Test of Heroism (Part 4)

Explosions rocked the arena. Jason and Shoto sprung up and off the couch. Chris looked up at the screens. The buildings inside the arena were collapsing. Mina held onto Kirishima. "Are we under attack?!" The announcer began speaking over the intercom. Round Two: search and rescue. A terrorist cell has bombed the nearby city. Heroes must rescue civilians until first responders can arrive." Chris sighed in relief. "It's just the second part of the test." Actors entered the arena and got into their positions with fake blood and mimicked injuries. "Here's how the point system will work. Every student starts with 100 points.Each time you mess up, you lose points. If you fall below 50 points, you fail." Jason and Chris looked at each other and nodded. This was it. They needed to pass, no matter what.

The 100 remaining participants ran out of the waiting room and into the arena. The hairy student from Shiketsu Academy shouted out to the group. "We need a first aid station! I'll clear out the land over there! Inasa, some space so medical helicopters can land!" "On it!" Inasa activated his quirk: Whirlwind. He created a vortex of air and cleared out much of the large debris to create a flat surface. Jason looked over his shoulder at his friends. "The second year students know what they're doing. Split up and help them out. Make sure to stick to areas and tasks where your quirk will be the most effective." 1A began to split up. Mina and Kirishima went to the mountains. Jason stayed near the makeshift first aid station. Chris, with 18% of One for All coursing through him, ran off to the far side of the arena with Iida, since they were faster than everyone else around them. Shoto and Momo ran off with a majority of 1A to search the wrecked buildings.

Chris and Iida came across a short actor who was playing the part of an injured kid. He was fake crying. "Mommy! Mommy!" Chris swore. The actor had fake blood trickling down his forehead to mimic a head injury. The two students ran up to him. "This is bad." The actor stopped crying and glared at Chris. "No! Points deducted!" Chris and Iida froze up. "Really?! You see a crying injured child and you say 'this is bad'?! You're supposed to be training to be heroes! You need to bring peace when chaos strikes! If you come in saying things like that, then you'll only spread more panic and chaos!" Chris nodded understandingly. He had been focusing on his short term goals for so long that he had forgotten his long term goal. He was so focused on mastering One for All and passing tests that he almost forgot why he wanted to be a hero in the first place: to become the next Symbol of Peace. Chris took a knee in front of the actor and smiled brightly. "Don't worry. I'm here now." The actor nodded approvingly before starting his fake crying again.

Momo and Shoto found an actor pretending to be pinned underneath large debris. Ochako and Sato, who's quirks were Anti Gravity and Sugar Rush, also walked up to try and help. Momo laid down and looked underneath the debris. "Hello sir! Are you able to move?!" "No!" "Alright, we're going to start getting this debris off of you! Just hang tight!" Ochako smiled. "I got this!" She started to head to the large boulder. Momo stopped her. "Don't!" The group looked at her. Momo explained. "If you move the large boulder right away, the rest of the debris could become unstable and fall on him. We need to be smart and chip away at the mess little by little." Shoto smiled at her best friend. "Smart thinking, Momo." Sato consumed some sugar, which multiplied his strength. "Alright. Let's get digging." Momo started creating small metal beams to hold the large boulder in place. Sato used his strength to place the beams. Then Shoto used her ice to hold the beams in place. Ochako started moving the smaller rocks out of the way so they could pull the actor out of the debris without disturbing the large rock. Momo looked through the hole. The actor smiled in approval. She had made the right decision

Jason took the actor from Iida's arms. "Thanks. Keep looking around." Jason set the actor down next to a student from another college who was administering first aid. "How's he look?" The student gave the actor a quick glance over before smiling. "He'll need some stitches, but he'll be fine." Jason nodded and stood up, directing the incoming heroes in training and directing them to open spots. The actors were being organized so that, in a real scenario, paramedics could have easy access to the more critically injured. The hairy student wearing the Shiketsu Academy hat walked up to him. "You're a first year student at UA, right?" Jason smiled at him. "Yes I am." "I'm Nagamasa Mora from Shiketsu Academy. I'm told that all of you are very talented, but inexperienced." Jason laughed a little bit. "Yea, we still have a lot of work to do." "That's just it, though. For someone in their first year of hero courses, you are displaying exceptional experience and maturity." Jason shrugged. "Part of being a good leader is knowing when to follow. You all know what you're doing. Might as well learn from you." Mora laughed before slapping Jason on the back. "I'm glad I got to speak to you. Keep up the good work!" Mora ran off to coordinate with the other students.

Kirishima and Mina were leading a small group of the walking wounded to the first aid station. Mina was holding a shorter actor pretending to be an injured child. She was smiling at Kirishima. "If we keep this up, we'll have everyone out of here by sundown." Kirishima laughed. "I don't think the test will last that long." Mina stopped smiling. "I almost completely forgot this was a test." The actor in her arms broke character for a split second. "It's good that you're taking this seriously. If you don't do your absolute best here in a simulated environment, then there will be no way of knowing how you'll do in a real crisis." Mina smirked at Kirishima. "See? The crying child says you're wrong." Kirishima and the actors laughed a little bit before getting back into character. Kirishima stopped laughing when he saw the first aid station. "Looks like the others have been doing a great job. We just need to stay focused and it'll be smooth sailing from here on out."

"Yes sir. I understand sir. It will be done." Kugo Sakamata hung up his phone and put it down on the nearby desk. He walked into the adjacent hallway. There were 100 men and women dressed in black and white bodysuits loading liquid cement rounds into their rifles. They all rose to their feet when Kugo walked by. They didn't make way for the massive six and a half foot tall man just because of how big he was. He also looked terrifying. He was practically a killer whale with legs and arms. Despite his terrifying appearance, he was one of the best pro heroes in the country. He was Gang Orca: the Number 10 Hero. He and his group were tasked with playing the terrorists. The committee needed to see how these 100 students would fare at not just search and rescue, but also fighting with civilians so close. Gang Orca smiled at his crew. "Get ready." The troops backed away from the door. Explosives would trigger inside the arena just outside the door, simulating another explosion. Then they would rush out. Their job was to inflict as many civilian casualties as possible. Gang Orca adjusted his heavy metal weights donated to him by UA. He was incredibly fast and powerful, so these weights would make the fight a little more fair for the students. "It's show time."

An explosion rocked the arena once more. Chris, Shoto, Jason, Momo, Kirishima, and Mina, and 30 other students all spun in the direction of the blast. Gang Orca, marched out of the smoke and stood on top of some debris. Chris's eyes widened. "Gang Orca!" Jason lowered his stance. "Shit! Get ready!" Gang Orca looked out at the heroes in training. "When it comes to protecting people in cities, a hero's job is complex and multifaceted. There's the actual rescuing, and then there's dealing with enemies. Can you really handle both situations at once?" Gang Orca's troops charged, screaming like the lunatics they were tasked to be.