The chaos caused by Gang Orca's attack on the first aid post was a planned chaos. He and his sidekicks, acting as 'villains,' moved with military discipline. They didn't attack blindly. Their goal was clear: to incapacitate the 'heroes' protecting the 'victims,' create panic, and test our ability to function under extreme pressure. The sonic waves emitted by Gang Orca paralyzed anyone who got too close, while his sidekicks used special cement guns to trap the students' feet, making them easy targets.
I arrived at the edge of the battle zone, the Incursio blade on my arm pulsing with a cold energy. I didn't attack immediately. I paused for a moment, scanning the battlefield, my mind, filled with worry for Nejire, now forced to be cold and analytical. I saw Inasa Yoarashi trying to fight Gang Orca head-on, his powerful windstorm clashing with the pro hero's sonic waves, creating a dangerous stalemate in the middle of the arena. I saw Todoroki creating large ice walls, not to attack, but to protect the lying 'victims' and provide cover for other students.
In the midst of it all, I saw Midoriya. He wasn't trying to fight Gang Orca. He was focused on the sidekicks. With his Shoot Style, he moved quickly, kicking the cement guns out of their hands, freeing his trapped friends, and coordinating the evacuation of the remaining victims. He was acting like a true rescue hero.
I knew my role here. I couldn't fight Gang Orca directly; his sonic waves would paralyze me before I could even get close. I also couldn't focus on rescue; the others were better suited for that. My role... was to be the spearhead. To be the hunter.
I saw a group of well-coordinated 'villain' sidekicks, moving on the side of the battlefield, trying to flank Midoriya's group from behind. They were my target.
I moved. I didn't run on the ground. I leaped onto the rubble of a ruined building, using my speed and agility to move above the chaos, like a black phantom. I landed silently behind the group of sidekicks.
"Surprise," I said in a cold voice.
Before they could even turn around, I was among them. My Incursio blade danced. I didn't slash to injure. I used its flat side to strike weak points in their body armor, used the hilt to strike joints, and used my speed to make them collide with each other. In ten seconds, five 'villains' were lying on the ground, incapacitated with brutal efficiency. I didn't waste any time. I immediately moved on to the next target.
On the other side of the arena, in a half-destroyed office building, a quieter but no less important battle was taking place. Momo Yaoyorozu, along with Jiro, Tsuyu, and Shoji, had turned the top floor of the building into a makeshift fortress and command post.
"Jiro, report!" Momo commanded, her eyes scanning the battlefield from a broken window.
"Two villains approaching from sector three! They're carrying some kind of net launcher!" Jiro reported, her earphone jacks plugged into the floor, detecting every vibration.
"Tsuyu-chan, can you reach them from here?" Momo asked.
"Too far, kero. But I can slow them down if they try to climb."
"No need," Momo said with a faint, confident smile. "I have something for them." She turned, and behind her, mounted on a tripod, was a small sound cannon she had just created. "Based on my analysis of Present Mic's Quirk and data on sonic frequencies, this should be enough to make them dizzy for a few seconds." She pressed a button, and a nearly inaudible high-pitched sound wave was fired, making the two villains below stumble and hold their heads. "Shoji, now!"
Shoji, who had been waiting at the edge of the window, leaped down with his several duplicate arms, easily disabling the two disoriented villains. It was perfect teamwork, a combination of intelligence, strategy, and flawless execution. Momo was no longer just an item maker; she was a general on the battlefield, using her limitless resources with deadly intelligence.
The main battle between Inasa and Gang Orca reached its peak. Wind and sound clashed, creating a destructive storm in the middle of the arena. "Your spirit is good, kid!" Gang Orca roared, "But you're too focused on power! You're not protecting anyone!"
"I will defeat you!" Inasa retorted, his eyes blazing with competitive spirit.
Todoroki, watching their destructive fight, gritted his teeth. "What idiots," he muttered. He knew he had to do something. He couldn't let the two of them destroy the entire arena. He turned to Midoriya. "Midoriya, I have an idea. I need your help to distract him."
Their plan was simple. Midoriya would use his Shoot Style to attack Gang Orca from the opposite side, forcing him to divide his attention. At that moment, Todoroki would unleash his most powerful combined attack of ice and fire, not to attack Gang Orca directly, but to create an extreme temperature change around him, which in theory would disrupt the propagation of his sonic waves.
As Midoriya shot off, I saw my opening. All attention was now on the three strongest fighters in the arena. This was my chance. I moved between the shadows, approaching Gang Orca from behind, my Incursio blade pulsing softly.
Midoriya attacked. Gang Orca turned to block his attack. Inasa used that opportunity to unleash his strongest windstorm. And Todoroki unleashed his wave of heat and cold simultaneously.
In the midst of that sensory chaos, I arrived behind Gang Orca. He sensed my presence at the last second and turned, his eyes widening in surprise.
I said nothing. I just swung my blade. The tip of my black sword gently touched the last target on his back.
Beep.
The light on his target turned green.
Silence.
The entire arena fell silent. Gang Orca froze, then slowly turned his head back, looking at me. He saw the strange black sword blade on my arm, then looked into my cold eyes.
"Game over," I said in a quiet voice.
Gang Orca looked at me for a long moment, then he started to laugh. A loud, booming laugh. "Incredible, young man! Incredible! You move like a ghost! I didn't even sense your presence until it was too late!"
A deafening bell rang, signaling the end of the exam.
"THE EXAM IS OVER!" Mera's voice yelled over the loudspeakers. "ALL PARTICIPANTS, PLEASE GATHER IN FRONT OF THE SCOREBOARD!"
We all gathered, tired, battered, but alive. I retracted my Incursio blade, feeling an immense relief as the pain and tension receded.
We stood in front of a giant scoreboard, waiting for the results. Names began to appear one by one. I saw the names of Momo, Todoroki, Midoriya, Kirishima, and my other classmates appear, indicating they had passed. I let out a sigh of relief.
Then, my name appeared.
TATSUMI - PASSED
Next to my name was the highest score among all participants. Not just because I had eliminated the main 'villain,' but because of the points I had earned from disabling other villains without injuring them and without causing additional damage to the area. I had fought with the efficiency of a surgeon, not the force of a sledgehammer.
I should have been happy. I should have been proud. But I felt nothing. My mind was too consumed with worry for Nejire.
As I was lost in thought, Aizawa-sensei and Ms. Joke approached us. "Good work, everyone," Aizawa said, and I could see a rare glimmer of pride in his eyes.
But then, he looked at me, and his expression became serious. "Tatsumi, come with me. Someone wants to talk to you."
He led me away from the crowd, to a private room backstage. Inside, Ryukyu was already waiting. Her face was pale and tense.
"We found it," she said without preamble.
My heart stopped. "Nejire?"
"No," she replied, and a chill ran down my spine. "We found the car used by the person who took her. The car is registered to a shell company. But when we traced that company..." She paused, looking at me with a very serious gaze.
"The company is one of the subsidiaries of... the Yaoyorozu Group."
My mind went blank. Yaoyorozu? Momo? Impossible. It didn't make sense.
"And inside the car," Ryukyu continued, her voice barely a whisper, "we found this."
She placed a small object on the table between us. It was an earring. A blue, spiral-shaped earring I knew very well. Nejire's earring. And next to it... was a long strand of black hair and a small, torn piece of fabric. The fabric of an assassin's uniform.
Akame's fabric.