My Hero Academia – Under Pressure – Season 3 – Episode 19 – Search and Rescue
Inside the rest zone of the Provisional Licensing Exam, the remaining 120 students were eagerly talking among one another about the second half of their exam, which would start in only a few minutes. Their eagerness and nervousness filled the area for various reasons.
But in a small pocket out of sight of everyone else was Kuroda Fuji and Tonen Keitomo. The two leaders of Class 1-B sat on the ground and had much more somber expressions upon them, with the atmosphere being filled with sadness.
Kuroda had told her "big brother" of everything that her ex, Sekuro, had said and done during their battle in the exam's first part. Tonen didn't say anything at first, as he knew it was important for her to get it all out before trying to comfort her beyond the hug he did before.
When she was done, Kuroda did her best to wipe the tears from her eyes. It wasn't easy given the pain she felt.
Tonen shook his head in sadness, "I'm so sorry, Kuroda."
That got her to chuckle a little, "Ah, using my real name. That means you're serious right now."
"Given what you just told me, how could I not be?"
"Yeah, yeah…"
Tonen paused as he saw Kuroda's eyes drift to the side in remembrance of various things. He knew he shouldn't let her wallow in the past, "So he was the guy you mentioned before? When I was talking about my…uh…forced date?"
"Hmm?" she asked at first when she snapped back to reality. She soon remembered what she said and nodded, "Yeah, that was Sekuro. If I'm being honest…I don't what part hurts worse right now."
"What do you mean?"
"I always thought he left because of something I did or something I said. I used to rack my brains and try to think of something, anything, to explain what happened. It took a lot to move past that. Then, to find out that Sekuro was secretly a power-hungry, fame-driven, possibly misogynistic fool? And that he hated me simply because I had a Quirk that people liked? That just tore me up on the inside."
"So thus you can't tell if it hurts worse to know you did nothing wrong, or that Sekuro was basically a monster and you couldn't tell."
A small laugh came from Kuroda at the accurate breakdown, "Got it in one. I wanted answers for so long, Tonen, and now…I honestly wished I hadn't gotten them at all. I did nothing wrong. Nothing! But I feel like I did everything wrong and now I have to try and put myself together again for everyone else. I just can't face them right now. It was easy on the battlefield as I HAD to keep everyone going. But here? It's just me and my thoughts."
Tonen could see she was about to slip into another breakdown and thought fast, "Did I ever tell you the real reason I wanted to be a Pro-Hero?"
Kuroda had a bit of whiplash from the question, but managed to focus and think about it, "No, I don't think you have. Granted, you've hinted at certain things, and based on who you are, I'm sure it's for a rather noble reason."
"Well, thank you, and you're not exactly wrong. The reason I want to be a Pro-Hero…is because I feel we need a better kind of Pro-Hero in our world."
"You have my attention, go on."
"I love our society. I love how heroes of all types are respected. Not just the ones who go up against villains, but the ones who help on an every day basis. They take care of society, and society rewards them for their help."
"But…?"
"But…when you get past that 'shine,' you see the truth. That things are much more complicated than that. That this society praises the Pro-Heroes who have the best looks, the best Quirks, the best newsworthy moments. We have a ranking system just so everyone knows who's the 'best' and who isn't! The higher up you are on the board, the more likely you get—"
"Sponsorship deals, collabs with other Pro-Heroes…" finished Kuroda as she flashed back to Sekuro's words.
"Exactly, and I hate that," added Tonen. "My Uncle Brazen is the No.75 Pro-Hero on the charts. He could do more and be higher, but that was never his goal. He wanted to simply help people and be a good person with powers. I wanted to be like him. Then, as I got older, I saw so many Pro-Heroes NOT be like him. They'd bask in the glory, or try and do more solely for deals and such. Mythical is that way in many respects."
"So THAT'S why you didn't want to intern with him."
"Right. He is a good hero, but not an honorable one in my eyes. In contrast, Sparky is rather low in the rankings and yet she has the time of her life making sure the people of her district are fine. They love her for that, and know they can count on her, that's what I want to be. No matter where I end up, I want to be in a place that knows I'm there to help them. I'll never be the No.1 Pro-Hero, and I'm fine with that as it never was my goal to begin with."
Kuroda smiled, "Like I said, so noble."
Tonen wagged his finger at her, "I'm not done. My fear coming to UA, which is another aspect of hero society we could alter in some ways, was that my classmates would want nothing more than fame or glory. And we definitely have a few in the class that could match that description."
"A handful at most, to be fair."
"And that's why I'm telling you this, Kuroda. You're not one of them. From day one, you've been a beacon for us. Helping us do things, and do things the right way. You're exactly the kind of Pro-Hero I would follow and work with every day because I know you're driven by better things than many others out there. So screw Sekuro. You've earned your place here in UA, and you deserve to get your license simply because the moment you have it, I know you'll use it to help people no matter what."
Kuroda's eyes welled up again, but this time, with tears of joy, "Thank you, Tonen. I really do want to be a great Pro-Hero. One that is like what you said, who helps people without question or issue."
"You're already that in my eyes, and I know much of the class feels that way too. So…"
He stood up and extended a hand to her, "Wipe off those tears, and let's show those graders why Change-It deserves to get her license today. Because she's one of the best people I know."
Kuroda didn't take his hand at first. Instead, she took a deep breath, dried her tears one last time, and then nodded.
She grabbed his hand and rose up, and instantly Tonen could tell her determination was back, "You're not so bad yourself, so don't slack off and fail to get your license!"
"I have no intention of having my 'big sister' annoying me to death because I didn't. Ready to go?"
"Yeah, no doubt."
With everything back to how it was, if not better, the two joined their classmates, many of whom were trying to predict the terrain for the next phase of the test.
Eri was the first to greet the two when they returned, "Everything alright?"
Kuroda spoke first, "Yes, just had to talk some things out."
"How much time before the next phase?" asked Tonen.
Azujima tapped his helmet, "Three minutes."
"Not long then. Should we come up with a plan, K-Rep?"
The shift back to her nickname got a smirk from Kuroda, who then focused her attention on the others, "For now, we'll play it fast and loose. We didn't predict that first phase, so let's not worry about predicting the second too much. It's a rescue scenario, so there might be people or objects that need protecting. Get in that kind of mindset no matter what as that won't be too flexible. They'll need to explain at least some of what we're doing before we venture off. So we'll wait for that, then think fast afterward. Understood?"
"Understood" replied most of the class.
As if on cue, the speaker system went live once again.
"Attention all remaining students," rang out the voice of Iseshiba Gobei. "The second part of your exam is moments away. As noted, it's a rescue operation versus a combat scenario. To that end, there are people from the 'Help Us Company' who are scattered around the remade area. Your mission is to get to as many of them as possible and save them. How you do this will matter, and you must guide to certain marked safe zones."
The students murmured amongst one another at the details of their second test until the intercom silenced them.
"Some of you may feel this is trivial, but it isn't. Far from it. These kinds of tests are vital, as events like these happen all over the world every single day. Just because you don't read about them doesn't mean they don't happen. Another aspect here is how you treat those in danger. Pro-Heroes are meant to be inspiring, never forget that. There are two more things to note before you begin. First, this test will have a time limit. We won't say how long as that will influence your decision-making. Second, like with a mission in the field, you need to be ready for anything, so don't feel lax in this situation. With that, exit the doors and wait for the horn to start the test."
The remaining students heard the doors open near them, and they all quickly went out. Class 1-B stayed together so that they would see everything as one and quickly share information.
To their surprise, the battlefield had completely changed since their short break started. Gone was the massive battlefield, and in its place was a mini-city area. There were destroyed buildings everywhere, and you could see the faint outlines of some people who had been "caught in the crossfire."
"That's some impressive field work to get it done so quickly!" noted Wasuke, impressed.
"Those people are okay, though, right?" wondered Kanagita.
Kuroda put a hand on her shoulder and gave her a calming smile, "They're just pretending, Kanagita. It's all an act to get us in the right mindset."
"Uh…but what exactly is the explanation for all this?" asked Ikaim out loud.
To answer his question, the intercom came on once again, and Gobei spoke one last time, "Here is the scenario for you to think about as you venture forth. You were called to a city after a massive natural disaster event. Regular rescue services are unavailable and time is of the essence. Your goal is to save as many people as you can before things get worse. If you look to your left and right you'll see marked off zones for the 'victims' to rest at."
They turned and indeed saw yellow and black zones that definitely stood out from the rest of the area.
"Either guide them there, or take them yourselves if they're incapable of moving. Remember, you can work in groups, but your individual efforts are the ones that will be graded. Your test starts…now."
A horn blasted and many of the students rushed forward to start the test and get their point totals up.
Kuroda held Class 1-B back as she knew the mob would hinder them at first, "I'll be quick. We need to work in smaller groups like before to get things done. But, we need to do this efficiently so we can all pass. So here's what I'm thinking. I'll take nine of you, and use Ryo as our eyes and ears so we can try to find as many people as possible and get them to safety. Tonen, you take the other nine and use Azujima to find and rescue as many as you can. Sound good?"
"Sounds good," replied Tonen with a nod. "For extra balance, you take Kana and I'll take Mako, that way we have one physical powerhouse to lift up debris."
"Smart. Eri? You divide us up so everything else is balanced."
"Why me?" wondered Eri.
"Do I really need to say out loud that you're smarter than me?"
"Yes, and thank you."
Eri quickly divided everyone up, and the two sides split so that they could deploy.
"Work together, and we'll pass. But be ready for anything, something tells me they'll throw a curve ball at us sooner rather than later," warned Kuroda with a stern look to both sides. "Alright, Class 1-B, let's go get our licenses!"
With that, the two sides deployed.
In Kuroda's crew, once they drew closer to the city, Ryo deployed her drones and had them searching for any signs of life that could be perceived as "victims" to the event in question.
She found just that rather quickly, and in a spot where no other students were, "Kuroda, over here!"
There was a large pile of rubble that appeared to have remnants of a building that fell perfectly on top of one another. From the outside, it didn't look like anyone was there, but from the perspective of the drones, there were people buried within.
"There are three people at the bottom of this pile!"
Eri looked at the rubble disapprovingly, "Those won't be easy to get rid of to save them. Brute force won't be the answer this time."
Doza pounded his fists, "So how about a more technical approach?"
"That could work. Kanagita, put him on top of the pile. Doza, dissolve them slowly until they're out."
"On it."
Kanagita transformed into Brick Break and carefully placed Doza on top. He focused his hands on the top part of the rubble and then vibrated it to break apart.
Even though he was careful, the other parts of the pile started to shake.
Kuroda reacted quickly, "Ryu, Kanagita, shore those up!"
Ryu also transformed and put his mechanical strength alongside Brick Break's to keep everything stable. Thanks to that, Doza, was able to work carefully and break down the pile bit by bit until there was only a few small chunks left.
With everything exposed, Kanagita and Ryu lifted up the final chunks and exposed the three people at the bottom. To their shock, they looked the part, complete with scuff marks and fake bruises to make it seem like they had been put through the ringer.
Kuroda knew that now was not the time to dawdle, "You're safe from the rocks now, can you move?"
"I can't," said one of the three, "but the others can."
"Understood. Ueno, Doza, help the two who can walk to the safe zone. Oshibu, take this one to the safe zone as fast as possible. Make sure they're comfortable for when the paramedics get there."
Oshibu pulled down his shades, "I can do all three in a flash."
"Yes, but you need to focus on this one as she's hurt, understood?"
Kuroda looked at him in a way to convey that she was trying to help him and the "victim" at the same time. He picked this up and carefully lifted the person, "I'll rejoin you once they're taken care of."
He blitzed away. Ueno and Ikaim helped the others and ensured they were calm during the walk to safety. Situation handled, Kuroda focused back on Ryo, "Where to next?"
Ryo consulted with her drones, "There's a bunch of people unattended this way!"
With a point, they all raced to their next destination.
Over with Tonen's group, Azujima quickly pointed them to a building that looked on the verge of collapse, "There are…six people in there."
Anno was perplexed by this, "They would risk actual people by putting them there? That place looks like it would go down in a heartbeat!"
"But in a real-world scenario, that could happen," pointed out Chuya. "Let's not dawdle, we're being watched."
"Agreed," acknowledged Tonen, "How scattered are they Azujima?"
"Pretty scattered," noted Azujima as he adjusted his helmet sensors. "Four people on the first few floors, and then two on the top."
"Ok, we have to do this delicately. Goya, can you lift them all out from here?"
Goya, who only reluctantly followed Kuroda's wishes when she ordered an even split, gave a pained groan, "No. I have to see what I'm lifting. As you noted, the building is on edge. If I move the wrong thing, it could come down and then we're really in trouble."
"I appreciate the honesty. Ok, here's what we'll do, we'll send in those who can fly or be light. Goya, Soldier, and Rune, hover up to each floor and carefully get people out one at a time as carefully as you can."
"Can I bring my lass with me?" Fenella asked with a point to Ebirima, "She's used to riding with me, and her bubble gum could help me get people out faster."
"Do it, but be careful. That goes for you two as well. Now go!"
Goya floated off to the highest floor. Chuya transformed and went to the lowest through one of its windows. Fenella summoned one of her runes, brought Ebirima aboard, and then flew to the middle floors.
The moment they disappeared, Tonen turned back to Azujima, "We can't sit here and wait for them to be done. Azu, where's the next group of victims we can help?"
Azujima quickly looked around and spotted another set of people in trouble, "Over there, I think they're trapped partially by some rubble. It's on the ground though and only a few people."
"Ok. Quake, Mako, and Shield Hero, go over there and handle it on your own. Once you free them, take them to the safe zone and then meet back with us. I'll make sure we're not too far away."
"We're on it," boasted Wasuke, "Follow me, boys!"
With a prideful roar he rushed to his assignment. Sanda and Anno looked at each other and shook their heads but followed him regardless.
Tonen again asked Azujima to find more people for them to find. As he did, a noise caught his ears. From the windows, the others emerged one after another with the people they saved in tow in one form or another.
When he saw all six were out, he breathed a sigh of relief, "Well done."
"You were right to send us in as you did," Chuya said seriously, "I noticed many structural weak points that would've likely collapsed things had we rushed in."
"Thanks, Soldier, I just…do you feel that?"
They all paused and felt a small rumble, they all turned to the building, and saw that it was starting to come down.
Tonen didn't hesitate, "Soldier, water shield around us, everyone, surround the civilians. Goya and I will stop any large debris from hitting us!
They formed up, and Iha even gave a power boost to Chuya to power up her shield like she had done during the entrance exams. Fenella added some of her runes to the barrier for extra shielding. As the building came down, certain large chunks careened toward them. When they did, either Goya or Tonen shattered them or moved them away.
Thanks to their quick thinking, they were able to make it through the incident. Fenella wasn't amused though, "Ok, why did it come down AFTER we did the job?"
"Test," answered Iha with her usual bluntness.
Tonen shrugged it off, "She's not wrong, Gobei said the test would have unexpected elements. We just got met with one head on. We're not done yet, though, and we need to take care of these civilians. Goya, can take them all back to the safe zone?"
"Sending me away so quickly?" asked Goya, eye twitching in annoyance.
Tonen could tell the test people, both afar and close, were watching. So he put on a smile and motioned to Goya while looking at the "victims," "Everything is fine, he's just curious about how he should handle things afterward. One sec."
He not-so-lightly nudged Goya to face away from them. Goya still wasn't having it, "I'm only going along with this because I don't want to fail, but don't you dare think of pushing me out!"
"I'm actually trying to help you pass, you dick. Carrying all these people to the safe zone on your own? Then rushing back to help us? That's massive points. And aren't you the one who likes to do more in less time? So treat them kindly as you do this and you might lock up your passing grade immediately. Now go."
The two stared down one another, then Goya put on an incredibly fake smile and bowed to his "leader" before focusing on his goal, "Thank you so much for your guidance, I wouldn't know what to do without you. Alright everyone, I'm going to gently lift you up and carry you to the safe zone. If you experience any discomfort, let me know. And here…we…go!"
He playfully lifted them up, and then followed suit as he guided them away.
Tonen groaned angrily at the display, but if nothing else, Goya was doing his job, and that likely would be enough.
A snapping noise got his attention, and he turned to see Chuya right up in his grill, "No time to worry about him. What next?"
"Oh, right," answered Tonen with a quick shake of the head to ready himself once more. "Azujima found some more people. This way!"
They rushed off to their next spot. As they did, they passed Wasuke, Anno and Sanda, who had gotten their "victims" and was heading to the safe zone. Tonen relayed where they were going next, and said they would wait for them if possible.
The next twenty minutes was filled with situations like this. Both Kuroda and Tonen's team did their best to help the people that were in dangerous situations, and tried to treat them kindly to show their "heroic personalities."
Even members who couldn't immediately help due to the scenario, like Ueno, Iha, Eri, and others found ways to be useful. Such as helping clear away rubble, guiding people to the safe zones, and more.
While they may not have known how the test would be scored, Class 1-B was doing its best to show that everyone was helping, just like Pro-Heroes should.
At one point, Ryo guided Kuroda to a spot where a massive slap of concrete was lightly pinning some people to the ground.
"Don't worry, I got you," she said calmly to the people as she put her hands on the slab.
The slab turned to feathers and with a loud clap from Brick Break, the feathers unraveled and flew away. Kuroda got some of the others to guide the people to safety.
Oshibu blitzed to her and couldn't help but ask, "Uh, Kuroda?"
She turned to him, "Yeah?"
"I love your powerset, but why didn't you do that with the first group of people buried in rubble?"
"I can only turn objects I touch. If I tried that with the earlier pile, I could've accidentally collapsed it on the people."
"Hmm…that would've cost you points."
"Probably. Doza's way was longer, but it was the safer route. Any other questions?"
"No, I'm good," he replied before blitzing back to the others.
Kuroda restrained a smile and laugh as she guided the others again.
Meanwhile, Tonen's batch also had to deal with a massive slab. Theirs though was much larger, and set against a building with smaller slabs on each side trapping the people within.
"That's not stable, TK," analyzed Azujima from within his helmet. "If we move the wrong part, it could crush the people."
Tonen nodded in both agreement and annoyance, "Yeah…then I guess we'll have to drop all three at once."
"Uh…how?"
"With brute force, and clever teamwork. Bubble Gum?"
Ebirima was surprised to hear her name, "Yes?"
"Shoot some strands up to the top of that slab. Mako? Grab onto said strands and pull it down with your shark strength on my mark."
Anno flexed his shark muscles, "Finally! True shark strength in action!"
Tonen waved him down, "Yeah, yeah, just don't overdo it, ok? Rune?"
Fenella was happy to hear her name called, "Yeah, boyo?"
"Think your runes can hold those other slabs in place?"
"Don't ask for much, now do ya? I probably could, but I won't be able to move them once I'm holding them."
"I can work with that. Just hold them in place as Mako pulls that big one down, then we'll do the rest. Go get set up."
She nodded and started positioning her runes in place. Tonen motioned over Sanda and Chuya to explain the last part of the plan.
With everyone in place, Tonen gave the signal to Anno. With him in Super Shark form, and bubble gum strands tied around his wrists, he started to pull the massive slab.
It didn't budge at first, but Anno put his all into it and it started to budge. Thanks to their location, he would be able to drop it into the nearby alley without it damaging anything. Likely a scenario that the test people planned out.
Tonen and the others waited for the slab to get to a vertical point and then rushed in. Azujima, Iha, and Wasuke quickly grabbed the civilians and rushed them out after making sure they were ok first.
The slabs were indeed being held up Fenella's runes, but due to their size, it was putting a strain on her, "Anytime now, boyo!"
"We're on it!" called out Tonen while glancing at Chuya and Sanda in turn. "We can't leave these slabs upright as they could fall on us or others before we clear out. So we're pushing them flat. Sanda, use your earth to push the one on the left. Chuya, same with your water but on the right one. I'll use my air pressure to back you both up. Ready…set…go!"
All at once the three used their elemental abilities against the slabs. They aimed for the parts the runes weren't holding and tried to focus their combined strength to get the results they wanted.
Like with Anno, it didn't budge at first. But soon, they teetered, then shifted, and then finally got enough force to fall flat on the ground where they couldn't hurt anyone.
The effort was quite a strain on the four involved, but they each gave the others a thumbs up before coming back together to plan their next move.
Little did they know, that above them in the sky, a new threat was about to make an appearance.
It was a woman in a very unique garb. It was a mix of a dress, but with unique armor placements that had a rock-like look to them.
From her position on high, she watched the various students that remained struggle to get through the exam and rescue all the people. She couldn't help but laugh at it all, "Ah, memories. They must think that dealing with these scenarios is the toughest part of the challenge. Allow me to correct that for them. After all, children, this is a scenario caused by a natural disaster. Did no one tell you what kind of disaster it was?"
She held a hand out above her head and smiled. At first, nothing happened, or at least, nothing that anyone could see. But the woman could feel what was coming, and it made her smile even more.
Back on the ground, Tonen and his team had just got done saving another person with Goya ferrying them away, much to his enjoyment of "easy points," and were once again planning their next move when something caught Azujima's ears.
"What was that?" he asked out loud.
"What was what?" bounced back Sanda. "I mean, we are in a crowded area so there are a lot of things going on so it could really be any—"
"SANDA!" roared his group.
"Sorry, sorry."
Tonen focused on the important matter at hand, Azujima knew something was wrong, "What is it?"
"I thought…" his friend started. "I thought I heard a sonic boom."
"Given the people in the other classes, that's not unlikely," noted Ebirima with a shrug.
"No, the sonic boom…came from the sky above us…"
One by one, they all turned to the sky.
Over on the other side of the test, Kuroda's crew was in a similar situation when Ryo's drones pointed out that something was happening above them.
As they turned up to see what it was, a look of horror slowly grew on their faces.
"Surely that's not what I think it is," Eri stated with rare fear in her voice.
"Well…I'm pretty sure that's a…" began Kuroda with equal fear.
"Meteor shower!" finished Tonen with a shout. "Everyone get to cover!"
From the heavens above, various rocks were careening toward the test area, and not a single student knew what to do.
*credits*
