that's just how it works [REWRITING]

orientation [2]

. . .

February 26, 8:40

   Your heart was racing. The sign read, "U.A. High School Entrance Exam Location". You paused, taking it in. You were here, you were going to do this.

   You would be a hero.

   You heard familiar, soft panting, and you turned. Midoriya had just arrived. Did he run here? Eager beaver.

   After catching his breath, Midoriya started to walk forward, but he stopped when he heard Bakugou behind him. The explosive blonde walked by, hands in his pockets. Tch, he thinks he's the shit, doesn't he?

   Midoriya silently watched him go, then started walking too. You watched in slight amusement as he tripped over his own feet and started falling forward. You were about to go help him when a girl beat you to it. 

   Second time today? I'm getting slow. You pondered to yourself as the two exchanged words. Well, more like the girl spoke to Midoriya, then walked inside as Midoriya started to 'fangirl' about having 'spoken' to the girl.

   You roll your eyes and chuckle as you walk inside. You had to admit, it was a little cute...

   Soon, you were seated in the orientation room, waiting for it to begin. People around you slowly trickled in, taking their seats. You closed your eyes, thinking to yourself. 

   The lights came on one at a time, and you opened your eyes again. You noticed that to your right was Midoriya, then next to him was Bakugou. 'Hmm, we keep running into each other, don't we...'

   "For all you examinee listeners tuning in, welcome to my show today!" Present Mic said, upon the stage-thing. "Everybody say 'Hey'!"

   It was deathly silent, making you cringe slightly. The pro hero just tried to shrug it off and continued, "Then I'll quickly present to you the rundown on the practical exam! Are you ready?! Yeah!" Once again, silence ensued. 

   Beside you, Midoriya was fanboying silently, mumbling to himself with a light blush on his face and sparkling eyes. Bakugou told the nervous boy to shut up as Present Mic continued to speak, and you shot Bakugou a look when he turned away.

   "As it says in the application requirements, you listeners will be conducting ten-minute mock urban battles after this!" Behind him, the screen changed to show the basic layout of the different urban areas, lettered A to G. "You can bring whatever you want with you. After the presentation, you'll head to the specified battle center, okay? Okay?!"

   Once again, it was silent. 

   Bakugou and Midoriya both looked down at their cards, then Bakugou leaned over you to look at Midoriya's card. "In other words, they won't let you work with your friends, huh?" The blonde spoke. Midoriya glanced at Bakugou's card, then at yours. "Oh- Y-You're right. Even though our examinee numbers are consecutive, we're assigned to different battle centers." 

   "Don't look, I'll kill you."

   Midoriya's eyes drifted from Bakugou's card to your card. You let him look, not minding his wandering gaze. While Bakugou was in Battle Center A, and Midoriya was assigned to Battle Center B, you were in C. You hear Midoriya let out a disappointed sigh before he turned his attention back to the speaking hero. You tilt your head, confused. Maybe he wanted to see you use your quirk? It's not like you go around showing it off.

   Present Mic was saying, "Three different types of faux villains are stationed in each battle center. You earn points for each of them based on their level of difficulty." The screen showed the black outline of each robot, above it showing their point value. "Your goal, dear listeners, is to use your quirks to earn points by immobilizing the faux villains. Of course, attacking other examinees and any other unheroic actions are prohibited!"

   A few rows below you, a male stood up, raising his hand. "May I ask a question? On the printout, there are four types of villains. If that is a misprint, then U.A., the most prominent school in Japan, should be ashamed of that foolish mistake. We examinees are here in this place because we wish to be molded into exemplary heroes."

   He then turned around and pointed at Midoriya, who tensed. "In addition, you over there with the curly hair-- You've been muttering this whole time. It's distracting! If you're here on a pleasure trip, then you should leave immediately!"

   Midoriya clasped his hands over his mouth, immediately swinging his head down. "I'm sorry..." People around you chortled at him, and you huffed. 

   Present Mic gave a thumbs up, "Okay, okay, Examinee Number 7111, thanks for the great message. The fourth type of villain is worth zero points. That guy's an obstacle, so to speak. There's one in every battle center-- An obstacle that will go crazy in narrow spaces. It's not impossible to defeat, but there's no reason to defeat it, either. I recommend that you listeners try to avoid it."

   The guy that spoke out bowed and sat down, "Thank you very much! Please excuse the interruption!"

   You mull over the information. 'It would be pointless to add such a zero pointer to this, so... they must have a good reason. But what would that reason be?'

   "That's all from me! Finally, I'll give you listeners a present-- Our school motto! The hero Napoleon Bonaparte once said: 'A true hero is someone who overcomes life's misfortunes.' Go beyond. Plus Ultra!"

   You glance at Midoriya in your peripheral, noting how his eyes were... sparkling. What a fanboy... You sighed with a small smile. It was memorable, and a little cute, so you couldn't get too annoyed at him.

   "Now, everyone, good luck suffering!"

   What.

   After a while, you were standing in front of the gates that led to the urban area you were assigned to. You took a deep breath, letting it out slowly, trying to calm your nerves. You were here, after so long. No way you were giving up now.

. . .

To be continued