[EVENT] - THE U.A. ENTRANCE EXAM

Keiji thought to himself as she spoke. “Aww, she hopes I got in! She’s cool AND nice.” Having taken her teasing as a compliment, Keiji keeps his big, dumb grin. “Ah, so you finished in less than 30 minutes? Well, you’re in for sure! Not only that, but five sapphires means you were going all in on rescuing people!”

He continued to listen as she hammered in his need to improve. He began to speak in a more calm manner, but keep his optimistic smile. “You’re right. Heck, I even ran my quirk all out of juice if I’m being honest! I want to get in to prove that I can get better! And if I don’t get in, there’s not much to do except try again. I really hope it doesn’t come to that, but I’ll do what I have to to become a hero!” He let out a chuckle. Keiji was worried, but he convinced himself that it would work out in the end one way or another. His focus turned back to Yuri. Her cool demeanor and obvious talent inspired Keiji to better himself even more. He brought his arm out for a handshake. “Well, I hope I make it so that we can be classmates, Yuri!"

Shizuka grinned as they shook on their promise. It seemed like she'd knocked Izumi out of anything that might have been troubling, as she was now returning Shizuka's smile. Seeing Izumi's smile made Shizuka happy. She had a nice smile, and Shizuka liked little more than making other people smile, one way or another. She was also happy to hear Izumi agree to her promise. She was eager to become a great hero, and even if Izumi's reasons for coming to U.A. were different than hers, Shizuka could tell that she would make a great hero too. And she knew that, by working together, the two of them could push each other even further.

Then, Shizuka glanced down at Izumi's foot as it glowed green, "Oh, right!" she exclaimed suddenly, "I never even asked you. That must be your quirk, right, Izumi-chan?" In the heat of the exam, Shizuka hadn't given too much thought to Izumi's comment about helping her if she got hurt, but now they had time, Shizuka's curiosity took over, and she had to know all about what Izumi could do, "How does it work?"


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Yuri at least had to admire Keiji's level of sincerity. Her teasing barely seemed to affect him at all, and he seemed optimistic and determined to be a hero despite how close he had cut it. Maybe she could let up on the teasing just a little bit. "Yes, well, I must admit that I 'ran out of juice' myself. I rely on sun, soil, and water to fuel my quirk's energy, but that maze had none of those things, and so I was running on reserves. I only just barely managed to get through with what energy I had saved up," she explained, "but working in less than ideal situations is part of being a hero, I suppose." Then, she turned to Keiji and accepted his handshake, "Yes, I look forward to that," she said, trying to sound sincere for once. "Anyway, we should probably be returning," she pointed out. She stretched her legs down until they touched the ground, then stood up from the wall and shrunk until she was on the ground in her normal size. Deciding she'd been far too nice to the boy in the past minute, she made no effort to bring Keiji down with her, "Catch you later," she called with a wave, her voice filled with sweetness about as real as Splenda.

She began to walk away, leaving Keiji to panic about how he was going to get down, then, after getting about a quarter of the way across the yard, she tossed her arm over her shoulder, reaching all the way back to where he was sitting, grabbed him, and set him down on the ground next to the wall, before walking off again with a playful smirk. She just wanted to give him a little scare. With a kid like that, who knew what he'd do to get himself down. He'd probably just end up hurting himself, and Yuri wasn't in the business of letting dumb kids hurt themselves.

Keiji was mightily impressed by Yuri’s ability not only by her ability to finish in good time, but also that she could be much stronger if the conditions allowed it. Having a wonderful first experience with a fellow hero hopeful made Keiji excited for his future. She told him that they should be heading back, and he nodded in agreement. “Yeah, it’ll be fun to meet everyone!” He leaned onto the side of the wall as she used her vines to return to the ground. “Hmhmhm hmm hmm, hmm hmm!” He hummed to himself as he waited for Yuri to lend him a vine, only to be met with a Splenda sweet: "Catch you later,"

“Okay, see ya~” It took just a second before the gears in his head fully began to grind. “HUH?! Wait, this is really tall! Duh… oh crap….” His face turned pale when he looked down to see a pretty steep fall. “AHHH! Yuri!” He pleaded with her, but she had already sent out a vine to bring him back to the ground. He took a moment to collect himself. He blushed, being a little embarrassed from his silly display. In a swift motion, Keiji put on his sunglasses and starting walking nonchalantly back into the building while giving himself a pep talk. “It’s okay, Keiji, your shades will mask that moment of uncoolness. Right? Right!”

Panting from his electrical exertions already, Yuuki prepared himself to retaliate against the woud-be villain again after his, err, moment, with the other wannbe hero – though he was a bit distracted. Her hands were so soft! H-Had he gone too far? Maybe he should apologise… still red in the face, he turned back to her in spite of the situation, and – his eyes went wide; the size of dinner plates. She definitely wasn’t happy! O-Oh goodness, it was going to be a mess -!

Thankfully, there wasn’t quite a spray of blood and a lot of screaming; and instead something completely different… that was some quirk. He’d studied some wild ones before, but – giant sword arm? That was a new one. Ducking instinctively even as it go nowhere near him, Yuuki felt it wise to just… let her show what she could do, before he started getting in the way. She certainly seemed confident now, anyway! Man, if he had a quirk like that… well, his practically fake sword looked pretty stupid now…

All the same, the result was more important than any whining or jealousy – heroism came first! The heroine flew into action; fighting like a knight in… a school uniform; but it was still pretty cool for someone who gave up a whole arm! She totally had him handled! “Wow, I knew you could –“ A thunk cut him off, and it seemed like time stopped as Yuuki realised what happened… as his unlikely partner was lifted into the air, the boy felt like looking away out of second-hand embarrassment. H-He ought to help, but… err… w-what was he supposed to –?

“My CLUB!”

Virtua sorted it out herself, though; to his relief. Certainly in a more effective way than his original plan. He couldn’t help but give a little squeak of cheer and a hasty nod as the heroine gave her own subdued cheer – “Yeah, you were amazing!” But, even he knew the fight wasn’t over yet… especially as the oni paused to adjust what was left of his tie after his grumbling; fuming with frustration to find very little to work with. His fitted suit was in tatters… the kiddie gloves were definitely coming off now. He hadn’t expected anyone to pick a fight with him… much less two of them. But, he was good at improvisation…

With a crunch of stone from the beginning of the oni’s fierce charge alone; Yuuki was barely given a second before being slammed into with a hand against his collar. The wind was choked out of him immediately by the impact – but he wasn’t sent flying, as he expected… instead he was lifted straight off his feet. Exhausted by his use of his quirk and the tussle so far, he wasn’t in any state to resist beyond some rather pathetic squirming and a tiny flurry of sparks – w-was this the end? As he felt the oni’s hand tighten around his ankles instead, though… he realised it was quite a bit worse.

As Virtua promptly learned, the oni had found a new club.

While utterly unwieldly and blubbering as it swept through the air, his new weapon was still not something one wanted to be hit with – and probably not something the heroine would want to be waving her sword at either. However, the oni kept up the offensive as best he could; unable to spare any thought for anything else in his current rage… it couldn’t last forever, certainly; but any time Virtua dedicated to just running away would be shaving even more time off of her exam. As if they hadn’t lost enough to this mess, anyway…

The entire block being held for the entrance exam was slowly decreasing in population within enemies, people who need rescuing, and even the students. It was almost about time to try and wrap this up. Still soaked in both his arms and legs, yet partially dried off, Rihan was making a slow jog for anything that he could do. If it came down to it, he'd probably have to repeat his trick again and try to find more rubies, however...

"If I do that, I feel that'll defeat the purpose." he said. Something in the back of his mind told him that he should try to vary his collection and not take an easy way out, despite that he was given free reigns on how he could collect them, just as long as he collected 15 points worth. He slowly came across a large multi-layered structure and the stage exit just a bit further down. As soon as he passed by it, he saw a shadow standing from within the structure looking down, followed by a voice from above. He stopped and looked closely at it, and ran up the ramp deducing that it was a parking lot. He was a little relieved to know that there was someone still here, but he wasn't sure who they were; an enemy or someone to save. Either way, it was a chance for him to go plus in gems. It was dark and empty on the first level with the exception of two cars that appeared to not have been moved for quite some time from the dust in the windows, to the rust outside of the vehicles, even one parked slightly jagged from it's spot. When he turn around to look around for his other surroundings, he saw another ramp that he ran towards but he also saw a pair of black feet darting away as he made his ascent to the second level. Again, Rihan had found no signs of life. Four more cars from the last, all in the same conditions with some missing the rims from their wheels and others with broken in windows.

"Vandalism" he cried out, but he continued to investigate before making contact with another ramp only the top of it revealed the sky. As he continued to rise, he heard footsteps moving away from around the corner, going towards the edge of the parking lot. He saw masked figured in what appeared to be military uniforms with the UA symbol on it, but more importantly was a shimmering piece just under his neck.

"An emerald." he said in a surprising tone before he got into position. "Which makes you an enemy." The masked individual chose to retain his silence as he too got into position for combat. Rihan dashed after him, with his left elbow leading the charge as soon as he got close only for the masked man to duck and hooking his arm around the open gap of Rihan's and tossing him a few parking spots down from when they started. Rihan took a roll before he got back up, seeing his opponent returning to their stationary position. His clothes were torn and scuffed up, but Rihan stood back up. After slowly dusting himself off, he charged back into the battle with his right arm behind him and his fist clenched with some force behind it. The soldier ducked once more, avoiding Rihan's blind charge, however Rihan quickly pivoted his body on his left foot and came back around with a charging knee aimed directly for the soldiers face. The speed was too great for the soldier to dodge unlike Rihan's other charges so he quickly raised his arms in a crossed position and connected with Rihan's knee, the impact sending him against the wall in a crumbling state.

"Look, I know this is an exam but I'd rather not fight. But regardless if you're surrendering it to me or whether I'm taking it by force, that emerald will belong to me." Even though the masked soldier continued to remain silent while rising up, Rihan knew there was still someone underneath that could understand him. However, the soldier from a limping position, charged after Rihan throwing a flurry of punches at him. Rihan avoided punch after punch, while trying to decide how he should counter attack. Just then, Rihan felt an immense force pressuring against his stomach and look to saw the soldier in a similar position as he was in; the knee to the gut. While gasping for air, Rihan took a few steps back while the soldier approached and continued to overwhelm him with a barrage of fists. Rihan was slowly dodging them, however a rare few made contact, which eventually chained into more and more, until he was defenseless. The soldier clenched his fist and tried to launch a straight shot at Rihan, only to be met with the palm of Rihan's right arm being brought in front of him while holding himself with his left. He was still in pain but concentrated enough to push the soldier back with a burst of water that collided with the fist that also sent both combatants a few feet backwards. Rihan had struggled to get back up while looking over to the soldier who stood back up and looked unfazed by the blast of water. His pants and arms were soak but his vest appeared to have absorbed the surface water that was on it in addition to being protected by his mask. The soldier made a careful yet triumphant waltz over to the fallen Rihan who aimed to restrain him from coming after his emerald gem. As he got closer and closer, Rihan remained perfectly still watching him, until...

"Got you." The soldier had stopped, unsure of what Rihan was talking about as he saw his kneeling opponent stand back up. "Sorry but this match of ours is over. So I'll be taking that emerald now." Rihan's arm lifted up and the tip of his middle finger made contact with the stone, just before the soldier pulled back and grabbed him by his shirt collar and held him up.

"I can tell you might be a little angry by me laying hands on your gem, but like I said before: this match is over, so I'll be claiming the gem." The soldier lifted his arm up in a fist that soon came down on Rihan, however the look on Rihan's face was stilled with an unwavering conviction with his eyes sharpened for a moment before the soldier realized his arm couldn't move. He looked and saw both his arms and his legs were encased in ice that was both refined and smooth. The ice had also secured his feet on the ground from the puddle of water of the blast that Rihan had made. Rihan tugged his shirt collar away from the soldiers frozen grip, tearing it off to lower himself as he approached and plucked the emerald from around the soldiers neck, slipping it into his pocket before walking away. "The ice around you will thaw once I get enough distance away from you."

Just then the soldier let out a few grunting sounds before saying his first word.

"Wait!" Rihan had stopped and turned back around to see the soldier looking at him. "While I congratulate you for the battle, there's one more thing you have to do. In this building, there is someone that you need to save."

"Seriously?" Rihan said. "I didn't see anyone here so why should I believe you?"

"I'm sure you heard a holler, and I didn't speak at all once until now. I was waiting to see if there could be someone with the power to help them, and you happen to be that person. Your abilities can help them escape, and in doing so will reward you with two more stones." Rihan took a little under a minute to decide whether or not he was going to believe the soldier. However, the soldier had no reason to lie, he was already defeated, and while this is an exam; the possibility of this being a ruse to test his judgement, Rihan had found the confidence to take up the task at hand that was presented to him. "There's a kid in two separate cars in the sub lower level, but this place is going to cave in. You have to rescue them."

"I'll... do my best." he said before handing the soldier a thumbs up and going down each ramp that he climbed up on. He was back on ground level but had a tough time finding the entrance to the sub level. He walked around the foundation about two times with no signs of it, only to see a yellow light flashing at what appeared to be a booth. As he got closer, Rihan saw a ramp leading down that was blocked off by a broken gate. He slowly crept inside and proceeded down into a much darker and hollow place. His footsteps echoed as they clamped on the ground.

"Hello?" he shouted into the darkness hoping to get a response. Sadly, there was none which prompted him to take a couple steps into the darkness. Finally, after hearing nothing, thinking that no one was there, he heard two whimpers.

"Help me!" said twice, Rihan ran towards the direction of the voices and saw the entire floor filled with cards in each and every spot and cars stuck in between. The voices echoed more, confirming that there were people in this location. One help came from the left side, further down towards the end of the garage which had ceased completely while the other one came from the right side of him, towards the middle of the parked traffic jam. Rihan went for the right, while speaking up for the person trapped to continue shouting to pinpoint their location. He peeked into the windows of each car, wiping away the dust hoping to find the person he was looking for. Then he finally arrived at a red four door car with a cracked front wind shield and the door handles either jammed by a neighboring vehicle or yanked off. He saw a little boy curled up in a ball at the backseat: black hair, shirt and shorts, missing a shoe, and messy all around.

"Hey, I'm gonna get you outta here, okay?" the young hero said as he tried pulling the car door open from it's broken handles, to no avail. The boy had stopped shouting and looked at his savior with his eyes going from sad to being filled with hope. "Who else is in this garage with you?" Rihan said as the boy wiped the streams of tears from his face with his wrist.

"My sister, but we need to get her fast!" the boy said while trying to maintain a steady breathing level.

"Don't worry, we will!" Rihan could tell that something about this place was... off balanced. He didn't have an explanation for it right away, but he knew the girl was in more trouble, but he needed to get the boy out first before he assessed the situation. Running out of time and options, especially with the boy jarring at him about needing to save his sister, Rihan wrapped his hands together before slowly pulling them apart as spheres of water was wrapped around both before condensing and hardening into a pair of frozen gauntlets. He hopped onto the front of the car and pulled his fist back slightly. "Hey, what's your name?"

"Eric" said the boy as he wondered in confusion what the young hero was doing.

"Okay Eric." Rihan said calmly with a gentle look in his eyes. "I'mma need you to crouch behind the seat okay? I don't want any of this glass to fly at you and hurt you. Can you do that?" The boy nodded as he ducked with his head behind held by his hands awaiting for Rihan to pierce through the glass. The shards scattered throughout the interior of the vehicle. Young Eric lifted his head up looking at a pale white hand that was formerly covered in a slated layer of ice reaching out for him. "C'mon, we have to get your sister don't we?" Rihan asked politely as his hand was offered once more before Eric grabbed hold of it and was lifted from out the vehicle.

"Alright, I just need to get your sister and then we're off." Rihan gave young Eric the thumbs up, which was returned before Eric stood back as he watched his hero take the lead. Rihan hopped from car to car, trying to get to the end of the garage. It was there he confirmed the sensation of this place being off balanced; a closer look revealed that there were more cars that originally thought due to end of the garage being on another slope. However, these cars were clustered and some were even stacked on top of each other, making it extremely difficult to get out. Rihan continued while calling out to Eric's sister, hoping she'd hear him but he could hear nothing. He scoured the area, inspecting vehicle after vehicle hoping to find her in the same position as her brother until he got to the end of the garage where after checking out the last vehicle, he leaned his back on the door of the car triggering vicious rupture within the foundation.

"What was...?" he was startled with eyes wide open looking to see that nothing had underwent any drastic changes, except for sand landing from above. "So that's what that soldier meant. This area isn't stable anymore. In that case I have to be careful to make sure nothing else causes it to collapse more." A few more cars were searched until he heard a very light, almost faint gasps for oxygen. He lifted his hand to his ear and allowed himself to be drawn in, appearing before an 18-wheeler at the very corner of the room, with the tractor fixed as a support for one of the broken pillars. That beam, or well, lack there of, is the cause of the imbalance especially since the weight from the entire complex is coming down on it, which will collapse from the inside out. Rihan jumped on top of the tractor of the truck led by his curiosity to see how much endurance the truck had before it too collapsed. The top part of the beam had pierced into the tractor, leaving a gaping torn hole through the metal layer. Rihan then heard the faint sound of a voice coming from within the hole. He slowly and carefully leaped from the truck and tried to see if there was an entrance that could've been used to go inside. He tried the back, the usual entrance but was met with it being closed in by a wall.

"How did she even get inside?" he thought to himself as he climbed back up to the top, while trying to take a peek inside, making sure the girl was okay. Rihan slowly moved the top part of the beam which disrupted the foundation once more, quickly to slip inside the truck. Once landed, the young hero surveyed the interior until he came across a girl held together at the corner near the exit looking at him. He approached her and saw that she was pale, almost lifeless.

"Might be dehydrated." he thought as he wiped his hand off with his shirt and started to form a small puddle of water in the palm of his hand, letting the water run from the side through her lips. She started to consume it, looking less frail than how she started, enough to gain consciousness and see Rihan before her.

"Who are you?" she said softly, not trying to strain herself.

"I'll explain after, I just kinda need to get you out of here." Rihan said with a brave smile. He walked up to the sides of the interior, tapping it with his finger, finally stopping at the final one. "Okay, this one faces the outside." He clapped his hands together and once separated, a stream of liquid had expanded gaining form of a rather slim object. Rihan then grabbed the end of the object and froze it completely, as the frost expanded in various shapes to form a sword. Rihan holds the frozen blade in front of him with both of his hands wrapped around the handle before he charges at the wall and impales it. There is a small incision within the track, but not large enough for any one person to escape through. Rihan pulled the sword back gently before jumping back into the slash and with a loud shout, a large sphere of water had formed from the upper half of the sword that was being pressured by the weight of the young hero's thrust. Soon the ball of water exploded and had blasted through the tear of truck making yawning hole large enough to crawl out of. The sword in Rihan's hand had split apart, holding onto the handle while the blade was cleaved off from the impact and contact of the blast of water. Soon the entire sword had dipped from Rihan's hand melting on the floor as he turned around and approached the girl, offering her the same hand as he did with Eric. The girl's bony yet smooth hand placed gently onto Rihan's cold wet palm before he turned around and lifted her onto his back.

"What's your name?" he said while turning to her.

"Steph." she whispered before resting on his shoulders, while making their way through the hole.

"Nice to meet you, my names Rihan. Don't worry, I'm going to have you with your brother Eric in no time." They carefully climbed out, one step at a time and landed safely on the ground and while everything was safe, Rihan had turned to see an even greater issue - the pillar was pushing down on the truck which began to quake the entire area once more. "I have to stop this otherwise this place is gonna take all of us with it." Rihan thought for about a moment or two, but the solution was obvious. He sat Steph on the hood of a car telling her that he's going to fix something. His hands became coated with water as he raised both of them in front of him and fired two beams of water at the pillar and the truck, similarly as he did in the alley way. Nothing seemed to have changed, except for the force of the water pushing on the pillar and truck, causing it to shake the foundation once more. Steph was scared but Rihan assured her that everything would be alright as he kept pushing both the pillars and himself to hold everything up. Then, after another loud shout, a wave of crystals spread from the hero's hands and had settled into the water around the pillar and truck, freezing it completely. The entire room remained motionless at the sight of a newly formed ice pillar that formed from the top, covering the truck, and supported the floor. Steph was excited to see what Rihan had done to save the day and clapped with a smile for him. Rihan had went back to her and continued to carry Steph on his back as they walked back into the entrance with the light revealing two shadows.

"Sis!" came from one of the shadows as they ran towards Rihan and Steph who had been enveloped in the light of the bright sun.

"Eric!" Steph said as she slowly was let down by Rihan and the two siblings had embraced each other. Rihan couldn't help but reveal victorious smile before turning to the other shadow, being the soldier.

"Good work. I knew you could do it. People like you are definitely needed in this day in age." The soldier said confidently, thankful that he had placed his trust in the right person.

"The pillar won't last long though, the ice wi-" just as Rihan was about to explain, the soldier cut him off.

"I'm aware, but the important thing is that you did your job. Don't sweat the small stuff and remember to do what matters." Rihan's face had relaxed as the soldier pointed at both kids telling Rihan to claim his reward, revealing a sapphire from each of them surrounded by their hands. The hero picked both of them up with his fingers and slid them into his pocket before thanking them for the lesson and the experience to show he's a worthy hero and had proceeded through the gate to be accompanied by the remaining heroes.

STATS:
Points Collected: 16/15
Rubies (1) collected: 5
Sapphires (3) collected: 2
Emeralds (5) collected: 1
Recorded time: 47:9.21

Heroes in the making were proving themselves in the moment, though it wasn't the most pleasant instances initially. The oni had gotten himself a new club in the form of a shrieking youth after Virtua had decimated his original. The girl's eyes widened with panic as the volunteer hollered with a monstrous rage. Sure, they were just brats that he was supposed to be testing, but his suit was ruined, his weapon was destroyed, and he was getting ganged up on. Admittedly, losing to not one, but two screeching teenagers who looked like they came fresh out of their mothers' protective, sheltering grasp for years annoyed him just the slightest bit... Alright, it irritated him a lot. "Grrrrnnnaaaaahhhh!!" His war cry signified that the victory through the combination of Virtua and Yuuki's quirks were short-lived as the boy-turned-club whacked the poor lass, striking her with Yuuki's back and knocking her away... only not as far as he planned because of a sudden pain in his wrist. "GAHH!!" The man hollered from the impact of the quirk-drill that struck true, reducing the power of his attack greatly and making him drop the sword-wielding lad.

"You're-?!" Virtua was surprised at someone coming to help the two underachievers while recovering from the smack. The makeshift club hit still hurt, but she was more worried about her ally being handled so violently. The collision probably hurt Yuuki just as much as it did her. That aside though, she was able to get her balance back quickly thanks to the newcomer's intervening. Taking the chance, she bravely began a renewed charge at the villain-pretending hero, lifting her Bladelength arm to prepare. Yet, with her beating footsteps, the ogre wasn't completely out of it to just let her attack. Miguel had thrown him off, but not nearly enough to mess up his tempo even without the brat for a weapon.

"Oh no you don't!" Foregoing getting the drill-kid back for his sneak attack for the time being, the oni raised his fist and it began to rocket down like an iron hammer. He would be punching through what he assumed was steel seeing her sword poised to clash. It mattered not as his expression was befitting of whatever quirk turned him into the red-skinned monster he looked, ready to take her down with sheer force of will and physical oppression. "Hhhrrrraaahhh!!" A mighty bellow as his arm tore through the air, only for Vivi's blade to lower itself from attacking. This confused the professional, only to realize too late when they collided that she had never intended to fight him in a head-on clash. Sparks flew upon contact through friction, the girl wincing in pain as her arm was subjected to the overwhelming pressure of his punch, but Vivi grit her teeth. "Y-You...!"

"I can't beat you like this... But...!!" The young heiress used her quirk-enhanced sword-arm to weakly deflect the oni's assault and took a leap forward, extending her free hand that reached out like a prayer through streams of wind. Ponytail fluttering with the gale, hopeful digits wriggled to grasp at the real prize: the emerald at the man's belt. That's right... Had this been a real fight, they would've been much worse off and risked even severe consequences for their inexperience. Yet, that was not their situation. No... This is the starting point from which they would learn, and the bar was set at a reasonably height for the child of victory to seize triumph - stealing the jewel that would mark the "defeat" of the "villain", tumbling and rolling with it safely secured in her palm.

With the combination of three... one small victory had been obtained.

"... Unreal..." The oni couldn't help himself from a toothy grin, having gotten so into the moment he forgot he lost not when they toppled him... but when they took away the exam token. While he only just now saw the new face's surprise attack, he had expected very little from the two timid weaklings who could barely hold a candle to him alone.

But fighting alone wasn't necessary as a hero.

"I can't believe you kids got me. Haha! I was even peeved for a good while there! Turns out even I have a ways to go if I'm getting trounced by a buncha runts!" It was a hearty compliment with hearty laughter, despite being blatantly insulting. The man's body relaxed, putting his hands to hips as he stared down upon the shortstack rookies. "I'm pretty miffed about it still, actually! ... So you best be good heroes so I'm content with losing to kids with potential." How they were going to pass the exam if he himself took this much trouble, he doesn't know and he doesn't care to know. As long as they get results, he'll be proud and it won't look bad for him in the future.

"Ha... Ha... I-I actually did it... I thought my arm was gonna break..." Vivi was a bit of a... anxious mess again. She was sweating profusely and shaking on the floor, her blade having reverted to a regular arm in the midst of the chaos calming. Taking a hefty gulp and getting a few squeezes at the pretty green rock, the heiress gathered... some composure as she got to her feet. At this point, Vivi knew she could've thanked the two and ran off, seeing as she was the one who grabbed it to decide the fight in the end. She was already behind so this would be a good boost to catch her up on top of her seven rubies, which would make twelve... Yet, Yuuki had not only been faring worse from the looks of things but was also the first to engage.

Taking it felt unfair.

"Um..." The ponytailed swordswoman approached the two boys, gently clutching the gem and looking toward it. "Thank you for the help... Both of you. I'm glad you came to save us, and you - whatever you did when you grabbed my h-h-h-" Oh... right... A boy was holding her hand...! The embarrassment came flooding back as her expression went from somewhat relaxed to the beginning of distress. Red as a siren, she quickly bowed and extended both her arms out, presenting the emerald and forgetting her scar growth being visible to people. "Whateveryoudidtomyhandhelpedalotpleasetakethis!" She blurted out in a hastened frenzy, trying not to make eye contact. She knew the dangers of holding hands with boys that her sister filled her head with. It was mostly teasing nonsense, but the poor heiress was innocent and paranoid. "... I-I mean this was y-y-your fight after all... And if I could repay you, d-drill guy, I'd do it...! But this is his..." The stammering returned with full force until the end, feeling the resoluteness of her decision. It would be a huge setback to have wasted all this time to get no points out of it, and yet...

If Virtua could help someone else pass - or even have a chance of it - it was good enough.

While Yuuki most certainly felt the oni’s frustration and furthermore felt his back slam into his short-lived comrade, he was a bit lost in the blur of cutting wind and colours to keep up with what was actually happened – hope had already been swept out of him along with the air in his lungs by this point. To become a hero? After this display? As if. The Thunder Ryus were ending here. The entrance exam had probably already finished. His points so far didn’t mean anything if he didn’t get in. He’d accomplished nothing. He’d fallen at the first obstacle. And, he’d dragged down this poor girl too, a-and, and, his mom was going to be so u-upset, and – and –!

Sent scuffling across the ground all of a sudden, Yuuki’s heart was still buried too far down to care – he just assumed the oni had cut him a break. But, as he shuffled onto his knees and looked back… well, that was hardly the case. A third hero? Guilt choked up the boy’s throat… he’d dragged in another student just to save him from his stupid mistake… feeling too sore to move any more than that, not to mention too downtrodden; Yuuki could only blink in surprise as he watched the situation suddenly turn around. That girl… her brilliance shone brighter than any hero’s photos or videos that he’d ever seen. The real thing, it was…

Well, the oni said it all for him, really. Yuuki hastily scuffed himself off and stood up; looking quite the mess – his groomed and pristine outfit was now a dirtied, offset mess. His hat was long gone, and he… h-he almost forgot his sword, g-geez! As the teacher bantered, Yuuki hurried about to try and fix his looks a little bit before he caught up with – w-well, with his… heroes, really. Carefully approaching the trio, Yuuki wasn’t sure if he ought to give proper thanks or just try and disappear with some dignity right now… he was only slowing down the exam, after all. And then…

“E-Eh?” The poor boy could only blabber and blush upon being met with such an embarrassing reception from the person who’d just saved him and put on such a show – s-she was thanking h-him? “U-Um, I didn’t – I just, m-my quirk isn’t that – w-well, you did all the –” Miguel would be treated to a symphony of criss-crossing awkward teenage blathering, while the oni wisely took his leave before it gave him a headache. As Virtua gave her final words, though; Yuuki steeled himself… he couldn’t say no now! That would be truly disrespectful – not to mention waste even more of their precious time.

Straightening his back and dragging every bit of his dignity together, Yuuki dared to look the heroine in the eye – “Yes! I couldn’t ask for a better compatriot! You were second-to-none, Miss Hero!” chirped the boy, putting his all into keeping his stammering and trembling under control; before giving a long, deep bow of thanks; “I am Thunder Ryu the Sixth, h-hopefully! So, consider me in your debt in return for this! That goes for both of you!” It was as his mom always told him – if all else fails, just be polite! Taking the emerald gracefully with both hands, Yuuki briefly shuffled through his jacket – before returning a sapphire in its place. “The best of luck, to both of you! Let’s not waste this, and become heroes!”

Just about glowing with pride over having held himself together through his little speech, Yuuki was left trembling in place for a moment; unsure of what reception to expect… before deciding it was probably best to actually stick to his word already! Giving another deep bow to the pair, the boy then zipped off; stumbling as he tried to make such an undignified exit… and then feeling the weight of dread fall upon his shoulders. An emerald, and three rubies… h-he was still only halfway there! “G-Geez, I have to get moving…!” squeaked the boy; promptly losing himself in the maze – but right now, that was the least of his worries…

Thankfully, all that tumbling followed by promptly rushing off in a random direction had worked out rather well; in spite of the lack of strategy – it meant that he definitely wasn’t anywhere the usual flow of people had headed. An extraordinarily bored ‘damsel in distress’ was all too eager to get his attention so that she could afford herself a break; practically shoving a sapphire into his hands as soon as she could – didn’t she look a bit familiar, too? Frankly, Yuuki ended up having to rush to keep up with her rather than the other way around… still, maybe some jobs for heroes ended up a bit like that, too. Given the chance to think, he had to wonder how professional heroes felt having to play such odd roles. So, that made eleven points… plus a ruby she’d pointed out to him out of pity for his rough appearance – twelve. Just a sapphire, then; or three rubies… eh, getting almost all rubies would look a bit silly for a hero, wouldn’t it? But, no time to be picky!

Luckily for him, his ill-explored corner of the messy maze – he had to guess it was along the edge or something – proved his saviour all over again. When it came down to it, he really had just gotten lucky; especially as he almost tripped over the next ruby… but, he liked to think it was just important for a hero to explore everywhere; o-or maybe someone would be in serious trouble without even being seen! Or something like that… but, it didn’t take him too much time or stress to find his last required ruby. It was so strange… after that fight, the stress seemed to just melt. Comradery, determination, or just resignation… well, no time to fuss about that! A win wouldn’t be a win unless he won! O-Or something!

Yuuki hardly looked a legend as he staggered through the gate at long last; drenched with sweat – a fancy suit in all black had not been ideal for all that running around. Not to mention having to find his way out of that corner in the first place… but all the same, he beamed with happiness, even before he knew whether or not he’d actually made the grade. Even if he failed, he’d learnt the most important thing… he’d seen a hero, and now he felt like he understood just a little bit more.

Rubies collected: 7
Sapphires collected: 1 (3)
Emeralds 'collected': 1 (5)
Recorded Time: 54:49

The teen took an exhale in relief as he saw people start to pool into the building. "Now we can be cramped...except with AC." He said to himself, tying his hoodie around his waist as he transferred everything from his hoodie pockets to his normal pockets. He took a listen to the welcoming lecture but paid no interest until the details of the exam, which he listened to word for word. The exam wasn't like he expected, not like some sort of civil exam or a written test of morality; but then he remembered that this wasn't a normal school. This was a hero school, so that he could go out and fight for those who couldn't do so themselves. He stood among a small crowd in the back that hadn't taken their seats, as someone who always wanted to be on the go, sitting wasn't his thing. "Scavenge, rescue, or fight..." He repeated, reminding himself of his options.

While he was doing just that, he found that he'd lost his footing as they were air dropped. His mood changed, this sense of thrill, this sense of being thrown right in, it was nothing like what he expected. He gave a confident smile as he was able to briefly scout some of the gems out. When he landed, he tried to assess perspective, but after a minute of dwelling figured it wasn't worth waiting on. He made his way toward where he thought a ruby would be, but instead found himself staring down a building on the brink of collapse, and a pedestrian trapped on one of the higher floors, not without a sapphire at her hip.

"Dammit..." He muttered, he wasn't able to use his quirk to build any height, let alone activate it at will. "...Wait...there!" He spotted a collection of truss bars sticking out of the side, organized in a way that made it look sort of possible to climb up to the higher floor. He ran toward the trusses, wedging himself onto a dumpster where he could then reach the trusses. "Just a couple of these?" He asked himself, vaulting around the trusses. He got to the center when he noticed a window, weighing his odds and smashing against it to break his way into the building. He rolled in, dusting off his now dusty shoulder. He gunned for the stairs, eventually reaching where he'd have to retrieve the woman. "I'm gonna get you out of here, lady, this way!" He said, with her consent, grabbing her arm and leading her back to where he'd breached.

He shook his head and managed to pick her up, leaping from the shattered the window onto a truss, and making his way down. He let her off at ground level, retrieving the sapphire from her and moving on to where he needed to go next. Along the way to where he saw the most red glimmers scattered, he nabbed several rubies, 6 to be exact. 9 points; he wasn't exactly close but he was closer than most had been by now. This sort of excitement, was it native to hero work? He hoped so, this felt like some sort of ecstasy to him.

Along the way toward the massive cluster of red gems, he spotted another needing pedestrian, this one was already being helped out forever, by another individual taking the test. In the front path toward the rubies however was a 'villain', his bones were wrapped around him, and he said not a word. Ryder cursed under his breath after he assessed the situation, he had to do this if he wanted to pass. In the intensity of the moment, he felt something in his veins, and as a distant firework was sounded, he compulsively snapped his fingers. The following effect was a small burst of kinetic force that shook the area around him, he was hoping it'd set the villain off balance and he'd be able to snag the emerald; but this wasn't the case.

The villain's bones had planted themselves into the earth, keeping him standing perfectly still in the midst of the blast. Using his quick thinking, Ryder had to stall out as much as he could up until the building from earlier collapsed. Tendrils of bone closed him in wherever he tried to escape to, giving him immense trouble. This game of cat-and-mouse went on for 20 minutes before a distant creaking was heard...

And then...a gargantuan crash.

The building had succumbed under it's own weight, crumbling down and making a massive noise to accompany it. Ryder turned around and put one of his hands behind him, giving a grin and snapping his finger again. A burst followed, forming a powerful gust forward and almost setting the villain off his feet; but his bones kept him in place. However, Ryder was flying forward using the force he'd just generated, sliding past the villain and snagging the emerald from his hip. He gave a confident smile as he got back to his feet with some pep and continued running toward the red lights.

Once he'd arrived, he found the last remaining point he'd needed, along with one extra. He turned his gaze back to the gate where he scurried as fast as he could to the final checkpoint of this test that he'd undertook. After moments of running, a breathless Ryder made it to the finish line. "This hero stuff..." his mind echoed, "...might be up my alley after all."

Rubies Collected: 7
Sapphires Collected: 1 (3)
Emeralds Collected: 1 (5)
Recorded Time: 51:23

Miss Hero? Vivi's nervousness receded just enough for her to sheepishly laugh and smile at the compliment. 'Thunder Ryuu' sounded like a hero name - a cool one at that - so it was a little surprising to hear someone as shaky as her had enough of himself together like that. Though, that and the rousing, rallying words aside, when the emerald left her hands a part of her felt upset. That was five points that would have gotten her into U.A. to reach her dream all the faster... Yet, it was fine. It was fine for her to wait and have her own time, because this detour to help someone in need would not be the end of the exam. So, with a clenched fist, the heiress held on to the traded sapphire tightly and closed her eyes - "Thank you" quietly escaping. Yuuki was off after saying they shall all become heroes and shouldn't waste this opportunity, leaving Virtua to watch with Miguel as he ran toward his future. That left them to do the same, turning to the drill-quirk lad who got roped into the situation, even if it was at the last minute. Hell, the girl would've offered him the sapphire if it wasn't a gift.

He tried to make a joke about the hot-tempered and rude oni hero, which didn't exactly get a laugh but she got the sentiment. Yuuki was as timid as she was, but nice and Miguel here seemed to be a little more composed while radiating a bit of similar enthusiasm to be a hero. Having just met him, it was hard to gauge what he was like other than he shared the same passion as them. Alas, getting back to finishing the exam before time ran out was the priority. Thus, "Yes... We can meet up!" A date was made to get proper introductions out of the way... which she forgot after Miguel left. She got his name, but never gave hers or found out Thunder Ryuu's actual name.

Ah...

At least they think she's cool... That's something she can tell her sister about! ... If she makes it in time.

After some more time chatting with Hinata, Shinobu would move to get himself ready for the impending challenge. He began stretching to warm up for the run. From the exam to home he didn't much care about but the run from his home to his new friend's, that he wanted to do well. Once they'd settled all the details and the exam had concluded, the cat boy took off. Today had just been full of running and he hoped there'd be more of it waiting for him at UA.

----------

Shizuka's interest in her quirk went about exactly as Izumi had expected it to. The girl had caught the brief flash of energy and now wanted to know everything about it. And while she had no particular issues explaining it to others, the older girl saw in this an opportunity. She stood up and produced her phone from a pocket. The case was a bright green that matched the girl's hair. In fact it matched it a little too well. Almost like the two were part of some brand. She tapped around some, as if looking for something.

"I could tell you here buuut..." she said playfully. Izumi had found what she was looking for and happily turned the phone around so Shizuka could see. On display was a website for what looked like a local sushi restaurant. "Why don't I tell you there tomorrow night?" she finished with a smile beaming on her face in anticipation of the reaction it would get. That was of course, assuming Shizuka liked seafood. Maybe that wasn't the safest best after all. But it was far too late to be showing doubts in her course of action now.

Shizuka tilted her head, watching Izumi get up and take out her matching green phone. What was she looking at? Shizuka leaned forward, craning her neck as if that would help her see Izumi's phone, but to no avail. When Izumi finally showed her, Shizuka's eyes lit up. A sushi place! Any disappointment Shizuka had felt upon learning she'd have to wait to hear about Izumi's quirk was dispelled by her newfound excitement. "Awesome! I'd love that!" she said, her eyes twinkling. She didn't really think about unimportant details like what time she should be there, or how expensive the place would be. Her one-track mind focused in on the fun part. Those little problems would be dealt with when they came up.

Then, taking notice of Izumi's phone again, Shizuka remembered something. "Oh!" she suddenly made a mad scramble, frantically pulling out her own phone. It was in a cute, powder-blue case, decorated with little stickers of cats, music notes, and cupcakes. To anyone else, it would probably be sickeningly cute and girly, but Shizuka carried it with complete, unironic pride. She tapped away for a few brief moments before handing it to Izumi, "Before I forget, here's my number," she said, having typed it out on screen for Izumi, "feel free to put yourself in my contacts list so we can text each other any time!"

The long awaited day for Takuya to prove his mettle and secure a good future for himself in an occupation he had zero interested in, how exciting.

He made sure to blend into the crowd of his peers. His choice of wardobe wasn't anything bombastic that'd draw attention to itself with your sneakers & jeans pair you can see anywhere alongside a plain black shirt completely shrouded by a two colored hoodie split perfectly into darkened red and white down the middle and a completely red hoodie shielding his head from the sun's rays.  It was only when they were beckoned to follow by Sylva and led into the lecture hall that he removed the hood, revealing his light black hair, perfectly laid down his head without a single string of hair sticking out.

Takuya briefly scouted his surroundings, carefully looking over everyone gathered in the hall he made sure to remember the faces of his future classmates, or rivals, or whoever else they might end up being. All he knew was that if he was to be ever approached by one of them, the situation would've been awkward if he couldn't remember them one bit.

The apparent introvert took his seat with his back pushed deep into the chair, very carefully listening to the explanation given. Ignoring the preview of the maze, as there way no way in hell he'd ever remember that, the test seemed relatively simple. All he had to do was gather 15 points within one hour and the extend of physical exercise didn't go beyond having to help a few people for someone like him, who didn't intend on showing off by grabbing as many of the 5-pointers as possible, or getting the best time imaginable, just passing the test was more than enough for him. "Being higher or lower on the leaderboard won't change anything. It's just an entrance exam, passing is all I need." - he thought to himself.

The, very literal, explosive start of the exam took him by surprise and put his heart into overdrive, he could barely keep him from ripping his throat apart by screams of panic until the parachutes finally kicked in, giving him some breathing room. When his chair landed in the maze and he finally caught his breath and regained his composure, he slowly dug himself out from underneath the parachute that completely covered his seat.
"What's with that? I could've died from shock! Geez..", a whisper escaped his lips. He looked around and kicked himself off from his seat, walked over to the obsidian wall on his right and slowly pressed his palm against it. "The oldest trick in the book." he once again said under his nose and pushed forward into the depths of the maze with a casual jog, diligently following the maze's right wall.


His goal wasn't to get the highest score possible, or the fastest time possible. He only wanted to get 15 points without facing any of the fake villains. He avoided every single one of them, picking up the 1-pointer gems whenever he came across one. At some point, he came across a group of three civilians trapped under various debris in a setting that clearly spelled out "aftermath of a building collapse" - something every "Hero" would come across. The test's nature made it painfully obvious there was no danger to their health. They were just teachers, or previous students, voluneteers or paid actors. Eitherway, it wasn't a real life endangering situation no matter how hard they tried to make it appear as one, and Takuya only had 3 rubies - 3 points. If he were to escort all 3 of them he'd get 9 more for a total of 12 points - 3 away from the passing score. He was very thorough in scouting rubies on his way there so finding more on the way back was impossible. He shook his head and proceeded onward, coming back right after he found 3 more rubies.

Rescuing people in situations like these was something he excelled at for sure with the use of his Quirk. As he was right now, his limit stood at around 5 consecutive uses before it started impacting his stamina while also being able to cover the radius and mass of roughly twice a muscular adult male's size before any strain so debris like this was nothing.
"Low Above High" - the Quirk with ability to turn any aspect of any object into it's opposite. And in this case, as he grasped the debris one after another, his hands were enveloped in a colorless shine slowly devouring the object. "Heavy", the aspect preventing those without trained muscles or super strength from removing the obstacle. The very moment Takuya's light engulfed the object as a whole was it no longer "heavy" and rather, the reverse - "light". He held them by their underside, each one, and once his Quirk came info effect he effortlessly flipped them off the Civ's, throwing them a fair distance away.

Takuya mentioned all three of them to follow him, gently swaying his head to the side before leaving towards the exit. No words were exchanged and using the maze's right wall to find his way back, the boy made his way towards the warp. He was in no hurry, his points were already secured, he was guaranteed to pass. Time. The only obstacle in his way, that he kept fully in check by giving his wrist watch a look every a few moments or so.

He left both his gems and the Civilians off at the surface. He had the points necessary and didn't really exert himself physically, his pace could be considering daily exercise, at best. With his 15 points safely deposited, Takuya awaited further instructions.

"Oh it's so cute!" Izumi exclaimed, smiling at the sight of the phone handed to her. It was an aesthetic she'd expect of the girl before her given what interactions they'd had. If the stickers were anything to go off of, Shizuka liked cats, musics and sweets. Music at least would have to be a talking point at dinner but she could work with the other two. The girl tapped away at the phone, inputting her phone number and full name to create the new contact. The task complete, she returned the decorated phone to its owner.

"Text me whenever and I'll add you. I'll-" she started but was interrupted by a loud yawn which she covered with her free hand. "Excuse me, I must have wore myself out more than I thought." she said, wanting to be courteous. As it was she needed more sleep than the average person but the adrenaline crash had made her tap into her store of energy usually reserved for healing. No doubt her body wanted to build it back up.

"As I was saying, I'll send you the restaurant's address and website so you can look it over. Just let me know if you need any help getting there." she said with a smile as she locked her phone and put it away.

Izumi would finish chatting with her new friend then await the end of the exam. She wanted to see if she couldn't get some inkling of who all had passed. Once the exam was concluded and her curiosity somewhat satisfied, she returned home for a long night's sleep.

Now with a chance given to another budding hero-in-the-works, Virtua set off after Miguel left to finally finish the exam. With three rubies and an sapphire in hand, she had six out of the fifteen points needed to pass. A lot of time had gotten wasted, but that whole mess did invigorate her spirit. With pep-to-step, the heiress dashed through the labyrinth to stumble upon any remaining jewels... Though, after awhile, a horrifying realization was beginning to settle in: It had been so far into the exam, rescue situations were scarce and rubies were all but gone. "Ah..." A cry, nay, a squeak of despair as darkness crept into the world. The only thing left... was to fight villains...! And that took ages seeing how long it took to beat the Oni with two other people! There was absolutely no way she was going to be able to make it by beating two professionals by herself! She went pale, dropping to knees and feeling all energy and hope drain from her body and soul - this was death. Her expression was a smile filled with shock, as if grimacing while frozen upon being subdued by trauma. Color drained from her eyes, signifying her life coming to its metaphorical end. "Ah..." A sigh of acceptance, feeling at one with the cold floor akin to a corpse on the ground.

Then, an odd chain of events began to hit. There was a tremor caused by likely a fight between quirk holders, causing a nearby structure of wood to fall apart, catching Vivi's attention. It didn't seem anyone was around though, so the battle was off to the distance. But more importantly...! Her eyes began to shine, her complexion restored upon witnessing three shimmering, crimson miracles slide out from the downfall. "Is this a sign?!" Virtua inquired the higher powers of a celestial deity, getting to her feet. "Is this Deku's light of hope shining from above to help?!" ... Or inquiring the greatest hero ever in history, it was honestly the same thing in her book. Rushing over, the girl cuddled the little gems to her bosom, bouncing a little in place with excitement while beaming, having a precious smile of relief and joy. Holding them outward just to bask in their presence, she was revitalized with cheer. "That's nine! Now I only have to fight one villain and find one more ruby and-"

"Yoink!" A young lad sneered as a long-stretched arm - extended by superhuman ability punched a clawed gauntlet into the maze's steel wall, swinging and swiping the rubies from the girl's hands.

Viv blinked twice in stunned silence. "... H-... Hey!!" The swordswoman called out to the rude boy who had stolen her deus ex machina.

"Sorry little lady, but I'm really behind on points. It just so happened I was around to take these though, so thanks! Now I won't have to fight that loon throwing a fit over there! Later!" You know when bad things just happen to good people and there's nothing you can do about it? When people tell you things will get better later and you'll never know when exactly it is? Have you ever felt life enjoys kicking you while you're down? Yeah... That thief made her feel all those things and more. Unfortunately, due to her kind nature and inability to chase after the arm-swinging youth, she began crying in defeat.

"Why...?!" Virtua wept with frustration and upset, tears welling up as she would come to mourn her bad luck yet again. "Why..." So badly did she want to throw the blame around. To curse that participant, to curse the headmaster and this ridiculous test, to curse the designers of this labyrinth, to curse the oni for taking up so much of her time, and more. ... Though, wait a moment.

He mentioned some lunatic causing a disturbance. Yes... That must've been where the aftershock came from! Maybe, just maybe, if something is going on there, she could get lucky. Although... "If someone's making a mess to the point where people are avoiding them, it might be an issue for everyone..." Yet again does her selfless nature get to her, wanting to put an end to the racket so others can proceed with the exam normally - participants and volunteers/staff alike. Thus, the girl carried herself to the scene... and it was quite the scene to take in.

"Bwa ha ha ha ha! You are not dealing with the average man anymore, aspiring children! Nay, you are dealing with the average Steel Man no longer! For I am STEEL DEVIL!"

"D-Dude... Enough... You aren't even supposed to be doing all this!"

A volunteer pro hero seemed to have taken his job too seriously, beating numerous adolescent quirk-users senseless and taunting them like a genuine villain. Even worse, he had roped other volunteers and employees of the school into things, trapping them under various rubble or simply standing in their way and being too strong on top of being too imposing to get past. His fists pressed to his hips as he laughed manically, even changing his hero name to a villainous one while his metal body glistened in the underground's lighting. His grin was toothy and triumphant, filled with vigor and roleplaying maliciousness as he towered menacingly over his hostages. A number of them were even exam-takers he defeated and impeded from continuing. The absurdity was capitalized by the shine of the emerald beauty at his neck, hanging on by a makeshift thread which many had tried to take away from him if only to stop this madness. And, judging by the looks of things, everyone who has tried has failed miserably. Though, Virtua couldn't see that he just really loved his job and meant no harm, so she was legitimately terrified of what felt like a real villain in the act. She knew it was a hero, but she just assumed this was allowed! The fact he could get away with not only stomping on several would-be-students but also had enough energy to keep fighting them when they got back up...

Steel Devil is strong...!

"Eep..." The mousy girl squeaked frightfully, trembling as her teeth quietly chattered. Natural instincts said to do exactly what she did for Yuuki, but she wouldn't be having help judging by the bruised and exhausted fighters. It would be her own battle... And of course, she mentally told herself: Just do it! With a heavy, shaky gulp... "P-Please stop!" She cried out gallantly with obvious dread in her tone as she went into the scene. This caught everyone's attention, including the almighty and evil Steel Devil's.

"Who dares issue a command to I: Steel Devil?!" He wasn't exactly the giant brute the oni-gentleman was, but even for a lean-built man his iron body made him intimidating enough with the booming echo in his voice.

"I-I do!" Virtua stuttered, equipped with razor in hand.

"... Ah, she's shaking like a leaf..." One employee said.

"Yeah... she's probably just gonna be another one of us in a minute..." One of the teenagers lamented.

Great, they were already counting her out.

"A child wishes to stand against me?! Foooooolishness!!" Steel Devil scoffed then shouted, wasting no time charging at the quaking lass whose eyes widened with disbelief. Not playing around, he immediately went in for a punch only to be dodged by the thankfully nimble girl. Taking this chance to counter, her arm swiftly moved to cut for a counterattack and had... about the expected result. His steel-protected form only got a slight scratch from the attack and it did not stop him from actually decking his foe in the face, bruising her cheek with a brutal assault before proceeding with a fierce combo. A flurry of punches into an uppercut followed by a decisive kick that sent her flying backward. The Victoria heiress cried out in pain as her back hit the wall, feeling a greater force in the violent turbulence compared to the business suit-wearing oni. Just as she feared, he was powerful gauging from that one exchange where he held nothing back. "Come now, heroine! Strike me down or prove yourself a fraud!"

"Ugh... I have to... Use it again!" Feeling the heat of the battle already, like the firestorm from before in her mind, the girl allowed the wild fire to take over, using the small, sharp tool to slash at her palm while falling to the ground. Blood burst forth from the scar, surprising the spectators and the villain as they witnessed it absorbed into her arm, morphing its entirety into a black blade. "I'll... fight you with this...!" Virtua declared, choking her nerves as best she could with an unsteady stance as Steel Devil motioned her to attack. Naturally, she did just that, running fullspeed at him to begin a ferocious clash of steel. Their quirks were somewhat similar, as even though Steel Devil's body was covered in metal, it was still his body that would be victim to the shock damage of his "armor". Virtua's sword was not truly iron either, rather, it was hardened skin that could absorb impacts that would break her arm to an extent. This allowed them to go all-out with the professional actually punching her sword and she slashing at her opponent without mercy. Every time his hand made contact with her blade and vice versa, resounding clangs and sparks shot outward.

"Not bad! But not good enough!" He praised her effort, then rained on her parade by picking up the pace. It didn't matter to her however, as her nerves were being overwhelmed by primal instinct in combat. Hints of clumsiness and obvious signs of lackluster training were apparent, yet Vivi had the makings of a warrior ever still in mixes of precise and wide arcs, swinging to catch her opponent or deflect his attacks. Unlike the oni's punches of brutal force and willpower, she knew she could take this hits to her arm. Her oranges pupils even shrank a bit as evident focus, not letting up even if she was falling behind in strikes until the man grabbed her arm. She gasped as he grinned. "Gotcha!" Her state of zen was used against her, allowing her foe to lift her by the blade and throw her toward the other rabble. She tumbled wildly, giving a short, agonized screech as her hip and elbow collided with the floor first, following her back and the uncomfortable clanging of her sword-arm on the ground. "Know the might that is I: STEEL DEVIL!" The volunteer hollered victoriously as the woman stopped rolling, lying down and wincing in pain.

"No! No! No! Dammit, no! Not like this, man! So many of us have gotten our asses kicked by this clown! You can't be one of us! Please, get up and do something!" One of the upset participants shouted to the heroine-to-be.

"Yeah, this is embarrassing for us! We just wanted to have some fun with some possible students, but this guy is trying so hard! I don't even have my emerald on me anymore, I gave it to one of these kids!" A volunteer explained their pathetic predicament. In a way, this was a testament to complacent heroes while someone who was passionate about their work easily stomped them out.

"Come on, miss... You can do it." Unlike the other whiners, a younger volunteer for rescuing cheered her on. That must've been the kind of voice and message needed, as Virtua's normal hand balled itself up into a fist.

"Urgh..."

"Want some MOREEEEE?!" The man of steel taunted, trembling with excitement and fervor as he clenched his own fists.

"I can't win like this... I know already if I do that again, I'm just going to lose..." No matter how much she resolved herself, she timidly accepted that it was futile to attack her enemy head-on. That left her with... what exactly? Her blade-arm throbbed with pain from clashing against metal so much, and she grit her teeth while staring down her opponent. Having one eye shut to swallow the pulsating hurt, she began to think through the blaze of her mind... which is when it hit her. "I can't beat him with Bladelength... But...!" Taking a bet through the heritage that left the disgusting growth-scar at her hand, Virtua began to focus as much as she could on the sword and her enemy. "If they can't beat him and it's up to me...! This pressure is terrifying...!" The girl monologues as wind began to stir, a white and bright purple aura transforming her blade. "It's scary but I can't make it in if I can't do this... If I don't do this, I'll never reach anything near Deku's height...! If I don't do it, then everyone here is stuck with no chance! That's why I...!" Raising the empowered blade, it suddenly exploded with size, being vastly larger than her arm and easily expanding to the height of the maze's walls with a fiery coat of energy enhancing its width. The others in the area were shocked by this development, seeing the quirk emitting the radiance of a super power right before their eyes. Even Steel Devil was taken aback by the sight.

"What is this...?" The pro hero asked in an awed stupor. "This... This is a super move...?!"

"With this Tensalength-!!"

"This can't be! A mere child-?!" Super moves were not uncommon among heroes, but for a girl who was a bundle of quaking nerves and clumsy movement - someone who seemed like they had barely developed their ability at all...!


A spark awakened with the vivid imagery of a young lass watching her hero shine with power, green lightning crackling over his body as he shouted a phrase passed down through generations. Ever so intensely did she watch the video over and over as the man gave a smile, putting the pressure of heroism down to the villains before him. Screaming with all his heart, the one word resounded and now, in her adolescence, gave her the memory she could flash to that gave her strength. With that, the massive blade swung down with immense power, carrying trails of light as it crashed down onto the roleplaying evildoer who wailed and yelled painfully from the impact. The super sword ripped down through the material of the indestructible maze wall, not destroying it but grazing and slashing it through nothing more than its incredible length, making Vivi feel as if her arm was cutting into a thickly built board that irritated her skin. Despite this, she withstood the scratching sensation as her sword hit the ground, causing a swift quake that marked the end of the mad lad. Through that signal, everyone realized they were free. "Come on, you have to get out of here!" The heroine informed the crowd, who all agreed and quickly began helping each other from underneath the rubble and to their feet. As her arm returned to normal, they all began to take off running to the warp point. Some of the exam-takers were going out just to resume the test with some quick thanks, while others just gave up and wanted to go home - try again next year when it's easier maybe. Those who were rescued and those who were conceding followed the girl to the warp point, taking her advice and leaving the testing grounds before her as she watched, ensuring everyone's departure.

"Excuse me, miss." A rather short fellow appeared, smiling. She was so caught up with everything happening, his call actually took her out of her trance as she relaxed her breath and began to calm her body. This young lad presented her one sapphire, an emerald and one lucky ruby.

"Huh?"

"I was the one who said you could do it, and you sure did it. Though, you seem to have forgotten your rewards. The emerald from that guy and a sapphire from me. You have a good future ahead of you if you can step up bravely like that. That little extra ruby is just for impressing me after I saw you run past it."

"I... T-Thank you! Thank you so much! Thank you!"

"Haha, of course. Good luck."

"I won't forget this...!"

No, she would never forget this until the day she died: the generous boon that gave her exactly enough to finish. Albeit with one of the worst times possible for a passing grade, her dream to become a hero just like her sister and Deku to relieve the suffering of her family and become someone worthy of praise from Midoriya...

It was going to come true.