Author's Notes: Chapter edited and corrected by Vongrak.
Izumi POV.
The moment the walls collapsed again, I stayed put while everyone else started running around the stadium. I looked around. Besides me, a handful of other people remained and began moving quickly, clearing tables out of the area and preparing the site.
This would be the designated medical area. So I smiled broadly. My hands formed increasingly familiar shapes; the shapes of the Rabbit Escape and Round Deer quickly took shape. My shadow began to bubble before a Jackalope, a rabbit with antlers, emerged from my shadows.
I smiled slightly, and the rabbit nodded before it began multiplying at a ridiculous rate. Hundreds of rabbits instantly formed and shot out in all directions. I glanced at the participants near me, who were staring in surprise.
I smiled slightly at them.
"My rabbits are capable of healing minor wounds and stabilizing the most serious ones. If you see a patient with a rabbit, assume they've been treated by their Quirk," I said gently. Then Round Deer emerged from my shadow. "My Deer has even greater healing power, capable of instantly healing any wound. Bring anyone injured near Round Deer so she can touch it; the healing works through contact," I said, stroking the enormous deer.
I looked at the girls who seemed confused, and I raised an eyebrow.
"Unless they have some other plan?" I asked with a playful smile, which startled them.
"N-no! W-we're just surprised!" one of the girls squealed. "I thought... you were a fighter like... like your grandfather. We saw you at the Kamino crash." The girl said shyly, her voice trailing off. I shrugged.
"I can do both, the HPSC wants to see my healing," I said simply before clapping. "But putting that aside, we have a lot to do!" I said cheerfully as I let my shadows absorb everything that bothered me nearby, like tables and debris.
After my shadows, large amounts of resources began to appear. Many of them were things I had already prepared since acquiring Ten Shadows, but in the last week, I had increased everything I had while remembering this one specifically.
So, large quantities of futons, chairs, first aid kits, water, food, and various comforts emerged from my shadows in great amounts.
"Very well, let's all get ready. The wounded victims should be arriving soon." I said with a clap. The heroines in training were surprised, but quickly began to move as they prepared everything around them.
"I brought a wounded person!" said one of the participants as she ran up with a victim in her arms, I just approached with a smile.
"I see you found my Rabbit, was she able to touch the victim?" I asked gently as I approached, the participant blushed slightly.
"Y-yes, I-I didn't know it was yours." She stuttered.
"Don't worry, but it's good. My rabbit has healing abilities. If the rabbit touched the victim, it means the minor wounds have already healed. Even so, I'll take a look." I said, kneeling down and looking at the girl. I looked her up and down. Obviously, she didn't have a single wound despite her appearance covered in dust, dirt, and makeup. "She's in perfect condition." I smiled at her. The girl's face crumpled in annoyance, and she started screaming.
"YOU THINK I'M OKAY JUST BECAUSE YOU LOOK AT ME SIDEWAY?! POINTS DED-" Before the kid could finish yelling, I placed a lollipop enriched with my quirk in her mouth. I smiled broadly. The kid froze before letting out a soft moan as she began to enjoy the treat. I chuckled.
"My eyes can see through the body, I can see all inside and look for wounds. Even so, I'll let my deer heal all your wounds; it's capable of regenerating even the most serious injuries." I said with a smile.
My deer approached slowly, crouched down, and pressed its nose against the child's cheek as it activated its quirk. The healing was completely useless, but the child seemed to feel it as her eyes widened.
"Very good, little one. Now follow my partner, she'll take you to the medical area." I said to the girl with a gentle smile as I gently guided her toward the medical area. One of the examinees approached the boy. I simply nodded and looked at the other examinee who had brought the victim in. "Well done, hero. Watch out for the rest," I said, winking in her direction.
The participant blushed deeply and nodded quickly.
"Y-yes! I'll do it!" the girl squealed before turning around and running off. I laughed, my eyes sparkling. Time to improve this.
Let the victims keep arriving while you attended to them with a huge, kind smile. Let the other participants who were also in the medical area take part in the 'diagnosis' while you helped them.
I silenced any of the fake victims with fortified sweets until they forgot exactly that they were about to take points. By the time there were enough people, they were already looking at me differently.
Kinder looks, looks of admiration, of respect, to the point that they began to follow my orders without hesitation. We received all the victims efficiently. Even those brought in by my own class.
To my great delight, the exam was much longer than I expected; ten minutes had already passed and the villains still hadn't arrived, so I began the second part of my plan. I approached a group and separated them slightly.
"Did something happen?" one of the girls asked worriedly. I nodded seriously and looked over my shoulder at a group of victims.
"One of the children told me that today is her birthday and she looked like she was about to start crying again," I said seriously. The eyes of the heroines in training widened.
"Wait, like... her birthday for real, or the made-up situation for the exam?" one of the girls asked cautiously.
"Does it matter?" another girl asked, wrinkling her nose. "They're the ones who decide our scores. Fake or real situation, we have to make sure she's happy," she added without hesitation. I kept my face completely neutral despite wanting to start grinning like a maniac.
"So how do we solve this? We're in a simulated terrorist attack, we're in a fake forward medical post, we have no resources," another one said immediately. I smiled nervously.
"I... I think I can fix it?" I said timidly. The three girls stared at me. "My mom owns a pastry shop, so I usually keep several of them inside my shadows." I added as I let my shadows extend into my hands and a box of pastries pop out.
"That's... quite convenient," one of the girls said. I laughed shyly. "So, are we going to give her the cake, or do we have to throw a whole party?" she asked curtly. My eyes widened, and I smiled broadly.
"That's a wonderful idea!" I said immediately, clinging to that idea.
"What? No, wait, I was just kidding!" the girl said immediately.
"It doesn't matter! I have plenty of space inside my shadows, so I tend to keep meaningless things! I have some birthday party decorations, we can use that!" I said cheerfully and let garlands, pennants, some balloons, fake decorative flowers and more emerge from my shadows.
Why on earth did I keep all that stuff in my shadows? Because I could. What kind of storage would it be if I didn't have everything I needed for pranks or a spontaneous party?
The girls looked at me cautiously, but I gave them no choice. I made my Shikigamis come out of my shadows and grab various decorations and start following me. I placed some candles on the cake and quickly lit them.
I approached one of the girls completely at random and smiled broadly at her.
"Happy birthday!" I said cheerfully. The girl, who couldn't have been more than ten years old, seemed absolutely bewildered.
"It's not-" I interrupted what she was about to say by taking a spoon out of my shadows and placing a piece of cake in her mouth. The girl squealed with happiness as a big silly smile formed on her face. "Thank you!" the little girl said with a huge smile.
It seemed she hadn't even the slightest idea about denying the lie about her birthday. My smile grew just as wide. Perfect. Perfect.
"Who wants cake?!" I said cheerfully to the others. They still looked at me cautiously and strangely, but it didn't matter. "First, let's sing for the birthday girl!" I said happily. I let a small speaker I had set up beforehand start playing birthday music from my scroll.
I started singing loudly without any shame. The peer pressure was a wonderful thing. It only took one person to join in for everyone else to reluctantly follow suit.
Once I finished singing, the little girl blew out the candles and I started handing out treats to everyone. Meanwhile, my scroll had discreetly begun playing the next playlist.
With the music ready, I started handing out food and drinks, gave the children games to keep them entertained, board games, some consoles I had in my shadow and other toys that I had already prepared beforehand.
The old women seemed more cautious, giving me strange looks… until I gave them alcohol. Good quality, fortified alcohol was enough to bring silly grins to their faces and get them to join the party.
Where did I get the alcohol? I stole it from the Zenins. I forced Grandpa to take me to the Zenins' house, and we stole all of Naomi Zenin's alcohol. Was it ridiculously petty and childish? Definitely, and I would do it again in the following weeks just to annoy her.
So yes, I had large quantities of excellent quality alcohol that I was giving away like it was water.
Should I feel a little apprehension or remorse for basically manipulating the elderly and children with magically enhanced food and drinks as if they were drugs? Not in the slightest.
Now that the elders had united, only one step remained: to keep raising the stakes.
They discreetly set up some games, added more decorations, strobe lights, some handheld lasers, more food and drinks, and the music slowly increased in volume, gradually transitioning to electronic music. It was slow enough that no one would suddenly notice the increase in all the decorations.
When it was over several minutes later, I watched with a satisfied smile as all the fake victims had completely forgotten that it was supposed to be an exam and were enjoying the height of the party.
I turned around with a huge grin and looked straight at Aizawa. I smiled at him, all my teeth showing, almost maniacally, before sticking my tongue out at him.
Even from hundreds of meters away, I could see Aizawa's completely murderous glare. I was almost certain that if I'd pushed him any further, he would have come down and tried to kill me right then and there.
This was so wonderful!
"How... how did this happen?" murmured one of the trainee heroines who were helping as medics. I smiled broadly at her.
"Don't worry! Don't worry! Let them have some fun, they need a little joy after such an accident. Our task hasn't changed in the slightest. We still have victims to heal!" I said cheerfully, downplaying their concern. Luckily for me, another person arrived with an injured person.
"Izumi." Taylor's completely neutral and emotionless voice reached me before I could see her. I just turned around in enormous surprise.
"Skitter! Let me see the victim." I said, ignoring the gaze I could feel even through her mask.
"Izumi," Taylor said again, this time her voice sounding completely judicious as she looked at me. I completely ignored her.
"Hello, dear, tell me where it hurts?" I asked the little girl gently, smiling softly. "Is the big, mean bug girl scaring you?" I asked tenderly. The girl blushed and nodded shyly, and I chuckled. "Then let's get you checked out, and then you can relax with the other children," I said, drawing the attention of one of the other participants.
I saw her run up and approach the victim. I caught a glimpse of her as she led the victim to Round Reed after giving her a quick checkup.
"Izumi." I heard Taylor's voice come out more as a frustrated growl. I was about to speak when the music changed again.
"Sorry for party rocking!"
My eyes sparkled with amusement as my smile grew even wider as the electronic music began to play loudly.
"You'd better go find more victims, Skitter. You're still in the middle of an exam," I said playfully. Taylor stood there, staring at me. Finally, she sighed resignedly and turned away. My smile widened.
I continued treating the victims, especially when they were brought in by someone from Class 1A, just to see the look of complete bewilderment they made when they saw the impromptu party.
Until finally the villains arrived. I saw Gang Orca appear along with her sidekicks in a huge explosion on one of the walls.
"To the Heroes in training who are on site, you must suppress the villains and continue carrying out your rescue efforts!" I heard Mera's voice over the loudspeaker, and I smiled slightly.
"Izumi! Evacuate everyone!" said Midoriya, who was closest to the medical area, as he stood in front of it. I chuckled under my breath.
"It's not necessary, Izuku." I said simply and took a step forward. I stood at the edge of the medical area, right at the limit of my range of motion.
"Oh? We have a hero? Is he strong enough to stop us?" Gang Orca asked grandly. I muttered under my breath.
"I'm sorry to disappoint you, villain, but my comrades will fight against you," I said with a smile as I pointed at Midoriya.
"Izumi?!" Izuku squealed in surprise.
"If you won't fight us, how will you stop us, hero?" Gang Orca mocked. I raised an eyebrow.
"Oh... I won't fight you." I said simply as I slowly unsheathed Enma, letting Enma's cursed aura surge with all its might, letting it absorb large amounts of Haki.
I lifted Enma above my head and lazily lowered her. Enma's slash traveled across the entire stadium, splitting it completely in half. A long gash appeared in the middle of the stadium; my slash had been precise enough not to hit anyone—not civilians, not heroes, not villains.
But strong enough to prove my point.
"Y-you have to be joking."
I heard someone say, trembling. I smiled sadistically. I gently grabbed Enma before pinning her to the ground right at the edge of the medical area. I let Enma continue to expel her cursed aura even after I released her grip.
"The medical area is off-limits. Any villain who enters will be cut down by Enma, without exception." I said sadistically. With that said, I turned around and went back to the medical center.
"You think that'll stop us?" Gang Orca growled. I looked at her over my shoulder with a lazy smile.
"You? I wouldn't even dream of it, but your minions? Definitely." I mocked Gang Orca, who looked around and saw her sidekicks unable to move toward Enma. I could hear a loud growl, almost like a rumble, coming from her throat. "But you have better things to worry about, villain," I said playfully before clapping my hands. "My fellow heroes, don't let that big, bad villain near the medical center. She'll ruin the party!" I said, my eyes sparkling. "Izuku, take care of it."
"Why me?!" Izuku squealed nervously, and I winked at him.
"I can't move, it's your job to stop the big villain," I said playfully. Izuku couldn't answer when Gang Orca lunged at him, and he had to quickly counterattack.
I chuckled as I walked slightly away. I returned to the medical area, where all the victims had stopped cautiously, as if waiting for a signal. I hummed softly; I suppose it makes sense, they're 'professional victims,' they should have been aware of the villains' staged attack.
I suppose they were waiting for the signal to start escaping or retreating. With a soft hum, I approached before smiling broadly.
"Don't worry, we're here! We won't let any villains hurt you, so keep enjoying yourselves." I said with a broad smile, trying to calm them down. I could see some of the tension evaporating from the group, but they still seemed too tense to return to the celebration.
What a shame. I turned around and saw the fight unfolding. I almost whistled in amazement. The minions, seeing that I couldn't get near the medical area, decided to attack the victims still in the other zones or those being carried by the participants. Ruby began moving across the terrain, grabbing participants and victims within her quirk and pulling them away from the villains.
Meanwhile, Gang Orca was in a fight against Izuku, which Todoroki and Inasa quickly joined, and then more participants. I could even see Taylor's insects trying to stop her even though she wasn't close herself; still, they could barely do anything to her. I had to admit, Gang Orca was really strong.
Finally, the end-of-season alarm sounded throughout the stadium.
"All victims have been rescued from the critical zone. This may seem very authoritarian of me, but, in this way, I declare the provisional hero license exams concluded!!"
"As soon as we have recounted the scores, I will present the exam results to all of you. Those who have suffered injuries, please go to the medical center; the rest of you, please change into your civilian clothes and await further instructions. Thank you."
"And Miyamura, shut down this damn party already." My eyes flashed with amusement as I listened to Mera, completely resigned. I'd even lost all pretense of formality.
Well, that was fun. I grabbed one of the nearby drinks and started happily sipping the juice while my shadows effortlessly absorbed the entire party.