Makoto Takamoto flinched at Present Mic's startling volume. Pulling his helmet over his head and placing it on his lap, he had nestled comfortably into a seat a couple of rows away from the front — expecting to be greeted by a calm and concise lecture. Instead, what he received was an unhealthily high level of decibels greeting his unexpecting ears. Not only was the voice loud, but it was accompanied by a tone of astounding enthusiasm. Makoto let out an astonished and increasingly nervous sigh, "Well, this is going to be interesting..."
Hands clasped tightly, caressing the smooth edges of the dusky helm, he listened intently to what Present Mic had to say. After a couple of sentences, he felt he had adjusted more to Mic's unique way of speaking, and was less startled every time the man let out a syllable. He hadn't taken particular notice of the holographic robotic things until some bright pink person decided to point out something regarding the monstrously large one in a rather unexpected outburst. They were menacing even without Present Mic's oh-so-reassuring descriptions, and when the information about the last one was announced Makoto let out a small, inaudible squeal. He quickly pulled himself together, and took not of their size and shape so as to be able to easily identify them in the actual exam. You can do this Makoto. You can do this. Just avoid that enormous thing unless you really have to get involved. It's zero points anyway so there shouldn't really be any situation in which you have to interact with it, he reassured himself half-heartedly.
Takamoto then addressed the slip of paper before him. He read through the list until he found his name: "Battle zone 2: Makoto Takamoto". Coincidentally, he also found the names of the two people he had previously encountered. The names of two of what he hoped were friends. Looking around the room, he managed to spy Kiba Shinjurui in all her bat-like glory. She seemed to be quite far away — sitting at the back of the auditorium — and engaged in conversation with some reptilian boy. He couldn't see Kori yet, but assumed he was somewhere in the large audience of aspiring heroes. It was relieving to know that some other people with similar goals and their own personal challenges would also be going through the ordeal with him. Good luck out there, guys, he smiled definitively, I hope this goes smashingly for all of us. Good luck Makoto. You can do this. Plus Ultra! Right?
And with that, Makoto Takamoto returned his attention to the stage and began thinking of the possible scenarios that could play out.