Authors note:
Speaking: "…"
Thinking: '…'
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Hitoshi pov
Grouped with the top five scorers of the test, Hitoshi was relatively excited to see what they could do in the field. While everyone formed their groups, the purple-haired teen made his way to the one he was assigned. Before they could exchange greetings, a faculty member arrived to escort them to their stage.
The location appeared to be multiple old, abandoned warehouses. After arriving, the faculty member explained that they would need to bring their hostage back to this location. They were given ten minutes to prepare before the test began.
After about thirty seconds of awkward silence, the earth user spoke up. "If no one else is planning on starting this, may I suggest we introduce ourselves and our quirks to better understand our team?" he asked respectfully with a smile, receiving nods from everyone.
"Splendid! I'll start. My name is Tatsuya Igarashi. I'm 18 years old, and my quirk is Terra Sovereign. It allows me to manipulate earth, rocks, metals, crystals, and generally anything found below the surface." Tatsuya explained, giving a slight bow.
Next, Hitoshi introduced himself and his quirk, earning some praise from the others for its unique qualities.
The boy who had finished the last test in first place went next. With short red hair, red eyes, and a wide smile, he introduced himself enthusiastically. "I'm Hotaru Kamaye, and my quirk is Quickstep. I can basically blink five meters to wherever I can see. It's not teleportation, I just move really fast. I can also chain the steps together to move farther, but I'm not that great at it yet," he admitted, his energy dimming slightly at the end.
Next was a small girl compared to the rest of the team, standing about 1.3 meters tall. She had light green hair styled into long pigtails and matching green eyes. "Before I start, I want to make it clear that I'm eighteen years old! My body is just naturally small. Anyway, my name is Shiori Ito, and my quirk is Phase Weave. I can create semi-transparent threads that can pass through physical objects if I want to. They aren't that strong and can only support about 100 kilograms before breaking. They also have a 20-meter range and can't go any further," she explained, showcasing her threads as they moved through debris.
Lastly was a girl who looked like a tired ghost. She had long, unkempt white hair and dull grey eyes. Yawning, she began, "Oh... it's my turn already? My name is Reiko Ayaki, and my quirk is Link Pulse... yawn. I can feel the five senses of people and objects if I touch them. It only works on three targets at a time... yawn. I can also share my thoughts with linked humans... yawn," she finished lazily.
"Good. Now that we know our options, I'd suggest we name a leader to make things easier," Igarashi proposed, with everyone nodding in agreement.
"Oh, oh! Can I be the leader?" Kamaye asked, bouncing around excitedly and blinking in and out of existence.
"No way I'm letting you command me, knucklehead," Ito countered. "I think Igarashi should just take the lead. It's not like this test will be that difficult. Besides, he's already kind of taken charge."
"I don't really care... yawn. Let's just get this over with," Ayaki agreed weakly.
‚I mean, I could probably lead this team better, but I'm not feeling like doing it today', Hitoshi thought before saying, "Yeah, I'm with Ayaki on this. Let him take the lead and let's move on."
"Kamaye, are you okay with that?" Igarashi asked.
"Sure, sure! I just wanna go fast, run run run!" Kamaye replied in between quicksteps.
‚Does he ever run out of energy?' the violet-eyed boy wondered.
"Well, since everyone agrees, I'll take the lead. Now, Hitoshi, I wanted to confirm something. Since we're going up against robots, I assume your quirk won't work on them?" Igarashi asked.
„Your assumption is right, my quirk has zero use on robots, so it's not going to be of much help. I do consider myself a decent martial artist, though," Hitoshi confirmed, his hands in his pockets.
"Oh, interesting. Would you perhaps be confident enough to come with me to the front lines and face the robot if need be?" Igarashi asked, a hand on his chin.
The purple-haired teen was about to give his answer when a certain red energy bundle blurted out, "Oh, oh, can I come to the front lines too?" Kamaye asked, excitedly bouncing up and down.
"I'm terribly sorry, Kamaye, but I want you to focus on rescuing the hostage since you're the fastest," the earth user proposed, lovingly patting the redhead's hair.
"OH YES! Yes, yes, that's cool! I'll be the fastest rescuer ever!" the speedster declared proudly.
"Now, Shinso, what do you say?" Igarashi asked once again.
"Sure, I don't mind," the aura user replied nonchalantly.
"Perfect! Then I have a plan!" Igarashi exclaimed before beginning to explain his thoughts.
Five minutes later, a bell rang, indicating the start of their test. Wasting no time, the group headed toward the warehouses.
"Ayaki!" the leader instructed as they stopped behind a bunch of crates. Placing her hand on the ground, Ayaki scanned the area. After a moment, she told them, "The only movement in any of the warehouses is in the middle one... Yawn."
Taking the white-haired girl's hand, Igarashi then instructed, "Then we proceed as planned. Let's go," before their team silently made their way to the designated location.
Arriving there, the team separated into two groups, with Kamaye blinking onto the rooftop and then pulling both girls up using one of Ito's threads.
Meanwhile, Hitoshi and Igarashi waited quietly by the front gate to the warehouse. Silently using his quirk, Igarashi broke the iron lock on the gate.
‚There's one robot inside... Yawn. Three meters tall. One hostage behind it. We're in position... Yawn.' A voice rang inside Igarashi's head.
"Let's go," the earth user whispered to the aura user.
With that, the golden-eyed teen used his quirk to open the iron gates. Both teens then stormed inside the warehouse, quickly spotting the black robot guarding a female hostage.
Quickly taking a stance, Igarashi performed several hand gestures. As he did, the ground around the robot rose up, trapping its feet.
Not letting it recover, Hitoshi jumped in close, drawing the robot's focus to himself as he dodged its slow punches and rubber bullets. Then, moving in for an attack, he pulled out a rock club, crafted by Igarashi before the battle, and aimed for the robot's head.
"Foolish human, you forgot I have a hostage. Ha ha ha! If you hit me with that, I'll shoot the hostage. Ha ha ha!" the robot mocked as it aimed its gun at the hostage's location.
"What hostage?" Hitoshi sarcastically asked, continuing his assault.
Turning its head to where the hostage was supposed to be, the steel giant found no one. Instead, Tatsuya Igarashi stood there, arms crossed. Looking up through the roof window, the robot saw the hostage being freed by Ayaki, while Kamaye dangled from one of Ito's threads that had phased through the roof.
"And now you're done," the earth user added as a massive stone spike shot out of the ground, piercing the robot's chest.
Afterward, Hitoshi smashed its head to ensure it was taken care of.
After successfully returning the unharmed hostage to the staff member and receiving their passing notice, the team did a fist bump for a job well done. Immediately after, they were led back to a smaller hall with about 45 participants already inside.
Coming onto the stage again, Storm made her final reappearance.
"All remaining hero course applicants, I congratulate you on overcoming the physical part of your exam. Now, for the last part of the exam, we will conduct individual interviews with each of you. These interviews will be held by me. That's all, the first applicant who arrived may follow me."
Since Hitoshi and his team had started their last test the latest, they would also be the last to be interviewed. So, the group made themselves comfortable and started talking with each other for the next couple of hours. After a while, everyone was called into the meeting room, leaving the purple-haired teen as the last applicant to be interviewed.
As Storm came closer and instructed him to follow her lead, he suddenly felt the large aura signature that had been observing him vanish. He thought about it for a moment when, suddenly, the vice principal spoke.
"Hitoshi Shinso, I've been a teacher at this school for over 30 years and the vice principal for nearly 13. I've seen many impressive applicants come here and take the exam, some even breaking records," she said, not looking him in the eye.
"Yet, in all that time, I've never seen the principal ask to conduct an interview personally. This year, the madam's own son even took the same entrance exam, yet she still chose you. I hope you know that I have high expectations for you in the future," she finished, looking at him with hope in her eyes as they stopped before a large, rounded double door with a snowflake crest in the middle.
Looking at the crest, the purple-haired teen thought, ‚Shiketsu's principal... There is basically nothing known about her other than the fact that she was a well-respected pro hero named Frost, with a ridiculously strong ice quirk, about 50 years ago. She never revealed her true identity and rarely appears publicly these days, since Storm handles most public affairs. This room was the location of the strong aura signature that's been watching me... I have a bad feeling all of a sudden.'
Noticing the teen's hesitation, the weather hero nudged him a bit.
"The madam is awaiting you inside. Oh, and I'm warning you beforehand, she can be quite rude, brash, and short-tempered. So try not to anger her."
‚Gee, thanks for the heads-up,' the secret assassin thought as he opened the doors and stepped inside the dimly lit room, feeling the door close behind him with Storm waiting outside.
The only light in the room came from two torches with blue flames hanging from the walls. The air was bone-chilling, almost like the days he'd spent training in an icy cave with Shoto. As he walked through the dark room, he noticed intricate ice sculptures scattered around. At the far end stood a single wooden desk positioned before a large circular window, its curtains drawn shut.
Suddenly, someone appeared behind him, a woman with long silver hair and violet eyes, wearing a traditional dark maid uniform with silver embroidery. Her face was devoid of emotion, and the purple-haired teen could sense a strong aura emanating from her, though it wasn't the same as before.
Bowing and lifting the sides of her uniform slightly, she greeted him.
"I welcome you, member of the Eight Rings. My name is Elara, and I am here to inform you that the Madam of Ice, of the Aegis, has invited you to her castle for a game. I hope you accept her invitation."
Shocked by her words, Hitoshi was momentarily unable to respond, his mind racing as he wondered how they had discovered his connection.
Elara spoke again.
"I should also inform you that if you refuse, you will not be accepted into the school."
Now fully aware of the gravity of the situation, he hesitantly answered, "Alright, fine. I'll play her game. Where are we going?"
‚This day did not go how I imagined it would...'
"Splendid. Then, if you would please take my hand, we'll be off immediately," the silver-haired maid stated, extending her hand.
With some hesitation, Hitoshi eventually took her hand, and in an instant, they vanished.