The days of training passed, and the day of Provisional Hero Licensing exam came. We were at the National Takoba Arena.
"I'm getting nervous now," Jirou commented.
"So we're doing this in Takoba?" Midoriya wondered.
"Earn your provisional licenses by passing this exam, and you won't be mere eggs anymore. you'll be full—fledged hatchlings," Aizawa said, "show them your best! Especially you, Tetsuya, Mineta. You haven't been with us long, and it's now you can show your classmates your true potential."
"Yeah! We're gonna hatch from those eggs and become hero chickens! All together now!" Kirishima called, "Plus..."
"Ultra!" a big guy in a hat yelled from behind him.
Kirishima looked like he crapped himself as the guy randomly yelled. I nearly did, too.
"I am so very sorry!" the guy said, bowing.
"Who's this whacked-out, big ball of excitement?" Denki yelled.
"He's like Iida, plus Kirishima, squared!" Hanta added.
They were Shiketsu High School students, one of the only schools that could rival UA's Hero Course.
"Wait... you're saying that this guy is a huge fan of UA, but he turned down an offer to join?" Hanta asked.
"Weird," I said.
"Weird or not, he's the real deal. Keep an eye on him," Aizawa said.
"Eraser! Is that really you, Erasee?!" a voice called out, "I saw you on tv and at the sports festival! It's been too long since we saw each other in person!"
I looked over and my jaw dropped. Miss Joke, the smile hero. Fukukado Emi.
"Emi!" I called out.
"Hey, kiddo! Long time no see!" she waltzed over and tousled my hair before turning to Aizawa, "let's get married!"
"Huh?!" I yelped.
"No thanks," Aizawa said.
"Just do it!" Emi replied.
"You're the same pain in the neck as always, Joke," he looked at me, "just like your mother, actually."
"Oh yeah, I haven't seen Kyouki in a while!" Emi said. "we used to be inseparable! How is she?"
"She's great," I smiled, "got outta the hospital recently."
"Your school's here?" Aizawa asked Emi.
"Yeah! Come on over, everyone! Come meet UA!" she beckoned.
I backed away to my spot beside Hanta.
"So many new people," I said, my eyes wandering over the crowd, "so many more friends to make."
"I'm your best friend though, right?" he replied.
"Duh! No-one could ever replace you!" I looked up at him.
"You two are sweet," Tetsuya commented, "I didn't figure a guy as plain as you would really get a girlfriend."
"G-girlfriend?!" he repeated, eyes widening.
"Oh no, you misunderstand!" I waved my hands wildly in front of me, "Hanta and I, we aren't dating! He's my best friend, I-I don't..."
"Oh, jeez, forget I asked," Tetsuya sighed, "you seen Katsuki anywhere?"
I stiffened at the way she could use even Bakugou's given name so casually.
"No," Hanta shook his head, face bright red still.
"Oh, right. I'll go find him then. See ya, lovebirds," she shrugged. Her ears twitched off in a different direction and she scampered off.
"Tetsuya's really something..." Hanta sighed.
"I'm more of a something though, right?" I batted my eyelashes and then laughed.
"Of course," he grinned.
"Woah! It's really them!" a black-haired boy gasped.
"Wowee! All those guys from television!" a blonde smiled.
"This is class 2–2 of Ketsubutsu Academy!" Emi said, "say hello to my students!"
The black-haired boy approached Midoriya.
"My name's Shindou!" he said, grabbing the green-haired boy by the hands, "UA's had it all kinds of rough this year, right? The hits just keep coming!"
'Wait. Shindou... Shindou?' I thought. Mu eyes widened, 'it really is him!'
"Shin!" I called out. He looked up and our eyes met.
"Wow, Zumi! Is it really you?" he grinned, walking over, "it's been years now!"
"Aw, come on. It's only been three," I said, high fiving him, "how've you been getting on at Ketsubutsu? Any good?"
"It's great, actually! I've improved my quirk a lot!" he said. I remembered Hanta was behind me.
"Oh! Shin, this is the old friend i was telling you about!" I said, "Sero Hanta, Shindou You. Shindou You, Sero Hanta!"
They looked at each other and narrowed their eyes.
"I saw the Kamini incident, as well. I'm so glad you're okay, Zumi!" Shindou said.
"It's nothing! Worst thing I did was scar my left arm," I said, showing him my arm. The bandages had been taken off — as had the cast — but I'd be permanently scarred by Shouto's ice. It didn't bother me at all, nor did I hold a grudge against him.
"Anyway, I'm so glad we get a chance to face guys of your caliber today. We're gonna do our best!" he smiled.
"Cut the crap," Bakugou's voice snarled from beside me, "your lips can flap all they want, but your mug says otherwise."
I glanced over to see the blond there with a sneer. He had Kirishima and Tetsuya on either side of. I wondered how he hadn't blown her face off yet.
"Knocki it off, man!" Kirishima said, "sorry he's so rude..."
"Not a problem! Just more proof of UA's iron will!" Shindou replied.
I frowned at Bakugou. There wasn't anything wrong with Shindou, as far as I was concerned.
"Change into your costumes! The info session's about to start," Aizawa called out, "so stop wasting time!"
"Okay!" we all cheered.
"I'll see you in a hot sec, Shin!" I said, turning off to change.
.
.
.
We walked into some sort of hall thing, which was crammed to the brim with students.
"It's so full in here..." I mumbled.
"So many people!" Denki said.
There was a guy at the front who started talking. I sort of tuned out, not really interested in his favourite kind of sleep or shit.
We were told that we would be given three targets to place on our body, as long as the body part is exposed. We would also be given six balls to throw at others' targets. Once all three of our targets had been hit — they would light up once they've been struck by a ball — we would be disqualified.
All of us from UA stayed together, launching balls about. A guy with long black hair from Ketsubutsu sent balls towards us, but they were underground. I felt a moment of panic until Jirou stuck her earphone jacks into the ground and disrupted their trajectory.
"Good going, Jacks!" I gave a thumbs up.
"Nice quirk," Tetsuya agreed.
I looked back at the Ketsubutsu kids and my eyes widened. Shindou was crouching, his hands pressed to the ground.
"Hold on!" I grabbed onto Hanta, "he's gonna try and split us up! Rocket Launcher: Ultimate Shot!"
"Maximum Force! Tremouring Earth!" Shindou yelled. The earth felt like it shifted, and so did the ground. Everything moved around, all of us falling about. I'd known this was coming, because of his stance, and shot up into the air to avoid it. He'd been dreaming of being able to create earthquakes and stuff like this since junior high.
"What a quirk!" Tetsuya's voice cackled. My head whipped around to see her up in the air with us, seemingly just flying. I had no time to question her quirk - perhaps it was a flight quirk?
"Hanta, swing us!" I exclaimed. He shot out some tape, attaching to one of the fake buildings and swung the both of round. Until there was a powerful gust of wind and I was thrown off in a hurricane of rubber balls. I shot them away from myself to avoid getting hit.
"I believe heroes should be hot-blooded!" the Inasa guy from earlier yelled, "so good job with this hot-blooded battle, guys! I freaking love it!"
121 examinees were wiped out in a single go by him. My eyes widened. I kicked off of the walls, somersaulted in midair and landed in a crouch, like Spiderman or something.
I came across some Ketsubutsu kids and wiped them out with the balls I had. Picking them up after is a good idea, I came to realise.
"Hey, Zumi," a voice said from behind me. I whipped around.
"Shin!" I replied, though I didn't smile, "what you did was... incredible. You finally got to make that a move, huh?"
"I did. sorry about your friends, by the way, but I had to split you up," he said.
"I'm sorry too," I smirked.
"What?" he replied. As fast as lightning, I threw one of my balls at him and wiped out his first target, but Shindou caught on quickly and dodged my other balls.
"Shit," I cursed.
"You sneaky bastard!" he grinned. This was all still playful banter, but both of our competitive spirits just weren't compatible, "the tables have turned, huh?"
He picked up a ball and launched it at me, but suddenly an arm hooked around my waist and yanked me out of the way, into the air.
"Think I'd just leave you there or something?" Hanta's voice said. I looked up and he was the one holding onto me.
"Dude, that was awesome."