"Going to Section E feels like the right call," you eventually decide before giving your final pitch. "Sure, we should all stick together, but I'm confident in our ability to take out some of the one or two-point villains with minimal assistance from each other. And while the test does accommodate those who want to work in teams, this is a race. Why spend extra time taking down a three-pointer together when the competition is fierce, and we can each take down a one- or two-pointer in the same amount of time? While Section C has a mix of two and three-pointers, I know that my strengths are in planning, charisma, and being able to take a hit. If I want to score highly, I'll need to get many rescue points, and there are few opportunities for that. We must conserve our strength to do anything about that zero-pointer."
Pony and Himiko look at you; the prior following along is far easier for your strategy proposal. "That makes sense to me, Kaz-Chan," Pony agrees. "Honestly, I feel more confident taking down one-pointers than three-pointers, even with your help."
"Don't dismiss your own strength, Pony," you reassure her. "You'll be an amazing hero one day."
"I'll probably just end up a sidekick," Pony scratches the back of her neck. "But I appreciate the vote of confidence."
"What's wrong with being a sidekick?" Himiko questions.
"No-nothing," Pony dismisses. "Anyway, with our plan in place, we just need to finalize the details and layout, right?"
You nod. "We'll have to do that during orientation. We don't have all that much time, and we're expected there."
"Funny, considering the explanation is already on paper," Himiko says with a toothy grin. "What do they think we are? Stupid?"
"Did you get a pamphlet, Himiko?"
Your girlfriend falters. "Uh, no. Only because you told us to, and Pony reminded me."
"That's why," you smirk. "Because nobody reads the fine print."
"Right," Himiko falters, a drop of nervous sweat falling down her face as she realizes her blunder. Are we going to go?"
"Sure," you smile. "Wouldn't want Present Mic screaming into our ears about being late."
"I thought it was Professor Mic."
You chuckle. "That's actually pretty good. Though I think Mr. Yamada prefers the job title of DJ."
"DJ?" Pony questions. "What do you mean by that?"
"Meet him, and you'll see it."
"Or hear it," Himiko rebuts.
"Yes, I guess so," you shrug.
True to your word, Present Mic, or Hizashi Yamada, standing at the podium, can best be described as a DJ and delinquent long past his prime with his giant dyed reverse mohawk, orange sunglasses, and hero costume: a high-collared black leather jacket with matching pants and boots and a speaker attached to the collar.
If he wasn't a pro hero and integral to managing the communications during critical operations, then even his status as an alumni would keep any school from hiring Mr. Yamada, let alone Yuuei. Not that he's very good at his job as a teacher to begin with.
Case in point….
"For all you examinee listeners tuning in right now, it's your school DJ, asking what's up?! Welcome to the show! Come on and let me hear ya!"
Present Mic puts his ear out to the audience, and you swear you hear crickets.
"Everybody say 'hey!'" he orders, nobody complying with it.
Wait! I do hear crickets!
You wave to the guy with the cricket quirk in the corner, but he shies away from you.
Poor guy. I bet people make fun of his quirk a lot.
…
How can I get my hands on it?
"Keeping it mellow, huh?" Present Mic bemoans. "What a refined response. That's fine. I'll skip straight to the main show and give you a quick rundown on the practical exam."
Throwing his hand into the air, thinking he's a rockstar, Yamada poses before projecting his voice using the power of his quirk.
"ARE YOU READY?!"
Once again, he's met with silence, only the mutated cricket man's noises filling the air.
Never mind; that would get old pretty fast. And the cricket's fugly-looking. Definitely a pass.
Peering down a few rows, you notice Izuku geeking out, his eyes sparkling in admiration. "Oh my goodness, it's the Voice Hero, Present Mic. Wow, so cool! I listen to his radio show every day of the week. It's so crazy that all the U.A. teachers are pro-heroes."
Once a hero nut, always a hero nut.
"Shut up," Byakuya mutters, sitting beside Izuku.
As Present Mic continues the explanation, you, Himiko, and Pony continue scanning over the map of Section E, circling areas you predict could be hot spots for villains in hushed whispers, continuing to set up your strategy for the event.
"Of course," Present Mic concludes. Attacking other examinees or engaging in any other unheroic actions is prohibited! That's a big U.A. no-no, ya dig?"
"Excuse me, sir, but I have a question for you!" one of the boys, this one with blue hair and glasses, says, standing and raising his hand as a light shines down upon him."
"Okay!"
"On the printout, there are four types of villains. With all due respect, if this is a misprint on official materials, then U.A., the most prominent hero school in Japan, should be ashamed of that foolish mistake. We are examinees of this place because we wish to be exemplary heroes. We expect the best of Japan's most notable school, and a mistake such as this won't do!"
Oh, get off your high horse. If you had actually read it and listened to the presentation, you wouldn't need to ask such dumb questions. Because, contrary to popular belief, there is such a thing as dumb questions!
The boy turns around and points directly at Izuku. "Additionally, you with the unkempt curly hair!"
Izuku appears confused, looking for clarification.
"Yes. You and the dragon-girl behind you."
"Excuse me?" you frown.
"He's been muttering this entire time, and it's distracting. Meanwhile, you and your friends haven't been paying attention whatsoever! If you are all here on a pleasure trip and can't bother to take this seriously, leave immediately!"
"I'm sorry," Izuku apologizes, getting a few laughs.
Meanwhile, you stand up, wanting to protect your honor and friends, including the green-haired wimp. "It's not a misprint, dumbass. And you're the one calling attention and shaming your future colleagues. That's not very hero-like at all."
"And how do you know -"
"My name is Kazuha Chiba-Shuzenji and daughter of Mr. Principal. Got it memorized?"
The air of authority you command causes those around you to mutter in awe as it seems the blue-haired boy backs down.
"Okay, okay, Examinee 7111," Present Mic returns the attention to him. "Thanks for calling in with your request."
As Present Mic begins to explain the zero-pointers, you focus on the crowd of applicants, trying to gauge their reactions.
"I see. So it's like a video game where you avoid obstacles, huh?"
"This whole thing is like a video game with all those traps."
This isn't a game; it's a test. Anyone who doesn't see it that way will fail.
"That's all from me," Present Mic starts to wrap up. "I'll sign off with a little present: our school motto! As General Napoleon Bonaparte once said: 'A true hero is one who overcomes life's misfortunes.' Mm-hmm, now that's a tasty soundbite. Are you ready to 'go beyond?' Let's hear a 'Plus Ultra!'"
"Plus Ultra!"
You, Himiko, and Pony are the only ones to cheer back; the other students look at you strangely.
"Good luck suffering. Hope you practiced hitting more things than just the books."
Don't worry, we did.
After heading back to your room quickly to change into more practical clothing, the three of you make your way over to the battle center, specifically lining up in front of the fifth gate. As you expected, most of the student body is lining up at the far ends, with another bulk of students in the middle. Section E is mainly empty, minus a few students who, you presume, mostly picked this gate randomly, not reading the pamphlet.
"Are you two ready?" you ask your companions as you stretch.
"I wonder what I'll be mauling these villains as," Himiko wonders. "There are so many choices."
"You better pick soon," you advise. "We could be starting an -"
"Alright, start!" Present Mic announces. Unlike the rest of the applicants, you don't hesitate for a second. "What's wrong? Get moving! There are no countdowns in real battles! Run! The die has been cast, and you're wasting air time!"
By the time the others get the hint, you will have a sizeable lead on the crowd, which has already thinned out for Section E. Activating Adrenaline Rush to get your blood pumping for the boosts to your physicality, you end up lagging behind Himiko, who has turned into a cheetah, drawing first blood on a one-point faux-villain.
"Stay in line of sight just in case," you order Pony before diving into a two-pointer.
Come on! I've honed my claws! Pierce these assholes!
As your hand makes contact, you grab the imperial around the neck before ripping its head clean off, just barely enough strength to take care of this thing in a single hit.
Great! I can dispatch these guys without backup!
You almost lose track of time as you hunt down robot after robot. While you aren't fast, the lack of competition allows you to get more villains than you may have in other zones, just as predicted.
Peering over at Pony, you see her struggling a little more. It appears her horns aren't quite strong enough to pierce the two-point robot's armor alone. While you assist her twice to prevent Pony from getting flanked, you see her primarily stick to the one-pointers, a very valid strategy.
Due to her speed, Himiko can quickly sweep up the one-pointers. While the cheetah form isn't the best for dealing damage, and the cooldown for changing is too long to be effective, she has quite the production. Considering your own lack of dexterity, Himiko picks up your slack and becomes Pony's primary backup.
If only I had more speed, I'd be destroying these things quickly!
While your points are nothing to scoff at, sitting at 34 villain points, certainly enough to pass the exam and likely higher due to your helping Pony, you're not satisfied.
I must get into the seventies if I want a chance at the top spot.
As the ground beneath you shakes, a mini-earthquake, the screaming catches your ear.
We've only got three minutes left?! You're kidding! I've only got twenty of these guys!
Still, you don't have time to dwell on your number of villain points. Calling Himiko and Pony to your side, the three of you regroup as panicked players from the middle section rush into Section E in a panic, the zero-pointer right on their tail.
"What's the plan, Kaz-Chan?" Pony asks as Himiko shifts back.
We're not strong enough to fight the zero-pointer in a straight-up fight—at least, I'm not. If we want to take this down, we must rely on Himiko. While Himiko could use New Order to remove the robot with just a single touch, that would expose her real quirk. I doubt Cathy would appreciate Himiko doing that, even if I could convince Himiko to do that.
But that doesn't mean New Order can't be applicable. I think our best option would be to knock this thing over. It shouldn't be an issue if we can pin it to the ground. Perhaps Pony could use her horns to get Himiko up high so she could turn into a whale. It's not like Himiko would suffocate; whales have lungs, too. Then, with that thing pinned down, it wouldn't be an issue. Perhaps I could even find a way to disarm the zero-pointer when it's down? At the very least, I could ensure we're not dropping this thing on top of anyone.
Alternatively, maybe I can get Himiko to use New Order to power up my next attack. I could ride Pony's horns and hit this thing in the face. But would that work? I'm not really worried about falling. I might not be able to control myself in the air, but my wings work like a paraglider now, at least. Actually… I could just tell Himiko to make my punch act like an electromagnetic pulse. That could shut off the robot. But I'd ask Himiko to credit me for destroying the zero-pointer. Sure, it takes the target off Himiko's back and places it onto mine without exposing Himiko's secret, but Cathy might be mad at me.
Perhaps I should leave this to Himiko and Pony? If we're going to knock this thing over, we need to ensure that nobody will be behind the zero-pointer when it falls over. Maybe I could still contribute to the plan on the ground by guiding the panicking applicants to safety and out of the danger zone?
Or maybe Himiko can turn into a flying creature, dismiss the order, and have enough time to reapply the order of turning into a whale without Pony's help. But if it doesn't work… that could be dangerous for Himiko. It's hazardous.
There are so many choices. Honestly, if it's too perilous, I could probably just have Himiko and Pony try helping the evacuation effort without trying to deal with the Zero-Pointer. This is basically like I-Island, and I was already able to make the headlines for my ability to command under pressure from my Charisma. Perhaps it will help me again? Or maybe we should clear the path for more villains. Or… perhaps it's not safe. I know I've got a lot of constitution, but this area could still be dangerous if I'm not feeling confident.
But I have to decide fast.
NOTE: For Both Decision Points, You Have A Total Of Two Points To Spend. You Must Vote On Both Decision Points, Regardless of How Much You Spend
DECISION POINT #1: Who Should Deal With The Zero-Pointer?
A - All Three of Kazuha, Himiko, and Pony
1 - Himiko Buffs Kazuha With New Order; Pony Brings Kazuha Up To the Robot With Her Horns; Kazuha Deals The Final Blow (Cost: Two Actions)
2 - 2 - Pony Brings Himiko Up To The Zero-Pointer; Himiko Uses New Order To Turn Into A Whale and Pin the Zero-Pointer; Kazuha Clears The Evacuation Zone and Tries To Disarm The Zero-Pointer (Cost: Two Actions)
3 - Pony Brings Himiko Up To The Zero-Pointer; Himiko Uses New Order To Turn Into A Whale and Pin the Zero-Pointer; Kazuha Clears The Evacuation Zone and Leads The Team (Cost: One Action)
B - Himiko and Pony
Pony Brings Himiko Up To The Zero-Pointer; Himiko Uses New Order To Turn Into A Whale and Pin the Zero-Pointer (Cost: Zero Points)
C - Himiko and Kazuha
Himiko Buffs Kazuha With New Order and Brings Her Up To The Whale, For Kazuha To Land The Killing Blow With the Electromagnetic Pulse (Cost: Two Points)
C - Just Himiko
Himiko Uses New Order To Turn Off The Zero-Pointer Using an Electromagnetic Pulse (Cost: Zero Points)
Himiko Uses New Order To Fly Up Into The Air And Crash Into The Zero-Pointer As A Whale (Cost: Zero Points)
D - Nobody; Just Avoid It
DECISION POINT #2: What Will Kazuha Do With The Remaining Time? (Cost: One Point Each)
A - Keep Going After Villians
B - Try And Evacuate Civilians
C - Run Away
D - There Is No Remaining Time (Already Spent Your Points in DP#1)
KAZUHA CHIBA-SHUZENJI CURRENT GRADE:
Villain Score: 34/?
Rescue Score: 5.5/60
Total Points: 39.5/?