Rule #44: Hide/Protect the women and children
"Alright" Mera sighed, garnering the attention of the passing students now crammed inside the ante room. "For the hundred of you who passed the first test, please turn your attention to the screen"
"Huh?" Toru glanced up at the large screen alongside everyone else as it flicked to a different channel; this one showing several close-ups of different sections of the test arena.
"It's the test arena" Midoriya noted.
"What do you think's gonna happen next?" Ochako mused. They didn't have to wait for long.
KA-BOOM! CRUNCH! SMASH!
Buildings, tall structures, mountainsides and a whole other menagerie of areas were blown to smithereens (more-so than they already had been drawing the first test). "Wait—! Does that mean…?" Midoriya murmured as something seemed to click.
"There's only one more round to the exam" Mera continued to explain, "Your goal is simple: undertake rescue exercises and save the bystanders who are trapped in these disaster zones"
"A rescue mission!"
"And with our luck, villains too" Toru muttered pessimistically as she watched the dust clouds begin to settle up on the screen.
"Save the what now?" Kaminari and Mineta chorused in puzzlement.
"Bystanders" Toru turned to them, explaining slowly as if talking to morons. "We learned about them in class, remember? They're people at a disaster scene"
"It can also simply refer to innocent people on the street" Added Yaoyorozu.
"Use this time to show us how you would carry out successful rescue procedures once you receive your Provisional Licenses" Mera went on to explain. "Treat this as though it was the real deal"
"Look! On the screen!" Shoji pointed out.
"Huh? Little kids and old people?!" Sato exclaimed as splotches of colour dotted about the screen turned out to be just that.
"That's so dangerous!" Mineta agreed, "Why're they here?!"
"These specialists have been trained as professional persons-in-need of rescue" Came the answer as one of the old men turned to the camera and waved a bottle of flake blood in the air. "They're very popular. Introducing the Help Us Company, also known as H.U.C for short"
"So they're basically actors I guess?" Sero mused.
"That's the kinda job you never think about!" Asui pondered.
"But a necessary one in our world, given our hero training" Ojiro replied.
"The H.U.C bystanders have dressed up like injured victims and will be located throughout the disaster sites. We'll be judging how well you keep them safe as you go about your mission. Oh! By the way, we'll be scoring you on a point system; if you have more points at the time of the benchmark by the time the exercise comes to an end, then you pass the exam. The next exam will starts in ten minutes; take care of any necessary preparations now"
"This looks familar" Iida stood next to his friend as they stared up at the scene laid before them with a haunted looked upon his face. At the same time, Toru silently clenched her fists and shifted in place as she was reminded of the trials their training camp and subsequent kidnapping had wrought on them.
"Mm, it's like Kamino Ward" Midoriya nodded, "I wonder if they based it off of that?"
"It's true that the situations are similar, but our only goal then was to rescue Bakugou and Hagakure from the villains. We let the Pros handle search and recovery, and you'll recall there were many casualties" Toru resolutely ignored the glances sent her way by her classmates as they each recalled the events of that night. Her grip tightened as she shifted again, this time crossing her arms tightly across her chest in an effort to hide her emotions.
"Not this time!" Midoriya vowed determinedly.
On her way back from the bathroom, Toru had unintentionally eavesdropped on what Sero had been telling his friends—from the look on his face and the quiet tone that he used, it was a rather pervy one too! "Hey, guys! You gotta listen to this story!" Sero gushed, creeping over to where Kaminari and Mineta sat idly waiting for the next round of the exam to begin. "It's pretty juicy!"
"What's the rating?" Mineta queried.
"Triple X!"
"Go on…"
"Y'know the fox in the catsuit? The one over there from Shiketsu?"
"Yeah?" Kaminari answered, glancing towards said girl.
"If you're going to say she's hot, I already know that" Mineta drawled. "I've been watching her this whole time, and—"
"—Well, I saw her completely butt naked in the shadows by the rocks with Midoriya!" Sero interjected slyly.
"MIDORIYA!" Kaminari and Mineta suddenly both screeched like a pair of cats being run over by a lawn mower.
"Huh?" Midoriya turned at the sound of his name.
"WHAT WERE YOU DOING, YOU BASTARD?!" Mineta demanded as the two of them assaulted their classmate. Toru was stuck between wanting to laugh at them and wanting to smack the over the head. "WHEN THE REST OF US WERE WORKING SO HARD!"
"WAS THIS TEST NOTHING BUT A JOKE TO YOU?!" Kaminari added.
"GUYS! COOL IT! WHAT'S GOING ON?!" Midoriya cried as he weakly defended himself against the pair.
"DON'T PLAY DUMB!" Mineta wept as he turned to point at the girl in question. "WHAT DID YOU DO WITH THAT SMOKING HOT GIRL OVER THERE—?"
Whatever answer Mineta had ever hoped to receive was cut off when all three boys suddenly paled when they were caught out by the girl of choice coyly waving back at them. Of course it wasn't hard for the grape-haired boy to spin things out of proportion. "THE CASUAL GREETING EXCHANGED BETWEEN A MAN AND WOMAN WHOSE SECRET RELATIONSHIP HAS ADVANCED SEVERAL PACES!"
"HOW PLUS ULTRA DID YOU END UP GOING WITH HER?!" Kaminari cried.
"Wha—ugh! Now I get it! Sero blabbed!" Midoriya's eyes widened in realisation before he stepped back. "I'm telling you! It wasn't like that! It was because of her Quirk! Actually, I had no idea what was happening and almost failed the exam"
"BUT YOU DID SEE HER NAKED?!" Kaminari demanded.
"Well, sorta…"
"DON'T YOU LIE TO US!" Mineta warned.
"WHY IS SHE STILL WAVING AT YOU?!" Kaminari growled, grabbing a hold of the boy by his lapels and furiously shaking him like a rag doll to the point that he was almost the same colour as his suit and hair.
"WE NEED DETAILS, MIDORIYA! DETAILS!"
"Are they always like that?" Nakagame magically appeared at Toru's shoulder, watching the exchange like it was a tennis match with a hint of disgust.
"Yeah" Toru sighed dejectedly, "This is pretty much on par with them. I am surprised that Tsu hasn't hit them yet, though—she usually keeps those two in line"
"Maybe she's in the bathroom?"
"Yeah, maybe"
"Look, I just wanted to say I loved watching your fight before!" The blonde suddenly spun the invisible girl around as she clutched onto there gloved hands. "It was so passionate and intense!"
"Um, thank you? Sorry about the river"
"Oh it's fine, No hard feelings! Shindo needed a bath anyway"
"Wha—! I did not!" Said earth user then appeared as if summoned by his classmate, locks still damp from his impromptu swim.
"Oh yeah? When was the last time you bathed?" Nakagame turned to the brunette with hands on hips, full of sass and playful teasing.
"Yesterday!"
"In dirt or water?" Toru couldn't help but tease around the blonde, her grin evident in her tone.
"Hey!"
"Haha! Yes!" Nakagame held her hand up for a hi-five which Toru happily gave her much to the chagrin of the pouting boy. "Which reminds me!" Nakagame spun back around to face the invisible girl, moving slightly to allow her classmate into the conversation. "How come you didn't use any of those moves during the Sports Festival? That fight would've been epic!"
"Uh, that's 'cause I couldn't" Toru sheepishly scratched at her cheek as she replied. Both teens looked puzzled at that, sharing a glance that she couldn't decipher.
"What d'ya mean?"
"After the whole kidnapping-supernova-explosion thing, my Quirk kinda did a full reboot, y'know? So it's like trying to relearn the ropes all over again"
"And you've done all that in just the passed couple of months?" Shindo pondered, his brows knitting together in thought. "That's impressive!"
"Uh thanks…"
"Well, we should let you get back to your class" Nakagame smiled freely as a gaggle of Shiketsu students began to make their way over. "Good luck on the next round!" She waved over her shoulder as the pair left to rejoin their own classmates.
"Uh, you too!" Toru blinked dumbly as she waved in reply, a little dumfounded at what had just happened. It was like talking to a combination of Midoriya's happiness and Ochako's determination wrapped up in a cloak of Bakugou's slightly blood-thirsty nature. It was all a bit much for the invisible girl who mentally shook herself before preparing for the next exchange between another school. Why were hero students always so intense?
"Oh hey! It's Shiketsu!" Kirishima greeted around the bread in his mouth, cheeks puffing up like a chipmunk. He looks like a shark and chipmunk had a baby! Toru mused as she wandered over, giving silent support to her friends as they were approached by the other school.
"Bakugou!" Mora called out as he strode forth. The yeti-like man moved with such focus, that people seemed to automatically part for him—he almost didn't need the entourage at his back.
"What?" Bakugou grunted in greeting.
"I think you met Shishikura in the test—my classmate with the flesh-moulding power?"
"Yeah, I took 'im out"
"I thought so! I'm guessing her may have acted rudely or perhaps offended you. He has a tendency to push his own values onto others—"
Ooh! Don't do that! Toru winced. That's what gets ya killed!
"—Probably couldn't help it in your case, since you're pretty famous—"
That's no excuse!
"—I apologise for him. I'd like to build a good relationship between our schools"
"I—I guess he wants t-to be friends?" Mineta warbled.
"So he says" Midoriya replied. "But the way they were fighting, it didn't seem that way!"
"Well, I think it's sweet!" Mina clapped.
"And brave" Toru nodded along, "Owning up to your mistakes? To the ones of your peers? Not just anyone does that"
"—Anyway, that's it" Mora finished before walking off with his peers in tow—he looked like a mother duck leading his ducklings away!
Something in his must've clicked with Todoroki for the heterochromatic boy called out for Inasa to wait behind for a moment.
"Hey! You in the back!" Todoroki called.
"Hn?" Inasa grunted as he turned to face him. The calm expression on his face melted into something of disdain and Toru had to wonder what had granted such a response from the taller boy. Constipation, maybe?
"Did I do something to you?"
"Oh? Well, I'm sorry, son of Endeavour, but I hate you guys! You've changed a bit since back then, but you're eyes are the same as Endeavour's"
"Yoarashi, what's wrong?" Mora called when he saw that the taller kohai was not with them.
"Nothing, senpai!" Inasa snarled as he stalked over leaving a dumbstruck Todoroki behind.
"Todoroki—?" Midoriya warily asked his friend, well-aware that his father was such a sore subject for him.
"—See ya!" Chirped the Shiketsu girl who Mineta and Kaminari had been ogling.
"R-Right!"
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'R-RIGHT'?!" Mineta and Kaminari pounced on the poor greenette once more. "YOU SEXUAL MANIC!"
"I TOLD YOU! IT'S NOT WHAT YOU THINK! She's actually super scary!"
"Please!" Yaoyorozu scolded the three like a disappointed mother, "You're acting disgracefully! This test isn't over! You need to focus!
"JUST LOOK AT HER!"
"Have you even begun to strategise?"
BRRRING!
The screen up above flicked through the various new disaster zones following the bell and Mera's instructions bled out over the loud speakers as the next round of the exam was introduced. "Villains have performed a large scale terrorist attack spanning all of [INSERT CITY NAME HERE]. Since most buildings have collapsed, there are many injured"
"Guess that's the backstory, ribbit" Asui noted as the surrounding walls of the ante room began to creak and groan much as the first one had done.
"So then—?" Jiro gasped.
"We're starting"
"Here we go" Toru muttered, shifting on her feet slightly in anticipation. So far 1-A's track record for rescue exercises had not gone to plan, in fact Toru didn't know if she could think of a single exercise going smoothly for them.
"Due to heavily damaged roads" Mera continued. "The first responders have unfortunately been delayed for the time being"
"WHAT IS WITH THESE ROOMS?!" Kaminari exclaimed as the walls unfolded like origami.
"Until emergency services arrive, the heroes in the area will lead the rescue effort. Your task is to save as many people as you can and help the injured. And with that…BEGIN!" Rocketing from the starting point, all the participating students dissipated into their respective schools as they headed for certain areas of the arena. Of course, there was always one or two who had to go off on their own—cough—Bakugou—cough.
"Let's start by heading to the closet urban area! We'll work together as much as possible!" Iida decreed from the front of the pack, something of which Toru was thankful for. She didn't have much experience in saving lives—not even with the various lessons they'd had (the dummies didn't count, they weren't alive to begin with), she was much better at taking them. So for once, she was more than happy for the speed racer to take the lead as he was wa'nt to do.
"Right!" Chorused the others, sans Bakugou who broke off from the group as soon as possible.
"Bakugou, again?" Mina sighed exasperatedly.
"Tch! Why're you guys following me, you damn extras?!" Bakugou snarled over his shoulder at Kirishima and Kaminari who had tagged along to keep the explosive blonde in check.
"We just felt like it!" Kirishima replied joyfully.
"Right, so uh, try to get this over with as quickly as you can, for me yeah? Zzzz"
"Even though this is just a test, this feels pretty real" Asui noted as she hopped along next Ojiro.
"Stay alert! Beware of falling debris and explosions!" Ojiro called forth, reciting their lessons from 13.
"What's wrong Midoriya?" Iida called back as his green friend suddenly stopped in his tracks and turned towards one of the fallen skyscrapers off to their right. If Toru listened closely, she could just hear the wailing sounds of someone calling for help.
"I hear someone!" Midoriya replied before carefully leading them over to where he had heard the noise. The closer the class crept, the louder the sounds became and Toru had to wonder how the greenette had heard them so clearly the first time. "There! He's over there!"
"My grandpa! He—he's been crushed!" Wept the injured child.
"What? This is bad! Where?!"
"What's up with that? MINUS POINTS!" The boy suddenly jerked his head upwards as he dropped the weeping child act like a hot coal.
"Huh?!"
"First you need to check whether or not I can walk! My breathing was weird too, right? And I'm bleeding pretty badly on my head! THOSE WITH PROVISIONAL LICENCES SHOULD BE ABLE TO TAKE IN THE VICTIM'S CONDITION IN AN INSTANT AND ACT BASED ON THAT!"
Wait. Toru tilted her head as she pondered his sudden change in tone. Does that mean all the members of the H.U.C will be the ones scoring us for these exercises?
"THIS WILL SHOW YOU HOW MUCH YOU'VE TRAINED!" The boy continued to roar. "LOOK ALL AROUND YOU AND PAY ATTENTION!" Taking his advice to heart, Toru swivelled her head and pricked her ears just enough for her to pick up on the (more) successful rescue attempts going on around them. It seemed that most of the second years were less fish-out-of-water than they were, easily using their Quirks to rope off dangerous areas and create space for helicopters and other emergency vehicles to get there. The kids from Ketsubutsu had already started ferrying victims back over to the unfolded ante room which was now being used as a first aid and trauma station.
"Oh…" The small sound escaped from her lips as she turned back to their victim who was effectively shoving the knowledge into their thicks skulls.
"You're not just here to provide aid!" The boy scolded them, "Until emergency services can arrive, you need to exercise authority in their place and do your best to make sure everything goes smoothly enough for you to had off to them. In order to save people, heroes must do many things. Above all, you—we're all scared, hurting and worried out of our minds. When the first thing you say is 'What? This is bad' that's no good"
"…I—it's f-fine!" Midoriya stuttered, his smile only wobbling slightly.
"…OVER THERE!" The H.U.C actor wailed, returning to his job and easily accepting the boy's second attempt. "MY GRANDPA—!
"Don't worry, we'll save him too!" Midoriya reassured before glancing over his shoulder at his peers. "I'll carry this kid to the first-aid area, you guys go on ahead!"
"All right!" Iida nodded, as the class dispersed.
"Let's do this!" Mineta cheered.
"Yeah!"
Now a little further away, 1-A found themselves once again trying to pull someone—presumably Grandpa—from the wreckage of one of the buildings; only this time Sero, Sato, Yaoyorozu and Ochako were the ones who completed the task whilst the rest of them just sat around watching. "This isn't good!" Mineta exclaimed as they watched Sero tape up some support beams. "We're just standing around and watching!"
"Several people have already left" Shoji added, "And unlike in the first round, we may need to split up for this one. We could move in smaller groups"
"In that case, I'll be of much more help if I head to the river" Asui piped up.
"I'll join you" Todoroki replied.
"Me too!" Toru readily agreed.
"Guys? Work together?" Ojiro turned to Koda, Mina and Tokoyami.
"Sure" Tokoyami nodded.
"Cool beans!" Mina cheered before turning to the quiet boy.
"Yo Koda, can you use animals to look for people who need rescuing?"
"Aa" Koda nodded.
"I'll keep my eyes open" Shoji then turned to his pint-sized classmate, "Mineta, will you help me?"
"Sure thing!" The grape-haired boy agreed.
"Good" Iida ended, "Depending on the situation, we should also work together with other schools. That's how we'll save lives"
"Right!" Everyone chorused as Aoyama suddenly charged over to a group of older students who were peering aimlessly into one of the dark crevices.
"Did you say it was too dark in there?" Aoyama sang as he suddenly collapsed on the floor at there feet, near the entrance of the crevice and lit up his navel laser and easily illuminated the area. "Allow my twinkling to save the day!"
"Perfect! Thanks!" The student flashed the sparkling blonde a thumbs up.
"That's a shocker! I didn't think you'd be the first to help!" Mineta cried, and he was right—Aoyama wasn't usually one to put himself out there, despite his rather flashy Quirk. "Then again, you do love that pose!"
"Yaoyorozu!" Iida called to his fellow representative, "We'll disperse across the field and get to work!"
"Roger that!" Yaoyorozu replied as the smaller groups went their seperate ways.
There were fewer people out by the river and smaller water fissures, Toru found. Most of the victims likely—and logically—would be caught up in the urban areas, trapped beneath rubble and the like. But that didn't stop the trio from searing there anyway, and in the end it seemed to pay off. "Todoroki! Tsu!" Toru called as she spotted something over by the rock pools. "Over there!"
"Help! I can't swim!" Cried the victim as they clung to the outermost rocks.
"I'll be right there, ribbit!" Asui called as she expertly dove into the water, narrowly missing any hidden rocks.
"We might need to warm the boy up!" Todoroki said to Toru as the pair ran after Tsu. "Let's get some firewood!"
"Leave it to me!" Toru chirped, running off in the opposite direction as the remaining two left to find firewood and other needed accoutrements.
Barely two minutes later, both teens had reunited with the frog-heroine down on the beach where she was joined by a prone boy who lay on the sand in sopping wet clothes and matted locks. "Tsu?" Toru called as she dropped her load of fire next to the heterochromatic boy for him to build the fire. "What's wrong?"
"His back is hurt and he can't feel his legs" Asui replied with a hint of concern bleeding into her tone. Out of the corner of her eyes she noted that Todoroki was awkwardly helping his friend by the fire, hovering over him like he was about to go off like the first one had.
"Tsu, can you keep his head still?" Toru asked as crouched by the boy's feet.
"Ribbit" Tsu nodded, gently taking the boy's head in her hands, likely recalling one of 13 and Recovery Girl's many, many lessons.
"Sir? Can you feel this?" Toru poked at the soles of the boy's feet gently at first and then a little harder.
"N-no" He warbled, shaking his head slightly.
"Keep still, keep still" Asui cooed, tightening her grip only slightly.
"All right" Toru nodded, eyeing up the boy's height before turning to the boy behind them. "Todoroki? Can you make a sheet of ice? Something about 5 feet long that we can use as a stretcher?"
"Sure" The boy nodded.
"St-stretcher?!" Their prone victim worried, struggling slightly as tears beaded in the corners of his eyes.
"H-hey! Keep still!" Toru clamped her hands around the boy's ankles, gently pinning him to the ground. "It's just a precaution, you're gonna be fine. Promise"
"O-okay"
"Ready?" Toru glanced between Todoroki who knelt by the frozen stretcher (complete with handles) ready to roll the item under the victim, Tsu who remained holding onto his head. Both gave a nod of affirmation as Toru heaved a breath of confidence. "Okay, roll on three" The invisible girl let go of the boy's ankles and moved to Todoroki's opposite, ready to roll the boy far enough to slide the stretcher underneath him. "One, two, three!"
Slow and steadily, they raised and lowered the boy onto the cold stretcher (there wasn't really anything they could do about the temperature, save for ripping up their own costumes), all the while Asui remained clinging to the boy's head. Once he was situated, Toru engulfed the pair in a violet forcefield, leaving them to float like flies in a bubble and allowing the invisible girl to manoeuvre the two of them without much trouble whilst Todoroki hauled the other tired victim onto his back. "Right, let's go"
KA-BOOM!
"Explosions?" Todoroki queried as all three turned at once to locate the source of the familiar noise.
"What—!" Toru gasped, pausing only momentarily as she watched smoke plumes billow across the broken arena.
"You don't think it's the League of Villains again, do you?" Asui glanced down at the pair below her.
"I mean, with our track record…" Toru shifted nervously at the thought. Her last experience with them was bad enough, she wasn't keen for a repeat so soon.
"A villain has completed another large scale attack!" Mera's voice sounded far too happy for what he was relaying to them. "The terrorists have appeared and are beginning to sweep the area. Hero candidates at the scene should continue their rescue efforts while also suppressing the newly arrived villains"
"It sounds like it's part of the exam, ribbit" Asui noted in relief; a sentiment the other two shared. A sentiment which was quickly dashed however by the next question.
"But who's the villain, then? Surely not one of the Pros?"
