SHE STAYED IN THE CHANGING ROOMS LONGER THAN BEFORE. Her female classmates chatted up a storm, asking opinions on their costumes and squealing about how everyone looked. She answered questions, helped when someone couldn't reach a zipper in the back, and allowed herself the tiniest of smiles when Ashido and Jiro complimented her Hero costume.
It was simple, not too flashy. Just a blue sleeveless turtleneck paired with black leggings. She also had a silver utility belt stuffed with bandages, painkillers, and alcohol wipes. The entrance exam showed her that she needed to be prepared to deal with cuts and minor injuries. She chose to add a silver domino mask. There was no particular reason for that, although the fact that almost every American Hero wore a mask might have affected her decision.
She kept her black Converse. Ashido questioned the choice, but she merely shrugged.
All Might was waiting for them.
The Hero was their teacher. It was kind of cool, to have a Pro teach them Foundational Hero Studies, but she had to wonder if the man actually knew what he was doing.
All Might lead them to one of the fake cities from the exams and said they would be diving right into indoor battle. "WE SEE VILLAIN BATTLES OUTSIDE," he said, "BUT THE WORST VILLAINS ARE INSIDE!" The Hero placed his hand on his hips. "YOU WILL SPLIT INTO TEAMS OF HEROES AND VILLAINS, THEN HOLD TWO-ON-TWO BATTLES INDOORS!" Noise erupted from the class as everyone began to ask question. She wished she brought her headphones.
The man continued, explaining that the Villain teams would hide a prop nuclear weapon, and the Hero teams needed to find and capture either the weapon or both of the Villains before the time ran out. All Might held up a box. "YOU WILL DRAW LOTS TO DECIDE YOUR PARTNERS!"
When it was her turn, she reached into the box and pulled out a slip of paper. C. Her partner was Yaoyorozu. She exchanged nods with the pretty girl, who frowned, just a little.
The first battle consisted of Bakugo and Iida -- the stern boy -- against Midoriya and Uraraka. She and the rest of the class watched from a basement monitor room. Through the many screens, she watched as Midoriya and Uraraka entered the building and began to search the building. She would have thought it was boring, if not for Bakugo leaping out from around the corner in an explosive attack.
Beside her, Kirishima clenched his fists. "A sneak attack?! That's not manly at all!" She glanced at him.
"It may not be ... manly, but it's realistic." The redhead looked at her in surprise. "A real Villain wouldn't hesitate to strike a low blow." A glass bottle soaring at her from behind-- "A real Villain won't give you the chance to defend yourself. Bakugo seems to have picked up on that."
"CORRECT!" All Might gave her a thumbs up, signature grin plastered on his face. "GOOD JOB, YOUNG SMITH!" She blinked slowly and nodded, before turning her attention back to the screens, just in time to see Midoriya slam Bakugo into the floor.
The green-haired boy -- she was still tempted to call him Shrubbery -- began to shout, the blonde shouting right back. She didn't know what they were saying, though; the cameras didn't relay sound.
Midoriya tried to use capture tape on Bakugo, but Cauiliflower twisted away and blew up the spot where the boy had been standing.
Meanwhile, Uraraka found where Iida and the weapon were hidden. Iida apparently thought ahead, as there were no loose objects for the brunette to use her Quirk on.
The battle soon ended when Bakugo and Midoriya blew up half of the building, allowing Uraraka to use her Quirk on the rubble and send it towards Iida, before jumping and latching onto the weapon.
"They won, but ..." Ashido grabbed Kendria's arm. It took quite a bit of willpower not to raise a shield. "They don't look so good ..." She nodded, watching as the broken Midoriya was carted off to Recovery Girl. Bakugo was strong, insanely strong, yet the other boy managed to defeat him with mere calculation and body language. Although it ended in destruction, she had to admit: the fight was impressive.
When the other three returned to the monitor room, All Might declared Iida to be the best and asked the class if anyone knew why this was so. Yaoyorozu raised her hand.
"Bakugo was motivated by a personal grudge, at least that's what it looked like. He used a destructive long range attack, which was foolish, to say the least. Midoriya did the same." She noticed Bakugo bow his head, an unreadable expression on his face. "Uraraka lost focus, and her attack was far too reckless." Yaoyorozu gestured to Iida. "However, Iida had a counter strategy and thought ahead. He was just too late at the end. The only reason why the Hero team won was because it was a training exercise."
Wow. Her partner's intelligence was intimidating. I'm actually glad I'll be fighting with her.
The next battle -- Shoto Todoroki and Mezo Shoji against Toru Hagakure and Mashirao Ojiro -- ended quickly with Todoroki freezing the entire building. Shivering from the cold above, she realized that she had never known that Hagakure even existed. The girl was invisible, after all.
From the corner of her eye, she saw Bakugo's fists clench.
However, she didn't have much time to dwell on that as it was now time for her and Yaoyorozu to battle against one of the other teams.
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