Exam Forest, Konseigo Academy – 10:57 AM

"Tenshi-san! I've found it!" Ryoken turned his head back to his ally who was currently riding on top of Miyuki's shoulders. His eyes snapped open and he looked at his leader with an excited expression.

"What zone is it?" Ryoken asked.

"It's the Canyon Zone," Maruchisu said as the giant girl lifted him off her shoulders and placed him back onto the ground. "It's a large valley that bends to the left. There are several large rock formations on top but that's about it" he continued, now running alongside the rest of his team. "I'll send my clone to the next zone. After that, a new one will have to be made."

"Right. Once we're past this zone, make another clone to scout with. Be on guard for enemies" Ryoken warned.

"Roger that captain!" Maruchisu said with a smile. Nobody expected what happened next. A bright flash, brighter than the sun itself, flew past at a ridiculous speed, blinding the group with its rays. It was if a flash grenade had gone off as Ryoken generated a smokescreen in an instant, attempting to block out the blinding holy light. Enkai yelled in pain as rubbed his eyes furiously. He was at risk the most due to the dark environment he preferred to live in. Miyuki saw this and gestured to Chizu to move over to them. The cannonball head girl did so, using her massive head to shade Enkai as he hissed in pain at his throbbing eye sockets.

"Anyone have any idea what that was?!" She yelled.

"Not the slightest clue" Miyuki answered. "Whatever or whoever it was, they fast. I didn't even get to see them!"

"Is Okimoto-san going to be ok? That hit him pretty badly" Maruchisu asked worriedly.

"Just let him walk it off" Ryoken huffed. "We're losing time by sitting here." Despite his attitude, the two girls and Maruchisu couldn't help but agree with the demon boy as several silhouettes that could be seen through the thick smog were now running past them.

"I had no idea that many got past the flame wall," Miyuki said in wonder.

"They shouldn't have" Ryoken growled. He'd fucked up now. Someone must have used a water Quirk to extinguish the flames. The wall had spread through the entire pathway and had stood several meters high. It should have taken much longer than this to extinguish. "We need to move, now" Ryoken then added turning to Enkai who was blinking rapidly. "Can you walk Okimoto-san?" He asked concerned.

"I-I'll be fine," Enkai said, trying to put on a smile.

"Then let's go" Ryoken ordered, the smoke dissipating. Whatever that light was, it was now far in the distance, along with a large flaming bird following it towards the canyon entrance. The group then set off again, Ryoken leading with Miyuki at the back to help Enkai if the task was too much for him. Chizu and Maruchisu ran together in the middle, mentally steeling themselves for the first obstacle of the exam. It wasn't long before the five reached the entrance, a whole lot of commotion now going on inside the canyon. The same white light and Phoenix were zipping around the air, carefully dodging the jaws of various mechanical lions which pounced on them from the top of the canyon. Each drone was the size of a large dog, coating in shiny silver metal which glistened in the sunlight. Their choice of weapons were obviously their maws, equipped with various pointy teeth and two large fangs that made them resemble a sabre tooth tiger. The Phoenix dodged the latest pounce from the lion drones, ducking under as another came flying down from above, claws and fangs at the ready to take a piece out of its body. The Phoenix retaliated, firing a stream of fire out of its beak which burnt the drone to a crisp. The flaming drone crashed to the ground in a heap of molten slag, the Phoenix now giving an ear-piercing screech as a show of victory. Ryoken then got a better look at the light which had blinded them, instantly recognising them. She was tall with short blonde hair shaped into a boyish bob cut. Like Chizu, the girl wore a sports bra, though coloured black with yoga pants that had an aqua green line running down the left leg. The more noticeable feature about her was the huge angelic wings she had attached to her back, spanning several feet across and emitting a brilliant bright light. Ryoken let out a small grow. Of course, the Prodigy Child was here.

"We have to fight those things?" Miyuki said in disbelief, snapping Ryoken out of his thoughts. The whole prospect seemed terrifying. Giant mechanical hounds just falling out of the sky at you with terrifying speed.

"You don't have to. That's why I'm here" Ryoken announced, flames spreading up his claws. "Chizu-san extend your neck above the canyon and warn me of approaching enemies. The rest of you follow my lead but stay out of the firing line." With that, Ryoken dashed forwards, running towards the nearest drone. His claw lit up a brilliant orange colour as the lion drone opened it's maw and attacked. Ryoken waited until he was close enough before thirsting his fist into the drone's mouth, unleashing a torrent of flames inside it. The drone struggled for a bit before being melted from the inside, exploding shortly afterwards. Ryoken hissed in pain as the small explosion singed his fur, but with the added fire resistance of his Quirk, he needn't have worried too much.

'How brutal' Miyuki thought as she watched the boy at work. Flames danced everywhere as Ryoken ripped and tore through all the drones that opposed him and the group. Despite his name meaning angel, he was no angel. The boy was a demon just like his Quirk, unflinching and cruel to all around him. Why did she even agree to join his team? She then noticed something.

"Tenshi-san! Top right!" She called in a panic. Ryoken quickly whipped his head up and saw a group of three drones descending on him, their metal bodies glistening in the light. His paws lit up with flames, ready to scorch his new opposition. A black mass rushed forward quickly, swinging into all three drones and sending them into the canyon wall. Said black mass was none other than Chizu's head which had been sent rocketing forwards from her elongated neck.

"I told you to scout for enemies!" Ryoken yelled angrily.

"I can't exactly do that when we're surrounded!" Chizu shot at him. Ryoken only then noticed their predicament. At least a dozen drones had encircled the group while more rained down from above.

"Ah! There's too many of them!" Enkai cried out worriedly while Ryoken gritted his teeth angrily.

'If I didn't have this lot with me, I'd scorch the whole fucking lot' he thought to himself, brain racking to try and make a plan. Chizu was one step ahead, extending her neck out and using it as a wrecking ball to completely sweep away most of them. Her neck retracted and shot out again as she knocked another two drones away with her massive rock-hard head. Ryoken didn't want to admit it, but he was quite impressed with the girl's talent. Despite seeming like a bubbly and happy girl that didn't seem to take things seriously, she was actually quite skilful with the usage of her Quirk.

Name: Chizu 'Chomp' Ishi

Quirk: Wrecking Ball

Born from Quirk fusion of her parent's Quirks, Chomp's mutation has transformed her head into a massive black wrecking ball, making it very hard and dense. Her neck is also very flexible and durable, allowing Chomp's neck muscles to extend and retract, letting her smash her head into objects or be swung around like a literal wrecking ball. However, continuous smashing and swinging can result in headaches and dizziness.

Enkai suddenly yelled in fright as a drone charged at him. He jumped out of the way as Miyuki came rushing in, tackling the drone to the ground. Before it could have a chance to recover, the blue giant brought both fists down on its head, hard. The drone's head was completely crushed as Miyuki winced in pain, shaking her fists. She then released that she had begun to shrink, now falling to almost 8ft. Miyuki called the air's moisture towards herself, absorbing it into her skin and swelling back up to be over 9ft tall again.

Name: Miyuki Hidaka

Quirk: Frost Giant

Miyuki's Quirk allows her to share all the traits and features of a frost giant. By absorbing moisture from the cold air into her skin, Miyuki can use this to increase her size up to 9ft tall. Gifted with this is an increase in physical strength which makes her a threat in hand to hand combat. However, Miyuki will begin to shrink the hotter she gets and is weak to fire, causing her into instantly shrink back to her normal size.

"Not to be rude or anything, but this plan kinda sucks!" Maruchisu yelled to his teammates as he leapfrogged over a charging drone.

"I say we just run for it!" Miyuki called the remains of a drone's head in her hands. "They said there's no point in fighting the enemies!" Ryoken growled in annoyance. She was right. They had wasted a boatload of time trying to fight the endless waves of drones.

"Fine, we'll just charge through them! Smash anything and everything out of the way Ishi-san!" Ryoken ordered.

"Got it!" Chizu responded, moving to the front and swinging her head wildly. The sound of scraping metal filled the air as a path was carved forwards for the group. The five ran quickly along, Chizu sweeping the ground in front of them while Ryoken took out the airborne drones with his flames. Miyuki ran behind with the other two boys, taking out any stragglers that lagged behind.

'I see. This much easier. Why didn't I just do this?' Ryoken could help but feel like an idiot now. They were making much more progress now. It was much easier to have Chizu sweep away the drones to make a path for them to run through. Truth to be told, he wanted to fight the drones. The hellhound was becoming impatient and restless. It hungered for blood. Ryoken could hear it now in his head, barking like mad. His ears twitched at a new sound, and Ryoken fired a fireball from his claws at a drone that had dropped too close. The drone instantly exploded right as the girl with angelic wings flew by. Seeing the wreckage flying at her, the angel girl turned towards it and held out her hand before there was an explosion of bright light. The group and other examinees in the area had to shield their eyes from the intense light that blinded them. Thanks to her quick thinking, Miyuki had wrapped her arms around Enkai's head to protect his sensitive eyes.

"Please make sure you're more careful next time," the angel girl said before flying off. The group just stood there slightly stunned. Looking around, not only had she destroyed the rubble that went to hit her, but also several other drones around her too. All that remained was the smoking piles of scorched scrap metal that littered the area. Ryoken scoffed. Typical of the Prodigy Child.

"What destructive power," Miyuki said.

"TIDAL WAVE!" Maruchisu screamed.

And then everything went to shit.

Canyon Zone, Konseigo Academy – 11:13 AM

"For a peasant, you do seem to have a pretty decent Quirk," a strange looking boy said as he folded his arms and let the wind blow against his nice-looking coat. His skin was coloured in three different shades, black, yellow and orange. His face, neck, torso and upper limbs were coloured yellow with two black lines coming down his face connected to two black rings under his eyes. His nails were sharp and black in colour as well as the exoskeleton on his elbows, knees and chest which were hidden under his black jeans and black coat with a fur collar over a white T-shirt. Extending out his back was a long insect tail that was coloured a dull orange on the underside like his lower limbs. The upper side of the tail was coloured in the same glassy black exoskeleton. His head was covered by a thick chitinous plating that gave him somewhat of a bald looking appearance, the visible hair at the front being coloured black and styled wiry and spiky but flopping down at the front near the bridge of his nose. He currently rode on his companion, a massive serpent-like creature that was made of water from the waist downwards, having the upper body of a dragon with thick sea blue scales that rippled and crashed like ocean waves. Her eyes were red with dark red slit pupils that gave a fierce and angry looking glare that sent fear into even the bravest of men. Her face was slender with several straight horns out the sides and jaws full of rows of razor-sharp teeth. Her arms were slender but packed a lot of muscle like her massive wings that almost rivalled her size. The lower half of her body was morphed completely into water that swept away anything and everything, ending in a thin but powerful tail.

The sea serpent growled at him while the Shinmei just ignored her. He didn't care if her feelings were hurt or not. All he cared was breezing past the exam without a sweat. He had found the perfect partner too. The girl, Sakura Itou was her name, possessed and incredibly rare Quirk that changed her into a raging monster, one that he could exploit for his own personal gain. And by pumping her full of epinephrine, the girl was now unstoppable. But there was one challenge in particular that he had set his sights on.

Kioshi Raito, the prodigy child.

Taking down a prodigy like her would surely boost his reputation and shut Kaemon up. Father would be proud too and side with him should Kaemon try anything. At least he wasn't a failure. At least he didn't run from everything that happened. Kaemon was pathetic like that but still liked to talk the talk. Well no more. He'd show that snarky brat who was superior. His eyes glanced down at the examinees and drones below him, all of which had been washed away by the arrival of Sakura. He smiled to himself. That little barrier that had been put up at the start of the exam was a piece of cake to pass thanks to Sakura. All he now had to do was just keep her adrenaline levels high enough for the duration of the exam and they'd be golden. "Itou-chan, if you get past the angel now, I will get you three bowls of ramen instead of one. Okay?" There was a growl from Sakura and Shinmei felt her surge forwards. He smiled at his bargaining as the bright light from Kioshi's wings got closer and closer. Everything was perfect. Should Sakura turn her back on him now, he could just drain her energy dry and be done with her. It was her choice, help him or fail the exam?

Shinmei had been so deep in his thoughts that he hadn't realised that they had caught up with Kioshi. She was weak now, her light dying down. Shinmei hummed to himself. She must be trying to conserve power. No matter. Sakura let out a roar as Kioshi turned back at the last moment, only seeing the massive blue claw heading in her direction. She quickly darted to the left, Sakura's claw missing by a few short feet as it went crashing into the ground. Sakura continued to slither along, using her claws to drag herself further to try and pull ahead. Shinmei looked down at Kioshi who flew beside Sakura, keeping at a distance to avoid her gigantic claws. Their eyes locked for a split second, hateful glares clashing against each other. Finally, Sakura pulled forward, and Kioshi was left behind, power failing and descending slowly. Shinmei grinned. This was just too perfect for him. There was literally nobody that could stop him now! A rumble beneath his feet said otherwise as Sakura's body began to shift and change back. Her massive claws retracting back into arms as her dragon-like head pushed back into her skull, forming back into a face with grey eyes that head heavy bags underneath them. Scales were replaced by the skin as a mop of wavy dark brown hair grew out of the top of her head, stretching down her back. Her attire was some sort of fully black wetsuit that was left unzipped on the top half exposing her fair skin. She stood silently in front of Shinmei, looking rather sad while Shinmei began to seethe with rage.

"Why the hell did we stop?" Shinmei growled while Sakura zipped up her wetsuit to cover her exposed torso.

"Just look," she said quietly, pointing at the obstacle in front of them. Shinmei turned to the sight in front of him and couldn't help but be slightly shocked. In front of them stood a deep ravine with several gigantic trees growing out of it, their branches intertwining and forming a confusing mess while several vines hung from them like green tentacles. The canopy of the trees stood taller than Sakura did in her monster form, shading the pit of darkness that lay below, full of unassuming horrors probably. It was silent and almost creepy as there was no sound coming from the trees. No birds chirping. No rustling of leaves. It was just silent. Still, Shinmei didn't let it get to him too much, giving an impressed whistle at the sight below him as he walked to the edge. He understood it now. He had only seen the canopy of the trees on top of Sakura and not the ravine below. If she had gone any further, both she and he would have fallen into the looming abyss below. The trees would never be able to support the weight of her monster form. "How are we going to get across?" Sakura then asked, Shinmei turning back to face her.

"That's your problem. I can get across easily with my wings" Shinmei told her. Sakura was about to protest when there was a whooshing of air and the sound of a jet engine approaching, from the ground. Both applicants turned just in time to see a figure go rocketing past, silver hair and a black tank top with multiple silver protrusions coming from their body. The appeared to yell something at them but the pair held their ears due to the absurd noise coming from him. Shinmei saw the figure dart upwards for a split second and disappeared into the foliage. At that point, Kioshi ran past, leaping high and using her wings to soar from branch to branch. She didn't use the vines at all. She didn't need to. Shinmei growled angrily. He had lost the lead just like that! "Sakura! Transform! Now!" He roared at the girl. The taller girl blinked in surprise, but followed Shinmei's instructions, turning back into a smaller sized leviathan. This way, she wouldn't break the branches. Shinmei jumped up top, stabbing her with his tail and pumping the girl full of adrenaline until she could take no more. There was no way he was losing this. He had a reputation to keep up. With a mighty leap, Sakura flew off the cliffside and towards the mighty trees. A slight bad idea as her increased weight pulled her down towards the dark depths. She raised her monstrous claws, catching a branch before she fell. Shinmei leapt up off of her and onto the branch where Sakura hung from. With much clawing and effort, Sakura pulled herself up onto the branch which held firm underneath her weight. Shinmei climbed on top once more before Sakura leapt again, determined to get back their lead.

Jungle Zone, Konseigo Academy – 11:19 AM

To say Ryoken was pissed was an absolute understatement. The wolf boy was absolutely livid due to being completely drenched. A large wave of water had swept through the entire canyon, completely washing away all those who were inside, his own group included. Enkai was fine due to his fish-based mutation, but Maruchisu was freezing without his T-shirt. Ice had also formed across Miyuki's body where the water had actually frozen around her. Ryoken wasn't any better either. The cold water had caused his transformation to revert, leaving him stuck in his human form. He couldn't transform when wet either, putting him at a huge disadvantage. However, he had mostly dried off by now and could feel the Hellhound coming back to him. For a split second, he pondered sitting in a bath of cold water to get the demon to go away. The group had now managed to get through the canyon zone relatively easily since all the drones had been washed away. But now they were behind once again, struggling to catch up to the leaders. Maruchisu hadn't said anything more about the next zone. His connection with the clone had been severed when he had been slammed with the force of the wave. This meant they were now running blind. Almost.

"Is that it?" Chizu asked, her head raised high into the air to get a better view. Ryoken could see the canopy of several trees poking out of what appeared to be a ravine or valley of some sort. The group came to a stop, alongside various other applicants who stood at the edge of the cliffside.

"That's a long way down" Enkai muttered.

"No kidding" Ryoken murmured as he watched some of the examinees leaping onto the branches of some of the trees. He then noticed several vines hanging down from the branches. "We can use the vines to swing across from branch to branch. Teiraa-san, can you make-" Ryoken didn't bother to finish as he could see the boy shaking violently. "Oi, Teiraa-san. You alright?"

"H-huh?" Was response Maruchisu gave, snapping out of a trance.

"You've gone completely pale; more so than me," Miyuki said as she walked over.

"Oh…I just…don't like heights" Mauchisu explained, giving a weak smile as sweat trickled down his forehead.

"Can you shut up and move Teiraa-kun!"

"What?! I'm not doing anything wrong!"

"Boys! What are you doing?! Get away from there!"

"Stop pushing me!"

"Well move Teiraa! I wanna look too!"

"Stop it Kenji!"

"Teiraa! Get away from there!"

A shatter of glass. A broken friendship. And Maruchisu fell from the world that day.

"You guys go on ahead without me. I'll find another way around" Maruchisu told them as he looked around. The memory was painful as it surfaced in his head. He wanted it to go back; to be pushed deep inside his consciousness once more.

"There is no other way around. The ravine covers the width of the course" Chizu explained. Maruchisu's face fell into a look of despair upon realisation. He couldn't do this. He wouldn't get past. He would fail the exam. A large claw gripping his arm said otherwise as Maruchisu was yanked into the air before he realised. He looked to the claw's owner, seeing it was none other than Ryoken, his features changing as he grew taller and more feral, black fur sprouting from his skin as his muscles budged, ripping his new tank top slightly. What was once Ryoken was now an 8ft tall wolfman with fur as blacker than obsidian and flames sprouting from his arms.

"What are you-?!" Maruchisu asked in shock.

"Just hold on tight. My transformation has returned" Ryoken told him, his voice deep and guttural as Maruchisu held on for dear life while Ryoken put him on his back before taking a running start at the ravine. Maruchisu screamed in fright as his arms wrapped around Ryoken's furry chest as the wolf boy leapt. In an instant, Ryoken's claw shot out and gripped hold of a vine, using his momentum to swing through the trees.

"He can't be serious?" Miyuki said in exasperation as Chizu and Enkai just stared, still hearing Maruchisu's frantic screaming in the distance as they disappeared through the leaves.

"We should probably move" Enkai murmured. Miyuki, having heard him, nodded and the remaining three moved back to get a running start. Miyuki exhaled as she prepared herself while Enkai began to shake. They were about to jump off a cliffside. This was crazy.

"Let's go!" Miyuki yelled as she and Chizu ran forwards, Enkai jumping in surprise. The two girls leapt off the edge, screaming as they did so while Enkai just watched. He willed himself to move, but nothing happened. His legs were glued to the ground. He couldn't do it. This was too much for him. He was better off giving up.

"It doesn't matter about outward appearances. What truly matters is what is on the inside. Are you going to let them dictate who you are?"

Enkai blinked in slight surprise. Where the heck did that come from? Was that..? Yes, he remembered it now. That meeting he had in middle school. That chance encounter that changed his life. Enkai shook his head. What the hell was he doing?! Give up?! Why the hell would he want that?! He owed it to him to get past this exam. He'd promised that he'd become a Hero.

"I see the makings of a real Hero inside you kid."

Those words were enough as he charged forward with a mighty yell. He would do it! He would show them all! With a great leap, Enkai soared through the air, gripping onto one of the vines and using his momentum to swing. As soon as he made it through the leaves, Enkai couldn't help but gawk at the view. It was if a jungle had been lifted up into the sky as vines, branches and various other plants littered the treetops, giving off a wide variety of colours.

"This is amazing! It so pretty!" Chizu cried out in excitement as Miyuki couldn't help but give off a small smile as well. Enkai could see that they had just landed on a large branch in front of them. Enkai did so too, stumbling as he did and almost falling off the edge.

"Nice of you to join us," Miyuki said as Enkai recovered. Enkai blushed in embarrassment before there was a scream. The trio turned and watched as another examinee, a boy with purple skin, lose his grip and fall into the darkness below. Other examines, such as one covered with feathers, had found themselves tangled in a mesh of vines while groups of silver creatures just watched, laughing with glee. One such creature hopped onto the branch in front of them and Miyuki finally got a good look at it. It was very small, possibly no more than a few feet high of the ground with a sleek metallic body and yellow glowing eyes. Its tail thrashed around while it gave a cry of enjoyment. It was obvious, a monkey drone. A wave of heat hit her, and Miyuki turned to see Ryoken on another branch with a shaking Maruchisu. The boy was now surrounded by a ring of flames, mostly back in his human form aside from the large flaming wolf limbs and sharp dog like features he was now sporting. Maruchisu was on his knees, holding onto the ground tightly as Ryoken kept blasting more and more drones back. The force of the fire bursts was enough to send them tumbling off the edge of the branch.

"Chomp!" Miyuki cried, turning to her friend. Chizu nodded and shot out her head at the drones in front of them. Something then latched onto Miyuki's face as she turned back. She screamed in fright as she stumbled along the branch, dangerously close to falling off. Enkai quickly ran to her aid, yanking the girl onto the floor before she could fall off. Miyuki tried to rip the thing off her face, but it was no good as the drone gripped her tightly. There was the sound of ripping metal, and Miyuki felt the drone being pulled off her face. She looked up at Enkai who held the drone in his hand, surprised at the size of his jaws. Enkai's mouth seemed to have doubled in size, his jaw slightly unhinged from its joint to allow the partial remains of the drone to sit in his mouth. Enkai took notice of this, blushing as he immediately spat out the metal remains, dropping it into the darkness.

"Are you ok? That was quite a surprise" he asked. Miyuki exhaled the breath she didn't know she was holding and smiled.

"Yes, thank you. Those jaws are really impressive Okimoto-san." Enkai felt himself go even redder at the compliment as he helped the girl on her feet.

"O-oh, thank you" he responded. She had given him a compliment. A genuine compliment! Nobody had ever done that before! A warm fuzzy feeling stirred in his chest just as more drones dropped down in front of them. Miyuki got up and looked at Enkai before he nodded in response. She gave a war cry, charging forwards as Chizu smashed the drones out of their way with her head, knocking them left and right off the branch before they could get a chance to attack. The remaining stragglers were handled by Miyuki as she used her herculean strength to throw them aside or simply smash them to pieces. Though this hurt her wrists, she knew that it was for the best as this way, the would have a clear path to the exit. Enkai called out positions and movements as the trio jumped from branch to branch, following Ryoken who was carrying a crying Maruchisu on his back. The pair of them had been held up on the first branch as Ryoken had been hit by a drone before getting surrounded. He landed on another branch, letting Maruchisu off before he unleashed a wave of fire at the next group of drones. He was surprised that the trees hadn't caught fire at this point since he had been shooting several large bursts of fire everywhere. Once the next group had been dealt with, he picked up Maruchisu and leapt away. He turned his head back slightly, seeing his teammates further back jumping off of a large branch and onto a smaller one that was in a straight line. He was glad that this part of the course was easier to cross, the branches of the large trees winding together like a maze almost. With much leaping and effort, he made it to the end of the zone, a large rocky wall. It seemed that he had dropped down several meters when leaping as the zone's exit was just above them.

"Shit" he hissed. They'd have to climb it. But that would be quite a task with Maruchisu on his back. The dark thought loomed in his head about leaving Maruchisu. No, he'd never leave anyone like he had been. It wasn't fair. "Fuck it. Hold on tight, we're going up" Ryoken warned.

"W-w-what?" Maruchisu shakily answered. Before he could continue, Ryoken leapt at the wall, digging his claws into the rock as he landed. With that done, Ryoken began to climb. It was hard, Maruchisu weighing him down as he struggled up the wall. Something hit him and Ryoken lost his grip, cursing as he did.

"FUCK!" He roared, yanking Maruchisu off his back and swinging him around before throwing him high in the air.

"RYOKENNNNN! WHAT THE FUCK?!" The boy screamed as he soared into the air. He then began to fall. Ryoken angled himself so his feet were facing the ground. As he fell back, he landed on the trunk of a large tree. Using it as a springboard, Ryoken leapt off of it and back towards the falling Maruchisu. As Ryoken reached him, he grabbed his arm and swing him around once more, throwing him up higher this time. Maruchisu screamed as he rose high and higher, through the leaves and over the top of the rock wall. He landed roughly on the ground and didn't move for a moment before taking in his surroundings.

He was alive.

On solid ground.

He sat up suddenly. "I'M ALIVE! I'M FUCKING ALIVE!" He laughed. He let out a deep breath as a shiver ran through his body whilst tears ran down his eyes. He wanted to cry right now. His thoughts flashed back to holding onto Ryoken's furry body as they flew through the branches. His eyes had been closed for most of the experience except for being let down by the boy when he needed to fight. He had been holding onto the branches tightly while Ryoken fought. And when Ryoken had begun climbing the cliffside. If he had let go… Suddenly, something rumbled in his stomach and Maruchisu bent over and he retched, bring up his breakfast from this morning. This was too much. He should have gone to U.A. He then realised something. Ryoken was still down there! Falling after throwing him up here! Maruchisu quickly scampered over to the edge of the cliff, only having his eyes peer over. One quick glance and he rushed back. Nope! It was too much. He just had to pray his teammates made it out alright.

Ryoken in the meantime had managed to land somewhat safely. He had landed on his paws, but it had sent a huge shock through his arms and legs, causing them to throb. The sound of high-pitched laughter echoed through the trees as more and more monkey drones hung around on the branches and vines around him. They mocked him for his failed attempt at climbing the wall, for getting himself hurt. They threw things at him, twigs, stones, anything they had on them while they laughed. He wanted it to stop.

The chorus of laughs grew louder.

"Stop."

Rocks began to hit his shoulders.

"Stop."

Something hard hit his nose, and Ryoken stumbled back.

"Stop."

He touched his nose with his claw, seeing the blood on his sharp nails while he looked in horror.

"STOP."

The chorus grew louder and louder, ringing in his ears until it drowned out everything around him.

"KILL."

Ryoken leapt upwards, seizing the first drone in his claws as he smashed it against the rock wall, the machine left inside a small crater as nothing but a mangled mess of metal and wires. The laughing stopped in an instant as Ryoken pushed himself off the wall, flames igniting the next two drones as they were incinerated. The drones all seemed to scream out in fear as the watched Ryoken tear apart a fourth one with his claws. The Hellhound howled with glee as the wolf-boy smiled in satisfaction. The feeling was just so good. To let loose and annihilate was what he needed. He jumped up high, chasing the drones as they fled in fear. Using his flames, Ryoken scorched a fifth one as he watched it go tumbling down into the dark depths while he chased a sixth one upwards. The drone swung from vine to vine but it was too late for Ryoken had caught it. Grabbing hold of it, Ryoken unleashed his flames, incinerating the helpless drone. The pair flew up through the leaves and over the cliffside and onto the ground above, skidding to a stop as Ryoken dragged the drone's face through the ground. Despite the drone being half burnt and having its face shredded up slightly, it was still functional. No matter. Ryoken slammed his hulking fist into the drone's face, smashing it to pieces.

Again.

Ryoken threw another punch into the drone's face, this time shattering the ground.

Again.

The punches grew faster and faster, each one hitting harder than the last as Ryoken wanted nothing more than to smash this annoying thing to pieces.

"Tenshi-san! STOP!" Ryoken froze mid-punch as he looked up. He saw Miyuki staring at him with a look of horror on her face while Enkai stood behind Chizu shaking in fear as the pair were helping Maruchisu off the floor. Even the cheerful boy was absolutely shocked at the sheer brutality of his teammate. "What are you doing?" Miyuki asked, her voice almost hollow. The trio had managed to find a pathway of branches that lead up to the top of the cliff. There, they had met up with Maruchisu who had explained to them how Ryoken had thrown him to the top of the cliff. They were in the middle of helping him before Ryoken had joined them and began smashing a drone to pieces. They wolf-boy looked down at the smashed drone in front of him, seeing the obliterated metal and short-circuiting wires. He shook his head, reverting himself back into his human form, the flames disappearing.

"Sorry" he began quietly. "I got a bit carried away there." He got up, rubbing his sore knuckles as he walked over to Maruchisu. He'd done it again. He'd fucked up. It was almost like a repeat of U.A. He could not let that happen again. He had to rein himself in. "Hey," he said to Maruchisu as he held his hand out. "Sorry about throwing you. I didn't want us to fall and hurt ourselves." Maruchisu was hesitant in accepting Ryoken's hand but eventually did so, the other boy pulling him up onto his feet. Ryoken knew those looks in their eyes. The looks of fear, of disgust at his brutality. He couldn't lose their trust now. He needed them for the exam, and they needed him. "If you're all ready to go, then let's continue. We can't fall behind."

"Are you okay though Tenshi-san? You seemed very…focused back then" Maruchisu asked.

"It's a side effect of my Quirk. Sorry" Ryoken answered. If he was to keep their trust, it would be best to apologise. Maruchisu was a little surprised, to say the least. After that episode, the brash and rude Ryoken seemed to be replaced by a seemingly more apologetic one. Not that he was complaining though. He was handled roughly by Ryoken when being carried through the forest and did want an apology for it. He decided to take it with a pinch of salt however and put it behind him. It was too early to make judgements just yet.

"Not to worry Tenshi-san!" Maruchisu said, a smile forming on his face. "Every Quirk has a downside. I just didn't expect yours to be so wild though."

"It's a bit of a handful to deal with. Anyway, let's get moving" Ryoken said, moving off. Maruchisu followed him while Chizu and Enkai stayed back.

"So…are we going to follow them?" Chizu asked.

"Um…I think we should. They are our teammates after all" Enkai said, though he was still unsure about Ryoken's ferocity seen moments ago.

"You coming too Yuki?" Chizu asked.

"Yeah. Just give me a sec" Miyuki replied as she began to suck in more moisture. Chizu shrugged and followed along with Enkai while Miyuki watched. Tenshi. A word that simply meant angel. "Angel my ass," the frost giant thought as she began to follow. That boy was no angel at all. He was a walking devil. Rude, cruel and brutal. She blamed Chizu for dragging her into this. She was this far now though. There was no point in complaining now. With a heavy sigh. Miyuki pressed on, determined to get this exam over and done with for good.

Ah, good grief! This chapter was a lot shorter than I wanted it. I was aiming to try and get the examinees through most of the zones, but I guess I kinda dragged on to the point where I was sick of it. I was tempted to rewrite this chapter, but I'm pleased with the edits I've made so far. Anyway, there's nothing else to really say though. If I got any of your character's personalities wrong then I do apologise once again, still new to this XD. But if you liked the chapter, leave a review why and I'll see you in the next update then!