Ask to Join ~My Class 1A - The Next Generation (MHA Rp)~

[Schrift]

Hiro smiled as he patted Drayda's head. "Thanks", he said as he poured some of the water into the sand before adding some more sand in it. HIro continued to make the sand palace, using whatever water Drayda had collected to help. "Normally I'd never go near the water, I sorta can't swim", he said, whispering the last part. Eventually he moved onto building the moat. This time he decided to make it a lot bigger than his old moat. His plan was to make a large moat before adding a wall on the inside on the moat. For Hiro he felt it tiring to plough through the sand, he used his scales to make ploughing with his hands easier. He had decided to make the moat around 1.5 meters deep, which meant a lot of digging for him. Eventually his shirt became too damp for him to use as a rag to wipe his sweat. He decided to throw it away, not needing any use for the sandy/damp piece of clothing. Hiro soon climbed out of his moat and onto the beach, walking over to Drayda. "hey Drayda, do you want anything? I've got a drinks' cooler with ice cream and a couple drinks inside", he said. Hiro walked off to drag the large blue container over to Drayda. Hiro smiled wildly at her, opening the drinks cooler. At this point Hiro was sweating a lot, his shirt was missing and his muscles were aching under his scaled arms. Hiro did not mind showing skin infront of others. He cracked off the lid to his drink, chugging at least half of its contents in his first drink. "so what's the best thing about being in 1A for you?", he asked, sitting cross legged in the sand.

@Merciless Medic

 

[Void_Nugget]

Yuuki chuckled softly and took a few photos and even asked a nice old woman took take a few for them as well, before glancing up and realising that this was there stop, "Kate we're here" she said before gently guiding guiding her off the bus. Once in the open air again Yuuki breathed in deeply "I love the smell of the ocean" she muttered to her self before surveying the beach and pointing out a few people to Katelyn, "looks like a few people from our class are here, should we go say hi or should we hold of on that for a bit" she said linking arms with Katelyn and squeezing her arm gently.

(One of the pictures taken of Yuuki and Katelyn by the old woman)

@Cryronn the Mudkip

 

[Hogzilla]

Caleb blushed and chuckled. "Well you found it out, my dirty little secret. No, I've never really swam. Never really had the chance back home, Lake Michigan isn't good for swimming." He followed her anyway, the water level crawling up his body. He remained firmly anchored on the bottom; his dense body had very little buoyancy. "So... Would you mind teaching me, since you know how?" Caleb gave Sam a hopeful look, oddly eager to learn something from his girlfriend. "Maybe I'll teach her something sometime." He found that an intriguing prospect too.

@Barefoot_Kittens

 

[=Nightshade=]

Dakarai grinned and leaned her head against Kureiji’s shoulder. “Lobster? Yeah, I’m not too crazy about them either, unless they’re cooked up in butter and salt. Then again, pretty much everything is better in butter.” She gave a contented sigh, burying her toes in the soft white sand. The heat of the sun felt good on her skin, and a warm breeze teased at her hair.

“It’s nice, you know?” she said suddenly. “To be able to be like this, not fighting for our lives... or feeling like it,” Dakarai added, thinking back to the villain attack and the sports fest. She closed her eyes. “I’m glad.”

 

[Barefoot_Kittens]

Sam raised her brows in disbelief when Caleb admitted that he really couldn't swim. She couldn't help but giggle at the thought: the winner of the UA Sports Festival didn't even know how to swim. When Caleb asked for Sam's help, the girl nodded eagerly with a wide grin. It felt like a reversal of roles in some ways. It seemed like Caleb was always the one helping and protecting her- so to be able to take the guardian position and give back for once made Sam fill with glee. The girl hummed as she lead Caleb deeper and deeper, by the water was at her shoulders, reaching Caleb's ribcage, the tip of her hair and her tail floated like a banner behind her and released Caleb's hand in order to turn and face him.
Still, despite how excited Sam was for the opportunity, as she looked her boyfriend up and down, she realized that swimming wasn't all that easy to explain. And since Caleb was 101% muscle, the least buoyant part of the body, he wasn't exactly made for floating. "I think the most important thing is to breath." Sam noted as she took a deep breath herself, filling her cheeks before sucking the air into her lungs in an exaggerated show. "And then just trust it.. cause, I mean, all humans float." Sam shrugged. After a short pause, the girl realized that she wasn't really a great teacher. And, that what she was saying probably didn't make a whole lot of sense. Figuring it would be easier just to go head first into the activity, Sam wrapped both of her hands around Caleb's forearm and began dragging him out to the sea again.
"You trust me, right?" the girl asked, looking back with a smile. "If you do, then just trust me. Don't think about anything else. Thinking about other stuff will mess you up. Once you can't feel the sand, you can start kicking your legs. And you might want to use your arms too." Sam nodded, "Just gently kick your legs and think about me. I won't let anything bad happen, and the water's dark so it's not like anyone can see how ridiculous your legs may look. That way, you don't have to think about anything else." Sam added, sort of just rambling through a smile. When Sam felt herself in open water, she released Caleb's arm, knowing he would soon find himself in the same situation. If Caleb could tread water, the rest would be a piece of cake. Sam assumed to hardest part would be getting him to relax enough to become buoyant, so rather than telling him to dissociate, she told him to focus on one thing.
@Hogzilla

 

[Hogzilla]

Caleb slowly followed Sam out deeper into the water, walking becoming tricky due to the density of the water. He listened to her explanation and couldn't disguise a bit of confusion. He wasn't sure he understood the idea of trusting in his breath, but trusting her was easier. He observed her treading water, making a mental note to try to use similar technique. He stepped out towards the depth he'd have to tread water in.

"Of course I trust you." He smiled as he hopped forward, and began to kick. He did stay afloat, although his movements were inefficient. He wasn't entirely sure what he was doing wrong, but had a gut feeling this wasn't how it was supposed to be. He tried to ignore the feeling, to focus on her. He was tense, although he didn't realize it at first. She was so pretty. Her smile, her eyes that seemed to sparkle... He fell beneath the water for a second, then managed to force himself back up. "I think I'm doing something wrong here." Caleb managed to squeeze out a few words, his efforts making talking coherently difficult. "I feel really tense. Is that a bad thing? I feel like that's a bad thing." His legs felt a little sore, so he tapped into his quirk just a bit to wash away the fatigue. "It's best to be loose when you fight, is swimming the same?"

@Barefoot_Kittens

 

[Cryronn the Mudkip]

Kureiji softly yawned. This was a lot earlier than he normally awoke, if he didn't have to go to school he wouldn't bother dragging himself out of his room until one in the afternoon, but today was different. For once the things he was doing were not only for himself but for someone else that he really liked. As he lie down on the towel, gently squeezing Dakarai's hand, he listened to what she said as he gently relaxed his shoulders. He sat up a little and spoke. "...yeah... I like feeling as if I don't have to care that much anymore... honestly if you weren't here I probably would have never come out here... so uhmmm..." He turned his head and planted a small kiss on her cheek turn his head back toward the ocean quickly to burn off the steam. "...thanks for that..." His legs gently shifted as he moved himself into a more comfortable position, straightening his back. "...anything you wanna do? I'm all for working on my tan but I think we should save that for later..."

@=Nightshade=

One Kartelyn and Yuuki stepped off the bus, the peppy green haired girl gave a huuuuuge stretch, and pulled off the shirt she'd been using to hide her bikini while on the bus. She looked over and kinda saw a couple groups. They seemed to be three groups of two from what she could see so far, and a few lone wolves scattered about. "If you wanna hang out with that Hiro guy and his large sand castle construction then I'm chill, but if you wanna do something else just the two of us... I mean, why would I ever say no to some alone time with my favorite Yuuki!" She giggled and took her wrist and began to pull her along, our feet shifting from the sidewalk concrete to the soft, pale-yellow beach sand.

@Shadow_Pup

 

[Barefoot_Kittens]

Sam frowned as she watched Caleb struggle. She racked her brain for another way to explain tings, but before the girl knew it, Caleb had momentarily submerged. Sam's heart dropped, and she panicked slightly despite how quickly Caleb reappeared. Maybe this was a bad idea, she wasn't cut out for this. The girl crinkled her nose and shook her head as Caleb spoke, tense was the opposite of the goal. But, at Caleb's last few words, a bright smile lit Sam's features. Of course, Caleb would understand much better if she just compared swimming to something he was already good at. "Yes!" Sam exclaimed, spinning in a circle as a gesture of excitement. "Exactly like that," Same nodded, "and how you can feel the air around you, it's the same thing but with water. If you feel into instead of think about it, it really does just go right through you." Sam added. "I guess you sort of gotta find your own way to do it, go with the flow." the girl shrugged.
@Hogzilla

 

[Void_Nugget]

Yuuki giggled as she was dragged along, "at least let me take off my hoodie" she said pulling out off over her head quickly and smiled "let's at least say hi then we can spend some time just the two of us" she said kissing Katelyn's neck. She then walked calmly over to Hiro "hey Hiro, fancy meeting you here, that's an impressive sand castle it certainly seems like your feeling better" she said with a bright smile as she felt the warm sun on her exposed skin.
@Cryronn the Mudkip @Schrift

 

[Hogzilla]

Caleb absorbed Sam's advice. Not all of it made sense but he felt like it would be helpful nonetheless. He cleared his mind like he was preparing for a fight. His eyes narrowed in focus and a slow breath hissed out of his mouth. He began to tread water, letting his limbs stay loose, moving them more rhythmically. His technique wasn't perfect but now it was sustainable.

"Okay, I think I'm getting better." He smiled slightly to Sam. He was, albeit not as quickly as he might have hoped. Caleb was a natural athlete but he took to combative skills much more readily than others.

He moved over to Sam and stood, planting a kiss on her cheek. "So, what's up next? You want to teach something else? Or maybe you want to sunbathe?" He gave her a deferential look. Caleb had ideas on what he wanted to do, and it wasn't always easy to let others choose his actions for him, but deferring to her was easy. If she was happy, that made him happy. With his feet back on the bottom he let his body come out of the combative focus he'd briefly adopted and folded his arms across his chest.

@Barefoot_Kittens

 

[Merciless Medic]

Drayda didn't know whether to smile or give an indignant stink eye at Hiro for patting her head, but she smiled anyway. Lyria didn't seem as bothered by it either, which made Drayda question herself. But that was interrupted when Hiro confided to her about his lack of ability to swim. Drayda chuckled and shrugged her shoulders, helping him with the digging of the moat.

"Oh, don't worry about that. If we land in the water, Lyria can't help me fly. I have to figure out how to swim with wings not meant for swimming."

She looked over after taking a mini break from digging to see Hiro had taken off his shirt. She couldn't help but stare at the rippling muscles but tore her eyes away from it. Why was she staring at him like that? She wouldn't have been all weird like this and questioning herself if she had acted like this with all the other guys. But no, it was just Hiro, as she climbed out of the moat and surveyed the area to see that, yes, her reaction was only for Hiro. Shaking her head to dispel the weird fog that had attempted to capture her mind, she was about to return to the moat only for Hiro to climb out after her and tell her about the cooler. The thought of having ice cream lit her face up with excitement.

"Ice cream? I love ice cream!" She quickly looked around for the cooler, her wings and tail sprouting out (if they weren't before) and she spun a full 360 degrees before finding the cooler. Hiro had just opened it. How did she miss it? She rushed over and grabbed a drink and an ice cream cone before plopping on her towel cross-legged and setting the drink in her coiled tail as she dug into her ice cream.

After taking two huge bites with no way to warm her mouth in between, she suffered from a really bad brain freeze. She made pained ooo's before sticking her thumb to the roof of her mouth, feeling the brain freeze pulsate before ebbing away. Breathing out a sigh of relief, she heard Hiro talk to her again and had asked her about her favorite thing in U.A.

Being thay she wasn't at the school during a big event, she didn't know. She shrugged, already know Lyria's answer. "I don't know. At least, on my end. Lyria likes the fights though and wants to get stronger and better ourselves. I guess my favorite thing would be making friends." She felt her inner voice scoff at herself for saying that and she shook her head and chuckled. "Apparently, Lyria found that a really cliche thing to say. But I'm serious. And, while I wasn't here for a good portion of the events that had happened, I would say experiencing the school with other people with different goals and ideas and futures is very cool. Makes everything not so boring." Drayda sighed and finished her ice cream before it either melted over the cone or a seagull attempted to steal it from her before moving on. "I guess what I'm meaning to say is that I like these moments I get to have with my classmates. Doesn't make me feel so alone. I only really lived with my mother with an absent father, so I really like all this attention. Even if it meant I end up destroying something in the end." She giggled as the events from the Heros vs Villains game they had played with the building and the bomb replayed in her head. Normally, she wouldn't have found losing control fun, but now that she understood herself more, it seemed really funny in hindsight.

Oh, how naive she was. Not that she still isn't naive now.

She had been staring up at the blue sky as she talked. Once she was done, she smiled over at Hiro, firing the question back at him. "Besides getting angry at people, what are your favorite things about U.A.?"

@Schrift

 

[Schrift]

"huh? oh hey Yuuki!", he smiled, looking at her. "This castle is not too bad, though probably wouldn't be this good without Drayda's help", he smiled. "my recovery is mostly going well, I can now go back to training properly", he grinned. Hiro looked at Drayda, returning a deadpan face to her statement about him being angry at people. "You know I don't like being so angry", he chuckled, lying on his back. "Well I don't really know if I'm being honest. I guess making friends was fun, even though the road to making friends was a total and utter pain in the ass". Hiro's first interaction with Class 1A was probably one of the worst first impressions any of them might ever see. Hell when him and Drayda first met he, burnt down a tree, made her turn into a dragon, then proceeded to bully a girl for having a father he wasn't a massive fan of. "I guess just being part of this class is one of my favourite things", he said, after a minute of him sitting in silence trying to think of what to say. "Sounds weird, I know, but this class sorta means a lot to me. Sure I can get mad at everyone, sure I probably hurt them more than I should but deep down I guess I care for everyone here and some care for me as well. Everyone sorta just patches up that hole of being alone all the time, even if they annoy me to the point where I want to burn down half of Japan", he chuckled. An idea popped into his head, as he sprang up and sat cross legged. "Anybody wanna play some volleyball? If we find some more people from 1a we can probably have a massive class match!", he grinned, liking the thought.

@Merciless Medic @Shadow_Pup

 

[Barefoot_Kittens]

Sam pressed her lips together as Caleb's technique grew from sloppy to... less sloppy. Sam returned the boy's smile when he commented on his slight improvement, she raised shoulders and nodded simultaneously in a rather ambiguous expression. Really, she was just glad to be in the water with Caleb. Soon, Caleb was back to standing, his height allowing the male to easily rest on the sea floor even in areas were Sam couldn't. With a quick kiss applied to Sam's cheek, Caleb inquired about the pair's next activity. Sam tipped her head to one side and smiled fondly, he really was quite passive. She knew that there were other students in the class who weren't fond of his strong morals and outspoken nature, and his powerful quirk and sports-festival performance didn't help his case, but the boy was really a sweet, gentle kid once you look past appearances.
No matter how much 'improvement' Caleb had made, it was clear that he wasn't any more comfortable in the water. If anything, it was probably taxing on his body. The girl circled around Caleb before looking up at him with a content expression "Let's go get some sun." Sam commented and begun making her way back to the shore. As the pair left the water, Sam wrung out her tail and hair before looking back towards Caleb, "Is there anything you want to do?" the girl finally asked. She was aware that Caleb had been letting her take lead so far, but she wanted to make sure he was having fun as well. Assuming he didn't have any plans, Sam was perfectly fine with laying in the sun, which already felt great on her skin. The girl glanced back over her shoulder to find that the UA students had multiplied, it appeared that a few more couples had arrived since Sam had last ran past them. It seemed like the high school had unintentionally taken over the beach. The girl looked up towards the sun before shrugging, it must be really nice beach weather.
@Hogzilla

 

[=Nightshade=]

Dakarai tried and failed to fight back a blush. “I, uh... I dunno,” she said with a shrug, not sure what she should be feeling or if she was feeling the right thing, having never been in a situation like this before. She wasn’t sure what it was exactly, but she didn’t find it at all unwelcome. Filing away her emotions to scrutinize later, Dakarai gestured at the water. “We could take a dip, if you like? Or we could go on a Godzilla style rampage through Hiro’s sand kingdom,” she added jokingly. “Of course, then we’d have a crisis on our hands and be charged with destroying the beach... might be better to stick with the first one.” She gave a small laugh, leaning against Kureiji. “Wouldn’t mind grabbing a snack either.”

 

[Hogzilla]

Caleb led Sam to their towels and things. He produced a parasol from his bag, that he'd bought for just this occasion. With one burst of strength, Caleb drove it home into the ground by Sam's towel like Merlin planting Excalibur in the stone. When asked if he had anything he wanted to do, he looked thoughtful and reached around her from behind, holding her to his body by her waist.

Caleb suddenly bucked his hips and took his girlfriend to the ground on her towel, careful to cushion her fall by hitting the ground beneath her. Caleb giggled at his sudden takedown, and rolled over like a wrestler, placing him face to face with Sam.

"Sorry about that. What do I want? Well I know this won't take up a lot of time, but I'd like to hold you for a bit. Peaceful days like this are gifts from God. I'm just happy I can share it with you." He wrapped his arms around her, cradling her head in his left and sliding his right around the small of her back. He was gentle as always, savoring the feel of her.

"I read an article a while ago. It said men prefer to show intimacy with shoulder time. I think this is what that means. This probably seems out of the blue but what I'm trying to say is "I love you" and I'm not so good with words" Caleb blushed a little but didn't mind if Sam saw. This was something worth blushing over. He listened to whatever she had to say and held her. He didn't know how long, but eventually he loosened his arms, letting her out. "I think you mentioned getting some sun?"

@Barefoot_Kittens

 

[Barefoot_Kittens]

Sam watched Caleb plant the umbrella, momentarily appreciating his strength for the mundane things and wondering how convenient his quirk is in his day-to-day life. When he took on a pensive expression, Sam raised her brows in anticipation for his answer, she was taken by pleasant surprise when his response came in the form of silent action. The girl leaned back into Caleb and smiled, but the relaxing session she expected was quickly interrupted as her entire body shifted. Before she realized what happened, a brief squeal escaped the girl and trialed off into a fit of giggles. Once Sam has hit the ground, she attempted to reprimand Caleb for startling her, but she couldn't even say his name through all of her laughter.
When Sam finally pulled herself together and looked up to focus on Caleb, she felt a warm, comfortable blush spread across her cheeks. She smiled passively, eyes filling with adoration as she looked up at the boy and listened to his words. Sam slowly brought one hand up to caress his cheek, locking eyes with Caleb and letting out a content sigh. Caleb said something about shoulder-time that Sam didn't quite listen too as she was fully immersed in admiring her boyfriend, but a few words stuck out to the girl. It took Sam a moment to process what Caleb had said before her face deepened to a crimson red, and she brought her hands to her face to hide her embarrassed expression. There was something about the words 'I love you' that was so much more than any other words, perhaps it was the connotation, but they weren't words that people typically used lightly. Sam furrowed her brows, trying to surprise the huge amounts of joy that seemed to want to come out of her body. "Yea, I love you too." Sam hummed eventually, melting in Caleb's grasp before adding, "I wish everyday was like this. I want to spend everyday with you for the rest of my life."
When Caleb released her, Sam leaned forward for a final embrace, wrapping her arms around his neck and planting a kiss on his temple. When the pair separated Sam blinked at Caleb, caught in a trance-like state which lasted only a second before she nodded enthusiastically. Sam thought for a moment before sighing. The girl stood and brushed herself off walking behind Caleb and placing both of her hands on his shoulders, "Listen, I know it's not at the top of the agenda today, but I think we should go say 'hi' to the others." Sam said as she glanced towards the small group of U.A. students, "I don't want them to think we're standoffish, it's important that we get along. Besides, I'm sure we can find something fun to do with them." Sam shrugged the last part with a knowing smile.
@Hogzilla

 

[Hogzilla]

Caleb quivered as Sam touched his cheek, and almost shed tears when Sam said she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him. He knew they were too young to be married yet, but he dearly prayed it would one day be so. He felt her melt in his arms, felt her heart beating and savored the feeling of closeness. He wished they could hold each other like that forever, but he knew

When they eventually rose, she touched his shoulders from behind, which could have elicited a threat response if it wasn't someone he trusted. He nodded and fell in beside her and held her hand as the two approached their classmates, starting with Hiro and Drayda. Caleb wondered, with a nervousness that made him squeeze Sam's hand a little tighter, if they were interrupting anything. After all, Drayda and Hiro had been building a fair bit of rapport since the festival. But the thought came too late.

"Hi y'all. Hope you don't mind if we pop by to say hi." Caleb smiled and restrained himself from asking how Hiro's scales were doing. "This beach seems like the place to be." He gestured to the other groups present on the beach with his free hand. "Anyhow, what's up with you guys? I haven't seen much of you since the festival."

@Merciless Medic @Barefoot_Kittens @Schrift

 

[Schrift]

Hiro's face soured as he looked at Caleb. He stood up, looking Caleb in both eyes as Hiro gritted his teeth. His scales appeared around all over his body, the scales on his damaged arm now having a darker tone than the rest of his body. "Pop by? Like you managed to pop off all my scales and had to make me relearn how to use my fingers?! Maybe I'll burn you instead of popping you?!", he growled. Flames flickered from the side of his face as his hand clenched into a fist. It looked as if Hiro was gonna punch Caleb with everything he had, but then he just lightly Caleb in the arm. His scales retracted into his skin, as Hiro's snarl soon turned into a grin. "Just kidding", he smirked as he sat back down by Drayda's side. His little intimidation had been a simple joke. "I've been doing great, hospital sucked for a while but now it's almost done. So did you come to the beach on a little date?", he smirked, at the pair. He looked to where Caleb had gestured, spotting Kureiji next to Dakarai. Albeit a much more muscular Kureiji. "Holy shit Kureiji's been hitting the gym", he said, as he looked down to his own body. "Anyway, how have you two been? I came here because doctors said it would be good for me to be going out and I luckily bumped into Drayda here and we've been working on this sand palace!"

@Merciless Medic @Hogzilla @Barefoot_Kittens

 

[Hogzilla]

Caleb decided to ignore Hiro's joke with a smile. That smile broadened as Hiro asked about him and Sam. "Yes, we're on a date, it's been a good time this far." He squeezed her hand gently and rubbed her shoulder. He raised an eyebrow at Kureiji's physique. "He's looking good, indeed." His odd friend wasn't as buff as Caleb himself, but then pretty much nobody was. Kureiji had ever been out of shape, but he'd definitely upgraded.

"We've been alright. Haven't seen much of each other since the festival. Better now though, now that we have time to relax." Caleb was silent for a moment before he jerked his thumb in Kureiji's direction "Think we should leave them be? They look like they're having a good time." Caleb also wondered if they should leave Hiro and Drayda be, since they looked like they were having a good time too. "Guess it's couple's day at the beach." Caleb made a last idle comment before turning to his draconic friends.

@Merciless Medic @Cryronn the Mudkip @Schrift @Barefoot_Kittens @=Nightshade=

 

[Cryronn the Mudkip]

Kureiji stretched his Body out with an exhausted yawn as he stood, dusting the sand off his legs as he turned seaward. "Well, it looks like Pecs, Emo, Arson, Monke, and Numba-One are over there, therefore we should not go in that direction, as Pecs makes me unbelievably angry and makes me act unnaturally hostile toward my therapist. AHEM, anyway, I say we get in the water, yeah. We can talk to them later and see if they wanna play volleyball. I mean, one side is gonna get their ass kicked, there really is no equal playing field. I mean, we got two gladiatorial gods of fire and punch over there." He turned back to Dakarai and realized that he had probably been talking over her some.

"Oh. Uh, s-sorry, I didn't mean to talk over you if you were saying something important, I get lost in my own heat sometimes... anyway, yeah, I agree, let's get in the water!" He turned to the shining ocean blue waves, and grinned widely, throwing his towel onto the mat he had brought and beginning to bound toward the water with long strides, before leaping into a leaf-boosted long jump that left him falling in deeper waters. "Woooooo!" He yelled as he was dunked in cannonball style, head pulling out soon enough as his black hair now shone against the sunlight thanks to its dampness. Soon, all over his body, he began to summon crabs, quietly giggling to himself.

@=Nightshade=

Katelyn huffed in annoyance as she was quickly overshadowed by everyone else, Hiro never even bothering to address her. She sternly stormed to the middle group that had formed of the talking students. "Jeez, rude to mention my girl but not me! I mean, it's not like I've really met y'all well anyway! Humph, it's like you're trying to make me look like I'm... enjoyative of... h-human interaction..." Her anger quickly dissolved into a sort of soft embarrassment, and she looked back up, head pointing to Sam and Caleb. "By the way, I don't really think we formally met! I mean, Caleb kicked my ass, but not really you Sam! Nice to meet you, I'm Katelyn Midoriya, call me Kate if you'd like, but Katie is off limits, okay~?" She nudged Yuuki's shoulder playfully.

@Hogzilla @Schrift @Barefoot_Kittens @Merciless Medic @Shadow_Pup

 

[Barefoot_Kittens]

When Hiro stood up with sudden hostility, Sam's grip on Caleb's hand tightened. Her heart skipped a beat and her eyes grew wide- no, this was not supposed to happen. However, the situation quickly dialed down when Hiro reveled the reaction to be a joke. Although she let out the breath she was holding, Sam couldn't help but be on edge. Hiro's joke was no doubt a way to express his forgiveness, but Sam couldn't shake the past and the fact that the dragon-boy has a tendency for snapping. After Hiro had sat back down, Sam forced herself to relax, that's when she saw Drayda. Sam had never really gotten to know Drayda, but her and Hiro seemed to get along just fine. Drayda was certainly strong as well and, Sam looked the girl up and down, pretty too. Sam eyes wandered up towards Caleb, making sure the boy's eyes were not lingering on Drayda. Sam wasn't the jealous type, but she couldn't help herself when surrounded by a bunch of girls in bathing suits. Still, it seemed Caleb's attention was focused on Kureiji's muscle build as opposed to any of the girls.

Sam's gaze followed Hiro and Calebs and she nodded slightly, the boy certainly had grown. It felt like everyone had. Getting back into training she imagined that there would be a lot of changes, despite the villain attacks that the class had gone through- losing to a peer is a real eye opener, it seemed. When Hiro's questioned addressed the pair, Sam first took a glance at the work-in-progress sand castle- causing and impressed smile to spread across her lips. Regardless of whether or not they turned into fire-breathing beasts, they were still kids at heart. As Caleb responded to Hiro, Sam rocked on her feet and nodded in agreement. When Katelyn suddenly bursted into the crowd, Sam's gaze grew wide. She really hadn't noticed the girl. She knew of Katelyn, with her being Deku's daughter, and Yuki's girlfriend- but never actually met the girl. She was in the hospital when Katelyn was introduced to the class. Still, despite the outburst, Katelyn seemed nice. Sam cracked a soft smile when Katelyn mentioned Caleb beating her, that seemed to be the boy's relationship with a lot of the class. "Yeah, nice to meet you, Kate." Sam smiled.

Sam's tail flicked as there was a momentary silence that settled, with the group at hand, however, silence never last very long. Sam watched Kureiji launch himself in the air, he did look like he was having fun. Who would have thought that a bunch of misfits trying to become heroes would end up finding love instead. According to Sam's father, high school relationships never last- and it was no more than a distraction form school work and training. Seeing how happy everyone was, Sam couldn't help but disagree. She wished that everyone could get along. And the mix of not being able to use their quirks and the calming environment, the girl couldn't think of a better time for some bonding. Sam looked up at Caleb, who seemed to be having some doubts, but a happy expression took over her features as she eventually spoke up again, "We have all day-" Sam began, she was trying to hint at the fact that the couples could have private time later, "but, since we're all here, let's do something together!" Sam smiled.

@Hogzilla @Schrift @Cryronn the Mudkip @Merciless Medic @Shadow_Pup

 

[Void_Nugget]

Yuuki chuckled lightly and placed her arm around Katelyn's shoulders "I think volleyball would be a great idea, even if it will probably turn into a small scale war based on the competitiveness of our class" she said as she created a little person in the palm of her hand and added a volleyball which the person started to bounce off her hand, as she mentioned war the ball exploded and knocked the man down before he melted back into Yuuki's body.
@Hogzilla @Schrift @Cryronn the Mudkip @Merciless Medic @Barefoot_Kittens

 

[Merciless Medic]

Drayda couldn't help but get sucked into the conversations, so much so she couldn't exactly talk back until everyone had left a lull for her to pop in. She waved at Yuuki and Katelyn, who arrived first, complementing them on their multitude of sand castles. At the mention of the state of the sand castle and how it could have been worse without her help made Drayda's cheeks flush a little out of pride and embarrassment before she pushed her feelings away. She listened as Hiro talked about how much Class 1-A meant to him and she had to agree with him. Being in Class 1-A gave her the ability to have friends, even if she weren't there for all of them or was the popular one outside of tearing down the training building meant for their Hero vs. Villain training during their first unit.

At the mention of volleyball, Drayda perked up and smiled widely. Her tail wagged about excitedly and her wings flapped about, as if her whole body was agreeing with the idea. Of course, before she got to say anything, Caleb and Sam arrived to say hi. She waved to them and waited for Hiro to finish his quip. Of course, Hiro got angry as soon as Caleb showed up and Lyria was about to form a draconic claw to grab a hold of Hiro's neck and restrain him, maybe be a makeshift collar. Surprisingly, that was all just a ruse and Hiro calmed down just as fast as he got "angry". Pretty much what Hiro said afterwards matched what happened to her, so she stayed silent, nodding silently in agreement. It wasn't like her to be so silent, but more people seemed to arrive. Caleb talked about himself and Sam being together and then the attention got shifted to Kureiji and Dakarai. Looking over, Kureiji certainly was pretty fit and Drayda was able to tell the two of them were dating, or at least getting close to it.

Katelyn then stormed through the group to berate Hiro for ignoring her and then proceeded to introduce herself to Sam after thoroughly embarrassing herself. Drayda, finally as people started calming down, spoke up.

"I wouldn't mind volleyball. It doesn't have to be all about power either, it could really help us with our techniques and finesse. I do agree on not turning the beach into a warzone or sand into glass." As she said this, she playfully glared at Hiro before looking back at their sandy creation. "Though, after all that work, I really don't want anything to happen to our palace. It would suck if a ball hit it. Again."

She soon tore her attention away and properly introduced herself to the girls, seeing as she hadn't had much interaction with them before. She had met Caleb and Kureiji at least though. Thankfully. "Anyway, I'm Drayda, and my quirk's sentience prefers to be called Lyria. Nice to meet you girls. We haven't properly introduced each other, especially with my long hiatus from school." She was about to say 'vacation', but if training under the care of her mother was vacation... She didn't know.

@Schrift @Barefoot_Kittens @Hogzilla @Shadow_Pup @Cryronn the Mudkip

 

[Hogzilla]

Caleb cocked his head at Sam when he saw her looking up at him. He made eye contact and gave her a genuine smile and rubbed the small of her back gently. It seemed the whole gang was coming together, as UA students closed in around Hiro's prodigious sand castle. Introductions were being made and everyone was talking at once. With so much external stimulus, Caleb felt a little overwhelmed. He forced a small smile and squeezed Sam's hand. He liked how they could communicate certain feelings through their hands. It was a visceral thing that just came naturally to him and Sam, and probably to other couples too.

Caleb nodded at the mention of a sporting activity, his interest piqued. "Sure, I'm game for some volleyball. How will we choose teams though? We going to pick team captains and draft?" He thought for a moment, about what would happen if so many quirks were unleashed in one volleyball court at once. He immediately concluded it would be a bad thing. "I think we shouldn't use our quirks. It'd turn the beach into a disaster area and I don't think it's legal for us to use them in public like that." He privately added to himself that such laws seldom stopped people for casually using their quirks on everyday tasks, but that wasn't really the issue at hand.

 

[Schrift]

Hiro had sort of zoned out as everyone was startiing to gather around them. Sheesh, didn't think this many people felt like coming here, he thought. When Caleb had mentioned couples day, he turned slightly red around his cheeks. "let's leave Dakarai and Kureiji out of this for now, if they want to join they can", he said, managing to get rid of the red on his cheeks slightly. Jesus, why am I getting so agitated, he thought before eventually managing to bury the thought back in the crypt he called his mind. But soon he lost his composure yet again when he saw Drayda's tail wag for volleyball. Eventually he just kept his scales on, just to avoid people looking at him blushing. "Well it's simple, team captains can either the people in the final of the sports festival or the ones that want to be captain. As for quirks, limit it to one person one each team to use their quirk. Preferably not me and Caleb since that would make it unfair seeing how we're both strong enough to destroy a town on a bad day", he said, chuckling a bit. "Losers of the volleyball match, have to clean dorms for the next month? How does that sound? Just give it something to make it worth winning"

 

[=Nightshade=]

Dakarai nodded at Kureiji’s words and chuckled (OOC: am I the only one who doesn’t like that word? Like seriously we need a better word for laughing-softly-but-not-quite-giggling XD anyways moving on~) BIC: as Kureiji launched himself into the water. She followed suit, wading in like a normal person before ducking under the surface, growing a shark fin on top of her head as she went. The girl crept up behind Kureiji, intending to give him a scare, when she felt a sharp pinch on her toe and jerked up for air with a squeal. She reached down and plucked the crab off her foot, then tossed it lightly at Kureiji, laughing. “Crabs. Crabs?” She laughed again. “Guess that’s what I get for trying to pull a Jaws.”

@Cryronn the Mudkip
(Sorry for the wait been busy lately but here ya go~)

 

[Cryronn the Mudkip]

Kureiji caught the crab quickly in his right hand, snickering. He had already turned, as he was worried something happened to Dakarai, but looks like that was just Karma... so she was sneaking up on him, what a little trickster... jeez, she reminded him too much of himself if he were to be honest. He watched as the crab struggled a little in his hand, and gave a small sigh of relief. "...at least it isn't a lobster... I don't hate them as much as I act it up, but I don't like them quite a bit. It's just kinda funny when I overreact and chuck a lobster across the room, you know? Heh, being funny is hard, but it's fun, I'd say. Anyway, looks like they're gearing up for some volleyball. We could either join in now and leave time for just us later... orrrr..." He tossed an arm around the back of her torso and pulled her into a small squeeze, before just as quickly letting go. "...we could just do whatever we want, your call."

@=Nightshade=

Kaitlyn giggled at the little subconscious shadow that Yuuki made, finding it to have been rather cute and funny. She gazed about curiously as all the kids seemed to be rallying for dodgeball... she suspected some alone time with her admittedly Goth, yet cute and not at all Goth in personality girlfriend would come afterward. She nodded and pumped herself up, zooming onto the sand that encompassed the wide net to involve a large group. "Me and Yu will obviously be on the team! I, as the most athletic girl via small assumptions based on low information and sample size, will be an incredible addition to our team!" She was definitely confident in her boasting.

@Shadow_Pup @Hogzilla @Schrift @Barefoot_Kittens @Merciless Medic

(Let's not bother with @'s in the dodgeball game, to save clutter.)

 

[Barefoot_Kittens]

Sam smiled at the overall agreement from her classmates, when Yuuki mentioned the strength of their quirks, Sam bit her lip. She wondered if it was hard to posses such a powerful quirk, her own tail being used in much of her daily life, the only place you could really use something like that was on the battlefield. It's not like they had to use quirks, of course, attending the hero school had normalized the idea that it was essential to train your quirk as much as possible- but they were kids before heroes, couldn't they just play a normal game? Drayda and Caleb came to the conclusion that quirks weren't necessary, not to mention against the law, which Sam nodded to.
It seemed Caleb and Hiro had taken charge of organizing the game, between the two sports festival finalists Sam felt sort of small. "Let's leave quirks out of this. I don't want to get in trouble for a volleyball match." Sam softly suggested, before excitedly rocking on her heels, "But I'm all for raising the stakes!" the girl giggled at the thought of them wagering dorm chores. Sam peeled back her lips as she listened to Kate, she was quite... assertive. Sam understood the want for Kate to be on the same team as her girlfriend, but the 'most-athletic' part seemed unnecessary. Besides, Sam felt a competitive spike in her blood, that probably wasn't even true.
Sam glanced back at Caleb, as if checking on him, before smiling and bringing her eyes back to the sand, "To divide the teams..." Sam muttered as her tail flicked behind her in contemplation. There were three couples currently, which meant one couple would be forced to split up. Assuming both Hiro and Caleb played captain and both picked their dates, it seemed inevitable that Yuuki and Katelyn would get the short end of the stick. No matter who was captain, one pair would be split up. As much as Sam wanted to be the bigger person and sacrifice herself as the one to split, she couldn't bring herself to suggest the idea. She'd hate to watch either of the other couples excitedly cheer each other on while she looked across the net longingly.
"Unless Kureji and Dakarai decide to join us, we'll have teams of three for now." Sam pointed out, she had an idea but she wasn't sure she wanted to put it into play. It seemed like the most fair way to do things, and it would help the classmates get to know each other as friends rather than sticking to the single pairs that the couples seemed to divide themselves into. She wanted to spend as much time as possible with Caleb, but she assured herself that it could wait. "Let's split up! Drayda, Yuuki, and I against Katelynn, Caleb, and Hiro." Sam shrugged, splitting the teams as they popped into her head, hopefully nobody would argue the idea "And then, we can always switch teams later" she added.

 

[Void_Nugget]

Yuuki laughed slightly and whispered in Katelyn's ear "Katie be careful with your assumptions I think some people here would disagree" she said referring to her most athletic comment. She then turned to Sam, those teams sound pretty good I'd be willing to switch with Katie if she doesn't want to be on a team with Hiro and Caleb, I'm not too put off by their arguing and I can probably deal with them better if they flip out at each other, no offence meant to you tho Katie" she said giving her shoulder a light squeeze as she glanced at the group, she was glad they weren't using quirks as hers was drastically weaker in bright light and well it was pretty bright so she casually played with a new shadow person who was climbing around her hand.

 

[Hogzilla]

Caleb smiled and nodded at Sam's proposal. He had come to the same conclusion that (unbeknownst to him) Sam had, that at least one pair would need to be split up. Splitting up all three was a smart move, and fair. Besides, it was just a volleyball game. Just a bit of fun, right?

He stepped over to Hiro, clapping his fellow musclebound lummox on the back. "Let's try not to wreck them too hard." Caleb laughed at that, before turning back to Hiro with a mischievous grin. "But in all seriousness, I'm not that good at volleyball. Maybe I'll get the hang of it but if they've got experience this may not be such a squash match." Caleb had an abundance of athletic talent that let him pick up new skills very easily, but he hadn't tried too hard at volleyball before, so maybe he was about to look like a dork. The thought made him chuckle. He was a dork, especially around Sam.

 

[=Nightshade=]

(OOC: oh my god I said I’d get this up like a week ago, it’s way overdue I’m so sorrryyyyyy TwT)

Dakarai nodded with what Kureiji was saying. She had never really been the class clown, usually one to keep more to herself, but on the occasions when she made jokes they were usually thought up weeks in advance. Being funny was hard, but it was rewarding when she got someone laughing so hard they gasped for air. Not that that happened often, mind you.

When her attention was brought to the gathering of highschoolers that appeared to be preparing for a game, Dakarai tilted her head back to look at Kureiji. “You wanna join them?” she asked. “We’ll kick ass in there~ considering both captains—“ which she had automatically classified as Hiro and Caleb, just because they seemed the type “—each beat at least one of us up at some point, I think we deserve a little payback,” she joked. “Let’s go!”

 

[Hogzilla]

Time Skip

The day of the licensing exam came quietly, but the exam promised to be anything but. With several hundred students crammed into an auditorium, the anticipation was concentrated to a fever pitch. Originally fixed to have a 50% pass rate, the exam has been unforgiving ever since All Might's retirement. Originally this was to only empower the best students so as to fill All Might's old position, but the exam remained at the greater difficulty even after Deku filled the gap.

*****

Caleb shifted nervously on his feet. Standing amongst his peers, he awaited the announcement of the first stage of the exam. He'd heard what it had been in years past, but the exam was different every year. What would it be? Only time would tell. He smiled at Sam, then his other friends. The group had become pretty close lately. That would be useful if they hoped to pass the test, which had teamwork elements as well as solo tasks.

Spoiler: OOC

I'll let you guys chat a bit while I think up something for the first stage of the exam. I'm open to suggestions.

 

[Barefoot_Kittens]

Sam's narrow eyes crept across the field of high-schoolers, focusing more on some than others. There were a few among the other schools who she did recognize, big named prodigies who seemed to hold themselves differently than the rest. Those few were a little intimidating. The girl swallowed a small lump in her throat and took an anxious step backwards, accidentally bumping into Caleb before looking up at him. Caleb was one of those big named prodigies, she assumed. So was Hiro, and having the daughter of the number one student in her class meant U.A. had plenty of press. Not only were the other students complete strangers, but there appeared to be some tension between U.A. and it's rival schools, something that a few students made quite obvious. The suspense of not knowing what challenge laid ahead gnawed at Sam's insides, she couldn't stand the thought of failing again. The last time that the U.A. students had their progress displayed was the sport's festival, and the licensing exam was going to be the next big way for them to measure their strength- the thought terrified Sam. What if she didn't pass? What if she worked so hard and it turned out that she hadn't grown at all? Sam subconsciously found Caleb's hand, intertwining his fingers with her own. It felt like this wait was taking forever.
"This will be fun." the girl suddenly spoke, not directed to anyone in particular. Sam was surrounded by the small group of students who had bonded quite closely over their break and before the exam, they were a group who, frankly, she trusted. U.A. was among the few schools who let first-years test, so class 1A was already at a disadvantage compared to most of their opponents. "I know we can all pass, we just gotta let everyone else know that." she added, offering a smile over her shoulder.

Ru was completely silent. He was a generally quiet boy, but now he was hardly even breathing. A tall boy, Ru stood at least a head over most of the first years, enabling him to see the whole crowd of students that were gathered- and there was a lot of them. The boy felt like he had so much to prove. The sports festival was simply embarrassing, and the boy swears that he is a different person now than he was then- but what if he isn't. What if he has to drag his feet back home once again knowing, this time, not only was he the weakest in his class but probably the weakest in all of the schools too. Eventually, he let out a long breath, and shifted his gaze to the sky; there wasn't really any use thinking about it. The last few weeks had been the hardest that Ru had ever experienced in his life, he hadn't spent a single day not training. Refusing to get help from his father, Ru was forced to reach out to someone who he had hardly ever even spoken to before- and thus, his training with Pro-Hero: Cellophane began. It's not like Ru had any intention of becoming a hero, he was firm in the belief that it wasn't his calling, but he was sick and tired of ending up dead last. And he was sick and tired of his father telling him that it was alright.
Besides growing physically stronger, Ru had also made some major changes to his costume. His hood was replaced with a motorcycle-like helmet that closely resembled the headpiece that Cellophane wears besides the pieces that protrudes from the chin. He also limited the amount of luggage on his suit besides a single sash that held 12 of his self-made glue bombs and the two collapsible staffs that he had taken a liking to using. His staffs collapsed to a piece of metal just 4 inches long that attached to the lowest portion of his sash, but it extended up to 4 feet long. With his helmet propped open, Ru's eyes gave away his nervousness, but his face held an overall calm expression. Around him, several conversations popped up but he didn't take much interest in them. It seemed like some of his classmates had grown quite fond of one another, not that it mattered to him. Ru watched his own class, a group that seemed to draw attention to themselves, and sighed- he hadn't even visited Yuuki after her injury at the sports festival. She seemed perfectly content with her girlfriend, Ru doubted that she really minded, so why would it bother him? Ru just assumed he wasn't much a fan of being left out, but it's not like he belonged in this group anyways. The boy shook his head, deciding, instead, to empty his head completely in preparation for the task about to begin.

 

[=Nightshade=]

Dakarai looked around, intrigued by the vast number of new faces. Any thoughts about attempting to socialize with other schools never passed her mind, though; fierce competition was blazing in the eyes of the mildest of them, blatant disgust or hatred in the boldest. She felt a chill of apprehension, followed by a wave of resolve. The girl lifted her chin in defiance of the glares as she followed her class through the crowd. She couldn’t help the nagging voice in the back of her mind that kept telling her everything she had displayed at the sports fest was now free information for all the competition. But she did her best to shut it out, and keep the fire of confidence burning in the pit of her stomach as she forced a grin that became natural as she spotted the group of classmates she had gotten closest to over the course of the year. “Heyyyyy,” she said. “Who’s ready for some serious buttkickery?”

 

[Tudor21G]

(Welp, I've been watching y'all from the shadows and it seems it's time to post again.)

Miku stood in the crowd of students, humming a song to help with his nervousness. He wasn't very excited about the exam, mainly because of the competition. He was more scared of his classmates than ever after what happened at the Sports Festival, and the kids from the other schools don't look very friendly. Not to mention he was also incredibly bored since Aika's class was taking the exam at another location, so he had nobody to complain to about life.
After the festival, Miku started training more to prevent another embarrassment like his battle with Hiro. Even though he got third place and that was a huge accomplishment, he couldn't stop thinking about how he couldn't even get close to his opponent or what Hiro yelled at him at the end. He predominantly worked on his stamina and strength, since those were his weakest attributes (not including intelligence). He also upgraded his costume slightly, now having gloves with small, but sharp retractable spikes protruding from each of his four fingers to pack more of a punch. He would've wanted something cooler, but he couldn't think of anything else.
He bit his lip as he looked at his classmates, which he was a little wary of (at least of two of them). Who knew what they would have to do in the exam and how they would react.

 

[Hogzilla]

Just when Caleb was beginning to drift off into wherever a man's mind goes when he's truly bored, the lights dimmed, and a massive projection screen descended. What ensued was a slideshow, with a disconcertingly cheerful male voiceover.

"Hello, and welcome to the Hero Licensing Exam. In this test we will assess your readiness and progression along the hero course. The test will be grueling, but so is the life of a hero. For our first test we have a war game. Each school will be formed into a team and spread throughout the prepared arena." On cue, the slideshow flipped to a diagram of a large, ruimed cityscape, a panorama of devastation that called to mind Stalingrad or the Somme. Beneath the city ran a network of tunnels of the subway and foot varieties. Sprinkled throughout the map were oranges flag icons which softly pulsed light, adding emphasis to the otherwise somewhat innocuous markers. "The objectives, denoted by the flag icons, are objects that you are to secure and extricate from the area of operation. The nature of these items varies but they will be clearly marked. Each team must secure three objectives to proceed. The round will end when eight out of twelve teams have advanced." Another screen switch brought up a list of rules and regulations. Aside from the banning of lethal force and other less than reputable tactics, there weren't many. Interschool combat was allowed, but the rules made it clear that securing objectives would win the match, not clobbering everyone you met.

The screen switched to a chart, a mess of numbers and symbols that were a bit difficult to understand without context, but the voiceover was there to bail out the less patient students. "This exam will take place over the next three days, with four rounds taking place each day. Here we have a chart indicating what groups are participating in what rounds. Simply look for your school logo, your round number, and time."

To Caleb's (and a number of others, he was sure) surprise, class 1-A of UA Academy was in round one, and had less than a half hour to prepare for their round! Amongst the opposition was Shiketsu, a perennial rival school.

Caleb looked to his classmates and had to raise his voice to be heard above the commotion of students leaving the arena. "We're up, y'all! Everyone ready?"

 

[Merciless Medic]

Drayda had been trying to keep her dragon under control. Lyria was so excited to finally get to show her true colors that Drayda was unsure if coming here was even a good idea at all. Even if she claimed she was sick and not feeling well, doing that on the day of a massive exam like this was probably not the best thing to do, and she dreaded being chewed out by her mother if she ever found out she just didn't go. Despite her willingness to stay out of this exam for fear Lyria might accidentally use lethal force, the immense pressure of competitiveness around her kept her rooted and focused on the mission at hand. Which happened to be staying in your group based on your school and class, and capturing as many marked items as they can. She assumed they had to bring these items back to their respective zones in order for it to count, but can one steal the opposition's marked items? That would be considered theft, something heroes don't do in most, if not all, circumstances anyway. At least, they shouldn't.

She heard Caleb among the many people surrounding them and she instinctively walked over to see Caleb and Sam together. She swore she saw Dakarai in the crowd, and two vaguely familiar people she swore she saw in class before, but never got their names. Regardless, she wondered where Hiro went. Looking over at who was available to go, it was UA's Class 1-A versus a class from Shiketsu. She heard about the legendary rivalry UA's Class 1-A had back when the famous Deku and Bakugou were still students. Still though, she felt like history would be repeating itself again and she wasn't so sure if that was going to be a good thing or a bad thing.

Regardless, she began doing her arm stretches as she walked with the crowd of her class over to where she needed to be, using up as much time as possible to get herself limber and ready to start the exam. Hopefully, she excelled. And hopefully, Lyria remembered that the group's integrity was just as important as the objective and beating people up.

 

[Schrift]

Hiro stood in the vast crowd, he was some distance from his other class mates and that as alright for him. He only had one goal in mind, and that was to ensure he got passed the exam. Ever since he got out of hospital, Hiro had doubled down on his training to catch up on what he missed in recovery and to improve. He stared on at the crowd, wondering if he could find others from his class. Everyone here looks like they want to throttle me, jesus am I really that disliked? he thought to himself as he watched as people from other schools gave him dirty looks. Though it wasn't everybody, it sure as hell felt like it was. One of the people looking at him was a boy with long dread locks and a fire fighter outfit. What made him stand out from the others was the fact that he was actually smiling at Hiro, which put him off. That wasn't a friendly smile, that was a 'I'll beat you so bad that your grandchildren will be bruised' smile, he thought to himself as his gaze hardened. Hiro was dressed in his modified hero suit. Extra canisters on his back and now the addition of sleeves that made him look more like his father.

Once that long talk was done, Hiro left the crowd in search of his class. Though it wasn't hard to see Calebs massive physique, which then lead to Hiro seeing more of his classmates. From Sam and her tail, to Dakarai and even Miku. Though when he eyes passed Drayda he couldn't help but crack a small smile and give her a small friendly wave as his heart skipped a beat. This is gonna be the first time I fight with her, isn't it? he thought as he walked closer to them. "Hey Caleb! What's the plan?", he called out as he walked near. "We're gonna have to be careful here, it feels like we're gonna be targets after what happened at the sports festival", he said. "Some people probably have me as a target already from the looks of it." Hiro unclipped one of his fire charges from his belts, biting into the canister and sucking out its flames. Though some fire lingered around his face, he rubbed it off.

 

[Hogzilla]

Caleb smiled at Hiro's approaching form. The crazy guy had really come around since they first met. Caleb blinked in confusion for a second until he realized he'd been elected leader of the pack without knowing. He put on the face of someone who was really thoughtful but he had already thought up an idea that seemed feasible and didn't want to sound like he'd known he'd be called upon to be leader.

"First we move as one until we find an objective. Then we make like Scooby Doo and split up. A third of us hit the objective, and the rest move on until another objectives is found and another third detaches to get it. The final third then hunts their own objective. If they retrieve their items, or if they cannot recover it, the detachments regroup with the others ASAP."

He paused to let the plan sink in before continuing. "Each detachment should have versatility, and be led by a captain. I'll lead one team, as will... Dakarai and Drayda. We'll pick our partners in the field, where we can better discern the tactical situation." He looked around, waiting for objections.

 

[Hogzilla]

The students assembled in their staging area, a simple twenty foot cube cubby in the edge of the arena, sealed by a metal ramp that would drop when the exam began. The students stood at the ready in the cubby, illuminated only by a pair of red lights set in the walls. The lights began to flash and a countdown began, a mechanical voice intoning "Exam beginning in sixty seconds." To anyone familiar with such things, the setup was quite similar to the landing boats utilized at D-day in the second world war: Cramped, without comfort, and oddly vulnerable.

Thirty seconds left.

This was it. The licensing exam was a legitimately big deal, the first gate through which aspiring heroes had to cross before they could touch the world of professional heroism.

Fifteen seconds left.

Offering up one more prayer, Caleb channeled his anger, entering a low power level he could maintain near indefinitely and coiled his heavy durasteel docking chain around his left arm. The chain was a new addition to his "costume" such as it was. The chain terminated in a large maul head, forming a sort of meteor hammer, and was ordinarily draped across his bare torso when not in use.

Go time.

The door slammed shut open with a deafening clang, allowing the students to pile out the exit. The devastated cityscape lay ahead of them, beckoning them to come and seize victory.