Kyoka shuffles through her playlist nervously, foot tapping an uneven rhythm as she waits for the train to finish the journey to its destination. That being UA, of course. And damn is it crowded, students from all over the country clogging the transit system in the hopes of getting into the most popular hero school in the country.
Not that most of them will make it, and that's not her belittling their abilities, she's never even seen them to make a judgement. No, what she's talking about is the fact that UA only accepts thirty-six students for the hero course every year, not including the four recommendation students who have their own testing a month earlier than the general hero course exam. As such, there are only thirty-two spots up for grabs after she considers that she and her friends are one hundred percent going to get in. Not that Nezu or anyone else guaranteed them their spots or anything, she just has full confidence in their own abilities. Well…
She catches herself absentmindedly scratching at the new addition on her palm again, causing her to pull away and frown down at the sight of it. It's… basically the same kind of fabric that goes onto speakers so that sound can travel through easily without debris getting into them. There's a big patch of it on both of her palms, then two patches on each of her fingers that resemble toe beads on an animal. It's the same for her feet and she has no idea why they popped up!
Ok, that's a lie. Sort of. She's absolutely sure that it has something to do with how Izumi… chewed on her, and fuck is that a weird thing to think. Anyway, after that incident her hands and feet started itching, and by the time a month had passed the fabric had grown to their current size. Not only that, but her jacks have gotten much, much stronger. Sure, before she could puncture concrete with them and use the vibrations caused by people moving around to essentially have a sort of echolocation, but now?
Now she can pierce metal. Not just puncture so she can feel vibrations, but full on stab her jacks through the sheet and hit anything on the other side. That alone was enough to tell her something weird was going on, but paired with her increased control of her heartbeat and being able to use her new additions to channel it out? Yeah.
Izumi chewed on her and she got a quirk evolution out of it.
What. The. Fuck.
Actually, she supposes that it's more accurate to call it a quirk merge instead, considering the change in how One For All feels to her. Before it was like nine strings on a guitar. Not that guitars have nine strings, but the analogy works for what she means. But now, instead of each string being its own thing, they're braided together with her string as the core. She's tried (gently, obviously) to separate them but they're woven together tight. She even tried touching the individual strings and nothing happened! She would have assumed that her quirk was broken if she wasn't obviously stronger than before, and not just with her jacks.
She can bench press a car without too much trouble and fucking hell was that a surprise. Yui was very enthusiastic in snapping a few pictures of her holding All Might's truck above her head in her sleeveless tank top and sweat pants and she's still not sure how to feel about that.
She talked about it with Nezu, Gran Torino, Recovery Girl, and All Might, and they were all as baffled as she was. Eventually it was decided that they could do nothing but keep an eye on the situation and try to deal with any complications as they appeared. Which did nothing for her nerves at the time, but there really wasn't anything they could do about it. Yes, she might have been able to learn something if she brought it up with Izumi, but there was a non-zero chance that she would burn UA to the ground and/or eat All Might for the 'attempt at stealing her property'. So, not exactly a route she could go down without feeling guilty about the damage it would cause. And since it didn't seem harmful, there wasn't really a problem with waiting and seeing where things went? That's how she reassured herself, at least.
She's pulled from her memories by the sound of the train announcing her stop, as well as the vast majority of the train's occupants. She departs after letting the crowd clear out a bit, following them to the familiar location of UA where she sees her friends waiting for her at the front gate. She waves and walks over, accidentally stepping on the back of the shoes belonging to a red-eyed blonde boy with spiky hair. He scowls at her with his hands shoved deep in his pockets and growls out, "Watch where you're walking, extra."
With that brief… insult? Admonishment?… He continues up the path through the gate and towards the hero course's exam room, leaving Kyoka confused about whether she should be offended or not. On one hand, it was her fault for stepping on him. On the other hand, he called her an extra. What kind of an insult is that!?
"Yo, you good?" Hitoshi asks with a raised eyebrow and an unconcerned look on his face. He knows she can handle herself, just like she knows they can. What he's really asking is if she thinks the blonde is going to end up being a problem in the future. She shrugs.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Dude is probably just tense about the exam." He hums noncommittally while Fumikage looks off into the distance like the dramatic goth he is.
"Only those burdened thus truly know of the weight they carry upon themselves." The three roll their eyes, long used to the beaked boy dropping cryptic sayings like that. Since this one doesn't have anything to do with them, they choose to not acknowledge it, simply talking about what they've been up to since the last time they all met up.
"So the two of you have finally met Eri?" Kyoka asks, getting nods of confirmation from Yui and Hitoshi.
"She was nice," Yui says simply, causing Hitoshi to snort.
"Says you," he snarks, "she asked Izumi if she could add my head to her Hoard because she 'liked my hair'."
Kyoka snorts, eyeing the boy's clearly still attached head. "Looks like she didn't get it, though." He lets out a long suffering sigh.
"Izumi told her that she isn't allowed to take other people's things, which is honestly both incredibly insulting, and reassuring."
The three nod in agreement while Fumikage gives the trio a concerned look. "This person you speak of seems rather… dangerous, to interact with. Should you not alert the authorities if they are making threats?" Kyoka just waves his concern away.
"It's fine, she's…" She trails off, not really sure how to phrase her words without it sounding like Izumi is a psychopath (which she sort of is) or that the three have a close connection with someone who is perfectly happy to commit atrocities on a whim (which they sort of are). Eventually she just shrugs. "Izumi wouldn't hurt any of us." She pointedly ignores the fact that being used as a chew toy would constitute 'being hurt' in any normal interaction.
Fumikage doesn't look convinced, but it's not like they can explain things without him meeting her himself to get a feel for her personality. Sure, she wouldn't attack him or anything, but she might want to 'claim' him, and she doesn't think that's particularly healthy for the bird boy considering Izumi literally chewed on her.
So, they won't be spreading word about their relationship with Izumi. At least not without a damn good reason.
They reach the auditorium where the school will explain what the practical for the hero exam will be like and find their seats, which are literally right next to each other since they all come from the same school and have similar grades. After sitting down and looking around at the amount of students filling the seats, Kyoka can't help but wonder for the millionth time what the practical will consist of. Sure, she could have asked any of the people who work at UA during one of the days she showed up for training, but wondering about this is half the fun when you know you're good enough to get into the school.
It doesn't take long after the last seat is filled for a teacher to walk onto the stage at the front, iconic hair loudly identifying the man as Present Mic. He grins at the students while standing at the podium, hands raised in the air with his fingers pointing at them. "Hello, UA candidates! I hope you all are ready, because today is the day where you'll prove you have what it takes to enter the hero course of UA high school! Do you think you make the cut? Let me hear ya!"
Surprisingly enough, the man isn't being nearly as loud as Kyoka knows he can be, something that she appreciates immensely thanks to her more sensitive hearing, which has only gotten more so after her quirk advancement. It's nice to know that the hero is just as careful of using his quirk in casual situations as he is in professional ones. You would think that he would cause a ton of collateral damage with his quirk during fights, but he's actually in the lower percentile of damages caused!
Wish she could say the same for the enthusiastic shouts the man's question earns from the crowd, which forces her to cover her ears even with her special ear plugs inserted. Her friends aren't affected nearly as badly, but they too wince at the sudden auditory assault. Present Mic lets the crowd scream for a handful of seconds before holding up his hands for silence, which he quickly gets.
"Love the enthusiasm! Now, I know all you little listeners are excited to get to the show, but there's a few things I've got to lay down for ya." His face loses its laid back smile, becoming serious in an instant. "Being a hero isn't for everyone, and there's absolutely no shame in that. Sure, it looks cool and exciting when you see it on tv or hear about it from your friends, but being a hero is a serious and dangerous profession. Every day we put on our costumes, we do so knowing that there's a good chance that we'll be risking our lives. That when we walk out the door that day, it might be our last."
There's dead silence from the teens, his words falling like a heavy weight on them even while some nod like they know exactly what he's talking about. Kyoka and her friends are some of them. He continues before the silence can stretch. "The hero course will train you so that you can handle dangerous situations, but that doesn't mean you'll always win. There are plenty of people who are just as strong as you'll become when you become heroes, who will be villains. Heck, maybe they'll be stronger. UA intends to train you hero hopefuls so that you'll be able to win despite a difference in skill or power, but that's still not a guarantee that you'll leave the encounter without injury. Or even alive."
He takes a deep breath that lets out slowly, his gaze panning around the room in an attempt to make eye contact with everyone. His voice is as hard as steel. "There is no shame in deciding that being a hero isn't the path you want to take, especially in the current times when villains are becoming bolder, more vicious. Danger is at an all time high, and even experienced pros are having difficulty in their fights. So, for those of you who were hoping for a job where you were mainly looking for fame or to rake in the dough, this is not the profession for you. If you were hoping for a job where you thought you wouldn't be at risk, this is not the profession for you. This is a job where you have a good chance of obtaining a life changing injury daily. If any of you think this is not the job for you, you are free to change the course you are applying for. Simply head through the exit and take a left down the hall, at the end of the corridor you'll find Hound Dog who will be able to help you decide what course you would rather pursue."
He pauses and waits, and the students all look around, curious if anyone will take the offer. They all wait for several minutes, but eventually someone does stand, pale and with shaking legs. The boy with a crown of horns circling his head makes his way to the exit with a lowered head, eyes darting nervously to everyone watching him. Present Mic claps a hand to his shoulder as he walks past, causing the boy to jump in surprise.
"It takes a lot of courage to go against the mold, especially when you're so far in. Be proud that you can be true to yourself and know where you want your future to lead."
The boy stares at him for a few moments before nodding his head, his shoulders losing the tension they were holding as he walks to the exit with more confidence in his steps, head held high. After he's gone, more students stand, following his example in deciding to pursue a different career. There's no shame in it, it's just where they decided their paths should take them.
By the time students have stopped leaving, the auditorium is half empty, and Kyoka can't help but be surprised at just how many people came to the exam when they weren't certain of their choice. She and her friends have known for years that being a hero is dangerous, after all. She guessed… that she kind of just expected that anyone else wanting to be one understood the same.
Taking a good look at the remaining hero applicants, Present Mic gives a firm nod, his smile returning to his face. "Ok, listeners, it's time for me to lay down the objectives for your exam!" Essentially they'll be fighting against robots, with three of them being worth one, two, and three points respectively. There's a fourth one that's worth no points, but Kyoka is familiar enough with Nezu to know that it's not as simple as that, being the horribly sadistic non-human that he is. After getting their assigned locations for the exam, the four confer and agree that they'll need to keep an eye out for the zero-pointer before wishing each other luck and heading out to the first step of their journey. They will become heroes.