The elevator doors opened. The smell of soil and dampness rushed in.
Takeru's pupils narrowed in a splitsecond, adjusting to the bright light spilling in through the doors as they opened.
Masaru stepped forwards.
The undergound space was enormous. There was enough room to fit three or four football fields. The centre of the cavern was occupied by a raised platform. The platform gleamed golden. Around the platform, more than a hundred individuals were gathered.
The group of people followed the same pattern. The candidates were all teenagers, each accompanied by an adult. The assembled group didn't make any attempt to conceal their inspecting gazes towards the newcomers.
"Masaru? Is that you?"
The voice was loud and bold. The ground shook as a towering figure marched towards the newly arrived pair.
Takeru couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. The reason wasn't because the enormous person approaching resembled a huge brown bear from the neck down. But rather that Masaru...was smiling?
"It's good to see you old friend!" Masaru answered. His voice was heartfelt and pleased.
The huge brown bear wrapped its furry arms around Masaru's shoulders. The nearly seven foot tall combat coach seemed small in front of his ten foot tall old friend.
"Hello young man! I never thought that stoic Masaru would take on a student! I look forwards to your performance!" The towering brown bear addressed Takeru. The man's voice was deep and gravelly.
The elevator doors opened silently and another pair entered the undergound cavern. For the next half hour, new pairs of candidates and their recommenders continued to arrive.
The number of candidates swelled to almost a hundred.
"Very good. Everyone is here."
The attention of the enormous space was immediately drawn to the cavern's ceiling. There was a whooshing noise as a pair of long leathery wings unfolded.
The figure landed softly on the centre of the stage. The person had been present the entire time, perfectly hidden amongst the stalectites formed on the cavern's ceiling.
The person who'd spoken was an older woman with long grey hair. The hair was tied up neatly behind her head in a bun. She wore a simple grey suit. The pair of wings that had glided her gracefully to the floor folded behind her back.
"This year's exam is simple." The winged woman stated indifferently.
"All of you want to be heroes. And what's the most important thing about being a hero?"
The woman's voice became a hiss. The tip of long forked tongue flicked out from her mouth.
"To be strong, to vanquish your enemies. fight on stage. The best kind of hero is the one who's throat isn't slit.
You will be victorious when your opponent admits defeat or is pushed beyond the boundary of the stage. Their feet, or a part of their body, must touch the ground to be deemed out of bounds."
The woman's eyes were yellow and serpent like. Her facial features were sharp and her skin was stretched too tightly over her prominent cheekbones. Her eyes scanned the crowd.
"You, and you."
The long bony finger pointed at two students. The space between the candidates was less than a few feet, but they knew unmistakeably who they were.
The two candidates stepped onto the stage. They faced each other with solemn expressions. For Takeru, the exam was just a chance to broaden his horizons. He was too young to be admitted onto the course.
The situation was different for many of the other students. Their futures rested on the events that took place on the glimmering golden stage.
The two candidates eyed each other warily. Then, suddenly, the taller student, a girl with long red hair attacked. Her opponent was a boy who was shorter than her by several feet. The boy was shaped like a round ball. His clothes curved to fit his unusual proportions.
The tall girl yelled and drew back her shoulder. Her empty hand suddenly contained a long and ancient looking bronze spear. With a cry she unleashed the weapon towards her opponent.
The round boy's composure didn't falter. The edges of his body rippled, as if he were made of water instead of flesh. The spear tore through him, but it struck empty air. The boy's chest opened from the centre. His body became a thin o-shape. The spear failed to touch him.
The tall girl gritted her teeth. She yelled again and a spear appeared in either hand. She threw them both in a single smooth motion. The weapons howled as they flew. The sound echoed through the silent cavern.
The round boy's body rippled again. This time he flattened to the ground, becoming a thin layer that covered the entire stage.
The girl's eyes widened. She yelled and a spear appeared again in her hands. She wielded it furiously, slicing in every direction.
The girl's timing kept her in the match. The boy's flat body had rapidly curled upwards up from the edges, like a fly trap snapping shut around its prey. The sharp tip of the bronze spear prevented the boy from enveloping her.
The boy's scowling face appeared in the centre of his shape. He reformed into the round, but decidedly human shape, that he'd been in when the match started.
The eyes of the Shiketsu High examiner watched the match intently. Her attention was focused almost entirely on the boy. The girl's quirk was too simple to deserve her interest.
The match continued. The girl attempted to engage her opponent in close combat, but the boy's fluid like body freely expanded and deformed to avoid her strikes. The match appeared to be even, but the tall girl was under tremendously more pressure.
She couldn't allow the round boy to get close to her. It was clear that the boy's plan was to spread himself thin and wrap himself around her. Once she lost her mobility, she would inevitably be forced off the stage.
To thwart the boy's repeated attempts to encircle her with ribbon like tentacles that extended from his arms, the tall girl could only wield her spear even more fiercely. The bronze weapon's dance was dazzling, but the girl's forehead was covered in sweat. The round boy was waging a battle of attrition. And he was winning.
"No!" The girl shouted.
The spear was wrenched from her hands. Another thin piece of the boy's body shot forwards and wrapped itself over the girl's mouth.
The boy smirked. His panting breaths didn't diminish the thrill of victory, "Got you."
The girl tried desperately to wrip away the seal covering her mouth. Her efforts were ineffective.
"Can't summon another spear if you can't talk can you?" The boy mocked.
The boy's other arm stretched impossibly thin. It wrapped itself around the girl's body. The corners of her eyes were wet with tears. The boy hurled her proudly off the stage.
"You, next." The Shiketsu examiner pointed at another student.
The round boy's eyes widened. For a moment it looked as if he might protest. Then, the words stuck in the back of his throat. The sharp and threatening glare from the similarly round woman who'd brought him to the exam told him to keep his mouth shut.
The new student jumped onto the stage. The battle started immediately.
The new student was scarecrow like in appearance. His limbs were long and spindly. Each one of his fingers was more than a foot long. His shape was a stark contrast to his opponent.
The round boy was still panting. His eyes were fiery, but the trembling edges of his body betrayed his tiredness.
The scarecrow-like student stabbed forwards with his left hand. The bones in his fingers cracked noisily and burst out from the tips of his skin. The long and pale fingers shot across the stage towards his opponent.
The round boy hastily transformed into a thin layer on the stage. The change in shape once again protected him.
The scarecrow-like student grinned. His teeth were the same stark white colour as his finger bones.
The scarecrow student stretched out his other hand. The bones in his hand cracked again and surged forwards. But this time, they didn't just grow outwards.
The scarecrow student's right hand grew violently. In no more than a second, it had grown as long as ten feet, and just as wide. The scarecrow boy grinned. The ground shook as his huge hand slammed into the stage.
The violent impact reveberated through the round boy. His thin shape, flattened against the stage, was forced to absorb the enormous impact.
The round boy's scream echoed alongside the vibrations from the scarecrow boy's strike. The violent impact had clearly pushed his body beyond what it could endure. He snapped back into his true shape.
The round boy's nostrils leaked a trail of blood onto the glimmering stage. The blood commanded the attention of everyone present. The amount of blood was small, but what it signified was immense.
The Shiketsu High special reccomendation trials weren't a safe place. The examiner's role was to prevent any fatal attacks. The students wouldn't recieve any compensation if they were crippled or wounded in the trials.
"You, next." The Shiketsku High examiner pointed to a new student.
Takeru hadn't expected to be selected so quickly. The eyes of everyone in the room were on him. The weight of expectation was almost tangible.
I've lost against Masura hundreds of times. Losing here won't stop me from becoming a hero. What do I care if I'm defeated?
Takeru leaped into the air. He fell neatly towards the centre of the stage. In combat, information was powerful. The previous battle had exposed the scarecrow boy's quirk to everyone present.
The scarecrow student attacked suddenly. He didn't care that Takeru's feet hadn't yet landed on the stage. The examiner made no move to stop the fight.
The usually peaceful nature in Takeru's heart stirred fiercely. The opponent's pre-emptive attack was cruel but smart. Takeru wasn't naieve enought to expect that the world would always be fair to him.
The scarecrow student's attack was smart. He chose to strike while his opponent was in the air. Takeru couldn't change direction without a surface to push off of. The only choice was to meet the attack head on.
The enormous bony hand crashed towards its target. Takeru's heart thudded savagely in his chest. The circulation of his blood surged to a speed that would've torn apart the body of a quirkless human in an instant.
The small fist of the ordinary looking black haired boy struck the enormous skeletal palm. The favour of battle seemed impossibly tilted towards the scarecrow like student.
The whoosh of air from the huge palm drowned out Masaru's quiet scoff. His student would never be bested so easily.
The scarecrow student screamed in agony. The ghostly beauty of the enormous palm was ruined by dozens of jagged cracks. Takeru struck again without mercy. This time the brutal blow shattered the skeletal palm completely. The fragments of stark white bone clattered across the golden stage.
Takeru planted his foot firmly on the stage and pushed off with all his strength. He swept across the stage like a gust of violent wind.
The scarecrow boy cried out in horror. He tried frantically to defend himself. The long and spindly fingers of his other hand fanned out and slashed towards Takeru.
Takeru dropped his shoulder. He collided fearlessly with the long bony fingers. The intuition for battle he'd built with Masaru gave his mind an unprecedented clarity.
The scarecrow boy screamed again. The long spindly fingers lacked the durability of the enormous palm. They snapped and broke like dry twigs against the force of Takeru's fearless shoulder ram.
Takeru stared the scarecrow student coldly in the eyes. The fight hadn't been fair. He didn't look down on his opponent for seizing the initial advantage. But he understood his own nature well enough to know that it angered him.
The scarecrow student felt an enormous impact crash into his chest. His opponent's foot felt like a car barrelling into him.
The scarecrow student's tall and slender body was knocked backwards. The violent impact hurled him off the stage. His body bounced and rolled multiple times on the dry ground.
Takeru stood alone on the empty stage. He felt the subtle but excited pulse of his quirk in response to the rush of adrenaline.
The voice of the examiner sounded again, "You, next."