[img]https://i.imgur.com/nZfRj9j.png[/img]
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A brisk jog through the frigid air brought Goro, Taro, and Umi back to the bus before too long. By happenstance they arrived at about the same time as a couple other groups, Goro noting their respective bounties with a little disappointment. He’d hoped that his little squad’s quick triple-find constituted a stroke of luck or the culmination of their particular skill, but most everyone seemed to have found at least a few. After gently putting his own charge down in a bus seat and exiting back onto the wrecked gray landscape, he hoped more than ever that this test would be decided by points earned rather than relative position to the others. If so, that meant hard work and attention to detail would get him and his new friends into Jigokuraku; if not, the hot shots would crowd out people like him, Taro, and Umi, with whom he’d already formed a sort of unspoken kinship. 

Either way, there could be no time spent on worry and reflection. They needed to get back out there, and at least they had the fortune of a goal in mind. Unaware of the situation unfolding on the bus, Goro waited for the others to catch up him before he lit the way back to Zone 3. Their breathing came a bit heavier, he knew, but unless the others turned out to be particularly out of shape he felt his group could keep up this pace for a while.

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Sure enough, Umi hopped inside the bus, seated the dummy that she’d “rescued” with the others that were inside, and had just stepped back outside when she noted a dark-skinned girl coming towards her direction. She thought nothing of it at first, but as she preemptively got of her way, she saw something akin to an injury around the area of the dark-skinned girl’s ankle, almost as if she’d grazed it against something. Yet the girl had soldiered on. This could only mean one thing…

[color=04ece9][i]’Crap; they’re really going at it!’[/i][/color] Umi thought to herself, [color=04ece9][i]’This is starting to feel like UA all[/i] over [i]again.’[/i][/color]

There was only one thing for it. Umi and the others would have to get a move on, or else they would quite easily be left behind. Perhaps in that case, it might’ve been best if Umi prepared her Quirk for combat right here and now. She had so much water in all those apparatuses that made up the rest of her costume; not enough to reach the limits of the Quirk’s capability, but certainly abundant as to last for the rest of the exam... provided that she was careful enough. There was also that water bottle that Taro tried to give her earlier.

As she made it towards the halfway point of where Goro was shining the light that his body emitted, Umi stopped moving, and looked back towards the bus for just a moment.

[color=04ece9][i]’I hope that girl doesn’t push herself,’[/i][/color] Umi sighed after this thought came across her mind.

At Umi’s approach Goro gave a cheery wave. If the exertion so far was taking a toll on him, he was hiding it admirably. For her part, the girl seemed somewhat distracted, so the light-headed lad decided to take the initiative. “Alright, not a moment to waste! The other dude’s right behind, so let’s get back over there.” For a brief moment, his gaze also lingered on the bus; he could see some activity on board, most likely just the other students dropping off their loads or taking a breather, and could spare no time to examine further. Turning back to face the chilling mist, Goro gave a nod and took off at a light jog once again. Despite the fog, he felt confident that he could retrace his earlier steps.