not dead, just depressed *finger guns*

sorry this took so long to get out. with any luck i can get back into the groove soon enough once work and junk sorts out

VI.

Entrance Exam (IV)

Arc Theme: Hello, World! - Bump of Chicken

Ugh, assholes like these were the worst! Not only were they wasting her time right now, but they were seriously getting on her nerves with this little game they were playing! Coming to an exam just to sabotage other people from getting into a Hero Academy instead of trying to get accepted—who even did that!?

She threw another cherry bomb at the boy pursuing her, running backwards as she did so, but he just walked calmly along and kept up with her jog as he pointed to the right.

"Look over there," he drawled, like the childish game Asuka heard others play in class, and the cherry bomb was sent hurtling in the direction he pointed. It flew up high into the air, way above them, and it exploded just far enough away to avoid hitting anyone.

The explosion caused the boy to be swallowed up by a dust cloud in its wake, the small shockwave kicking up some, but he didn't seem deterred. He just ran and ran, until finally he caught up to Asuka and pointed to her with his finger.

"Look over there," he drawled again, this time pointing to his left. Asuka held her breath, felt the force shove her violently towards where he pointed.

She slammed into the wall of a small apartment complex with a pained grunt. While she was down and winded, he jogged over and snatched her badge from her jacket.

"Thanks for the fun!" he chirped at her. "Maybe they'll let you in the general courses after this."

Asuka couldn't say for sure how long she blacked out for after he said that. She knew the exam wasn't over, that everyone was still trying to outrun the students, but that didn't mean she had infinite time to figure something out. When she blearily opened her eyes, a headache pounding at her skull, the boy was long gone and so was her badge.

Asuka hissed and cradled her head. What was wrong with people, acting all sadistic like this? Being a piece of shit really just got some people's rocks off, didn't it?

It seemed to be within the blink of an eye that someone approached her again. Asuka bristled somewhat, prepared for yet another saboteur to make this day worse than it already was, but when the two smaller girls approached—one less willingly than the other—she noticed a lack of badge on both their jackets. Like her, they'd been robbed.

Asuka idly thought to herself that they were both cute, though in polar opposite ways. The smaller one, she was soft and reminded her of a cherub, all innocent and meek with her big, droopy eyes and tiny features. The other, whose skin was closer to Asuka's own mocha-coloured than the angelic girl's, had a sort of spunkiness to her where her companion didn't. Rounded face like the cherub, but the piscine features sharpened her in the areas that weren't as small. Asuka even caught sight of sharp teeth poking past her lips as she scowled at being dragged over by her wrist, and she let out an almost dry laugh as the cherub knelt in front of her.

A fish and a biblically inaccurate angel. She supposed they were better company than the last guy.

"How may I help you?" she slurred, and Asuka tried to keep from cringing at herself. Ugh, this was seriously getting on her nerves. She hadn't felt like this in a long time—not since, what, before the shit with Aemi went down? One would assume years of putting up with that kind of treatment would harden her skull a little.

"Are you alright?" the meek girl asked. She let go of the fish, her hands settling on her knees neatly as she squatted in front of Asuka. "He took our badges too, but he didn't throw us at a wall like you."

"I'm flattered," Asuka grunted. She moved to stand, wobbling only once, and dusted herself off. "Such a pain… Not you guys. The, uh. Other guy."

"Eating colossal ass tends to be painful," the fish deadpanned.

"Shinkai-san! You shouldn't call it that!"

No, that was definitely eating ass. Asuka felt a spot in her spine pop as she stretched her arms above her head.

Shinkai, the fish, shrugged and turned on her heel. She was clearly making to walk off, but Asuka wasn't having any of that. Mother didn't raise a— Well, mother didn't raise her. But she wasn't a quitter! Retribution needed to be had and Asuka was more than happy to deal it out. After all, it wasn't like the staff was stopping this bullshit from happening. Might as well take matters into her own hands and at least fail with her badge in her hands.

"Where do you think you're going?" Asuka demanded. Her voice dropped a few octaves, sounding more domineering than she usually tried to come off as, and Shinkai froze with an annoyed look on her face. Briefly, faintly, she swore she heard the fish mutter something about being troublesome.

"Back to the gate," Shinkai announced. "We're obviously not going to pass. I'm not in the mood to be ragdolled, either."

"Neither am I. Now get back here and help me deal some payback."

Shinkai gave her a disgusted look. But she didn't fight back. For her prickly personality, it seemed she wasn't as confrontational as she made herself look. Asuka smirked. Alright, just a thin layer of leave-me-alone to break through for that one and then she could work with what she had.

Shinkai clicked her tongue. She turned on her heel again and skulked back to where Asuka and the cherub stood, and she stuffed her webbed hands into her pockets with a pout. Round cheeks practically made her look like a pufferfish rather than an anglerfish. If not for the antenna sprouting from her forehead with the small bulb exposed, Asuka would've assumed her to be one just from that face alone.

With the fish on her side, even if barely, she gave the cherub an award-winning smile. The cherub shrank away, nervous, but didn't immediately decline when Asuka asked her for help.

"I'm Takishima Asuka," she introduced herself, practically boasting. "You're very welcome to call me Asuka-san, 'kay?"

"'Kay, Takishima," Shinkai deadpanned. The cherub rubbed her cheeks as though working herself up to say the rather familiar name, but ultimately failed in the end.

"It's nice to meet you, um… Takishima-chan. I'm Mugi. E—Eguchi Mugi. I'm in your care."

Cardinal eyes darted to Shinkai. The fish still had her cheeks puffed out in her pout as she kicked some of the dirt in front of her.

"Shinkai Mizuki. Don't call me Mizuki."

"'Kay, Mizuki-san!" Asuka chirped. Two could play at that game. "Please bear with me for this plan, you hear? We're on a time limit and I want my badge back. You guys can get yours back too while we're at it."

"Are you sure you just don't want a second helping of ass?" Mizuki gave her a blank stare as she spoke. It was pointedly ignored by Asuka as she looked to Mugi.

"Mugi-chan, what's your Quirk do? You probably saw mine, right? The cherry bombs?"

Mugi fiddled with her jacket and nodded. Asuka pushed her, "Well? How does yours work?"

It took a moment for Mugi to actually reply. Being so meek made her almost mute as she was pressed on the topic, and for a moment Asuka panicked that it would be something truly useless. Like making little bubbles kind of useless. Like making shoujo backgrounds a reality kind of useless.

The sentiment must have shown on her face, as Mugi shook her head and looked at the ground, head dipped entirely. Asuka let out a low breath, sighing almost. Alright, she supposed she could work with just Mizuki's Quirk, then.

"Her Quirk is spinning things," Mizuki grumbled. "Just say it outright."

Mugi nodded, still looking rather ashamed, but didn't refute the claim. Asuka nodded as well, contemplating how a Quirk like that could be used—but then Mugi picked up a small rock, barely even able to be called a pebble, and threw it up into the air. Just as it was about to land back in her palms, the rock stopped mid-air and began to spin—easy enough to see with how misshapen it was—and Asuka stared at it with mild interest.

"Maybe you could catch my cherry bombs," she mumbled. Mugi let out a little whine, clearly uncertain about doing that with something explosive, and she simply mumbled for Asuka to stand aside. As soon as Asuka took a big step closer to Mizuki, the rock shot away from Mugi's hands at high speeds and slammed into the wall Asuka had been thrown at. It shattered into many smaller, more fragile pebbles. "Oh. Oh I can use this. Mizuki-chan, your turn."

"Diddly-squat."

"Mizuki-chan, I won't ask again."

Mizuki sneered at her. "I'm not using my Quirk on the guy," she snapped.

The wall was up again. Asuka took the proverbial sledgehammer to it without mercy.

"If you want into this school, you need to work in a team. I'm just trying to give you that opportunity, Mizuki-chan." She crossed her arms over her chest and sneered back at Mizuki down her nose. Mizuki shrank in on herself a little, not nearly as noticeable as Mugi's own retreat. "Don't tell me you're going to be a failure at even that, Mizuki-chan. At working in a team?"

Mizuki gritted her teeth together so hard Asuka could hear them grinding. One slip and it would be so easy for Mizuki to tear open her lips with those things.

Asuka smiled brightly at her. She stepped closer, breaking into Mizuki's personal space, and she tilted her head innocently.

"Your Quirk, Mizuki-chan."

"Hey, hey, hey! No fair, no fair!" Yoyo kicked her legs out as Kiaria struggled to carry her through the air. "Give back those badges!"

"Please stay still, Yoyo-san!" Kiaria huffed, out of breath already from the struggle.

One of the masked students was running as fast as he could, weaving through the metropolitan setting desperately. He had a small bag with him, all filled with badges, and from what Yoyo could see from above, he wasn't alone. Another masked student was coming from the opposite direction, also with a bag, and they both were moving for a particular direction.

"Takami-san! Hurry, hurry!"

"I'm hurrying, really!"

They weren't the only ones chasing the boys, it seemed—the taller one was in pursuit by someone else on their own, the earth shifting and moving and attempting to drag the taller down. He just… kept going. He was a steamroller, Yoyo thought, but every train had to stop at some point!

(Were trains and steamrollers the same thing? She'd have to look it up later. She only knew the one pop culture joke where a villain shouts, Steamroller! all dramatic. That was a good show, too… She should watch it when she gets home for some nostalgia—)

Kiaria let out a squeak and swooped downwards, pulling Yoyo from her thoughts. A large clump of mud flew past where they'd just been gliding, crashing into a building with a wet flop and splashing all over the place. Yoyo gasped, absolutely crushed by the friendly fire that had been enabled, but she wouldn't let it stop her!

"Hey, Takami-san! Line me up with the pot shots! I can shoot 'em back down!"

Kiaria was struggling even more, still descending despite her attempt to keep an ironclad grip on Yoyo's hands. "I—I'm sorry, Yoyo-san, I can't!" she panicked.

"Ah! Then keep heading for the ground!" Yoyo shook her chest about, hoping to expose the star over her heart to the open air a bit better through her clothes. As soon as a button popped open, Yoyo grinned and prepared to set her arsenal to use. "I'll cover us and aim for the baddies!"

She only had snacks at her disposal, but she could restock in time! All the useful stuff might get her in trouble, she thought as she lined up the two masked students in her sights. And everyone did say heroes preferred when they could take people into custody without hurting them, so maybe her snack reserve was the best solution anyway!

"I've got just the thing for a Taiyaki Turret!" Yoyo proclaimed with a manic laugh. She didn't fire the small, run of the mill taiyaki sold on the street and in frozen packets—Yoyo had a stash of massive ones, the size of real fish caught in a pond.

It was no small amount that she shot down at the two students. Shooting them at high velocities, the massive taiyaki slammed into one of the students and knocked them to the ground easily. They let out a shout, confused and stunned, but the shouts stopped when they seemed to get back up and start running again. Yoyo pouted, but they were closer to the ground now and some of the badges had at least fallen from the bag.

The grip on her hands began to falter. Yoyo looked back up at Kiaria, smiling nervously, and squeaked, "Ah?"

Kiaria's face was turning blue from the strain of trying to hold the heavier girl up when she was already too weak to carry smaller people.

"Y—Yoyo-san," she wheezed through her teeth. "Forgive me."

Her grip finally gave out. Yoyo plummeted.

"No biggie!" she shouted back as she descended.

She expected some injuries, honestly. It wasn't as high as it could've been, the spot she fell from, but Kiaria was still trying to do her best to keep Yoyo afloat. It was a shame she didn't stuff a bunch of pillows into her chest before coming here, she thought. They'd break her fall super soft.

Oh well. No steamroller for her today. She was certainly going to replenish her supply of taiyaki, but a broken leg would force everything else to wait—the taiyaki would easily be delivered by her dear father. His Quirk was perfectly tailored for such a thing and even made most of the food she kept in her snack reserves.

Just as Yoyo expected to hit the ground, a male voice shouted out from below. Yoyo glanced down, eyes wide, and she was ready to ask what was going on—even if no one heard her—but then she landed, rather harshly, in the arms of one of the masked students. He grunted with effort as he kept his stance even, clearly straining his muscles to keep from dropping her, and it was easy to tell underneath his sports clothes how buff he was. Wow, she thought. The students at Zenshi were beefy when they got into it!

She couldn't see his face, but she felt him relax when he confirmed he caught her in one piece. It wasn't the same one she hit with the taiyaki; he would've had red bean paste on him if he was, she told herself. This must have been the one the applicant throwing mud was chasing!

"My hero!" she cheered. She even threw her hands up in celebration and grinned.

"You be more careful now," the student scolded her, even if it was light-hearted. "If you'd landed wrong, your neck might've broken. Your parents would be really sad if that happened."

"Aw!" Yoyo beamed at him then, touched by his concern. "That was really nice of you! I think you're gonna be a popular hero!"

And then, without hesitation, she shot high-speed rounds of hardened itotemari candy at his face.

His mask shattered after just one second of being pelted with the hard candy, and then it was hitting him square in the face and even landing in his mouth at times as he tried to figure out what to do. Eventually his cheeks bloated out, small bruises forming on his face and vanishing as quickly as they appeared, and he dropped Yoyo to finally clutch at his throat and try to hack up the candies she'd shot at him.

Yoyo gave him a gleeful wink and pose before snatching his bag and running back in the direction Kiaria had let her go in.

It didn't take long to find the blond girl. She was huffing and puffing, struggling to catch her breath and shaking her hands with a wince. But she was hiding as best she could and Yoyo was very proud when she finally found her.

(She wouldn't say out loud that those massive red wings were the giveaway there.)

"Ta-ka-mi-san!" she cheered with each skip to Kiaria. The blonde looked over at her, alarmed, but soon let out a wheeze of relief when she saw Yoyo unharmed—and with the bag of badges from one of the students. "Good work, good work!"

"In… Incredible, Yoyo-san," Kiaria panted. "H—How—?"

"Candy Catapult!" Yoyo declared. She held up the bag and giggled. "Let's give these back to everyone, now!"

After a brief moment to finally catch her breath, Kiaria stood back up and let out a long, steeling breath. "Let me, Yoyo-san," she insisted. "You did all the work getting it back, but I can move faster in the air with something as light as a bag. I can send some feathers out with badges, too, so less people get disqualified."

Yoyo stared at her, eyes wide and jaw dropped. "Wooooow, just like your dad?" she marvelled.

"Y—Yeah. We have the same Quirk. Didn't you notice?" And Kiaria quickly gasped and waved her hands about. "N—Not in a mean way or anything! Most people assume when they see the wings instead of asking! You surprised me!"

Yoyo didn't mind. She knew Kiaria wasn't being mean when she said that. Yoyo knew what being mean sounded like, after all. So she just giggled at Kiaria and bounced on her heels with a nod.

"No fuss, no fuss," she reassured her. "Are you sure you don't want help? I may not be good at much but I can shoot these bad boys where they need to go!"

The blonde shook her head. "No, no, you did so much already! Let me help how I can. Besides… There's still one more person with a bag of badges, and I think you're the best to help the other applicant with them," she said. Kiaria took the bag from Yoyo and let out a breath, almost a sigh. "You're going to do great with the exam, Yoyo-san. So make sure you get put in 1-A while you're at it, okay? You deserve that honour."

It was… really weird to say. Yoyo was still smiling widely as Kiaria flew off, the first lot of badges attached to some feathers she dislodged, but the words weren't quite sinking in for her. What had Yoyo done to earn a spot in the top class? She was just doing the right thing, after all. It wasn't fair that Kiaria was sounding so disappointed, too—she deserved to be in 1-A as much as Yoyo did, if she thought Yoyo was doing that good a job!

Once Kiaria was out of sight, Yoyo finally blinked and looked back over her shoulder. Usually when things confused her, it was better to not think about them for a while. She could just wait till Kiaria was back again to ask, anyway, and she was sure she'd see the other blonde again soon. She was a hard worker, and if she was anything like her dad, she'd crush it as a hero!

Yoyo nodded to herself, pumping herself up with praise for the other girl. Right then. If Kiaria expected her to do her best, then she should do it! Yoyo turned on her heel with a grin, practically sparkling as bright as the star on her chest, and she sprinted off back in the direction of the taiyaki debris.

He was starting to get annoyed.

The trail of taiyaki footprints was the best indicator he got of where to go, and Tora was sprinting as fast as he could with the aid of his Quirk. Earth shifted beneath his feet, practically letting him slide as he pleased along melting concrete that softened around him, and he laughed with a hint of stress beginning to seep in. All of the badges in that bag that was dropped, and his was the one badge not included. Of course it wasn't included.

He felt bad for the blond that had fired the taiyaki and wasted all that food for his sake, but he was grateful all the same. She and that girl—Hawks' kid, right?—they would be able to handle just one of these guys on their own. That left Tora with the smaller one who dropped shiny rocks in his wake whenever he took a hit. He could handle some rocks.

The trail led into a small walkway, further into the housing area and away from the change in scenery. He was trying to lose Tora in the maze of buildings, but it was going to take more than some concrete to lose Tora. If anything, the guy was making it easier for Tora to catch him.

Tora moved closer to one building, his laugh gaining its pep back, and he propelled himself up onto the roof with the warped concrete. He landed on tiles with a small grunt, regained his composure, and then he was back to following the trail. From above, he could see the student easier—hood drawn back and mask pulled off, he was clearly struggling to keep running as he gripped Tora's badge tightly.

Jumping from rooftops was harder than heroes made it look, though. Tora stumbled at one point, tiles falling to the ground. They landed close enough to the running student that, when he turned to look back, the green-haired boy screamed, "Fuck!" and began running even faster. He was heading towards a mock-subway tunnel at the end of the street.

Fuck, indeed.

Tora picked up some tiles and bundled them against his chest. He took off sprinting across rooftops again and prayed he didn't hit the student directly.

His hands warmed up and began to melt the clay tiles easily. The hot mud gathered up in his hands, almost being dropped as he stumbled again—but Tora threw back his arms, right as he jumped from one roof, and he lobbed the heated ball of mud right at the guy. It flew towards him, almost for sure about to make contact; Tora could scream if he wasn't trying to catch his breath and warp the concrete as he landed. But the boy dropped to the ground, huddled in a ball, and the mud splattered to the ground just above his head.

When he stood back up, staring at the steam rising from the puddle of mud, he looked at Tora with an almost offended expression.

"Oops?" Tora tried.

"Oops!?"

Both took off running again at the same time. Tora was closer now, able to keep up, and all it took was a stumble from the other boy before Tora could make good on his namesake.

He pounced as the boy tried to move towards the mock-subway. The taiyaki on his shoes was clearly still causing slips, and it was the opening that let Tora catch him at last. Tora crashed into him, the two boys rolling along the ground and down the subway stairs with surprised shouts, and when they finally, finally came to a stop, Tora sat on top of the boy and took his badge.

His tail was swinging from side to side in joy, the little pointed tip almost kicking up dust from the ground as it did so. Underneath him, the other boy hissed in pain and tried to wiggle out from Tora's weight.

Little purple stones were littered around them, a majority of them having rolled out from under the boy's shirt. Tora pocketed his badge proudly and, with an easy-going smile, poked the boy on the forehead. It earned him an indignant blush mixed with high levels of rage, and Tora had to hold back his laugh. The boy even blushed mint-green, he noted idly.

"Tag," he chirped. "Now you're it."

The boy swatted his hand away. He let out another pained sound as he tried to reach under his shirt to pull out more stones. Tora frowned. If he had to guess, the stones were something he coated himself in. Probably a protective layer of skin. They were weak, though, so why use it excessively? He was pretty sure so much was digging into his skin by now, especially if he'd used the layer to break his fall.

"It's a neat idea," he said to the boy. He lifted the shirt somewhat—catching sight of what appeared to be some kind of wrap just below his chest, and Tora quickly slammed the shirt back down. A bra? Oh. Was this pretty boy a girl? Oh. This was unfortunate.

"Get off," the maybe-girl growled. Tora rolled off in an instant. He didn't hold out a hand to help them up. Instead he just wrapped his tail around his leg and cleared his throat.

"It—It was a neat idea!" he tried again. "But your skin is way too weak. You gotta play it safer, y'know?"

It earned him a disgusted expression. Tora blinked innocently.

"I don't need a lecture," they grumbled. As they stood up, shirt not entirely back in place, Tora caught sight of some purple stones falling from their side. As each gem fell off skin, he saw red welts and sores beginning to form from their cavities.

Tora sucked in a breath.

"Is it hurting you?" he blurted out. "It's not bad if it is! A lot of people aren't suited for their Quirks. I'm just surprised you were allowed to participate—not that it's bad, again! It's actually kind of admirable. But that looks like it hurts a ton."

"And they say chivalry is dead," they scoffed. They fixed their clothes proper, let out a breath, and waved a hand at Tora dismissively. "Keep the damn badge. You're way too energetic compared to some of the others."

Tora beamed at them. He moved closer, leaned down a little to meet their eyes. There wasn't much height between them, but he still had to tilt his head to feel equally level. "Hey, hey, I didn't see you on the roster! Are you a transfer student? What's Zenshi like?"

"Dunno. I'm a recommendation."

Tora blinked at them again. "You're a what?"

"Deku recommended me."

Deku? As in, the kid that trained under his mother when he was in UA? That Deku? Tora let out an impressed sound and crowded even closer.

"How did you meet Deku? Why did Deku recommend you? I didn't know he had a girl with jewel skin for a trainee!"

They froze. They glanced up at Tora. Their expression hardened into something beyond anger.

"I'm not his trainee," they said, voice remarkably calm despite their expression. "And I'm not a girl."

Before Tora knew what was happening, a very hard force slammed him between the legs. Tora could feel his soul eject from his body as the jewel-hardened leg kicked his crotch, going right for his own jewels, and he dropped to his knees with a weak squeal.

The not-girl backed up and fixed his shirt, dusting off the last of the purple gems. He looked down at Tora with disdain, lips pursed tightly, and Tora was absolutely transfixed.

"My name's Kousaki Teruki, and I'm not a girl," he repeated. "Don't you even think of forgetting it."

He stormed off, leaving Tora behind and writhing on the ground with a groan. Footsteps vanished into the distance, Tora's badge still in his possession, and all he could do was wait for someone to collect him as he let the pain subside. There had to be just ten or so minutes left of the practical exam, he thought, so it was probably for the best that Teruki left him alone after that. At least no one else could take his badge.

Tora let out a pained sigh and smiled despite himself. Teruki told him to remember those details—that meant they'd likely spend more time together after getting into Zenshi, right? Ah, did he make his first friend here before even starting classes? Tora was so proud of himself. Teruki was sort of intense, but that was okay! Spunky people were cool in his book!

He was totally like an ice prince, he thought as the pain subsided. And it was that train of thought that started a downward spiral for Tora. Tora liked princely boys. Tora liked people who could stand up for themselves. Tora liked helping people even if they could stand up for themselves. He stared up at the ceiling of the mock-subway and, once again despite himself, let out a dreamy sigh. Teruki… Teru… Teru-chi…

His Teru-chi.

"I'm gonna make sure Teru-chi flourishes," he muttered darkly. "No matter what."

"Let the record show I hate this plan."

"Your hatred is noted. Now go hide."

Mizuki repeated the response sardonically. Asuka didn't even bother scolding her, apparently smug about having Mizuki trapped under her thumb at the moment. This fucking sucked.

Why couldn't they just leave her alone? Why did Mugi have to drag her over and see if the redhead was okay? Why did Asuka have to be like that? Mizuki wasn't exactly happy to give up, but what the hell else could they do in this situation? Even if she could get the badge back, she'd rather do it on her own. She was self-sufficient enough—people got in the way too much.

No, she thought as she hid in the shadows. No, it wasn't other people who got in the way. Mugi and Asuka were very clearly not getting in her way, and Mizuki knew exactly how much trouble it was going to be for her to go along with the plan.

Mizuki reached up, fingers brushing her exposed antenna, and she chewed at her lip. There were too many ways for this to go wrong. Mizuki was probably going to be punished if that happened—why wouldn't they punish the one who produced the toxins? It'd be a hell of a villain origin story, she tried to tell herself. No one else could say they were arrested during an entrance exam for accidentally killing someone.

She cradled her face in her hands. She groaned. From her hiding spot, she could see everything; the small area that Asuka had picked out to corner the asshole in, the path he was audibly running down with chuckles and insults. She couldn't see Asuka and Mugi, but that also meant it was possible she herself wouldn't be seen as well. Were these badges worth it, she asked herself? Mugi didn't seem entirely invested in the plan, strung along by Asuka, but Mizuki could just run and abandon them before things got messy.

It would be so easy to not come out of hiding. She would mess up the plan anyway. Mizuki was far from reliable enough to do even the simplest of tasks.

It would be so easy…

"Hey, Poi-bastard!"

Mizuki closed her eyes and sighed. No, it wouldn't be easy. She almost forgot who she would be making an enemy of if she didn't do her part. It was less of a hassle to deal with someone who flung things around rather than someone who made explosions.

The newly-dubbed Poi-bastard had come into view, and as soon as he had Asuka was out of her hiding place with a kind of confidence Mizuki struggled to understand. This girl got her ass kicked not even ten minutes ago over her badge, and now with some hairbrained scheme she was acting like some detective about to discover some bombshell evidence in a case? It made zero sense where all the bravado came from. A case of faking it till she made it? She could see Asuka being fake in a lot of ways, she snidely told herself.

"Oh? Back for round two?" Poi-bastard drawled. He slowed to a stop, hands out of his pockets and splayed open. "Or have you fallen head over heels for me already? I know, girls love a guy with a strong Quirk. I had my eye on you too, before the exam started."

Gross. Mizuki needed a shower after this. Some bleach, too.

Asuka let out a sound that confirmed she was equally disgusted. "Not even if you were the last man on earth," she fired back. "I'm here for my badge. Hand it over."

Mizuki could see him smirk and shrug. He didn't make any movements to hand the badge over, not even when Asuka created some cherry bombs that floated around her.

"You're lucky I like it when they play 'hard to get'." That was all he could say before Asuka sent them hurtling towards him. She broke into a sprint as she did, rushing at him as he calmly and lazily sent them flying back at her again. Asuka didn't miss a beat, skidding to a halt and, with a pained grunt, throwing them above her.

Mizuki caught sight of one being "dismissed" like the others—appearing to have disappeared to avoid an explosion, but instead being sent through the small gap in the shadows Mugi had taken to hiding in. Mizuki swallowed a thick lump in her throat. This was too goddamn risky, she kept telling herself. If Mugi missed the guy when she fired the cherry back out, it was going to hit Mizuki instead. Mizuki did not come here to have her ass kicked and get hit with an explosion to boot.

His usual mantra rang out, his finger pointed towards Asuka. Mizuki watched, stunned, as a force seemed to collide with the girl—the impact point looked to be her stomach, and Mizuki paid close attention to how Asuka took the hit and held back a dry heave. The material of her clothes didn't shift much, not beyond the size of a fist trying to push through a wall, and Mizuki steeled herself. Maybe the whole movements were like hands. Possibly only being able to move or throw things that could fit in his hands? It all really rested in the force of the impact, she told herself, which explained how such a small force had thrown Asuka around like that.

Asuka seemed to notice it too. She stumbled to her feet, wiping at her lip with a smirk.

"Hey, it's kinda funny how you deflect my cherries," she said. "They all end up bunching together instead of moving at the same time. Like when you sweep things off a table."

"Really? Never noticed, sweetie."

"I bet you don't even have to say that stupid game gimick each time, either."

Poi-bastard paused. "It's not stupid," he scoffed. "It's quirky. It's not stupid."

And there was the first nerve Asuka could poke the shit out of, Mizuki thought. Maybe she could watch him break down from wounded pride and never need to get involved. That'd be ideal.

"Let's see… I think you have a Quirk that everyone thinks is bland. I think you tried to make it fancier and throw people off with it."

"My Quirk isn't bland!"

"Oh, I'm sure. I totally trust the guy who tried to flirt with me by saying he had a strong Quirk. Compensating for something, Romeo?"

Mizuki clamped a hand over her mouth and stifled a laugh. Okay, Asuka was alright when she wasn't turning this shit on Mizuki. Poi-bastard was practically turning blue now that he forgot how to breathe.

Asuka let out a mocking laugh. "What's the matter? Thought you liked it when girls played hard to get?"

More cherries summoned. Rather than throwing them right at him, she scattered them in every direction. Both Asuka and Poi-bastard were stuck in the minefield, Mugi and Mizuki just out of the splash zone and still free to execute the plan. It wasn't the worst thing she expected from Asuka, especially with the goading. Maybe she knew Poi-bastard might slip up if she got on his nerves—people tended to do that when they got agitated, after all. Unless your Quirk dealt with emotions somehow, you couldn't exactly concentrate like normal.

Asuka was preening as she approached him, almost daring him to throw around every single cherry. "It's pretty underwhelming if this is your limit," she drawled. "You talk a big act but you hate being told to put your money where your mouth is."

His brow twitched. He motioned wordlessly with his hand, pointing at Asuka. The cherries behind him zoomed past and crashed into the other cherries behind her, detonating as they missed the girl entirely.

"If this is how you get when a confident girl doesn't grovel at your feet, then you totally aren't my type," Asuka went on. "I don't date beta male cucks."

Whatever he screeched at her, Mizuki didn't hear it. He just went rabid on the spot, sprinting towards her with his hands outstretched. He was totally going for the low blows if he got his hands on her, and Asuka grinned at the sight of his composure being lost. Poi-bastard didn't notice that, as Asuka threw the other cherries at him and kept his attention, they moved closer and closer to the opening where Mugi hid with the stray cherry. Each explosion was small and easy to sidestep, the redhead giggling now, and Mizuki held her breath as she waited for the signal.

It would be so easy to ignore her and let Mugi handle it all. It wasn't her business. It wasn't.

But the more she saw this stupid plan in action and Asuka's confidence radiate the area, the more she began to think that maybe it would work. Maybe she wouldn't accidentally kill the guy with her involvement. Mizuki's hands twitched, the webbing catching her attention. Maybe she could take a certain measure to make sure she didn't hurt him too badly.

She took off her shoes and made quick work of the socks. With both bunched up in her hands, she could only pray the rocks on the ground didn't cut her feet too harshly when it was time to run out.

When Poi-bastard was right where Asuka had started, the last of the cherries detonated all at once from their places. The smokescreen was enough to count as a signal, but Asuka still made sure to yell out, "Now!"

Mizuki sprinted out from her hiding spot. All she had to do was crash into him. Just run right into him and let the bulb burst. It was the world's easiest task, Mizuki thought, and if he was distracted enough, it would be child's play to close the distance.

Some of the smoke cleared. He could hear her running, eyes wildly locking onto her. He turned his body to Mizuki, finger raised and pointed in her direction. She winced, preparing to feel the impact of whatever his Quirk was any second now—and then Mugi let loose the cherry. It let out a small boom as it was shot out of the shadows at high speeds. It crashed into his back, detonating upon impact, and he was flung forward with a stunned expression.

He landed right on top of Mizuki. She barely made it in time to jam the socks in his mouth and keep him from swallowing the toxins.

The bulb burst right onto his lower face and neck, covering him in the verrucotoxin stored within. He shoved Mizuki away, stumbling back as he gagged on her socks, and he raised his hand again at her. He wasn't able to do much, though—her toxins worked fast, even if just absorbed through skin.

The swelling happened first, his neck ballooning and turning red. It probably felt like an allergic reaction more than anything, and not long after came the muscle fatigue. Poi-bastard dropped to his knees, barely able to hold his arms up, and it was a miracle he could spit the socks out to take a deep breath before his jaw went slack.

"B…" Poi-bastard all but collapsed onto the ground entirely, faceplanting the earth. "Bitch…"

"Really not the worst I could be called for that," Mizuki told him. She reached up and felt the antenna, and she let out a small breath as she felt the popped bulb reform itself and slowly begin to fill up once more. Well, that was another half an hour of peace she could settle for. It always took a while to fill up again when she wasn't stressed.

Mugi came out from the shadows and let out a cheer. She seemed almost in disbelief, complimenting both Asuka and Mizuki for their roles and whatnot. Mizuki could only stare at her, expression dry and eyes glancing at Poi-bastard every so often. Man, not even soft little Mugi had any remorse for his ass.

"Alright, ladies, get your badges. We can put him in the recovery position afterwards and let someone know he's here." Asuka bent down over him and pulled open his jacket. He had a whole stash of badges pinned to the inside, the asshole clearly having fun with his little rampage. "We might have time to give the rest of these back too."

"Hard pass," Mizuki deadpanned. Asuka threw her badge to her, and Mizuki caught it lazily. "Have fun doing that yourself."

"Party pooper," Asuka cooed. But she didn't push her. She just gave the girl a dazzling smile and flicked her hair. "But I'll leave you be. You deserve some rest for your hard work. Good job, Mizuki-chan!"

Mizuki glared at her. She didn't bother to help her and Mugi put the boy in the recovery position.

It was pretty much set in stone that they'd failed, she told herself, and even if Asuka hadn't passed either, she hoped to whoever was listening that they didn't end up in the same backup school as consolation. That was enough stress and peer pressure to last a lifetime.