Tail wielder began to feel his heartbeat slowing down by a little as he exhaled sharply, and he repeated this twice before reopening his eyes once more, and once he did so, the red in his gaze dissipated, allowing the blue in his irises to reappear all the while.
"Hrg…" groaned Mikazuki as he shook his head and turned to find another bot to destroy. No point in wasting any more time than he has already, he reckoned, though before he could do such a thing, the Rex Tail wielder turned to see a sudden burst of… sparkly light erupting from what seemed to be a replica multi-storey car park. Humming slightly to himself, the boy contemplated investigating, though he paused, with him knowing that it might not have been worth it.
'I only have four minutes left. It's best to just-' thought Mikazuki, with him pausing briefly when he saw a somewhat familiar purpelette rushing towards the structure. Frowning a little at this, the Rex Tail wielder took note of how hastily she was moving, and before long, she disappeared into its entrance, prompting his frown to deepen a little as he turned back towards the car park with a newfound sense of curiosity.
'Something seems to be going on in there…' thought Mikazuki, with him frowning as he contemplated investigating once more, though as he took a step towards the car park, he heard a commotion in the background, prompting him to turn around to spot a few Villain bots not too far behind him being systematically torn to shreds by his fellow examinees. If he just ignored the car park, he could very easily go on and earn himself a few points… but even so… was it right for him to ignore his gutly instincts? 'What do I do… what should I do…? What would Orga do…? What would Yosetsu do…?
'What would… what would a Hero do…?'
Jiro Kyoka didn't consider herself the bravest, nor did she consider herself the most physically fit person attending this physical exam… but even so, when the punk rocker had heard the desperate groans and horrified mumblings of her fellow examinees within a nearby car park, more so thanks to her Quirk's auditory enhancing side, she had wasted no time in rushing into the fray to provide them with some support.
Skidding around a corner, she just barely caught a glimpse of a vaguely familiar black haired kid before she rushed into the multi-storey car park entrance. No time to dwell on her fellow examinees, she reckoned, with her sprinting into the building and spotting a pair of fellow examinees cornered by various Faux Villains. In total, there were probably eleven of them present, which baffled her as she rushed in to take down at least one of them without being seen.
"PERISH, HERO!" yelled a Venator bot as it raised its arm up to strike at a girl with a haircut that resembled a mushroom, though before it could be brought down onto her, Kyoka leaned down and, thanks to her momentum, slid beneath the Three Pointer's arm, before she came to a stop in front of it and jabbed its head unit with both of her Earphone Jacks. The metal tips of her jacks managed to pierce the flimsy aluminum armour of the mech with relative easy, and upon doing so, Jiro sent a wave of her own heartbeat through it, with the sudden burst of sound rattling the mech up and causing it to shake itself apart.
As it crumbled to pieces, Jiro awkwardly flipped herself back up to her feet and assumed a somewhat clumsy battle stance, and as she did so, an Imperial class bot scuttled up to her and attempted to take her down from behind, only to be blasted apart by another examinee's Quirk. Turning towards him, Jiro nodded in thanks before she grouped up with the other two, who stood back to back with her as they remained on the defensive.
"Merci, Mademoiselle. We were struggling rather badly against these l'automate," thanked the one that was able to fire the sparkly laser from his belly, with the mushroom haired girl nodding in agreement as she attempted to look strong despite her nervousness. To this, the punk rock girl simply nodded, with her clenching and unclenching her fists nervously as she looked between the bots around them.
"Yeah, well, I don't think we can hold out for too long either… you two got any names or Quirks I can work with?" asked Kyoka, with her pointing her jacks at a Venator that got too close, prompting it to back away moments later, knowing what she could do with them. "Name's Jiro, Jiro Kyoka. My Earphone Jacks let me hear better and transfer my heartbeat through them. I can rattle these punks apart… but just one at a time."
"Aoyama Yuuga, Mademoiselle Jiro. My Naval Laser fires a magnifique laser from by belly button, but répété use harms me as much as our adversaires," stated the blonde, sparkly kid, Aoyama Yuuga, as he turned towards a bot and flared up his Naval Laser, prompting it to lean away from the shot as it knew that it could be seriously damaged or even outright demolished in a single shot. Kyoka nodded at this, with her acknowledging his accent and his use of French words. Must be a transfer student… and memes about his country aside, he seemed to be the most useful of the lot thus far.
"I… uh… I-I'm Komori Kinoko… and… you won't really find my Quirk to be useful right now…?" hummed the mushroom looking girl, Komori Kinoko, as she stepped away from a bot that was drawing close to her. Glancing down at Kinoko, Kyoka opened her mouth to ask why she thought that way, though before she could do so, a Venator bot skidded forwards, over at Komori, to exploit the obvious weak link in their team. Gasping at this, Aoyama seized the mushroom girl by the shoulders and pulled her out of the way as Jiro lunged out of its path.
Whilst Yuuga and Kinoko were able to land relatively safely, Kyoka ended up landing in front of an Imperial class bot, which brought its stinger down onto her. Grimacing at this, the punk rocker rolled to one side before jamming her jacks between the segmented armour plates of the unit's stinger. Her heartbeat promptly blasted through it, though due to the placement of the stinger, it only destroyed the stinger itself rather than the whole robot, causing it to recoil all the while.
As it did so, Jiro flipped herself back up to her feet and jumped backwards on instinct to avoid being flattened by a Venator's fist. Grimacing at this, she made an attempt to jab it with her jacks, though before she could do so, Aoyama blasted it away for her, prompting her to glance over at him and see that he was striking a pose as he fired, even if his lips were quivering ever so slightly.
"Take care, Mademoiselle Jiro! I shall provide couvrir le feu!" yelled Yuuga as he kept his smile up, even if his knees were somewhat quivering, and as he said this, he blasted another bot into scrap, saving Kyoka once more as she flinched from the sudden shot and grinned.
"I appreciate it, Aoyama-Kun!" smoked Jiro as she continued onwards and rattled these bots to oblivion. As the seconds ticked by, however, it became abundantly clear that the downsides to Yuuga's Naval Laser were rearing their ugly heads, and after several repeated shots in support of Kyoka, the Frenchman doubled over and grabbed onto his stomach in pain.
"Oh Merde," moaned Aoyama as he doubled over in pain, though as he did so, he was pushed forwards by Kinoko as a sizable stinger slammed down onto the spot he was once standing at. Yuuga recovered relatively quickly as he got up and saw that Komori was scammering away as the Imperial scum that had attempted to strike him down closed in on her. As it swung its stinger at her once more, Kinoko awkwardly jumped to one side to avoid the strike, though as she did so, she swung her arm out and tossed a few tiny spores directed at the Two Pointer. Moments later, she landed in an awkward tumble that really looked and sounded like it hurt, though before much else could happen to her, Yuuga sprung up to his feet and, in spite of the pain in his stomach, fired a blast at the Imperial bot, destroying it all the while. "Merci, mademoiselle Komori."
"N-No problem, Aoyama-Kun!" responded Kinoki awkwardly as she got up, though as she did so, Yuuga noticed how some form of fungi was growing atop the destroyed chassis of the Two Pointer, with said fungi seemingly gathered the most around the entry point of his Naval Laser. How interesting…
Intrigue aside, Jiro ended up backing into her temporary comrades as she wobbled a little on her feet, prompting Yuuga to catch her before she fell.
"M-Mademoiselle! Are you well?" inquired Aoyama, worried as Jiro pushed herself off him and nodded, though he didn't really believe her as he saw how her ears seemed to be bleeding, a sight that made both him and Komori gasp as she wiped the blood off them.
"Quirk overuse… I was told I'd bleed a little because of it, but… t-this is the first time it's happened… don't worry, I can keep going…" assured Kyoka, with her giving Yuuga and Kinoko a quick thumbs up as she spoke, though Aoyama didn't wish to believe her as he grimaced and passed her onto Kinoko.
"Mademoiselle, I respect your ambition to go Plus Ultra, but I will not allow you to permanently injure yourself!" protested Aoyama, with him stepping forward and holding his stomach belt tightly, and moments later, he fired another blast from his Naval Cannon. The blast hit a Victory class bot dead in the head, causing it to collapse while Yuuga himself doubled over in pain. "Merde!"
And yet… in spite of his pain, Aoyama Yuuga still held strong, with him forcing himself up to fire shot after shot to keep the bots at bay. Deep down, he knew that doing this would only bring him more harm than good, but even so, more so than anything else in the world, he wanted to be a Hero, and though his circumstances were… less than ideal, he still had to persevere… for his family… for his future, and to do just that, he had to go PLUS ULTRA and fight with all he had!
"Kh… this damn idiot…" grumbled Kyoka as she watched Yuuga effectively kill himself to fight these mechanical monsters back. Emboldened by his display of courage, the Earphone Jack wielder took a step forward and readied her jacks, and when the blonde doubled over in pain, Kyoka vaulted over him and slammed her foot into the arm of an encroaching Victory bot, redirecting its attack, before worming her Jacks beneath its armour and sending a pulse through its chassis, rattling it apart and forcing it back all the while. Thereafter, she moved to hoist Aoyama's arm over her back and carried him away from the action. "You damn idiot…!"
"Merci, Mademoiselle Jiro. My Naval Laser can only do so much against so many… perhaps you could leave me behind as bait, no? I can… hold them back for just a while longer…" suggested Aoyama weakly, with him flashing the smallest of smiles, even in his weakest moment, to which Kyoka grimaced and smacked him over the head. "Aie! What was that for, Mademoiselle?!"
"A Hero never leaves anyone behind, Aoyama-Kun. Ne-"
And before Jiro could even finish that statement, the blonde Frenchman gasped and shoved her to one side, just in time to force them apart before a massive mechanical arm came down onto where they once were. Whilst Jiro stumbled from the unexpected motion, the blonde was able to remain on his feet before he fired his Naval Laser at the attacking Faux Villain, though due to his weakened bowels, the boy wasn't able to fire anything powerful at his target, and instead of obliterating the Venator class bot, he instead melted its arm with the piddly blast from his belly button, prompting him to gulp a little as he watched the opposing machine lower its slagged arm down to glare at the blonde with its lifeless green optics.
"... oh," hummed Aoyama, almost comically as he jumped backwards to avoid being crushed by another strike from the bot, and moments later, it attempted to lash out at him with its melted arm, though before this arm could come down onto him, the Naval Laser wielder was tackled to one side by the third member of their little team team, Komori Kinoko, causing them to fall to the ground moments later.
As Yuuga fell to one side, Kinoko managed to fling a few spores at the slagged arm, and upon making contact with it, the high temperature of the melted arm allowed the spores to grow at an alarming rate. The mushroom girl smiled a little as she watched the fungi, Talaromyces flavus, eat away at the metal of the machine, and within moments, it ate away at something important, as the Venator bot fell onto the ground, offline, causing her grin to widen substantially.
Before she could dwell too much about her minor victory over the Three Pointer, however, another Venator class bot rolled up to her and Aoyama in an attempt to crush them beneath its fist. Widening their eyes at this, both Yuuga and Kinoko attempted to move out of the way as they watched the unit raise its arm to strike them down, though before it could do so…
SHNK!
The arm found itself completely severed when a Tail Blade passed through it, effectively disarming it as it did so. Both Aoyama, Komori and even Jiro off to the side felt their mouths dropping when they watched the severed arm fall to the ground in a loud thud, though before it could even hit the ground, the Venator class bot was kicked from behind, forcing it forwards all the while. Both Kinoko and Yuuga gasped as they scampered out of its way, with the mech hitting the spot they once laid on moments later, and as soon as it impacted the ground… they saw who their savior was, with him crouching atop the chassis of the twitching Three Pointer, with most of his body obscured by smoke.
And before they could even say anything to him, they watched as their newcomer crouched down low atop the damaged Venator and breathed in and out deeply… and moments later…
"Duck."
Kyoka Jiro widened her eyes when she heard this, and immediately, she fell onto her hands and knees when she saw the newcomer jump into the air, spinning violently as he did so, and as this happened, his Tail Blade was swung at an incredibly wide, circular arc, striking at the Faux Villains that were surrounding them all the while. Those that were hit by the blade of the tail were either damaged or outright destroyed, and as for those that were out of range, they were knocked back by either the aftershock of the impact or their fellow bots falling back onto them.
After performing that maneuver, and after causing the jaws of everyone present to drop in shock, the newcomer landed back on the Venator's back and slammed his fist into its lower back, and after wrapping his fingers around something, he ripped out the Venator bot's entire spinal column, causing oil and various other lubricants to spill out onto the ground as the seconds ticked by, and moments later, he discarded it like it was nothing and jumped off the Venator's destroyed body.
"Are you all okay?" asked the newcomer, with him remaining mostly neutral as he joined the group of three, eliciting a nod from everyone present, even Aoyama, as they got up to meet him. Kyoka herself felt her eyes observing the newcomer briefly, with her humming to herself all the while.
"You're that guy from before, huh?" hummed Jiro rhetorically, eliciting a nod from the newcomer as his tail crooned in acknowledgement.
"Ah. And you're that girl. The purple one," echoed the Tail user, who remained as emotionless as he ever was as he spoke. Jiro raised a brow at this statement, with her shrugging as she reckoned that being called 'the purple one' wasn't the worst thing to be called, though she didn't dwell too much on that as Aoyama and Komori moved in to thank the guy for his assistance.
"Merci, Monsieur. Merci. Mademoiselle Komori and I would have been done for had you not saved us," thanked Aoyama, with his smile and his words sounding very much genuine as he bowed his head at the newly arrived examinee, who simply grunted as he focused on the machines surrounding them, with him practically daring them to come closer as his irises darted from mech to mech. Their primitive AI seemed to at least acknowledge that he was a major threat, however, as they kept their distance from him, much to the group's relief as they moved to gather around their new ace.
"Hmph. It was nothing," hummed the newcomer earnestly, to which the three mostly nodded in affirmation. Komori, however, grimaced as she helped Aoyama stand as she used her own body to prop him up, catching the newcomer's eye as he glanced back at him, seemingly worried. "Are you okay?"
"I am fine, Monsieur. Better than I would have been without your help," assured Aoyama awkwardly as he struggled to stay on his feet. The newcomer chose not to comment on this as he nodded, turning back towards the machines surrounding them all the while. "Monsieur, have you a name?"
"Hm? Oh, Augus. Augus Mikazuki," responded the boy, Mikazuki, quickly as he glanced back at Yuuga, prompting the trio to nod in acknowledgement. That name was simple enough to remember, they reckoned, with Kyoka herself finding it bemusing how half of it was the same as her mother's, though remembering it was likely the least of their worries at the moment as, right as he introduced himself, a Victory class bot got in close and attempted to strike at him while his back was turned.
"Kh!" scoffed Kyoka as she sprung her Jacks into action, though before they could even reach the One Pointer, she widened her eyes when Mikazuki straightened his body and shifted away from the punch, which hit the ground where he once stood with enough force to crack the concrete. Thereafter, he hammered the Victory bot in the face with his elbow whilst sending his Rex Tail spiraling towards its chest, where it impaled it with minimal difficulty before pushing itself upwards, slicing the machine in half lengthways. "... damn."
The surprise that came with watching Augus deal with a Faux Villain so quickly was short lived, as him decimating that Victory bot so easily had caused the remaining mechanoids to spring forwards. Whilst Mikazuki himself shoved the Victory bot he had killed backwards, pushing it into an Imperial class bot and disorientating it long enough to be impaled by his Rex Tail, Kyoka found herself ducking as another Two Pointer swung its arm over her head, and as she remained down, she shot her Jacks up and jammed them into the inner frame of her target, blasting it apart with her heartbeat and causing it to stiffen before going still.
In the background, Aoyama flinched away from a hit before firing his Naval Laser at a Venator. Though it was powerful, the French examinee was still recovering from overusing his Quirk, and as such, the blast wasn't particularly powerful, as evident by how it only managed to blow off the Venator's arm, though as the slagged arm unit lowered itself, Komori stepped forward and flung a fistful of spores at it, and in an instant, thanks to the high temperature of the melted arm, the spores grew into metal-consuming fungi that disintegrated the Three Pointer within moments.
"Bien fait, Mademoiselle Komori!" praised Aoyama as the Venator fell onto its side, only to be interrupted when an Imperial attempted to strike at them with its stinger. The duo separated as the stinger crashed down between them, and moments later, the Imperial's optic turned to face Kinoko as it reared its stinger up for another go, though right as it swung it forwards, the Rex Tail burst out from behind Komori and met the Imperial's stinger head on. The tips of both the Tail Blade and the stinger made contact in an instant, and without pause, the former ripped into the latter with ruthless ease, and within seconds, the Two Pointer's stinger was taken out of commission.
At the same time, Mikazuki himself jumped in after his tail, with him striking the Imperial over the head with his gauntleted fist, disorientating it briefly, before he jammed his fingers into the back of its neck. His fingers worked their way around the wires that were hidden behind the unit's head before gripping onto them tightly, and moments later, the Rex Tail wielder yanked his arm back, ripping out a massive chunk of circuitry that caused the Imperial bot to short out before going offline, much to Kinoko's relief.
"You okay?" hummed Mikazuki noncommittally as he watched Komori get up, with her wincing as she did so.
"Shroomtastic…" grumbled Komori as she moved to stand back-to-back with Mikazuki, who didn't acknowledge the mushroom pun as he did so. He did take notice of how there were mushrooms growing on the Venator class bot that both she and Aoyama had destroyed moments prior, however, and upon seeing it, he gently nudged Kinoko to get her attention.
"Did you do that?" asked Mikazuki, worryingly calm despite the situation, as he pointed towards the fungi-covered Faux Villain, eliciting a hum of self-appraisal from Komori as she nodded at him, and at that, Augus eyed his surroundings warily. "Your Quirk… it makes mushrooms?"
"Fungi, to be exact. I-I can create spores that… grow on anything. The h-hotter it is, the faster i-it grows…" explained Komori, with her words catching Mikazuki's attention as she spoke. Her Quirk worked better in humid areas, huh…?
Glancing at his surroundings attentively, Mikazuki narrowed his eyes when he realized that the multi-storey car park's concrete walls, floor and ceiling made for excellent heat traps, and if a fire were to start, they would have more than enough heat to exploit Kinoko's Quirk in more ways than one. The only real question now was how they were to start a blaze in the first place… though that question seemed to resolve itself when Augus' eyes abruptly landed onto Aoyama, who had moved to avoid being struck down by an Imperial bot before blasting its head at point blank range with his Naval Laser, destroying it and melting the mech's head unit into slag all the while.
"... how many spores can you make within a few seconds?" asked Mikazuki cryptically, to which Komori winced as Mikazuki caught an Imperial's stinger with both his arms as it attempted to strike him with it. Even the bot appeared surprised by this as it attempted to pull back on its caught limb, though before it could do so, Mika pulled on it and lifted the machine into the air and slammed it onto the ground behind him. Thereafter, he turned towards Jiro's general location and flung the Imperial bot at a Venator that was sneaking up on the tired Earphone Jack user, demolishing it on impact and causing Kyoka to stiffen all the while.
"W-Well, I've never tested for any of my limits, so for now the answer i-is indefinite!" stated Kinoko stiffly as she jumped back to avoid an inbound Victory bot, which missed its punch, only for its arm unit to be caught by Mika and broken off at the shoulder when the Rex Tail stabbed into it, wrecking the joint to the point where he could rip it off with minimal issue and allowing him to beat the unit down with its own arm. "Why are you asking?!"
"Because you're the one that's going to help us get out of here."
"Oof! Merde!"
Yelling a little as he twisted out of the way of a Venator bot's attack, Aoyama winced as the strike came just a tiny bit too close for his liking, with its fist crashing down beside him as he bounced away from it. Narrowing his eyes at this, Yuuga readied his Naval Laser for firing as he aimed his belly button at the opposing Faux Villain, though, much to his relief, before he could fire, Kyoka butted in and jammed her Jacks into its inner frame, with her using her Quirk to rattle the machine apart all the while.
As the Venator fell to the ground, Jiro retracted her Jacks and moved to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Yuuga. The girl seemed exhausted, both physically and mentally, as she huffed in and out deeply, her shoulders rising and falling sharply in sync with her breathing. Aoyama couldn't help but feel just a tiny bit remorseful for her as he moved to nudge her elbow, a sign to her that she would be alright, though she barely acknowledged it as she grimaced and held her Jacks up in a combat-ready manner.
"So, you ready for round two, Aoyama-Kun?" groaned Kyoka, with her keeping herself in character as she huffed and puffed in exhaustion. Eyeing her warily, Yuuga could tell that the strain was taking its toll on Jiro, as evident by how her knees were shaking and how ragged her breathing was becoming, but even so, she held strong as she remained defiant, eliciting a frown from him as he grimaced and responded.
"No, but we do not seem to have a choice, mademoiselle," lamented Aoyama as he held his stomach. The consecutive blasting had gotten to him hard, and he feared that if he shot any more with his Quirk, he might end up permanently damaging his bowels, though if it meant that his allies got out safely, he'd gladly let that happen.
"What I don't get, though, is why these bots are so hostile… isn't this meant to be an exam?" groaned Kyoka, to which Aoyama scoffed.
"Perhaps, but we must remember this is U.A, the le plus magnifique Hero school in Japan! They will surely push us to our limits!" reminded Aoyama, eliciting a groan from Kyoka as she turned to see a Victory bot roll towards her and slam its arm down at them. With a grimace, she pushed Yuuga to the side, causing him to stumble, while she herself dodged the hit, and moments later, she regained her footing and shot her jacks out at the mech.
As she did so, however, the Victory bot brought its other arm down onto her… only for said limb to be intercepted when Mikazuki lunged forwards and kicked it out of the air. The momentum behind his attack had caused the entire arm to be demolished on impact, though Kyoka didn't let this distract her from jamming her Jacks into the machine's chassis and sending a wave of her frantic heartbeat into it, demolishing it from the inside out in record time.
"Aoya, I need your help," stated Mikazuki, with him using a foreshortened version of Yuuga's family name as he addressed him. Whether or not he found it offensive was up for debate, as the Frenchman simply turned to look Augus in the eye. Kyoka did the same, and when she did so, she saw that Mika was holding Komori in his gauntleted left arm, underslung, something that looked incredibly weird, though he released her within moments as he continued. "I want you to melt as many of these Faux Villains as possible."
"Mon Dieu… I'm afraid I cannot do that, Monsieur Augus. My Naval Laser has reached its limit…" apologised Aoyama, eliciting a grimace from the Rex Tail wielder as he turned and sliced a Victory bot in half.
"If that's the case, then why are you even here? If you want to be a Hero, then you're expected to go beyond your limits. If you won't, then you don't deserve to even be a part of this exam," groaned Mikazuki, with him finding the very notion of not going beyond your preconceived limits to be ridiculous. Both he and Yosetsu had pushed themselves to their limits and beyond whilst training for the U.A Entrance Exam, and he expected the other applicants of this exam to have done the same as well.
For his part, Yuuga seemed rather unsure on how he should answer Mikazuki's words as he recoiled a fair bit under his gaze, with Kyoka feeling a little bad for him as she opened her mouth to defend her fellow examinee, though before she could do so, a Two Pointer interrupted them by attempting to land atop the group of four and pin them beneath its body. Thankfully enough, the examinees were able to get out of the way before that could happen, and upon recovering from that sudden dodge, Mikazuki swung his Rex Tail at it in an upwards arc, carving a trail into the concrete beneath him before the Tail Blade made contact with the Imperial bot, slicing it in half.
Thereafter, Komori yelped and ducked under a swing from a Venator, only to try and punch it moments later. Her fist impacted its face with the effectiveness of a wet noodle, with her pulling her arm back moments later and shaking it in pain. That… really hurt, and the Three Pointer took note of this as it laughed mechanically… only to be silenced when Mikazuki's fist punched a hole into its head unit, obliterating it in one go.
Meanwhile, Kyoka evaded a strike from a Two Pointer before working her Jacks underneath its armour. Jamming its metal tip into a joint in its neck, Jiro sent a wave of her heartbeat through its metal mainframe, with the blast causing its neck joint to literally shake itself apart, causing it to fall to the ground moments later. Thereafter, she turned to spot a Three Pointer readying a strike at her, though before it could do so, Mikazuki jumped high up and landed on its back, with him grabbing onto the back of its head and forcing it to look upwards, exposing the inner frame of its neck all the while.
"Hurry up!" grumbled Mikazuki as he stayed out of reach of the Venator's arms whilst pulling its head back. From where she stood, Jiro could've sworn that something about Mika's eyes seemed… different, though she thought very little of this as, with a firm nod, Kyoka shot her Jacks out and stabbed them into the Three Pointer's exposed neck, and after sending a concentrated burst of her heartbeat through it, it promptly combusted, allowing Mika to pull its head off its shoulders and throw it at a Victory bot with enough force to bring it down. Silently, Jiro did thank Augus for doing her a favour right there, but she did still wonder if those three points would go to him or her, though she didn't dwell too much on that for now as she turned towards her next target with an annoyed look on her face.
Behind them, Aoyama felt himself growing rather… frustrated as he watched Jiro and Augus push the machines back. Amidst the four of them, Yuuga knew that his Quirk was no doubt the most destructive, but even so… its drawback forced him to take a less active role in destroying these machines, and the guilt ate away at him like there was no tomorrow.
"Plus Ultra…"
Mikazuki severed the head of a Two Pointer with his Tail before kicking it towards a Victory class bot, knocking it off balance and causing it to veer wildly out of control before it could hit Komori, much to her relief.
"Plus Ultra…!"
Ducking under an attack from a Victory bot, Kyoka jammed her Jacks beneath its arm and blew it off with a blast from her heartbeat. The arm flew up into the air and would've impacted the ground next to Aoyama were it not for the Rex Tail, which impaled the severed limb mid-fall and flung it at another Victory bot, impaling it on the arm of its fellow Faux Villain all the while.
"Plus Ultra…!"
Despite his shaky feet, Aoyama grimaced and steadied himself to the best of his ability before taking in a deep breath. Glancing down at the belt around his stomach, the blonde Frenchman grit his teeth and poured as much of his strength into activating his Quirk to its fullest, and though it had hurt like a proper bitch, Yuuga ignored it to the best of his ability and yelled out in a mixture of pain, anger, self-hatred and courage.
"Go Beyond… PLUS ULTRA!"
And with that yell, Aoyama Yuuga felt his stomach churn as he twirled around in a suitably fabulous manner, allowing several sparkles to engulf his body all the while. As he did this, his Naval Laser powered up, with it leaving behind a trail of light as it did so, and moments later, Mikazuki grabbed onto Kinoko and yanked her down whilst his Rex Tail moved to trip Kyoka, causing her to land on her back.
"HEY-" yelled Jiro as she landed on her rear, though right as she did so, she gasped as the Rex Tail set itself down atop her chest, pinning her down, and moments later, Yuuga's Naval Laser blasted overhead, passing by where her torso used to be all the while. Widening her eyes at this, she glanced back and saw Aoyama pushing himself past his limits in order to blast his opponents with his Quirk, with him keeping the Beam sustained on the Faux Villains for as long as humanly possible.
The Sparkle Beam burnt so bright that, upon making contact with the Faux Villains, they were turned into slag, and after roughly three seconds of sustained fire, a good majority of the Faux Villains were destroyed, turned into molten metal that sparkled rather beautifully.
"Mushroom, your spores!" yelled Mikazuki as he got up to one knee, and upon hearing this, Kinoko widened her eyes and nodded quickly, with her tossing several of her Quirked spores at the melted heaps of metal. Two handfuls were thrown without pause, and upon landing atop the slagged metal, the spores began to grow rapidly, turning into a particular breed of fungus that ate through metal with significant ease. The heat from the melted mechs had made the multi-storey car park's lowest level incredibly humid, causing the spores to grow at a worrying rate, though much to everyone's relief, the spores did not grow on any of them, prompting Komori to fistpump enthusiastically as she grinned at her comrades.
"That should handle it!" yelled the mushroom themed girl enthusiastically as her spores matured and multiplied at a worrying rate, with everyone present watching as the fungi growing on the slagged Faux Villains grew to maturity within seconds and began spreading spores of their own, with the new batch clinging onto even more Faux Villains upon maturing, and thanks to the humidity of the general area, they matured at a dangerous rate as well, so much so that within moments, they could begin to repeat the cycle once more. This Quirk was shockingly powerful despite its simplicity, and though it was horribly situational, the group of three couldn't help but shudder to varying levels when they saw just how… potent it could be when used in the right situation.
Regardless, with the situation mostly handled thanks to Komori's spores, with innumerable Faux Villains falling down, deactivated, around them, the three examinees that were still standing moved to check on Aoyama, who had hunched over and was now holding his stomach in pain. A small part of Mikazuki did, admittedly, feel bad about effectively forcing him into doing this, but he quelled that thought for now as he recalled the Rex Tail and had it hover behind him passively, with the girls present ignoring it for now as they checked on Yuuga.
"Are you alright, Aoyama-Kun?" asked Kyoka, with her knowing that her inquiry was quite literally a rhetoric as she spoke, kneeling by his side all the while, though for all it was worth, the French examinee was able to muster up a smile as he raised his arm to offer his comrade a weak thumbs up.
"Oui, mademoiselle Jiro. just… give me quelque temps… my stomach needs a few moments to calm itself down," assured Aoyama weakly as he maintained his grin, though it certainly looked strained as he wrapped both his arms around his waist and shuddered. Grimacing a little at this, Mikazuki, without any forewarning, crouched down and slung Yuuga's arm around his shoulder before moving to support him up onto his feet. This unexpected gesture from him made the girls flinch while Aoyama himself resisted the urge to belch as his stomach was jostled quite a bit, though past experience allowed him to hold it back as he shot Augus an annoyed look. "Bonté, Monsieur Augus! Give me some forewarning next time!"
"Next time," grumbled Mikazuki as he glanced down at Aoyama passively. The Naval Laser user had done enough to help them at this point, so doing this for him was the least he could do to repay him by now. By the sidelines, Kyoka pretended to remain disinterested as she glanced over at the duo absentmindedly, with her not wishing to state that she found the sight to be amusing, though as for Kinoko, she used her Quirk to manifest a mushroom that was incredibly round and fuzzy, handing it to Aoyama within seconds.
"That's a Lion Mane Mushroom. You should eat it, since it helps with tummy aches," stated Kinoko with a thumbs up, eliciting an appreciative smile from Yuuga as she spoke, though thereafter, she hummed to herself before kicking at a small piece of scrap that was on the ground, sending it flying a good distance. By now, the machines that once terrorized them had been torn to shreds by the rapidly growing fungi, with most of the allotted points no doubt going to Kinoko. Mikazuki wasn't exactly sure if she deserved all of them, but he said nothing on it as he simply hummed and listened to her speak. "But that aside, how much longer do we have? We could work together to gain a few more points, you know?"
"About a minute. I kept count," hummed Mikazuki, with him not exactly lying as he did legitimately keep track of time whilst they were facing off against those machines, though he doubted that he was accurate on the issue. Kyoka had given him a somewhat pointed look as she didn't exactly believe him on that matter, but even so, she didn't question it as she shook her head and crossed her arms.
"Doesn't really matter, now does it? The issue is resolved, and I doubt we have the energy to really do much more than this. We've gotten ourselves quite a few points back there, so I say that we oughta just get on out of here before something else ha-"
And right before she could finish that statement… the ground beneath them began to shake.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Gulping as they heard their principal laugh his lungs out, the other teachers of U.A found it wise to put some distance between themselves and their superior, with Toshinori being the one closest to him as he observed the dog-bear- mouse-thing laugh so hard that his tea had begun to spill out of his cup.
Oh, that was brilliant! Simply brilliant! Examinee 4815 certainly had a good head on his shoulders, and even with some… outside forces tampering with the aggression levels of the Faux Villains, he was able to deal with them with a mixture of his own strength and the strength of others, and at the same time, he held no qualms about saving or even helping his fellow examinees, even if he had no reason to! His Heroic nature was without question one of the greatest for this entire year, and his apparent knack for strategic, on-the-spot thinking was likewise something that Nedzu could come to respect.
Not to be outdone, Examinees 6668, 1525 and 5034 had also done tremendously, with all of them combining their strengths and breaking past the opposition with relative ease. Examinee 1525 in particular had earnt some of Nedzu's respect as he knew that she could've escaped at any point in time from the conflict, but even so, she chose to remain behind to help her fellow examinees out, regardless of the consequences and her own weaknesses. Selflessness like that was something that he could greatly appreciate, for it was something that was sorely lacking in the world of modern Heroism.
"Is he… alright?" asked Toshinori warily as he leaned towards Ectoplasm, who hummed a little as he watched Nedzu slam his paw into the observation room's main desk, howling with laughter as his Quirk, High Spec, processed everything that had happened to the four examinees over the course of the past 3-ish minutes. Ectoplasm wasn't able to respond to Yagi's question entirely, though he did assure him that-
"He tends to get like this when he sees something he likes. A byproduct of his Quirk. Don't worry too much about it," assured Ectoplasm, though even he couldn't help but shudder as he watched Nedzu slowly calm himself down and sigh happily.
"My word! Examinee 4815 certainly has a knack for on-the-spot strategies! Your boy is certainly an impressive one, Fukukado-San! I don't doubt that he will enter the Hero course, one way or another!" stated Nedzu, with his smile stretching even further up his face as he spoke. To this, Emi found herself smiling right back, and in that instance, an unspoken thanks was given to the principal as Fukukado bowed her head in thanks.
In truth… Emi had very much wished to enroll Mikazuki into Ketsubetsu Academy, more so because he would be within arm's reach more than anything. She's certainly gotten very attached to the little gremlin at this point… but even so, there was still the issue regarding the kid's past. She read as much as she possibly could on it before she got to some… redacted bits, but even without reading them, she knew that enrolling him into Ketsubetsu would only cause him more problems down the line, especially if… no… when the HSPC found out about his enrollment.
Ketsubetsu was a second rate school, one that wouldn't be able to stop one of their students from being taken by the HSPC. At best, they could stall them before their student was inevitably taken away… but at U.A, the top Hero school of Japan, her kid could get some proper security from those HSPC bastards, and considering Nedzu's comment on the situation, she reckoned that his position here as a Hero student, or a Gen ED student at the very least, was practically guaranteed.
"Nepotism… is illogical," groaned Aizawa from under Fukukado and Kayama, with the hobo grumbling to himself all the while. Turns out, the two girl-pals had managed to ensnare him and sat atop him as punishment for his sass, and though he hated it, he knew that overpowering both Emi and Nemuri would be both impossible and a waste of time, and as such… he just dozed off while they used him as a couch, much to Toshinori's dismay, until he abruptly woke up now to snark at the Smile Heroine.
"Shush you," shot Midnight as she bonked Shota over the head with a squeaky hammer, much to his dismay as he rolled his head to one side in an attempt to fall asleep. Whilst this happened, however, Nedzu sighed and giggled to himself.
"Oh good heavens, it seems as though I'm a little late this time!"
Humming a little as he heard this, Higari shook his helmeted head and watched as Nedzu removed the casing from a button and pressed down on it with a single paw. Thereafter, the entire observation deck began to shudder as something began to happen… and considering how, via the screens down below, every examinee seemed to be stuck in a confused stupor, Fukukado reckoned that it wasn't just them that was experiencing this issue.
"Erm… what's going on, exactly…?" inquired Emi as she observed the screens from afar, and to this, Cementoss simply hummed to himself as he shook his head and responded accordingly.
And at the same time, Examinees 4815, 1525, 5034 and 6668 sprinted (or in 6668's case, carried) out of the multi-storey car park they were once in and looked around in a panic, only for a majority of them to gasp at what came next.
"You see, Fukukado-San, this part of the exam is where we separate the Children from the Heroes."
"What's going on?!"
Though it wasn't spoken out loud, Mikazuki did very well echo that statement made by Komori mentally as he and the rest of his group of temporary companions rushed out of the multi-storey car park upon feeling the tremors, and upon entering the sunlight, they could only widen their eyes in shock at what they saw, with even Mika's stoic self flinching at the massive sight before them.
"So that's why Present Mic told us not to engage the Zero-Pointer, huh…?" hummed Kyoka by Mika's side, with her mouth agape as the shadow of a massive Faux Villain loomed over them. The Zero Pointer, the Executor, was easily over fifty metres tall, perhaps sixty, with threaded 'legs' and two massive arms that grabbed at the skyscrapers around it for support as it emerged from its hiding spot in the ground. Its head unit was a massive rectangle with eight beady green optics staring down at the examinees with malicious intent, and though it wasn't focused on them in particular, the four examinees present couldn't help but shudder as they watched the Executor roll forwards.
Raising its arm up, the Executor swung it down remarkably fast, striking the ground and causing several examinees in front of it to be blown back by the force. The group of four were just a few hundred metres away from it, but even so, the aftershock of the impact was still felt by them as a massive wall of dust and smoke was sent hurtling their way, prompting them to shield their eyes on reflex.
"So big… how do they funggin' expect us to take THAT on?!" protested Komori as she lowered her arms in horror, to which Kyoka grimaced as the dust that flew into their faces began to subside as the seconds ticked by, though that didn't really matter as, thanks to her improved sense of sound, she could hear something bad coming for them before she could even see it.
"They… they don't! EVERYONE RUN, NOW!" yelled Jiro as she turned and grabbed onto Kinoko before she began to make a run for it. Likewise, Mikazuki, sensing the urgency in their current dilemma, opted to throw Aoyama over his shoulder as he began sprinting out of there at top speed, and in spite of his pained stomach, the Frenchman couldn't really complain about it all that much as he was hauled to safety.
As they ran onwards, the Zero Pointer began to raise its arm up, readying it for a punch, and mere moments later, it swung its fist down to strike the ground beneath it. The small group of four, alongside everyone present around them, heard the impact without much issue, with a few even stopping their retreat to turn around and face its source, though mere moments later, they felt it as well, with the very ground beneath them rumbling rather intensely as the aftershock of the attack hit them at full force.
Mikazuki, Kinoko, Kyoka and Yuuga in particular were sent sprawling onto the ground as they felt the ground rumbling beneath them, with the former being sent onto one knee while the latter two were knocked onto the ground. Aoyama in particular was glad that he wasn't kissing the concrete, though he was quick to gasp when he saw a wall of dust and smoke coming towards them, with that sound being more than enough to alert Mika to its approach all the while.
"Kh…! Incoming!" yelled Mikazuki as he braced himself for the inbound wall of smoke/dust headed their way. Within seconds, it hit him like a freight train, but even so, Mika was able to keep himself rooted in place as he shifted his body to shield Aoyama from the cloud that had been sent their way. Komori and Jiro weren't as lucky, however, as the latter was able to keep herself rooted onto the ground, albeit just barely, as she had moved onto all fours to minimise contact with the inbound wall of smoke/dust, but as for the former, she had gotten up to her feet by then, and thanks to that, the wall of smoke/dust had impacted her entire body at full force, sending her soaring backwards all the while.
Before she could be sent airborne, however, something lashed out and darted itself towards the mushroom girl, coiling itself around her waist and yanking her back towards the ground. Glancing up at her savior, Kinoko blinked a little under her mop of hair when she saw that the Rex Tail was now coiled tightly around her abdomen, holding her in place as it kept her rooted to the ground, and as her eyes followed its tendril back up to its owner, she found herself widening her eyes a little when she made eye contact with Mikazuki, who was looking at her neutrally as he nodded in her direction, a small sign that, though unnecessary, he was watching her back. Komori simply nodded back, with her unsure of what to say at the moment.
"Merde! Why would U.A approve of such a maladroit machine?!" protested Aoyama as the smoke began to settle, prompting Mikazuki to grimace as he stood back up and uncoiled his tail from around the mushroom Quirk user as he shook his head. It was still rather difficult to observe his surroundings, but even so…
"I don't know…"
Mikazuki gave his response… and not even a second later, a secondary shockwave could be felt rippling through the entirety of Battle Site B, with said shockwave being so powerful that it was able to reach the walls that surrounded Site B. Likewise, unlike the initial shockwave, even keeping oneself low to the ground couldn't save them from being launched backwards as the powerful shockwave sent the four examinees, alongside many others, soaring backwards as they were hit by it, and after a few moments of flying through the air, they landed back on the ground in painful stumbles.
Kimori landed first, with her landing on her back, followed by Jiro, who fell into an awkward rolling stumble before she caught herself and rolled up into a half kneeling stance. Aoyama just fell flat onto his face, with the shockwave having forced Mikazuki to release his hold on him, something that was horrific to the Naval Laser user as he felt as though his magnifique face had been ruined by the impact, though as for Augus himself, he was able to land in a sturdy crouch as his knees absorbed the impact of his landing, and moments later, he grimaced and tilted his head up to have a look at just what had dispelled the smoke in the first place.
And when he did, he, like so many others around him, his compatriots included, felt their jaws dropping at what they saw…
The Executor bot… falling backwards with most of its face having been crushed by some unseen force in the distance. From where he stood, Mikazuki could only frown as he took notice of a single figure in the distance falling towards the ground, seemingly after having punched the Zero Pointer square in the face, though he didn't really focus too much on it as he watched the Executor fall onto its back, creating a mild tremor on impact all the while.
"Holy funging shit…" muttered Komori as she was helped back up to her feet by Jiro, who hoisted her up before turning back towards where the Zero Pointer used to be…
"ALRIGHT LITTLE LISTENERS! TIME'S UUUUUUUUUP!"
… and for once, Mikazuki found himself nodding in agreement as he too echoed Kinoko's sentiments, and this time, he did so verbally.
"Yeah. Holy fucking shit indeed."
Who knows if this group will come back together. I wonder...
Not much to comment oh, lmao. Review replies down below.
cassnova5424: for the bone version, yes. Think Hashmal's version of the Rex Tail, just bone textured. And yeah, Emi would definitely qualify as a Soccer Mum.
wd12091111: good t'know
Spyro fanboy: well... next chapter will reveal what'll happen on Awase's part!
quadehays4: heh. Thanks!
Hat109: it just took several months of work lmao.
Next chapter! Awase's end of this whole battle!