A massive horn rang out across the massive space that was the inside of Dagoba National Stadium.
"Here they come!" Izuku shouted to his teammates, the spires of the city landscape they had run to looming over them as figures appeared all around UA's class 1-A from atop the buildings as well as to either side of them in the street where they now stood.
"Remember the plan, everyone!" Tenya felt the need to implore as a hail of orange spheres came raining down on the group from all sides.
"Yeah, yeah. We got it, no need to yell." Zelgadis calmly retorted. "Michiru, Momo, Emeralda, lets do it!"
As the orange balls meant to spell their defeat approached, Zelgadis quietly chanted the incantation as a wall of wind encased the chimera as well as Izuku, Rikido, Mezo, Toru and Yuga. Michiru closed her eyes and focused causing sparks to dance around her causing her to became encased in a massive ball of fur that had been her tail. The massive ball of fur encompassed Denki, Hanta, Minoru, Ochako and Fumikage. Emeralda shifted her arms into massive, curved shields to block one side and above while Momo produced several more to cover the other sides, protecting Kyoka, Koji, Tsu, Tenya and Mina.
The timing was perfect. The first valley bounced harmlessly off of the air barrier, impenetrable fur and shields as the remaining members of 1-A weathered the storm they had known would come for them for almost two weeks. After another valley proved to their attackers that they were just wasting their limited ammo, hesitation set in among those who had set out to overwhelm the most famous students in the exam.
That pause would prove costly as that was the opening the team had been expecting, as Michiru reduced her tail, freeing her classmates, most of them capable of area wide attacks. Denki, Hanta, Fumikage and Minoru taking aim at those on the high ground of the buildings. Michiru, in the meantime, returned her tail to its fluffed state which Ochacko followed up by using her quirk to make the tanuki girl light enough for Hanta to wrap the fluffy sphere and tossed her down the street. The massive ball of doom fluff crashed into an entire class of unfortunate students, knocking them every which way like bowling pins. Changing back, Michiru dashed back with cheetah legs to rejoin the group.
With threats from above and to one side dealt with, Zelgadis released his spell and moved to face Momo and Emeralda's side. Before those facing them could attempt another wave of balls, Zelgadis let loose a wind attack spell that blow the last threats to the class clear down the street. Just like that, 1-A stood alone, the hundred plus students that had surrounded them now out of reach or out of commission.
"That…was almost too easy." Fumikage ominously intoned.
"Hey, don't jinx it man." Denki chided.
"It was a plan that we worked on for over a week. We executed well, it shouldn't be to surprising." Tenya pointed out.
"Yeah, but what's that saying about plans and first contact with the enemy?" Minoru nervously asked.
As her classmates began to bicker about the merits of luck versus skill, Michiru looked over at the students she had bowled over and passed by afterward. It would have been so easy to ping them and pass and get it over with but that could have exposed her, and by extension her classmates to attack. And after what Aizawa-sensei had told them before hand, the tanuki girl was quite self-conscious about any unnecessary risks.
It hadn't been that long but Michiru couldn't help but think back to the talk Shouta had with them. It was just before the class headed to in to change into their costumes when the dour teacher called out "Hey, lighters. A word."
The three had been spread out amongst the class but each stopped and turned, glancing at one another as other members of the class took a moment to steal glances back at them as they disappeared into the changing rooms. The three other-worlders made their way up to the shaggy older man who had beckoned them, none of them looking especially excited to be pulled away. Zelgadis was the one to speak, annoyingly asking "What do you want? We're finally going to get this started."
The underground hero frowned at the chimera's impatience but choose to ignore it and stick with his original speal "Listen, I've been opposed to the whole lighters program from the start. I personally think there are way too many risks involved and you three especially seem too volatile to be allowed to shoulder the responsibility of being heroes." This drew furrowed brows and clear displeasure from all three lighters as Shouta continued "But…you three passed my test, showed a willingness to improve and even befriended my class. I will admit that I've been mildly impressed. I might even go so far as to say that if you had been apart of my class from the beginning, I might not have expelled you."
The lighter trio began to look less put off, Michiru even asking, naively "So, does that mean-" before she was cut off.
"However. What's been happening the last few days between you three has been unacceptable. I don't know what high school drama nonsense has been going on between you all but it stops now, you hear me? If whatever issues you're having with each other in any way affects my student's ability to pass this exam, so help me, I'll have your heads." Shouta finished, his stare as menacing as he could muster, a red glint seeming to appear in his eye.
Zelgadis crossed his arms and looked away, as though unaffected by the threat as he dismissively replied "Don't act like we don't have a lot at stake here too, Aizawa."
"Damnit. Being a hero is so much more than hunting down the madman who wronged you. You'll be responsible for the safely of countless innocent people." Shouta pointedly snapped back at the chimera.
"You don't think we know that?" Michiru finally added, determination burning in her eyes. "Yeah, sure, we don't exactly see eye to eye right now and yes, we are looking to get home but I've wanted to help people for a long time and I think all of us would do everything we could to help people in need right this very moment if we were allowed to."
With Shouta quieted by the tanuki girl's proclamation, Emeralda quietly added "We'll do our best for ourselves and for them. You have our word."
"Hmph" The weary teacher answered as he turned away as if to leave before looking back and saying "I'll keep you three to that. Know that I'll be watching. Good luck."
Michiru watched her so-called teacher walk away, his odd scarf billowing behind him when the sound of a sensor on her body pinging brought the tanuki girl out of her distracting remembrance. "Michiru!" Mina called out "What are you doing? Your spacing, girl!"
Indeed, Michiru had let her mind wander and had completely missed that some opposing students had taken to the inside of one of the buildings. To be fair, the ball she had been hit with was invisible, surely the work of the thrower's quirk. In the meantime, Zelgadis, Momo and Emeralda had shifted the groups defenses to the building Mashirao had seen someone in a window. Michiru frowned at having been hit once already, shaking her head to clear her mind once more as she called out "Sorry everyone, let my guard down, won't happen again!"
However, with everyone's focus on the threat from the building, another challenge approached from behind and below. A boy with an elongated nose, whiskers and long clawed hands in a yellow body suit emerged from the ground and took aim at an unsuspecting Ochaco. Fortunately, Mezo had extra ears out on a couple of his tenacles and heard the student emerge. Quickly, the masked silver-haired hero-in-training called out "Tokoyami!"
That was all the bird-headed young man needed to hear as he called out "Dark Shadow! Crush him!" before the dark apparition surged from his body and deflected the ball the mole man had just in a panic tossed forward. Dark Shadow slammed into the attacker, which was partly blocked by the students claws but still left him open. Several 1-A students tossed their balls at him, Toru managing to hit the sensor on the mole-man's neck before he recovered and darted back underground.
Before that was over, though, another student, sitting atop a cloud he appeared to be riding, flew in from above and was attempting to hit them from on high. "I got this one!" Michiru declared, manifesting her wings, only to be stopped by Izuku, who grabbed her shoulder.
"Wait, that's exactly what they want! They couldn't overwhelm us with numbers so now they've turned to hit and run tactics to draw us out. Let one of the long-range attackers handle him."
The balls being thrown were deflected by streams of acid from Mina as Yuga took a shot at the cloud-borne student with his navel laser. The shot grazed the cloud and caused their attacker to fall back. Then, from behind, someone tossed what looked like a water balloon that bounced once before exploding right beside Toru, spattering all over her a bright orange substance. "Eww! What is this stuff! Get it off me!" the invisible girl cried in disgust. The moment provided enough distraction for the defenders that the student holed up in the building was able to take another shot and score a hit on the squirming mostly naked girl.
Minoru, for the first time, got a real good look at his till now unseeable classmate and was wholly distracted when a girl seemed to grow from nothing right in front of him and tap him with a ball before shrinking out of sight again.
"This isn't working!" Kyoka called out, her ear jacks now in the ground listening for that mole man.
"You're quite right. We are sitting ducks like this!" Tenya agreed.
"Man, I totally saw Bakugo bailing on us but Todoroki and Kirishima? This sucks!" Denki added.
"We will lose if we just sit here and let them come to us. We need to attack if we expect to pass." Zelgadis summarized what many of them were thinking.
"Agreed." Said Momo, as she moved a shield to deflect a cluster of five balls that turned out to be one when it actually made impact. "Shall we rush the building that sniper is in? We can eliminate the threat and gain extra protection at the same time."
"Assuming their plan isn't to funnel us in there, ribbit." Tsu suggested.
"Second guessing won't get us anywhere. We need to head for that building. Wait, what was that sound?" Izuku answered as his words were interrupted by a crash. In the distance, a water tower had been felled, crashing into the street well down the road from the class.
At first no one paid the downed tower any mind, possibly the result of other test-takers battling it out. However, the crash of water that came out of the tower didn't just harmlessly dissipate on the ground but instead sat as though like a blob that seemed to build larger and larger until Mezo and Kyoka called in unison "RUN!"
The now massive wall of water burst forth, a tsunami of fluid now crashing forward down the street toward the students of UA. The class had no choice but to scatter, trying to save themselves as best they could. Tenya grabbed the closest person to him, the mute Koji and dashed as fast as he could away from the incoming flood. Emeralda stood her ground, shifting her feet into heavy metal rods and stabbing them into the asphalt, doing the same with one arm to lower her center of gravity. She held onto Izuku with her free hand as the water crashed own on them but before long lost her grip, the flood taking the freckled boy with it.
Michiru had never tried an aquatic form before so opted for her wings but wasn't able to get high enough and was caught and carried away with the water. The same was true for most of the rest of the class save for Hanta, who had grabbed Ochaco and managed to wrap onto a light pole and was able to hang on for a time before the water became too much and they, too, were carried away.
(X)
In the stands, Shouta watched his class as they had weathered the storm of the exam's opening act, his colleague and perpetual jokester to his straight man, Emi Fukukado or Ms. Joke within talking distance of him. As 1-A defended and then counterattacked, the green-haired hero and teacher was honestly surprised "You must really like your class this year Eraser."
"Not really." Was the dour man's nonchalant answer, trying to shut this conversation down before it went anywhere. He knew he'd fail but he had to try. His tormentor continued.
"Not only have you not expelled anybody but you picked up a few extras! And to top it all off, you actually warned them about what was coming. I'm so proud of you! We'll make a teacher out of you yet!" Emi finished as she lightly punched Shouta in the arm.
Grumbling, the disheveled underground hero mumbled something about never getting peace and quiet before answering Emi properly "I didn't warn them. I didn't feel I should have to. Heroes are faced with villains who know their quirks all the time. It only makes sense that our students should be ready for that eventuality."
The laughing hero quirked an eyebrow "Wait. If you didn't tell them does that mean they figured it out on their own?"
"My students didn't, no." Shouta almost hissed.
Her prospective husband's tone was more than enough to answer how he felt about the extra students he brought with him to the exam but it drove Emi's curiosity "So which one's are the add ons? And are they-"
"Lighters? Yes. Students can lose their seats in the hero course so we normally keep the same forty students in each year. Since lighters are taught separately, this is how it happens when we have one or more enter the hero course." Emi nodded in understanding as Shouta continued "As to which ones are lighters, it'll be clear soon enough."
The bandana-wearing greenette wasn't sure if that answer was praise or an indictment and asked as much "Wait, what does that mean?"
Rolling his eyes, Shouta, more than tired of the exchange, nonetheless answered honestly "It means those three are more experienced than anyone in this test today and left to their own devices will have no trouble in this part of the exam. I had them go up against UA's best third-years and didn't just hold their own, they won."
Emi looked on, wide-eyed at that explanation. Still, as other students switched tactics and began guerilla attacks against UA's seemingly impenetrable defenses, the jokester hero began to wonder if her companion had missed the mark. Then the massive water attack struck the class, sending the various members of 1-A to parts unknown. Emi again looked at the eraser hero. If he was worried, he didn't show it. Instead he said "There, you happy? Now that they aren't working for the group you'll see what I mean."
A slight chill went down Emi's spine. Shouta had always had a talent for cold, rational analysis and if his calculating mind had come to such a conclusion then she just hoped her own students didn't run into one of these lighters.
(X)
After a few moments that seemed to stretch for minutes, the flood receded and Emeralda was left alone, gasping as her scarf hung limp and heavy to her sides as her limbs remained firmly in the asphalt. The tan girl had nary a moments rest before a barrage of balls descended on her, students from on high wasting no time in taking this chance. Emeralda knew she couldn't get her limbs out and forming a shield in time.
Instead, the nanomachine girl whipped her head to the side, causing her hair to flare out and as it did, she shifted clusters of her pale green locks into blades that continued to spin as she twisted her head. The hair blades batted the orange spheres away as effectively as any shield could have as balls were repelled back in all directions, leaving their throwers dodging back behind cover. Emeralda wasted no time, reverting her limbs to normal during the attack. As soon as the assault ended, the greenette bolted for the building the sniper who had hit Michiru earlier was still in.
Crashing through the door as several balls nearly hit her outside, Emeralda rolled and spun, coming to a stop on one knee facing the door, one arm a mallet and the other a shield. As the moments passed and it appeared no one dared to follow her in directly, the amber-eyed girl shifted her limbs back to normal and ran in search for a staircase.
Proceeding quickly but carefully up several floors, stopping at corners to shift one hand into an angled mirror to peer around, Emeralda was three floors up when she realized no one had followed her at all, to her surprise. As she passed a window, the greenette chanced to glance outside to see what was going on. What she saw across the way, standing atop a building across the street was the extremely eager young man from Shiketsu in a very militant costume with a cape, wind appearing to swirl around his open hand.
Inasa called out something Emeralda couldn't quite make out, the glass muffing the sound, before the wind user's palm-sized twister grew, pulling in balls from all the participants nearby. Sensing what was coming, Emeralda ducked down as Shiketsu's top freshman then unleased a gale of hundreds of balls down on the poor students unlucky enough to be in his vicinity. The gale also shattered windows on buildings on either side of the street, including Emeralda's, several balls blowing in as well. The same must have been true for the sniper, who called out "SHIT!" loud enough for the greenette to hear, alerting her to the fact that her target was on the same floor.
Plucking the balls that had made it through her window, Emeralda darted ahead, leaning forward to present a lower and thus harder target. The shattered glass ensured that any movement she made would be heard which meant any chance at surprise would have to be in a hard and fast strike. Luckily for the morpher, the supervisor of the exam came over the speakers to exclaim his surprise at so many examinees being knocked out at once and his hope for a swift end so he could get his precious sleep.
Supervisor Mera's voice carrying across the massive stadium allowed Emeralda to sight the sniper un-noticed. What she saw was a taller guy with short, spikey brown hair wearing a black sleevless bodysuit, his arms appearing to be wrapped in tape and his back turned to her. Creeping forward to get close enough to strike with her arm extended into a mallet, the greenette had to dive when she saw the sniper thrust his seemingly empty hand toward her. Sure enough there was a crash as something impacted the wall behind the nanomachine girl.
The boy turned, and Emeralda could see his eyes were covered by a thin mask that hid his pupils. His mouth, though, remained unhidden and it was a thin line, unwilling to give away the boy's state of mind. Coolly, the sniper spoke "You were down below with the rest of the UA blowhards. Looks like you picked up on my little trick. Not bad."
Getting back to her feet, Emeralda formed a pair of shields in front of her, each running from her knees to her chest as she replied "That you can make anything you touch invisible? Yes, not a difficult thing to decern."
The sniper raised an eyebrow "Oh? Have me completely figured out, do you? I imagine you figured if you got me in close quarters, I'd be vulnerable didn't you?"
"I don't exactly possess long range attacks myself, so regardless of your close combat prowess, I had to find my way to you." Emeralda replied, hoping to get the rival student to give something away as she plotted a counterattack.
Frowning slightly that the mysterious girl in front of him didn't rise to his own bait, he decided to raise the stakes "Regardless, if you thought I was dangerous at long range, you're mistaken. I'm first and foremost a close-range fighter. I was hoping to lure one or more of you arrogant UA kids in with me." As he spoke, the sniper brought his arms up in front of him, each hand grasping straps on the opposite arms wrists "You've failed this exam, girl! Because your facing Phantom!"
With that, the now named Phantom released the straps as the wrappings shot off his arms, revealing that his arms, too, were invisible. Within moments the seemingly armless hero-in-training was in front of Emeralda, her shields sparking as if metal was coming in contact with them. Her eyes wide in surprise, Phantom spoke again "What's wrong! You didn't think it was just things I touched that were invisible, did you?"
With his eyes covered by the mask, Emeralda couldn't get a sense for where he planned to move next and suddenly felt a heavy blow to her side when what felt like a metal rod hit her. Immediately, the tan girl shifted her right arm over to block the blow and when Phantom stepped back, she swung her head, allowing her hair to sweep forward as it formed a hammer, swinging straight for her attacker's head.
The hammer missed its mark, however as the blunt weapon was blocked by the invisible rods. "Nope! I saw that little trick with your hair on the street! I know you can do that with your feet too. I've got you figured out! And in a battle of quirks, there's nothing more dangerous than that!"
Before Phantom could attack again, Emeralda went on the offensive, shifting her arms into spears and striking forward in an attempt to keep her opponent at a distance. Without being able to see where Phantom's arms and apparent weapons were though it meant she was open to being parried and that's exactly what happened as he got past the spears and came in at her, striking her hard in the other side and her head, sending her tumbling to the ground over half a dozen feet way as she hit a wall.
Getting up to one knee, Emeralda formed another shield, blood dripping from her forehead. Phantom took a moment to read his opponent, who despite the blows was still apparently ready to go since she was able to get a shield up so quickly. Still, he'd shown he could get past her guard and was ready to do it again while she was on the back foot "I've got you now!" he called as he moved to charge in again.
Except, he didn't. Instead, Phantom felt a searing pain in his right arm just past his shoulder. His eyes wide, the sniper turned swordsmen turned his head to see a thin blade protruding from the ground and impaling his arm. A moment later, Emeralda's shield shifted into another thin blade that she extended forward, stabling his other arm in the same spot. For a moment, the pain didn't seem too bad before all at once it hit him and Phantom screamed, his invisible blood dripping down his suit, not staining it but moistening it uncomfortably.
When the tan girl retracted her arms, Phantom fell to his knees, his rods clanging to the floor as he let go of them. Looking up at the approaching lighter, the seemingly armless boy croaked out "H-how?"
"Your arms may be invisible, but you appeared otherwise to have the average anatomy of a human. That meant those arms still attached to your shoulders. I may have said I didn't have long range attacks. I said, however, nothing of mid-range attacks. Perhaps if you had spent less time talking and just focusing on defeating me, you could have caught me off guard."
As Emeralda tapped each of Phantoms sensors with a ball, he fought back tears as he nodded, his facing a mix of pain, disappointment and shame, his head held low. Sparing her defeated fellow examinee just one more glance as she stood up and began walking out of the room toward the stairs, Emeralda offered no words of encouragement, simply uttering "One more to go."
(X)
Coughing up water as she lay on the ground, Michiru looked about the wide, open space she found herself. Only a few feet away from her lay Koji Koda and Tenya Iida, both conscious and groaning as they recovered from the deluge that had swept them away. Getting to her feet first, Michiru glanced about, glad the water likely cleared away any would-be attackers as she moved to check on her classmates. Pulling Koji up first, Michiru asked "What the hell was that? That water attack could of killed us!"
The tall boy she'd just helped up nervously nodded in agreement but said nothing as the two of them helped up the class rep. The stern Tenya thanked them before concurring "Quite right, Kagemori-san! That was a reckless move! Whomever did it couldn't possibly of known if we would've been safely deposited here anymore than we could've been smashed on a rock!"
"Well, nothing we can do about it now. What we can do is look for the oooothers!" Michiru replied, her answer interrupted by a sudden violent shaking of the ground beneath their feet. The loud rumbling and cracking of earth drew the trio's attention, where off in the distance large sections of earth appeared to be uplifted and broken randomly.
"I hope none of our classmates were over there…" Tenya commented before steeling himself "We need to make sure no one was hurt!"
Before anyone of the UA students could dash forward though, Michiru's ear twitched as she called out "Get behind me!" as she turned around, enlarging her left arm and swinging it broadly across her front in time to deflect several balls that had been hurled at them.
There, in front of the tanuki girl, animal whisperer and speedster was a group of examinees that appeared to be entirely heteromorphic, lined up in a semi-circle. At the center of the half circle stood a guy baring a lion's head, his mane full and blowing in the breeze caused by the recent nearby destruction of earth. Raising his large clawed paws threateningly, the lion-man spoke, his voice gruff "You two, step away from the armored one!"
The timid Koji shrunk behind the much smaller Michiru, who narrowed her eyes as Tenya rose and stepped forward to stand beside the tanuki girl. Seeing the odds, the second Ingenium decided it was worth trying to talk themselves out of the situation as he said "What is the meaning of this? What business could you have with me and not my classmates?"
A girl to the lion's left with distinct kangaroo features shot back "Quiet, normie! You're gonna-" before she was cut off by the raised paw of their lion-like leader.
"We're not here to eliminate other heteromorphs, racoon-"
"Tanuki!"
"-tanuki girl. Just leave and we will not attempt to eliminate you!" The maned hero-in-training explained.
Michiru was aghast. Sparing only a moment to look at Tenya's helmeted face, the tanuki girl glared back at the group looming over them and countered with a question "Are…are you only targeting normal humans? Why!?"
A…guy? It was hard to tell given how spider-like they were and hunched over so Michiru wasn't sure, even when the spider person spoke "OOHH, someone's a city girl, aren't you, little tanuki?"
Tenya, by now convinced talking wasn't going to get them out of this and sure that between him and Michiru's speed, they could carry Koda safely away, whispered to Michiru "Kagemori-san, don't let them antagonize you. We need to get out of here!"
Said tanuki girl's blood was up, however and she was not in the mood to be talked down to. Eyes narrowed, Michiru took a challenging step forward as she called back "What did you call me? What does that even mean, huh?"
A very tall girl with swallow-tailed black and red butterfly wings, large compound eyes and antennae to go with her very gaudy make-up answered "He meant just what he said, little girl. You city heteromorphs have no idea how rough we have it in the countryside!"
"That's right." The lion confirmed "The CRC rarely gathers in the cities but where we're from, people with quirks like ours are terrorized almost every day! That's why we heteromorphs from across the backwaters of Japan will prove we can be the best heroes and we'll do it by besting 'normal' people like you!" the leader of the group finished as he pointed to Tenya.
"Iida, what the hell is the CRC?" Michiru almost demanded, her eyes a mix of anger and confusion.
"My sincere apologies, Kagemori-san but I don't know. Now, we need to get out of here before-"
"T-they're an an-anti-mutant group." Michiru heard a soft, meek voice from behind her say.
Turning her head, surprise on her face, Michiru heard for the first time Koji's voice as the shy boy behind spoke again. "You, you can talk?" being the first, less than intelligent thing that came to her mind.
A flicker of a smile appeared on Koji's face before slipping away again as he answered "Jiro-san said the same thing…"
"What?" Michiru replied, not sure she heard her quiet classmate clearly, even with her enhanced hearing.
"The CRC, it's a group that hates people who have quirks that modify the body. The less human, the worse the treatment." The rock-headed young man quickly answered.
Michiru was aghast. How hadn't she heard of this before? Was it because this group stayed out in the countryside? Was that why they thought she grew up in the city, because this group shied away from larger population centers? In an instant, Michiru's image of this world as a utopia for people regardless of appearance shattered and it left her seething. She was angry. Angry at the reminder of her own world, angry at herself for being fooled, angry at…people.
Michiru stood, her head focused downward, baring her fangs as her face twisted in barely contained rage. Her clawed hands clenched and shook as her classmates and opponents watched on. Tenya was just about at the point of grabbing them both and bolting when the lion spoke again, a hint of righteous arrogance to his voice "Your friend confirms it, Tanuki-san. We speak the truth. Come, join us and we'll show that heteromorphic people deserve to stand with everyone else."
The lion-man stood with his paw outstretched, confident the tanuki in front of him saw the truth as they did. He was wrong. Very, very wrong. Instead of answering his call, instead of coming to stand by their side, Michiru let out an ear-piercing scream of rage. The mournful howl brought haunted stares from friend and foe alike as Tenya and Koji stepped away from their temporary classmate. It was for the best as Michiru screamed, she brought her fist up in front of her, shaking in unrestrained frustration. Then, sparks flashed about the tanuki girl's body as first her arms massively expanded and enlarged. This wasn't an unfamiliar sight to the two UA students but the change didn't stop there. Michiru's whole body grew and expanded as muscle upon muscle exploded outward to enormous proportions until the once petite girl was now a massive hulking gorilla-like creature. The fact that she retailed her normal head made the sight that much more unsettling, her costume just barely able to adjust to the change. A testament to Power Loader's work.
With a wild snarl, the gargantuan Michiru charged forward, taking a massive swipe at the assembled heteromorphs. Many, caught off guard and still in shock were swept away while others had enough presence of mind to tumble backwards. With her opponents wounded or cowed, Michiru angrily declared "You think I don't know what its like to be hunted!? To have people wanting me dead for something I had no control over!?"
Seeing an opening, the spider-like examinee shot out a massive web, large enough to encase the enraged morpher. Though Michiru was supremely angry, she wasn't mindless and seeing the attack, she shrunk back down, though now with more cat-like features, including some impressive claws. It only took a couple of slashes to clear enough of a gap in the web for the temporarily feline Michiru to charge forward, her form again changed. This time to a more cheetal-like form that allowed her to close the gap between her and her attacker in mere moments.
The spider heteromorph raised his many arms to hopefully block the slicing attack that was sure to come. Instead, Michiru went back to normal, save for her left arm, which again enlarged as she swung down from above hard. No number of arms would deny the tanuki girl as her punch smashed down into the poor hero-in-training's exoskeleton, sending him hard into the ground and unconscious instantly.
Any and all resistance fell apart at that point, those remaining unscathed fled, leaving their fellow heteromorphs for dead. One of those left behind was their lion leader, who had only just managed to sit back up from Michiru's initial attack when he saw the supposed city girl now looming over him. The poor maned young man began to cower, sure he could feel a wild urge to kill emanating from the figure above. Instead, words assaulted him, cold and steely as Michiru spoke "You can never achieve the equality you long for by stooping to their level. It makes you ne better and it sickens me that you asked me to join you. Now, though, you'll have to go back home with nothing to show, and I'm going to send you there." Michiru raised her arm again, signaling her intent to strike her downed opponent again.
Whether Michiru intended to attack the downed lion-man again only she could truly know because at that moment several small songbirds landed on her head and shoulders, causing the righteous tanuki girl to freeze, confusion replacing the cold glare she had leveled at her fellow examinee. Then Tenya was there, his hand on her raised shoulder, his voice gentle but firm as he said "Kagemori-san. Michiru. Its ok, you've defeated him. There is no need to go any further. It would be unbecoming of a hero to assault a defeated foe, after all."
Glancing back, Michiru saw Koji meekly holding his hands in front of him, several more birds on his head and shoulders as he nodded in agreement with his class rep. Roughly pulling her arm from Tenya's grasp, Michiru stepped forward and grabbed one of her balls, tapping the three sensors on the lion before her as he hung his head. Without acknowledging Tenya's words, the now much calmer but still clearly distraught tanuki girl said "Come on, lets tag the others and get out of here. I'm done."
(X)
"Damnitall, what a mess!" Zelgadis spat out as he rose from the rubble that had been the ground moments earlier. The chimera had been washed away with most of the rest of 1-A and when the flood had subsided, the sorcerer-swordsmen found himself in the company of Yuga, Tsu, Mashirao, Mezo and Fumikage. All appeared to be unharmed, if a little worse for wear.
That all changed when the two-faced student from Ketsubutsu appeared with several classmates around him. Scanning the UA students, Shindo called out "I see that demon of a girl isn't with you! It seems lying in wait was the right move! Now that your numbers are fewer, we can pick you off once I've shaken things up some more!"
The chimera barely had enough time to call out to the others to run, let alone cast a spell. But yell he did "He's going to vibrate the ground! Scatter!" But it was too late, as the ground below the UA students began to rumble, then shatter beneath them.
Now standing amidst the dust and crumbled earth, the sorcerer-swordsmen wondered how in the hell he had managed to survive that unscathed. Calling out would just invite an attack but waiting here where they know I was when they attacked is risky too Zelgadis thought as he climbed over a large piece of displaced Earth and slide down toward less disturbed ground. As he cautiously moved forward and the dust began to thin out a bit, silhouettes became visible in the distance. Unwilling to cast a wind spell to clear out the cloud and reveal himself or attack in case they were one of his classmates, the rock-encrusted lighter was surprised to suddenly get hit in his shoulder with a ball, activating one of his sensors. "You've got to be kidding me…" the chimera muttered, having his choice made for him.
Calling out to his attacker, Zelgadis said "I've had enough playing around, enjoy eating dirt." Then, slamming his hand to the ground, called "Grey Bomb!" After which a line of disturbed earth ran right for the silhouette.
Just as the ground beneath his target exploded, Zelgadis watched his attacker dodge to the side and roll to his feet and reply back "That the best you got, When I throw something I can't m-" Toteki said before a massive gust of wind slammed into him, knocking him off his feet and smashing him hard into the ground.
Walking up to the disoriented examinee, Zelgadis glared down at him and finished his opponent's comment "Can't miss, right? Yeah, I remember what Emeralda said. Next time make sure the other guy does miss."
Reaching down to tag the witless Toteki, the blonde girl from Ketsubutsu came charging at the chimera's side, intent on bum-rushing him. Zelgadis didn't even turn his head before the girl herself was smashed into by the ghostly vestige of Dark Shadow as the other members of 1-A came up behind the sorcerer-swordsmen.
"Zelgadis! It is well you appear unharmed!" Fumikage called out. Then, noticing that while his rock-encrusted friend had been reaching out to tag Toteki with his left, his right hand was held across his body, palm open facing at the girl. The bird-headed young man chuckled "It would appear you weren't need of a save after all."
"Indeed! It would seem you were sparkling brilliantly even without us, Greywards-san!" Yuga declared, dramatically outstretching his hand and appearing to swoon, causing the chimera to roll his eyes.
"Greywards-san." Mezo interrupted "The one who caused that earthquake, he's over there. Doesn't sound like he's doing well." The masked silver-haired boy finished as he pointed beyond some upturned rocks.
Raising an eyebrow, it wasn't lost on Zelgadis that the other students appeared to be following his lead. It made sense in a way. He was older and though he kept to himself, he wasn't lacking for confidence. It would be the first time he'd lead, after all.
With the others looking to him, Zelgadis sighed inwardly before speaking "Alright, Tsu take the left and Fumikage the right. Mezo, keep listening. Mashirao, protect Yuga, who'll be in support. I'll take the front."
Everyone nodded and the group proceeded as planned, only to find Shindo on one knee, breathing hard, though he appeared to be smiling. "Heh *cough* so much for our ambush. Well played, UA. You all are really as good as your school's reputation. *cough* congrats."
No one was buying the honey-sweet words from their two-faced competitor. Even the very flamboyant Yuga was looking down on Shindo with distaste. "Tag him, he's trying to distract us." Tsu directed calmly.
Several drew out their balls, ready to knock out the black-haired Ketsubutsu srudent as well as his classmates when a blast of wind hit them from the left, sending the UA students tumbling hard into the rocks along with their rival school's students they had just defeated. Zelgadis, literally made of sturdier stuff, found himself relatively unhurt and was able to get up in time to see their attacker. Standing some fifteen yards away was a young man with wild unkept hair that seemed to spill out in all directions, with streaks of just about every color you could imagine mixed into what was otherwise black. His face bore bright, intelligent red eyes and a confident smirk. His costume mostly hidden by a large black cloak that concealed the rest of his outfit.
Not wanting to give the newcomer the chance to finish the job, the blue-skinned sorcerer pulled an ice cube from an insulated pouch on his belt before he called out "Ice Arrow!" As he held out one arm and pulled back with the other, a frozen arrow forming from the action. Focused more on distraction than landing a blow, Zelgadis took no time to aim as he let his spell loose. To his surprise, the projectile hit its mark, landing square in the other examinee's chest.
Instead of freezing over as normally happened when a target was hit with the spell however, the ice seemed to absorb into the caped figure. The white streaks in the guy's hair seemed to shimmer as his smirk grew larger. Then the newcomer spoke, his voice on the high side and betraying the excitement of something happening exactly as expected "You are too kind to gift me a second time, my rocky friend!" before ice began to from on both his arms. When he clapped his hands together, a stream of ice shot right for the chimera.
Zelgadis only had a moment to draw his sword and smash into the ice beam, breaking up and dispersing it as icy shrapnel that pelted the recovered and recovering members of 1-A. Fumikage came to stand side by side with Zelgadis, Dark Shadow punching at incoming blasts of ice along with Zelgadis' sword. "What happened? Didn't he use wind a moment ago?" the raven-headed boy asked his friend.
"It looks like he absorbed my ice attack. Couldn't tell you anything beyond that though. Aoyama! You there? Can you hit him with your laser?" Zelgadis called back, his deep voice calm but with a commanding air about it.
Tsu was at the moment helping a bleeding Yuga up, the golden locks he was so proud of besmirched with red. Still, with an eye closed to keep blood out and his teeth clenched in pain, the sparkling hero replied "B, but of course!" With his frog-like classmates help, Yuga steadied himself enough to aim and take a shot.
The bright beam from Yuga's navel, like Zelgadis' Ice Arrow before it, struck true, blasting their assailant in the face. For a moment, the ice barrage stopped, giving the UA students a moment to prepare to counterattack. It quickly became apparent that the only reason their opponent had stopped was becouse he had been blinded for a moment as he absorbed that blast as well. Now, beams of light were streaking toward the group, Dark Shadow now completely useless due to the bright light and Zelgadis forced to go on the defensive as he put up a barrier to shield the group.
To make things worse, Mezo arrived to say, "Those students from Ketsubutsu have started to get up as well, if we don't do something, we'll be caught in a pincer."
"Great." Zelgadis dead-panned. "Alright, Tsu, Fumikage, you think you can get over there and tag them out? That'll get them off our back."
"You're not going to take that cloaked guy on alone are you, Zelgadis-chan?" Tsu wondered even as she and Fumikage began moving away.
Narrowing his eyes, Zelgadis answered "No, I have other plans."
(X)
Izuku, like most of the rest of his class, had been carried away by the sudden flood that crashed down the street they were fighting on despite Emeralda's best efforts to hold on to him. Unlike most of the rest of his class, the freckled greenette had found himself alone and still within the confines of the cityscape, if at the outskirts. Still soaked as he looked around and assessed his situation, spending some time trying to find anyone he knew, Izuku's mind began to race. That was some powerful quirk to control that much water and wash us away like that. Between that and the top ranked Shiketsu guy, these are the best students from across the country. Somehow, the thought of that is…exciting.
So lost in his thoughts, a nervous smile on his face, the barer of One for All suddenly found himself with someone leaping at him from his front, grabbing his shoulders and using him to catapult herself over him, hitting one of his sensors with a ball in the process. Turning to face his attacker as she landed, the girl playfully said "Tag, your it!"
Now Izuku could get a first look at the person who had surprised him and it was a good look that he got. Crouching down to allow for a clear view of the substantial amount of cleavage the girl's black jumpsuit left open at the chest would allow was the dirty blonde girl from Shiketsu. The girl's costume rounded out by the same "S" adorned hat they wore as part of their class uniforms. Still concealing he face by the rim of her hat as she kept her head down, the girl continued "Not smart…starring off into space like that. But…Whats really weird is that you're in trouble and still smiling." she finished as she finally revealed her face to look Izuku in the eye.
Laughing, an almost obsessive glee in her eye, the girl continued "You couldn't be cooler." The odd words setting off all sorts of alarms in the green-clad hero as his muscle's tightened and he settled into a stance, ready to react to whatever this girl had in mind next.
Instead of following up her attack though, the blonde Shiketsu student relaxed herself and began to explain she knew in situations like this people tended to go after people they had intel on, which meant UA students would get ganged up on. So she followed Izuku because she not only didn't want to miss the chance to interact with UA students, but, as she finished, told Izuku "I've taken quite an interest in you." Her voice dropping and octave, giving her last words a hint of allure and danger to them.
Refusing to lower his guard, already sure something wasn't right, possibly trying to distract him for an ambush, Izuku shot back "Huh, you sure like to talk." As he finished speaking, the greenette began pumping All for One through his body, arcs of green energy dancing across his body.
His caution was rewarded as the Shiketsu girl suddenly flung a rock at him, which he dodged, just as she threw a ball where he was headed. His quirk already activated, the green-clad boy was quick enough to dodge that attack as well, leaping backward. When he landed though, one hand on the ground as he slid, he saw his opponent no longer in front of him and he had no idea where she was.
"All I have to do is tag you and that makes two!" the girl said as she rushed in at Izuku's side, almost able to hit another sensor if not for his nimble dodge as she shot away in the opposite direction.
Sliding to a stop at an interaction, Izuku knew he had to counterattack, quickly raising his arm to threw back where he just was, only to find the blonde was again out of his sight. "What? She's gone again?" The greenette wondered aloud as he looked around.
Only to hear the girl say from behind him, almost taunting him "Oh. You think my quirk lets me disappear?" as she pressed her weight into the young hero-in-training's back, pinning him face first into the ground as he grunted in shock. With his arm pinned behind his back, ball tightly clasped in it, the Shiketsu student added in a soft, sweet voice "That's not it. I was just hiding."
Remaining calm, despite an arm pining him down by his neck, his arm held tight behind his back and the girl's ample breasts slowly pressing into him, Izuku replied "It wasn't your power at work?"
"No. That's just a technique" the dirty blonde replied, her lips now inches away from Izuku's ear "I make my opponents eyes and ears blind and deaf to my presence. To do that, I hold my breath, clear my mind and disappear. Its simple."
"Like this?" a new voice replied, from behind the two grounded examinees. The dirty blonde's eyes went wide as she tried to quickly twist her body around to face to new threat, only to find her midsection being clamped by metal all the way around her torso.
With his opponent no longer restraining him, Izuku slipped away immediately, allowing his savor to press the weird blonde girl hard into the asphalt. The blonde girl had twisted enough to see who had gotten the jump on her once the pain subsided enough to open her eyes "You!" she cried, as though in recognition.
"Kasim-san!" Izuku called out as he, too saw who had saved him. Then, having picked up on his attacker's address of the tan girl, added "Do…you know this girl?"
"I do not, Midoriya. I only met her this morning. I'm surprised to have found you in such a position." Emeralda calmly answered.
"You bitch! You ruined my alone time with Midoriya!" The blonde bitterly snapped, her calm and seductive veneer shattered into a snaring wild mess. Then, just as quickly, the dirty blonde calmed as she starred at Emeralda's amber orbs and spoke as if the outburst a moment ago never happened "I heard a girl with tan skin and green hair had fought at Yokohama. One that lost an eye…Is one of yours fake, I wonder?"
Izuku's eyes went wide as he looked over at his classmate, flashes of that night where his mentor made his final stand flashing in his mind. He knew one of the lighters, the purple-haired one, had died but this was the first he'd heard of Emeralda injured. Before he could question her though, Emeralda said, her calm voice tinged with what sounded like barely contained anger "Midoriya. You need to tag her, now."
"Uh…right! I'll do that!" the nervous freckled boy said as he moved toward the pinned girl, only to stop short when a most unexpected and unnerving sight drew him up short.
The Shiketsu student appeared to be…melting?!
"Wha…whats happening? Is it her quirk?" Izuku questioned as he unconsciously took a step back.
Emeralda was feeling her grip on her captive slip as goo began finding it ways between her clamps and the girl. As the goo began to drip off the top of the blonde girl's head, and new brunette color poking out, the melting girl spoke again "You should take more pride, Izuku Midoriya! We didn't even get to have half the fun I had planned and I'm turning to putty in your hands!"
With that, the goo-covered girl managed to wiggle her way out of Emeralda's metal clamping grasp, leaping way and landing on a street light pole. That last act was enough to fling the remaining goo off the girl, bits of it spattering everywhere, including the two examinees below. What was left was the very naked form of one Ochaco Uraraka. Izuku's face immediately flushed red as he turned away in embarrassment.
Emeralda, on the other hand, stood fast. She knew this girl, Camie Utsushimi, one of many students she had looked up preparing for the exam and this was not her quirk. The fact that she now looked like their classmate meant she could be anybody and the way she reacted to her presence and made a comment about Emeralda's eye…was she that girl from before?
The green-haired morpher's thoughts were interrupted, however, when the doppelganger, seeing Izuku's reaction, took the chance to leap down straight at Emeralda. Distracted by her own thoughts, the tan girl was caught of guard by the attacker, now brandishing a knife that had come from…somewhere.
At first, the Ochaco look-alike seemed to have Emeralda on the back foot, getting a quick swipe in and getting a grazing cut in on Emeralda's cheek. As the tan girl back peddled, her attacker took a moment to lick the blood off her weapon, causing the false Ochaco's eyes to widen as her head reflexed back and she appeared to gag. The pause was brief though and the girl was attacking again, with a series of slashes that Emeralda was now able to deftly avoid.
Izuku stood by, the power of One for All now coursing through him but finding himself unable to act. The two girls appeared closely locked in combat and he didn't feel confident enough in his own skills to jump in. Instead, he watched on, looking for an opening while also trying to not look too hard at the doppelganger.
Meanwhile, after dodging for abit, Emeralda felt she had a good feel for her opponent and was ready to go on the offensive. As the copycat took another swipe at the amber-eyed girl, Emeralda stepped into the attack, her left foot under the arc of the other girls swing. As the blade-barring hand came down, a blade shot up from Emeralda's foot, ruining her boot but able to knock away the blade and causing flesh wounds to several of her opponents fingers.
The Ochaco-like girl wasn't fazed by the damage to her hand though, switching immediately to hand-to-hand combat, charging with a series of quick kicks and low punches, her form wild and acrobatic. Emeralda, though, had little trouble blocking the blows, unpredictable as they appeared. When the clone leaned back and threw herself forward in a wheeling kick from above though, the student of Ranma Satome caught the other girl's foot. Sidestepping, Emeralda threw her attacker's foot down, the added and unexpected momentum sending the doppelganger spinning off her feet and crashing in a heap on the ground.
Emeralda and Izuku both saw their chance to take out their clothes-less opponent but the sudden crashing sound from a building to their side drew their attention, if briefly. A nearby battle likely spilled over near them and the two examines took a moment to make sure an attack from another direction wasn't coming. That, however, was enough for the naked clone of their classmate to be gone from their sight when the two of them turned their attention back to her.
Not a moment later, the familiar sight of a yellow and black clade classmate came swinging in on tape from his elbows, another Ochaco in his arms. This one, much to Izuku's relief, was in her hero costume. "Hey you guys! Glad we could find you!" Hanta warmly greeted the two, having lifted his dark face guard after setting Ochaco down. "Hey Midoriya, why is your face all red?"
Raising an eyebrow in concern, the pink and black clad brunette looked at her friend with concern "Deku? He's right, your face is beat red. Are you alright?"
Izuku let out a nervous whimper and looked away when Ochaco met his eyes, unable to bring himself to say what had just happened, his face turning redder. "We fought a shape-shifter who took the form of Ochaco. Likely as a result of the change, our opponent lacked cloths when I engaged her." Emeralda helpfully supplied as Izuku wordlessly pleaded for her to stop talking.
Ochaco, for her part, buried her face in her hands, her face also taking on a crimson hue, muffled words of shock and embarrassment not quite able to be understood as she hid herself. Hanta on the other hand, was less restrained by inhibitions, running up to his ashamed classmate and yelling "You mean you've got to fight alongside Kasim here and…." Dropping his voice to a whisper "…got to see Uraraka naked!? You lucky dog!"
"Sero, its not like that!" Izuku blurted out, not helping his case at all as Ochaco turned away, unable to even face her classmates. Trying to bring focus back to the group and distract from the proceedings, Izuku spoke again, far calmer this time "Guys, we're still in the middle of an exam. We need to focus!"
Emeralda, who had stood by while the drama played out and couldn't help but think back to how the brunette had acted during their girl's night, said nothing until now, backing up her fellow grennette "Yes. We have been lucky to not have been attacked by anyone else. We need to be more aggressive if we wish to pass."
As if to reiterate the urgency, the director spoke over the intercom "Come on people, there are less than half the spots left. Surely you can wrap them up quicker? God I'm tired…"
All four classmates managed to bring themselves back to the moment, determination on their faces as Izuku urged them on "Lets go!"
(X)
"So what's the plan, Zelgadis?" Mashirao asked as Fumikage and Tsu disappeared behind them.
Holding his barrier steady, the chimera replied "First, we need to test the limits of this guy's quirk. If we find a weakness, great. If not, we go hand to hand. Sound good Ojiro?" The tailed blonde put his fist into his open palm in front of him, nodding. "Shoji, keep an eye and ear out for anyone else approaching. I don't want to be surprised by opportunists." The multi-limbed student nodded as well, extending multiple ears and eyes out around him.
"What about moi?" Yuga asked, distraught someone else would try to outshine him with his own lasers.
"Hit him again, Aoyama." Zelgadis ordered.
"But, but! He has already absorbed my shining beam! What else could I do?" the ostentatious blonde worriedly countered.
"To blind him. I need to switch from defense to offense and that's the opening I need, now hit him again!" Zelgadis answered, tired of holding the barrier and worried their opponent would move to try something else.
"Oh, but of course! Brilliant, my rocky friend!" Yuga answered, his mood turning on a dime as he aimed his navel laser and fired once more, not quite hitting the mark but close enough for the barrage to stop for a moment.
With the opening, Zelgadis pulled a lighter out from another pouch on his belt and snapped it to life, as he conjured the magic for his next spell "Flare Arrow!" he cried as a projectile of pure flame appeared much like the ice one before it. Wasting no time, he let his fiery spell loose, again hitting his target, who made no effort to dodge as he was briefly enveloped in flame. As before, the flames, too, were absorbed as the red streaks in hit boy's hair shown bright. After a moment, his arms exploded in red flame. "Hit him again, Aoyama!" Zelgadis cried.
Before their opponent could attempt to return the fiery attack, he was hit again with Yuga's laser, cancelling the flames but the shot was a glancing one, that didn't blind the rainbow-haired examinee. This left them open as the flames disappeared and his arms glowed bright white, another luminescent barrage about to be unleased. "You think you can find an opening if you keep forcing me to change?" their opponent called out. "Think again!"
"We'd take one if we found one!" Zelgadis shot back "Grey Bomb!" The earth spell shot forward, disturbing the ground as it went toward his target. He has been able to absorb attacks that were energy based, we haven't hit him with something physical. Just as the spell burst below the rainbow-haired boy, a sphere appeared around him, shielding him from the displaced exploding under him. "Shit. Its like he's copying me! Or maybe…" Zelgadis wondered out loud.
"My turn?" Mashirao asked, fists clinched and ready to charge in.
"We'll have to give it a shot. Yuga, I'm going to hit him with an ice attack and you follow up. Ojiro, move in once I start. We won't give him a chance to counter you." The chimera instructed. "Shoji, can you tell if that guy's alone?"
"Its hard to hear with everything going on but I think I can hear at least one other person hiding among the rocks that guy is standing around." Mezo answered.
Zelgadis frowned before bringing his hands up again. "Figures. Lets go! Ice Arrow!"
The sphere around the now laughing rainbow-haired examinee disappeared allowing the icy projectile to hit its mark as Mashirao darted forward. Yuga followed up as instructed, though he was starting to look a bit queasy as his shot was closer to the mark. The tailed martial artist had just enough time to close the gap, jumping forward with a kick, hoping to hit their opponent as hard and fast as possible.
Instead, he hit the same sphere and the moment he did, someone else popped out from below, spikes protruding from his arms as the new threat took a swing at Mashirao. The blonde warrior was able to dodge as he fell, rolling away just as Zelgadis himself, having followed right behind, caught the spiky boy's arm with his sword, pushing the new player back. Then, as the rain-haired guy moved to attack them with lasers, Zelgadis caught sight of a meek looking girl hiding at the other's feet, surely the source of the barrier. Made sense, their main attacker could take and dish out long-distance attacks with protection from physical and short range attacks. Still, now that he knew, it made everything much easier as Zelgadis smirked. "Ojiro, back off, I got this!"
The tailed blonde looked apprehensive but leaped back just as the spiked boy charged forward at Zelgadis and their original opponent about to blast him with Yuga's lasers. "Raywing!" The sorcerer-swordsmen called as he shot up in the air, the spike-armed examinee missing him by mere inches as Zelgadis passed above him. The caped rainbow-head though turned, pointing his arms at Zelgadis and letting loose beams of light that kept missing just behind the chimera as he arced up and behind the group.
Being shot at didn't lend itself to concentration but Zelgadis didn't need much to conjure one of the most common fire spells as he aimed and yelled "Fireball!" and a simple ball of fire sailed from his hand down toward the short-range fighter. The spike armed examinee dodged the attack, getting closer to the other two. More so with Zelgadis' next fireball attack. Then another until the three were on top of each other and the nervous looking girl put her hands on both of her classmates, a protective sphere forming around them again.
Knowing he couldn't shot through the barrier, the Rainbow-haired leader yelled "Sheru! What're you doing!?"
"S, sorry, Niji-kun! He was going to hit all of us!" the now trembling white-haired girl explained.
"Just take it down, I can't hit him like this!" Niji ordered, almost frantic.
"Too late!" Zelgadis called from above "Dill Brand!" Instantly, upon snapping his fingers, the ground beneath the sphere exploded, sending the ball and its three inhabitants skyward. The three examinees tumbled about, unable to get their bearings as they bounced into each other before being pressed against the top of the sphere as it began descending back to earth.
Zelgadis had other plans. "Ojiro, smack that ball of theirs as hard as you can before it hits the ground!"
Charging forward, the tailed martial artist answered "Got it! Heading your way, Greywards-san!" As the sphere neared the earth, Mashirao leapt forward, swinging his body and using his momentum to give his tail extra power as he slammed the quirk powered ball, sending it shooting away and under the still floating chimera.
Zelgadis descended to about the same height as the sphere and called Bomb Di Wind!" causing a powerful gale to add to the sphere's speed and sending it like a bullet away until finally it impacted with the wall of a building at the outskirts of the cityscape the UA students had once occupied way off in the distance. Smashing hard into the sphere's side was enough to knock all of its unfortunate riders unconscious, dissipating the sphere that had sealed their fate.
When Zelgadis landed, Mashirao, Yuga and Mezo were waiting for him, relief clear on their faces. Yuga was first to speak, still holding his tummy "That was magnifique, Zelgadis! Truly a sparkling display!"
"Though now we have quite a bit of walking if we want to tag them." Mezo pointed out.
"We need to meet back up with Asui and Tokoyami first." Zelgadis pointed out "And don't worry, if we work together like that, we'll get all of us passed in no time.
As the group turned and cautiously made their way back toward where their two classmates had went, Mashirao spoke "You wouldn't know it by the way you were in training but you make a pretty good leader, Greywards-san."
Looking at the tailed blonde, a distant look on his face, the chimera grunted a "Hmph" as he remembered back to the time before he had joined Lina, Gourry and Amelia. To a time when he had led his two friends, Zolf and Rodimus while they worked under Rezo to help others and to further their benefactors goals. Both of them had died fighting against the Red Priest, leaving Zelgadis with, as he felt at the time, with nothing but revenge.
Zelgadis only snapped out of his remembrance at the sound of Tsu greeting the group "You guys look ok, everything go alright, ribbit?"
"We managed, thanks to Greywards-san" Mezo answered earnestly, pointing a thumb in the chimera's direction.
Frowning at the praise, Zelgadis instead addressed the two returning classmates "What about you, how'd it go? I don't see any of your sensors tagged."
"Indeed." Fumikage responded. "It wasn't as easy as we hoped but we managed to get two of them. The girl got away I am afraid."
"Now we just need to find enough opponents for us all to pass." Zelgadis mused.
"I can help with that." Mezo said, several ears out. "A group is headed our way from the south."
"Well." Smiled Zelgadis "We'll just have to greet them, won't we?"
(X)
After the incident with the doppelganger had passed,Izuku had a chance to talk abit with his savior and was surprised to find that Emeralda had already defeated someone. The rest of them hadn't so much as hit anyone else. Still, working together, they had made short work of it and had passed before long, making their way to reception area for those moving to the second stage of the exam. As they walked, the thought had occurred to him that Emeralda was probably capable of having passed by herself and yet choose to come looking for them and stay by the class, even when she had no idea where they were or even if they were still in competition. The answer had confused the freckled boy as much as anything, Emeralda responding "It's the least I can do."
Izuku was going to inquire just what that meant but running into a large group of their classmates upon entering the reception area threw that off. "Hey Tsu, Ojiro! I see you guys passed along with Greywards, Tokoyami, Aoyama and Shoji. That's great!"
As the groups greeted each other, Dark Shadow added, pointing a misty thumb over to a bench "Yeah! And we aren't the only ones!" There, seating in a group was Mina, Koji, Kyoka, Toru and Momo, with Tenya, Denki, Rikido and Minoru standing off to the side. Eijiro could be seen talking to Katsuki against a wall and even Shoto was close enough to be seen, even if he was just standing there by himself. Everyone moved toward the bench and began exchanging exciting stories, happy everyone had passed.
Only one of class 1-A seemed to be missing, Izuku realized as he was listening to Mina talk about her troubles with Momo and Kyoka. Zelgadis noticed as well, coming up beside Izuku and asking "What about Michiru? I don't see her."
Koji looked up at the two on hearing the tanuki girl's name but just as quickly looked away, worry on his rock-like face. Tenya also noticed the question, stepping closer to avoid talking over his pink classmate as he answered "Kagemori-san did indeed pass. Know that we encountered a group of heteromorphs bent of defeating only normal looking people and she…hasn't been the same since. She is over there." Tenya pointed around a desk and there sat, with her head down, the unmistakable form of Michiru Kagemori.
The two young men moved to check on her, Emeralda choosing to stay behind though she kept an eye on them. Before he could even open his mouth and with her head still down, Michiru spoke, her voice mirthless and empty "Izuku. Have you heard of the CRC?"
Izuku froze, his eyes wide, no words able to escape his mouth. After discovering the group himself, the freckled inheritor of One for All had seen some…pretty horrible things on those message boards and hearing the name froze him, those awful memories he had pushed aside flooding back. Zelgadis raised an eyebrow as he looked at the now paralyzed youth "CRC? What is she talking about Midoriya?"
"So, you do know of them, huh? I had my hopes up that you didn't since Iida didn't seem to know anything but your silence speaks volumes." Michiru spoke again, her voice now dripping with bitter resentment.
"Damnit, what the hell is the CRC?" Zelgadis demanded again but was ignored.
Finally able to bring himself to speak, the tanuki girl's words edging dangerously close to an accusation Izuku stuttered a response "I-I only found out about them a couple of days ago. I…I was going to ask the teachers after the exam. M-Michiru, I didn't know any group like that existed, I'm sorry."
"Will someone please just tell me-"
Cut off as Michiru raised her head, Zelgadis saw the blood-shot eyes, the hallow look on her face, like nothing mattered anymore and it stopped him cold. Michiru's words did nothing to assuage the pit in his stomach when she said "They're a hate group, Zel. People who hate us, you and me, for the way we look."
The chimera's eyes widened but his lips remained neutral, as though he was surprised but not shocked. The chimera had been used to being seen as something evil but it was really bothering Michiru. This was, thought the chimera, a part of life and the sooner Michiru realized that the better. So his logical mind went anyway. After a long pause, Zelgadis finally replied "And? People are stupid, Michiru. Does it really surprise you a group like this exists?"
Michiru reared her head back, as if injured by those words and she hissed out "How can you say that? Things weren't supposed to be this way. Not here. Everything was so nice!"
Crossing his arms, a look of sympathy on his face, Zelgadis replied back "I'm sorry, Michiru. I don't know what to tell you. People have never liked the way I look. The truth is, as long as there are people, you'll find someone who doesn't like you, for whatever reason."
"Oh please!" Michiru bit back, suddenly standing up "You really don't notice all the girls that ogle you? Mister tall dark and mysterious? You really don't get it, do you? You know what, you're right. Once this exam is over, we really do need to go our separate ways. Just…just leave me alone, ok?" With that, Michiru pushed her way past the two boys and melted into the crowd, waiting for the second and final stage of the exam.
(X)
I promised this chapter would be a big one and although this is larger than normal, I had planned it to be double this size, encompassing the whole of the exam. What happened? Got sick, again. Had a hurricane, again. Thanksgiving holiday. Oh, and Pokemon came out. I just can't help myself. I've been on that train since the beginning and I'm not getting of now. I even have a complete (well it was complete until Scarlet and Violet came out) pokedex waiting to be passed down to my son when he's old enough to play.
We'll conclude the exam this next go around, which is just as well as jam-packed December tends to be with holidays and breaks and parties and the like. And my birthday. There's that. I am, unfortunately, hitting a bit of a milestone year this time but to spare myself the shame I will not reveal which it is. I will say that I think I write about as well as someone half my age, much to my embarrassment. But hey, we have now passed the 200k mark and if you're still with me to this point, I can't thank you enough. I've said a millon times, I'll keep going even if no one reads and that is still true but honestly, it does really make me happy to know someone out there likes what I've been doing. Also, I'm sorry I'm so verbose and take my time with things. Theres just so much I want to cover here and though I try my best, sometimes things have to be left behind, despite how much time I take. Ok, as always, thank you so much for your attention and interest, its my pleasure! Take care, happy new year, happy holidays if you happen to celebrate any and I'll see you in a month!
