Motivation (Rewrite)

ꜰᴏᴜʀ

Enjoy Kazue hating the practical entrance exam and the interview!! Oh, and a conversation with his dad. 

Covers the old chapter six and the very beginning of chapter seven.

Okay, so maybe Kazue had been just the slightest bit dramatic in his thoughts earlier about how much of a pain in the ass the exam was going to be. For him personally, that is; it would still be utterly biased against kids without Quirks that would help them get through the course and without nearly enough experience.

In his heat, Kazue wasn't at too much of a disadvantage, given the Quirks of the five others lined up at the start line. For one, the girl with Creation was a part of his group, and he recalled just how versatile her Quirk was. The possibilities were nearly limitless, and all she needed were enough lipids in her body and the knowledge of molecular structures.

The others wouldn't nearly be as useful to Kazue as her potential left-behind objects, even if he could definitely figure out a way to utilize their abilities without touching them. It wouldn't exactly be easy to do so, but he was no stranger to twisting someone else's Quirk to his advantage.

He would've liked to be in the same heat as Endeavor's son or the guy who was undoubtedly Aerogale's nephew, but it couldn't be helped.

"ALLLLRIGHTTT, ARE YOU READY?!" Present Mic yelled abruptly, a wide grin evident in his tone. Kazue winced at the sudden loud noise, now very seriously considering getting his hands on some hearing aids that adjusted volume based on input. Hell, maybe with enough research he could model the different parts and program it himself, even if he'd most likely have to implement the more intricate electronics from his spare set.

Automatically-adjusting volume would most definitely prove to be useful in the hero course, now that Kazue thought about it, his mind having been more concerned about work than his future education.

Under his breath, he couldn't help but mutter, "No," in reply to the question and survey the visible portion of the course for what was likely the seventh time. Kazue felt his brows knit together in mild confusion at his inability to recall the exact number for certain, but it was nothing worth being concerned about. His lack of sleep was finally catching up to him, apparently, and at the perfect time.

"START!" Present Mic crowed, and thankfully, Kazue's reaction time was not hindered by his shitty sleep schedule taking its revenge. He set off from the starting line at a perfectly reasonable jog, letting the others–mostly the girl with Creation, to be honest–sprint off and gain a fair bit of distance.

While three kilometers wasn't an overly long distance, it had to be kept in mind that the course wasn't entirely a track or in a straight line. If the others expended their explosive energy right off the bat, then it gave him the strategic upper hand. Especially since hanging back would allow him to take advantage of anything left behind.

Let the games begin, I guess, Kazue sighed mentally, letting his mind wander a bit as he maintained his current speed. He could still pay attention to his surroundings and what the other applicants were doing, but he didn't need all his focus quite yet.

Instead, for the first time since he'd found out that he'd be required to enter Yūei, Kazue thought back to the staff list on the school's website. It hadn't exactly been easy to find for whatever reason, but he distinctly remembered several of the teachers after seeing them present at the Sports Festival.

Present Mic, Midnight, and Cementoss were the most obvious ones, with the first two regularly acting as hosts for the event and the latter repairing the stadiums every time they were blown up by trigger-happy hero students. Vlad King occasionally made an appearance, as did Snipe and Ectoplasm. Those rarely seen, meanwhile, included Thirteen, Hound Dog, and Power Loader.