A few days later, we stood outside of the exam building. I didn't think I'd be nervous, but here we are...
"Ah, I'm getting nervous!"
"I wonder what we'll have to do..I wonder if I can get my provisional licence..."
"Mineta. It's not about whether or not you can. Go and get it!"
"Right. Of course!"
"If you can pass this test and get your provisional licences, then you novice eggs will become chicks-"
My face went blank. That's a terrible analogy, Mr Aizawa...
"You'll hatch into semi-pros. Do your best."
"Alright, I'll become a chick!"
I scoffed. "Too late, Kaminari..."
"What?"
"What? Nothing..." I grinned and high-fived Kirishima.
"Let's all call out the usual! Ready, set, Plus-"
"Ultra!"
Who the hell is that guy? Some guy from a different school just come out of nowhere...And he's really loud...
"You shouldn't barge in on other people's huddles, Inasa."
I nodded. "It is a little rude, dude."
"Oh no. I am...Very...Extremely...Sorry!" I took a few steps back as this Inasa guy stood up straight then bowed so low his head hit the ground. What the hell is with this guy?
"What's with this guy trying to get by with just his enthusiasm?"
"Wait. That uniform..."
"It's from that famous school in the West..."
"Uh, I never heard of it..." I muttered. Bakugo was closest to me, so he heard.
"UA in the East, Shiketsu in the West. Of the many hero courses, it's an elite school that rivals UA."
"Ah. I see..."
"I wanted to try saying it at least once! Plus Ultra! I love UA High School! I am extremely honored to compete against UA students! I'm looking forward to it!"
"Look, that's great mate, but tone it down a bit, yea? That red aura of yours is going to give everyone the wrong idea..."
His classmates walked off. "Let's go." Clearly they weren't listening to me...
"Inasa Yoarashi..."
I looked up at Mr Aizawa. "Huh?"
"He's...Strong. Last year, the same year as you guys, Yoarashi got the top scores of those admitted through recommendations, but for some reason, he turned down his acceptance."
"What? So then he's a first year?!" Calm down, Midoriya...Save your freaking out for the exam...
"Even though he says he loves UA, he threw away his chance to enroll. I don't get it."
"Right. What a weirdo."
I grinned and leaned against Ashido. "And just think. He would have fit right in with the rest of us weirdo's!"
"He's weird, but he's the real thing. Watch out for him."
"Eraser? It's you, isn't it?! I've seen you on TV and at the sports festival, but it's been a while since I've seen you in person!"
I nudged Ashido. "Who's this bitch?" I nodded to the woman walking up to Mr Aizawa. She was wearing green and orange stripey shorts, black shirt with smiley faces, orange gloves and an orange bandanna.
Ashido shrugged and shook her head. Ah, right. I'm asking the wrong person...I sidled up to Midoriya. "Who is that? Mr Aizawa doesn't look happy to see her, huh?"
"Hm."
"Let's get married." I blinked at the woman as she pointed between herself and Mr Aizawa. What the hell...?
"No."
The woman just laughed. "No? Good one!"
"You're hard to talk to, as usual, Joke."
Midoriya's face lit up. "Smile Hero: Ms. Joke!"
"She seems like a joke..." I muttered.
"Her quirk is Outburst. She forces those near her to laugh, dulling their thinking and their movements! Her fights against villains are full of craziness!"
Ms Joke lifted her hand in a thumbs up. "If you marry me, then we can make a happy family with never-ending laughter!"
A tick mark appeared on my head. "I want to punch her. So much."
"A family like that can't be happy." Ms. Joke just laughed again.
"Those two seem close."
I said nothing. If I opened my mouth, I'm sure I'd get myself into trouble.
"Our agencies used to be close to each other! In our cycle of helping and being helped, our mutual love for each other bloomed-"
My face went dark. I really want to punch her...
"No, it didn't."
"Oh I love your quick retorts! You're so worth teasing, Eraser!"
"Joke, since you're here, that means..."
"That's right. Come here, everyone! It's UA."
Another lot of students came over to us.
"Oh, it's the real thing!"
"Wow, that's amazing! I've seen them all on TV!"
"Ketsubutsu Academy, second years, Class 2! They're my class. Please be kind." I bared my teeth. I hate that woman.
A boy from the other class walked up and grabbed Midoriya's hands. "I'm Shindo! UA this year had trouble after trouble, so it must've been tough!" Shindo then jumped over to Kaminari. "But even so, you all are still aiming to be heroes like this, huh?" Then Jiro. "That's wonderful! A heart of fortitude is what I believe all heroes should have from now on!" I stayed where I was. I was standing next to Bakugo. Good. If this guy said anything to him, I dare say he'd blast him.
"From among you, there's Bakugo, who experienced being the centre of the Camino incident-" Tsk. What an idiot. He's gonna get blasted. "You have an especially strong heart. Today, I'll do my best while learning from you!" He tried to take Bakugo's hand, but he pushed it away.
"Stop pretending. What you're saying doesn't match the look on your face!"
"Hey, stop being so rude!"
I looked up slightly. "Shut up, Kirishima. He's right. We're not here to make friends. He knows that. He wants us to lower our guard." I saw the look he gave Bakugo as Bakugo turned away. "I don't know about the rest of my class, but you come near me and I'll..." I stopped. If I finished that sentence, I would have sounded like Bakugo. I growled and took a few steps back.
"Sorry for their rudeness..."
"It's fine! It just proves how strong Bakugo's heart is." That Shindo guy said it like that deliberately...
A girl from Shindo's class ran up to Todoroki. "Hey, Todoroki! Can I have your autograph?"
Woooow.
"You were so cool at the sports festival!"
Gross.
Another boy stood beside her. "Stop being such a fangirl."
Yea, I'd say the same thing...
"You can have my autograph, too." I walked over to Mineta and tapped his shoulder, shaking my head.
"Hey, change into your costumes and go to orientation. Don't waste time."
I gave a two fingered salute as everyone said, "Yes sir!" I didn't feel like speaking.
"What's wrong, Kitia?"
I looked down at Mineta, then shifted my eyes to watch Mr Aizawa and the other woman leave. "Nothing. Nothing important anyway."
Mineta followed my gaze, but I moved past him and kept walking. He turned and ran to catch up.
"Holy crap, this is a lot of people..." We were in a massive room with all the students that were taking the exam. Everyone was squished in like sardines. I was really uncomfortable. I was wearing my costume, just like everyone else, plus the sheath and my black gloves that Hatsume had made for me.
I already caught a few boys from other schools looking at me with lewd expressions. I shuddered. Luckily, I had found Shouji in this crowd. Granted, he wasn't actually that hard to find, considering how tall he was. I clung to his arm and stayed as close to him as I could.
"Well then, let's do this provisional licence thing..." I couldn't see so I tugged Shouji's arm. He put me up on his shoulder. "Thanks." I whispered.
"I'm Mera from the Heroes Public Safety Commission. The kind of sleep I like is non-REM sleep...Nice to meet you. I've been so busy that I haven't gotten much sleep..."
Same.
"We're too short staffed...I'm so sleepy! With that conviction, I will give you the orientation. About the content of the provisional licence thing...Frankly, all 1,540ish examinees here will have to win through a free for all exercise. Our society is currently said to be saturated with heroes, and ever since Stain was arrested, many have shown doubts about the current state of heroes. Well, as a private citizen, no matter what the motivation, to tell someone risking their lives to save others not to seek compensation is...It's a ruthless story of these modern times. But anyway, whether its for compensation or for loyalty or courage. The results of many heroes working hard together to help people and defeat villains is that right now, the time from when an incident begins to when its resolved is so short that it'd make you sick. You all are about to receive your provisional licences and finally throw yourself into those rapids. Those who can't keep up with that speed will frankly have it tough. Accordingly, what you'll be tested on is speed! The first 100 to fulfill the requirements will pass."
Everyone in the room started to talk over each other. I guess they weren't expecting that.
First lesson: Never expect anything, but always expect everything.
I grinned. That lesson had already come in handy. Thanks, Gang Orca.
"Well, a lot's happened out there in the world, and you know, about luck and everything. So anyway, here are the requirements. The examinee will put three targets on his or her body. They can go anywhere, as long as it's an exposed area. You can't put them on the soles of your feet or in your armpits." I giggled at the thought. "You will also have six of these balls. The targets are made to only light up if they're hit by these balls, and if all three of your targets light up, you're out. The person who lights up your third target will have it count as their defeat. You get through the round by defeating two people. That's it for the rules. Ok then, after we open, we'll pass out the targets and balls, and then we'll start one minute after we've gotten to everyone."
I grabbed Shouji as the room started to shift and move. The roof and walls lowered and opened up into an arena type thing.
"Wow..." I looked around. "There's a bridge, a city, a waterfall, a power plant and a mountain..."
"Five different terrains..."
I nodded. "My guess is everyone will stick to what they know...Their strongest advantage..."
"I believe you all have terrain that you like and dislike-"
"Called it."
"Use your quirks well and do your best. Anyway, we arranged for the terrain to be announced like that. But yea, it's unnecessary. It's because of this that my sleep was...I hope the developments are speedy so that I can rest as soon as possible."
Once we all had our targets on, the game started. I was on the ground, looking around. We were still together as a class. At least, for now.
"Everyone, don't get too separated! Let's move as a group!" Midoriya, I swear if you aimed that at me, Imma slap you...
"Yea right. This isn't a field trip!"
"Idiot! Wait up!" ...And there goes Kirishima and Bakugo...
"I'm going on my own too. It's hard for me to use my power in a big group."
I dead-panned. "Uh, hello!" I pointed myself. "You're forgetting something! You realize they're all going to come after us, right? Don't be an idiot!"
He started to run off. Dammit, Ice-man! Think!
"Todoroki!"
Mineta stepped up to him. "Midoriya, there's no time!"
I sighed heavily. "I'll go after that idiot, the rest of you stay together. You know I was right, Midoriya. About us being targets...Stay together!"
I took off after Todoroki. I'm going to hit you so hard when I catch up to you!
I heard a horn and a voice: "First test, start!"
Huh, I thought we had already started...I shook my head. Doesn't matter. I need to caught up with this fuckwit.
"Oi, dickhead!"
Todoroki glanced over his shoulder, but kept running. "Why are you following me?"
"Because it was either you or Bakugo, and he has Kirishima, so..." I caught up to him and kept running beside him. "How much of an idiot could you be?! I thought you were smarter, Todoroki!"
He chuckled.
"What?! Why are you laughing?!"
"You called me by my name."
I blinked, then shook my head. "You're an idiot..." I heard explosions and shouts behind us. "That'll be everyone getting ganged up on..." I saw something move out the corner of my eye. "Move!" I grabbed Todoroki's arm and pulled him to the side as a ball narrowly missed one of his targets. I threw my arm up and my shield launched a girl in a blue costume across the ground and out of sight.
"That might have been too much..."
"You fucking think?"
"Shuddup, Ice-man! I just saved your ass!"
"Unfortunately, I can't argue. Let's go." He took off again and I grinned before following him.
We ran towards the power plant set-up. Todoroki had longer legs than me, so it was hard to keep up after running so much. Surprisingly, he stopped and waited for me once or twice.
"There's still a stalemate in all quarters. No one has passed yet. Oh, and when we get any reports, I will announce them all from this broadcasting area."
"That Mera guy has a really quiet voice, huh?"
"Feel that? Tremors?"
I looked down at my feet and nodded. "I heard something too. Like...A big crack."
"Probably someone's quirk."
"Yea, probably. Or someone's gone through a wall or a mountain."
"That's always a possibility too."
"Hm. Yea."
"Finally, someone's passed. What?! There were 120 people taken out?! A single person took out 120 people and passed!"
Todoroki and I looked at each other. "120 people...?"
"A single person did that?"
I shook my head. "How even...?"
"Um, well, I'm so surprised that I'm awake now. It looks like they'll just keep coming now. Everyone, please do your best as quickly as possible."
"I don't know, but let's get this over with."
"Agreed..." I looked around as we walked. There wasn't many places to hide well, if we were surrounded. "We need a plan, Ice-man. Any ideas?"
"Take them out first."
My face went blank. "Anything else more elaborate than that, swimming around that head of yours?"
"Maybe. Most of the people here think your quirk is Reveal, right?"
"Yea. What's that got to do with anything?"
"I might have an idea, but it involves nobody knowing you're with me."
I scowled. "I'm already not liking the sound of this..."
I hate you Todoroki. I really, REALLY do...I pouted from my hiding spot. He made me sit here, watching him, until someone turned up. Not the best plan, but considering that everyone had watched the sports festival, so, in his words: They basically think you're useless.
Thanks, Ice-man...I mean, he wasn't wrong exactly, but he could have worded it a lot better...
"Let's see, things have been moving quickly. The current number of people who have passed is 52. No, 53. They just keep coming. Since there were people that took out more than two people, there are now 230 people that have failed. And just now the 54th person has passed. Less than half left now! Hurry up and finish!"
He was just across the road/main path, a little lower down than me. I noticed him move his arm and then blast a ball with his flames. With his other hand, he shifted it slightly, telling me to stay.
"That was pretty good. As expected from the UA runner-up of the sports festival. Todoroki, was it?"
So, someone's here, but he doesn't know how many? Let's see. I closed my eyes. From the direction he blasted his flames, I'm guessing that it came from that direction. Lucky I already poked around there before we came here. Three. Four. Oh, six. No, ten people. I opened my eyes and waved my hands at him. He turned slightly and I held up ten fingers. I turned and climbed up a ladder that opened up on a roof. I was still hidden, but I had a better view.
I peeked around the side of a concrete slab. So, they really do think he's alone, or they wouldn't have all shown themselves. Tsk. Bunch of noobs.
"I can't believe you're acting alone, though. That's amazing."
My face went blank. "You are an actual idiot, Ninja-boy." I muttered. I stomped my foot. I couldn't do anything until they attacked us. It made it easier to conceal that there was two people if we did it that way. Didn't mean I hated it any less though.
"But even if he is from UA, acting alone will get him in trouble, don't you think?" That guy that spoke...It sounded like he wasn't convinced Todoroki was alone. I smiled. Smart kid. I'll have to make sure to tell him that when this is over.
"It's one on ten, you know. What're you going to do?" That chick. Not so much.
"Thanks. For saving me the trouble of finding you." I watched as Todoroki made an ice shield, protecting himself from the balls. He looked up and shook his head at me. I frowned. Why was he waiting so long? He put his hand on the ground and I heard shouts.
"I can't move!"
I covered my mouth, smothering a laugh. Ah. I see.
"You guys. Are you sure you watched the sports festival?"
Love it!
"Of course we watched it." I poked my head out to see the leader throw a handful of small...whatever they are. I flashed my eyes, still staying hidden, and the objects grew to the size of tractor tyres. They looked like metal nuts? Damn. I flashed my eyes at Todoroki just as he created another ice shield. I enhanced it at the same time so the metal thing couldn't break through it.
"That's not all!"
I grinned. They haven't noticed yet. This going to be fun. Sorry Todoroki. I wanna try something. I flashed my eyes at the Ninja boy as he threw a few more objects. I, slightly, enhanced their strength and they broke through the shield. The ninja through another metal nut and Todoroki tried to burn through it. It didn't work and he had to dodge. He shifted his body and even though he didn't like up, I could tell that glare was aimed at me.
"You couldn't burn through it because it's not ordinary metal. They're made of tungsten, which can take super high temperatures!"
Ah. That's what I wanted to know. Thank-you, Talky Ninja.
"Didn't I tell you Todoroki? Even if you are a UA student, acting alone shows you're overconfident."
He's not wrong man. Too bad for them, that he's not actually alone. I grinned. Idiots. I looked down, but he hadn't said for me to come down yet. I wanted so bad to show myself, but I had to trust he knew what he was doing.
He blasted them with flames again. I frowned. What is he...I bared my teeth as they attacked him three at a time. He didn't have an actual plan. He just wanted me out of the way! Dick!
"Keep after him!"
Lucky for him, I come up with my own plan...I flashed my eyes at him to help him enhance his ice shield, but then I ducked around the other side of the concrete slab. Four of the ninja's weren't doing anything, and they hadn't noticed me yet, so I flicked my wrist. Tendrils flew fast through the air and tied them up and gagged them. Right. Six left. Now I can show myself.
I ran and jumped down just as a fog surrounded us. Dammit! They still didn't see me, so I suppose that's a good thing. I felt a hand around my wrist and I was pulled away.
"What are you doing?"
"Me? What about you? I know what you tried to do! Dick! I tied up four of them."
"Good. There should be something around here..." He looked at me. Uh oh. I don't like that look.
"What...?"
"Do you feel like being bait?"
I grinned. "Aren't I always? Where am I running?"
"That way. Slow down, and lure them that way. When you see my fire, enhance it."
"Are you sure?"
"Yea."
I shrugged. "Alright." I stopped while he kept running. I closed my eyes. Where are these idiots? I sighed. Wrong way...I sent a tendril to get their attention. I saw them turn around and chase it. Good. They'll be here in a second. Three, two, one.
"There!"
"That's not Todoroki!"
"Who cares!"
I turned and ran the way he told me. I ran for a few minutes, dodging giant nails and nuts. I grinned when I saw the ice. I had no idea what his plan was, but I skidded to a stop and looked around for him. Ah, there. I quickly looked back as the ninja's caught up. I made myself looked scared, walking backwards slowly and put my hands up.
"It's just a girl!"
"Todoroki's been through here!"
"Where is he?!"
I stopped just past the tank where the ice was. I dropped my head slightly, grinning. "See, that's where you gone and fucked up."
"Huh?"
I lifted my head, still grinning. "He was never alone. As for where he is..."
I lifted a finger and pointed up. The ninja's looked up at him.
"Now, you're gonna go bye-bye." I gave them a small wave. "Bye-bye."
I flashed my eyes as Todoroki aimed his flames at the hole in the tank. I created a shield around myself and a small one for Todoroki as the tank exploded.
"Heh. Wankers."
Todoroki jumped down beside me and I got rid of the shields. "Let's pass this thing."
"Sure, Ice-man. I wanna talk to one of them anyway." I wandered over to one of the ninja boys as Todoroki started speaking to the leader. "Hey. Oi, are you conscious?"
"Yes. What do you want?"
"I was wondering, are you the boy who said: But even if he is from UA, acting alone will get him in trouble, don't you think'? You did say that, right?"
"Why does it matter what I said?"
I sighed and wagged my finger. "Because of the sound of your voice. You weren't convinced he was alone. You had a gut feeling he wasn't right? Well...Next time listen to that gut feeling right? Because if you don't, in the real world, that'll get you killed. As for your buddies over there, they need to learn to listen better. They listen, but they don't hear. You get me?"
The boy stared at me for a moment, then nodded.
I grinned. "Good. Now, I'll be doing this..." I tapped all three of his targets, then went to the girl who spoke earlier. "And you need to learn not to be so cocky. I mean, come on. Two of us took down ten of you, and I'm more than happy to admit it was mostly Todoroki. Remember that next time you get all up yourself, yea?" I tapped her targets as she dropped her head.
"You done?"
I stood up as my targets lit up with blue light. "Yea. You?"
"Yea. Let's go."
I looked around as we walked, now not having to worry about being tagged, I felt lighter. I noticed I was walking ahead of Todoroki. I turned around, walking backwards. He was looking at his hands.
"What's wrong, Ice-man?"
"I thought you were going to stop calling me that."
"I changed my mind. What's up?" I stopped walking so he could catch up.
He sighed. "I think I just need to practice more."
I shifted my feet. "Yea. Me too. Oh, that reminds me. I better untie those four."
"We can't go back."
I shook my head. "Here, watch this." I lifted my hand, palm up. I pressed the button on my wrist and an the image of Todoroki's face popped up. I laughed at his reaction. "A Mei Hatsume invention. We can keep walking but I need to close my eyes for this, so can you...?"
He grabbed my arm, guiding me as I closed my eyes. I deliberately searched the streets, just so I can show Todoroki what I could see, then I looked for the four I had tied up. Once I found them, I waved my hand and tendrils disappeared. They jumped, frightened and ran away. I laughed as I pressed the button again and opened my eyes.
"Now I can show people what I see. Like it?"
"It is a little impressive."
"A little?"
"Hm. Where is this waiting room?"
I shrugged, then sweat-dropped. "You were actually asking me, weren't you?"
He raised an eyebrow at me. I scowled and slapped his arm. "Shuddup." I closed my eyes and pressed the button again. "Hm. Waiting room, waiting room...Ah, I think that's it...That's weird. Normally this quirk doesn't work unless I've been there before..." I opened my eyes and pressed the button again.
"Maybe the gloves enhance it."
I shook my head as we headed towards the waiting room. "No. Hatsume would have bragged about it." I scratched the back of my neck, frustrated. "See? You're not the only one with quirk problems."
"I wouldn't call yours a problem."
"'I wouldn't call yours a problem'. Yea well, if I don't know how to use my quirks, any of them, it could be dangerous."
"How could Mapping be dangerous?"
I bared my teeth and spoke through them. "I don't know! I could probably-" I widened my eyes.
"What? Probably what?"
I breathed quickly as something clicked in my head. "I don't know. I don't know, but I'm sure as hell going to find out after this is over!"
