The Practical Exam Begins!
The lights in the auditorium came on and everyone filed out. Already, some of the exam participants started psyching themselves up for battle. Others went to changing rooms to put on gear for the practical. Those who had taken the written exam in their practical gear went directly to their rallying points. Ayako and Kai stuck together as long as possible. They had a bit of time before buses would move to the test sites.
"Good luck Ayako. Look for opportunities to support people and you still have a shot at getting directly into the hero course. You have powerful support capabilities, they will want you as an official hero. And, be safe."
"Same to you, onii-chan! Make sure to leave some robots for everyone else, okay?" Ayako and Kai shared another fistbump and headed off to their respective buses.
Taking a seat, Kai made a quick headcount. There were about forty people on his bus. None of them looked familiar to him, not that many had caught his attention aside from green hair and glasses maj-sack. As the bus moved on to the test site, Kai looked out the window ahead to try to get a sense of how much area he had to work with.
"Assuming the area is a square of maybe two kilometers on a side, there will be a lot of ground to cover. In reality, it's probably a little smaller, as not everyone has mobility in their power kit. So assuming a robot density of X and an even point distribution among the available targets, there should be a total pool of Y points per area, so…" Trailing off and running some numbers, Kai concluded that taking 75 points in robots should be more than enough to secure his position while not taking out everyone else's chances of entering the hero class.
On other buses, others were running similar numbers. Some did it in panic, and some did it calmly. Some wondered about the risks with going for the 3-point robots versus just going for more 1-point robots. One had curly green hair and was panicking thinking about how he had no idea how to use his Quirk yet. But, the buses arrived, and the time for preparation was over. Everyone filed off at their respective sites and gathered, shocked at the size of the walls before them. Reaching high above their heads and stretching far to either side, some marveled that UA had that much real estate to use for training/testing facilities. And 8 of them, no less.
After a few minutes, everyone was off the buses and in front of those gates. Some of them started chatting with each other, all asking the same question.
"When do we get started?"
In an answer that they weren't prepared for, Present Mic's voice came ringing out from a tower behind them.
"Aaaaaand, staaaaaaaaarrrrrt!!!!"
For a moment, everyone looked to where he stood, confused. What he had said hadn't quite sunk in.
"What's the matter? There's no such thing as a countdown in a real battle! Run! RUN!!! Consider the baton passed!!"
For Kai's group, about half of the group was still stunned. While they were processing what Present Mic said, the other half started running through the gates, which had quickly opened on his first command. One girl unfurled a pair of bat wings and flew. Then the sound of feet hitting the ground hit the other half, and they started running. Everyone rushed through to begin their quest for points. Distantly, if one had exceptional ears, the terrified voice of a green-haired boy could be heard shouting, "I'm behind already!!!!"
And then, there was Kai. Leisurely, he walked through the gates and bent down towards the ground. The bus driver was shocked. Having been through these tests multiple times over the years, he had seen a good number of reactions to the surprise start. Mostly, they were as this group had done. Occasionally, someone would get trampled after a fatal slip. Never before had he seen a kid so relaxed, so unrushed. And now, it looked like he was getting ready to take a seat on the ground and do nothing.
Poor thing, he's blanked and has no chance to catch up now, he thought, pulling out a cigarette and getting ready to light it.
But, knowingly, Kai flashed a wicked grin at the bus driver, as he was the only audience whose location he knew. Somewhere, there were cameras watching everything, with teachers watching screens to see what the cameras saw. But for now, he only knew where the eyes of the bus driver were.
Suddenly, his eyes burned purple, and the bus driver froze. Then, out of the ground, just as in the morning, the surface of the ground rippled. In groups of three, no less than a dozen zerglings jumped out and took up wedge shaped formations pointed towards the corners of the square testing area.
The cigarette fell from the driver's lips to the ground, and Kai chuckled. Most people classified Quirks into simple groups: Emitter, Transformation, and Mutant, or Heteromorphic, for the more scientifically minded. Kai's Quirk could be put into the Emitter category, as he produced the effect of creating beings to fight for him. However, it really didn't fit well, and was its own rare, almost never seen or talked about type: Summoning, or Projecting. There were cases where people had Quirks that would do things like create an avatar of energy around them that magnified their power like some kind of mecha or created weapons or puppets to fight with. Kai's Quirk, with the living, semi-independent units, was almost unheard of.
The bus driver was not the only one stunned by Kai's show of force. All of the teachers watching his area stopped watching the other examinees once they realized what had happened, with the last of them needing to be told by the others, who were still disbelieving. Most of them were thinking things along the lines of, "What the heck? Where did this kid come from," or, "How did someone this powerful come up without getting a recommendation? He would have easily gotten it."
A few teachers, and Principal Nezu, a white mouse-like creature wearing a suit, were informed of what they had seen with Kai's Quirk and their faces turned white. Their thoughts were closer to simply, "Hell. He's here."
While everyone was stunned, Kai had not stopped moving. With the dozen Zerglings summoned, a flicker of thought sent three of the groups at top speed to the edges of the testing area. According to his strategy, they would patrol inwards, taking out robots until he had 75 points. The last three would stay with him as his bodyguards, just in case the other examinees ahead of him hadn't cleared everything out of their path. And so, he calmly, slowly stepped forward.
His slow pace was not just to show off how calm he was. That was just a side benefit that could earn him some points. As he walked, his eyes narrowed, all of a sudden very aware of how bright the sunlight was. Meanwhile, his ears were assaulted with the sounds of battle, each clank and whir and crash too loud, even though they came from a distance away. And as he walked, he could feel his balance just a bit off-kilter. Vertigo. And above it all, a thirst, leaked into his mind alongside the information coming from each Zergling. A thirst for battle; for destruction; for reaping essence. His slow pace kept it all under control while pushing himself forwards.
In shorter terms, he was having a migraine while the savage nature of his minions slowly wore away at his sanity. This was the cost that came with using his power close to full capacity. He could feel that he had a little more in him, but the suffering he felt was almost too much to bear.
As he walked, he started sensing the demise of robots. Some had their head bitten off. Others were torn limb from limb. Some more were toyed with as slash by slash, bite by bite, they were dismantled. Sparks flew as hardened bone flew through steel. The image of the sparks flying struck Kai, and he started to sing softly. Last Stardust by Aimer. Closing song for Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works. A great song, one that he loved, and one that would now help him to keep calm as he worked destruction against robotkind. Before the song was done, the 75 points were collected. With an unnecessary flick of his hand, he sent the zerglings to watch the other examinees.
He found one girl with her head to a wall. On closer inspection, through the zergling's eyes, he saw headphone jacks extending from her ears into the wall, listening, presumably. A fascinating Quirk. Hearing something strange, she started to turn towards the lone Zergling that was watching her. The Zergling kept its distance, sitting down and continuing to watch. If help was needed, it would distract. Nothing more. Hearing that it stopped moving, she turned her attention to a robot she had found, quickly ejecting her appendage and running to battle.
Through another Zergling, he found a group- three girls and one short boy. The girls had come to some kind of agreement, each facing a different direction fighting their own battles. Their formation gave them independence, yet defended each other. The boy, on the other hand, was not part of their pact. His benefit from them acting together was… different. As he plucked ever regenerating purple spheres off his head and threw them at robots, disabling or causing them to break themselves, his attention was mostly on the girls. Admiring their bodies. Kai sighed, disappointed at his priorities, but still had to admire him. Despite his… distraction, he was consistently taking on robots and throwing accurately. Two Zerglings took positions around them, watching for opportunities to support.
The other zerglings followed suit, finding the other examinees and keeping their distance, while still close enough to lend aid should it seem necessary.
The song came to an end, and Kai found a related way to distract his mind from the cost of power. This took a bit of time, as he had to come up with something, rather than just remember words.
"I am the Heart of my Swarm.
Their bodies are my flesh, and their Essence my blood.
Through them, I am a thousand blades,
Knowing life in death,
And death in life.
I have withstood much pain to rein them in
Though I myself shall reign over nothing
Devour my enemies, Unlimited…"
How to finish? How to name it? Could it just be Unlimited Blade Works, or was there something more related to his Quirk that would be more appropriate? Unlimited what? Or something not "unlimited?"
As Kai was lost in thought, pondering what was, in the end, an irrelevant matter, a teacher in a dark room far away lifted the cover of a large red button. Over the button was a label in bold print: やる気 . Motivation. Here was something to motivate people, and draw out some of their more heroic sides. He pushed the button, and the ground began to shake in each of the eight testing areas.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Tvrkm
Tvrkm The things you find in the manga looking again. Like the "yaruki" button.
Couldn't find information on who went to which testing area or how many robot points were available, so I just figured 75 was a good number.
If you have been waiting since yesterday for the rest of the mass release, remember I did this on an all-nighter. I visited some cousins, did more on my school project, felt sick, slept until half past noon today, and basically just now remembered, and am now uploading the rest of the night's work.
I am probably not doing more all-nighters for the sake of writing, but having the manga for reference materials should make writing a little more frequent.
No guarantees, because I still suck.