The Villain's Daughter

30 - The Licensing Exam

(Hanaki's POV)

"I'm done being your friend, Quera," I told her, sternly, feeling another flower rise up in my throat. "I don't want to be seen with you anymore."

I turn away, hoping that pretending to hate her will convince me that I really do hate her. But things didn't go as planned. You can't fool your heart, only your brain. Despite everything I try, seeing her still makes my heart skip a beat and every day, I hope to see her again. I don't know why, I've fallen in love with her, but it's only causing me trouble and I don't want it anymore.

It never went away, my feelings for her, but my quirk did stop malfunctioning. The first time it happened, my mom took me to the doctor's and they called it Hanahaki disease. Funnily enough, I wasn't named after it. Hanaki is just what my parents had decided on. Eventually, I realized it wasn't that. Hanahaki disease is entirely fictional. The problem was that my quirk was causing flowers to bud inside my tracheal pipe, causing me to cough them up. The stems and roots are torn out of the sides and thorns scratch up the walls, making blood come up with it. I still call it a disease, but it's nothing like that.

After hearing what Eros said in the lobby, I had to get away from there as fast as possible. I'm glad she didn't notice my discomfort because I'id have to explain myself. However, I was writing something about it, so I gave it to her. If she reads it, she'll finally know how I feel. It's not like she'll ever reciprocate those feelings, though. At least, I hope she doesn't. I'd rather her just be my friend than anything more. My heart doesn't seem to understand that...

(Quera's POV)

Soon enough, we're ready to take our provisional licensing exams. Our class heads out to the buses and boards them, nervous for how the exams will turn out. Shizu has his hands folded in his lap, anxiously and Hanaki is messing with her vine. I'm a bit excited to officially be called a hero. We arrive at the testing site quickly, where we see students from many other schools offering a hero course. The pro hero, Mrs. Joke is here, too. I cross my arms outside the bus and stare at the building as Aizawa gives us a little pep talk.

"Alright, guys, let's yell out the usual," Kirishma says. "Go plus-"

"ULTRAAA!!" Some tall, bald-looking guy finishes. I tilt me head, confused as to why he's busted into this.

"You know it's pretty rude to barge into other people's huddles like that, Inasa," a shorter, purple-haired guy says.

"What? Pardon me," Inasa says, placing his hands at his sides. "I am so... Very.. Extremely sorry!!!!!"

He bows so low and fast that he slams his head on the ground. I step back, looking him up and down. Judging by the uniform, I'm gonna say he's from Shiketsu High. It makes me trust him a bit less. I was going to go to Shiketsu, but for one, Todoroki was going to UA and I wanted to hang out with him and, two, UA is in the east and Shiketsu is in the west. I lived in the east. I think Ari said she was moving into the west, so if we were to drop out, we'd be going to Shiketsu. Suddenly, someone calls out to Mr. Aizawa, then immediately asks him to marry her. It's the pro Ms. Joke with a class from Ketsubutsu academy. One dude named Shindo greets us excitedly and I back away a bit. A girl asks for Todoroki's autograph, then Aizawa tells us to get into our hero outfits. Soon enough, we're in our costumes and in a room with what I'm guessing is over a thousand people. 

"Ugh, let's do this exam thing," a very tired sounding guy says into a microphone. He's so far away that I can't see his face, but I'm imagining him with huge eye bags. "I'm from, uh, the Heroes Public Safety Commission. Name's Mera. My Circadian Rhythm is so screwed up. Aw man... I've been swamped lately and I haven't gotten much rest. We're too short staffed. I'm so tired. With that confession, I will now begin orientation." Poor guy. He needs a good nap. Someone should take over for him. "So, about the content of this license thing. Basically, 1,540 examinees compete in a free-for-all exercise or whatever we're calling it this year. See, we've got a lot of pros around, and since Stain was arrested, many people've expressed doubts about the status of heroes in society."