---

Days of effort quickly turned into weeks, but everything that had needed to be settled with was done; the only thing that was left was for tomorrow to finally take place.

"Who would've thought that gathering a bunch of outcasts would be this hard?" Tumble continued to stare into the screen in front of her as she sifted through the profiles of all the children that she was going to take under her wing. She had already read their profiles over a dozen times each, but for some reason, Tumble couldn't help but repeatedly look over them.

Did most of them remind her of what she was before? Maybe she just found something that she could relate with in each one of them. There was no point in bothering about such things though; there wasn't really any clear way of finding out.

The sound of a long sigh echoed throughout Tumble's room as she turned away from her computer and began swiveling from left to right in her chair. With drink in hand, she simply starred at the star-filled night sky.

Taking several sips, the chilled whisky smoothly ran down her throat, causing her body to briefly shudder. Tumble ahhed in delight as her body loosened up and relaxed; a bit of alcohol was exactly what she needed. Turning back to her screen, she set her drink aside and resumed her work.

Her fingers were sluggish and eyes droopy. "This is definitely gonna be a long night." Tumble said in, or at least what sounded like, a drunken stupor.

---

The city of Musutafa and the entirety of Japan had patiently waited for this day to come. Although in no way was this event actually advertised, news of it had spread like wildfire throughout social media and immediately become viral in a matter of hours since information of it was released to the public.

What was supposed to be a small gathering with some acquaintances, associates, and maybe a few family members of the participating children, turned into a massive event that garnered not only the masses but also a significant amount of media personnel.

Flashing lights, reverberating sounds of shuttering, and a roaring crowd; this was certainly not the way they expected things to turn out. All nine of the children that had gathered in front of the hero agency, were left defenseless.

One of the heroes was a odd looking one. Pale skin, pale hair, even her eyes were a misty shade of grey. Her general appearance gave a rather meek look, standing shorter than most of the other heroes.

She held at her identification cane, holding it close. She didn't like the noise, the crowd, it was way too much for her. To help clear her head and focus on something that wasn't all the noise, she counted the people in the crowd, her Radar going off. Under her breath she counted. A reporter approached her, taking a photograph as he was at it. "Can I ask you a few questions, ma'am? I'm over here." He said, hitting the fingers of his right hand against the palm of his left, trying to catch her attention.

"I'm not deaf." Shen-Mu replied, despite her foreign sounding name, her Japanese was flawless. Speaking to the man, but not looking at him. Behind, in front, or to the side, with her quirk it was all the same. "What are your questions?"

"Thank you," the reporter pulled up his camera, "Tell the folks at home about yourself."

"I paint." Shen-Mu replied, "I paint what I see without my eyes."

"Uh huh..." the reporter began to feel uneasy about the girl, looking to the crowd, not even sure how to follow up on a statement like that.

White noise seemed to pack the space between Shouichi's ears, as he froze up completely. Flash photography and glinting lenses dazzled his round eyes. He'd lost his mother in the crowd...

Shifting awkwardly, sweat beading all over him, he suddenly became more conscious of the way his white T-shirt stretched over his round body while his mud colored slacks bit into his waist. His uneven hair dangled as bowed his head, school bag hanging from his shoulder. Already he was regretting everything. Normally he'd be sleeping so he could catch War:Zero tonight while it aired, but 'I can't miss the first day' he reasoned to himself.

I just want to leave...

While Jake was being ushered out of the car and in front of the building he saw the giant crowd in between him and the door....he wasn't good in crowds - to many people in too small a place - and before he could make a break for the door a man with a camera shoved a mic in his face and started blurting out questions. "Hey are you Satan the devil from the underground? Is it true that you can regenerate? Do you still feel pain? Did your parents really torture you? Do you remember them? Are you even human?"

Jake's face got even paler then normal as he tried to cover his ears to blank out all the incoming questions. The man waited for a few seconds for Jake's response and it finally came in a rage of answers mixed with hysterical laughter and an ear to ear grin. "SHUT UP!!!!!! YES I AM SATAN THE UNDERGROUND DEVIL!!!!! YES I CAN REGENERATE HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!! PAIN???? I AM PAIN!!!! EVERYTHING ABOUT ME IS PAIN HA HA HA HA HA!!!!! YES MY PARENTS TORTURED ME!!! THEY DID IT FOR FUN HA HA HA AND YES I REMEMBER THEM, EVERY CUT, EVERY FINGER THEY CHOPPED OFF, EVERY TIME THEY OPENED ME UP JUST TO SEE WHAT WAS INSIDE, I REMEMBER EVERY BIT OF IT AND YES....I'M...."He stared into blank space as all the emotion left his face along with the ear to ear grin and he finished his sentence with a barely more then a whisper "I am human at least I think so anyway. I'm done with this I'm gonna go find the fridge."

He walked through the crowd merely pushing his way past anyone in between him and the door and proceeded inside.

Reina stood with her hands balled and stuck deep into her jacket pockets. She stared at the shifting crowd ahead of her uncomfortably, glancing over at her father next to her as the man cleared his throat. He looked as incredulous as she felt.

"Wow, guess you're something of a celebrity now, Rein," he said.

The girl looked back to the crowd without replying. She had suspected that something like this might eventually happen--a sensible occurence when one associates with one of the most popular heroes in the country. She had even thought about how she should carry and present herself in front of cameras, to start building her image as a hero on the right foot.

This though... it was a little much, and a little soon. While the crowd wasn't necessarily there for her, she was part of the reason for it, and there was little doubt she'd be veritably swarmed the moment she stepped towards the building and was recognized.

Reina's father spoke again, breaking her from her thoughts.

"I'll walk with you to the door, alright?" he said, the concern in his voice apparent--at the moment, the girl wasn't doing a great job of hiding her nerves.

She shook her head. "No, it's okay." She gave her father a small smile, as reassuring as she could manage, and he nodded in response, understanding. She wanted her first public appearance as a potential hero to be as strong as she could manage; appearing to be babysat during it wouldn't help.

Reina wasn't ready for this, she thought, but before letting herself hesitate she gave her father a small wave and started to quickly make her way into the crowd and to the hero agency. Her thoughts focused on her quirk, keeping her gravitational field as close to neutral as possible--she found herself dreading the thought of slipping up and causing someone to lose their balance and injure themselves, especially now of all times.

"Excuse me," she said repeatedly as she pushed through the crowd, apologizing as her orbs made contact with people. She swallowed hard, keeping her head down as she strained to keep her gravity as consistently weak as possible.

"Ms. Mori? Ms. Reina Mori!"

As focused on her quirk as she was, she jumped slightly at being called out by name, turning her head quickly to see a middle-aged woman with a microphone being followed by a camera man.

Here we go... she thought, preparing herself to speak as confidently as she could. She could make a good first impression, she had too.

And then she realized she had turned tail and was pushing through the crowd directly away from the reporter that had recognized her.

"Ms. Mori! the reporter called again, clearly trying to catch up.

What... what the hell was wrong with her? Reina had made direct eye contact with the reporter. It was completely clear she had seen the woman and knew she was calling to her. The girl tried to stuff her hands further into her pockets, feeling trapped by the decision she had taken with no thought. She really didn't feel like facing the reporter after that, but the woman wasn't giving up, having called Reina's name two more times already.

Annoyingly persistent. Reina bit the corner of her mouth in embarrassed frustration and decided it was best to cut her losses. Fighting to keep herself from visibly shaking, she turned around to face the camera that was following her.

The girl's eyes widened as she saw there were three cameras pushing towards her now, as well as two more reporters--the first reporter's yelling had brought some extra greatly unwanted attention clearly.

Weak gravity, weak gravity, weak gravity...

Reina all but shut down as they pounced on her, a deer caught in the headlights as three competing questions came at once. It took all she had to fight the instinct to push them all away with her quirk. Why were they interested in her, of all people? Surely there were others recruited by Tumble that were more deserving of the attention of these cameras.

"Excuse me?..." she managed, having understood none of the overlapping questions through the noise of the crowd.

All three came at the same time again, causing a twinge of annoyance to replace some of the anxiety that had gripped the girl. Her eyes narrowed and she managed to look the reporters in the eyes.

"One at a time," she said, far more forcefully than she thought she could manage, even taking the reporters aback slightly--that was fine, forceful was better than pathetically meek. She eyed the first reporter who had found her, indicating she had the first question.

The first two questions were nothing much. The woman asked about the incident Reina had been caught up in a month before, and the second reporter asked for her thoughts on what Tumble was trying to accomplish with the sudden recruitment of her and the others. Reina answered them as best she could, settling down quickly as she began to force herself to get over the fact that she didn't feel like this attention was deserved. She wasn't as eloquent as she would've hoped, but she thought she at least didn't make a fool of herself. She turned to the third reporter to hear him out.

"You've been rejected by numerous high-profile hero academies in the past--how does it feel to be picked up by Tumble despite that?" he asked.

The girl stopped, glancing away from him immediately as the sting of the question hit. These people had really dug into her past. A part of a hero's job that she'd have to accept if she hoped to become one... but it felt violating.

Why do you care?

I'm nobody.

I know I shouldn't be here.

I know I'm not strong enough.

Reina bit her lip, at least raising her head but looking away from the cameras as she answered.

"I'm grateful to her for the chance. I'll work hard to try not to waste it." Professional and truthful, if a little curt. The girl had plenty more to say, but now was not the time--if there even was any appropriate time to voice her thoughts.

She wanted to be elsewhere now more than ever. With an unenthusiastic nod of farewell to the reporters, she quickly made an exit through the crowd towards the hero agency, hoping they'd leave her alone.

Fenrir casually walked down the path. He was use to crowds of people who don’t know how to shut up, invasive questions, and the occasional ravings of a lunatic. The context might be different, but they still felt familiar. His eyes was focused right in front of him, however his ears keep turning from side to side. Fenrir could handle crowds, he didn’t like them, but he learned to tolerate them. The real problem was that felt like the perfect time for someone to attack them, and the sea of people will quickly turn into a liability.

As he was walking, he snapped out of his haze and realized that while he was scanning the crowd for suspicious sounds, a reporter had put a mic in his face and several of them was calling his real name. “Firstly, it is Fenrir. But go ahead, ask your questions. It isn’t like I have anything better to do right now.” he said, as he keep walking forward at the same pace.

One reporter asked, "What is your relationship with the villain by the name Erland Calderson, who now goes by the name Loki?"

Fenrir bite his lip, looking around You are mistaking my boss for someone else. He might be a street thug, but he is a good man.

Another reporter asked, "What made you join this group? Was it order to get pardon for your past crimes."

He paused and shrugged his shoulders, "I just got bored. That and my old haunt smelled like rotting cheese."

A third reporter asked, "What do you think about the other members of this team?"

Fenrir looked around, "First time seeing them, but my first impression is that they are utterly useless. The only one that looks like he could handle a fight is Mr. Crazy over there."

Fenrir noticed that he was close to do the door, Ok no more questions, you social parasites. he said, and just picked up pace and went towards the door.

Tommy was holding two brown paper gift bags, bulging with plastic toys and the like from a recent day of work. If he was being honest he really just wanted to go and cash them in, but the wall of flashing bulbs and jostling reporters prevented him from escaping. Given that he was standing alone away from any guardian or authority figure, Tommy was a prime target for the carrion feeders otherwise known as journalists.

“Hello, boy! What’s your name?” suddenly a microphone was shoved in his face and a journalist that was pretty enough for television broke his reverie. Putting on his game face Tommy slouched slightly and looked as shoes and shyly looking up at the lady.

“U-um, I’m Tommy!” the chipper tone and a smile that he had practiced to melt hearts was plastered across his face, his bags swinging by his side.

“And how do you feel about the hero Tumble taking you on?” the woman kindly smiling in response to Tommy’s show.

“Wow, I don’t know what to think. A hero wanting me? I have nooo idea why she’d want me. Everyone else seems just so amazing! How can I possibly compare~?” Looking towards the doors, Tommy although not hating the spotlight wouldn’t mind being out of it.

“And what do you have in your bags Tommy?” looking down the journalist saw the two bags filled with… well, almost garbage. Plastic masks, toy dinosaurs, a firetruck, and other assorted bits of plastic junk all filling the bags to the brim.

“Oh, they’re prizes! I better go now; my ear still hurts from being dragged here! I don’t want to get in trouble on my first day~.” Dodging the question, Tommy with his grin also began dodging the reporters, lightly activating his Quirk to push away from all of them, or more accurately him away from them. Like a fish swimming through a river, Tommy slipped away through the crowd, brushing shoulders with another candidate who’d just finished her interview. Rubbing his cheeks from the smiling, Tommy raised an eyebrow at her

“Gotta hate these vultures don’t ya? They’ll pick you to pieces if they think you’re easy prey. Easier to throw them a bone to fight over and then run like hell while they’re occupied. I’m Tommy, nice to meet you. If you don’t mind, I’ll save the handshaking for inside” the doors to the hero agency less looming in front of him

Interacting with: @Riegal

Akemi dashed around the rocky mountain path as she lagged behind. Her friends ahead clearing a path while Timn, directly in front of her, reached out his hand to help her along. She didn't dare look behind, as she could tell their lead was almost non-existent. Akemi took Timn's hand and was pulled forward as the stone door scraped against the heel of her shoe. Everyone was panting. It was dark, but they were safe.

"The hard part is over, yes?" Akemi teased, knowing full well that there was more to come. They weren't even half way done with their journey, and never mind the fact that they only just entered orc territory. Akemi looked up to find that everyone had left. Her eyes quickly rushed around, and her hand reached out to where she could've sworn Timn was just there. Oh, he was. Akemi grinned, thinking the others probably went to scout ahead. Timn grinned too, his pointy teeth shined in what little light there was and his eyes were shared her relief with a red hue. Akemi was able to catch her breath with him there and her stomach seemed to cease its nervousness. A wave of tiredness flew over her in her relief as she looked down. A curiosity caught her eye. Something shiny seemed to be sticking out of her. Or into her. Then she remembered; Timn didn't have red eyes or pointed teeth.

"Zzz Zzz-!"

Though Akemi didn't snore, there was rustling coming from the plant that sat not too far from the door, against the wall. Akemi, who had been curled up asleep, awoke and stood to find a few flower buds falling from her vines as well as a crowd of people surrounding her. Loud people. Akemi had arrived the night before as she didn't exactly know when she should've been here. Not that she'd care a couple of days from now when she started skipping again, but it wouldn't hurt to make a good first impression. She looked around and wondered why there were so many reporters and the like here. There was only, what, ten people that could pass as a student here? And was that it? Only ten students? Sure, she supposed more could've showed up, but now she understood why she might've been able to join. They could use all the students they could get.

A sea of bodies. A storm of voices. An endless stream of clicks and ticks and flashing lights as fingers scrabbled against screens and buttons, desperately snapping shots to be slapped on a web page with some hastily written text and perhaps a choice quote or two, whichever would draw the most hits from bored or curious citizens looking for a few minutes of pointless entertainment in checking out the latest buzz on the hero scene. Some would spin it as a feel-good piece, the disadvantaged kids being offered a generous chance at redemption. Others would shoot for controversy, painting Tumble as an irresponsible upstart trying to drag mentally unstable youths and literal criminals into what was supposed to be a prestigious and tightly regulated field of work. If either story sold well enough, it might even end up being scavenged by the dead tree press the next morning.

Really, though, the whole clusterfuck could be summed up in a single sentence: it was attention, something Toma Shuko was doing her very best to avoid at the moment.

She'd known it would be one of the risks from the moment she'd received Tumble's offer, but had hoped the hero in question would keep things quiet. Evidently, she had not. Which led to the worrying question of whether this whole affair was just a big PR stunt. It certainly wouldn't be the first time Shuko had been taken for a ride.

Luckily she hadn't been the first to arrive, and by the time she'd showed up the press and gawkers alike had already ambushed the other prospective heroes, leaving her free to watch the whole scene from some distance away. A few people might have seen her, but when there was a guy cosplaying as Satan screaming about pain and violence only a few yards away, nobody was going to pay much attention to a scrawny girl with messy hair in a rumpled grey sweater, clutching a thin notebook to her chest.

The latter was a deliberate choice on her part, meant to make her look as boring as humanly possible for the cameras. Plain features and a dead expression did the rest, and for now only one pair of eyes was actually looking at her.

"Shuko. I'm fairly sure you're supposed to be standing in front of that crowd."

She met her father's gaze, trying to look a great deal calmer than she actually felt. "You're right. I'm hesitating again." She paused. "But the less time I have to spend in that mess, the better."

"If you're going to go through with this, you'll be seeing plenty more of the press from now on. You can't avoid them forever."

"I can avoid them now."

"Perhaps. But the thicker that crowd gets, the harder it'll be to move through, and you wouldn't want to be stuck back here and miss your first day." Gently, he rested a hand on one of her shoulders, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "I know you hate this part. I also know you're strong enough to brave it."

"Not strong."

He rolled his eyes a little at that. "You're as pedantic as your mother. Fine, not strong, but capable. You already have a plan for this, don't you?"

Shuko's cold expression cracked, just a little. A smile, fleeting, too quick to catch if one weren't looking for it.

Her father noticed, and smiled right back. "Go on, then. Before time runs out."

She nodded, and stepped forwards.

Part of her reason for hanging back was simple reluctance, the other part was a need to observe. Her thoughts had drifted, from the types of clothing on display to the lumens of each camera flash to the absence of Tumble herself to the other hero candidates to a somewhat cynical internal discussion on the media and this whole situation. All of it was fluff. Fluff to pass the time as she watched the crowd, gathering information for her Quirk to chew on.

Humans as individuals could be incredibly unpredictable. Humans as a group were far less so. The crowd had parameters she could use, points where people had focused their attention, which in turn determined the overall movement of the throng. Once she understood how this great mass of bodies worked, she could make a rough estimate of the fastest way through it.

Which she'd just done, leaving her with nothing to do but walk straight in.

Head down, shoulders hunched. First through the more open areas, where there remained some respect for personal space, then into the scrum at the front. Bodies pressed against her, larger than her, stronger than her, and she focused, making sure to push through in such a way as to move people towards the centers of attention, giving them an excuse to push forwards against others rather than push back against her. Not everyone responded the same way, but the law of averages was in full effect here, and she slipped through the crowd like a ghost.

Until a roving glance caught her and made the connection, and a hand reached out to try and seize her, a shouted question already in the air. Shuko twisted to one side, away from the grasping fingers, and moved on as if nothing had happened.

Some had caught wind, now, and were yelling or snapping photos, but the most they'd get would be a dull grey blur as she moved away from them, and a stiff, unyielding silence. If she didn't say anything, then what could they write about? Enough pressure would eventually force her to speak, but she was counting on a simple rule of nature here: when presented with a choice predators tended to go after the easier prey.

Sure enough, the attention passed, returning to the dog and the devil and whoever else was putting on a show. Shuko breathed a quiet sigh of relief, her pulse returning to normal as she made her way over to a squat-looking boy who seemed to have clammed up as well. Of all the others, he seemed the least likely to be photographed- the media didn't favor the unattractive. She'd stand next to him, and with any luck they'd be ignored until Tumble showed up.

(With @Pacifista's character for now)

Yuki was passing through the crowd at a snail's pace. Mostly because he was stopping for every question. Unlike his peers, he wasn't camera shy by any stretch. In fact, he was striking poses for every photo. It was hard to say whether he had the reporters eating out of the palm of his hand, or the other way around. Either way, Yuki was digging the attention.

"Any ideas for a superhero name?" A reporter asked.

"Ice Dragon." He said, a wicked grin on his face.

"Your father, Soichiro Takamine, he was recently-"

"I walk my own path." Yuki said, wicked grin still plastered on his face.

"Favorite c-"

"Blue. Ice blue." He said, giving the thumbs up. It was about this time that Satan himself started yelling. Yuki watched, a smile across his face as the drama unfolded. Well, he knew a good time when he saw one. He pushed past the reporters, completely ignoring them as he headed for the entrance of school, only to see a plant girl pop up from the ground in front of him. Huh. Cool power. He held he door open for her behind him as he followed Satan.

"Nice job dealing with those reporters. That was metal as hell." Yuki said, giving Jake the thumbs up. "Name's Yuki. You go by Satan, right? I've been thinking of changing my name to Ice Dragon myself."

@KRAZY J @Er0r

The girl kept her head down as she made her way to the doors, but what she could only describe as the ravings of a lunatic caused her to glance up. She found the source of the voice--a boy around her age, apparently another of Tumble's chosen judging by his very loud answers to the same sort of questions she'd just suffered through herself. Reina couldn't help but eye the boy in disbelief as he pushed through the crowd. Was he the norm for Tumble's recruits? She could only hope not, or she'd be dealing with constant headaches, along with feeling even more out of place.

Not fully paying attention due to her thoughts, Reina lightly bumped into someone. She opened her mouth to apologize, stopping when she noticed the person was a younger boy, and very likely another recruit, judging by his apparent age and the way he was carrying himself.

“Gotta hate these vultures don’t ya? They’ll pick you to pieces if they think you’re easy prey. Easier to throw them a bone to fight over and then run like hell while they’re occupied," he said to her.

Reina paused for a moment, realizing he was talking about the reporters. Vultures. That was a nicer way of putting it than what she had in mind, and it elicited a faint but genuine smile from her. She nodded in agreement, throwing a glance over her shoulder at the crowd and the flashing cameras.

"I’m Tommy, nice to meet you. If you don’t mind, I’ll save the handshaking for inside,” he said. She looked back to him as they continued towards the building. She was impressed with how easily social he seemed to be, dealing with the crowd without any visible discomfort. It was a personality trait she often wished she had a bit of, especially in this moment.

"Reina," she replied, eyeing the other apparent recruits that had found themselves gathering at the front of the hero agency. An interesting bunch, that was certain. While there was no shaking the feeling of not belonging quite yet, no one really seemed to 'belong.' Reina wasn't sure how she felt about that--but at the very least, Tommy seemed easy enough to be around.

"I'm not big on shaking hands," she added with another half-smile.

@McFazzer

_BGM
There was a soft breeze that carried pink and brown hair through the air.
A single bench occupied by a single person, complete serenity and quietness surrounded her.

It was so very boring; Nori had been waiting all night. The last piece of a sandwich was still plastered to the cheek of her face, desperately seeking a stomach to fill. It would never serve its purpose, as Nori wiped her gill with the soft back of her hand, letting the crumb surf the wind away. As she put her hand in front of her and observed a wristwatch, she noticed the clock indicators slowly moving, the waiting was killing her.

With a big thump and sigh, Nori dropped her right shoulder on the bench, closing her eyes and trying to catch some sleep. The wind settled, and the sunrise brought with it a warm glow that carried her to sleep.

“tss, damn gutter-children, should find someplace else to sleep, ruining a perfectly fine neighborhood like that.”

The words of a stranger rudely awoke her, but Nori was too excited to let some guy ruin her mood that easily. Upon looking at her wristwatch one more time though, her eyes lit up. It felt as if butterflies filled her belly, and her smile would never go, yet with that smile came two dedicated eyes that were facing in the direction of the agency; it was time.

Putting one foot in front of the other, she had started to move towards it, with every step more intense than the last, until she was running at her top speed. Although her eyes were firmly locked in one direction, Nori had started to notice more people along the same path and slowly but surely, a crowd could be heard louder and louder.

Her sprint was put to a halt when she realized that these people were looking for her. Of course it wasn’t just her; it was every person that received the invitation from Miss Tumble that was being targeted. She was well aware of the popularity of this event, yet in all her excitement she forgot to prepare herself for it.

Slow breaths filled her lungs as Nori tried to calm down and think of a strategy to deal with the press, ignoring them would give the other students a chance to shine, but being in the spotlight too much would limit her freedom. When dealing with these crowds, it was important to stay level-headed and not let yourself get carried away. And upon reaching the crowd, her plan was satisfactory for her.

Before making her known, she first opted to check out the rest of the competition, and it was a good way to prepare her for them too, seeing as how they could be hardcore villains for all Tumble cares. By focusing on the reporters and which way they were screaming, she could easily find most of the fellow students and some did indeed impress her. Most handled the press with ease, answering a few questions before reaching the building. One guy really seemed to dig the attention; if his ego wasn’t as inflated as an oversized balloon, he might be a good guy.
Another looked like a stereotypical villain with a crazy attitude and a scarred for life story, but most looked decent enough.
This class was already shaping up to be quite interesting, but now it was Nori’s turn to shine.

Her chin held up, a straight back, hair waving in the wind after placing one hand on her neck and throwing her hair tail over her shoulder, she took a step forward; she was going to give that ego a run for his money.
Her mind was focused on one thing, getting the crowd to love her; her eyes looked zealous, like a top athlete about to score the winning point.

“Nori Azami! Miss Azami!? How does it feel to be part of Tumble’s new pet project!? Why were you chosen over many more qualified individuals! Do you have a criminal record!? What do your parents think of this!?” some of the reporters noticed the heterochromatic eyes and hair and immediately bombarded Nori with questions. For a fraction of a second Nori seemed shocked, but it instantly turned into a ribald smile as Nori replied.

_BGM
“Your questions don’t interest me, now please move aside.”

Of course no reporters complied, and they continued their barrage as Nori resumed walking forward, right into them. She pulled up her sleeves and held her arms in front of her. And when the journalist in front of Nori was about to stop her, a sudden gust of air pushed the reporter aside, and Nori continued to walk towards the building. Every attempt at communication got countered by the wind as Nori gracefully paraded towards the agency building, pushing aside everyone who didn’t move out of the way with her quirk.

This might have been a rude and bold move for her, and she might not even have liked to do it, but right now, she did not need to impress the newspapers, the real crowd was her class, which was undoubtedly filled with problematic people and villains. And right now, she showed that she did not take shit from nobody; she was not timid and definitely not afraid.

As soon as Jake got in the door he sighed and his face returned to normal and the blasting emotion came back to his face. "I think I did a god job at messing with there minds with that preformance but I can't have them thinking I'll be turned to a goody two shoes so easily plus I'm Satan I like doing things wild style." Jake then grinned at Yuki and bowed. "Yes Satan's the name and crazy's the game! You said Ice Dragon now that would be cool."

As Jake examined the shrub person his gaze drew outside to the crowd of people and a huge grin came over his face as he turned to Yuki and said "I think we should help the others get inside before the reporters eat them. You take the left I'll take the right and get our...colleges... - Jake said this almost like he didn't know the meaning of having colleges - "In here and blockade the doors" Jake finished this statement looking at Yuki waiting for his acceptance and acknowledgement.

---

Being showered by unwanted inquiries, maddening noise, and dazzling lights was definitely not how most wanted to start their day. Leaving oneself in a vexatious mood was more than acceptable given the circumstances they were in, but the same couldn't be said about all of the children. Some embraced the attention from the horde around them and chose to gloriously bask in the temporary limelight. In a way, having individuals who had such brazen personalities was an advantage for the rest since that only meant that less focus would be directed towards themselves.

Given the events that had taken place, it wouldn't be surprising if the names Satan and Ice Dragon started to circulate around the internet. Unfortunately, even among the silent and asocial ones, just having their appearances known to the public was enough to create a social uproar of some sort. Simply being directly linked to Tumble was more than enough to garner some reputation to one's name. Whether they would receive praise and be adored, or ridiculed and just be gossiped about, was anyone's guess.

Suddenly, without any warning whatsoever, streams of odorless chalkish-white smoke erupted from the doors and windows of the agency, blanketing the streets and everyone in front of it in a thick cloud. Given the conditions everyone was in, specifically having their vision completely obscured, it wasn't that shocking that screams of anxiety suddenly filled the air. However, this moment of panic and fear was merely something short-term.

After what seemed to be a minute, the smoke that had flooded the streets soon dissipated along with the unruliness of those who were affected by it. Most were left dumbfounded though with what had happened; the children who everyone came to see, had vanished, while the doors and windows of Tumble's agency, were sealed shut.

---

Albeit left coughing and slightly suffocated, everyone Tumble had chosen found themselves on the floor and inside the agency. How they got inside was something they weren't quite sure of; it felt as if they were grabbed and simply dragged inside the premises of the building. However, before they could put two and two together, they noticed someone standing in front all of them, who was apparently smoking a cigarette. Appearance-wise, he wasn't all that impressive; average height, typical facial features, ordinary attire, and a common hairstyle. But for some reason, their was an air of confidence that was exuding from his very being.

The young man let out several puffs of smoke before speaking. "Sup noobies."

With a conceited stride, he approached the group and crouched down. "The name's Boro." he said as he pointed upwards over his head. The puff of smoke he had just exhaled had transformed and slowly turned into his name before quickly dispersing into nothing. "When Tumble isn't around, I usually run this place."

Currently, Boro cared little for what the children thought of him or if they had anything they wanted to say. "Anyway, before our boss gets here, let's try being a little productive. Okay?"

After taking in a deep breath, Boro had let out a massive plume of smoke. Immediately, it branched into at least seven others that began to slowly surrounded everyone before completely spiraling upward towards the ceiling.

"Don't mind all this; think of it as safety measure." The fiendish grin that appeared on Boro's face just made his actions even more questionable for those around him.

"Let's get down to business. You guys are supposed to be turn into heroes, huh?" he slightly scoffed at the thought as he took a quick glimpse at everyone.

"Split into groups, probably three or four of you each in one group seems about right. Whether you like it or not, you're all gonna to end up seeing and working with each other more often than not. So talk amongst yourselves and get to know each other."

Boro turned his back and walked towards one of the corner's within their smoke-like encasement. "Oh, and before I forgot." He abruptly stopped and slight turned his head, showing the rest another one of his dastardly grins. "Whenever any of you feel like you're done, pick someone who you think doesn't deserve to be in this program and head over to me. We don't need any liabilities."

With that, Boro distanced himself from the children, sat on the floor and pulled out his mobile phone.

[OOC NOTES]:
In the latter part of the update, if any of you try to come in contact the smoke, you'll notice that its as hard as steel right now.

Jake didn't know what all just happened but he knew one thing - he was hungry. "So Yuki or Ice Dragon we should be on a team mainly cause your the only one here who I've spoken too and I'm hungry and want to get this over with." Jake then looked around at the others. "You have the same hair color as me you should join our group!" As he was saying this he was grabbing Shen-Mu by the hand and pulling her over""Now we need one more who should it be....."

Jake obviously wasn't good at the 'personal space' or 'manners' things but he had no PR skills what so ever. This was completely new to him and he wasn't sure if he was doing it right or not. He only wanted to finish with this and go eat. He quickly turned back to Shen-Mu and with an apologetic tone while letting go of her hand and rubbing the back of his neck he asked "I'm sorry but what was your name?"

Noisy reporters, noisier students: Shouichi was already growing disgusted with the whole arrangement. Every so often he shuffled a bit closer to the door, a part of him wanting to be thankful for the more boisterous students who commanded attention, directing it well away from him. The only tiny detail keeping him from actually being thankful was that they were just as bad, some of them falling into that pace willin-

Rustle rustle

The slight movement from the flowering bush nearby made Shou jump making him take a rather wheezy intake of breath. Patting his chest to still his beating heart, he moved away, looking around in hopes that no one was looking, before moving to a passive stance. Glancing up at the door, he considered going in as a few others went for it, but he didn't want to get attention from anyone. Better to just...

A prescence made itself known to him. While the other students and some relative distance to each other, someone had come to stand in a rather close proximity. Turning his head ever so slightly, he glimpsed a head of long, dark hair.

Eyes bulging, he averted his eyes as quickly as feasible, body going rigid. No. No way, it couldn't be... A girl? Swallowing, he dared steal another glance, this time spotting a bit of her face and glasses. She wasn't paying him much mind, yet there she stood.

Whaaaaaat is this? I don't get it: there's plenty of room back here but why is she so cloooose? D-did she not see me? But there's no one else this close to me. So if someone takes a picture...doesn't she realize I'll probably be in it too? Unless...she wants that? Could it be she...wants...

Shou bit the inside of his mouth. Nononono, don't you go down the road of thinking about 3D like that. Don't you dare. She can't have noticed me. Of course not, I have no presence. The reporters aren't bothering me, my mom's gone, no one cares...like I don't exist at all... As his eyes glazed over at his existential line of though, he suddenly lit up as he realized, Maybe I can just walk right out and no one would know!

As he stood there, closing his eyes, his mind allowed him to get back to his room as he imagined what he was going to do the moment he got back: the swathes of media avaliable to him... True bliss.

As the shape of the noise around him changed, he suddenly opened his eyes, only to be blinded by whiteness. As his cry of fright joined the others, before his panicked lungs met smoke, he didn't have much time to ruminate before finding himself spirited away.

---

Laying flat, arms and legs pinned together by his own unwillingness to move, once Shou recovered his breath, he shakily stood, the students being instructed by a shockingly average man.

As Boro finished his little orientation, Shou found himself letting out a sigh of derision. Groups. It haaaaad to be groups.

Shou knew groups. Small circles of friend-oh wait, he didn't know groups like that, nor did he know groups picked for the competence of its members. Shou only knew the 'leftovers', unless the teacher took pity on him and let him work alone. Beyond those fortunate days, he only knew groups of friends outcast by a smaller size requirement, delinquents who decided to attend class that day, and other disinterested losers such as himself. Expectations low, he sidled off to the side, avoiding as many paths as possible, waiting for his fellow leftovers to be kicked out to the curb, his face still frumpy at the mere thought of 'groups'.

Yuki simply nodded at Jake, then held out his hand. A bubble formed in it, a sphere of water held in his hand. And Yuki was about to toss it at the reporters. It wouldn't hurt them, but if they were making people uncomfortable, he supposed it could help. And he wouldn't mind getting his face on the front page. Before he got the chance, he was shrouded in a thick fog. The next thing he knew, he was inside, staring at the one who had caused it. He pulled himself up, dusting himself off. And then he was in Jake's group. He was being physically pulled, but he didn't even bat an eyelash.

"Chill. You'll tear someone's arm off." He said, a smile on his face. He turned to the white haired girl. "Name's Yuki. His name's apparently Satan." He scanned the room, before settling on the bush girl before. "Hey, you should join our group." He said to her, a slight smile on his face.

"I don't think it matters. I've got this test figured out." He said, returning to the other two, a grin on his face as he tapped his head. "I saw it in an anime once. The premise is we're supposed to vote someone off." He said. "But that doesn't add up. What would that test? Being able to betray people a few seconds after meeting them isn't exactly a 'skill.'"

@KRAZY J @Er0r @Patches

She was someplace, then she was another place, consumed by an unseen force her radar just couldn't quite get through. Some sort of smoke or dust? Dizzied, she brushed herself off and surveyed the area. Someone not from the original group was talking to them, a ninth person. The source of the smoke?

Boro...

She'd remember that. If he wanted them to talk to others, who should she go for first. She considered her options, trying to pick out the one that she interpreted as less threatening or weird. But, before she could do anything, she was grabbed by one of them. @KRAZY J
"Mm..." This one scared her. Loud, abrasive, rude... Even as he apologized, she felt a tinge of uncertainty about being in a group with him. Guess it couldn't be helped. Rubbing her hand, she answered softly, despite her uncertainty about this, her expression and tone conveyed little emotion. "Shen-Mu... You are Satan? A devil? ...Or, a human wearing a demon's skin?"

@HeroicSociopath
Another man, this one had a much more friendly tone. Carried himself with a more friendly manner. Yes... This one wasn't as scary. "Thank you, Yuki." A girl of few words, she went silent for bit, as if done with the conversation. She noticed another one had joined the group @Er0r To everyone else, those who could look at the bush girl, she was a girl covered in vines. But to Shen-Mu, who "saw" things through her radar, saw her as a odd cloud of movement, unable to make-out what she was.

But then, she spoke up. "To vote someone off. To see them as a liability. Not a heroic thing to do..." She turned in Boro's general direction, focusing her radar to pick up on him. "That one is testing us?"

_BGM
Nori would have been dishonest if she didn't admit to being surprised when the white smoke engulfed the students, even letting out a squeal of fear; she hoped that nobody noticed it.
One moment she was acting tough, the next she was standing in front of a short guy along with the rest of the class.

The midget introduced himself as Boro, a rather odd name; it was most likely a hero name. In any case, his quirk had already begun to encompass them all, and Nori did not like it for one bit; if this was supposed to be an introduction, Boro sure as hell wasn't doing a good job at it.
She took a look around and noticed that the smoke had already completely sealed of any exit; if Boro's plan was to imprison the students, it made sense considering the risks, but surely this smoke couldn't hold them at bay.

Nori's eyes flared back towards the smoking guy when a command had been given. Yet picking a team hadn't exactly caught Nori's attention; throwing out a person of her liking did. A very curious decision to make even when they had never even seen the students in action.
And how could she decide who was unworthy if she hadn’t met them before? She immediately decided to not vote at all, only when someone did prove unworthy, would she name them.

Fenrir raised an eyebrow at this Boro fellow, requesting everyone to pick someone to get kicked off the team seemed like a trap, but he should still try to form a team, that part seemed safe. He looked around, and decided to walk towards Nori confidently, "So, want to team up? Your options are pretty limited, and I don't think you're the kind of person to team up with the house plant or Loca Diablo. If you don't want to, that is fine. I know when I am unwanted."

Already, someone flocked towards Nori, maybe her entrance really did impress some of the students. The fellow talking to her had some canine features, which looked kinda neat in Nori's eyes; their usefulness was a different story, but appearance-wise, it sure was a cool quirk.
It's too bad that his personality didn't really impress her, underestimating everyone around him, probably offending the 'house plant' and 'Loca Diablo'. It made her wonder why her off all people was the choice for someone who thought so low of the rest. The dog ears looked neat though, so she folded her arms, put a naughty smile on her face, looked Fenrir directly in the eyes and decided to reward his bold and fearless attitude with an equally bold answer.

"You know, for someone who 'knows when he is unwanted', you sure tend to dismiss the rest of this bunch easily. Don't you think you should first give them a chance to show their strengths? And if I am the only capable person in this room, then why should I choose you?" Despite her fierce demeanor, she wasn't actually trying to provoke Fenrir or get rid of him, she was just testing out how he would react to someone with an ego just as big as his; she was already looking forward to team up with Fenrir.

Fenrir just put a slight grin on his face and looked back at her right in the eyes, First things first, I don't think I caught your name and it was rude of me to not start with that. Mine is Fenrir." he said, slightly sarcastically.

Fenrir had certainly caught Nori's attention by now, he was not backing off, and if Nori was going to keep up she couldn't back off either. Putting a hand on her hip and approaching a more relaxed posture, she calmly replied, a smile still apparent,

"Fenrir huh? As in the mythological dog? A fitting name-"
She said while throwing out a high pitched chuckle. "If we are to introduce ourselves, you can call me Nori Azami, choose whichever you prefer."

With the introductions done, Nori didn't wait for a response from Fenrir, but simply strode towards the wall of smoke. And upon reaching it, she placed her right hand on it noticing that it was as hard as steel. She took a deep breath and released a gust of wind from her hand.
It had no effect at all. Upon looking back towards Fenrir she posed the next question.

"So I guess we have to play along with Boro for now, go ahead and choose someone else to join our team."

"Legendary Wolf." he said, still with a slight grin. "As for your questions Nori, maybe I am miss-judging the house plant, but it is not how strong she is, it is how she carries herself. It does not matter how strong you are if you are just going to cower in a corner when it does come down to fighting. And Devil-boy, I know he is strong, I heard about some of his street fights, the problem with him is that he is crazy. Finally about the whole "I know when I am not wanted." that is mostly because I don't like stuck up people, so any more questions?"

Nori's expression turned a bit bored upon hearing Fenrir try to justify his words, but the words were said; no use trying to cover them up, even though the arguments were plausible and Fenrir clearly used his brain.

"Yeah, actually, before you go off and fetch our last team member, why did you choose to answer the invitation? Don't answer me right now, just think about it and tell me when you're ready. I don't care who you choose, so...go with your heart." Her last words were a bit more humane and compassionate than prior, and she looked Fenrir in the eyes once more, this time with a confident gaze.

Fenrir looked around, "What about her?" he said, nodding his head towards Reina. "I will see if she is in." he said walking towards her.

How did the story go? Alice fell down the rabbit hole, and was lost in a world of madness.

A foreign tale, but one Shuko found herself thinking of as the seething swarms of the media were blanketed in clouds of pale smoke, which billowed out from the agency with a suddenness that could only have been caused by a Quirk. There was little she could do but relax and let the ghostly mass wrap itself around her and pull her away.

Out of her old life, and into the wild and terrifying unknown.

Which, she discovered a few seconds later as she knelt on a hard floor, was guarded by an average-looking guy with a somewhat patronizing tone. The moment they arrived, Boro launched straight into a monologue, which Shuko did her best to follow while coughing up smoke and rubbing at her eyes, accidentally knocking her glasses off in the process. She yelped at this, fumbling about for a few seconds before snatching them up again.

Slowly rising to her feet, she took a moment to wipe them on her sweatshirt, clearing away any dust or smoke particles that had stuck to them. The motion revealed a hint of pink cloth under the larger garment, a flash of color peeking out from beneath the dull exterior for just a moment before it was covered up again.

Once she had her glasses on, she blinked, and glanced about, doing her best to figure out this new situation.

It wasn't so nightmarish as it had been outside, but neither was it a time to relax. Boro's instructions were as vague as they were worrying, especially that last comment of his. Was he trying to turn the students against each other? Or was it some kind of test? Shuko frowned, contemplating for a moment, before remembering the prior instructions. Right. Groups. That part made sense, at least, even if it filled her with the same anxiety she'd felt with the media before.

A roomful of weirdos, and she had to find her place amongst them.

The guy she'd been standing with before had wandered away from everyone else, and she glanced his way, feeling a momentary pang of sympathy. On some level she wanted to do the same, just stay away until she was grouped up by process of elimination.

On the other hand, she wanted this opportunity. Needed this opportunity, if she was going to break free from what she'd done before. If she let her own insecurities get in the way of something this simple, how the fuck would she manage when they got to the actual training?

Get your shit together, Shuko.

Some groups were already forming, obvious enough that even she could see them. Mr. Satan had somehow recruited a cute guy, a ghost, and a walking plant. That made four, so no space there, even if she was a little tempted by the one calling himself Yuki.

She looked away, suddenly conscious of her own place in the room. Focus.

The other gathering team consisted of the dog-eared boy and a girl she hadn't seen before- one with an unusual but quite charming aesthetic. That was scary. She seemed nice, but she was also pretty, and having her in the room made Shuko look and feel even shittier than she already did, simply by virtue of comparison.

So that left the chubby kid and one other she could see, a pale guy carrying two bags packed full of what looked like random junk. Weird, but she could deal with it. Shuko steeled her nerves a little, swallowed, then walked over, a little too briskly.

"Hello? I'm Shuko." So far, so good. "Um... you're not in a group yet, right? There aren't many of us left."

Come on. Just say it.

Taking a breath, she blurted out her request. "Team up with me."

She'd been trying to sound confident, but pushed it too far, and the words came out too loud, less a request and more like a command. She shrunk back a little, realizing her mistake. "If you don't mind, that is?"

(@McFazzer Talking to Tommy)