[center][color=ffff00][h1]Haruishi Mari[/h1][/color][/center] [@AdmrlStalfos19] [@Scribe of Thoth] [@ShwiggityShwah] [@Delta44] [@follycle] [hider=Thought that you'd done everything, you didn't have a clue][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_RcD9pQaMY[/youtube][/hider] The announcement to stop felt like a punch in the gut for Mari. She stood there for a few moments, stunned, staring at her hands. She had failed the exam. She secured no dummies, she couldn't take a down a single villain, she even let the villain drive away with all the civilians, jeopardizing everyone's efforts. She even sent a mass text telling everyone she'd handle it! As if noticing Hiroki for the first time, she looked in the direction from which he'd flown, and saw off in the distance, Azuki and Umeru dragging what had to be a downed villain. They had succeeded. She remembered her hubris at the beginning of the exam; telling the others to treat the dummies with care despite what the proctor had said, arguing with Hiroki that working together was better, and arguing with Azukina that that saving civilians was more important than taking down villains. She realized now Hiroki's misgivings, he didn't want anyone to hold him back, and she saw clearly that her efforts had been detrimental to the others. She understood now, Azukina's pragmatism, villains were a much greater threat to rescue efforts than she had anticipated, seeing them all kidnapped in one fell swoop. She thought they only cared about winning points, but she saw now the difference between 'heroism' and 'hero work'. On the one hand, she hated their obvious pedigree, that they were raised by heroes and learned the fundamentals from a young age, but she reminded herself of her conviction that no matter one's background, anyone could be a hero, after all, one did not choose one's parents. She thought back to the scoring system. Did anyone meet or exceed the requirements to pass? A thought crossed her mind, the optimistic idea that the school had to let them pass since they couldn't not admit a certain number of students this year. The thought immediately sickened her, making her hate herself for even thinking it in her desperation. To ride on the coattails of others, to squeeze through on a technicality, to succeed, but not through effort alone, these were acts she stood against as a principle. Suddenly, she heard Shun's voice. Looking up, she realized that she had destroyed school property. Now she was for sure not getting admitted. The school seemed underfunded enough, how much was a bus even worth? [color=ffff00]"I...I don't know,"[/color] she replied to Shun, emptily, [color=ffff00]"I might walk..."[/color] But that last statement reminded her of the condition of her foot, and that she was walking in a borrowed shoe. [color=ffff00]"We should...convene."[/color] Mari started heading towards the starting area, limping like a zombie. As she walked, Mari's mind ran through what she was going to do now with her life. Attending Jigokuraku was her last option. Jigokuraku was the only school that had allowed her to apply without parental consent. Without schooling, she was effectively a runaway, and homeless. She could try supporting herself, but how long would that last? Did she dare go back? No, not after unlocking Thunder Road and halfway blowing her ears out. She finally got away. She just had to keep running.