Noriko was pacing the length of her dorm room, which was very spacious, running her fingers through her hair in a nervous tick. She was partially dressed in her hero suit, only in her body suit, her combat boots off by the door of her dorm, while her mask and utility belt were laying on her desk.
"Can you calm down? You'll do just fine." Akari huffed out from where she was laying on Noriko's bed.
The only thing that had kept Noriko's nerves at bay the past couple days was the fact that Hitoshi was also taking the exam with her. Both had been practicing nonstop, pushing themselves until they could hardly move at the end of their sessions.
But because they had been pushing themselves so hard, they had hardly been sleeping between trainings and classwork with Aizawa- sensei.
Yesterday they had been forced to stop training early to get some rest.
"I am calm!" Noriko snarled, fist clenching into fists at her sides.
"Oh yeah, super calm." Akari nodded sarcastically, rolling around so she was on her back, hanging upside down off the edge of the bed. "If anyone should be agitated, it should be me. I mean I'm the one that's waiting around for a sociopath to contact me about sneaking my felon of a sister off to some non-disclosed location to heal a bunch of villains."
"That's a piece of cake compared to my situation right now. I need to pass my test on the first try because it's my only shot. On top of that, I've been grounded by Endeavor and he's super pissed at me."
"You're so dramatic. And no one told you to come follow me out to meet Dabi." Akari rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, well I knew Daiki Ito is a sore subject, and I wasn't about to let Dabi use that to get inside your head." Noriko retorted, stopping right in front of her bed to look down at her.
"No one was getting inside my head." Akari denied, flipping off the bed to scoop Noriko's mask and utility belt up. "Now stop over thinking, and let's go. The purple Beetlejuice is probably waiting for us downstairs."
"Oh, purple Beetlejuice, I like that one." Noriko agreed catching her things when Akari threw them at her before pushing her out of the room.
"I thought the whole point of sending us home early yesterday was to get some actual sleep." Hitoshi asked sarcastically once he caught sight of Noriko.
He was also in his hero costume, which she had to admit was prey cool. It all honesty, it was a better version of Eraserhead's suit, which had made Noriko chuckle when she first saw it. It was a black body suit, with a purple x going across his chest.
"Look who's talking. At this point you have permanent eye bags." Noriko reached out to slap Artificial Vocal Cords, which was hanging around his neck.
"Oi, watch it!" He scowled, holding them away from her. "Imai-sama, please get control of the demon spawn."
"Oh no, my days of raising it are over. Yaeko's back in our lives, so that's her responsibility again." Akari laughed, walking lazily behind them with both her hands behind her head.
Noriko punched him in the arm, ignoring both of them as they went back and forth about her lack of manners. As the sliding doors of the lobby opened, she caught sight of Eraserhead leaning against the car Hawks had arranged for them to use for the day.
Eraserhead would be coming with them to the exam location to evaluate her performance. Since he had to stay awake to watch her, he would no doubt be napping while Akari drove. She was grateful because that meant the drive should be peaceful.
Her biggest worry was Akari. That woman loved to antagonize her, especially when she knew that Noriko was uncomfortable.
But she didn't need to worry about it, because once they were in the car Akari shifted her focus onto Aizawa.
"So, Aizawa-sama," Akari started with a sly look at the tired man. "How has your leg and eye doing? Any updates from your doctor?"
"Fine." The look he sent her was cautious, as if he were dealing with a wild animal.
He wasn't far off considering Akari was anything but civilized when she started her shit.
"Oh, so how much longer until you no longer have to go to these breakfast dates- I mean- checkups." Akari smiled innocently.
Noriko's eyebrows shot up, her eyes immediately locking in on his reflection in the rearview mirror in the front of the car. She could just barely see the light sprinkle of pink on his cheeks before he ducked his head.
"That is up to Doctor Imai." He grumbled back, and even though she couldn't see him, she knew he was sending her sister a death glare.
"Wow we might just become step siblings." Hitoshi fake whispered, causing Noriko to choke down a laugh at Aizawa's death glare.
"What are you talking about Hitoshi-kun. Aizawa would be our brother-in-law and he would still be your sensei." Akari paused for a moment before letting out the most dramatic sigh ever. "Unless you actually are his love child! Aizawa-sama, have you told my sister this?!"
Noriko felt herself relax as she laughed at Akari's dramatic acting. Her mouth was wide open in fake shock, staring between the road and Aizawa as she waited for his response.
"Can you shut up! He is not my love child, and there is no reason that I need to tell her anything about my non-existent children!"
He was red, he knew it. He could feel the heat in his cheeks. He was flustered as it was, since the minute Imai-chan had mentioned the breakfast meetings between her sister and him.
It had started off as him bringing coffee and a pastry for the doc as an apology for missing his first appointment following his discharge. Then it turned into his peace offering whenever he was running late, until he was doing it just because he wanted to.
"Are you his love child?" Noriko asked Shinso with an amused smirk.
"I swear to everything, if you answer anything but the truth." Aizawa threatened his pupil.
"I want it known that I am answering this question under duress." Hitoshi sighed, before denying he was Eraserhead's secret love child.
"I don't believe him. You basically threatened him to say no." Akari huffed with a pout.
"I will jump out of this moving car." Aizawa threatened.
"Now, now, there are better ways to break up with my sister." Akari's voice was patronizing.
"Why the hell are they here?!" Noriko snarled suddenly, interrupting Aizawa from responding.
She jumped forward, pulling herself through the seats until she popped up in between Akari and Eraserhead.
Midoriya, Todoroki and Bakugo were dressed in casual clothes, standing at the entrance of the exam site. Noriko hadn't expected them to be here, but there they were chatting with Endeavor as they waited.
"It's their day off and asked if they could come as spectators." Aizawa yawned.
"And you said yes?!"
"I said I didn't care."
"I'm gonna tell Yaeko to break up with you!" She hissed at him, throwing herself back in the backseat roughly.
Aizawa sputtered, turning to glare at her, his cheeks once again red from embarrassment.
"I am not dating Doctor Imai!"
"And now I'm gonna make sure you never do, traitor!"
"Now, now. Let's not be hasty. Who cares if they're here? You'll kill it regardless of who's watching." Akari said soothingly, maneuvering the car into a parking spot.
"She's right." Shinso knocked his shoulder into hers, before hopping out of the car.
Noriko grumbled but followed him, ignoring Aizawa's mumbling. "If you don't get a grade I like on this exam, you will be running drills until you drop."
"I already do that." She stuck her tongue out at him, marching up towards where the group of four was waiting for them.
Midoriya had spotted them the second they had gotten out of the car and had been enthusiastically waving hello to them. Todoroki and Endeavor wore similar looks of indifference, expect Todoroki's eyes were softer. Bakugo on the other hand was just glaring at them, or more specifically at Hitoshi.
"Imai-san, how are you feeling? Are you ready?" Midoriya asked sweetly.
"Honestly, I'm so ready to get this over with." She blew out a breath, reaching up to tie her hair back.
"Don't underestimate the test." Endeavor warned, glaring down at her.
He was still irritated at Noriko for heading out on her own without warning anyone. But despite the irritation, he was on edge because he actually wanted his student to pass the exam. He knew she was talented and would no doubt do well on majority of the exam. His biggest worry was the rescue portion of the exam, she was very crass, much like Bakugo.
He felt his nerves increase when he remembered that the main reason Bakugo didn't pass the first time was due to the way he handled civilians during a disaster.
"I won't." She promised.
"Good luck, to the both of you." Todoroki offered a smile, the rest of the group also wishing both Shinso and her.
Bakugo opened his mouth, wanting to say something to her, but nothing came out. He knew she had been avoiding him since the last time they spoke. It pissed him off, which was why he couldn't help what he said next.
"She's gonna need all the luck she can get if all she's been doing is practicing combat with eyebags instead of working on her quirk."
Noriko's eyes narrowed, as an awkward silence came over the group. "I'm gonna love rubbing it in when I get my license on my first and only try."
With that she turned and headed inside. Not hiding his snicker, Shinso jogged after her.
*
"The exam will have two phases: The first being Capture the Flag. All of you will be given a flag to guard and your objective will be to collect the flags of three other examinees. If your flag is taken you will automatically be disqualified. However, if you still have the flags of your opponents, despite losing your own, then you will still qualify to continue. But if you do lose your own, you must collect a fourth flag to make up for it." Yokumiru announced tiredly, scrubbing a hand over his face. "All flags must be visible at all times, no hiding them in pockets, utility belts, etc. You are allowed to use your quirks freely, as long as you do not maim or seriously injure your opponents. You are also allowed to form teams and guard your flags as you see fit."
Noriko had not been amused to see him here but decided not to focus on him. Her main focus was passing this exam.
"The exam site chosen this year will be the four seasons arena. Here you will find four locations with different landscapes and climates. In one quadrant we have an artic tundra, a city area in the second, an aquatic based area and finally a dense forest in the final quadrant." Yokumiru continued explaining the layout of the exam. "Choose your site wisely, which one suits your abilities best, because only the first 100 examinees to collect all their flags, will continue to the final part of the exam."
"Not surprised, it's the same as the past couple years." Shinso commented, taking the flag he was handed and trying it around his wrist.
"We better be one of the first ones to pass, or Aizawa-sensei is gonna work us half to death." Noriko muttered, tying her flag around her waist.
Soon enough everyone had their flags secured, looking up at the screen waiting their next instructions. But instead of more lectures, the room around them exploded, falling apart to reveal the test arena.
"And with that, I wish you all luck, and may the best win!"
"Where do you think we should go?" Noriko asked watching unamused as the large group scattered, not moving from her spot.
"Most of them are heading to the city area." Shinso pointed towards where several students were running.
"Nah, there's gonna be too much chaos. I say we head to the woods."
"Or we could go to the aquatic scenery."
"I'm not saving you if you drown."
"I know how to swim, thank you very much."
Before Noriko could retort, she felt a shift in the air behind them.
Whirling around, she only had a second before it hit her directly. On reflex she held her hands out in front of her to catch the projectile, just barely remembering to coat her hands in her crystal shell.
The force of the impact pushed her back hard and fast, her feet making deep groves in the ground as she tried to keep herself on her feet. It was Shinso's capture weapon wrapping around her torso, that stopped her momentum completely.
Looking down at her hardened hand, she noticed that the projectile was a baseball. Turning to tell Shinso she was okay, she saw him crouched in a fighting stance. His capture weapon was back by his side, floating around him and ready to attack.
Shifting her gaze further around, she saw his target. A few feet away, standing in between them and the makeshift forest, was a girl their age. She was wearing purple baggy pants, high tops, a deep purple cropped long sleeve under a black and purple jersey and a light purple baseball cap on backwards.
"I'm sorry, are we in the middle of our hero licensing exam or a baseball game?" Noriko asked sarcastically.
She strode closer to them, tossing the ball in the air and caught it repeatedly. She had to admit, the power behind the throw was impressive, though she wasn't too sure super strength was her actual quirk.
"Color me surprised. Not a lot of people can avoid, much less, catch my perfect pitch." Her voice was soft and sweet, almost like her smile.
But there was something in her eyes that bothered Noriko. The sweetness seemed fake because her eyes were hard and focused mainly on her. Regardless, Noriko hid her unease easily, still playing with the ball in her hands.
But in her next toss up, the girl raised her now purple glowing hand, and the ball flew towards her covered in the same weird purple glow.
Noriko's eyes narrowed, still trying to figure out her quirk. "What can I say, I'm naturally talented in baseball."
"Hm, let's see how well you catch this one." The girl winded her arm back. "Target locked." She inhaled deeply, the air around the girl flew into her. When she exhaled, she threw the ball.
Noriko's eyes widened when it came at her full speed. The force disturbed the air pressure around them, rustling their hair and clothes.
"Sparks, watch out!" Shinso used his capture weapon again to pull her out of the way.
But it didn't matter. The ball didn't stop following her no matter where Shinso pulled her.
"You can't avoid it forever! My quirk is called Bullseye. No matter what I throw, I will always hit my objective when I use Target Lock!"
"Turn it off!" Noriko's voice rang out, desperate.
"No ch-" The girl started to call out, but stopped suddenly, her eyes glazing over.
"Stop the damn ball." Shinso's normal voice rang out through gritted teeth.
He was getting tired of swinging Noriko's laughing body away from being hit. He also knew she could have stopped the damn thing herself like before, but she wasn't even trying. She was just leaving it up to him to handle.
He let out a sigh of relief when the ball stopped glowing purple and landed harmlessly on the ground. Noriko's laugh was still ringing from somewhere above her head, annoying him even further.
Tugging on his capture weapon, he released her without even bothering to set her down first. Noriko let out a sharp yelp, throwing her hands out use her quirk to stop her from landing roughly.
"Just for that, I'm keeping her flag." She huffed, righting herself midair.
"Get your own flag. I saved your ass." Shinso stalked up to the girl to snatch the flag that was hanging off the waistband of her pants.
"Yeah, because while you were cosplaying as a swing set, I was saving your ass." Noriko pointed over to their right.
Glancing over, Shinso saw a guy with dog like features trying to break some of Noriko's crystal cast that was holding him in place by his leg. She gave him a smug smile, walking over to snatch the kids flag from around his neck.
"1-1, Toshi." She sang, sending an apologetic smile at the dejected kid.
"Well, that's gonna make this win all the sweeter." A voice called out from the shadows.
"They were our friends." A second voice, female, called from a different direction.
"That just means it's our jobs to take your flag in their honor." A third voice growled, a body emerging from the tree line.
It was a guy wearing a track suit and running shoes. From the shadows another guy pulled himself out of the ground, as if there was a hole there. And a girl dress in a pink kimono jumped down from a tree branch.
"Oh, this would be a great tie breaker." Noriko smirked, adjusting her mask over her mouth, readying herself.
"One of us would be halfway through the exam and the last would be only one flag away from finishing." Shinso agreed, pulling his capture weapon down.
"Game on, Mindjack."
With that both kicked off, Noriko's hands popping off sparks and Shinso using his capture weapon to pull him deeper into the woodsy area after the guy in the track suit.
His quirk was super speed, which would prove annoying since Shinso wouldn't be able to keep up easily. Noriko on the other hand, had concentrated on the area around the shadow where the second guy had come out of and used her sparks to light a circle of fire around him, trapping him inside.
She smirked when the large shadow casted by the tree disappeared with the light from the fire. "Gotcha."
"Not so fast." The flames were sucked by the girl in the pink Kimono, whose mouth was open so wide it should be anatomically impossible.
Noriko's jaw dropped when the fire was literally sucked into her mouth and the girl suffered no burns. The girl's cheeks were now puffed as if it was full, and when the girl turned to face her, she took a step back.
Her eyes narrowed, trying to figure out what the girls next move would be. She stayed still when she suddenly blew the flames she had inhaled directly at Noriko.
"So, you can inhale things and use them to attack others huh?" Noriko asked, unbothered by the spray of fire being thrown at her.
"What the hell?" The girl spluttered once she ran out of fumes.
"Oh, I'm fireproof." Noriko smiled, before moving quick.
The girl jumped back in shock but wasn't quick enough to avoid the knee to the gut. Shadow guy who had been stunned by Noriko not being affected by the fire, jumped when he saw his friend get hit. He dove towards her, catching her before dropping into another large shadow casted by the trees.
Noriko blinked in surprise as she watched them both sink into the pool of darkness. She hadn't expected both to go through, assuming only the guy could get through.
"Well, that was unexpected." She muttered, looking around carefully while tying her new flag around her waist with her other two. She had barely managed to snag it from the girl right before Shadow guy had rescued her.
She was bored, having barely used her quirk the entire 30 minutes since the exam started. Noriko didn't know if it was all the extra training, or if these other students were really that unprepared for the exam, but she was disappointed.
Weeks of stressing, led up to this?
"Don't tell me they beat you?" Shinso drawled, unamused.
His hair was a little messier than usual, a couple bruises across his jaw, and his suit was rumpled, but otherwise he looked fine.
"No, I got my second flag. But you look like you got your ass beat."
"He put up a bit of a fight, but I also got my second flag."
"We're tied again, dammit." Noriko sighed in disappointment.
"You disqualified Saki-Kun." A voice growled. "You're gonna pay for that."
And just like that, they were surrounded by the Shadow guy and three others.