The following two days were allotted to them so they could settle well and finish up with unpacking. They wound by quite peacefully except for one nightly visit from Class B's Monoma who was eager to start a competition between their classes as usual.
On their third morning in the dorm, Aizawa had come to inform them all that their presence was required at the school. Asking no questions about that, all of them had their breakfast rather excitedly, wandering whatever was that they were expected for.
" You reckon they would start training us for our provisional license examination?" Sora asked, splitting her loaf of bread.
Midoriya looked from his tray at her question. " Can't think of anything else."
" About time! I'm getting bored already!" Bakugo shouted, dropping down his tray and slumping right between Kaminari and Yuu, making the latter jolt in surprise.
" Woah, calm down buddy. It's merely our third day here." Kirishima pointed.
" And it's boring!" Repeated the ash blond boy as he dug into his breakfast.
" Must be tough having to abide by the rules and not blow anything, right?" Whisper mocked.
" Shut your trap, you egg head!"
Sora smiled at how energetic their classmates were before looking back at the girls by her side, they were all talking about what kind of training they thought they were to undergo.
" Maybe it's something like rescue training," pointed Asui. " I mean, we're bound to be tested on our ability to retaliate in situations of danger."
" And I've to admit, we're quite behind in that concern. Our rescue training wasn't satisfactory because of the USJ incident," Yaoyorozu pointed out, taking a sip of her tea.
True for that, Yuu and Sora noticed that their teachers had been more focused on battle training since that happened.
" So you think they will have us focusing on rescuing then?"
" It's a possibility," the girl responded.
Sora played around with the remains of her sausages on her plate, not actually feeling like eating them at all. " Feeling alright?"
She looked back at Uraraka as she asked. " Uh, nothing, just... I don't know how will the teachers be treating us from now on..."
Yaoyorozu dropped her cup as she heard that. " You mean about us going to Kamino, right?" Sora nodded her head. Frankly speaking, she was expecting a punishment for their blatant act of rebellion.
Uraraka looked at her two friends before wearing her best smile. " Don't brood over it at all! I mean, if they were up to punishing you or something, Aizawa-sensei would have hinted that long ago! Since he is treating you, and well, us too, like usual, I doubt it's the case!"
" That's true! Don't be all gloomy in the early morning! You'll get wrinkles!" Ashido stated giving her a rough pat on the back she choked on her food.
" Right... thanks girls..." she said fighting to draw breath, her face all blue.
" Sora!"
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Sora heaved a deep sigh as she changed into her hero costume in the changing room. Such a great way to start your day by almost dying. Hope I can stay alive to the date of the exam.
" Are you done, Sora-chan?" Uraraka's head peeked through the door just as she closed her locker. " Ah! I'm coming!"
The girls marched on to Gym Gamma, chattering enthusiastically. " Finally it's time to get our Ultimate moves!" Ashido cheered, hopping all the way along to the Gym.
" I wonder what mine could be?" Mused Asui.
" We'll have to think for ourselves of different ways of using our Quirks, ways to grant us certain victory," Yaoyorozu stated, all serious about the matter.
" In other words, we have to be creative, right?" Sora held her chin in thought. " However, one must be very knowledgeable of his own Quirk to be able to do so."
" It's our Quirks, we're supposed to know all about them about now." Ashido switched to walking backwards so she was looking at her friends directly.
" Not quite," Yaoyorozu interrupted. " There are many cases where people get to know very essential things about their Quirks at a very late age. That's why we're allowed to make amendments to our Quirk registrations."
" Ho! I never thought of that. So, there might be something I don't know yet about my Quirk?" Uraraka looked down at her hands.
" It's possible."
While they all continued chatting, Sora dived deep into her own thoughts. She certainly was missing a lot on their Quirk. According to her grandmother, there was a history to it, things she was yet too young to understand. But considering the situation at hand, she might try once again to convince her grandma to tell her about their Quirk in depth.
Upon reaching Gym Gamma, they met up with the boys and gathered around their teachers who were waiting for them there. " Gym Gamma, also known as the 'Training Dining Land' or TDL," announced Aizawa to his class.
" I'm surprised the principal agreed to that naming," whispered Sora into Yuu's ear who nodded his head in agreement.
Cemntous created a miniature model of their training field, explaining that they would be focusing on each individual and arranging the terrain specifically for each one of them.
" Please allow me to ask a question!" Iida raised his hand and shouted avidly, taking everyone around him by surprise and demanding further elucidation about ultimate moves.
" What an earnest student." Whisper shook his head with a sigh at the unchanging attitude of their class representative.
The teacher then proceeded to explain how the exam was meant to gauge how well they could save people from all kinds of calamities. Intel gathering, decision making, moving and fighting were the main points to be taken into consideration in addition to one's people skills such as communication and leadership.
" All of that!" Sora exclaimed and ruffled her hair as Aizawa's list continued on.
As far as they were concerned, their fighting ability was the crucial point for them future heroes. Having some extremely powerful moves could greatly influence their performance during the examination. One example was Iida's Reciproburst.
" So that's good enough to be called an ultimate move!" Iida cried joyfully.
" I see... So we need to find something that allows us to feel like ' As long as I do this I have the advantage. I can win'," Sato about summed up the whole lesson.
" As long as I have it I can win?" Yuu stared down at his own hands. He had nothing of the sort, he only had his spirits who were fighting for him.
Cementous proceeded with creating their arena while Aizawa stated that their left ten days of summer vacation would be all devoted for the sole purpose of finding their special moves while at the same time developing their Quirks.
" Oh my..." Sora swallowed as she realized she would be required to cross her limit during this training. What am I gonna do? She thought looking dreadfully at Ectoplasm's clones waiting for them on top of the newly created hills of concrete.
" Get through this with a 'Plus Ultra' mentality. Are you ready?"
" Yes sir!" The whole class chorused. Only Sora's voice drowned among the others. What should I do now?!
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" Shirogane! You're not being serious at all!" Ectoplasm scolded as she fell to the ground again, failing yet to land a single hit on him. " How are you supposed to find your ultimate move like this!"
Sora pulled her head back so she was looking at the upside-down form of her teacher peering down at her. " I can't help it, my Quirk does increase my physical strength and allows me to fly! There is nothing special that could be used as an ultimate move about it!"
" Then are you giving up? Are you receding now?" He asked.
" I'm not!" She said twisting so she was standing on her feet again, her wings tiredly dropping down to the ground. " But I can't think of anything!"
" Then keep attacking and attacking until you have a clear image! Experiment with your abilities! Think out of the box! Draw your limits! Only then you would be able to mold it into a fine move! But if you keep throwing haphazard punches at your opponent, you won't be able to get through the first sifting of the exam!"
Sora bit her lip in frustration as she ran towards the teacher, trying hard to hit him again. I know! I know! She thought. But there wasn't much she could do other than turn herself into a hideous monster that would scare the life out of those she was supposed to be saving.
On another hilltop a few meters beneath them, Yuu was talking with another clone of the teacher. " I see. So you can't use an ultimate move if you're not fighting yourself right." Yuu nodded, having fed the pro hero on the situation. Ectoplasm seemed to consider something before addressing him again. " If I'm not mistaken, some of your spirits do have special moves don't they."
" Eh... right... like Kyubi's fire attacks and Thunderbird's lightning ones," Yuu mentioned.
Ectoplasm nodded his head. " Then, we may need to refine those ones, find ways to improve and empower them as well. We might be able to come up with new ones."
" So what do you want to say, instead of trying to develop special attacks for Yuu, we'll have to improve his spirits' attacks. Sounds logical." Whisper agreed with a broad smile. " However, we'll have to raise his stamina further as well in the process, you don't have problems with that, right?"
" Of course not. You're his mentor, after all, the one who knows most about Seijin and his quirk is you."
" Very well then, we might need a larger space." The ghost rubbed his hands with a broad smirk. Seeing that, Yuu gulped.
All Might was passing around the top hills, watching the students train and offering advice where he could interfere.
The very first day dragged like that with them focusing mainly on training. They were allowed a brief break for lunch before they resumed their places, and they weren't allowed to leave until the sun was setting on the faraway horizon.
Sora dragged her wings behind her, feeling too tired to even shrink them back into her back. " This was the worst day of my life." She practically did nothing but get beaten up time and time again by their relentless teacher. It was all in order to increase her physical strength, but it didn't help at all in envisioning a super-attack thingy.
" Back straight soldier! This is just the first day!" Whisper shouted at her, making her snap towards him, the sides of her face and neck were all covered in greyish feathers already.
" How was it for you, Yuu?" She asked tiredly.
" Exhausting, both physically and mentally..." Kyubi was no trouble at all, she agreed to the training program and was helpful with advice where she could. Thunderbird however stubbornly refused to listen to him about the training and even humiliated him for not being able to power his attack enough. " I do really hope these ten days end up quickly."
" Oh, Seijin-kun, Shirogane-kun, good work today." Iida and Uraraka walked up to them. " We were thinking to go get our costumes modified, would you like to go with us?" He offered.
Sora and Yuu looked tiredly at each other and then back at their friends. " How come you still have that much strength left?" They asked and Iida and Uraraka blinked rather surprised at that question.
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" I see! You're focusing on making your own body float?" Iida asked the brunette.
" Yeah! If I add more mobility, then I can use the martial arts I learned at the internship even more!" She announced proudly.
" I would be careful with that if I were you," Sora suggested from behind her. " Most of martial arts moves depend on your weight after all, if you use your Zero Gravity on yourself you will lose the strength to do most of them, so be careful with it."
" Is that true?" Uraraka halted, rather surprised.
Yuu then decided to pipe in. " It would be best to practice activating and deactivating your Quirk on yourself multiple times in this case. While it may prove a hindrance when attacking, the loss of weight is a great option for defense and dodging, so you better learn how to quickly switch between both attacking and dodging."
" Which means I will have to activate and deactivate my Quirk a lot. That may cause nausea, so it's necessary that I get used to the quick pace in order to get through a fight." She murmured before looking back at them with a bright smile. " Thanks for your suggestions, Seijin-kun, Sora-chan!"
" Not at all."
" What are friends for." The purple head then looked back at the taller boy. " What about you Iida-san?"
" I want to reduce the demerits of my Recipro. I'm planning on asking the development studio to improve my radiator," he explained.
" I see. If the mufflers heat up, it will be harder to keep on, right?" Whisper stated, rubbing his chin and looking down at Iida's mufflers. " Then, do you need to do maintenance on them so often?"
Iida pointed one hand at him. " Of course, it's like brushing one's teeth."
" You're so diligent," the ghost snorted.
" Nothing is wrong with that," Iida argued.
It was then that they spotted Midoriya standing in front of the studio's double door. Uraraka then made a rush for him despite Iida's warning for her not to run.
Just as Midoriya turned to greet them, slightly opening the door to the studio, there was a great eruption from within that sent him flying off his feet. They all had their eyes wide in horror upon seeing the green head being crushed on the ground.
" Is he dead?" Whisper asked as they waited for the smoke to clear, however, they were met by a least-expected scene as Power Loader stepped out, apparently speaking to the cloud of smoke, which then melted away to reveal Hatsume Mei sprawled over a befuddled Midoriya. Sora turned her eyes from the scene in front of them to her brunette friend who was more than thunderstruck by that point. Seems someone feels their territory was violated. She thought trying to conceal a smile.
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Even though Hatsume didn't show the slightest intention of even recalling their names, her attitude bore a 180-degree shift upon realizing they were there to improve their costumes.
While they let themselves in to speak with Power Loader, she snatched the instructions of their costumes when no one else, except naturally for those with sharp eyes, noticed.
" What about you two?" Power Loader suddenly addressed both Sora and Yuu. " You're not having any changes on your costumes?"
" Ah, no. We're fine." Sora waved her hand with a mild smile before looking back at the group on the other side where Hatsume was forcing their friends into different support items. Power Loader had to step in to save them after she almost flattened Iida on the roof.
" She is really energetic, isn't she?" Whisper murmured. He was bemused to see her very ecstatic seeing that a few minutes earlier she was in the middle of an eruption.
" She has some magnificent aura if you ask me." Sora smiled broadly. " Reminds me of Yuu."
" Eh?! Me?" The boy didn't expect that. He was far different from the very bold human bullet in front of them.
Sora suddenly felt a chill running down her spine when the pink head crept behind her, holding one finger to her chin. " Hm, I think you would do."
" Huh?" Sora exclaimed yet, before she got even the chance to voice her remonstrations, she was forced into some kind of a metallic backpack equipped with boosters. She had the feeling she had seen it before.
" Yes! Let's see it now!" The boosters kicked in, raising Sora off the ground and holding her afloat a few inches above their heads. " Yosh! Seems stabilized!"
Sora then realized where she had seen the thing. Midoriya had used it before in the sports festival, though it seemed to have undergone some changes. " The problem with the last version was fuel distribution. Now it seems to be going well."
" Why choose me?"
" Isn't it obvious?" Hatsume stated with her so-ever smiley face. " Because you're the shortest, thus there will be no crushing into the ceiling this time!"
" You! Let me down now!"
" Let's just keep it for a minute or two, I want to make sure the fuel circulation is perfect!"
" No! Seriously! It's getting hot!" Sora squirmed in an attempt to get the thing off her.
" Put her down Hatsume!" Cried Power Loader, however, the controller in her hands didn't work no matter how many times she pressed. It eventually crushed under the repetitive whacking.
" Oh my!"
" Sora!"
" Shirogane-kun!"
" Damn it! " Sora cried as she summoned forth her feathers as a last resort to protect her back from getting charred by the overheating machine. But what she didn't expect was for her wings to shoot through it, disabling it immediately.
" My baby!" Cried Hatsume upon getting back the backpack all pierced and torn after Sora had descended.
" Is that what you're worried about?! You've almost burned Shirogane-kun!" Iida reprimanded her, not that she even listened. Sora then took a look back at the small wings that sprouted out of her back when she called out for them.
" Sora." Yuu approached her bearing a concerned look in his eyes. " Are you alright?"
" Yeah, no burns whatsoever." She assured him.
" What was that just now?" He asked her, curiosity taking the best of him.
" I'm not sure." She gave her wings a flap.
" Your feathers impaled that metal thingy," Whisper murmured, taking a look at the marred invention.
" But they feel pretty... soft now," she said touching them. True for that, they were as soft as feathers could be and would be impossible for them to cut a sheet of paper, let alone heavy metal.
" I'm terribly sorry, Shirogane," apologized the teacher. " I'll make sure to rebuke her later on."
" It's fine, it was nothing at all." Sora tried to shake it off, rather keen on finding an explanation for what happened than blaming it on someone.
She was thankful when Midoriya and the rest changed the subject back to their costumes. Yet, as Uraraka mentioned she wanted to find a solution to her nausea, a rather remorseless Hatsume had her eyes glistening brightly as she held aloft what seemed to Sora like an old-fashioned barrel bomb.
Feeling endangered, they all retreated backwards to the door while the pinkette marched on to them, not trying to read their dreadful faces. It only worsened when she pressed a button and the barrel started fuming.
" Something black came out!" Cried Uraraka.
" Hatsume-san!" Midoriya and Iida tried warning her but the girl didn't seem to realize that anything was going wrong at all.
" Take cover!" Warned Whisper and they all ducked down just as the item exploded, blowing off the double metal door this time. They all lay down, covered in soot and their hairs disheveled and matted.
How she was standing fine and smiling despite being the one holding the barrel was beyond any of them. " I'm sorry!" She announced remorselessly.
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" I'm dead!" She fell face-first into her futon. " I just want to sleep!"
With great effort, she turned around and her hand groped for her phone by her side lazily. When she finally found it, she sat up straight before calling her grandmother. While waiting for her to pick up, she was forming her words in her head, trying to sound as much convincing as she could.
" Hey, Grandma," she greeted once the woman on the other end picked up. " How have you been? ... I'm fine... yeah, I'm eating well, just don't worry... Please, I'm not a kid..."
The girl sighed desperately before deciding to dive into the main subject. " Actually Grandma, I've called because I need something."
The woman on the other end bit on her lip, hesitant and reluctant all the same. " I know." She admitted with a deep sigh. " I've got a feeling you will be asking about our Quirk soon after all, what's with going into the hero course."
The woman looked down at an old tattered notebook in front of her, it was covered in dust and its pages had gone yellow over the ages. " Listen, if it's okay with you, I'll be passing by tomorrow morning. Could you perhaps meet me at the station?"
" Grandma?" Sora was beyond befuddled, for she didn't expect her grandmother, who was so often against her to know much more about their Quirk, opening the subject this time.
" I need to talk to you in person, dear."
Hearing her more than serious voice, Sora agreed. " Alright, I think I can get permission to leave campus. I will meet you tomorrow morning then."
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The white head could hardly stifle a yawn as she waited for the train. She was in her gym clothes, having used the chance to do some early morning training.
It didn't take long before the train reached the station and passengers filed out of it. Sora could see a golden holy ring above the sea of people and focusing on it, her grandmother was then easily found. When she saw her, she immediately pulled her into a tight bear hug, almost crushing her ribs under her weight.
" Grandma, it hasn't even been a week." Sora reminded her with a sweat drop, hardly able to draw any breath.
" But I've missed you greatly!" Yui protested, not seeming to want to let go of her any time soon. It was with great effort that Sora wriggled out of her grandmother's arms.
" Grandma, I'm not a kid anymore." She reminded her for the umpteenth time. Yui seemed to look at her from head to foot before giving a small smile.
" Nope, nope you're not. That's right," she said clutching her bag tightly and looking around the station. " Maybe we should change places. Too many people around." True for her words, the station was teeming with people waiting to board the next train to get to their work or school. With that, Sora had led them to a park not too far from there where they both sat down on a bench.
" Sorry for having you come all the way here," Sora apologized, feeling as though it was her mistake that her grandmother had to come so far.
" No, no you don't. I'm the one who wanted to come and talk to you in person," Yui insisted. " I would have come anyway whether you called or not. I've been feeling it's time you get to know about it for a while now."
Her hand slid into her bag, about to pull out the notebook when Sora suddenly spoke. " Actually, there has been a... most peculiar incident yesterday."
Yui looked down at her granddaughter, interest shown all over her face. " Go on." She urged her to continue.
Sora held out her hand and squinted, the tips of her feathers protruded through the skin of her arm. They pushed through, growing taller and clearer. Sora caressed them gently, and as expected, they were soft and smooth. " My feathers transfixed steel," she stated almost dreamily and then looked up at her grandmother. " I've used my wings as shields so many times in the past, but not once had my feathers cut through things like yesterday."
" It's started," Yui muttered quietly that Sora couldn't hear her. She then shifted so she was facing her granddaughter, squeezing her hands in hers. " Listen carefully Sora, it's high time you understand that our Quirk isn't actually what it looks like."
Sora looked befuddled at those worlds. " What do you mean what it looks like? Our quirk has been passed down for generations it has been always Angel... well, almost... with the exception of me of course..." She said, her head hanging slightly low.
" Yeah, but our Quirk has been so far, the only known dominant Quirk, you know why?"
" Should there be a reason? " The girl tilted her head.
Yui dipped her hand into her bag and pulled out the notebook, holding it tightly in her hands as though it might run away if given the chance to. " It's time you know now Sora, that our Quirk is different from others. Our quirk has never been natural, it was created."
Sora's only reaction was to widen her eyes in shock at the revelation.