Chapter Four: It's Stressful


"Isn't mom's quirk more relevant to mine?" Morie spoke, huffing as she did circuits for the umpteenth time. "No offense," she added hastily after a few moments, for fear of offending her father.

Beads of sweat trickled down as her face was flushed a bright red from exercise. Her arms were aching and her lungs were positively burning. All in all, it wasn't the most fun she had.

"No, no, mom's quirk is controlled by her will, see. Ours require visualisation- though I admit that yours is more ...demanding. Nothing you can't work around, though." Her father replied, dangling a counter showing the number of push-ups she has done. He made the numbers change every time she pushed back up, allowing her to have clear sight of her progress.

She scrunched up her face at his statement. That's unfair, the young girl sighed inwardly. Must be nice to have a quirk that you can control without thinking so much.

An invisible force jabbed her sharply in her shoulder, causing her to jolt and wince. Her father frowned at her, sighing. "I know what you're thinking, and you're going to have to do star-jumps later for that. The world is unfair, Mori, and you're going to have to deal with it."

Morie remained silent, only screaming in her head as loudly as possible. Could her father sense her thoughts now, she wondered?

"I hear coherent thoughts, and only when I want to," her father corrected. Morie sank down to do a push up, and continued her internal screaming nonetheless.

"NotdoingthistospiteyouI'mjustdyingfromthepain-" She managed to bite out in one breath just in case her father was under the impression that she did not understand the point he was trying to make and was feeling particularly spiteful. Morie understood, certainly, but until she was more mature there would always be this part of her which would remain butt-hurt over the type of quirk she had gotten.

Needless to say, walking had never been such a struggle until her father had taken it upon himself to look after her somewhat neglected physical conditioning.

.

They had started on quirk training about 3 months before graduation and subsequently the entrance exam- which wasn't a lot of time, in her opinion. It all reminded her of how she normally studied the day before her exams. The upside to her father deciding to prioritise her physical training was that she was now able to endure the side-effects of her quirk better. The downside? There was still a lot she had to work on with regard to her control. However, this would hopefully, this would have better results than her usual academic endeavours.

(The keyword was hopefully.)

"No, dad, please don't cook up a feast," Morie protested. "I don't think my stomach is up for it now."

It was already the day of the entrance exam, and she was walking to the table, feeling very much sick and without an appetite. Her dad stood in the kitchen, whipping up breakfast while her mom read the paper at the table, looking up and smiling at her as she approached.

"Stop looking so nervous, kid," her mom laughed, ushering her to sit down and patting her on the back. Morie sighed and resumed wringing her hands together.

It was a relief that muscle memory was not fickle, unlike the brain and its ability to remember things. If this was the day of mid-terms or finals, her mind would have gotten wiped clean from her nervousness. That would have certainly been a nightmare.

A tap on the dining table broke her from her reverie as her father set down a mug of coffee and a plate of scrambled eggs.

"Normally I wouldn't let you drink coffee but you do look like you need this," her father stated, giving a little sniff. "Don't want you falling asleep while taking the exam."

Morie smiled at that. Stabbing some egg with her chopsticks, she smiled at the taste of pepper and the faint fragrance of herbs- just the way she liked it.

"Thanks." She beamed at her parents. After eating, she did feel somewhat better now that there was something in her stomach- and not to mention, some last minute protein couldn't hurt, either.

"We better leave for the station now if we don't want to be late," her mom stated. "Make sure you have everything."

"Yes, mom," was the automatic reply as she finished off her breakfast and grabbed her bag, quickly heading to put on her shoes. She called out a goodbye to he father before she stepped out and locked the door, hurrying after her mother.

"Will you be helping to supervise the exams?" Morie couldn't help but wonder out loud.

"Unfortunately not. I'm going over to help Shiketsu High- you know, the school your cousin got accepted in."

She briefly made a face at the mention of her prodigious cousin, who had been gifted with a powerful wind manipulation quirk much like her mother's. When she was younger, she had been oh-so-sorely jealous that he had seemingly gotten the long end of the stick, and she the short one- but alas, a long time has passed since then and she was already over it.

More or less, at least. Now, her only gripe about him was his brashness and over-enthusiasm- her own lack of which has often resulted in her getting earfuls of impassioned lectures from him.

(Oh, the horror.)

Despite her inner grievances, she remained silent, and the silence tided over to the train ride until her mom broke it, petting her on her back and beaming.

"Yuuei Station. Do your best, kiddo."

Morie stepped out of the train, stopping and waiting until the train- and subsequently, the sight of her mother were gone. Then she followed the crowd of people swarming out of the station, noting the various differing specks of colour- school uniforms- which were dotted through the station. She herself was glad in the white and deep purple uniform that belonged to Sakurazawa Junior High. She was suddenly shoved into a student beside her by an impatient asshole, and inwardly she panicked, before hastening to regain her balance.

"Sorry," she spoke, cringing at her own carelessness, turning to look at the person she had bumped into. "Are you okay?"

The boy she had bumped into ( -that was some amazing blue hair, not to mention the fact that she related on a personal level with his dead expression and the bags under his eyes- ) glanced back at her with muted surprise, though he remained sullenly silent. There was an awkward silence in which she wanted to look away to avoid the said awkward silence, but in the end he decided against ignoring her, seemingly feeling obligated after having sensed the awkwardness as well.

"Yes," was all he said, and without another word he disappeared into the crowd of people ahead. When the last of blue hair disappeared from view at last, Morie let out a sigh of relief as she hastened to make herself blend in with the rest of the crowd as they collectively headed towards the U.A.

Why did I sign myself up for this again?

.


"Welcome all of you to my live show! Everyone, say hey!"

The slience was deafening. There might as well have been cricket noises as the assembly of students stared at him blankly. Morie fidgeted in her seat, feeling somewhat in awe that it was really Present Mic in person. She did feel sorry for him, however as she stared up at him from the first row at the rather lackluster response (or lack thereof altogether).

The Voice-type Hero was persistent, however. He tried to get a response again.

"What a refined response. Alright, I'm getting shivers down my spine! I'm going to give you an idea on how this is going to go down, now! Listeners, are you ready?!" His words were punctuated by the silence. Out of obligation, Morie mumbled out a 'yeah' in response.

Present Mic beamed at her. "An enthusiastic response, how fantastic! Now pay close attention, listeners..."

Straightening up, she fixed her eyes on the screen ahead, absorbing in the details of what made up their entrance exam: in a nutshell, it seemed that everyone would be made to split up, and they would have to earn points by busting robots and earning points as much as possible. She did notice a discrepancy though- on the handout given, there was a fourth kind of robot mentioned. Perhaps it was like those in-game obstacles, or something of the like? Either way, the test looked far from easy, and this was just the practical exam.

Am I strong enough for this? She questioned silently, glumly sticking her hand in her pocket where she fidgeted with a spare marble as she tried to shake off her anxious feelings. What am I getting myself into?

"Excuse me!" The sudden interruption made her jolt up and turn towards the new speaker- some guy two rows behind her who wore spectacles. "There are clearly four Villains listed in this hand-out! Such an error would be the peak of embarrassment for an academy of Yuuei's caliber! The reason we are all seated here is because we are all seeking to be Heroes!"

Present Mic has yet to finish the presentation. Morie drawled in her mind ruefully at that boy's statement. And even if they did make a mistake, isn't that a bit of an exaggeration?

She raised an eyebrow as the boy suddenly stiffly turned to point at someone behind him somewhere. Following his direction, she vaguely made out the outline of a meek-looking curly-haired boy in the dark room... wasn't that Midoriya?

"And you! Can't you keep still for a minute? You're distracting everyone else, stop mumbling to yourself! If you think Yuuei is some pleasure jaunt, please leave right away!"

Morie frowned. Normally, she didn't enjoy public speaking, though the sight of Midoriya looking terribly ashamed and embarrassed made her feel terrible- he didn't deserve being pointed out and humiliated like that, did he? Maybe if she did something to divert the attention away from him... ?

"Please give him a break," her voice was never on the loud side and had never been, but in the silence of the room it could be heard somewhat well. She made sure that her words were as placating as possible, with no direct accusations or negative connotations- if she didn't give him a reason to jump down her throat, she assumed he would not. Better to avoid unnecessary drama. "I'm sure all of us are excited here."

As the boy turned around to look for the source of the response he got, his eyes landed on her, and she shot him a small smile. She doubted anyone else, other than those sitting next to her would be able to identify her as the one who had spoken in the darkness of the room.

"Thank you for your input, Examinee 7111!" Present Mic boomed suddenly, moving along as he addressed the said examinee's question. "The fourth and last type of robot is worth zero points! Let's call them 'Arena Traps'!"

'Ah, like Super Mario Bros?' Morie remarked in her mind mentally as a wave of nostalgia surged through her. 'My sad childhood.'

"With one in every area their gimmick makes them go on a rampage in crowded areas!" The Pro-Hero added shortly, and Morie straightened up from her seat. So she was right, basically. Those things were to be avoided at all costs- they looked to be nothing but trouble.

It was then did the boy behind look embarrassed at his earlier outburst. Bowing quickly, he jolted up and replied. "Thank you very much! I apologise for my interruption and earlier rudeness!"

Morie smiled at the glasses wearer. Despite his earlier bluntness, it seemed that he was simply professional in his mindset and maybe somewhat of a hasty person? No, more like he was hasty in forming impressions. His whole demeanour was pretty noteworthy in itself, however- was he from a prestigious family, by any chance? It would certainly explain his uptight-ness.

Finally, Present Mic brought his presentation to an arousing end. "PLUS ULTRA! May you all gladly suffer through the trials ahead!"

Whether to laugh or cry at that, she did not know. It was certainly heartening to see their pro-heroes so willing to make them suffer. Well, all was fair when you're trying to raise a pack of children to be the next generation of heroes.

Silently, she stood up from her seat and followed the others in exiting, keeping her designated area in mind. As she walked past where Midoriya had been seated just now, she smiled to see that he was still there- being the nice guy he was, he was waiting for the others to pass by him, much to the annoyance of the boy behind him.

"Hey, Midoriya," she said softly, raising her hand in a small wave. "All the best later on- you too, Bakugou. I guess."

Morie forced a laugh at the glower the ash-blonde hair boy sent her, resisting the urge to shrink away.

What had she done to make him so hostile, anyway?

Right, she threatened to rat out his bullying deeds to Yuuei, and she had hated him for his acts of bullying. That changed when she saw him trapped by the Villain, however- if she could get over the past, why couldn't he? Who knows? A voice in her mind piped up sardonically, causing her to roll her eyes. Maybe he's just being a petty little bitch.

She told herself off for that- firstly, who was she to judge him for holding grudges and secondly, she was certain she could come up with a better insult should the need show itself. With that thought in mind, Morie waved goodbye to Deku as she set off to her designated area, feeling a sort of tingle in her fingertips as she fidgeted around with the marbles in her pocket.

'Good luck,' she wished herself and resisted the urge to laugh. 'By the way, you seriously need friends if you're telling that to yourself.'

'No shit, conversations with yourself are perfectly normal.'

All in the day of a socially-awkward teen.

Stopping at her designated area, what seemed to be a perfect copy of an urban city lay before them, undoubtedly only one out of many. As she did some light warm-ups, her eyes roamed the group of competitors briefly, before they darted back to the gigantic city. She wasn't even surprised that they could afford building a place and set killer robots inside of it. Heroes were ridiculously rich, what, did they collect taxes?

(Well, time to get her ass kicked.)

"What are you waiting for? Run! There's no countdown in a real battle!"

Morie jolted up at Present Mic's voice and bolted through the doors as soon as she heard Present Mic saying 'What are you waiting for?' Notably, she wasn't the only one- out dashed a boy with red-hair and a girl with what looked seemed to be vines for hair. At least she had gotten herself a head start.

Everything here seemed to be predictable in the sense that it was always unpredictable, and while she couldn't say she liked it, she didn't hate it either. It did make things a lot more interesting, per say.

Beaming as she ran forward, she turned a corner and was immediately faced with a robot- a two-pointer. Figures that such a ridiculously large robot would be worth only two points. Morie ran forward to engage the robot before anyone else could show up.

A large robotic hand suddenly surged forward to smash her into a pancake, and for a moment she froze in fear. But then she remembered that she really did not relish the idea of dying-slash-getting severely mauled, and Morie allowed her instincts to kick in as she skidded sideways and leaped onto the hand, forcing herself into action. Running up the robotic arm, she clung on as it swung her around, and jumped onto its head, hanging on for dear life where she immediately pressed her hand to the cool metal below her.

Splendid. It's hollow! She cheered inwardly, before attempting to sense where the robot's so-called 'brain' was.

It was there, a foreign object made of metal within the sea of air molecules, pulsing and giving off waves of energy. Tugging on the tingling sensation in her fingers, she closed her eyes and imagined the particles gathering around the object, as if the air molecules were trying to procure some robot brain juice...

With a sizzle, the object exploded, and the robot halted in its movements. As she leapt off the robot onto a nearby building (nearly falling off in the process), the robot fell forward and hit the ground, lifeless and unmoving, littering the ground with sizzling sparks.

(Two points.)

The brown-haired girl took off running. There was no time to celebrate or get complacent- after all, the battle has just begun.

.

The sounds of combat were raging all throughout the city now, a stark contrast to the earlier dead silence that had hung around the lifeless city. Morie had set off once more, a determined look knitted on her features, beginning her search for her next target.

"Look out!" A voice shouted hoarsely, echoing from somewhere behind her.

Though 'look out' was honestly not the best warning one could give, she whirled around in surprise as a robot- a three-pointer slammed her against the side of a building. As she struggled to break free, a whirl of red appeared in her peripheral vision as she was suddenly broken free from the robot's grasp, and gratefully she took the time to recover from her assault as her saviour, a boy with wild red hair, beat the robot down. His hands, she noted, had seemingly solidified and was currently much resembling a rock.

"Thanks!" Morie called out to him. The boy sent her a thumbs-up, beaming brilliantly before he hurried off, presumably to get more points. She took this as a cue to leave and dashed off as well- who knew how much time they had left?

It was utter chaos, she thought, as she made to separate herself from the cluster of people who were gathered at the middle of the urban city. Instead, she chose the most desolate paths and took on the robots she encountered respectively. It was a far more straightforward routine than she had first expected, and it quickly became a programmed cycle of rinse, wash, and repeat as she attacked the approaching robots.

Vaguely, Morie wondered if one day these same students would be subduing villains the same way. It was just a passing thought, but she found it oddly disturbing.

Blowing up a one-pointer, she flexed her fingers and breathed heavily. Ignoring the growing ache in her muscles, she jogged round the corner only to catch sight of the blue-haired boy she had bumped into earlier. He had been walking along the desolate street by himself, and the three-pointer that lurked behind him went unnoticed. Currently, its robotic arm was a mere seconds away from striking.

Eyes widening, Morie sprinted forward, tugging the blue-haired boy out of the way as the robots hand smashed the ground where the both of them have been moments ago.

"Are you okay?" She asked, glancing at the boy and offering a hand. Once both of them were up, she launched into an assault on the robot, blowing off the cover on the back of the three-pointer and exposing the wires which lay beneath it.

"Hey, you want to finish it off?" Morie asked the boy. He shot her a perplexed look, the dark circles under his eyes looking increasingly pronounced as he did so, clearly not understanding why she didn't want to finish off the robot by herself - to which she sheepishly offered her explanation.

"You were the one it found," she stated amiably, offering him the handful of wires which protruded from the back of the robot. The boy accepted the offer wordlessly, seizing the handful of wires with a mildly contemplative expression on his features. With a tug, the wires snapped in a burst of sparks, and the three-pointer went down.

"Thanks," he mumbled softly. Morie beamed at him, shaking her head in a 'no problem' gesture, before she hastily decided to leave and find more robots.

"Three minutes left!" Present Mic's voice boomed over the microphone.

At that, her eyes darted around in a panic. Only twenty-four points, she thought. I need more.

Quickly, a one-pointer came her way and she jumped at the robot, visualising air within the robot pushing outwards. The robot's head burst apart, and she took a step back and surveyed the wreckage, an odd sense of calm falling over her. As she ran on, she suddenly found that somehow, she was back at the central part of the city, where majority of the students were gathered. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion as to how she ended up back here again after taking care to not bump into more people than necessary.

Maybe it was a shortcut, or a planned-out route to the city. Or maybe...

A trap.

"Two minutes!"

Present Mic's voice was sounding more and more like an impending death sentence as the minutes ticked on.

Shaking off her fatigue, Morie looked up, eyes widening as a tremor seemed to run through the city. In an explosion of smoke and dust, a gigantic figure loomed before them. Instinctively, her eyes widened at the sight of what could only be the Arena Trap itself- a monster of a robot that made all the other robots they faced so far look adorable in comparison.

Frozen with horror, Morie could only stand there rooted as others shoved past her as they ran for their lives.

The words 'it goes on a rampage in narrow spaces', you are in a bloody narrow space!' repeated themselves in her mind continuously, screaming at her to bolt for it. The robot surged forward, as if coming towards her, and she made to flee, swallowing down her trepidation as she willed herself to run for her life.

But as she made to look at Arena Trap, she realised that she wasn't the target of the monster at all.

On the rooftop nearest to the zero-pointer, a figure with red-hair was rapidly dashing away with all his might. How and when he got up there, she didn't know, but one thing was for certain- he was in dire trouble.

Then with a resounding slam, the top of the building was destroyed in a explosion of rubble as the robot rounded in on the boy, and her eyes grew wide as the sheer force of the blow sent the boy with crimson-hair plunging off the building and down towards the streets far below.

.


A/N:

Cliffhanger time.

What are your thoughts for this chapter? And out of curiosity, what would you like to see happening in this story in the future?