"Alright, Brief, that'll conclude our session today. I'm sorry it's so short, we wanted to record the initial effect of the anti-depressants, make sure you're responding well to them." Shea Kanjo, a tall woman, roughly 180cm, with a pink collared shirt and a long black skirt, long waist-length golden hair and piercing blue eyes, UA's hired personal therapist.
"No, it's alright, Ms. Kanjo. I appreciate your time." Before she left, she stopped for a moment. "Ms. Kanjo, why do you work as a therapist?"
"Oh, I love this question, because people always assume it'd be because of my Quirk, Empath." She explained. "I can see people's emotions, both on the surface and deep down, and even more so, I can feel those emotions when I come into contact with them. So, it's not because my Quirk warrants this kind of job, but rather, because if I can, just for a moment, help relieve someone of their pain by sharing that pain, I can be a hero in my own way."
"Doesn't it take a toll? Taking on so much pain all the time?" Bulla asked her.
"Like you wouldn't believe. But that's the thing about pain, it's only as bad as you let it become. Even I get down every now and again, but I always spring back even better than before, because I know every day is another person I can help. And that is worth all the pain in the world." She told her, petting her head lightly before sending her on her way.
The evening sun bathed the city outside, and against the gate of the school, Pan leaned, waiting for her friend. "It's crazy." She said. "It feels like it's been forever since we've gotten the chance to walk home together."
"Yeah. I wonder how everyone at the orphanage is." Bulla said, taking in the calming and beautiful sky above her. "You didn't have to wait for me, you know."
"Yeah I did. Otherwise we wouldn't be having this conversation, right now." She said. "I really can't wait to see Ms. Iwase again." Pan told her.
"Yeah." After a moment of silence, Pan took a deep breath.
"Don't forget. Just because she's training you, doesn't mean you'll pass me so easily." Pan told her.
With a brief pause, Bulla smirked. "Granddaughter of the mighty Kakarot, don't be mistaken! I've already surpassed you!" She told her with a sarcastic laugh.
"Oh shut up!" Sharing a genuine chuckle, Bulla looked towards the ground.
"It really has been a long time since we've gotten this much peace. It's...intoxicating, almost." She told her, a still smile sitting on her face. As the two girls basked in the overwhelming calm around them.
"Girls!" Iwase called out as the two walked inside. "Is that you?"
"Yes, Ma'am!" Pan called out as they took their shoes off.
"Pan, can you come help me in the kitchen? Bulla, go practice two hundred reps of those forms I showed you, and if you're not tired after come see me!" She called.
"I guess we'll train another time." Bulla told her as she walked off into the hall, dropping her backpack in her room before heading to the back door.
Pan left her bag in her room and met Iwase in the kitchen as requested. "My, my, you look stronger already." She told her as she peeled potatoes. "Come help me peel these, dear, I wanted to do a carrot-and-potato curry tonight."
"Ms. Iwase, I was actually hoping to train with Bulla..." She told her quietly.
"Now, now, dear, you will not fall behind after one day without training, now come over here and help." She told her, gesturing her over before handing her a potato and knife.
"Yes, Ma'am." After half an hour, Iwase couldn't help but notice the silence of the kitchen, beside the clang and clack of the pots and pans.
"Pan, you're never this quiet when you cook. What's going on?" She asked. "I know you're not this upset because you're not training right now."
"No, Ma'am, it's just... I don't know. When we came here, I swore to always protect Bulla. I was just thinking about, like, what if she gets stronger? So strong that I can't catch up? What'll I do when I can't protect her anymore?" She asked as her mind dwelled heavily on the image of Bulla running before her.
"If that's the case, then you smile." Iwase told her, pointing her knife towards her protégé. "You stand proudly beside her, rather than trying to stand before her. You two are much stronger that way."
"And what if she doesn't need me anymore? What if this place...this world... What if she moves on with her own life, and gets her own family, and forgets about me?" Pan asked her.
"Pan Son, you are far too young to be thinking like that." Iwase told her with a peaceful smile. "You and Bulla share a bond beyond anything you'll find here. I don't see her leaving you behind anytime soon. But the future is a long winding road, so do me a favor, okay?"
"A favor?" She asked as Pan felt a light chop on her head.
"Stop worrying so much about it! Get through your first year, and then your second! During your third, worry all you want about what'll happen after high school, okay?" She told her as she continued to peel.
"Yes, Ma'am." Following their chat, Pan's mood seemed to pick up as they finished dinner. Once they finished dinner, Pan joined her best friend outside. "Dinner's ready." She told her, watching her swing her sword diagonally from her side. "How's the practice?"
"Good, but not good enough. I'm getting used to the sword, but I'm trying to perfect this one move I'm working on." Bulla explained.
"Another new move? You're making so many, I can't even keep up." Pan joked lightly.
"No, this one will be really good! Watch!" As she returned to her starting form, she sheathed her blade and held it to her side. In an instant, a white aura surrounded her, however, it soon faded and left behind a white silhouette, surrounding her whole body. With a blur, she was now across the yard, he sword buried in the tree. "Shoot! I didn't go all the way through!"
"What was that?" Pan asked. "I didn't even see you move.
"I call that Galaxy Striker! Once I get a better handle on my sword, it'll have the indefinite power I need! I focus all of my energy, every ounce of my strength into one defining slice!"
"I can't wait to see when it goes through the whole tree." Pan joked with a smirk.
"Shut up and come help!"
"What do you need help for?" She asked as she walked over, wrapping her hands around the hilt of Bulla's sword.
"I told you, I pour every ounce of strength into that attack! It's last ditch effort, so I always get exhausted when I use it!" Bulla explained as the girls pulled the sword out.
"Well, I hope you still have the strength to eat." Pan told her as she took the sword and sheathe from her friend, masking the blade. "Come on, I'm sure you can barely walk, too." She said, pulling Bulla's arm over her shoulder and helping her indoors. "You know, one of these days you're going to be reckless, and I'm going to have to swoop in and save you."
"Yeah? I'd love to see it." The girls laughed together, making their way indoors and back to a sense of normalcy.
"Alright, that's all for class today." Aizawa announced, gathering his papers as the bell rang. "There's only one week left before your final exams begin. I'm sure you're all studying constantly, right?" He explained as Uraraka's face began to wash over with sweat. "Oh, and don't forget to keep training, the written exam is only one element. There's also the practical portion." As he left, Aizawa gave his students one last thing. "Good luck." He said before closing the door.
"I've barely taken any notes this semester!" Ashido and Kaminari said in unison.
"I've been taking a lot of notes, and the doodles I make of each subject helps me stay on track, but I'm not sure if I'm the best person to help you study." Bulla explained. "Despite being sixth in the class, I'm afraid the doodle method I have is very selective in who it works for..."
As if she was just a breeze in the wind, Ashido and Kaminari carried on, practically ignoring her. "You could have at least humored the idea..." Bulla said to herself. All of a sudden, Yaoyorozu began to ramble excitedly.
"Are you going to join us, Bulla!?" She offered.
"O-Oh! I'm sorry, Momo, I really can't study well in big sessions. A lot of distractions." She said nervously. Although she felt bad about denying her friend's request, it didn't seem to put Yaoyorozu down any, since she had so many people joining her.
"You think I don't know enough?! Maybe I should beat the lessons into your skull!" Bakugo told Kirishima nearby.
"Looks like you might need a mediator to handle Bakugo's nonsense." Bulla said as she poked her head up by Kirishima.
"Huh!? WHAT DO YOU MEAN NONSENSE?!" Bakugo yelled.
"Yeah, you can join, Class Rep! What subject is getting you?" Kirishima asked her.
"DON'T IGNORE ME, IDIOTS!"
"Well, to be honest it's Japanese and world history. Some parts still completely elude me." She explained.
"Wow, I wouldn't take you for someone with trouble in those subjects. What do you think, Bakugo? Can you give Brief a hand with her topics?"
Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, he dropped into his seat and lied his head on his hand, turning to the door of the classroom. "Yeah, that's fine." He said, surprising Kirishima.
"That's great! Then we'll study at Bakugo's place!" She said, clapping her hands together.
"What the hell!? Why're you choosing where we go to study!?" Bakugo yelled.
"It's the best idea! I live at an orphanage, plus your mom really seems to like me, and if she finds out you missed an opportunity to have me over, I bet she'll be pissed!"
"Whatever!" He yelled before storming out of the room.
During lunch, Bulla and Pan ate together with Togata and Hado to catch them up on their training. When they returned, Midoriya had learned the practical exam was going to consist of faux villains. While Bulla began to go over history notes, Bakugo's sudden uproar caught her attention-caught the whole class's attention.
"I don't know what's going on with your power. It was hard to tell, but you started doing it during the Sports Festival, and the way that you're using it now, I want you to know. It's seriously pissing me off." He told him. Things won't turn out like the festival. When we get our individual scores in the upcoming finals, I'll show you exactly how much farther above you I stand!" He claimed, reaching out with a pointed finger. And as for you, Todoroki, I'll stand above you, as well."
"What the hell...?" Bulla said to herself. When her classes ended, she reported to the office that UA provided for Ms. Kanjo. When she knocked on the door, she heard her therapist call her in. "Good afternoon, Ma'am."
"Good afternoon, Brief. Are you ready?" She asked, standing up from her desk.
"Uh, yes, Ma'am." Bulla told her nervously.
"Alright then, I want you to lie down, and relax." Kanjo directed. As Bulla complied, Kanjo's Quirk became active, and her eyes widened. "Brief, my Quirk works by showing me emotions in the form of colors washing over the environment. How far these spread indicate how much of this emotion you feel." As she was explaining, her eyes scanned the room.
"Right..."
"I see a lot of yellow on the forefront, Brief, so I know that the medication is helping a bit. However, there's a little bit of light red beyond that." She continued, rubbing the sides of Bulla's head to help her relax.
"Anger? But I don't have anything to be angry about."
"Not quite. Light red is a sense of frustration. However, beyond even that, a wave of blue extends even further, and right now, this entire room is full of gray."
"And that means...sadness and depression, doesn't it?"
"Bingo. Now, relax, Bulla Brief." Kanjo told her as her fingers began to glow. In a matter of moments, Bulla's therapist had streams of tears down her cheeks. As the tears dripped from her chin onto Bulla's head, she looked up.
"Are you okay, Ms. Kanjo?"
"Don't worry about me, dear. But just know," she sat down next to Bulla and picked her up, embracing her in a hug, "we're going to make sure you don't feel like this forever. That is my promise to you." She told her, her words making her embrace even more warm and inviting. Bulla couldn't help but lose herself to the embrace, wrapping her arms around Kanjo in a way she hadn't done since the last time she'd hugged her mother.
The following weekend, students prepared, either alone or together. The meeting place Bakugo ended up choosing was a restaurant near his home, and just like him, there was no consideration for the travel time that Kirishima and Bulla took. Sure enough, Bakugo was able to help her with her lack of historical knowledge.
When it came time for the exam, the three days seemed to fly, and each exam left Bulla's eyes sore from staring at the small text each day, but on the third day, Bulla was relieved when it was over.
Following the written exams, the students were directed to don their costumes and meet at the Practical Exam Area's Center Plaza. "Now then, let's begin the last test." Aizawa told his class. Remember, it's possible to fail this final. If you want to go to camp, then don't make any stupid mistakes."
"Mr. Aizawa, will our scores be performance-based, and judged by all of the teachers collectively?" Bulla asked, raising her hand. That's the only reason I can think of for them all being here.
"Actually, any information or idea that you may have come here with, you can assume was false." Aizawa explained as Principal Nezu burst from his binding cloth.
"That's correct! This year the test will be completely different for a variety of reasons!" As he climbed down, he explained further. "The tests now have a new focus to incorporate teamwork and person-to-person combat scenarios! So what does that all mean? It means that you will all be paired up and working together in pairs against your teachers here!"
Bulla's heart sunk as she realized what that meant for her. The teachers, people with an exceptional amount of training, experience, and wisdom. Not to mention Aizawa- no, Eraser Head. If he tries to use that Quirk on me, he could discover my secret!
"Additionally, your partners and opponents have already been chosen. They were determined at my discretion, for various reasons. First, Yaoyorozu and Todoroki are a team. Against me." Aizawa explained with a lazy smile, raising his binding cloth as Bulla let out a sigh of relief. "Then we have Midoriya paired with Bakugo. And their opponent is..."
Suddenly, from the sky, All Might descended and landed on one knee, standing with a fist raised. "I am here to fight! You're going to have to work together boys, if you want to win, that is."
Aizawa continued to list the paired students against their opponents, reiterating Todoroki and Yaoyorozu, and Bakugo and Midoriya in order to clarify the order. The first match was Sato and Kirishima vs. Cementoss. Following them was Asui and Tokoyami vs. Ectoplasm. Next was Iida and Aoyama vs. Power Loader. After them was Todoroki and Yaoyorozu vs. Eraser Head. Then it was Bulla and Ururaka vs. Thirteen. Kaminari and Ashido vs. Principal Nezu followed, then Jiro and Koda vs. Present Mic. The eighth match was Hagakure and Shoji vs. Snipe, with Sero and Mineta vs. Midnight as match #9, and finally, Midoriya and Bakugo vs. All Might.
"To complete the exam, you'll have thiry minutes! In order to win, your objective is to put these handcuffs on your teacher." Principal Nezu explained, holding up a pair of hexagonal handcuffs. Or you can win if one of you manages to escape the combat stage."
"So, we can either fight or fly. I can't imagine anyone being able to fully stand up to one of these teachers..." Bulla said to herself, thinking of ways to get around Thirteen's Black Hole.
"It's gonna be much different from the combat training y'all went through earlier. After all, you're up against people way better than you!" Present Mic teased.
"This time, your exam will be very similar to a real battle. Please think of us as villains to the best of your ability." Thirteen followed.
"Assumin' you come across your enemy. If you think you can win against them, then fight. However..." Snipe began as Eraser Head continued.
"In instances where you're outmatched, it would be smarter for you to retreat and find help. I'm sure some of you can understand that better than others. So let's being, The teams will take the practical exam in the order you were called. We have a stage prepared for you. Sato. Kirishima. You're up."
"Yes, sir!"
"Those waiting their turn to fight can either watch the exams or try to strategize together as a team. It's your choice." Eraser Head explained as the teachers turned and walked away together. That's all."