This took a while to get out, haha! The word count got away from me a little, so I hope you're all okay with a bigger chapter this time! And gosh, look at how time flies - we're already at the end of the year! So I wanna say to everyone that I hope you have a happy holidays and a great new year, and I hope this chapter is worth closing out the year on!


VII.


For a bunch of kids hailing from a desolate future, where survival of the fittest reigned supreme, they were wimps when it came to using their Quirks.

Well, Katsuki quickly amended, most of them were. They kept holding back and panicking about the consequences, and as a result this whole display made everything feel even more boring than the aptitude test everyone had to undergo an hour earlier. He'd rather sit and watch the nerd flailing around in an attempt to use his dummy broken Quirk for another three hours than withstand another twenty minutes of meandering and drama.

The group that fought against Star and the naked guy were kinda pathetic—the more Katsuki thought about it, the more he was able to poke holes in their matchup and how underutilised the Quirks were in the fight, even if the one descended from Star and Stripe carried the team for a while. At least this last group, with Vlad King and Eraser Head's descendants, were more ruthless and experimented confidently. Well, save for one, but it didn't take a genius to figure out that the idiot had to do some heavy lifting in terms of mental capacity in order to use his Quirk. The fact that he willingly chose to cause a negative reaction to end the fight with Eraser Head was obvious enough.

"No wonder everyone's dead in the future," Katsuki muttered, disappointed. Beside him, Yayoi hummed once in acknowledgement and continued to watch as the injured parties were sent out of the gym to receive treatment from Recovery Girl. "They're all so uncoordinated."

"It's not like they were able to be formally trained with their Quirks," Yayoi reminded him.

Katsuki huffed. He supposed that was true, but he was pretty creative with his Quirk, and no one short of a Pro Hero was smart enough to train him to better use it.

A bald head landed between them, the giant gorilla sitting a row below them practically contorting himself to slam the back of his head between Katsuki and Yayoi. He had that same idiot smile on his face, and Katsuki felt sparks crackle from his palms as Yayoi made a disgruntled face and raised a hand to hide the boy from her peripheral.

"An excellent point, Yacchan!" Inasa practically shouted. Everyone else in 1-A and 1-B looked over at the trio in alarm. Katsuki could even see One Giant Leap looking at them with a startled expression. "But you never know! Some of them might be naturals with their Quirks!"

"Yes, yes," Yayoi deadpanned, sounding more like she was doing an impression of Eraser Head as she spoke. "Some people are naturals and prodigies. How thoughtless of me."

Inasa let out a loud, annoying laugh. "I guess you aren't as smart as the exam made you out to be, huh, Yacchan?"

Even Katsuki could see the normally stoic Yayoi was starting to get annoyed. Arrogant little shit that she was, she was still more patient than Katsuki could ever attempt to be. He kicked at Inasa's back, jutting his jaw forwards, and sneered.

"Sit back in your row, baldy!" he snapped. "We can't see the next group get their asses kicked!"

"So mean, Bakugou!"

Inasa returned to his normal sitting position, at least. Katsuki scowled as he bit back the urge to kick him again for good measure. This damn baldy was so weird—he had one decent conversation in the recommendation exam and suddenly he was Yayoi's best friend. Katsuki wasn't jealous or anything like that—the stuck-up little shit deserved to step on as many LEGO bricks as life could throw at her—but man, Inasa was too damn annoying. Katsuki was suffering by proxy whenever he was around.

His scowl moved from his most annoying of classmates, down to his most pathetic of ones. That damned Deku had pulled the wool over their eyes, and his shitty best friend probably knew all along about the Quirk he'd hidden from everyone. They were probably laughing about it, too—look at the arrogant masses who'd looked down on him, struggling to reconcile that he had a powerful Quirk. Katsuki glared daggers at that mop of dark green hair, and he could tell Izuku could feel his stare.

"Hey," he muttered to Yayoi. "It's damn suspicious, isn't it?"

"Midoriya?" she asked. "Of course. Even the old man was surprised that he'd gotten into UA."

"Not the admission," Katsuki grumbled. "That stupid Quirk of his."

Yayoi gave him a sidelong glance. "Why do you think the old man was surprised, smartass?"

Katsuki clicked his tongue and looked away from Izuku. Stupid Yayoi, of course he knew that. Why wasn't she as upset over the nerd playing them like fiddles this whole time? He felt like he was going to lose his mind here!

"Hey, hey, Yacchan," Inasa piped up, looking over his shoulder properly at them. "I heard some of the future kids are related to us in the Heroics Department. Think one of them is your descendant?"

Yayoi raised her fist up high, right as Katsuki scoffed and smirked.

"As if anyone would touch her frigid—"

Yayoi's fist knocked against his head and bumped him forward. Katsuki bit his tongue as he straightened himself up, and he started yelling in earnest as his palms sparked and crackled. A sharp whistle sounded out, coming from the fatty running this whole circus, and Katsuki heard Fat Gum shout at them to stop being rowdy.

"How interesting would it be if the one with the fire-based Quirk is related to you!" Inasa chirped. Yayoi frowned and hummed.

"I doubt that's a relative of mine," she said. "Quirks can change and mutate over the generations. I doubt it'd stay perfectly identical."

"Oh!" Inasa was clearly ignoring her logic. "We're going to be assigned buddies with them—you could totally help the one with the fire Quirk!"

"Hey, shit for brains." Katsuki actually kicked him again this time. Inasa laughed loudly. "Clean all that wax out of your ears before you start a conversation."

"I'd be fine with any of them, I think," Yayoi mused. "As a buddy. Anyone but the one that Star tried to make explode. Too much trouble."

Inasa nodded sagely. "Yes, yes, troublesome! As expected of Yacchan!"

"Do you ever shut up?" Katsuki mumbled.

"What about you, Bakugou?" Inasa, once again, ignored them. "Who would you want?"

"None of 'em," Katsuki spat. "They're all weaklings. Why should I be babysitting some weirdos, anyway?"

The final group stepped forward to pull out their activity, and Katsuki scowled as Fat Gum got excited and clapped his hands. He gestured to the last of the upperclassmen, Nejire, and she put her Quirk on display as waves of energy spiralled out of her and sent her flying towards the doors of the gym.

Katsuki sneered. He leaned forward, and he mumbled, "Are they just throwing in the towel?"

It took less than five minutes for Nejire to return, and when she did, the Pro Hero Cementoss was behind her. Yayoi let out an intrigued sound, and Katsuki could understand why. When Cementoss put his hands to the ground and activated his Quirk, the floor began to rumble and sink until what appeared to be a maze was left in a large hole that spanned the whole gym.

Katsuki blinked, almost impressed. Now what kind of game was this supposed to be?


VS HADO NEJIRE & VLAD KING

IGARASHI DENJI

TAKOSE SUMITO

OMORI SAIKO

KUMAYUUKI KANJI

"HIDE AND SEEK"


"No matter which way you look at it…" Denji gave the other three a helpless smile. "Isn't this one plain compared to the other two?"

"There's bound to be a catch," Kanji mused. "There always is."

Whatever the case, this was definitely stacked against them, right? They may have had Saiko's freakish psychokinesis and Kanji's trap-laying skills, and sure, Denji could use his Quirk for flashy defensive techniques, but what good were they in a game of hide and seek? Wasn't this the opposite of what the other two groups had to do?

The facts were right in front of them. While the other two groups got to actually show how good their Quirks were in a conflict that required confrontation, their group was made to hide and weren't able to show off their Quirks in this kind of setting. They were meant to be hiding, and pardon Denji for saying it, but their group was the most shit at hiding out of everyone. Except maybe for Sumito, but Denji had to handwave them out the gate—their skin changed to match the environment when they were extremely nervous, so why wouldn't they do well in this game?

"Saiko's good at hiding!" Saiko chirped. "Super duper good! Iggy, you can share my hiding place with me!"

Denji coughed into his fist and tried to smile. "Thanks…"

Ugh, who was Denji kidding? This was no time to be freaking out about how the other students wouldn't get to see how cool they were. He clapped his hands over his cheeks, letting out a loud slapping sound that had his group members stare at him with wide eyes, and Denji whimpered as he rubbed his cheeks with regret. Damn it, Sen always made that look like it didn't hurt a bit… Maybe he shouldn't be using the human sponge as a reference for things that hurt anymore.

Saiko stared at him. Denji almost went to apologise, but then she lifted her mask just a little—enough for her cheeks to be visible—and she slapped her hands onto her cheeks multiple times with grunts. Denji felt his heart sink into the floor.

"A—Ah, Saiko…" he wheezed.

"Hurts so good!" Saiko cheered. "No wonder you did it! Really clears the head! Not that I need it—but it still feels so nice!"

Right. She always was a weird one. Denji looked at the floor, feeling whiplash set in, as Saiko lowered her mask and floated between the trio.

"Can you believe Jiji-san found another mask for me?" Saiko went on. "We got so lucky! Poor Saiko's psyche can't handle six hundred voices all at once, wowee…"

"I'd love to find out how Jijiwa-san was able to block the mind-reading effects of your Quirk," Kanji mused. He rubbed his chin as he looked Saiko up and down. "Perhaps he brought the technology to the future with him after it was developed in this era?"

Ah, no, Denji was about eighty percent certain Saiko's mask was a placebo effect. She'd said every classroom at UA was built to suppress invasive thoughts from other people, and as much as Denji thought the capabilities of the past were vast, he didn't believe that kind of technology was possible quite yet—at least not on a dime to put it in the walls of a whole school. Making a Faraday cage for the mind didn't seem possible yet.

Better to not tell Saiko that, though. If she suddenly got an influx of voices after finding out they weren't really being blocked out, then it wouldn't be just Sen that everyone had to worry about exploding on the spot.

Denji pursed his lips and looked back over at the seated students, and then to the remainder of their class—their family—who didn't have to leave for medical attention. Compared to their own group's game, they had to face off directly against the teacher and student duo they were sorted with. Arguably, the first group didn't need to make it into a fight, but Kaminaga's ancestor definitely turned it into one by gunning for Sen right out the gate. Capture the flag was more suited for a clash of Quirks and skill, and Shusa definitely came in clutch for the win by making an explosive reaction with Suiyoubi's blood and his Quirk, but… There was no way Denji could see hide and seek being made into a fight.

When he looked at his partners in crime, it almost didn't make sense. Sumito wasn't suited for combat, sure, but Saiko and Kanji? Kanji was used to hunting for survival in the mountains, so getting the drop on someone was easy for him—not to mention his Quirk allowed him to lay traps up to an hour in advance. And then Saiko, God Lord, Saiko… Denji didn't know the whole story, but from how blase she would be about protecting the group and goring someone to death the minute they even looked at Youdou wrong, it was safe to say she was definitely more suited for a fight than anyone else. Denji's own Quirk definitely made him suitable for a fight, too; he didn't use it often, but when he did, he could craft items from electricity and become untouchable to anyone who didn't have an immunity to electricity. Sure, he got a little sleepy when he expelled too much electricity, but that came with the territory of using literal energy from your body to make things and move faster, stronger than before.

Gah… He wished he'd been in Sen's group. At least a straightforward fight would be easier to figure out than hide and seek. How was this supposed to even end, anyway? Did they have to run away and not be found for the entire time allotted to them? That was so boring, wasn't it?

Saiko's finger poked at Denji's brows, right against the wrinkles between them.

"Iggy," she cooed. "You're gonna look like Jiji-san if you keep making that face."

Denji laughed nervously and tried to wipe the frustration off his face. "Sorry, Komori," he tried. "I was just wondering about our game."

It seemed Saiko was excited Denji referred to her by a nickname. Saiko hovered and squeed, and Kanji stared as she did loop-di-loops high above them while mumbling to herself that Iggy used her nickname, he never uses her nicknames normally, does that mean Iggy and Saiko were friends now? Bestest of friends?

Quietly, Kanji mumbled to Denji, "She's… a lot."

"She means well," Denji said quickly. And then it hit him that, compared to everyone else, Kanji had the least exposure to the… oddities of the group. They only just moved into his residence in the mountains shortly before the jump, so it made sense that Kanji didn't know about everyone's little ticks. "You get used to it. Saiko really just likes to be praised."

"I see…" Kanji pursed his lips. "I suppose being able to hover about, coupled with her size, will make her harder to spot. Maybe it's for the best that a levitating Quirk wasn't pitted against the powerhouses in the last two groups."

Sumito and Denji stared at him, expressions blank. Denji looked at Sumito, and they shrugged back at him.

"Ka— Erm… Kumayuuki," Denji started.

"Kanji is fine," Kanji told him. "But if you're not comfortable yet, Kuma is also fine."

Denji nodded. "So, uh, Kuma… What exactly do you think Saiko's Quirk is?"

Kanji looked surprised to hear the question. "Is it not just a levitating Quirk?"

"The levitating is one part of it," Sumito chimed in. "But Saiko also… reads minds, manipulates matter psychically, I think a lot of it is telekinesis?"

Denji nodded. "They have a word for the phenomena in this era. I think it's 'esper'. Sen showed me this really cool anime where all the characters do the same things Saiko can do—maybe she'd get a kick out of it."

Sumito laughed softly. "Maybe she'll be inspired," they joked.

"Hold on," Kanji cut in. The duo looked at him as Saiko continued to gush above them. She was going on about what she and Denji could do as newly best friends, wondering what a cheeseburger was and where they could get one to share. "I thought it was just… a mental issue."

"Ah, nothing like that," Sumito explained. "I won't deny that Saiko is a bit… off-putting to some people, and she doesn't dance to the same beat as the rest of us, but a lot of it is just the taxing effects of her Quirk."

As soon as Sumito said it, Saiko came crashing down and cuddled up against Sumito with a whimper.

"I did something super embarrassing just now, didn't I?" Saiko whined. "Everyone was staring at me… Su-su, are they still looking?"

Denji watched as Sumito comforted Saiko with a gentle tone. They took off their uniform jacket, the undershirt beneath leaving their midsection exposed so their tentacles could move a bit better, and they draped it over Saiko's head. Sumito pulled a fast one on Saiko and told her they couldn't see Saiko under the jacket, and Saiko calmed down considerably as she smothered her masked face into Sumito's chest.

It really was just like dealing with a child at times, and Denji supposed Saiko never had the chance to mature properly like the rest of them. He didn't know much, but he did know Youdou had been particularly horrified by not only the place Saiko had come from, but what Saiko had done with an innocent smile to the people who used to live there. He never rejected her, though—he always told everyone that Saiko was robbed of a childhood, even in a world where a childhood wasn't possible, and living with Youdou was the first time she'd ever been a person. Learning how to be a person was just about the hardest thing in the world, Denji found.

He looked to Kanji again and cleared his throat. Sumito and Saiko peeked at him, Saiko still tucked under Sumito's jacket and nestled at their side.

"I was thinking about the game," he said. "And I think, like the other two groups, we need to split our group in half. Play to our strengths."

"Oh!" Saiko chirped. "Saiko knows how to do that!"

"What were you thinking?" Kanji asked.

Denji let out a relieved breath. He was a little worried Kanji would try to strike out on his own, but it seemed whenever someone was confident enough to have an idea, he took the time to listen.

"I don't think they're testing us to see how good we are at particular games," Denji broached. "I think they're seeing how coordinated we are with our Quirks and our ability to work with people. Why else would they have Class A and B watch us too? They have to figure out how to handle us when they get assigned one of us, after all. So maybe we don't have to worry about winning."

"That much is obvious," Kanji reminded him. "Did you have any other observations?"

Ah, Kanji had his limits for things being spelled out. Okay, Denji could speed up his explanation a little. "We don't want to lose, but we don't have to win, so why don't we deliberately go for a draw?" he asked.

"How would we rig a draw in a game of hiding?" Sumito muttered.

"Well, that's where I was going to suggest we split into two," Denji went on. "Sumito, you and Kuma would be best at remaining unseen—ah, but Kuma's over six feet tall, so maybe Komori would work better… But I can team up with Komori or Kuma and make a big distraction. I get the feeling we won't be removed from the field if we're found. I think, since we have a time limit to fill, we'll have a set amount of time to hide again before we're removed."

"Saiko knows this one!" Saiko cheered. "It's, uh… Divide and conquer, but in reverse! Divide and… hide-quer!"

Sure. Divide and hide-quer. Let's call it that.

"We don't even know the Quirks of our opponents," Kanji pointed out.

"Well, I heard Vlad King is Hai's ancestor," Denji said. "And if the Quirk wasn't changed too much over time, it should be related to blood like Hai's. Nejire-senpai… Yeah, I got nothing."

Kanji sniffed and glanced over at Nejire and Vlad King. The two were talking with Fat Gum about the rules for the game, Nejire interrupting every few seconds to ask something, and it was obvious that the group wasn't going to hear the rules for the time being. They had to wait for Nejire to clarify everything with Fat Gum first.

So when Kanji looked back at Denji, he nodded once. "I'm not suited for clashing with others, but I can definitely provide distractions," he told them. "It'll be pushing it, but… if we have the time, I can definitely give everyone a boost so you can distract them better."

"You're okay with the plan?" Denji asked.

Kanji shrugged one shoulder. "I'm more invested in rigging a draw than the plan itself," he admitted. "Frankly, not knowing enough about Nejire-senpai isn't inspiring confidence, and the idea of deliberately being caught so the others can go unnoticed goes against what I grew up with… But I also know the importance of protecting the weak. So I'm willing to help Sumito-san and Saiko-san stay hidden."

Saiko burst out from under Sumito's jacket with a huff. "Saiko's not weak!" she yelled at Kanji, clearly upset. She was stomping a foot and everything. "Saiko could eat everyone in this room for breakfast! Saiko's not weak at all!"

Kanji grunted, displeased, and took a step back as Saiko began to levitate and get in his face. Denji quickly reached out and pulled Saiko back towards him, and she silently fumed next to him.

"Even if you're one of those esper-things," Kanji grumbled, "you're still the smallest one of us. Wouldn't it be easier for you to hide?"

"Saiko only hides if she wants to!" Saiko snapped. "I'll show you! I'm not weak at all! Iggy, team up with me!"

Ah, this was falling apart fast… Denji knew the reason why Kanji had said what he'd said—he was used to the idea that the small were the weak, and he hadn't seen what the group's smallest were capable of up close, but surely what he'd seen of Sen in the fight against Star and Mirio had been enough to dispel any doubts? Or was it a case by case type of deal? Did Saiko have to prove herself as well?

Denji was nervous as he soothed Saiko. He glanced at Sumito, helpless, and the other teen sighed softly and moved closer to Kanji. They tugged his sleeve, looking at him over their glasses, and tried to smile amicably at him.

"Kanji-kun," they said softly, "you don't have to worry about any of us being left behind. When it comes to what Iggy said, shouldn't we be relying on the fastest in our group to get out of sight from the seekers before they're eliminated? Iggy's got his electricity boosting him, and Saiko's reflexes are unmatched. I don't think I've even seen Sen move as fast as her without some buildup first."

Yes! Sumito came in clutch with a valid point! Denji and Saiko were the fastest in the group right now! Sumito was good at slowing people down, and Kanji was very big in stature, so of course Saiko and Denji were the fastest!

Kanji grunted again, scrunching up his face. But then he relaxed, and he sighed softly to himself.

He held out one hand to Saiko and Denji. Gruffly, he demanded, "Shoes."

Almost like his insult to her capabilities was fresh out of her mind, Saiko immediately kicked off her shoes and sent them floating in Kanji's direction. Kanji turned them over in his hands, almost looking for something, and then when he noticed an empty space at the heels, he pressed a finger against the shoes. Denji watched as Kanji drew the kanji for wind on the heels of each shoe. The shoes were promptly enveloped in a green glow that would've been difficult to see from afar. Saiko let out an amazed sound, and when she took them from Kanji, she almost didn't put them on at all as she stared at the kanji carved into the material.

Denji passed his shoes as well, and Kanji did the same to them. When Denji put them on again, his shoes felt almost… lighter. Like his feet were weightless.

Kanji looked them up and down. He sniffed. Then he gestured for Saiko to pass Sumito's jacket to him, and Saiko did it without any hesitation.

"I don't know how to inscribe runes for lightning yet," Kanji grumbled. "So I can't boost your Quirk, Igarashi-san. But I can boost your mobility and ability to distract."

"Is this how you laid all those traps in the mountains?" Denji asked, intrigued. He watched as Kanji tore the jacket into strips, and on two of the strips he carved another kanji onto them—this one for fire. He handed them to Denji when he was done, a soft red glow enveloping the strips, and Denji watched in awe as Kanji wrapped them around his wrists and tied them into place. They were warm, like freshly dried clothes left in the sun all day, and Denji pressed them to his face with a curious, satisfied hum.

And then Kanji turned him forcibly around, drawing what had to be the kanji for ice against his back. Denji's jacket felt almost sturdier, albeit a little colder, like he was wearing armour that Youdou had salvaged from raiders trying to attack them, and Denji tried to peek over his shoulder at the rune. Obviously he couldn't see it, only able to see the faint blue outline that surrounded his jacket, but he was treated to Kanji's unimpressed expression.

"They're all active right now," Kanji informed him. "If Saiko-san really is as strong and as fast as you say, she shouldn't need them. But you… Don't you need electricity to use your Quirk?"

"Ah, yeah…" Denji tried to shrug it off. "But it's okay! You didn't have to go above and beyond—"

"If I went above and beyond," Kanji told him sternly, "I'd force the lightning rune."

Aha… So he would…

"M—Maybe you and Sumito can use the jacket," Denji tried. "You've spoiled me for choice with the shoes and wrist wraps—"

"You can't make sure we aren't found if you get caught within the first minute of the game," Kanji cut him off. He crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Denji with his one icy blue eye. "Stop deliberately trying to make yourself useless and just accept the runes."

Ouch… That one struck a bit too close to home. Denji flinched, not meaning to do it so obviously, and he shied away from Kanji as the words rattled through his mind. He didn't like having to rely on people for this much, especially when there wasn't much electricity to draw upon for when he ran out eventually, but if Kanji was willing to call him useless over this much… What would he say if Denji admitted he didn't use his Quirk properly to begin with? Surely he'd call him dead weight, right? A parasite? No different to the people at Shinjuku, though Denji supposed there wasn't much to leech off of in this situation except for reputation.

He cleared his throat and moved closer to Saiko. He didn't address Kanji and instead looked to Sumito, and he offered a weak, "Good luck, and make sure not to come out until the end," as he dragged Saiko towards Fat Gum.

Fat Gum took notice of them right away, and he waved them over warmly. Nejire was done picking his brain for the exact rules, it seemed, and she was excited to see Saiko and Denji approach. She didn't get a chance to bombard Saiko with questions about her mask, though—Vlad King immediately pulled her aside to get in their starting positions. With the two students and their homeroom teacher left, Fat Gum's full attention was on Saiko and Denji.

"Ah, right, the big guy told me I should say this," Fat Gum mused. He jabbed a thumb towards the bleachers, in Youdou's direction. "Omori-chan, killing is absolutely off the table entirely. And so is grievous bodily harm!"

"It is!?" Saiko gawked. "I—I mean… Saiko will do her best…"

It seemed Youdou had briefed Fat Gum on what everyone's roles in the group had been, and spared no details with Saiko. Denji let out a slow breath, relieved, and he could rest a little easier without the concern of Saiko going overboard. She knew how to be non-lethal, sure, but holding back enough to not hurt someone heavily was new for her. This was definitely going to be a learning experience.

"Hey, hey, Igarashi-kun, that's a big sigh." Fat Gum leaned closer to him, eyes wide. "What's up?"

"Oh, I just wanted to check the rules," Denji said lamely. "If we get spotted, is it a case of being eliminated right away?"

"Nah, you get a grace period of five seconds to hide again," Fat Gum explained. "Vlad and Hado can chase you down, but if you can find ways to hide from them before five seconds pass, you're still in the game. I was just about to come over and tell you guys that."

Denji waved a hand dismissively. "The other two don't need to know. Just me and Saiko."

"Oh?" Fat Gum grinned down at them. "Can't wait to see what you chickadees have in mind, in that case! Now get out there and show 'em what for!"


So the rules were simple enough to follow. Nejire and Vlad weren't allowed to go above the height of the maze to get a bird's eye view below, and they had to catch the students in five seconds in order to eliminate them. Nejire licked her lips as she stretched her limbs and walked down the steps to the maze entrance. Vlad was on the other side of the maze, taking the north entrance, and two halves of the group had taken the east and west entrances.

If she had to think about their Quirks, Nejire still had a ton of questions for each of them that Fat Gum wouldn't let her ask. The one in the mask was so strange and funny, and she floated super easily through the gym thanks to her Quirk—something to do with levitating? Maybe. But then her outburst about being strong at the one with the eyepatch got Nejire curious. She was such a small thing! Maybe her Quirk was more telekinetic in nature, if she was strong enough to levitate herself easily and stand up to someone almost two times her size.

And then the one with the eyepatch was interesting, too! He was messing with everyone's uniforms, and then they started glowing different colours—it had to be an enhancement Quirk, right? Right? Ah, she wanted so badly to ask what the Quirk's effects were, especially since the other two seemed so interested in them, but Nejire was shooed away by Fat Gum before she could run over. Nejire wanted to know what he did to their uniforms!

And why did he only do it to the two who went to the east entrance of the maze? What about himself and the other one with him? They looked like they had a tentacle Quirk, and Nejire had seen the video of them online expelling a ton of ink in the middle of a crowded highway, so it was obvious they had squid traits that wouldn't be much help in a maze. Water would do them some good—oh! But if they could change the colour of their skin, they could blend into the maze easily. And if they could bend their body like a contortionist, they could hide among any rubble that might fall from the walls. Though Nejire doubted rubble would be a concern, if she considered it properly.

The last one was an enigma, though. He seemed to know a lot about Chikara Sen's Quirk, especially the whole part about her being able to absorb all forms of energy and redistribute it, and he seemed smarter than he was letting on. He didn't use very big words, but that was fine! Nejire didn't use very big words when discussing Quirks, either—the simpler the words, the quicker she could brainstorm, and more talking meant more brainstorming! Though she did like to pause and explain things, too. But that wasn't relevant right now! Nejire had no clue what Igarashi Denji's Quirk was meant to involve, and she couldn't be entirely certain that his horns had something to do with it either. He looked like an oni, though, and that was pretty darn cool-looking!

Fat Gum blew the whistle, and Nejire broke out into a sprint as she recalled the layout of the maze from above. If she and Vlad were lucky, they could subdue the two halves in quick succession and end the game early; but Nejire knew they wouldn't go down easily. She had to give credit to the children of the future, after all! They wouldn't be alive if they didn't have tricks and plans up their sleeves!

Ah, maybe Nejire should ask about the future. How was the state of the world? Did they have monsters running around? Was it like those zombie movies? There were so many theories for how the world ended out there! Was the Big Crunch going to happen in the future? How far into the future? How did they know? Was it meteors? Was it resources dying out? Oh! Was it the Quirk Singularity theory? The one that one doctor got laughed at and mocked for proposing? Gah, if only his name wasn't lost to time! Nejire wondered if he felt vindicated with the news of future kids being brought to the present.

She didn't get the chance to think on it for long, though. No sooner had Nejire rounded six corners, she heard crashes and booms from one side of the maze that were getting closer and closer to her spot. Nejire braced herself, raised her hands, and the moment she let loose a wave of energy towards the wall, it burst outwards towards her. Debris fell around her, barely missing Nejire as the large chunks of cement tumbled to the ground with loud and heavy thuds, and Nejire felt excited as she saw a purple aura surrounding the tiny form that floated through the dust.

Omori Saiko definitely had a lot more to her Quirk than simple levitating, and Nejire was excited to be proven right. Ah, but they were playing hide and seek right now. Shouldn't Saiko be hiding right now?

Nejire pointed at her. "Found you!" she chirped.

Saiko struck a pose mid-air as Nejire started counting in her head. "Not for long, tee-hee!"

And then, out of nowhere, a rush of air slammed into Nejire's side and sent her flying. It was like a solid mass had just hit her, a whole wall of bricks forcing her off her feet. But all Nejire saw was air wrapped in purple energy, and Nejire used her Quirk to soften her fall and prevent herself from making a Nejire-shaped hole in the wall. The cement dust that was kicked up from the blow shrouded Saiko enough that even her purple outline was invisible, and she heard feet slam onto the ground before skidding into a sprint away from Nejire.

As Nejire waited for the dust to settle and watched for another attack, she licked her lips again. Wow, maybe she was totally wrong about the Quirk! Maybe it was some kind of air manipulation instead of telekinesis! Or maybe it was telekinesis so potent that Saiko could touch the air around her and manipulate it like solid mass!

Gosh, her kouhais were so cool and strong!

Maybe Nejire should go all-out, just for them!

Nejire giggled and pushed herself off of the wall with her Quirk. The small waves of energy blasting from her feet shot her out towards the other end of the maze's path, and she slammed into the opposite wall with another wave expulsion to soften her impact. She could barely hear Saiko giggling to herself further down, around the two visible corners in front of her, and Nejire jumped from corner to corner as she pursued. Edges of the maze were broken and left in her wake as she gave chase.

Distantly, through the sound of destruction in the distance, Nejire heard Vlad shout for someone to come back and surrender. Must've been the other one, Nejire thought with a giggle. Maybe he found the duo who didn't have any enhanced clothing.

She tracked down Saiko again, slamming into a wall just as Saiko skidded to a stop to glance over her shoulder and see if Nejire was pursuing. Nejire pointed to her again, smiling a little more sinisterly, and she shouted, "Found you again!"

Saiko let out a squeak and motioned her hands, and without warning the wall beside them came crumbling down all at once. Like too many bricks had been removed from a building, or explosives had been detonated at their foundations, the wall swarmed over the duo like a wave of ocean water and threatened to bury them both if they didn't move. Nejire jumped back, aiming to avoid being crushed, but just as the wall would've collapsed on top of her, a purple aura encompassed the cement and dragged it all towards Saiko. Before Nejire's very eyes, Saiko reformed the wall and made a brand new one in between them, changing one of the maze's paths to her desires.

No way! No way, no way, no way! This was definitely telekinesis ramped up to eleven! Gosh, Saiko was so strong!

"If brute force is how you wanna do it," Nejire mumbled. She surged forward and raised her hands, waves of energy pulsing through her arms, and in one powerful blast, Nejire fired off her signature Nejire Wave.

The blast demolished the wall in front of her, and then some. The next three maze walls went down as well, collapsing into a heap, and it was like watching dominos topple over one by one. Nejire rushed forward and saw the purple aura around some of the cement debris, a tiny body emerging from the cobbled and jagged stones on top of her. Saiko coughed and rubbed at her head, letting out a small whimper that seemed almost mixed with a pleased sound, and when she turned around to peek at Nejire, Nejire was treated to the cutest of faces.

Gosh, with her little fangs and her bright eyes, Saiko was a dead ringer for cutest girl in Class 0! And there were some serious contenders there!

Nejire slowed to a sudden stop in front of Saiko, grinning down at her, and Saiko held her face in her hands as she blushed.

"Th—Thank you!" Saiko chirped. "Nejire-senpai is super cute too!"

Oh?

Nejire tilted her head. "I didn't say that out loud," she declared. "Hey, hey, is your Quirk telekinesis only, and you're just really good at reading people, or is it something else?"

Despite Nejire's compliment and question, Saiko's focus darted away from her. Horror dawned in her eyes, the black sclera swallowing up the blueish-white irises in an instant. Saiko's attention moved from Nejire, down to the rubble, and she began tearing away at rubble with her Quirk frantically.

"Hm?" Nejire moved back a little when a piece of debris almost crashed right into her. "Hey, Omori-chan, I can call you out at this rate. Why aren't you running away again? Did you drop your mask? Is it important?"

Saiko was whimpering again, and Nejire saw tears brimming in her eyes as sparks of harsher purple energy flickered around her body. Like a buildup of energy threatening to be released, no source to let it loose on as it swelled and swelled.

"Jiji-san's mask," Saiko whimpered. "I can hear them without Jiji-san's mask. Where did it go? They're so loud. I need Jiji-san's mask!"

A pulse of energy burst from Saiko, crashing into Nejire and knocking her back with some of the debris. Nejire steadied herself and looked around. At this rate, Saiko might collapse the walls around them and bury herself. Nejire surged forward again, only for another blast of energy to throw her back. Gosh, how hard was it to get past that shockwave of energy?

"Omori-chan!" Nejire called. "I'll help you look for Jiji-san's mask! Just make sure not to break the walls or you'll be buried, 'kay?"

Saiko looked back at Nejire with tears coating her face, snot slowly leaking from her nose, and she didn't seem to be able to focus. Like she was too overstimulated, too many things trying to take her attention, and while Nejire was certain Saiko had heard her somewhat, there was a question as to whether or not Saiko actually saw Nejire in front of her.

Instead of replying, Saiko picked up one of the smaller rocks around her and bashed it harshly against her head. Nejire panicked at the gush of blood that rushed out from the wound, and she rushed forward again as Saiko raised it to strike her head once more.

"Go to sleep," Saiko chanted to herself between smaller hits. "Go to sleep. You can't hear them when you sleep. Go to sleep. Go to sleep."

Just as Saiko hit her head a fourth time, her movements sluggish but still conscious despite the damage she was taking, another blast of energy pulsed from her body. Nejire pushed through it by force, countering with Wave Motion's own energy conversion, and she spotted something different to the slate grey cement fly along with the other chunks. Something white and round, almost matching the colour of Saiko's skin, and Nejire dove for it.

The mask.

"Omori-chan! I found your mask!" Nejire shouted.

In an instant, Saiko dropped the rock and turned her head so fast in Nejire's direction that she was surprised she didn't snap it by accident. Saiko's Quirk propelled her towards Nejire at high speeds, fast enough that Nejire was surprised Saiko had been caught under the debris in the first place, and they both crashed to the ground as Nejire kept an iron grip on the mask. If they lost it again, Saiko would just start hurting herself again—no way was Nejire letting her cute junior do that to her cute little head!

Saiko snatched the mask from her hands and pushed it against her face. Blood leaked over the front, coating it in a sticky, dark red as Saiko's aura died down and faded to nothing. Nejire sat up and checked Saiko for injuries, any that might've come from the debris before she realised her mask was gone, and she let out a relieved sigh before rising to her feet. She held a hand out to Saiko and helped the smaller girl up, and she cleared her throat softly.

"Omori-chan, hurting yourself like that is no good!" she scolded her. "Is it because your Quirk is overwhelming? Even so, giving yourself brain damage can't be good for you!"

Saiko was still hiccuping and sniffling under the mask. She took a step back, almost ready to run, and Nejire grabbed her hand with a gentle reassurance.

"I won't announce that I found you," she reassured Saiko. "I'm more worried about your wound. Why did you need the mask so badly, anyway?"

Saiko relaxed a little more. She reached up and poked at her head wound, and she flinched ever so slightly.

"Jiji-san made it specially for me," Saiko said quietly. "Saiko isn't good at blocking people out, and they get really, really loud. And sometimes they say mean things about Saiko. But Jiji-san's mask stops the nasty voices from coming into Saiko's head. He said the whole school was made of the same stuff, but I guess the gym doesn't have it in its walls yet…"

Ah?

Nejire blinked down at Saiko, smiling.

They had that kind of technology?

Nejire pointed to Saiko's mask and asked, "There's something in the mask that blocks your telepathy? It's telepathy, right?"

Saiko nodded.

That didn't sound right. It was just an ordinary mask, as far as Nejire could tell. And she never heard about UA having tech that could block mental-based Quirks. Wasn't there a couple of students who had mind-reading Quirks in the third-year general studies course?

Nejire opened her mouth. She barely got the words, "But it's just—" out before something crashed into her stomach.

She didn't even see the other student coming from the hole Saiko had made in the wall earlier. This one was Denji, right? Denji moved so fast that Nejire almost couldn't track him, but she felt the crackling of electricity in the air as he approached. Nejire hadn't had a chance to react, though—obviously she'd been distracted by Saiko, but again, Denji moved way too fast, and it was obvious in hindsight that it was the boy with the eyepatch's doing.

She looked down in time to see what'd collided with her, though, and Nejire's thoughts became lost as she saw the electrified hammer slam into her midsection, barely missing Saiko's tiny body in front of her. Attached to the mallet was Denji, swinging it with all his might as a burst of fire erupted from the other side of the hammer, and Nejire felt the air rush out of her lungs as the shockwave from the explosion behind the hammer sent her literally flying high above the bounds of the maze.

Nejire spun and spun and spun, thankful for all the training and damage she'd learned how to take over the years. A regular student wouldn't have been able to eat the sheer number of crashes Nejire experienced through the walls. Nejire finally skidded to a stop, right back at the entrance, and she coughed harshly as air finally rushed back into her lungs.

Damn, Denji was tougher than she expected. Was his Quirk something involving making things with electricity? What an ingenious Quirk! He could hit things and stun them at the same time! Even now, Nejire still felt the aftershocks lingering in her muscles. She let out a shaky breath as she flexed her hands and pushed herself back up to her feet. Above her, at the entrance of the maze, Tamaki and Mirio gazed down at her with mixed reactions of awe and concern.

"Wow, Hado!" Mirio laughed. "He sent you flying!"

"Do we need to ask Recovery Girl to come?" Tamaki chimed in.

Nejire shook her head with a smile. "These kids from the future are so incredible! I've got to ask Fat Gum to let me quiz them on their Quirks! How much time do me and Vlad King have left?"

Both of them held up a single hand with five fingers outstretched. Five minutes wasn't terrible, but it meant Nejire had to kick her butt into gear. She didn't even know if Vlad had seen the other half of the group they were hunting yet. But she supposed she knew how to keep up with Denji and Saiko a bit better now!

"I'm off!" she called out. Nejire propelled herself back into the maze with as much force as possible, hoping to grab the duo and hold onto them for the five seconds required. As soon as they were out, the two easier targets could be taken care of by Vlad with Nejire's help. It was obvious now that Saiko and Denji were deliberately causing distractions, but if both of them were focused on Nejire, that meant Vlad had a chance of finding the other two without an obstacle in the way.

Saiko and Denji had hardly moved from their spot when Nejire flew over the top of them. She reached down and grabbed both of their jackets, picking them up as she careened down the new path paved by Wave Motion just before. Their jackets were cold, far too cold for something worn by them all afternoon, and Saiko fought to keep her mask on her face as Denji groggily flicked out his hands. Whips of electricity flew out from his hands, his horns growing and crackling with electricity running between them, and Nejire saw two large and heavy anchors form from the end of the whips. The hooks of the anchors caught on the debris—or at least one of them did, the other not quite taking hold, but it was enough to yank Nejire back from the sudden jerk.

The duo dropped to the ground as Nejire lost her grip, spinning in mid-air from the surprise stop combined with her Quirk still in full force; Saiko immediately grabbed Denji in their descent with her telekinesis and gently setting him down on the ground, and Denji stumbled as he fought to keep his eyes open. Huh, so the amount of use he could get from his Quirk also correlated with how tired he'd get from it? Interesting.

"Found you!" Nejire announced. And then the timer started.

She surged towards them, going for another grab, but Denji dismissed the electric whips and made use of the bits of fabric wrapped around his wrist. He grabbed Saiko and punched at the air in front of him, and a gust of wind from his shoes sent them flying around the next corner and out of Nejire's sight ever so briefly. Timer paused.

She gave chase, grinning all the while, and Denji and Saiko hurriedly pulled off their jackets and held them out in front of them, almost as though hiding behind them. Before Nejire could even get close enough to grab them again, the jackets both glowed a frosty blue—brighter than before—and a wall of ice erupted from the jackets themselves and blocked Nejire's path entirely. She crashed into the ice with a grunt, leaving a sizable crack in the wall, but the ice was too thick for her to see through it and still hold a claim on spotting them.

Was this also the eyepatch kid's Quirk? Gosh, all these elements and he could just imbue them into anything? What else could he do? Could he do combos? Was it just the four cardinal elements, or were their others? Nejire had to know!

Those five minutes had to be passing quickly, though… Nejire let out a steeling breath and fired off another Nejire Wave at the ice wall, weaker than the last so she didn't have a repeat of earlier. With how Saiko and Denji both were, they weren't getting far anyway. Saiko needed medical treatment ASAP, and Denji was losing steam super quickly after using his Quirk to make the hammer and anchors.

They weren't on the other side of the wall when she burst through, but it didn't take long to find them once she was on the other side. She heard surprised shouts, mostly from Saiko—and the girl was yelling out that she needed her hands to use her Quirk, and to please get all the blood off of her. Ah, Nejire thought immediately, Vlad had found and restrained them.

Nejire quickly ran into Vlad as she rounded two more corners, no doubt somewhere in the middle of the maze now, and she saw Saiko and Denji pinned to the closest wall with thick, crystalised blood covering their midriffs and arms. Vlad was connected to the blood as well, and he looked at Nejire with an almost alarmed expression.

"How rough were you?" he asked.

Nejire waved her hands in surrender. "Omori-chan did that to herself! They're tougher than they look, sensei, don't underestimate them!"

Vlad let out a displeased sound. From above, Fat Gum whistled and shouted, "Igarashi, Omori! Out!"

Denji was fast asleep when Vlad released them from his bloody trap. He collapsed to the ground with a snore, and Saiko poked him as her own wound continued to leak blood all over her uniform.

"You two get some rest," Vlad informed them. "We'll find your friends and end this game quickly."

Despite her injuries and Denji's prone form, Saiko still giggled and shook her head.

"Su-su is hard to find when they get serious," she chirped. "Just ask Kami-nee-chan!"

Despite the declaration, Vlad and Nejire still went looking. Nejire could hear someone up above cheer for someone named Iggy, saying something about fucking someone up, and Nejire assumed it was someone addressing the passed out Denji. What great friends they all were! Whatever apocalypse was happening definitely brought these kids closer than most.

Half of the remaining five minutes had been spent chasing down Denji and Saiko, so Nejire thought it was natural that they couldn't find the other two in the remaining two and a half minutes. But when Fat Gum blew his whistle and announced time was up, declaring it a draw, Nejire couldn't help but be curious about where they'd gone. The minute Fat Gum announced it was a draw, she propelled herself up high above the maze and squinted down at it from above. Gosh, she and Saiko really did a number on the maze. Half of the size Nejire entered from was demolished, and some of the section Saiko had entered from was completely rearranged—an amateur attempt at mimicking Cementoss's precise manipulation of the concrete.

But there was no sign of the blue, white and red uniforms belonging to the other two. No sign, except for one uniform completely discarded towards the entrance they'd come in front.

They had another Mirio on their hands, did they? Now which one of them was brave enough to do this exercise as naked as the day they were born?

One sizable chunk of debris rustled and rose, and a tall form burst through with a gasp and a cough. There was a blond boy—and his entire outfit was encased in a brown glow, bits of rock falling from the uniform as though they'd been grown from it. And it almost matched Cementoss's cement, too! There was one, she thought, so where was the other?

The question was answered almost immediately. Beside the blond boy, a small pile of rocks jerked slightly. The blond reached over and nudged it, saying something before pointing up at Nejire—and then Nejire saw a pair of eyes open from within the rocks. Before her eyes, the cluster of rocks shifted and creaked, almost like bones were setting in place and appendages were moving back into their rightful places, and Nejire almost thought she was watching a contortionist from a circus performing right in front of her. The rocks took a human shape, and some of the more smooth parts were quickly revealed to be tentacles that wriggled and shifted about anxiously—and just as the blond covered the human-like rock in his jacket, the colouration changed entirely, looking more human.

Ah, that was where the other one was. They could camouflage like most cephalopods. That explained their Quirk almost completely to Nejire in that moment!

Nejire floated down to them and helped them both up. The blond, Kanji, needed to catch his breath—it seemed being buried under all that rock gave him limited air, even with his Quirk providing him with small pockets of air to breathe—but the other one, Sumito, was bashful as they hugged Kanji's jacket around them.

"Did we get a draw?" they asked Nejire nervously.

"You did," Nejire chirped. "You guys were aiming for one, weren't you?" When they both nodded, Nejire made the effort to reach the six-three Kanji's head and pat it, and then did the same to the five-six Sumito. "Good job! And welcome to UA! I think you'll make great Pro Heroes with teamwork like that."

Despite the mixed reactions—Kanji looking away with an almost uncomfortable, if bashful cough, and Sumito beaming at her brightly—Nejire knew they were excited to be accepted into the school's ranks as potential Pro Heroes. Now all that was left was to mould them into excellent, upstanding citizens who fought for the justice of all.

Easy-peasy!


VS HADO NEJIRE & VLAD KING

WINNER: DRAW


And that's the initial group's "entrance exam" done with! Now their partners have an idea of what their in for, right? Also I hope this last encounter was interesting enough! I had a hard time picking the game they'd play, and how to make it interesting, and unfortunately only two of the four characters were showcased in this game. But Kanji's Quirk definitely saw some good use, so I hope you guys had some fun with how a support-type Quirk functions! It was a lot of fun writing Saiko and Denji getting creative with Kanji's Quirk!

The next chapter will be the reveal of ancestors and buddies, so keep an eye open for that owo I'm not sure if I can belt out another chapter before the end of the year, so if y'all don't hear from me before then, I once again wish everyone a happy holidays and new year!