The students gathered around the entrance were a veritable orchestra of noise, thundering hearts, muttered strategies and pep talks, rustling cloth revealing nervous fidgets and anxious warm ups. Kyoka opened herself to the noise and let it wash over her, it was an exercise in necessity, otherwise it would all become overwhelming, become a cacophony, disjoint. She tried to focus on just a single type of sound, the heartbeat, imperceptible to most, but thunderous to her quirk: Earphone Jacks.
She listened for any irregularities, and with quirks, irregular was almost the norm. Her eyes followed her interest, the metallic thumping coming from chromedome in the middle, some kids who didn't even have hearts, or bodies for that matter. One heartbeat that was perfectly level, resting. Giant guy with his thunderous heart.
She looked back at the level beat, it was a girl, tall. She wondered how old she was, applicants could be as young as 14 and as old as 18, UA was weird like that. The girl turned towards Kyoka, yellow insectile eyes turned unerringly towards her. Her head tilted in question.
She was stock still, no twitching, nothing, just looking at her, making no moves to walk away, or come and talk.
Kyoka swallowed the lump in her throat.
She walked up, was never one for standing around and thinking when she could just go up and get her answers.
"Yo, names Jirou" She intoned. Up close she realised that what appeared from afar to be some sort of insect mutation was actually an incredibly well-made costume.
Insect girl took a few moments to answer.
"Um, Hello, my name is Taylor?" She answered in an American accent. How was she this calm in a country whose language she was new to?
"You're from America?" She asked in English. The girl, Taylor (she assumed that that was her first name) seemed relieved that she knew some English. Though the reaction was hard to spot, her heart rate stayed pretty constant throughout the introduction.
"Oh, thank goodness, the please and q's are about as good as I've managed for Japanese so far." Kyoka idly swatted at a gnat she saw, she swore there were more bugs here than she saw in the city.
"How long have you been learning?" She asked.
She took a moment before answering, Kyoka pegged her as 15 or 16 based on her voice.
"About a month, I only knew some basics before." She answered.
"Oh, so you moved recently then?" She asked.
She paused again struggling with her answer but was saved by Present Mic declaring that the event had started.
Wait, started? She turned to Taylor only to realise that she'd already bolted and was halfway through the gate.
The test had begun.
-x-
Thank goodness, I hadn't quite expected any students to actually come and talk to me what with how my costume looked but clearly, I underestimated how nonchalant people here were for odd appearances.
I'd felt the robots already from outside, they were clearly made by normal engineering and not tinkertech, well, normal for this world, tinkers didn't seem to exist here despite the higher level of basic technology otherwise.
Their design was a strange mix of robust and fragile, sturdy body pieces coupled with tank tracks and, hopefully nonlethal, weaponry. But the joints for their arms and arm analogues as well as their 'eyes' were very thin. Likely to allow people with less destructive abilities the opportunity to take out a few. Even then, this entire test seems custom made for highly competitive powers and powers that worked only on non-living material, which clashed heavily with the actual roster of heroes this school graduates. Hell, at least two of the teachers had powers that helped them in no way whatsoever here.
Which meant that logically, there was more to this test than just killing robots, which meant that I had about 15 minutes to figure that out because once again my power proves entirely useless here. I'd snuck some cockroaches in with the fliers while I was talking to that Jirou girl and had them try to chew through the wires once the test began. So far, I've disconnected a few wires in a one pointer and utterly failed to affect any other robots, their internals being progressively better protected the more valuable they were.
I thought for a moment and began heading back towards Jirou, Id managed to sneak a small bug on her during our conversation, I'd need someone I could actually communicate with if I wanted to pull this off.
She'd ended up squaring off a 3-pointer by herself in an alley, the signs of exertion on her and lack of major damage on the robot gave a rather clear indication on how her battle was going.
I sent a wave of flies into the sensors of the robot and had a few crawl in and do what little damage they could to its components. This was apparently enough as the robot stopped attacking her and just swung randomly, targeting nothing.
She ran forward and pierced it with her… were those earphone jack earlobes? How did I not notice that before? There was an audible thumping of a heartbeat before the chassis of the robot shattered and it collapsed to the ground. I took the moment to really look at her, I was far too distracted before with scoping out the field of battle. She was clearly going for punk, albeit apparently taking a stop at pretty, with angular eyes and asymmetrical hair that fit her perfectly. I couldn't help but compare myself to her, she was skinny in a way that actually fit together, not my lanky beanpole style skinny. I tried not to resent her for that. I'm not sure how successful I was in that endeavour.
She panted. "Thanks for the save Taylor" She didn't look at me until after she thanked me, meaning that she had some method of differentiating people without looking, sound maybe? The powers here always seemed strangely themed.
"No problem," I begun explaining while she caught her breath. "I don't think number of robots killed is the sole criteria for this test," She raised her visible eyebrow, "nobody without a combat… quirk would make it in otherwise. I'm guessing that its teamwork or something along those lines."
She frowned. "But, aren't the points scored individually?"
"Yes, but I think that's a ruse, to trick everyone in fighting alone when it's always more beneficial to fight together." God, don't I know that one, images of fire rushing towards me, panic among the smoke.
"Ok, I think you're onto something." She held out her fist, "temporary team?"
"Temporary team."
The exam proceeded far smoothly after that, Jirou could tell roughly where the robots were based on sound. I of course knew their exact location as soon as a bug hit them. So we settled into a rhythm, she'd note a group of robots in the distance by themselves and once we were close I figured out there exact location and begun sabotaging them, most one pointers would be malfunctioning heavily by the time we arrived. We took turns taking them out, Jirou by vibrating their shells apart and me by flooding their delicate internals after she broke their casing apart.
If I was being perfectly honest, it was the most fun I've had with another human since I'd last seen the Undersiders.
By the time their 15 minutes was almost up we'd each managed to get almost 30 points, and I'd also found the 'zero pointer', a truly gargantuan robot that was ensconced below the ground.
"We should probably move out of the way," Jirou looked at me, "The zero pointer is close to us and its about to surface." She nodded and we went back towards the gate, away from the giant robot.
I did a quick sweep of the area where it would appear, shit, it's below the most populated area of the arena!
"Hold on," I stopped Jirou, "there's tons of people directly above it, we need to warn them."
She looked at me dubiously, "How do you plan on doing that?"
A swarm of insects entered the main battlefield, just above the zero pointer, I directed them to speak, slowly, as my Japanese was still not very strong, no was my ability to speak through bugs well developed either.
"Zero pointer… appearing here soon… evacuate immediately" Everyone around it ran away fast, hopefully because of my warning and not because of the wall of bugs I gave the message through.
Mere moments later it smashed through the floor of the testing hall.
Feeling it with my insects and seeing it up close were two very different things. It was massive, as tall as behemoth at least, I felt a wave of fear rush through me which I hastily pushed into my swarm, bugs agitating around us.
"Ho-lee shit." Jirou whispered.
"Yea." I turned around to head back, away from this monstrosity, I wanted to get as far away from it as possible. I felt more bugs come into range, it was increasing, in response to the threat maybe? I still haven't figured out why my range fluctuates.
I felt some bugs attached to a person, they were trapped in the rubble.
"Fuck!" I snarled, this is a school event why are people allowed to get injured. I knew, but I had hoped, hoped this place would be different, would care.
"What?" The voice snapped me out of my thoughts, right, Jirou.
"There's someone trapped in the rubble, I'm going to try and get someone around to help." Even as I said it I began running in, no one was going to help, nobody ever does, they just watch, watch and laugh.
As expected, the pleas from my insects fell on deaf ears, people were too busy running away to even notice it, and the ones who did usually just kept on running. Some people responded, or screamed, I still struggled to tell the difference, it was all just vibrations to my insects. Either way, nobody made a move to help.
I arrived at a partially collapsed house, thankfully the robot had moved on and wasn't focusing on where it had already been. I was vaguely aware of Jirou following behind me, just bareky keeping pace.
The house was a mess, rubble everywhere, though thankfully still structurally sound. I ran to where the student was trapped and started moving rubble out of the way. Jirou came in and helped me lift a piece I was struggling with.
Eventually we freed the guy, he was breathing but somewhat unresponsive, I started first aid, asked him his name, told him to squeeze my hands. He didn't answer his name but he managed to squeeze my hands, I hoped that that was a good sign because I don't remember everything from the Drs ABCD strategy I'd learned in first aid. We both helped him walk out.
"I can't sense anybody else stuck in the area, you?"
Jirou signed to stop and be quiet, she jabbed a jack into the concrete of the adjacent house and looked to be listening. The lobe came out and we kept walking.
"I can't find anybody else, we're clear I think."
We walked another few metres before a loud buzzer sound emanated and we heard the hero, Present Mic I think it was?
"AAAnd that's TIMES UP EVERYBODY" I could feel all the active robots in my range shut down. I sagged with relief. And immediately felt white hot rage coursing through me, they sent killer robots after students, for an entrance exam!
What the fuck is wrong with this world, I'd been deluded into thinking that this place would be better, no Endbringers, no Slaughterhouse nine, heroes everywhere. There is a light in peoples eyes that Bet lacked, that glimmer of knowing, knowing that the world would be there in a year's time.
Was I wrong? Was this world just as fucked and I've been too busy surviving and learning Japanese to realise it?" The bugs in my range were getting agitated.
"Taylor?" A voice to my left, mocking?
"What!" I snapped at her. She took a step back, eyes wide.
"Whoa dude, chill out, exams over." She said, voice slightly heated and, shaky? "I was just letting you know that recovery girl is coming, you seemed out of it." She pointed behind us.
She wasn't mocking me, crap.
"Sorry." I replied, emotionlessly, focusing on my bugs, trying to calm down.
I turned around to face recovery girl. My rage simmered under the surface; I was peripherally aware of my wasps in rage buzzing rather angrily.
"Oh dearie me, looks like you got into a scuffle there young man." She walked up, slow as you like to us and gave a kind smile. "Would you two lovely ladies please put him on the ground so that I may kiss him better." I was too stunned by her, mannerisms to put up much of a protest so I gently placed him on the ground.
She walked up to him and elongated her lips until they kissed the guy on the ground, I saw all of his scrapes and cuts heal themselves right in front of me. He woke up, barely thanked Jirou and me before bemoaning the fact he didn't take out any robots and walking off.
"now, are we alright here, no injuries?"
I felt like my legs had fallen out under me.
"We're all good, thanks for the help old lady." I could hear the awe in her voice
Recovery girl walked off to see the other students.
I don't know how to feel about this. Though, I could almost understand their mentality with the danger in this exam if they've got their own, far less bitchy Panacea on call. But, he could have died right?
"You good?" Jirou was blunt but even I could feel the concern in her voice.
"I'm fine." I grunted. She stared at me. "Thank you for your concern, I'm sorry I blew up at you earlier." She seemed mollified with that.
"Yea, these exams were wild, UA amirite? Plus Ultra and all that" How was she so, cool with this.
"Yea," I paused, "Look, it was nice meeting you, but I have to go." I didn't wait for a reply before leaving.
"see ya when class starts Taylor." She called after me.
I stopped and nodded, not trusting myself to respond to that.
-x-
The walk 'home' was lonely, unless you counted all of my insects, which I didn't. Whilst I know that I'm not exactly the most social person, the day that I start substituting bugs for human company was the day I'd lost it.
The woods around Mustafa were quiet, nobody outside of people with nature themed powers or exceptionally strong love of the outdoors would come out here.
I passed a strangely shaped rock and felt my home for the last month come into focus, it was little more than a shanty house, held up with spider silk and termite built pillars. Thankfully none of the spider I kept had managed to escape their little boltholes in the specially designed termite mound I constructed.
I peeled off my costume, I'd left it as unaltered as I could from its original state, even though it was somewhat villainous it is also the only thing I had left from Bet.
Whilst I laid down on the silk hammock I made I freed the spiders with some termites, had them eat some flied I'd gathered on the way and attempted to decompress my thoughts somewhat. The truth was, as much as what I'd seen at the exam today I'm still going to attend UA, it was simply put, my best option. UA cared vanishingly little for any sort of actual record, a plus since I don't have any, it was entirely free, and offered dorms for students without asking any questions.
Whilst I could let somebody know of my… status, I did not feel like dealing with a foster family, and truth be told, the possibility of being a hero made me excited. Just refraining from using my powers to fight crime for the past month had me on edge, it was somehow worse than the three months I waited to first fight crime, torturous.
Maybe after getting a taste for combat I was hooked? I don't know how to feel about it if that was the case.
Either way, vigilantism was not tolerated in this world, If I wanted to fight crime, I needed a licence, and that meant going to school. Again.
When I first came here and realised I was in a different world and stopped panicking about being in the Madison or Ellisburg containment zones I had brief moment of freedom. It didn't last very long before I realised that I was essentially celebrating the fact that I'd never see my father again, and further soured by finding out how vigilantism is treated here.
I felt the crushing weight if sadness at the thought of never seeing dad again and dutifully shoved it into the pit where I store all of my long term problems. I liked to think that that helped, that it lessened the feeling in some way.
I got up and started making food, I had little doubt that I'd be accepted into UA, which still left an entire month from today before classes actually started. Whilst I was ok at communication with Jirou today it was heavily reliant on the fact that she spoke decent English herself, how I was able to understand what Recovery Girl said was anyone's guess though. Either way I needed to keep up my Japanese studies, at the rate I've been learning the past month I should be passable by the time school starts.
The fact that it was also a good way to distract myself from the fact that I'd be re-entering the hellscape that was high school was entirely coincidental.
-x-
Welp, hope you liked that, maybe this time I can beat my PB of sticking with a story and get past the third chapter mark ayye. Let me know if I've completely fucked up Taylor or Kyoka's characters. Have a nice day and keep safe.