My Hero Academia – Under Pressure – Season 3 – Episode 21 – Taking It All In
After the entire class passed the Provisional License Exam, they rejoiced and celebrated like there was no tomorrow. They celebrated on the bus, then they celebrated on the way back to their dorms, and then they celebrated while they were in their dorm.
Angel Wings was all for this, and apparently had a bit of foresight to their group victory and had some cakes made for them to honor their passing. The group happily ate the cake and talked with one another about what happened to them in the various parts of the test when they weren't together.
All of them were amazed by the stories they were told, especially when some of their unexpected members, like Azujima, Iha, The Twins, and more did bold acts that saved their classmates.
For Azujima, it was a rare time for him as he rarely got to brag about his Quirk in the field, and yet the others were entranced about how he used his senses to work through the sight and sound deprivation to take out some of the other students.
"I'm just glad Tonen asked The Tinker for those special grenades," he said humbly to others that listened.
"Stop being so modest, Azujima!" begged Hana with a kind smile. "We've known how good your super senses were in the field, and now you have proof that they can save us and defeat others. Be proud!"
"Oh, I'm proud! I'm just…a little shocked I pulled it off is all."
Wasuke gave a loud laugh, "We're all amazed by what we can do at times. But the point is to use this as a baseline for what you can do in the future! Be bold! Think big! You never know what can spring from this!"
"Huh…I never thought of it like that…thanks."
The conversations continued for many of them, but inevitably, many went to their rooms to decompress or call their family.
Not surprisingly, the first to go was Goya. He only stayed as he couldn't deny having a piece of cake. Once he had it, he left and let out his frustrations in various ways once he was alone in his room.
Another unsurprising departer was Chuya, who did her best with the festive setting, but felt it best to go to her room and enjoy the quiet solitude for a bit.
However, unlike Goya, after she collected herself, she made a call home.
It was her father that answered, and immediately she showed her license to him, "Father! I have passed my Provisional License Exam! With this, I can truly be a Pro-Hero in the field."
"That is wonderful my daughter," beamed her father, "I am so proud. Now tell me, what challenges did you have to face in the field, today? How did you overcome them? And are you proud of how you fared? Please, tell me everything!"
Chuya resisted the urge to tear up at her father's praise and desire to hear her adventures and simply nodded, "Yes, father. Our first challenge was a knockout round where…"
The rest of Class 1-B lived it up in the main room and continued to chat about all that happened. But eventually, they all slowly departed for their rooms so they could revel in smaller ways at what they had done. With their freshly printed licenses in their hands, they knew they had accomplished a big step toward their Pro-Hero dreams.
For Tonen, once he said goodnight to everyone, he went into his room and went straight to drawing. He had so many images in his head that he couldn't think about what to make first. So he took out a fresh notebook and did quick sketches of everything that came to mind so he could get them out of said mind.
He did sketches of the group united at the start of the exam before they broke off in the knockout round. Another was of Iha unleashing her upgraded costume on other students and showing off the new reaches of her power. Though he wasn't there for it, hearing Kuroda tell the story of her new diamond armor form, thanks to Iha's power boost, was something he couldn't help but picture and sketch.
The sketches continued to flow out of him, and he loved it as it felt like another long time since he had done a serious sketching session like this.
Tonen would've continued doing this the rest of the night had his phone not gone off. He didn't know what time it was until he saw it was still relatively early in the nighttime hours, he then noticed it was his dad calling and desiring a video chat.
With a sigh and a laugh, Tonen accepted the call and was greeted by his parents, their faces almost pressed against the screen, "Hello!"
"Hey guys," he replied, laughing harder at their clear desperation to know something, "what's going on?"
"Come on, TK," his father said with an unamused look, "we know your Provisional License Exam was today. How did it go?"
His mother was very antsy as she asked, "Did you…pass?"
Tonen put on a sad expression, sighed, and then slowly held up his license before cracking a smile, "Yep."
His parents scream of joy blasted through the phone, almost knocking Tonen backward off his chair. He quickly grabbed the desk to steady himself, though not without shooting a grimace at his parents for their act.
"Really guys?"
"Sorry, TK," Shitaka said with a playful shrugged.
Soyuki welled up at her son's accomplishment, "We're so proud of you, Tonen. Was the test hard?"
Tonen wasn't sure how to answer at first, so he kind of shook it off, "Well it had to be, mom, as it was to see if we could handle potential challenges. I will admit that…"
The family talked for about an hour about everything that happened. His parents admitted that their tests were much different than Tonen's, but also acknowledged that was likely by design. Tonen was curious about what they went through and so they swapped "war stories" about what they endured.
Eventually, Tonen mentioned that he ranked third in the class overall and Soyuki let out a little scream of joy, "Oh, Tonen! That's wonderful! I'm so glad you did that well."
"Definitely higher than our scores," joked Shitaka.
Soyuki swatted him on the shoulder for the remark, but he just stated it was true and the two got into a little spat.
Tonen just shook his head and watched them. He knew they weren't really mad at one another, it was one of their ways of letting off steam and having fun at each other's expense. To their son, it was a bit adorable, and he wondered if he would have someone to do that with later.
As he thought that, he pictured Mai and shivered intensely, which prompted a quick changing of the subject, "Guys, I've appreciated our chat, but I do want to unwind before I go to bed. It's been a long day as I've noted."
Soyuki was the first to straighten up and looked at her son with clear motherly love and compassion, "Of course, Tonen. Just know we're so proud of you, and we look forward to hearing of your first exploits as a Pro-Hero!"
Shitaka gazed at his son with a father's pride, "Indeed, and I have no doubt you'll do something spectacular soon. Oh, we better tell Brazen, he won't want to be out of the loop on this."
"He'd glow red if we did leave him out. I'll tell him when I go to the agency tomorrow. You might get a call from him, Tonen, so be ready!"
"Yes, mom," acknowledged Tonen with a nod.
"Alright, TK, we're off," Shitaka said with one last smile. "Great job, and we'll talk to you soon."
His mother blew him a kiss, "Goodnight, my darling boy."
Tonen waved at the camera, "Night, guys."
The two parties waved at the other before shutting the call off. Tonen couldn't help but laugh again as the call ended. He loved his parents, and they loved him, and it was nice that they called him like this. In truth, he wanted nothing more than to make them proud as he tried to be his own kind of hero.
Hearing them praise his efforts, his rank in the class and more made him really happy. It felt like he was doing what he wanted, and that he was being appreciated for doing it his way. But he also knew he wasn't done yet, and that he would have to focus soon enough to keep heading toward his goal.
But he also knew that his journey wouldn't continue for another day, so he went back to his drawings. He continued his sketches and then did light work on some of the others until eventually he was too tired to continue.
With content in his mind and heart, he happily went to bed and slept in peace.
As the morning came, the various members of Class 1-B got up to enjoy their day off in whatever way they pleased. Unsurprisingly, that meant different things to different members. For example, many of them, like Fenella, The Twins, and more took the opportunity to sleep in late and just let their bodies rest.
While others didn't do that, they could easily understand the desire. Between classes, practicing Ultimate Moves, and other prep work for the exams, the students had pushed themselves hard. It was worth it in the end, obviously, but that didn't make them any less tired.
Some, like Eri and Chuya, happily got up at their usual times and used their freedom to work out and ensure their day off didn't dull their senses or skills.
A few, like Ebirima, Sanda, Goya, and Azujima woke up regularly but stayed in their rooms and partook in simple activities in peace and solitude. To some, that might have seemed boring, but for them, it was bliss.
The others got up in their own time and way, and did whatever came to mind. Some even skipped breakfast because they were still feeling the effects of the cake from last night.
Ueno's head wobbled more than usual as he thought about the dessert, "That was a really good cake."
For Kuroda, when she woke up and put on her casual attire, she felt a rare peace within her. She knew that as the class rep there was always a kind of pressure on her, but this was different. Thanks to Tonen's words, and her own inner strength, she overcame the hurt that Sekuro had done to her both past and present, and that night's sleep help put any and all doubts about what happened to rest.
Free from that burden, and not needing to guide anyone today, she happily went outside and just walked the grounds of UA High.
Typically, Kuroda would do light jogs with Eri, whom welcomed a jogging partner at times, or do small Quirk training as she went about the campus, but this time was different. She just wanted to breathe in the air and admire the beauty that was all around her.
Kuroda knew she belonged at UA, and this was one of the perks of her hard work.
But after a nice bit of time by herself, a familiar voice caught her ear, "Kuroda!"
She turned to see Hana running up to meet her, which made the class rep tense up briefly, "Is something wrong, Hana? Did something happen?"
Hana stopped as she got next to Kuroda and was confused for a second, "No, nothing's wrong. Why did you think that?"
"Oh, sorry, I just saw you running up to me and thought the worst. One of the downsides to being a class rep, I guess."
"My bad. I just saw you passing by and wondered if I could walk with you. You know, just chat it up?"
"I'd be delighted. Come on."
With a nudge of her head, the two headed down a path. At first, the two just walked silently next to each other, admiring the view and enjoying the sounds of nature.
Eventually, Hana let out a relieved sigh, "It's hard to believe that around this time yesterday we were getting ready for the exam."
"Time flies," joked Kuroda.
"Yeah, no kidding, and now we have our licenses. It's just as hard to believe that we all passed."
"There was some luck based on the stories I heard. But for the most part, we stuck together, and we supported each other when we needed it. That's what got us through."
"Yeah…yeah…"
A sad look grew on Hana's face. Kuroda noticed it and leaned in to get her attention, "Hana?"
"Huh?" Hana replied after being jolted back to reality.
"Are you okay?"
"I am…but…umm…are you?"
"What do you mean?"
Hana got very uncomfortable, her hands wringing one another as she tried to find the words to say, "I know something happened to you during the knockout round, and then before the second round you and Tonen went away for a bit and I could tell that something happened in that downtime."
"Hana…" Kuroda began as certain feeling boiled back to the surface despite her best efforts.
"It's okay if you don't want to tell me. I just want to know you're alright. I know I'm the No.2 of the class, but you're more than just my Class Rep. You're my friend, and I look up to you more than anyone else, even Tonen. I just want you to know that I'm here for you, too, and that you can count on me. For anything."
Kuroda was moved by her friend's words, and couldn't help but laugh as she thought about the good people surrounding her.
After she collected herself, she put a hand on Hana's shoulder and looked at her with honest eyes, "There was never a doubt in my mind that I could count on you, Hana. And I know we're friends, I wouldn't be able to do some of what I've done without you."
"Thanks, Kuroda," Hana said reassured.
"What happened in the exam wasn't easy to talk about, and I talked to Tonen because of past conversations we had. But you're right, there are others I can lean on. So walk with me as I tell you this. Just promise you won't tell anyone else without permission, ok?"
"Of course!
With another nudge of the head, Kuroda led Hana down the path and told her what happened with Sekuro. Hana was amazed, horrified, saddened, and more by the tale, but she was even more in awe of Kuroda after she heard all she did, and how she kept everything together for her sake and the class.
By the time they were done, the two felt closer than before, and Hana returned the favor by talking about events that weighed on her mind before the test. She feared failing, and wondered how that would make her look in both Kuroda's eyes, and the eyes of her classmates.
She admitted that it was only through seeing the strength and determination of Kuroda, Tonen, Eri and a few others that she was able to steel herself and do what was asked of her.
"Everything was just felt different there, you know?" she said at one point. "This wasn't about showing off our Quirks, it was about making a difference, and I want to do that in our world. I was just really afraid I wouldn't be able to do enough that mattered."
Kuroda put an arm around Hana in support, "You did plenty. You knocked out plenty of people in the first round and saved a bunch in the second. You listened to me when I gave orders, and helped the others when they needed a little boost. We couldn't have asked for more, Hana."
"Thank you, Kuroda. And if we do get to work in the field together, again, I won't let you down there either."
"I have no doubt. Plus, with our luck, that team-up will happen soon."
The two laughed and continued down their way.
Meanwhile, Tonen was in his room continuing his drawings when a knock came on his door, "Come in, it's unlocked."
The door opened and Azujima popped in, "Hey, TK."
"Hey Azu, what's going on?"
"Oh, just…uh…wanted to talk to you about some stuff if that's ok. What are you up to?"
"Me? I'm just catching up on some drawing. Lots of images in my head I want to get done. For example, you might like this one…"
He held up his notebook and showed Azujima an image. To his friends' surprise, it was one of Azujima in his hero garb coming out of the cloak of darkness they were trapped in during the exam and dropping bombs at enemy students.
Azujima was taken aback by how epic he looked in the shot, "Wow, that's incredible, TK! I…uh…don't think I looked that heroic though as it went down."
Tonen contained a laugh at his friends' modesty, "Oh, Azu, that's why it's called 'artistic license.' Besides, in your foes' minds, you probably did look like that."
"Yeah, maybe…"
"Take the compliment, Azu, you earned it. So, what do you want to talk about?"
Azujima went back to the door and made sure it was closed and then locked it. That got Tonen's attention, as Azujima wouldn't do that unless it was a serious conversation.
It was clear that Azujima was struggling to find the words he wanted to say, "So…I…um…oh, why is this so hard?"
"Are you okay, Azu?" Tonen asked, worried for his friend.
"Yeah, I'm fine. It's about…Iha…" he answered, voice struggling to find the strength to continue.
"Up Down? Is she okay? Do we need to take her to Life Force?"
"What? No, no! It's not like that…it's just…this really is hard to talk about."
"Just tell me, Azu, I promise not to judge or anything."
Azujima took a deep breath to calm himself, but he couldn't look at Tonen when he said, "I like Iha…"
"Well, duh," Tonen said bluntly.
"What?"
"Of course you like her! You two are friends! Good ones even. You can't be true friends if you don't like one another. I like her too! I find her bluntness and honesty very refreshing."
"No, TK, I mean, yes, that's true, but, I mean that I…you know…LIKE…like her…"
At first, Tonen didn't put the pieces together, and then an image of his parents playfully bickering with one another came to mind and the light bulb went off.
"Oh! You have a crush on Iha!" he finally realized.
"Don't say it that loud!" urged Azujima with his eyes darting back to the door, hoping no one was on the other side.
"Relax, Azu, if anyone's creeping near the door, you'd hear them, even if you turned your senses down."
"Yeah, I guess you're right."
A silence fell between them. Tonen just watched as Azujima squirmed a little as various thoughts went through his mind. It was obvious to Tonen that Azuijma hadn't felt this way about someone before, and didn't know how to handle it or act upon it.
As such, Tonen took point to get him focused, "When did you realize it?"
The question snapped Azujima back to reality, "Huh, what?"
"When did you realize you had a crush on Iha?"
"Oh…I guess during the exam."
"Really?"
"Don't get me wrong, I liked her before then. We've always had a connection, I guess. Partly because of our friendship with you. Then when we did the training with Eri, and then the internship with your uncle, we grew closer, and it was really nice…"
"It's always good to have a friend you can rely on and connect with," Tonen noted sagely.
Azujima smiled and nodded, "Yeah, and both you and Iha are that for me. But during the exam, after I beat those other students and you all praised me, it was Iha's statement that…well…made me go red."
"Ah, I see."
"And then, after we saw we got our licenses, we hugged and I went red again, and I know she did too. The hug, though, it felt…really good."
"Ah, young love."
"Stop teasing me, TK!" begged Azujima, his emotions all over the place.
Tonen waved his friend down, "Calm down, I'm just saying what I'm seeing. The question now is…why did you come to me with all this? Did you just want to tell me so someone else knew? Or did you want advice on what to do next?""
"A little of both, I guess. I definitely wanted to tell you simply because I've been thinking about it almost non-stop since I went back to my room last night. But now that I have…I don't know what to do next."
"Well…that's where a little bit of irony comes in, Azu."
"How so?"
"Well…" Tonen began, a smirk growing on his face, "despite the fact that I know several ladies in this school have crushes on me…I have never seriously dated anyone before. And I'm certainly not a ladies' man. Plus, as you know, the one date I HAVE gone on…was literally forced upon me. Which I wouldn't recommend you try with Iha."
Azujima failed to contain a laugh at the multi-part joke and truth before him, "Yeah, that would end poorly for me."
"Without a doubt. So what I would recommend, as nerve-racking as it will be for you, is to just…talk with her."
"Just tell her how I feel?"
"She's blunt, so be the same. Who knows? She might just reply that she likes you back."
"…and if she doesn't?"
At the question, Tonen sighed and leaned in so he could look his friend directly in the eye, "Then she doesn't. But you'll still care about her as a friend, so no matter what happens, don't lose that desire to be her friend. You two are really good together, you've proven that over and over. So no matter what she says, still be that great friend that I know you can be. Ok?"
Azujima paused for a bit and then nodded his head, "Yeah, you're right, TK. Thanks."
"I'm here for you, Azu. Just for the record, you don't have to tell her how you feel today if you don't want to. But don't wait too long, either. I don't want you to start doubting yourself and your emotions."
"Wise as ever, TK."
"Not really. That one I learned from watching my parents. They're really great."
"I have no doubt. Well, I'll leave you alone. I…have some thinking to do."
"Best of luck, Azu."
Azujima waved goodbye and then left. Tonen watched the door for a bit even after Azujima shut it. It was interesting that two of his best friends had come to him for reasons related to relationships. They really trusted him, and he did his best to do right by them.
"Ah, young love," he repeated to himself before he went back to his drawings.
Not too far away, Principal Ayatsune was looking over some things at her desk when she got an email notification on her computer.
"Hmm, what's this I wonder?" she said aloud as she turned to the screen. "Oh! I finally got the in-depth results back from the exam. I was wondering when that would arrive."
She clicked on it and saw a list of names on small files. Each name was of a member of Class 1-B. As she clicked on them, she saw not only their results on the Provisional License Exam, but why they were marked down for certain cases.
"Let's see…where to start? Why not with our top student?"
She clicked on Kuroda's file and saw the "96" score right at the top, which made the principal smirk. As she read the small points about her student's "failures," Ayatsune couldn't help but shake her head.
"Oh please! That's ticky-tack and you know it! Kuroda should've scored higher if that's all you marked her off for."
With a groan of disappointment she went on, and saw the scores for Eri and Tonen. This time though she understood some of the points that were made, "Yeah, now these are understandable. Eri launching herself at a foe like that probably wouldn't have worked so well in the field, and Tonen going into a building on his own was a bit reckless. But then again, sometimes you have to do what you feel is best…even if it doesn't work out like you hope."
One by one she went through the scores and spoke out her thoughts on all of them. For the most part, Principal Ayatsune understood the deductions put to the students, though she also felt some were a bit much.
Eventually, she made it to Goya's score, and when she read the list of faults against him, the principal couldn't help but laugh, "Oh wow, I'm so glad he can't read this. He'd rage so much and say the judges were bias. 'Mr. Ramasu saved many people with his powers, but his attitude and personality came off as fake as he tried to make them feel safe.' Yeah, I can believe that. 'Furthermore, he sometimes took his time to escort people away, making many wonder if he didn't want to be doing a rescue at all.' Yep, that seems on point. Oh Goya, you're such a dick…"
At the insult, Principal Ayatsune froze in place. Her expression read as though she had just caught herself saying a curse word.
"I shouldn't have said that…" she admitted, "I'm an adult, and the principal, I can't refer to my students in such ways…and yet…"
She mulled over some things in her head and then shrugged.
"Yeah, it felt natural. I know the others in his class certainly say it enough… Regardless, you all passed. Congrats!"
Ayatsune closed the file and leaned back in her chair a bit. As she did, her body shined, which hit the various things in the room to make it light up in a beautiful way.
"I'm proud of you all," she said softly with a small smile, "and I'm proud of you, Tsuru. I'm sure you're beaming with pride over their success, even though it's just as much your success."
As the principal enjoyed thinking about her partner, and her partner's success, she quickly remembered that she still had a job to do, and it wasn't going to get done with her thinking happy thoughts.
"Ah well, back to work, I guess. I'm curious if Class 1-A will do as well as 1-B, but I guess I'll find out tomorrow…"
With that final thought, she went back to her duties.
The same could not be said about the students of Class 1-B. Many of them continued to enjoy the day off in whatever way they desired.
For The Twins, they spent the day working with The Tinker and having fun building and refining things in his lab.
Doza, Ikaim, Wasuke and Oshibu sat in the lounge area of the dorm and talked about whatever came to mind. For the moment, they had nothing to stress about, so they just talked about their lives, their Quirks, etc.
Anno, Kanagita, Iha, Ueno and Sanda decided to grab a ball and just have fun playing outdoors. The fun came when some of them decided to use their Quirks to keep the game going, like when Ueno used his redirect to keep the ball in play. Sometimes Sanda would use his earth to snag the ball if it went too high or too far. And, naturally, the shark and the brickhouse used their strength when they felt the urge.
Iha didn't use her Quirk, but she didn't mind, she was just happy to be having some fun after all the events they had gone through recently.
Finally, Ebirima was one of the last to leave her room, as she really liked just being by herself at times, away from all the pressure that was put on them. When she noticed that not many of the others were around, she decided to see what it was like outside.
She was soon greeted by the warm noontime sun and smiled, "What a lovely day. I'm glad we had it off."
From behind her, a shadow soon emerged. Ebirima didn't notice it at first, but when it draped over her she turned around in a panic…only to discover that her BFF Fenella was hovering over her with one of her runes.
"Hey lass," Fenella said with a mischievous smirk, "was wondering when you'd leave your hidey hole."
"You scared me, Fenella! But yeah, I'm out. Felt like enjoying the day and the weather."
"Well if you want to do that from a different perspective, why not hop on?"
She lowered her rune down and extended a hand to her friend. At first, Ebirima thought this would be a prank or a joke, but she could tell her best friend was serious, so she took it.
After getting on the rune, Fenella took the two up high so that they could see the nice view of the campus and city around them. While Ebirima was used to riding with Fenella on her runes, it was usually in the heat of a battle or in the midst of something important going down. But this was different. This time, she could just sit back and enjoy the view.
"Wow, what a view," Ebirima said wide-eyed as she looked around.
Fenella also enjoyed the surrounding scenery, but then her focus shifted to the true scenery in her mind…her best friend.
"Yeah…what a view, indeed," commented Fenella, her heart raising a bit as certain feelings came up.
Ebirima didn't notice this for a while, but then when she turned, she saw Fenella looking at her and got flustered, "What's wrong? Something in my hair?"
"Huh? Oh, nothing's wrong, lass. I'm just taking it all in."
With a smile, she calmed her friend down, and the two continued to enjoy the views and their time together.
*credits*