CH 45 : PRACTICAL TEST (5)

BOOM!!!

Kuroha watched as Inasa stopped abruptly in front of him. The wind billowed and formed explosions. Still, Inasa control seemed pretty good since the wind simply dispersed without harming anyone.

"KUROHA I WATCHED YOUR FIGHT. IT WA…"

"Stop a second."

Kuroha put a hand and stopped him from continuing.

"Please, lower your volume first."

Inasa was a little shocked before he blushed in embarrassment and scratched the back of his head.

"SOR *Cough* *Cough* sorry, I sometimes let myself and speak without care."

Kuroha sighed a little,

"Don't worry. I am used to loud people."

As he said that he let out a bitter smile. Mirio and All Might were really loud. No, scratch that. They were extremely loud.

He didn't even understand why All Might couldn't speak three sentences without laughing one day. If it wasn't really rude. He would have asked him if it was some sort of disorder or complex.

Inasa let out a bright smile at those words.

"So. You said you watched my fight?"

The moments he said those words, he could see stars shining in the eyes of Inasa.

"YES!! IT WAS REA*Cough* I mean, yes it was really incredible. Your control over your quirk is really incredible."

Kuroha didn't know it, but his control was really at a high level. But since he was regularly beaten by slayer and saw what Madness could do two years ago, he never really saw what he did as incredible.

That's why each time someone complimented him on his power, he didn't really feel anything about it. After all, in his own opinion, he was simply underperforming. Unknown to him, this was one of the reasons Nighteye insisted on him joining UA. Kuroha had a very low self-esteem on his own abilities and power.

How could he not? All Might, Nighteyes, Gran Torino and even Sebastian on the outside. Madness and Slayer on the inside.

Every day, every hour and every minute. He was reminded of how weak and how helpless he was. He was also shown how much better he could be. If it was anyone else with a weaker mind, they would have already fallen into depression.

Nighteye might not know everything about Kuroha, but he understood that while overconfidence and arrogance were a sin, lack of confidence in oneself wasn't good either.

The two began to talk calmly...Well, kuroha talked calmly while Inasa tried to do the same, while others were still fighting against each other.

No one knew how many points they had. As such they could only fight while they had time. Only the top three knew that they already succeeded and could hide and avoid fighting. This was their reward. After all, having their faces shown to everyone made them targets. It wouldn't be good if it was only detrimental to them.

If an onlooker was there, he would be baffled by this very weird scene that was playing on.

On one side, two guys were talking leisurely, while on the other side, a group of young examinees was fighting with all they had.

The two of them weren't the only ones to act so relaxedly though. While kuroha was looking around, he saw another even weirder scene. A girl was sitting on the edge of another building and swinging her leg while a large group of boys were surrounding and protecting her. It was the fox eared girl. Perhaps it would be better to call her a kitsune?

This girl was dangerous. There were two types of mutants. Mutants who received their mutations from the quirk of their parents but didn't receive the power that came from it. This type generally had an exotic appearance and a quirk that wasn't related to said appearance.

(AN: In MHA, the guy in 1-A who talks with bugs is this kind of guy. He inherited his appearance from the mutant quirk of his parent but received none of the abilities they might have.)

The second type were those who mutated and had a large panoply of abilities thanks to said mutation, all of them being classified under one quirk. The best example of those was the dragon hero Ryuko Tatsuma.

If he wasn't wrong, this girl should have mutant type quirk called Kitsune or something like that. Kitsune were known for their innate beauty and charming abilities.

After looking at her for a few seconds, he stopped paying attention. Anyway, this had nothing to do with him. Even if she was chosen or failed and joined by taking the public test, it didn't matter to him in the slightest. Most likely, they will have nothing to do with each other.

----

After a few long minutes and the beating of some examinees who didn't understand reality, Kuroha finally heard the words he longed for.

"OOOTO… MY LITTLE FRIENDS, IT'S TIME!!!!!"

The fights began to stop one after another. People either bowed their heads in sadness or had a hopeful look on their faces.

It wasn't just a question of honor to be recommended. If it was just about entering UA, Most of those here were sure to be able to do it. No. It was about the different treatments they would receive in the future. Graduating from UA was a bright halo. But graduating from UA as a recommended student was the brightest one.

It would open all the doors to them. Sponsors and agencies would fight for them like crazy. Yes. This was the sad truth. As time passed the heroes became more common and regularised, people began to see it more as a job than what it was.

Kuroha looked at all those examinees while in deep thought. On the internet, many people complained about how heroes weren't like they were in the past and were more like workers or superstars. For them, heroes should fight only for society and not for themselves.

Kuroha scoffed at such ideas. People were really disgusting. While he also thought that heroes nowadays were nothing more than a special police force, he didn't look down on them either. All heroes had to face the dangers of being crippled or dying every time they went on a mission.

People who could sacrifice their life while wanting nothing in return were true heroes. But people who expected someone else to sacrifice their lives for them was nothing more than scum.

"Kuroha?"

He stopped musing and paid attention to Inasa. He inwardly chided himself. He really needed to stop thinking about so many things at the same time while being outside.

"Yes?"

"Present Mic told us that we could go back home now that our exam was finished. In two day we will come back for the interview."

Kuroha tilted his head in confusion. How did he miss all that? Still, it didn't matter. He nodded and said thanks to Inasa before starting to walk home. But just after a few steps.

"Hey, do you mind if we go to eat a pizza? I am paying?" Asked Inasa while awkwardly scratching his head. Despite his outgoing personality, he didn't really have many friends.

He paused his steps. Being able to eat junk food for free? Who could say no? Even more so you would never become fat no matter how much you ate. He turned and faced Inasa

"Lead the way..."

As they walked, Inasa asked suddenly,

"By the way, who won the bet?"

"Me of course.." Answered Kuroha with a smirk.

----

Later in the night, in the principal office of UA, Nezu was sitting with Hyoga in the darkness while they watched the recordings of today's exam. Finally, once it ended, Hyoga asked.

"What do you think?"

Nezu was in deep thought as he rhythmically tapped his table with his pen.

"Hum… He passes but we will have to keep an eye on him."

"...", Hyoga looked at him silently. Nezu knew he was waiting for an explanation.

"This test had many hidden requirements. Just destroying a high number of robots or stealing points wouldn't be enough. For once, what mattered wasn't the result, but rather the methods."

Hyoga nodded, he knew the grading system and understood what Nezu was talking about. Nezu continued while pointing toward kuroha pictures.

"People who are tortured for a long time swing towards different extremes. We are the best examples of this. But this child here apart from being a little antisocial and silent presents no symptoms of having suffered from years of torture."

Hyoga tilted his head in confusion.

"Isn't it good to not have a problem?"

Nezu shook his head in refusal.

"You see, monsters aren't born. They are made. People see a child, but I see a monster deep inside or a bomb that could blow up at any time. I decided to keep an eye on him not because I fear or want to harm him, but rather because I want to help him and guide him."

Nezu took a sip of his tea before continued, his eyes were blazing with convictions.

"Only those who felt the same pain can understand each other. No one is more qualified than us to guide him. Since he will become a student in my school, it means he will be under my care. As such I will do my best to guide him."