Unsurprisingly, all of her classmates had passed the first part of the exam. To say Sakura was relieved would be an understatement. For some unknown reason, she found herself wanting to progress with the rest of them. "Sakura! You do not know how happy I am to see you!" Mina exclaimed as soon as she had set her eyes upon Sakura. "I didn't doubt it for a sec that you'd pass," Ochaco said with a good natured smile. "You think too highly of me," Sakura said humbly. They really did think too highly of her. "Awwww, do you see how her eyes are literally shining?! She's like the cutest little thing ever!" Mina cooed as she pinched Sakura's whiskered cheeks. "Careful or you'll ruin my image," the other girl said, though she was smiling.
"Did Shoto give you any problems?" Ochaco asked. If she had eyebrows, Sakura would've raised them. "I mean, he's not very welcoming especially working with another person. So I'm curious, considering your last encounters with each other," the Uraraka explained. Their last training session where she had almost killed the boy. "Well, he wasn't openly despising me but I think we worked just fine. I can't judge a book by its cover, there's something more to him than what we see on the outside," the fox explained. "If you put it like that then I guess he's not as bad as he seems," Ochaco commented. "Though I do wonder why he has a burn scar on the left side of his face yet he has a fire quirk," Sakura thought out loud. "Let's save that for later. Here comes the others," Mina spoke.
"The second and final part of the exam is conducting rescue maneuvers. You'll be scouring the battlefield for survivors and getting them out of danger. You'll meet different types of situations and we'll be gauging to see how well you carry out rescue operations," Yokumiru told them. "The senior citizens and children you'll be rescuing have Provisional Heroes Licenes and have gone through all sorts of training therefore they're experts at rescue operations. The senior citizens are disguised as injured citizens, they're all part of Help Us Company," he added. "Your rescue activities will be scored on a point system, by the time the rescue operations are over, examinees who exceed the average value mark pass. You all have a ten minute break until the start of the exam," he finished with a barely concealed yawn.
"Who are they?" Sakura asked as she pointed to the group which had made their way over to her classmates. "Those are students from Shiketsu High School though it seems they aren't here to fight," Mina replied as she stretched her back muscles. "Does your back hurt?" she asked her. "Hurt? My back is killing me," the acid user grumbled. "Let me help," she said as moved around her, standing behind her and placing her hands on her back. Medial chakra flickered to life, working its way in her system as it untangled and loosened her muscles. "How are you feeling now?" Sakura asked her as she retracted her hands. "It doesn't hurt as much as it used to," Mina said as she let out a sigh of relief. "Good. I would have finished entirely but I have to conserve my energy for the exam," the fox spoke with a smile. "I appreciate it, don't sweat about it," came the reply.
Sakura looked around for Shoto. They hadn't spoken since finishing the exam together. She figured she would ask him if he needed healing. With that thought in mind, she made her way over to the dual quirk user, finding him engaged in a conversation with a student she had heard the others call Inasa. She stopped behind Shoto as she heard their words.
"Did I do something to bother you?" Shoto asked with a blank expression. Inasa looked at Shoto, his features never changing. But Sakura felt it in his chakra before he even spoke: pure contempt. "I'll get straight to the point. I hate both you and your father, you sicken me," he spoke with cold eyes. Sakura couldn't hold back the gasp that left her mouth. Why would anyone hate Endeavor? He was like, the best Hero ever. "Whilst your demeanor may have changed but your eyes haven't. You have the same eyes as him," Inasa added. Sakura took it as her cue to intervene. "Technically, it's same eye since his other eye color is grey, not blue," she said as she stood protectively in front of Shoto. "Secondly, I think it's pretty stupid to create bad blood during an exam. It won't be just me against you if you try to do anything funny," she warned. "Thirdly, you can't judge someone basing on their eyes. Get to know them before making a conclusion, as they say, don't judge a book by its cover," she finished, her eyes drilling holes into Inasa. Inasa spluttered as he struggled to think of a comeback.
Sakura turned to look at Shoto. "Are you okay? Do you need any healing?" she said as her chakra infused hands hovered in front of his face. "No, I'm okay," he said as he grasped her wrists, pulling them down. "Are you sure? You might have an internal injury or-" "I said I'm okay. Trust me," Shoto stressed. She looked at him as if she didn't trust his words. "Okay if you say so," she relented, though her forehead was pinched in frustration. The sound of laughter caused Sakura to turn around, looking at Inasa.
"Woah, I didn't know any girl would be dumb enough to want to date this freak," he said as he wiped imaginary tears off his eyes. "Excuse me?" She had the decency to look offended. "Is he treating you well Whiskers?" he asked, a mean smirk on his face. "Take back your words right now before I make you," she warned as her eyes flashed red. "Oooh, kitty's got claws. I'm scared," he said, feigning trembling.
In the blink of an eye, Sakura had closed the distance between them and grabbed him by his collar, pulling him close to her face. A whooshing sound was heard and she could feel the weight of her nine tails. Her killing intent spiked around her as she squeezed his collar tighter. "I really don't appreciate you making fun of me or my classmates. I have more than enough ways to make that clear," she growled in Kurama's voice.
Both of Inasa's hands grabbed her hand, trying to pry it off. "Sakura," Shoto's voice sounded behind her. As if breaking out of a trance, she released her grip on the larger boy. Inasa dropped to the ground, coughing heavily. Sakura turned to look at the dual quirk user behind her. "I..." her words faltered at Inasa's next words. "I guess Endeavor isn't the only demon around here," he wheezed out. She remained rooted to the ground as she felt his chakra signature leave them. She blinked rapidly as she tried to hold her tears back.
Demon. Demon. Demon.
How she hated that word. She clenched her fists tighter as she took deep breaths, hoping that her panic attack would subside. She wasn't a demon. She was a human. She hated everything. She hated everyone -
She almost jumped when she felt a hand brush her furred cheeks. She snapped her head up to look at Shoto who had also frozen, his hand on resting on her cheek. He looked alarmed for a moment before his expression morphed into determination. He gingerly wiped under her eyes, removing the tears which had been hanging precariously on her eyelashes.
"You looked like you were about to cry," he said as he retracted his hand. His eyes roamed over her figure in an assessing manner. "I think it's best if you keep your tails for this exam. They might come in handy," he commented. "Let's go," he said. However, she remained rooted to her spot, staring at him as if he'd grown a second head. Barely restraining an eye roll, he grabbed her hand and pulled her to where the other examinees where gathered. Though he wore a cool facade but his head was buzzing with a lot of questions. Why did Inasa hate him and why did Sakura defend him?
Izuku, who had been watching the whole ordeal from a distance, was gaping like a fish out of water. "What in the world just happened?" he asked himself as he felt himself start to sway. "Hey, are you okay? You don't look so well," Ochaco said as she appeared beside him with a concerned expression. Izuku jumped, almost bumping into her. "I-I'm fine," he stammered as tried to create distance between them. "Are you sure? Your face is all red, maybe you have a fever," she said as she placed a hand on his forehead which caused his face to redden even further. "Woah, you're hot," she marvelled before her face turned red as well at the implication of her statement.
She withdrew her hand as if it had been burned. "L-Let's go. The exam is about to start," she stuttered before rushing away. Izuku's heart pounded in his ear, as if to was lodged there. He placed a hand to his chest, feeling his erreatic heartbeat. He gulped, locking away the events which had transpired in the last five minutes to the back of his mind. It wouldn't do to be in an exam when his mind was emotionally perturbed.
Sakura decided to work alone for the rescue operations as she cleared her mind. The word demon brought an unpleasant feeling. Whilst she didn't remember much but the feeling of it was enough to make her cry on the spot. And that moment with Shoto. 'No! I can't think about that now,' she thought as she shook her head furiously. Her heartbeat was still frantic. She silently thanked Kurama for not speaking.to her during the exam. She didn't want to become agitated especially when she was in such an emotionally vulnerable state.
The first victims she encountered were two teenagers, a boy and girl. From how they were talking, it seemed as though they were a couple. "Please help us, we're scared," the girl cried as she clung to the boy's hand desperately. The boy's leg was stuck under a large slab of cement. "Everything will be alright. What are your names?" she asked them, sounding as assuring as she could. "My name is Ami and this is my boyfriend Daisuke-"
" Forehead! Forehead! Forehead!"
The girls chanted as they danced around Sakura who was crying in the middle. It was normal for her ever since she started going to the Academy. Ami and her friends made sure that they teased her relentlessly about her oversized forehead.
"Hush girls! I've got a better one! This one is the name that everyone calls her," the purple-haired girl sneered with a smirk. "Tell us Ami, what is it?" her friends urged her. Ami smirked even wider. "It's demon," she told them. All the girls burst into laughter.
"Demon! Demon! Demon!" they chanted as threw dirt at her. Sakura could only cry, the sound of the fox laughing maniacally in her ear making it sound worse.
"-okay?"
Sakura snapped out of her reverie. Her cheeks felt wet. "I'm sorry for zoning out on you," she said as she tried to smile. "I'm going to move this slab. Please hold your boyfriend so that he doesn't move. I don't want to mess with his injuries," she said. The girl nodded in determination. Sakura grabbed the slab with her bare hands and heaved it off the boy. She looked for a spot to throw away the rock before chunking it away. She looked at Daisuke's leg whose bones had been crushed entirely. "The bones in his leg have been crushed entirely from the knee going downwards. I'm going to put them together before going to the first aid centre where you'll receive further treatment. Is that okay with you?" she said as she looked at the couple. They nodded in agreement.
She activated her healing chakra, focusing on mending his bones such that they wouldn't be in too much of a dire state. After twenty minutes, she stopped. "We have to hurry to the first aid center. I've put him out of the danger zone," she spoke as she wiped her brow. Just then, an explosion sounded knocking them off their feet. "That's sounds like a villain!" Ami shrieked. Sakura looked at where the explosion had come from. She created a clone. "My clone will take you. I have to engage with the villain and rescue other victims," she told them.
"Will my boyfriend be okay?" Ami asked tearfully. "He will," she replied confidently. "You make a good hero," Daisuke spoke for the first time. Sakura was taken aback. "Thank you," she replied with a smile. She nodded to her clone who Ami motioned Ami to get on her back whilst she carries Daisuke bridal style. With a shared glance, the two Sakuras went their paths.
I'm sorry for not updating in such a long time. I promise to try and update faster. Read and review.
Tozoonana
AfricanFire.
