As the students spread out and began the final part of the exam, Gon stuck close to a small group of classmates. Unlike the first half, he wasn't sure how to carry out a large scale rescue mission like this one. The last time he had been expected to carry out a rescue it hadn't ended too well because his priorities weren't really in order.
The boy shook his head, shaking off the thoughts he wasn't interested in revisiting. The few teens he followed paused somewhere up ahead and seemed to be facing something within the rubble. Upon catching up, he noticed Izuku receiving a lecture from one of the HUC actors. It was a funny sigh to see such a small person, with blood leaking from their forehead, yelling at a much taller teenager, who was fidgeting anxiously and attempting to correct their original approach.
When the pseudo victim appeared to be satisfied with his performance, he began to cry and beg for help. Izuku lifted the boy from the rubble and let the others know that he was taking the victim to a first aid station. Hearing this, Gon's eyes widened slightly in realization.
"So I just need to carry people to safety?" He muttered to himself. Jirou, who was positioned somewhere in the back of the pack with him, caught what he said and turned to face him.
"Well, there's a bit more to it than that. But I guess that's the general idea." She replied.
The boy bounced on his toes, allowing his gaze to sweep across the ruins of buildings that had been standing tall and proud only minutes ago. "Okay! I'm gonna go and find some people to take to the first aid station too."
"Wouldn't it be easier to stick with us and work together?" Jirou inquired, somewhat unsure about letting their newest classmate wander off on his own.
"I guess, but I feel like it would be more fun if I went off on my own. It'd be more of a challenge that way." Gon answered, and with that he took off in another direction.
Jirou watched him go with an awestruck expression. She didn't quite understand what motivated him nor why he seemed so keen on making the test more difficult for himself. Although, with the pure light radiating off his face as he turned to leave, she couldn't find it within her to feel bothered. There was a confidence there she wasn't expecting, but it felt wrong to question it so she let him go.
Once Gon had gotten a good distance away from his classmates, he stopped running, knowing that he was far enough that he wouldn't get the victims confused with the students. The presence of too many people in one area made it more complicated to pick out who was who. Allowing his eyes to slide shut, he focused his senses on locating anyone nearby.
Taking a deep breath, the boy paused and listened closely as a plethora of sounds drifted by. A high whine and dull coughing caught his attention, his head turning sharply to face the location where the sound came from. He could sense the presence of quite a few people off in that direction and decided to check it out.
Gon ran to where he sensed the people and was surprised to see quite a few injured victims half buried under the rubble. It seemed like he was the only one who had heard their cries for help and was alone in taking care of them. His gaze hardened with determination as he calmly approached the group.
"Hey! I'm here to help!" Gon called out, jogging up to the nearest person who was pinned to the ground by a giant stone that covered the entire lower half of his body. "Don't worry, I'll get you all out safely."
As the boy leaned down to pull the man out from the debris, a voice shouted from somewhere behind him. "You can't possibly get all of us out by yourself!"
Gripping the slab of stone and heaving it off the man, effortlessly holding it high above his head, Gon looked over at the victim who spoke. An older woman was gaping at him as well as the other three people feigning injury. The elderly man beneath him that was just freed from the rubble was also staring at the boy with wide, bewildered eyes.
"It's okay! I'm strong so it won't be any trouble." Gon replied, tossing the stone away where it wouldn't harm anyone or get in the way.
He knelt down to observe the man. There was fake blood soaking one pant leg and dripping from the side of his head. He assumed this meant that he had an injured leg and received some head trauma. In that moment, Gon though about how great it would be if Leorio had been there to help out. He would do an amazing job at this kind of thing.
"It doesn't look like you can walk..." He began to say, finger pressed to his mouth in consideration. The victims were still silent, some trying to determine if the boy's strength was a part of his quirk or just a natural phenomenon. They could deduct points for the blunt observation, but chose to see what he would do. He was only stating a fact anyway, letting the patient be aware of what condition they might be in.
"I'm gonna go take the others out from the debris and I'll carry you all to the first aid station." Gon concluded, rising to his feet and moving to the next person.
By the time he was done, he had counted four people, two of which were incapable of walking. One by one he moved to pick up the actors. He hoisted the two who couldn't walk on his back to lessen jostling or upsetting the leg injuries. The remaining two were nestled securely under each arm, having only a sprained wrist and a potential concussion.
"Carrying all of us like this will deduct points y'know." A middle aged man under his right arm spoke up as the boy began to jog to the first aid station. "It's a little reckless and has a high risk of making one of our wounds get worse."
Gon spared a glance at the man but continued moving forward. "But I can't just leave all of you there and wait for someone. Especially if I can just get you there faster myself."
This particular situation reminded him of the incident at the Hunters exam with his friends and the snake charmer. It wasn't that difficult to get everyone out of the cave then and it wasn't difficult to carry these people now. Although, he'll admit that it's easier now that he doesn't have to hold his breath while running with people in his arms.
"You're a strange boy." The lady said from atop his shoulders.
A bright smile adorned his face that made the rescued victims take a moment to catch their breath. "I get that a lot." Gon replied simply.
With that, they found that there was nothing more to say. They weren't sure who this boy was but there was a warmth about him that made him endearing. It was difficult not to feel safe or adopt a similar expression when that face was directed at them. The boy was a beast, but he had the makings of a true hero.
When he arrived at his destination, he took note of the many people laid out across a marked off space. A woman attending to the victims had just finished speaking to Izuku, who ran off in a different direction, before noticing him. She froze where she stood, taking in the load he carried, before snapping out of her daze and quickly making her way up to him.
"Let me see them." She said as she helped them down from Gon's shoulders. He bent down to allow for easier access while helping the two in his arms stand. She gently checked them over to see the extent of their injuries.
"I don't really know how to tell what injuries they have, but they can talk okay. Ah, and those two can't really walk." Gon spoke, gesturing to the ones she helped take down from his shoulders.
"Alright, this man seems fine. Take him over there and I'll get these three taken care of." She responded, pointing to a spot off to the right.
Gon nodded and thanked her before taking the man to the spot the woman directed them to. He stood a full few feet taller than the boy, but leaned slightly against him anyways. Carefully, he set the man on the ground and prepared to search for more people in the rubble.
Just as he was moving to stand up, the boy paused mid movement. Like before when he had watched the testing area get demolished, and when the rooms began to unfold, there was a faint tremor in the ground. The sensation traveled through the soles of his boots and put him on high alert.
It was then that a large explosion roared a few feet away from where the patients were being treated. Startled shouts erupted from the group as the ground shook from the force. Gon turned sharply to face the source, brows furrowed as he focused on the plumes of smoke billowing from a spot on the wall of the arena.
"A villain has completed another large-scale attack." A voice said from the speakers.
Immediately after, the familiar voice of Izuku spoke up from behind him. "Everyone! This is part of the exam!"
Hearing that, Gon relaxed significantly. Although, as the smoke cleared, he could feel the dull murmur of adrenaline in his veins begin to pick up speed. His fingers twitched at his sides at the prospect of finally seeing some action in the exam but he kept himself planted firmly where he was.
From a few feet away Gon could see a clear hole blown into the wall. Stepping over debris, multiple people dressed in dark suits spilled out, following a much taller and intimidating person. Wait no... fish? Person? Fish person?
What seemed like an orca in human clothes emerged from the hole, baring ink black claws and a threatening atmosphere. The boy blinked as he stared before a light went off somewhere in his mind. He'd seen someone like this in his hero classes, marked down in his textbooks as one of the pro heroes who went by the name of Gang Orca.
"So the attack really is just part of the exam." Gon muttered under his breath.
A pout tugged at the corners of his lips. Although this meant he would finally be able to burn off some of his excess energy, the fact that it was a part of the test meant he would probably have to hold back a bit when fighting. He'd come to terms with this earlier but it was gradually becoming more and more difficult to maintain his desire to act.
The thrill he felt from fighting and facing off opponents much stronger than himself was like an addiction. Once he'd fought the chimera ants and recovered, that urge only seemed to increase. Speaking to Gin only served to encourage him further as he learned more about what the world had to offer.
"Get everyone to safety!" A voice abruptly ordered as a figure ran by. Gon watched the teen pass him and head to the wave of villains rushing toward the first aid station. He recognized him from earlier, believed his name was... Shindo?
It took a second for the boy to react while he watched Izuku, who stood a few feet in front of him, promptly jump into action and start to help get people away from the villain attack.
Gon stood there, every muscle in his body tensed, pulled taught like a wire ready to snap. An intense energy bubbled up in his very being and burned in his veins, his feet desperately wanting to carry him over to fight alongside Shindo to satisfy the urge that had been screaming inside him since he'd arrived in this strange new world.
But as he heard the shout and whimpers from behind him, along with Izuku's frantic attempt at reassurance, he found he couldn't move. His classmate was working on getting those people out of harms way on his own and likely needed help. Help that probably wouldn't get there soon enough seeing how the other students in the arena were occupied with their own injured people as well as attacks from the villains who were spreading out to cover more ground.
He was in the perfect position to help.
Gon grit his teeth hard enough to crack, hands curling into fists, then forced himself to turn his back on the villain attack. The material of his boots creaked and scrunched as he walked toward the victims laid out on the ground. Putting on the most reassuring expression he could, he got to work.
The ground rumbled and loud crashes burst from behind him as the teenager from before activated his quirk. Shouts of battle tempted him as he hoisted people onto his shoulders. Gon desperately wanted to join the fight, badly enough that he felt as if his bones were vibrating from deep within his body.
"Shindo!" The familiar voice of Izuku cried. Gon's head whipped around just into time to see a wall of ice launch itself at the man who was playing the main villain.
The attack claimed the man's attention as the teen, Shindo, collapsed to the ground. Gon peered over at whoever set off the ice and noticed a group of his classmates jogging over. He sighed at the idea of having more assistance, as the sooner this concern was dealt with the sooner he could participate in fighting the bad guys.
"Are you guys evacuating?" One of his classmates, Ojiro, called out. "We'll help!" He approached Izuku and exchanged information with him while Mina approached Gon.
"Gon! Are you really going to carry three people by yourself?" She asked while the boy in question just finished securing a person underneath his left arm.
"Nn! They aren't too heavy or anything." Gon replied. "And the more the better. We gotta get these people put of here quickly."
"Good point... just don't drop them okay?" Mina offered him a friendly smile before leaving to get some people to help.
Izuku, Ojiro, Mina, Tokoyami, and Gon got up and moving, carrying people away from the fight going on behind them. Those that could walk and had minor injuries ran alongside the students.
Feet pounding against the earth, Gon ran and directed all his focus on the situation at hand. The howling wind, the grinding and crackling of ice and fire, and the pulses of power thrumming through the ground demanded his attention. Ignoring it was proving to be very difficult.
Once the group had gotten far away, the buzzing sensation beneath the boy's skin had become a painful burn. He took the time to gently remove the injured people from his shoulders and set them back on the ground where the other's had begun to do the same thing. The area had been deemed safe as some of the student stayed behind to fend off the main villain's henchmen that were pursuing them.
Gon let his classmates know that he was returning to the scene of the battle before taking off, running at a speed that eluded the people observing him from the stands. Within mere seconds he had made it back to the fight, chest heaving slightly from the effort and the strain he enforced on his own body. The urge to fight was alarming and made his body tremble, although his mind discarded this concern when he was met with the scene in front of him.
Izuku and a few of their classmates were off to the side and taking down the lesser villains with the help of some students from the other schools. Inasa and Todoroki lay weak and immobile at the feet of Gang Orca who were a few feet away from him. Gon had arrived in time to witness a powerful sonic wave disperse the swirling mass of wind and fire that had suurounded the pseudo villain.
An empty bottle of water fell from the man's hand as the remaining traces of the teens group attack fizzled out into the open air. He spoke words to them that the boy couldn't hear from where he was, and one inky clawed hand lifted to launch a counter attack.
Amber eyes flashed and flickered as it zeroed in on the most subtle movements. There was a strength in him that Gon hadn't been able to see in the other people he'd encountered so far. A large grin spread across the boy's face, glimmering in a way that sent subconscious shivers down the spines of the people closest to him.
Then he finally took action.
Within half a second, Gon stood directly behind Gang Orca, body dropping into the fighting stance that had become like second nature to him. The moment he moved, his power could be felt. As his small form lowered and his arm moved behind him, slowly gathering aura and energy, the air around him shifted.
The reaction was instant. Gang Orca had barely any time to processes the sensation pressing against his back. It could be because he had some instincts akin the animal he took after, but there was no denying what overtook him. He hadn't even turned to see what had appeared behind him, all he knew was pure, unadulterated, fear. It wracked his entire body, freezing his feet to the earth, and setting every single nerve on high alert. Waves of nausea rolled through him while a buzzing static erupted in his mind. There was a lump growing in the base of his throat and everything inside oh him screamed to not turn around, to get away.
"Jan." The voice spoke from behind him, accompanied by a pulse of energy that tore thought the ground and rattled his bones.
His instincts ignited and the man whipped around, coming face to face with a young boy ten times smaller than himself. The boyish face focused entirely on Gang Orca would have made him doubt the boy's strength if he wasn't currently absorbed in the terror rippling through his veins. Despite the boy being right in front of him, his attack being clear and open while taking a bit to build up, Gang Orca couldn't move.
It felt like a predator cornering its prey.
"Ken." By now the air was heavy, almost suffocating. More so, even, than the fire tornado that had surrounded him only moments ago. The earth beneath his feet rumbled, an invisible wind picking up and raising the dust and debris. A loud crack resounded as the stone under the boy's feet broke into a shallow crater, though not deterring Gon in the slightest, his fist now encased in a glowing light that emitted overwhelming power.
Orca knew he had to do something, anything, to get away from this attack. Having it directed at him, the intention clear and dead set had made it that much more urgent for him to get away.
If he didn't move now...
he was going to die.
"R-!" Before Gon could finish speaking, a buzzer blared throughout the arena, the sound echoing through the air and cutting the boy off mid word. With the distraction rousing his attention, the aura around his fist snuffed out immediately.
"Um, yeah, so, at this time, all of the HUC members who were deployed have been rescued from the disaster zone." The familiar voice announced over the speakers. "It may seem anticlimactic, but with this the provisional licensing exam has officially been completed. After we tally the scores we'll announce the results here in the arena." From there the announcer finished directing the students what to do and where to go.
When the voice had finished giving instructions, a wave of relief washed over everyone in the arena. Although, the sentiment was not shared by the pro hero whose eyes were firmly fixed on the boy standing before him. In the seconds between the boy preparing his attack, Gang Orca was held in Gon's inescapable gaze. The burning light in the boy's eyes radiated a determination and power that spoke of things the man had never seen or experienced in his lifetime, even as a hero.
While he stared, bewildered and trembling from the aftermath of what could have been a deadly encounter, Gon looked around like a lost child. He was dissatisfied with the lack of action and his fight being interrupted, but accepted it regardless, not wanting to cause any problems. It was then that the boy turned to face Orca with a bright smile that was significantly less threatening than the one that graced his face while he charged up Jajanken.
"That's too bad, I wanted to fight with you. Sorry though, I think I might have put a little too much strength behind that one." Gon paused, bring a finger to his chin while his brows furrowed in thought. "But... I guess that means it's a good thing I stopped when I did." He sweat dropped then as his face twisted into a look akin to a child who had nearly broken an expensive vase. "That could have ended really badly."
Gang Orca gaped at the boy who held the look of an innocent child who could commit no wrong. The feeling of imminent danger that had taken over him was not something he could just make up, and yet the boy stood there like was incapable of doing any harm. He spoke as if he wasn't just about to potentially severely injure him during his preparation to attack.
"What... what is your name?" The man asked, taking a step back now that he'd broken out of his deer-in-the-headlights like state.
"Hm? Oh! I'm Gon Freecs! I just recently enrolled in UA." He replied cheerily.
"I see... And you're interested in becoming a hero?"
Gon looked at him in confusion. "Um, I guess? It's a little complicated. Sorry again for almost overdoing it with Jajanken, I hope we can have an actual fight sometime!"
Gang Orca nodded and left it at that. Gon bid him a bright goodbye before heading over to where he was told to go by the announcer and the man watched him go. He determined to speak to Aizawa after this.
"That boy... just what kind of beast is he?"