Solstice and Eclipse: Part III

Chapter XVI: Hope

They arrived at the National Dagoba Arena a little before ten o'clock in the morning. The midmorning sky was dotted with clouds, and a refreshing light breeze offered respite from the hot summer sun. Hundreds, if not thousands of other hero course students from different schools all over the country had already gathered around the entrance, eagerly waiting for the doors to open as the hot summer sun beat upon their necks. Gathering at the back of the queue, Class 1A stared up at the large building in awe filled anticipation as they fought to keep their nerves from showing.

It was only a matter of minutes after stepping off the bus that they were recognized as Class 1A from UA High School. Students from the other academies swarmed them, some offering polite introductions while others asked for autographs. A boy with shaggy black hair from Ketsubutsu Academy went up to each of them and shook their hands, introducing himself as Shindo. (L/N) wasn't paying much attention until he noticed the boy standing in front of him.

"Oh wow, you're (L/N), right?" He said, his voice thick with astonishment. "I was rooting for you during the sports festival. It's a really cool quirk you got, though I'm not sure I fully understand it."

(L/N)'s eyebrows pinched together in a scrutinizing glare as the older boy talked.

"Oh, geez, I haven't even introduced myself. The name's Shindo." He said, offering his hand.

Ignoring him completely, (L/N) stalked away from the crowd to wait between the two buses that had shuttled them there, hiding from the crowd until they were called forward. He was surprised to find Bakugou already standing there.

Bakugou looked over his shoulder at him with an irritated 'tch'. "You noticed it too, huh?"

"Noticed what?" (L/N) asked as he leaned against the front bumper across from his classmate. "The way the tone of their voice is hiding something?"

"Doesn't match their eyes, either." Bakugou added. "Not that you'd know."

(L/N) chuckled lowly at that. From the sidelines they continued watching the way the competition interacted with their classmates. It was obvious to them they had a target on their backs. Movement from the front of the crowd signaled that the doors must have been opened, and slowly but surely the hundreds of students funneled into the building. Bakugou pushed himself off the bus and started pushing his way through the throng. (L/N) was just about to join when he heard Eraser Head call his name.

"(L/N)." He motioned for him to come over.

"Yes, sir?"

"How are you feeling?" Aizawa asked, to which (L/N) replied with a noncommittal shrug. "Listen, I know you have no aspirations toward becoming a hero, and at the end of the day the results of this exam will be of little consequence to you. That being said I still expect you to pass. Take this seriously." He told him. "If not for yourself, then for your classmates. Whether they pass or fail here today may have lasting ramifications on their futures. Understand?"

(L/N) nodded.

"Good." Eraser Head said with finality. With that he allowed (L/N) to rejoin the stream of students headed for the entrance while he himself turned to make his way to the stadium bleachers. "Oh, and (L/N)." The boy stopped, jostled by the crowd, and looked back. "Good luck." Aizawa said.

Waiting until his student disappeared from view, Eraser Head turned around, shoulders slouched and hands in pockets, and walked off towards the stadiums where other teachers and examiners would sit to watch the upcoming trials. He found a seat that offered a decent view of the terrain below for him to keep an eye on his students in what he hoped would be a peaceful solitude. Unfortunately, it seemed he wasn't the only person who decided on the vantage point.

"Hey, there's my future husband!"

"I don't think so." Aizawa said, glaring at her with red eyes.

"Oh, come on." Ms. Joke whined, upset that she once again failed to get a laugh out of the stoic hero. "Can't you give your lover just a little laugh?"

"Never gonna happen." He said seriously. "And would you stop calling us that."

"Tell you what, you offer up a laugh, and I'll stop telling all the tabloids about our intimate love affair."

Aizawa crossed his arms and leaned back in his seat, deactivating his quirk. "Not worth it."

"Just a tiny laugh. Please!" Fukukado begged.

"No."

"What about a chuckle?"

"No."

"A chortle?"

"No."

Fukukado crossed her arms and stuck up her lip. "Boo." She pouted.

"Would you shut up for five seconds." Eraser Head said wearily.

"Alright, fine." Ms. Joke sighed. "It looks like they're about to start anyways."

The Smile Hero leaned forward in her seat as the walls around the false room fell away revealing the battleground to the students. Scanning the crowd below, she managed to pick out several of her students as they strategically placed the targets on their uniforms, preparing for the first phase of the exam. She then focused her attention on the students from UA High School, watching as several of them broke away from the rest of their classmates. She smiled sadly to herself. Whether they worked as a team or went it alone, the end result would be the same. A small part of her felt sad for them. They had no idea what was about to happen.

"Every year, the test is different. But one thing's always the same." She said to Aizawa. "It's kind of like a tradition during the licensing exam. Most of the students who compete in the provisional exam have pretty equal footing. Except for one school." Emi watched as Class 1A ran across the field, trying to put some distance between themselves and the competition. "UA come in at a severe disadvantage. Because the top school's sports festival is broadcast across the country, showing off not just your students Quirks, but their weaknesses and fighting styles, too. Kinda funny, isn't it."

A loud beep rang across the field, followed by an automated female voice that announced the start of the first test.

"If you like your class this year, then you should have warned your students about all this. We've seen it time and time again in this exam. UA is immediately crushed."

"So, you think we'll be taken out?" Aizawa nearly scoffed. "I don't really see a reason why I should have warned them. I doubt it would've changed anything if I had. They're still going to have to overcome this, either way." Through the dust and smoke kicked up by someone's quirk, Aizawa made out dozens of figures flanking his students until they were surrounded on all sides. But even as the attacks started raining down, he remained calm. "Real heroes could turn this situation around." He told Fukukado. "Besides, if they become pros, they'll face villains who already know their quirks. Perhaps at UA, we look a little further ahead than other schools."

"Say what you like, but you and I both know how this scene plays out." Emi said. "There hasn't been a single student from UA whose passed this exam first try in ten years. Today will be no different."

"I have faith in my students."

"Faith isn't going to help them now." Ms. Joke said as she watched UA struggling to stay alive. "It doesn't matter how well prepared you think your students might be, there's no hope for them."

Aizawa chuckled and leaned back in his seat. Emi Fukukado's head snapped away from the scene below as she looked at the smirk on Shota Aizawa's face. In almost ten years of knowing Eraser Head, she had never once heard him laugh. She thought the day she finally heard it would be the highlight of her life, but the sound of that chuckle made her fear for her students.

"What's so funny?" She asked uneasily.

"You say there's no hope for my students. You think we're lost." Aizawa looked down at the ongoing battle, his eyes focusing on the light that penetrated the cloud of dust. "I say we have a beacon."