[h3]Kūki, the Gas Converter[/h3][hr]Could anyone have guessed how quickly things would escalate once their as-of-yet unnamed instructor left them to their own devices? Kuuki certainly couldn't (and wouldn't) have. It started when Black-n'-White didn't quite agree with the proposition Tall-n'-Tan set forth, which was ironic, considering she'd been the one to suggest they work together to take out the villains in the first place. The whole back and forth of it all didn't do anything for the gas girl but confuse her. Surely, the staff didn't mean for their to be this much hubbub. Despite their grandiose speeches, most of the others still made their way towards the group they wanted to help out. At least [i]their[/i] actions made sense.

One thing led to another, and it wasn't but a minute or two into them being off the bus before the boy with turbines for arms yelled out for everyone to shut up. If she was being honest, she'd have to admit it startled her a bit. Not to say it was how loud he shouted that gave her a jolt, but rather, how sudden it all was. It was easy to tell the type of person he was; the type that just passing wasn't good enough for. First place was the [i]only[/i] place. [i]Get as many points as possible, and do whatever it takes to pass.[/i] His speech was commendable insofar as firing people up, but the strawberry couldn't help but feel that he, too, had missed the mark. 

In the end, there wouldn't be any point in it. These "self-proclaimed" leader types — one could spend all time trying to convince them there's a third option, only for all their efforts to be in vain. [i]There's only two sides. The side that's right, and the side that's wrong.[/i] A sigh escaped the girl's barely parted lips. [color=#ff43a4]I'll let them have their fun.[/color] Turning to the rest of those who'd gathered on her and Black-n'White's side, she decided to share her thoughts on the exam.

[color=#ff43a4]"Given this is the final entrance exam for a hero academy, I'm certain their going to try to hit us from left field with something that'd fly right over a weed's head. Mistreating dummies simply because they aren't real people... I'm certain that, too, is part of the exam. Treat them as harshly as you like, as long as you get the points? I don't know about anyone else, but that definitely sounds like bait to weed out the more point-oriented examinees."[/color] Parting her eyes from her group for a moment, Kuuki spotted Headphones, shouting on in a manner that seemed to suggest his quirk was more support than offense. 

Approaching the boy with a wave, she patted him on the back and looked back towards Team Sidequest (as she'd call them). [color=#ff43a4]"Plus, it doesn't factor these guys in. Are we to believe a hero academy with any respect for itself would say that people with support quirks have any less a chance and any less a right to be heroes?"[/color] She shook her head. [color=#ff43a4]"Not any hero academy I want to be admitted to, I'll tell you that much. If anything, it's because of guys like this that we'll even have a chance at taking down those villains. If they were so easy that they could be taken down solo by people with almost no combat experience, then the academy wouldn't have even bothered having them. I'm certain that's how Jigokuraku Academy, who chose to give us a chance, would play their cards."[/color]

Her gaze was to anyone that would listen now. [color=#ff43a4]"They gave us a choice. Work alone, work together, we can each do what we want. As for me, I'm going to do what I can, working alongside those that feel the same. And if anyone looks like they need help, whether or not they want it... Well, I'll go and help them. Because regardless of what it actually means to be a hero today, that's what it means to [i]me[/i]."[/color] Normally, Kuuki wouldn't have made such a scene. She couldn't say she'd planned on it when she started rambling, but the more she'd thought about it, the more it became clear. Some among them were putting themselves on a pedestal and making the claim that some of them here had no right to be a hero. If she'd known anything of their abilities, it would only piss her off more that they all so happened to be those with above average quirks.

Seeing the merits of another individual, as disadvantageous as they may be; that's the type of person Umeru Kuuki is. A world where heroism means competing for points and leaving the weak to fend for themselves? If that's the world they were fighting for... It could only be the mindset of someone who'd already given up. Kuuki wouldn't lie and say she couldn't understand where someone like that was coming from.

At the same time, she wasn't about to let someone else's broken ideals cripple her or anyone else's hope.[hr][@Zelosse][@Delta44][@Stern Algorithm]