Rule #14: Bend the line, do not break it

"Look! Over there by the first-aid station!" Toru pointed out as the smoke settled enough for them to see where the attack had come from. "That's not good"

"We still have a lot of bystanders to rescue, but we can't just ignore the villains!" Asui worried.

"I know" Todoroki grunted, his face dark and serious as he stared at the new battlefield with some kind of unknown hunger. Bloodlust, maybe? There was plenty of that in our class.

"At the very least, we're not alone this time—there are other schools here that can help. But we can't stay here and we can't go over there" Toru mused, "Was there another spot for a first-aid station that either of you noticed on the way?"

"I wasn't really focused on that, ribbit" Asui shook her head as Todoroki resolutely stared off into the distance and brooded. He was like a child being told he couldn't go and play.

"Yeah, me neither" She sighed, shifting again.

"Tsu! Toru! Todoroki!" Yaoyorozu magically appeared as if she had been summoned by their conversation; waving down at them from where she stood atop a piece of outcropping rubble off to the right. "We're moving the first-aid station over this way!"

"Got it! Thanks Momo!" Asui called out, relieved that at least someone had a plan.

"Todoroki, go help the others" Toru turned to the heterochromatic boy whose eyes gleamed at the chance to fight. "We'll take these bystanders over to the new area and meet up with you later!"

"Right" He nodded, helping to shift his load on to her before sprinting off towards the fight. Now laden with one boy on her back and another trapped in the violet bubble with Tsu, Toru began to steadily make her way up the ridge to where their class representative remained.

"Momo, can you—?" Toru half-asked the taller girl, turning slightly so she could pull the boy from her back.

"Here, let me—!" Yaoyorozu easily replaced Toru as the pack mule, and began to herd them towards the new station. Behind them explosions ripped through the air, sending rubble flying in devastating shockwaves.


Fire warred against wind, ripping across the exam arena in rippling waves of destruction. The earth trembled underfoot and piercing sound waves soared across the arena, making ears bleed and deafen with the force of it. With every harried step that Toru took closer towards the original first-aid station, in her quest to assist in the protection of the current bystanders who still remained there; she could begin to make sense of the overwhelming anger-filled shouts that soared high above the explosions emitted from the teens currently there. "…YOU DON'T DESERVE THE TITLE! UNDERSTAND?!" Inasa roared as his attack was diverted once again by Todoroki's competing fire.

"Well, that's not good" Toru muttered as she leapt from one piece of broken earth to the other, hopping back and forth like she was playing at the beach. Far up above her, the Shiketsu teen hovered, encased in his own power as Todoroki glared up at the competing teen from the ground and the so-called villains adjacent to them. "Very, very not good" She murmured upon catching sight of the 'villain'.

Gang Orca was currently one of the top ten ranked heroes, coming in at number ten and built like a bloody ox (despite clearly being a killer whale). He was also supposedly one of the few heroes who people believed looked like they could be a villain too. It was likely what and endeared the invisible girl to the hero; he was kind of like Koro-Sensei in that way. Also the idea that he had literal fish fingers!—it was just something that sent her into giggles. From her perch on the outskirts of the battlefield, she was able to see a few of her fellow classmates ferrying the bystanders over to the new first-aid station without much hassle for now.

But with the way Todoroki and Inasa were going, she wasn't sure how long that temporary camaraderie would last—especially as the wind user loudly declared his hate for the furious heterochromatic teen and his father. And that didn't even take into account the fact that Shindo lay struggling to rise not far behind them, likely experiencing the effects of whatever attack Gang Orca had delivered; nor the several hundred black-clad henchmen who had appeared to have weaponised concrete, of all things. Effective. Toru mused as her eyes trailed the residual smoke from the disk-like weapon to the splotches of concrete already hardening where they had landed. Must be fast-drying.

"Oh shit!" The curse fell from her lips as violet fingers gripped tight to the edge of the rubble she sat upon and muscles bunched, already moving of their own accord as she watched Todoroki and Inasa's attack refuse to merge once more. Only this time, instead of the attack redirecting somewhere barren, it was headed straight for Shindo who still lay on the ground. Rocketing from her perch with so much force that she was sure she had left a crater behind, she allowed gravity to take hold and pull her down. Rolling across the ground, she barely even wasted time to suck in a breath as short legs moved with such speed only honed by endless weeks of training with Karasuma-Sensei and trying to catch Koro-Sensei. Toru barely even registered the surprised squawk from Midoriya suddenly at her right as she skidded by him, dodging an attack from one of the henchmen before coming to a halt in front of Shindo.

Adrenaline pumped through her blood like crack and she couldn't help the crazed grin that spread across her lips at the thrill of it. Violet hands shot up and a violet bubble encased them just in time. Ferocious tongues of fire licked at the exterior of the forcefield and trailed clouds of smoke over those sheltering inside. In turn, the battering gale hammering against the violet forcefield, pushed and cut like knives in a blender as they tried their best to fracture the tenacious hold Toru had on the bubble. By now she knew that at least her forearms and eyes were visible to those around her—they usually were whenever she delved into her UV powers—but she couldn't really find it in her to be self-conscious as she spared a glance over her shoulder at a wide-eyed Midoriya and a gaping Shindo.

"You alright, Shindo?" She asked, well-aware of the beads of sweat uncomfortably making their way down her spine. Todoroki sure knows how to power his attacks!

"Wha—how—where—?" Shindo stammered, still trying to process how he wasn't currently barbecue. "B-bubble?"

"Ha—Hagakure, what are you doing here?" Midoriya finally blurted out.

"Momo thought I'd be more useful as a rearguard over here" She shrugged. "Good, eh?"

"Remind me to thank her later" Shindo's voice jumped back down a couple of octaves as he seemed to regain his bearings.

"Sure" She agreed, "You good, Midoriya?"

"Uh, ye-yeah" Midoriya nodded as his calculating eyes tracked the flames still licking at the exterior of the forcefield and his forefingers moved back and forth as he mentally took notes on her Quirk.

"Now where—?" Toru turned back to the two quarrelling teens who remained up in front of them and staring at the trio with wide eyes gleaming with relief and shock. "Oh, there they are. TODOROKI! INASA! ARE YOU TWO DONE MEASURING DICKS OR DO YOU NEED A BABYSITTER?!"

"YOU'RE NOT MY MOTHER!" Inasa replied, affronted that she would talk to him in such a way.

"No. I'm not" Violet eyes turned to the wind boy still hovering over them. Gone was the roaring shouts, instead replaced by cold anger that seemed all the more scarier. "So get your shit together! How do you expect to be heroes if you can't even work together? Honestly! If you're going to act like children then maybe you should stay out of the way"

"N-No! We can do it!" Inasa cried, face flushed and looking rather ashamed at the dressing down the pair were being given.

"Then put on your big boy pants and do it!"

"Hn" Todoroki stubbornly grunted, not looking at all pleased at the change despite nearly barbecuing a fellow student barely two minutes earlier.

"Don't you 'hn' me, Todoroki!" Toru then turned on the heterochromatic teen as Gang Orca watched on, amused. "I know where you keep your soba!"

"You're bluffing—!"

"You willing to take that bluff? No? Then sort your shit out!"

"D-do you always have to swear?" Midoriya spluttered, cheeks flushed at the colourful language she had used to scold her peers.

"Yes" Toru replied, "I swear, because I come from a working class family and I had a brother who was a shit handyman, y'know? By the time I was eight, I'd heard every colour in the rainbow—I swear every time he put a shelf up, I had a new treat for the playground. But anyway, what do you know about Gang Orca? Midoriya?"

Preoccupied with holding the forcefield around the three of them, the invisible girl turned to the greenette for advice on how to defeat this enemy. Because as much Toru liked the marine hero, she knew that the greenette could rattle off random hero facts at the drop of a hat; something which she hoped would finally come in handy. "Right!" Midoriya chirped when he was brought out of his musing about the development of her Quirk as the flames finally dissipated enough for her to let the forcefield go. "His Quirk is Orcinus and it gives him the attributes and abilities of an Orca—" He rattled off as if he was reading from a textbook.

"So the sound…?" Shindo wondered.

"Sonar, most likely" Toru answered.

"Aa" He nodded.

"—This includes enhanced strength, durability and speed" Midoriya continued.

"Even on land?" Asked Toru.

"Yes, it's quite interesting actually. Can you imagine—?"

"—Uh, weaknesses?" Shindo cut in before the greenette could go off on one of his tangents.

"Er, fire—heat"

"So I guess it's up to them, then?"

"It's our likeliest chance of success"

"Soo…bigger barrier, yeah?" Toru mused, shaking out her limbs as she took a step or two away from the twin-like teens as they conversed about Gang Orca's Quirk.

"I mean, it'd certainly help, but can you—?"

"—Hope so"

"Okay—what?"

Toru didn't reply this time as she focused on creating a barrier large enough to protect the few bystanders still sheltering behind them. Digging deep, she tugged on the power she could feel festering deep within her core and let it flow through her veins like lava. Violet eyes snapped open—When had they closed?—and both hands, encased in violet snapped out towards the ground. Ultraviolet poured from her palms and flowed along the ground like molten lava, snaking its way along the length of the first-aid station; at least until she began to raise her hands. Ever so slowly, as if she were physically pulling the light from the ground, Toru raised a violet barrier between the bystanders and the villains.

"Right" Toru swallowed thickly as her arms shook with the effort to keep such a large barrier in place. Sweat beaded on her brow as she watched through the stained-glass barrier as Gang Orca narrowed his red eyes at the news obstacle between them and the bystanders. Silently raising a single fist, the henchmen behind him began to fire mercilessly on the barrier in an effort to make it fall. She grunted as her fingers curled into claws as the wall rippled from where the concrete had bounced off or shattered on impact; but thankfully—mercifully—it held. "Go—go help the others" She called over her shoulder to the two teens still behind her. "Get the bystanders to safety"

"Hagakure!" Midoriya questioned, awe clearly evident in his tone. "Will you be okay with that?"

"I'll be fine" Toru grunted as her arms shook in contradiction. "But I'm stuck here for now. Go!"

"Right" Midoriya nodded his affirmation as he bent to retrieve Shindo from the ground (the after effects of Gang Orca's sonar attack was beginning to wane, but not fast enough).

At least that was the plan until Gang Orca had decided enough was enough. No longer willing to stand on the sidelines, the Pro easily knocked Inasa from the sky with another sonar attack, leaving the teen to drop like a bag of rocks. Then he turned to Todoroki. "No more games" Gang Orca warned as he bore down on the pair of teens acting as their vanguard.

"KICK 'IM IN THE DICK!" Toru called out as she struggled to hold up such a large barrier.

"Why is it that always your answer?" Midoriya puzzled, genuinely concerned as he in his movements.

"Hey, if ain't broke…"

"Woohoo!" Cheered the henchmen as both teens were tossed them around like marbles in a tin can.

"Got 'em!"

"YES!"

"That's our boss! A total powerhouse!"

"Time to trap these do gooders in cement!"

A black hand snapped out and wrapped itself around Todoroki's neck, pulling him close. "You reap what you sow!" Gang Orca scolded as he activated his Quirk, paralysing another victim. But it appeared that Inasa wasn't quite out of the running yet, as his Quirk remained active and blew towards their opponent like a gale force wind—nothing as strong as before, now that he no longer had use of his limbs, but still enough to get Gang Orca's attention. At the same time, the henchmen chose that moment to charge the barrier, their weapons locked, loaded and ready to cause some damage. Toru screwed her eyes shut and grit her teeth as she prepared to be hit with another attack, but that didn't stop the taunting chatter of the henchmen reaching them. "Let's go destroy the evacuation shelter! He'll love that!"

"And bring down this wall!"

"Hell yeah!"

"Oh no! They're too close!" She heard Mina call from behind her. "Faster guys!"

"I'll take care of this!" Shindo suddenly exclaimed, making her eyes flick open in time to see the earth user slap his palms against the earth, ripping the ground between them to pieces.

"Whoa Shindo!" Midoriya exclaimed worriedly as Toru tried to keep the barrier in place. "I though you couldn't move because of his sonar blast!"

"Well…my extremities are still pretty numb, but I'll bounce back" Shindo grunted as sweat dripped down his face. "Sound waves aren't that bad, not much different from my vibrations so I've built up a pretty good tolerance to them. Might be the first time I'm thankful for that recoil, but anyway, I was trying to get a surprise attack in on that whale…AND THEN TWO FIRST YEARS RUINED IT!"

What is it with boys and bloodlust? Toru wondered absentmindedly, Well, I guess it's not like I can complain, eh?

"I've tripped the henchmen!" Shindo commanded, "Now you make sure their out of the game! We'll split up and get the remaining injured to the shelter. Hagakure can hold them off 'til then"

"Right!" Midoriya agreed as he shot forward, shrouded in green lightning. His feet barely even grazed the top of the violet wall as he flew over the top on his mission to reach Gang Orca with determination alight in viridian eyes. Up ahead, Todoroki and Inasa both lay opposite each other in varying stages of disarray and defeat as the villain prowled between them like a predator playing with their prey.

"Now then, I'll take care of the wind user and continue with the attack" Gang Orca mused aloud. The whale was barely halfway towards the wind user when Todoroki suddenly ignited, bursting into flame even as he lay face down on the ground. At the same time Inasa's Quirk came to life, blowing about like a ship in a storm. The two attacks raced toward each other and for the first time since their battle had begun, they worked together and not against. Fire swirled with air to create a towering tornado that encompassed the marine hero, trapping him inside. It was amazing to watch and even as she struggled to hold back the shockwaves from such an attack, Toru couldn't help but see why they were both praised as being top heroes-to-be. Will I ever get there? She wondered as veins bulged in time with her shaking arms and laboured breaths. Will I ever be able to do that too? Be a hero on the frontlines like them? Or will I always be in the shadows?

"Hey! Behind us!" Cried the henchmen as they realised what was going on. "Boss is trapped in some kind of fire tornado!"

"Isn't that bad?! He's an orca so he's super weak when he gets dried out!"

"Forget the wind! Stop the flame!"

"Tch!" Hissed Toru, unable to do anything but watch as they turned on Todoroki's prone form and fired mercilessly. But she needn't have worried as a wall of ice suddenly erupted into being, blocking all attacks from that side.

"What?!"

"Todoroki! He used both sides!"

"Should we go back and help?"

"Hey! Lookout—!"

"RAH!" Midoriya roared as he kicked away several men at once. Even from as far away as she was, Toru could still see glimpses of the greenette fighting.

"Hagakure!" Shindo called, pulling the invisible girl from her thoughts. "That's the last of the bystanders!"

"What?" She glanced over her shoulder at the older boy who was now struggling to his feet.

"The site's clear! You can take down the barrier!"

"R-really?" It was only after sparing another glance over towards the site in question, that Toru finally cancelled the barrier. Flipping her hands so that they were palms down, she quickly swiped her hands in x-like motion as if she were physically cutting through the barrier. At her motion, the rippling violet wall shattered like glass and disappeared into nothing. Now that Toru was no longer holding up a sky-high barrier, she fell forward with her hands clasping on to her knees and tried to gulp down sweet lungfuls of air through laboured breathing.

"You good?" Shindo joined her side, a gentle hand on her shoulder. All she could do was nod shakily in reply as she tiredly sucked in air. "Maybe you should sit down—"

"—THERE SHOULD BE NO ENEMIES LEFT!" Roared Mora, making both teens jerk their heads towards the noise.

"Holy shit…" Shindo breathed as Mora's cry echoed out across the torn battlefield at the same time his hair exploded reaching far beyond anything Toru had ever seen. Illuminated by the fire tornado in front of him, the lustrous hair swirled about like it had a mind of its own and took down any who were in its way.

Turning her attention back to the fire tornado currently dancing amid the mess, Toru could only watch with apprehension as the figure inside didn't seem to be panicking, not even with his supposed weakness engulfing him like that. "A cyclone prison of fire and air, not bad" Gang Orca's baritone carried across the arena and bounced around them, all calm and collected. Toru felt her heart sink. "An ordinary villain would give up—would weep and beg for your mercy. But what would you do if your desperate trap was not enough? You must always be planning your next move!"

"Oh shit!" Shindo cursed from beside her as they watched the tornado dissipate, leaving the two teens responsible, exhausted and Gang Orca steaming, but alive.

"So? What now?"

Toru's gaze snapped back and forth between the exchange in front of them and the empty space behind them. Violet eyes grazed over blonde locks and crazy idea began to take shape. "AOYAMA!" She called out to the sparkly blonde loitering near the edges of the battlefield as she pushed herself upright much to the dismay of the Ketsubutsu teen.

"Oui?" Aoyama jerked his head up at the call of his name.

"I NEED A HAND!"

"Whoa! Wait—!" Shindo protested, although was evidently ignored much to his irritation.

"But of course! Who could resist such a twinkling damsel?" He jogged over. Trying to ignore the latter half of the comment, she waited impatiently for him to get there before she pounced on him.

"I need you to fire me at the villain"

"What…?" His brow knitted in confusion, "I'm not sure what're asking of me, ma cherie?"

"I want you to fire your navel laser at me and send me over to the villain" She explained, shifting in place slightly.

"But that would hurt you!"

"I'll be fine" The violet light bubbling in her veins ignited her smile like some ghost. "Promise. Please?"

"Well, if you're sure…"

"I am"

"Then let's get started!"

"Right!" She chirped before going to stand directly in front of the blonde who prepared to fire his navel laser at her. "On three!"

"One" She dropped into a crouch, hands in front of her and legs coiled to jump. "Two" Violet pulsed in veins again, igniting her small stature in the bright colour and outlining her to the blond behind. "Three!" Leaping into the air on the command, there was a moment where she hung in the air, unsure if she'd mistimed the jump. And then laser met ultraviolet. "COMBO MOVE: TWINKLING ROCKET!"

Power like she'd never known ran through her as she rocketed forward, easily outpacing Midoriya who had charged again to intercept the marine hero before he could reach their prone comrades. Tears pricked at her eyes from the speed at which she moved and she couldn't help the giddy laughter that trickled from her lips as she flew. With glowing and sparkling hands stretched out in front of her and clenched into fiery fists, it was all too soon that fists met torso. She could hear more than see the wheeze that fell from Gang Orca's lips as he was knocked off of his feet by the force of the blow. The two barely moved back more than a foot or two, but it was enough—more than enough, really.

BRRRING!

"Um yeah" Mera's voice came over the intercom as Toru rolled off of Gang Orca to lay on her back, breathing heavily from exhaustion. "So at this time all of the H.U.C. members who were deployed have been rescued from the disaster zone. It may seem anticlimactic, but with this the Provisional Licensing exam has officially been completed!"

"It's over?" Midoriya reiterated in disbelief from off to the side as Gang Orca rose to his feet, rubbing at the slightly tender spot where he had been hit. In the meantime, Toru remained laying on the ground just trying to regain her breath, still a little giddy from the surge of power she gotten in that short time frame. It was like sucking in the sun! She giggled, receiving an odd glance from the greenette.

"After we tally the scores, we'll announce the results right here in the arena. Anyone injured should go to the infirmary. The rest of you are free to change clothes and wait wherever you like"