---

"Too close..." Shiki muttered out and tried to weakly pull away from Shun's touchy hands. It was difficult enough tolerating Shun's need to be up in his personal space, but he finally broke when physical contact was involved. There was a small amount of blush on his cheeks, but after quickly readjusting his glasses to hide his embarrassment, it immediately faded away. "But, very well...I will proceed with the transfer." Then, without warning he inserted the connector into the middle of Shun's forehead. At most, he would only feel the connector gently pressing against his skin before it pushed beneath the surface, without triggering any additional sensory receptors or harming him in any way. The transfer of information wouldn't take more than ten seconds in this case, Shun's enthusiasm made this a really smooth process.

The abrupt sound of echoing screams startled Shiki and nearly petrified him in fear. It reminded him of those handful of horror games he barely logged any hours in, except this was real. The sound of destruction which followed after, further increased his stress levels. A visible bead of sweat could be seen trailing down the side of his forehead, with a clear nervous expression displayed on his face. He did not expect that kind of signal to start. Watching some of the other students take off without hesitation encouraged him to move, but he still felt uneasy about this splitting up into pairs decision. On a smaller note, he had to hold onto his hat (literally) after it being nearly blown off by the Smurf-Boy's winds.

When it was brought up, he decided to accept the Neko's offer of exchanging numbers within their group for emergency purposes. @KoL@Stern Algorithm@TheWindel

"We should get going...It will be easier for us if we can actually see through this dense fog...Let's try following that lightbulb guy." He suggested to Shun after disconnecting his tail. The thought of having better visual of their surroundings did put him at ease. If any villain attempted to approach them, they would at least be aware of it or so he thought.

---

@Scribe of Thoth

---

Shun paused in his erratic movements as the connector poked his forehead, his eyes crossing in an attempt to look up at it. He cooed out an "Oooh." as the quirk seemed to be working, opening his mouth to speak again before being interrupted by a horrifying cacophony of screams and explosions. He jumped a bit in fright, then rigidly locked his posture in place, noting that there was still a delicate-looking cord plugged into his forehead. It didn't stop his entire body from rippling into vaguely disjointed pixels, as if a wave were traveling upward from his feet; his body splitting apart and immediately reassambling itself in its wake. He took a few deep breaths, his gaze flickering to the tense-looking Shiki in front of him in search of some kind of validation. He didn't get much, before he was already bracing himself against a sudden gust of wind from Airplane Arms, stumbling a bit from his rigid posture before he managed to ground himself in a proper stance. When he glanced back at the bubblegum-topped boy, he was disconnecting his tail from Shun's forehand, and Shun's mind helpfully filled in the details of his would-be classmate's quirk.

"We should get going...It will be easier for us if we can actually see through this dense fog...Let's try following that lightbulb guy."

Shun nodded, waving for Shiki to follow as he took off at a brisk jog after the glow that pierced through the fog. He was calm now, his thoughts shifting from the incoherent jumble of fear and enthusiasm to tactical analysis with his new insight onto his partner's quirk.

"Hey," he began without looking back, instead focusing on the duo that seemed to have gotten the same idea as them, "I think our quirks can pair pretty well, wanna head further in and get a head start? If we run into a villain I can probably stall him so you can do your tail thing or lure him back toward one of the other groups." Though he'd phrased it as a question, he immediately veered toward Zone 6 without waiting for a response.

---

@Animal

---

Hikari was one of the last to exit the bus, barely aware of his surroundings as his body was only beginning to wake up. The conversations around him were nothing but murmurs as he rubbed his eyes and stretched, having slept the whole bus ride there. Even to him the atmosphere of the area they were placed in felt oppressive, or rather emptily oppressive to be more precise. It definitely felt different to a lively city. Was this place so backwater it's citizens were few in number...? Well no, he would be informed soon that this area was simply in a perpetual state of high crime rate, and that their final exam was to be... Cleaning it up?

"Ugh, I didn't expect to need to do something so serious so soon", he thought and muttered to himself. It was hero school sure, but they were no UA. He was hoping to get through a hero school nice and breezy and then figure out a decent job with decent income. His parents insisted on a hero school for his quirk, but he was pretty repellent to the idea of his quirk being the reason.

In any case he didn't want to work too hard... The exam was beginning at... Some point? All he heard was a roar and some people beyond this fog. As if this place wasn't gloomy enough. So what was the best thing to do here...? He could go rescuing citizens, maybe with this fog he can offer to do a little something with it to deal with the fog somehow, he could handily make glow sticks for people.

Well whatever, as everyone was heading off it seems he should figure out where to go too. Some people were heading left while others headed right, and so far just one person went sprinting off straight ahead. Indecisive, he began walking at a brisk pace through the middle, from there at least it may be easy to get to another area right? In any case feeling the urgency of this being an exam his body began to wake up as he sprinted in through the middle. Area 5 was it?

---

Upon arrival, Hikari came to the conclusion that he had made a terrible decision. Walking around was difficult, and the dummies left for them to collect and rescue were... Not in the most ideal of placements for him. He stood at an elevation surveying the area, the girl he saw running off here was yet to be seen for him. Maybe she entered at a slightly different point? Regardless, he was scratching his head figuring out how to help out... He needed some muscle. His light projected items have enough integrity to hold up areas for a short while, with which they could pull out their targets... He considered the concussive abilities of his projections, but he wasn't great at controlling them just yet. Safe is best during an exam after all.

He kept an eye out for others though, alone at best, he could lift whatever he can by hand, and he watched out for those types of targets as well. Blinking a few times, rubbing his eyes a bit more as his body finally completely woke up.

@Scribe of Thoth@Animal
Despite Shiki’s initial intent, Shun’s directives pulled the USB boy away from Goro’s searchlight and towards a different sector within the disaster zone, the two disappearing into the formless fog soon after. Without the guiding light, it was a bit harder to watch their steps as they navigated the claustrophobic and confusing alleyways in search for people in need of rescue, but it was easy traveling if one wasn’t afraid of the possibilities of monsters popping out from the corners.

Soon enough, the residential area, where Shun and Shiki must have simply been on the outskirts of, gave way to wider streets and more open space. Rows of one and two story buildings stood before them, the lifeless and displaced signs showing that they must once have been stores. Now though, they were only husks, the windows shattered and all but the heaviest or most valueless objects pillaged from the interior. A couple stores featured trucks smashed into them, the wailing of dummy targets sounding weakling within, while other dummies were toppled underneath a hazardous pile of cardboard boxes. In one direction, the remains of a music shop still blinked its neon signs sadly, even though its interior was bereft of everything except for faded, wind-torn posters. In another direction, the burnt ruins of a home appliance store stood, its steel frame out lasting plaster, as husks of electrical appliances stood in disarray.

But it was the sight in the center of the commercial district that caught the two boys’ eyes the most easily: a large, bright red mailbox, standing perpendicular upon a dummy’s back as it laid flat on the ground.

Now, wasn’t that a weird one.

@ERode [Zone 4]

Unfortunately there was one thing Hiroki didn't plan for, nor could it be prepared for. Luck Hearing the wails of the damned to the left, to the right, behind him, and far off in the distance, he sadly didn't have much to go on in this little scrap of woodland. He cursed under his breath. He surveyed his surroundings and got a mix of aggravation and alarm. The torn up dummies was meant to be a scare tactic, but again, he wasn't effected by some toys broken on the ground. He could quite get what the stones were, they seemed to be something that just didn't fit. The fact that he was alone, in a place where there was only desolation and some creepy music did not make him feel safe.

And then he heard it, mixing with the music. A single dummy, not dead, hurt but not dead. A point, right there, a single lone point waiting for rescue. Hiroki however didn't like it. This whole thing felt like some kind of trap. Maybe there was a villain here and while he relished in the fact that he could do battle and get an early lead, he was not happy with the fact that the villain would know the area, pick their environment, set up a single dummy for someone to rescue, and use that creepy music to help them better sneak up in this fog. He was disadvantaged and he knew it.

Hiroki considered leaving, but he'd just waste time moving on. He had to atleast get his score going. One point was one point. Maybe he could swing left, grab another dummy or two on the way back to the bus. It was one thing getting a victim, they still had to get back to the bus with it, he hoped the dummies weren't too heavy. Still best way to get that dummy. He prepared a jump, a minor one, one only enough to get him to the tree. Landing low, he listened, looked at where he disturbed the myst with his wind. Once getting the dummy, he would be prepared to move, atleast trying to get clear of the tree line. It wasn't as bad as indoors but trees and forests could be tricky to manuever, especially when he couldn't see the branches in the mist.

Cautiously, he grabbed the dummy's hand and fire man carried it over his shoulder and then prepared to exit. Best to save a 'civilian' before a fight anyway.

[Hiroki Action: Retrieve Dummy, Prepare to move to Area 1]

@ShwiggityShwah
As the mist parted during his landing, Hiroki saw another one of the strange, colorful stones that had been scattered over the area. It glimmered a verdant green, looking very much like the sort of marbles that kids would have liked to collect in a different age and time. Seeing no other reason to rethink his options, the turbine mutant landed, grabbed the dummy's arm...

...and fell through the ground, dragging the dummy with him. His footing gave away as he passed underneath a camoflagued tarp and, with the clumsy weight of a human adult pressing down on top of him, Hiroki hadn't even had chance to react before he strunk a pile of loose dirt, twenty feet down. If it had been a proper pitfall trap, maybe he would have been impaled, but no matter how non-lethal, it was clear that whoever designed this portion of the exam had no qualms with using bait.

He was only banged up though, in the end, his tumble answered with a couple of bruises at best. The dummy that had tangled up with him was heavy, but nothing oppressively so. It was a mistake, but nothing that would cripple him. Hiroki could still work.

---

“Hello Shun. I am Orimura Houki. I turn things into ash.” Houki’s expression towards Shun was a flawlessly neutral as ever. But to Shiki, she gave the ghost of a glare, eyebrows twitching a minute minimum. “Do not stick weird things into me without my permission. Do so, and I will turn your tail into ash.” She waited a moment for the boy to process her words, though frankly, she was already turning back to Minami. The girl with the Cat Quirk was leagues more interesting than her peers, who each tried to put their piece into the verbal debate.

That, and it was beginning to get difficult for Houki to track who was saying what…when was this exam starting again? “Does that include a catty attitude.” She directed the question right at Minami, though there was hardly any snark in her words. Instead, Houki stared at the cat girl with a dead seriousness, expecting an answer. Or maybe she was just intensely curious. Who knew. Because in the end, Minami went off on her own to go talk to the ice cream girl.

Before Houki could either walk to her or even respond to her group, she was suddenly rattled by…something. It was a ringing sensation, one that jarred her flesh and made her body vibrate. At least, until she realized that the phenomenon taking place was in fact noise. Noise and sound, given breadth and shape through the voices of many anguished cries of horror. Realizing this was perhaps the start of their exam, Houki slowly blinked.

“….do they need to make this so dramatic?” Edgy tastes aside, the fog was going to make proceeding through much more difficult, team or otherwise. At least Minami had returned to their little group. “Huh? Ah, yes. That’s a good idea,” Houki responded to the cat girl’s instructions, swiftly taking her mobile out and exchanging numbers with the rest of the group. “We should probably stick together due to this fog-huh?”

At once she was grabbed by Minami and led into the fifth zone, right into the thick of the fog. She gave a last glance at the others before shrugging, following along with the cat girl. As if she had a choice. “Did you think it was a good idea to go in pairs? We do not know what we’re facing,” she said, keeping up with Minami even with their linked hands. It was a good thing they were though, since the area seemed to try its hardest to impede their path as much as possible.

Once again, overdramatic screams filled their ears and Houki was beginning to get annoyed from the try-hard set-up this exam was going for. It would have been easier to just silence them with a blast of her Quirk but she knew that wasn’t the most heroic action to take… “Minami, let’s pick one direction and stick to that. We’re better doing that than just running around blind in the fog. I can also help move debris or clear the air with my Quirk if you can’t see anything.”

---

Interactions with: @1Charak2

---

Sumi looked up at the delinquent- no, at Natsuki in shock. ”O-Okay...”

Someone just stood up for her. Someone had actually stood up for her. That... was an interesting feeling. Shock, terror, disgust, and (more recently) pity? She was familiar with those. This, however, was new. Sumi actually felt her heart skip a beat. M-Maybe... maybe they could be friends?

Her stomach growled, and her face immediately turned a bright shade of red. How embarrassing! She quickly looked over to Black-and-White and Little Boy Blue, hoping to avert her gaze. It didn’t seem like anything she’d said had made a lick of difference to them. She doubted she’d be making friends with them any time soon. But they were going to be classmates, so... maybe? She supposed the best she could hope for from them was that they could get along.

Sumi sighed.

A few minutes later, she and everyone in Team Teamwork had the catgirl’s phone number. She didn’t know if she’d need it, but it felt nice to have someone else’s contact info in her phone. Maybe she’d actually be able to make some friends at this school? More than one friend, at least. Remembering the dreary, somewhat-teary, somewhat-cheery goodbye she shared with her middle school best friend Megumi before packing her bags for Kirisama, Sumi did a quick jog back to Natsuki.

“It l-looks like everyone’s getting ready! W-We should too!” she said, feeling a new source of determination welling up inside her. Sumi pumped her fists excitedly then sank into a sprinter’s position.

Then the screaming started. And suddenly, it was like the last year had never even happened. Sumi froze, her brow beaded with cold sweat. She could hear a roaring in her ears, her eyes widening until they swallowed the sky, and then she was there again, lying flat on her back with the mid-afternoon sun beating down on her. Her arm hurting. Her legs hurting. Her stomach hurting. Nothing to keep her company except the lapping of the waves stinging her exposed flesh.

So alone. So...

@ERode Zone 4

"CRAP!"

And just like that, on landing the ground gave way, the dummy getting tangled in his arms and keeping him from positioning it right to provide upward thrust. While it was almost reflex to use his quirk to slow his descent, he didn't do it nearly as gracefully as he'd want. Finally with some grunts, curses, and a bang he rest at the bottom of the pit.

"Freakin knew it. Someone is screwing with me!" He hoisted himself up and tried to get some semblance of what happened and a sense for what up was. What a waste of time. This would probably be a huge problem with the other examees but for him, it was just the most aggravating annoyance ever. So those little marbles are probably a part of it. Now he knows what to look for.

He decided that this was BS and was going to beat a retreat. He needed to make sure there was nothing at the lip. He hoisted the dummy over his shoulder, balacing it, then squinting his eyes, kicking up dirt he rocketed out of the pit. He made sure his turbines blasted the lip of the pit so that any other little surprises wouldn't keep him from getting a centered point. He landed on the lip, the dust, mist, pieces of dummy, and grass not even getting settled as he kicked it into high gear to clear the distance, landing back where he was before, atleast knowing that part was safe. He made well sure to atleast get back and beyond where he stood.

He glanced at the forest behind him with a huff and then turned to face not directly at where he came and knew where the bus was, but to the left of it, where he heard more voices. "Pain in the ass." Another blast of air, and then hopefully moving on. He'd have to give his arms a break with the weight on his shoulders, but running wouldnt be a big deal.

[Hiroki Action: Move to Area 1]

@ShwiggityShwah
It was by design that Hiroki had fallen into the pit trap after the ‘bait’ that was the training dummy, but the jet-powered student had been tracked for much longer than that. The screaming of the jets carried clearly through the thick fog, and his scent too, worked up from the sweat and the ‘something’ that had been inside the pit, now formed an invisible trail.

There were some amongst the students who could have picked up that odd scent, that could have cautioned against it. There were others who could have shone through the mist, to get proper bearings within the fog. But Hiroki didn’t have what they had, and, without his turbines clearing the mist around him, he didn’t notice the large shadow until it was too late.

A tremendous form flew through the mist, vespers of vapour streaming off its bronze scales. The height of an adult male but perhaps thrice the girth, the beast was reptilian in its appearance, bearing rows upon rows of razor sharp teeth that stretched itself in to an expression half-amused, half-hungering. The thick tail behind stretched out a good two meters, a veritable battering ram of scale and muscle, while dark crimson coated its rectangular head. Compared to its massive haunches its arms were much thinner, but only relatively so, and all four appendages ended in sickle-shaped claws, three in one position and a thicker one opposing.

So many natural weapons, but it body slammed Hiroki instead of employing any of them, sending the steel-blue youth rolling a good three meters before slamming into a tree. Opening its great maw, the Beast roared with a ferocity that distorted the fog itself, sound ripples blooming through the white vapours, and charged once more.

If nothing else, the warning was fair.

---

Despite sternly declining Shun's idea at first, Shiki easily gave up trying to change the boy's mind after realizing it was pointless. He reluctantly followed the bold green haired boy and began to stagger behind when he couldn't keep up with his pace. Either Shun had a ton of energy or Shiki needed to exercise more. While they were navigating through the confusing alleyways, the only thought that came across Shiki's mind was the juice from earlier. The light jog further increased his thirst, which at least distracted him from the mysteries around every corner they took.

I should've asked for a drink...But that glasses girl was too intimidating...

When they arrived to the commercial district, the eerie vibe of the abandoned buildings sent a shiver down Shiki's spine. What a horrific sight. Something was definitely going to murder them, he can feel it. The dummy they spotted nearby with the mailbox on top of it, definitely raised some questions. However, it didn't change the fact of...



"I'll take care of this one..." He informed Shun, allowing him to search the surrounding area for additional dummies. Shiki recalled the instructor's words of how they won't be marked on the way they rescue the dummies or how they treat them. With that in mind, Shiki's USB tail extended to its maximum length of five meters towards the poor dummy. His intention was to coil part of his tail around the dummy's neck, like a noose and attempt to forcefully drag its body out from underneath the mailbox. Not an ideal way to save a civilian, but he took advantage of this still being just an exam.

---

@Scribe of Thoth

Collab with @ERode

And then he was blind sided by something. He noticed it last minute and only got a hand up and a knee bent before he was slammed. He had the wind knocked out of him, a tree blocking his force as he felt his vision blur and a throbbing pain in his chest and his back. He had worse, but he knew a punch when it was thrown at him. His family would put him through the ringer when he misbehaved and he would walk around with the bruises to show for it. But this was the real deal, someone picked a fight with him, and he knew it was something he needed to beat.

The creature before him, a heavy mutant, or an animal. A crocodile, and big. Probably heavy too. Disadvantaged here too. The lighter the foe, the easier time he would have. But still, his arm flexed, wiped his mouth and bent his knees getting into form. He didn't care how it tracked him, his turbines were loud as it was, so sneaking around was never really his deal. Mobility was his quirk, but he himself, all combat and he wasn't a newbie either.

He stared down the crocodile with almost a grin. Getting pumped up to finally have something that felt like work actually try reveal itself to him. "Traps and cheap shots. Hah. You must be a chump." He widened his stance, he was ready, the trees and grass rip roaring, it was hard to tell where the wind was blowing, in or out, a little hurricane all his own, sending that smell in all directions unbeknownst to him. Excitement in his very soul. "Maybe I'm lucky after all."

He sprung forward, making it seem his direction was a line forward, but he was ready now, he was prepared for a sudden burst to change directions midflight, he wanted to fake out the creature, make it attack or defend at his speed, then nab at another angle. Scales or not, a kick to the face was a kick to the face.

[Hiroki Action: Move-Advance; Action- Feint

A kick to the face was a kick to the face, but what Hiroki kicked was an unmoving wall, his turbine augmented blow only eliciting an animalistic growl from the beast. Hardly any reaction at all, and a less arrogant man may have wondered of the kick did more damage to himself than the scaled monolith before him. Such thoughts had no place here though, as the beast responded in kind, a wild haymaker arcing towards the turbine boy.

---

Heavy armored. Why the hell not?

The kick was well placed, the toe striking, and thankfully the steel tip absorbed the blow rather than the bone it protected, and mid motion he rolled with the momentum. Staying mid air to fight was something he figured he would need to do in the future. His options were getting pretty limited.

He felt the body surge as a shoulder heaved over to strike him. The engines blasted and he was away before the claws hit. He needed some distance, and considered his options. The big ugly might have set the stage, but Hiroki didn't show him everything. He made his way back into the mine field of marbles. Either he was immune, or just knew where they were... He flew towards a nearby tree, swinging onto his feet from a branch he caught. He got ready to move. Whenever he moved the miist would be disturbed.

[Hiroki Action: Action-Dodge; Move into Area 4]

Dropping onto all fours as Hiroki blasted back, the beast gave chase, bulldozing through any pesky obstacles in its path. Rusted appliances were bashed out of the way, smaller trees were bent and broken, and any mutilated mannequin was crushed under foot. If Hiroki had simply been on foot, the beast doubtlessly would have caught him, but the pseudo jet engines that made up his arms afford him mobility unmatched amongst his peers.

There was no pause or hesitation in its rampage as Hiroki brought the fight to the marble ladened field, but from his vantage point amongst the branches, the lad could certainly see that the beast's path was no longer arrow-straight; it weaved through overgrown grass instead, before ferociously slamming the trunk of the tree with its tail, sending it toppling down with Hiroki still on it.

---

This was super risky, but he got the sight of the bob and weave. He had an idea.

He changed blades. He started the wind up of his blades. Just a few seconds. He took the time between the tree slam and try to find another branch that would support him. He just to the sight of one when the tall slammed the tree, almost knocking him off his feet. The wind picked up again.

He ran two steps along the branch and pushed off. He pointed his arms downward but instead of moving, he continued on his jumping arc. A suction of wind picked up leaves, twigs, rocks, he had his hand opened, twigs and rocks, pulverized in his blades, but the color, the colors would stand out, enough for him to move his fingers to lock it (just like catching balls in school, wee bit smaller but if he was lucky he'd get a few). The suction would work on both hands before he had to reach out and catch himself, not quite enough to land on the branch. He kept his arm out, hopefully loosening the marbles and driving them into his hand.

[Hiroki Action: Move-other tree, currently dangling dozen feet above ground. Hiroki used Suction, to gather marbles ***weird fight***]

The beast growled as many colored marbles, alongside the mist itself, funneled towards Hiroki, scraps of verdant debris joining in. But at such a height, there wasn't much reason to give chase, so it waited down below, muscled legs coiled in preparation for the next move.

---

So he had some advantages. Height speed. He expected to get snatched from the air but nothing happened.

The wind ceasing, Hiroki could only hope the mist hid his true intentions. Fist of his prize in hand he used it to vault up into the branch, not much use save to lie there, gripping the trunk and look down. But the question was what now?

He had a moment to breath, the mist resettling as the crocodile monster viewed him. He felt like a cat against a... well, crocodile. He was safe in the air, but he couldn't count on being saved, and he couldn't count on the villain staying there to pin him down. He had to find those dummies. He had to get this villain. Even with his plan, even if it went off, he had a bunch of problems afterwards.

He looked off in the distance. Open ground past the trees. Maybe he could--- "Can't keep playing around with you snappy." The engines started and he fell. He aimed his turbines at the creature below him. The intake would suck in the mist while the outtake would jet him away from the croc. "Just try to catch me!" He bolted back away, bee lining for the heaps of appliances and scraps. He was going for distance, not height, rocketing along the ground. He needed to hit the ground running and play keep away when the engines gave out.

Maybe he'd need help after all. Getting closer to the bus would get their attention.

[Hiroki Action: Moving towards the dump heap in direction of Area 1]

The reptilian beast watched Hiroki backtrack towards the scrap heap again and followed behind, confidence stemming from the tracks it had left through the park. Backtracking completely, it retraced its own path in a light run before breaking off into a sprint once more. For that six second burst, Hiroki was undoubtedly faster, but over longer distances, it was clear who would come out on top.

---

Engines started to give and he was on his feet in a run, heart pounding, feet hitting dirt. He hit track in school, and it showed, and it helped but he knew that bounding four legged freak would get to him. Even if he reached the parts that weren't parted, what was going to stop him from just barreling over another trash heap. He got atleast far enough in the distance to let the mist sort of hide him, as little good as that would give him.

Thankfully, the creature made the ground nice and open with its thrashing. On several swings of his fist with his sprint, he let a marble fall while he turned the blades. A few seconds, this had to work. The marbles landed in the disturbed dirt, rolled casually along the sprinting path.

He didn't know how they worked but the'y better! He didn't look back, only listened... if it got close he'd only have a split second to brace for impact and then he'd be at square one and much worse for ware!

[Hiroki Action: Action- Set marble trap. Move- Running like hell!]

The scent trail, the blood hunt, the roar of the heart and the flare of the nostrils. Its approach flattened all in its path, and no matter how much Hiroki strained his ears, he couldn’t hear any great thud that would indicate that the beast had fallen to his marble ploy. No, the stomps themselves, punctuated by what sounded like cracking glass, revealed just what had happened.

With such impressive weight, the marbles were pushed into the dirt rather than sliding over it, and the impact that Hiroki expected if his ploy failed came immediately after that realization. Another shoulder check, and he crashed through the bushes into the tarmac of a fractured road. The beast slowed its own approach, unleashing another roar that rattled the bones, before thumping towards the turbine boy, one heavy step at a time.

Crunch, crunch, crunch.

---

It didn't work.

"GAH!" Hiroki didn't have time, only lifting off the ground to take another couple hundred pounds of force barreling at him. Getting hit by a car, you should probably roll with it. And roll he did.

He hit the tarmack and rolled onto his stomach, a twitch as he got back to his senses. He sputtered, expecting to be hurt worse. Of course, these were the teachers, this was a test. If it was a real villain he'd have a broken back right now.

"Damn you..." He felt humiliated and insulted, as he got to his feet. "I'm not done... Not a chance." He got to his feet, gritted teeth and hateful yellow eyes as he stared down the villain. Dwarfed by him, pounds of muscle and scales and yet Hiroki shouted in defiance. Fists clenched and engines blaring.



@Delta44@follycle

Interacting with @Turboshitter

---

"Your welcome." Natsuki said with a soft grin in response to Sumi soft face before turning back to the two annoyances. A annoyed scowl on her face as her words flew over their heads and they simple went off to get to work.

Natsuki sighed softly, of course her words would fly straight over the head of the arrogant idiots. This wasn't an anime where one simply speech causes an enemy to switch sides, or an idiot to change their ideology to something much more useful. Still. Looking back down at Sumi. Whom seemed for a second to be getting embarrassed. But she was getting embrassed at something Natsuki could understand. Hunger. But Natsuki had fully filled up in the morning before the trip expecting the test after all, so her stomach was settled for now.

Staring off at people staring to run off into the fray Natsuki sighed as she took of her coat. A side effect of her quirk was of course the clothing damage meaning the only clothes she could even hope to put expense on her were the ones that were easy to take off at a moments notice.

At Sumi's insistence to get going. Natsuki jumped on the spot a little to work up her muscles trying to get just as pumped up as her friend. Natsuki smiled. "We really should get heading off to the playing area ey? Sumi" Natsuki laughed, a hearty confident laugh that wasn't one that was based on her own merit, but of the merit that everyone would at least get to show their stuff

It was then she heard the scream. Covering her eyes in agitation. "Bloody 'ell these folks really are trying to make it as realistic as possible. Aren't they, Sumi." Natsuki chuckled but upon hearing no response for the girl she began looking over at Sumi. Looking at her friend stuck in a thousand yard stare...

"Sumi?" They said for a second before realising Sumi had gotten lost somewhere in the recesses of their mind. "Come on Sumi we got work to do! You can wallow in your own fears after we save everyone!" They said with a sigh as they with a bit of force but not too much, started to drag Sumi towards Area 5, of course they'd be arriving late to the action but that was fine by her, They were actually after all heading straight to area 8. Opting not to activate her quirk yet for the surprise factor. She could gently drag Sumi just fine with her own strength.

---

Shun seemed to only get more fired up as the test went on, rather than losing energy. The mysterious weaving alleyways may have been daunting to a normal person, but to an idiot like Shun they were simply the setting of some cheesy street-level hero movie, and he was the star. He was tempted to start bounding off the walls and around corners with his quirk to enhance his mobility; the only thing stopping him being, not a rational plan to conserve his quirk's stamina for when he'd actually need it, but a sympathetic glance back toward the boy tailing him (pun not intended). Shun had already vowed that he wouldn't slow himself down for anyone here, and he wouldn't, but speeding up when Shiki seemed to already be lagging behind was just mean-spirited.

When they emerged on the scene of the ruined commercial district, he remained similarly unintimidated. He did a quick sweep of the areas that weren't too obscured by mist to get a good look at from where he stood, tentatively deciding that his quirk would work well here, provided he didn't have to do any particularly heavy lifting. The mailbox in the middle gave him pause, though; a flash of bright red contrasting with the dull grayness of the foggy rest of the area. Obvious trap? Colorful diversion? Happy accident? Fortunately, it didn't really matter anymore; Shiki seemed to have a solution to the psychological warfare presented by the ominous postal container.

"I'll stay close, yell if you need me. We can gather up a bunch of dolls and drag them back all at once." He called, following the injured wails toward the closest pillaged storefront and peaking his head inside through the shattered remains of a large display window for any dummies that would be relatively easy for him to rescue right off the bat.

---

@Animal

---

As fired up as Goro felt moments before, the combination of isolation and dire surroundings threatened to squash his heroic spirit again. He moved at a decent clip despite the difficult path, but to say that the shapes looming out of the fog at him didn't slow him down would have been to lie. 'Eerie' and 'nerve-wracking' did not quite do these streets justice; 'oppressive' or, more viscerally, 'crushing' suited them better. He threw his light all over, probing alleyways, thresholds, and windows for any sign of victim or villain, keeping his ears as sharp as his eyes. All the while he made sure not to wander too freely from the main street, instead veering back toward it whenever he ventured down a branching path, to avoid becoming lost in the misty labyrinth of ruin.

Contrary to the confidence-shaking howling that could be heard from the starting zone, this place bore an eerie silence. Goro did not hear the suppressed gasps of the two adult dummies until his spotlight revealed them first. “Aha!” Hurrying over to the hapless mannequins, he examined the weight that pinned them and gave it an experimental heave. While it shifted a touch, he could not lift it up. “Oh,” he murmured, disappointed and a little frustrated. My first find and I'm powerless to help. In the lull that followed, during which he busied himself thinking on how to approach this situation, he became aware of a whining cry off in the direction of a larger structure. Though muffled by the distance and the quality of the speaker that issued it, the sound could not be mistaken as anything but a weeping child.

With a start Goro realized that he had a major problem on his hands, one that could be constituted as a test of his judgment and rescue aptitude. The crying spoke of more dire need than these adult dummies' own noises did, and wasn't triage -the practice of prioritizing cases based on worse condition- common practice in emergencies? As callous as it might seem at first glance, he felt expected to leave these two and go seek out the child. Still, that meant leaving these dummies to the competition, and who knew how tight the scoring would be? Stuck in a quandary, Goro hesitated a moment longer standing above the trapped figures.

---

"Y-you think we should f-f-follow him?"
Taro looked down to Umi, following the voice, where he caught her eye. He gave her a nod with a quiet ‘mmph’ through the fogged breath about his face. He took after her - after Goro.

Goosebumps formed on the skin left between his horns, but the cold was the last thing on Taro’s mind. In fact, as he pressed through the streets, he hardly felt it at all. He was much too focused on what was at hand: desperately trying to follow the light in the dark and claustrophobic streets, all while keeping an eye on Umi and the surrounds both. Admittedly, the jogging did wonders to warm him up, but it didn’t stop the heat knotting in his chest as he pushed himself on.

With the rattle of steel, Taro jumped onto a chain link fence and pulled himself over. He wasn’t far from Goro now, who stood over two pinned adults.
"We’re students!" Taro called out as he hit the ground with a bit of a stumble. He looked back towards Umi for a moment, making sure they were still together, before he jogged over towards Goro. His eyes flicked over the two dummies before turning to the wider area, where he tossed over a loose bit of lead pipe - hitting the ground nearby with a rattle - before he started dragging over a blob of uprooted concrete.

Alert to the sudden noise, Goro whipped around, but relaxed when he saw Taro. A familiar face in this almost nightmarish landscape was a welcome change. Behind the new arrival Goro spotted Umi, though neither of them could see his welcoming smile. “Ah! Hello.”

Taro rolled the uprooted concrete into positions besides the two dummies with a heave and a grunt.
"We should probably get all of them, right?" he asked as he snatched up the pipe. He could have almost come across as rude: his indifferent voice and firm scowl accompanied with his presumptions. He flourished the pipe with a twirl besides him before he took it in both hands, where he wedged it between the fallen utility pole and the concrete blob. "That should be at least one for each of us. Help me out here…" With a strained wheeze, he pressed down on the pipe, attempting to lever the pole up even enough to just get the dummies out from underneath.

’Wait, hold on. One for each? But there’s three of…’ Umi was thinking aloud, but that’s when it hit her. There was still the sound of a child’s cry in the far yonder. She looked back at Taro for just a second, but he was preoccupied with his attempt to rescue the two dummies for himself and the brightly lit boy.

"I g-guess I’ve got the l-last one," Umi decided, "I-I’ll be right b-back."

With that, she ran off ahead into the fog, hoping to find the source of the cry sooner rather than later.

If the horned student acted with rudeness, Goro did not seem to notice. He nodded vigorously at his new acquaintance’s suggestion. “Right, let’s do it.” Any thoughts of teamwork’s illegality faded for the moment as he leaned in to leverage his strength alongside Taro’s. As he did, he concentrated his light on Taro’s arm, sending revitalizing nutrients to be absorbed and put to use.

---

Meanwhile, Umi had been fumbling around in the fog, trying her best to find where the sound of the cry was coming from. Eventually, she came across another life-sized dummy, this one being smaller than the two that Taro and the student they were following had been trying to rescue. Assuming they were all weighted to represent their human counterparts, this would also mean that this smaller would thankfully be significantly lighter, as Umi wasn’t strong enough to lift a full-sized adult. Umi knelt, and collected the dummy off the ground and into her arms.

"I g-got you," she said to the dummy, nerves still rattling in her system, "Y-you’re safe."

But still the dummy wouldn’t stop crying. Umi frantically tried to run back towards the others, but with the fog being as thick as it was, she lost her way with ease, and quickly grew concerned that she made one wrong turn too many and strayed too far for anyone to help her.

"G-guys?! A l-little help here, pl-please?" Umi called out in desperation.

She looked all over the place for some kind of sign. Anything that could help her reunite with the others. She took in the sights while she was here, but they were not promising in the slightest…

Even if her soon-to-be classmates did not spy her form through the fog, however, her voice did reach them. Planning to give a signal the only way he knew how, Goro yelled, “Over here!” He then gave a nod to Taro and told him, “Close your eyes.” After doing the same, the boy let out a brief but very bright flash, turning a whole swath of the fog white. He had no doubt that Umi, wherever she was, could see it--though he also feared that other, unknown lurkers in the area might come also.

There hadn't been any need to even consider the cat's presence before Azukina had bolted off, though the sound of sarcasm dripping in the distance put something of a smile on Yomodachi's face. It was the redhead, Kūki, who had her attention. Wasn't she one of those that spoke out against her in the beginning? Why was she even tagging along?
Her pace slowed somewhat to help the other student conserve stamina, even if her boost wouldn't make it much longer. A solo boost that enhanced physical ability wasn't going to help her much anyway, and it made more sense to just let it go if she had a plus one. Given her drive wasn't solely focused on gunning it to the nearest villain, it gave her some vital time to think and reconsider herself, and how to best approach the redhead. She had introduced herself, it was completely disrespectful to not provide the same.

"Yomodachi. Azukina Yomodachi. My quirk allows me to release a snowstorm from the palm of my left hand, which is useful to keep people from moving around. If you ever need to find me in a confrontation, follow the cold."
She did her best to flash the redhead a smile, though it looked more cocky than friendly, however unintentional. Even so, she wasn't arguing with Kūki, which was the third time today she had gotten along well enough with someone to talk without getting heated. "As for civilians, so long as no villains are around, I am with you completely. However, I feel it should be our perogative to deal with a threat before it can cause more harm; if we can deal with both at once, all the better."

The running took the pair to an area not entirely unlike their starting position, however as they drew nearer the cries of the dummies grew louder and louder, each one unique, both in voice lines and how they were positioned. Seeing how everything was laid out firsthand, it made Yomodachi call into question how she had previously viewed the exam. How had she been so stupid? To compare a hero course's exam to the standards of typical academics, it was totally foolish. Thankfully, even without her boost to mental clarity, the sight before her gave her a new perspective that could just help her and her teammate get through the challenges ahead of them.
"... I think I understand this exam a little more now." Began Black-n-White with a watchful eye, making out some of the dummies in the open. "There isn't going to be a standard when it comes to how many points you earn per dummy. That is to say, each dummy will likely give a different amount of points, depending on how they are trapped and how they are handled."
She had to speak quickly to avoid wasting time, but didn't have much else to say. "The villains will probably be the same: different points depending on scenario or skill. We should clear out the civilians in this area, as we are so close to the safezone, provided we don't get attacked. I suggest I take the ones in the open, while you search the buildings, though if you'd like to stick together till we verify the area as 'safe' I understand."

If Gas Girl's quirk meant she could avoid the dangers of harmful gases, then her working indoors, where leaking gas pipes may have ruptured, sounded like the best course of action. Meanwhile, Azuki's own quirk worked best when there was a lot of space provided, so in her mind it made sense for her to stick to the outside. But she wanted Kūki's thoughts before they went ahead.

---

Despite how misleading the girl's actions from earlier may have been, earning her a rather premature label as someone who thought teamwork a bonus rather than a priority, talking with her one on one revealed a different truth. Though they'd been on somewhat opposing sides early on, they both had relatively the same goal in all of this, as Kūki imagined most of them here probably did. Kūki was grateful the girl decided to slow her pace, knowing full well that with the boost she received, she could've just as easily ignored the strawberry, prioritizing points over working together. Maybe she wasn't so bad after all...

After having made acquaintances, Kūki followed the monochrome girl to an area much like that they'd started in. The gas girl didn't find it that surprising, as they hadn't yet traveled very far. There was no telling how drastic a change the environment might go through right around the bend, but for now, the 'civilians' at hand needed tending to. Listening to Yomodachi's conclusion in regards to the exam, Kūki couldn't help but agree. It would make the most sense for them to grant points based on how skillfully a rescue is performed, while also factoring in its base difficulty. A sigh escaped her, relieved that she was working with someone so astute. Those without this knowledge might haphazardly just try to gather as many dummies as possible, as recklessly as possible and, ultimately, only end up hurting their point total.

All around them could the cries and whimpers of the injured be heard. Kūki herself could tell that many were within the buildings, though one seemed to be placed in such a manner so as to make itself more pronounced, having gotten itself stuck inside a wall. It's larger size and the loud grunts made its presence most noticeable, and Kūki couldn't help but wonder if there was a reason for that. Nearby was a smaller dummy, legs fastened tightly in a sewer. In this situation, Kūki believed they were testing whether or not a student would prioritize a child or an adult. If she had to pick, it would clearly be the child.

"If it's alright, I think we should tend to the ones we can see right now, before splitting off prematurely. We don't know where villains could be hiding, after all, and if they were to catch one of us by ourselves while either of us is in the middle of a rescue..."

Kūki's voice trailed off under the sharp sound of a sudden roar. From the sound of it, the redhead had to guess it came from Zone 4, where Hiroki supposedly was. Before the pair knew it, yet another branch had been added to their tree of decisions: rescue the dummies here, or see to Hiroki's safety?

---

The roar was familiar, Azuki felt, similar to the one they had heard at the beginning of the exam. She watched the direction of the sound with intensity, though after several seconds in relative silence, she visibly relaxed. "You're right, we should work on saving those we can before running off alone. And while these two don't appear in immediate danger, if we can find a way to help them, that would do us well. I'll try to work on the larger dummy - you try and help the small one in the sewer."

With a light jog, Azukina made her way to the distressed grunts of a dummy half stuck inside a wall. It seemed like he was positioned as thoough trying to fit through a gap of collapsed or broken wall, but couldn't quite make it. Some leverage would help, or something to push him through. Even something as simple as lubrication. As it happened, Azuki only had one of those abilities, yet even then it probably wouldn't be enough. Although, there was one option, if only a little foolhardy. Yet as she thought it over, the distraction that was the roar was an awful lot closer than before, and this time, she could hear Turbine's voice, too...

If Kuki hadn't heard it then she likely would soon, maybe even feel a chill in the air, as Yomodachi left the lodged dummy to seek out the source of the roaring. Most pressingly, she had to find Hiroki.

[Action: Locate source of roaring/Hiroki's yelling]

---

@follycle@ShwiggityShwah

---

And so Sumi and Natsuki managed to find their way to Zone 8. There, the first thing they'd find would be a radio tower that looked to be at least as tall as any five-story building. This zone could be described as a ghost town at first glance but, for a city that was supposed to be dilapidated, the buildings themselves never appeared to have sustained too much damage. Blood-curdling screams could be heard from the far yonder before they were silenced by what sounded like physical attacks. However, neither Sumi nor Natsuki would find a single dummy so long as they remained on the surface. There was only one direction they could go without abandoning this area...

Just behind the radio tower, there was an entrance to an underground subway. Perhaps that would lead the two girls towards Zone 8's bounty of dummies that were to be rescued. Whether they were aware of it or otherwise, the radio tower had activated the second they got within range of it, and would be listening to everything that they were saying to each other.

...

Within the heart of one of the tunnels that made up the subway, a whole mess of dummies lay on top of the railroad tracks in a disorganized fashion, almost as if they were callously thrown there. Others appeared to have been thrown against the walls of the tunnel, and even more were strewn in between. This would continue until the next waiting room, where some dummies of various sizes were bound in place. There was one more room, to a "chamber" of sorts, where one more dummy sat bound to a chair. Its floor was littered with candy and chocolate wrappers, empty bottles of soda and squashed cartons of fruit juice. Inside the room, holding onto the dummy's head, was a young human woman whose eyes were opened wide, with pupils visibly shrunken and a grin that reached from ear to ear. All the dummies used for the exam were built to represent the standard Japanese citizen, yet this woman was at least a couple heads taller than all of them.

The woman had a lot of fun using the bound dummy as a punching bag, but that wasn't the reason she was doing it. In truth, she was charging up her Quirk by doing all this, so it would be ready for when some aspiring heroes showed up to challenge her. A certain audio feed had reached the woman, and by the sounds of it, a couple of said aspiring heroes had already arrived. She chuckled sinisterly.

"I've had a great time with you, Mr. Snuggles; it's been fun, but now's the time for The Dragon to show her claws to some real victims."

With that, she kicked the door to her "chamber" off from its own hinges with a supercharged kick, before grabbing the dummy and ripping him away from his binds. She did the same to the dummy in the waiting room that had represented a pregnant woman, with the chair breaking off from its foundation in the process, before moving out to the tracks. Here, The Dragon tossed this second dummy in the air, and prepared a roundhouse kick just as it reached its peak height before gravity would take over.

"FFFFFFFFFFOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRREE!!" kicking it square in the lower belly, The Dragon had effortlessly propelled the pregnant dummy soaring into the air, leaving a very potent indent in the shape of a Size 13 boot's sole in the process. Where exactly the dummy would land was hard to tell from The Dragon's point of view, but one thing was made clear.

The Dragon had to have lost it completely...

Haruishi Mari

Moving to Zone 5 and beginning rescue operations

Mari nodded in agreement at Minami's suggestion to exchange contact info, and did so with whoever among 'Team Teamwork' was willing to exchange with her. Though she did wonder if it wouldn't be easier then, to do as the USB-tailed boy suggested, but the girl with the glasses turned down the offer, and before long, the test had commenced.

Mari closed her eyes in silent introspection as the cacophony of voices assaulted her ears. If only heroes actually could hear the screams of the multitude, would one have come swooping to her rescue? Probably not, her screams had been sufficiently silenced when her face was pushed into the dirty sink water. Mari opened her eyes and returned to the present. Her fellows had started heading off in various directions. "Remember to keep in touch!" she called out, unsure if they could hear her in the thick fog, "Call if you need help! I've pledged to keep all rescue pairs protected. If you hear a harmonica, then help is on the way!"


She took some time to collect her thoughts and to get a general idea where everyone was heading. In the end, it made the msot sense for her to head towards the central area, so she could stay close to the other pairs. As it turns out, Houki and the Minami were headed in the same direction as well. Turning to the two that were still next to her (Kaito and Axel), she said, "Feel free to come with."

@Zelosse @I Need A Name

Catching up with Minami and Houki, Mari looked around at the devastation, and realized that this area was ideal for someone with a strength quirk, something the group lacked. The girl with the glasses had mentioned turning things to ash. But would it be enough to clear the rubble that had buried all these victims? The catgirl did mention having extra strength. Despite having a mobility quirk, the difficult terrain was less than ideal for Mari, whose strength lay in running in a straight line.

"Nekoyama-san, you'll have to lead. Not only is this area easiest for you to traverse, but you're probably the only person who could dig someone out of the rubble by yourself. The rest of us, if we work together, can probably move more stable debris, like fallen cars and such. I...I can run fast, and maybe kick things really hard, but as it stands, I'm probably only good for ferrying victims back to the bus." Mari bit her lip. She wanted to help civilians, but she felt that her quirk was really only useful for fighting, if that.

@KoL @TheWindel

@Stern Algorithm@KoL@thewindel

Feel free to come with.

Lacking better options as a support quirk that relied on building up his quirk rather than free usage whenever he wanted to, the choice to follow along made more sense. Hoisting the amp on his back like a backpack thanks to its handy straps, Kaito was off in a brisk jogging speed in a feeble attempt to keep up. Next time he was out doing field work, Kaito resolved to focus on easier instruments to make sure he could remain mobile rather than nest in one area and play till someone showed up.
Hopefully not a villain.

"Maybe the flute would have been a better option.." grumbled more to himself than Mari who had taken a decisive lead on the slower student.

Ignoring the problems of your quirk was something every aspiring hero had to do if they wanted to be the best. Weaknesses had to become their own kind of strength or at least have a way to compensate. For Kaito it meant relying on others for protection while he brought them to new heights through his music. If this Mari girl was going to help she needed to know what he could do for her.

"Oi, legs. This goes for everyone else here too," glancing as he spoke to take it Minami and Houki, "My quirk is a boost type but it doesn't work on myself and needs time to charge up before each use. Contact with my hand energizes you for 5 minutes so if you need to pack some extra power on your strength and speed, just reach out. I'll stick to the center and build up my quirk till one of you needs it."

Mari seemed like the ideal choice for his benefits first, as she was already blessed with strong muscles and looked scrappy enough to make use of it. The next one would likely go to the cat if she would allow it, making them doubly as acrobatic with speed and power to match.
As long as they had a proper cooldown between power chords they wouldn't have to worry about the exhaustion part of his quirk.

Holding his hand out to Mari, Kaito arched an eyebrow and tried to look confident. Inside he felt like the energy was tearing him up.

"Take the first charge, friend." Unlike with the multicolor haired girl earlier, Kaito wouldn't make the mistake of grabbing where he maybe shouldn't have. Even if it was an accident!

[Action: Moving to Zone 5 and beginning rescue operations]

@Lugubrious@vFear@AdmrlStalfos19
With the combined strength of Goro and Taro, two young strapping men with much to prove to the little girl that had scampered off into the mist, the cement telephone pole was eventually dislodged, rolling and crunching its way down the legs of the trapped dummies. The weight of the pole had left cracks on the lower portion, but, not being human and considering the proctor’s own declaration that it mattered not ‘how’ the dummies were saved, the two came away with a dummy for each of them.

The sudden flash as well, seemed to go unpunished by any sudden monster jumping out at them from a neighboring building, and soon enough, the trio found themselves together again, each of them holding a dummy on them. Perhaps a more devious individual would have used this opportunity to knock them out, but neither villain nor morally bankrupt student appeared amongst them and though others had their own difficulties, for Goro, Taro, and Sumi at least, it was easy enough, simple enough.

Explosions sounded off in the distance, but well, it wasn’t any of their concern, was it? With their load, unless they had any extra plans, they may as well head back.

The dummies were all heavier than one would expect, but, well, Vitalight could serve as a stopgap for that particular problem.


@Animal@Scribe of Thoth
It was actually…harder than expected. Thin as his USB Cord was, Shiki had to resort to physically pulling with his hips and legs rather than the strength of his tail alone, and that caused stress in its own way and, upon closer inspection, the dummy was rather large and unwieldy too, what looked to be a bulky, 6’2 dummy rather than the standard 5’5 size. But the mailbox didn’t turn out to be some psychotic death trap that triggered razor wire explosions when the dummy underneath was removed, and soon enough, the bespectacled youth had acquired his first dummy of the day!

Well, it was still hella heavy, but Goro’s group in the area behind him weren’t screaming in agony or anything like that, so it was unlikely they were going to get bombed by a villain. The alternative, in which some silent assassin had disposed of the trio who had headed out to the sector south of them, wasn’t something that was all that pleasant to think about.

Shun had some good luck on his side as well, even if he wasn’t able to immediately benefit from it. Stepping into the busted storefront of what looked to have once been a bookstore, the pixelating boi found himself beset almost immediately with a site that would send shivers up any librarian’s spine: a dozen large bookshelves, collapsed chaotically on top of each other, with the cries of two? three? dummies bouncing within. Would even Shiki’s help be enough to clear this space? The situation certainly fit a strength-based quirk…

But that’d mean waiting for someone with a more convenient quirk to respond too. And who knew how much time they had left?