[img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/502891015976517653/504959855229009932/GoroDogorasu.png[/img]
[@Delta44][@Stern Algorithm][@ShwiggityShwah]
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A few words from a skinny guy a couple feet to Goro's right bade him look Shun's way. Despite considering the possibility of teaming up with someone else mere moments ago, the turquoise-topped boy's direct suggestion of it made him think twice. Reaching up into his hood to rub the back of his neck, Goro wondered if that would really be a good idea. True, the offputtingly-young exam giver did not prohibit cooperation, but if this test determined whether or not an individual would be entering Jigokuraku, engaging in teamwork might be the biggest blunder one could make.

As he pondered the issue at hand, remaining on guard for the start signal that could come at any moment, he made an effort to take notice of everyone who spoke up and how they responded. A stuttery purple-eyed girl agreed with the idea of cooperation and tentatively began to outline a strategy, while a girl with harshly-divided black and white hair voiced both her intentions and her compliance with the idea in a rather self-aggrandizing manner. Goro made a mental to keep a look out for what she could do. In the meantime, he happened to notice a fellow a little way off from the group of students, quietly engaged in a serious one-man jam session. Either he really loved his craft, Goro reasoned, or it had something to do with his quirk. 

The next moment he, along with everyone else, was confronted by a tall black-haired girl's authoritatively belting out her conclusions. Unseen to his peers, Goro's eyebrows rose; he had not considered that the proctor's spectacle with the dummy might be a trick. But how unfair that would be! If the Jigokuraku staff saw fit to throw curveballs from moment one, things would be difficult to say the least. His surprised brow became furrowed as he mulled over the rest of what the prominent speaker said, particularly as she started drawing up battle plans as though teamwork was a given at this point. He did not expect her to appear before him a moment later.

He straightened out, slightly startled, and made eye contact. Hers lay a bit too high on his face, though he could not at all blame her. She introduced herself as Mari, and inquired as to his plans. As someone still on the fence about the idea of group-working a test, he tried to keep his reply vague. “Oh! ...Well, I suppose I'd be more on the rescue side of things, though I've got a killer surprise in store in case of villains.” 

She seemed to already be looking elsewhere as he spoke, trying to cover as much ground as possible. Unbeknownst to Goro, his utterly imperceptible mouth meant that Mari could not read his lips whatsoever, meaning that unless her hearing aids worked particularly well this morning his response might miss her altogether.

A moment later the semi-egotistical chick piped up again with a clarification that seemingly flew in the face of what she said earlier. Moreover, her attitude seemed to have changed, from boldly declarative to thoroughly contemplative. Despite that Goro knew that every word that came out of her mouth now made total sense. A test meant a challenge of one's personal ability, and the individual either passed or failed. Muddying the water with teams meant not only things like less capable students riding others' coattails but also things like splitting up the point-conferring dummies. 

When she finished he gave a nod, bobbing his light up and down. “We can't make our own interpretations of things like tests because of what we think heroes would do. Right now we're just students, so that's how we should approach things. And I've never taken a group test.” It occurred to him that some of the others, Mari and turquoise team player in particular, might think that he was being critical. He didn't allow this to worry them, reasoning that the most helpful thing to do would be to not withhold important information, whether or not it went against what they said.

For a moment he found himself distracted by the dramatic finale of the rocker guy from earlier, who sent himself skidding across the cracked pavement to slap Black-n-White on the butt. Goro blinked twice to make sure he didn't misunderstand the situation. After seemingly realizing himself, as if the whole thing could have possible been an accident, the dude played it off as though nothing was wrong. “Now that's a power move,” Goro joked to himself. Not just making the competition stronger, but making his first impression 'butt toucher.'

Whatever anyone else might have aid about the incident was trampled under the wrathful shout of the turbine-bearing dude. While Goro's face curled up in disgust, he could not find himself discounting much of what the guy said, though he by no means needed to be such a dick about it. If he felt like making an enemy of every potential classmate, Goro decided, good for him. When he needed help, Goro would be there anyway.

Still, the jerk's words did fire something up in him. Cruddy quirk or no, Goro would be putting every ounce of himself into his test. Being a hero someday meant shining on this stage now. In the silence that followed the aggressive tirade, Goro said, “Petty insults aside, he's not wrong. Today each of us has to show what it takes to start down the road to being a hero. That probably means showing what we can do alone.” He smiled again, the light from his face becoming a touch warmer. “Once we ace it, though, we'll be a team, and I'm sure we can all be friends.”