The vine-haired girl and the lilac-haired boy sat in their designated seats, waiting for the practical exam to start.
While waiting, Ibara's eyes roamed around her surroundings. She recognized some familiar faces from middle school students who had also applied to U.A. but they were seated quite far from them.
Her gaze swept across the room, and she smiled when her eyes met Kinoko's. The other girl waved upon catching her gaze, which Ibara happily returned.
After assessing her surroundings, Ibara adjusted herself in her seat and quickly turned her attention to the podium in front of them, quietly waiting to see which examiner would conduct the practical exam.
She stared at the empty podium, wondering what time the exam would begin. The noise of the other students grew louder, so she used her vines to cover her ears, muffling the sounds.
Suddenly, she felt the temperature in the room rise, causing a bead of sweat to trail down her forehead. Quickly, she pulled out the handkerchief she kept in her pocket and wiped it away.
As she returned her gaze to the podium, the air around her felt heavy. Her breathing grew uneven, her chest rising and falling rapidly. Her hands gripped the fabric of her skirt as dizziness overcame her. She didn't know what was happening to her body her vision blurred, and panic set in.
Maybe a quirk is in eff~
"Calm down, Eve."
Ibara's eyes quickly moved to meet her best friend's caring gaze.
"You worked hard for this. There's nothing to worry about."
She felt a hand wrap around her own, gently squeezing it. The warmth of the gesture grounded her, and slowly, her breathing steadied.
"Do you need water or something?"
Ibara stared at her best friend, realization dawning on her.
"I, I don't. I'm sorry, Ai. I panicked a little."
She shook her head and squeezed Ai's hand in return.
Ai studied her for a moment before offering a reassuring smile and a nod.
"If you can kick my butt, I'm 100% sure you'll pass whatever practical exam they throw at us."
Ibara tried her best not to snort at Ai's words. She admired his confidence and seemingly carefree attitude, wishing she had even a fraction of it.
He was right she had worked hard for this. And she had Ai, who had helped her refine her quirk and improve her combat techniques.
She had fought and won against him on multiple occasions a guy trained by a retired top hero.
And she had even received advice from that pro hero himself.
She wasn't just ready she was more than ready for this.
Lifting her hands, she gently slapped both of her cheeks to wake herself up.
She felt ridiculous for panicking like that.
If Ai hadn't calmed her down, she might have fumbled her chance to get into U.A.
"I'm okay now, Ai. Thanks for the help."
Her best friend nodded before glancing toward Kinoko, who was seated a few rows away. He stood up and gave her a double thumbs-up, silently asking if she was okay.
Ibara turned toward the mushroom-haired girl, who, upon noticing Ai's gesture, responded with a more timid thumbs-up.
Ai smiled before settling back into his seat.
"Kinoko looks fine too."
Satisfied, Ai slouched in his chair, waiting for the exam to start.
"Can't wait to begin," he muttered. "I left off at a really good part of my game last night. I'm curious who Takeo is going to ask to sleep in his tent."
And just like that, whatever admiration Ibara had felt for Ai a moment ago vanished into thin air.
Disgusting. That stupid game of his.
She knew it Ai had stayed up late last night, despite today's exam, just to play that ridiculous game.
She would love to give him a couple of whips for that. But she refrained, not wanting to make a scene in front of the other participants.
She made a mental note to deal with him later.
"HEY, HEY, HEY!"
Ibara's eyes snapped toward the person now walking toward the podium.
"PLEASE TAKE YOUR SEATS, MY LITTLE LISTENERS!"
The man had spiky blonde hair and wore a leather outfit reminiscent of a rock star. A support item rested just below his neck, likely enhancing his quirk.
Ibara immediately recognized him.
The resident MC of U.A. and a popular radio host The Voice Hero: Present Mic was one of the most recognizable figures in the hero scene.
"EVERYONE SAY HEEEY!"
"HEYY ~oh, wait, were we supposed to ignore that? Sorry, hehehe."
Ibara quickly turned to her side when Ai suddenly shouted in response.
"THANK YOU FOR THE SUPPORT, MY LONE LISTENER! HOPE YOU PASS THE EXAM!"
Every pair of eyes in the room landed on the lilac-haired boy, who was still slouching in his seat, lazily giving the pro hero a thumbs-up in reply.
Present Mic nodded before addressing the crowd.
"OKAY, YOU ROCKIN' BOYS AND GIRLS, TODAY'S PRACTICAL EXAM IS ALL ABOUT SOLO PERFORMANCE!"
He pulled out a remote and clicked it, lighting up the screen behind him, which now displayed three silhouettes.
"YOU'LL ALL BE DOING MOCK BATTLES IN OUR SUPER HIP URBAN SETTING!"
"AND YOUR OPPONENTS ARE THESE THREE FAUX VILLAINS!"
"YOU'LL EARN POINTS BASED ON THEIR LEVEL OF DIFFICULTY!"
"SO CHOOSE WISELY!"
"YOUR GOAL IS TO USE YOUR QUIRK IN THIS EXAM!"
"AND TO RAISE YOUR SCORE BY SHREDDING THESE FAUX VILLAINS LIKE A MID-SONG GUITAR SOLO!"
"ALSO, NO ATTACKING OTHER PARTICIPANTS DURING THE PRACTICAL. WE'LL KNOW, AND WE WON'T LET YOU GET AWAY WITH IT."
"SO NO ANTI-HERO STUFF, GOT IT!?"
Ibara nodded at the pro hero's instructions and checked the pamphlet that had just been handed to her.
Her name, examiner number, and test location were printed on it.
She used her vines to pull Ai's paper closer and saw that they had been assigned different locations.
"They separated us," she muttered.
Ai nodded. "Probably to prevent friends from teaming up."
That seemed fair. Not everyone had come with a friend, after all.
"EXCUSE ME, SIR, I HAVE A QUESTION!"
Ibara's gaze shifted to a blue-haired boy with glasses who had stood up.
"HIT ME, LISTENER!" Present Mic responded.
"On these printouts, there should be four types of faux villains, but you only showed three. Is this an error in the official U.A. materials?"
"This is shameful."
"We are exemplary students."
"We expect the best from Japan's most notable hero school."
"A mistake like this won't do."
"AND YOU!"
The glasses-wearing student pointed toward a green-haired boy sitting a few rows away.
"You, with the unkempt hair you've been muttering this entire time, distracting everyone with your noise. STOP THAT!"
Then, he turned his gaze to Ai with the same reprimanding tone.
"And you sit properly! Show some respect for this prestigious school."
Ibara frowned, displeased by how the glasses-wearing student singled out her best friend in front of everyone just for slouching in his seat.
While the green-haired boy shrank under the harsh words, Ai did not.
Every eye in the room watched as the lilac-haired boy lazily raised his hand, giving the glasses-wearing student a thumbs-up. Then, with deliberate slowness, he lifted another finger turning the gesture into a silent but unmistakable F U.
A few students grinned. Others let out quiet snorts of amusement.
Upon seeing the gesture, the glasses-wearing student immediately launched into a furious tirade about how inappropriate such behavior was, chopping the air repeatedly as he spoke.
Ibara sighed and gently nudged Ai's arm, urging him to lower his hand. Even so, she struggled to suppress the small smirk tugging at her lips.
"ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT!"
"THANK YOU, EXAMINER 1111, FOR CALLING WITH YOUR REQUEST!"
The Voice Hero changed the display on the monitor, revealing the fourth villain bot.
"THE FOURTH VILLAIN BOT IS WORTH ZERO POINTS!"
"THAT GUY IS JUST AN OBSTACLE WE'LL BE THROWING IN YOUR WAY!"
"THINK OF IT LIKE A HURDLE YOU SHOULD TRY TO AVOID!"
"IT'S NOT LIKE YOU CAN'T FIGHT IT, BUT THERE'S KINDA NO POINT!"
"I RECOMMEND TO ALL MY LISTENERS TO FOCUS YOUR ATTENTION ON GATHERING POINTS INSTEAD OF WASTING TIME ON THIS FELLA!"
"Thank you very much. Please continue."
Satisfied with the answer, the glasses-wearing student sat back in his chair.
"I have a question."
All eyes shifted toward the voice's owner.
Ibara looked at her best friend, who had risen from his seat, caught off guard by his own sudden inquiry.
"I GOT YA, LISTENER! PLEASE ASK!"
The lilac-haired boy nodded.
"The rule."
Ibara raised an eyebrow, curious about what Ai was getting at.
"'Don't attack other participants.' That's it? That's the only rule for this exam?"
Murmurs rippled through the room as students considered his question.
"WHAT ARE YOU SCHEMING?" the glasses-wearing student snapped. "ARE YOU PLANNING TO CAUSE HARM TO YOUR FELLOW EXAMINEES BY ASKING SUCH A-"
"SHUT IT, Sir Stiff-a-lot! I'm asking a valid question here."
The lilac-haired boy quickly cut off whatever nonsense the glasses-wearing student was about to spout.
Without shifting his gaze from the pro hero, Ai continued.
"During the written exam, we had at least a dozen rules things we needed to do and things we needed to avoid."
"I'm just curious why there's only one rule for the practical."
The glasses-wearing student hesitated before slowly sitting back down, realizing the logic in Ai's question. He silently reprimanded himself for jumping to conclusions.
"GOOD QUESTION, LISTENER 1568," Present Mic said with a nod.
"YOU SEE, THE PURPOSE OF THIS PRACTICAL EXAM IS FOR YOU LISTENERS TO SHOWCASE YOUR SKILLS!"
"THIS EXAM IS DESIGNED TO SIMULATE AN ACTUAL VILLAIN ATTACK SCENARIO. THE GOAL IS TO SEE HOW YOU ALL REACT IN THIS KIND OF SITUATION!"
Present Mic pointed a finger upward.
"THAT'S WHY YOU ARE ALLOWED TO DO ANYTHING YOU CAN THINK OF DURING THE PRACTICAL EXCEPT FOR HARMING OR SABOTAGING YOUR FELLOW PARTICIPANTS!"
"WE WANT TO SEE EVERYONE GO ALL OUT!"
"TO GO-"
"BEYOND!"
The Voice Hero spread both arms wide, inviting the crowd to join in.
"PLUS ULTRA!!"
End of chapter 5