[center][h3]𝓑𝓸𝓸𝓴𝓼 𝓞𝓷𝓵𝔂 𝓪 𝓝𝓮𝓻𝓭 𝓦𝓸𝓾𝓵𝓭 𝓛𝓸𝓿𝓮[/h3]
[img]https://thumbs.gfycat.com/AridCloudyArabianoryx-size_restricted.gif[/img]
[color=9e0b0f][sub]Azukina and Soga geek out over hero philosophy for twenty minutes or so...[/sub][/color][/center]
As the presentations continued, Soga placed his book down for a moment and stared at the people that would come after him with interest. After all, if these were to eventually help him take down his father, then he would need to know how their quirks would serve him in a fight against his father.

The one straight after him was a muscular girl, more so than him. Her quirk was quite simple, she could heat up her body to much higher temperatures than normal humans could and, from the look of things afterwards, she was a fairly skilled fighter as well. However, against his father, neither her quirk or her combat skills would be of much use as not only was he was highly resistant to both of these, he was also much, much stronger than the girl.

The following students were a boy and a tiny girl with fairly large ears. Soga showed some interest in these two students, he did not remember seeing either of them during the entrance exams and yet they had somehow passed and were now presenting their quirks. He was curious as to what either of them were capable. The first of them to go was the boy, who introduced himself as Takeda Suzaku, his quirk being called Black Wings. Shortly afterwards, a large pair of smoky black wings erupted from his back. Soga could not help but smile, a flyer, even one without any other powers would be of great use to him.

However his smile diminished as he continued informing everyone of his quirk. The wings were not that useful at the moment, though it did help him with mobility a great deal, they were unable to help him fly at all. Soga surmised that as he was now, Suzaku would only serve well as a scout of sorts, capable of getting in and out of a situation fairly quickly, but otherwise than that, not a lot he could actually achieve against his father as he was now.

The girl however, would prove even more interesting than the previous demonstration as he started hearing the large-eared girl introduce herself and her quirk. It was quite simply called Bat and it was what Soga would expect of a quirk with that name, the girl had basically all of the physical traits of a bat, echolocation and all. After her introduction, Koumori tied a All Might blindfold over her eyes, a fact which got a light chuckle out the draconic student.

The demonstration, as Soga would see, would be a flawless one, the tiny bat girl would navigate a maze of obstacles without any trouble at all. Even Soga had to admit that not even he might have been able to navigate the maze in such a completely flawless way. She would be an incredibly useful scout and incredibly useful at locating any foes trying to sneak up on them, yes, she would be part of his group, not now, but soon enough, if he could help it at all.

As they both passed he and Azukina by, he nodded towards the girl. [color=9e0b0f]"Good job, Yakkaimori-san, that was very impressive!"[/color] He congratulated the girl. [color=9e0b0f]"You will truly become a great hero, I can guarantee it!"[/color] He said with a smile that would seem genuine to almost anyone, save the most insightful of people.

After the brief conversation, he turned back forwards to attend to the following pair of students, however, in his mind ran the demonstration of the girl right him and her bold proclamation of how she would be the next Symbol of Peace. Which in itself meant that she had distinct knowledge of the previous holder of that title and his personal mantra. He smiled, the girl Yomodachi was incredibly powerful and probable the only person currently to have a decent chance at defeating his father. He picked up his book back up and began reading once more, though perhaps making it a bit more obvious to Yomodachi and see what reaction she would have to him reading this particular book. It would certainly serve as a good conversation starter, a much better conversation starter than whatever he could think of anyway.

If there was no reaction, if Azukina would not start a conversation, then he would continue reading the book either way as it did offer quite a lot of insight into the philosphies of various heroes, what it meant to be a hero and about the philosophy of what made the greatest hero, All Might into who he was and how his qualities had made him into the Symbol of Peace.

Azukina, on the other hand, had only a brief amount of time to herself before the quirk demonstrations started again, proceeding her being a boy who paid her an admittedly rather nice compliment. His quirk, rotation, was perhaps one of the most interesting quirks she had ever seen. To be able to rotate just about anything through touch, in a variety of different ways, sounded like a complete nightmare to deal with. While he had obvious application in a variety of ways, the real charm of such a quirk came by thinking things through intelligently. Keeping things unexpected with a quirk like that would surely be its greatest asset - the versatility of it was honestly impressive. 
Speaking of versatility, Yasu and her quirk demonstration came shortly thereafter, simple but easy to understand. While not a huge fan of her attitude, Azuki could appreciate the girl's understanding of her own quirk and the usefulness recognized within. In fact it was a quallity she felt herself lacking in, so to see someone with a great handle on their quirk step up and show their stuff helped fill the ice-user with confidence. If nothing else, Yasu seemed fairly dependable... when needed.

The rescue operation between Haruka and Soga was a surprise, to be sure, but a welcome one in its complexity. The pair demonstrated not only a skill in quick-thinking, coming up with their scenario, but also aptitude in their quirk demonstration. Soga was a gifted flier, probably a result of practice his entire life, who, despite the wingspan, was quite agile in the air. On the other hand, Haruka's vines made her possibly one of the greatest counters to her own quirk, if they were forced to face off. Being able to pin a person, or even manipulate and misdirect their attacks, gave her ways to keep away from her wind. That said, if Azukina managed to get her wind on either of them for an extended period of time, both students appeared pretty susceptible, based on the information she kenw. 

"Congratulations on the demonstration." It was the first time she had congratulated anyone who had come sit on the bleachers, even though it wasn't necessarily their quirks she was congratulating. "I didn't expect a rescue scenario so early. You must be quick-thinking."
Admittedly, body and mind were out of sync more than Azuki would have liked. She hadn't much time to strengthen her mind as she did her body, so when it came to things the girl didn't understand, she could be... dumb. But! Perhaps she had found a way of learning - her silver lining?

Before any further conversation could be done, Checkers' attention returned to the demonstations, keeping in line with her attentiveness. Following the pairing was Kudo Akeno, who clearly conveyed strength much greater than her own. Admittedly, while her legs were strong, Azukina's arms were lacking in a few too many ways. This, combined with her quirk, quickly placed Akeno at No.1 of Yomodachi's Mental Personal Threat List, a massive hard-counter that was almost unbeatable. 
Following that was Suzaku and Koumori. Admittedly, their less-flashy demonstrations didn't quite capture her attention so much, because she liked things looking cool. However, Koumori's echolocation gained her full attention, Azukina watching in disbelief. Suzaku's quirk looked cooler, but Koumori's was certainly the more powerful as it stood, showcasing perhaps the best use of quirk mastery of her peers. Growing up with your quirk was a largely understated pro of being a mutant, made all the more prominent in today's society. 

As Soga spoke it got the teen's attention. She would congratulate them herself, however she had already done so with another pair, and it felt unnecessary with the dragon's welcoming smile. About to return to the demonstrations, her eyes made out the cover of the book he was reading, and her eyes instantly lit up. Unfortunately she didn't have it on her person as she had left the book in her bag, but to see someone else reading [i]the exact same book she was[/i] definitely made her more than curious. She had to strike up a conversation. 
"That book..." She began, unable to quite think of a suitable conversation starter. After a pause only barely uncomfortable in length, she added: "I am surprised. I'm reading that exact same book in my free time."
There was another pause, much more brief this time around, before she extended her non-frozen hand in the dragon's direction. "Azukina Yomodachi. Yutsuko, right? Congratulations on making it."

[color=9e0b0f]"Haha, well, to be fair, I do prefer mental activities more than physical ones, but still, thank you very much for your compliment."[/color] He said smiling to the Black and White girl, not that sure himself as to what he would say next now. While he was used to talking to people when he needed to, compliments were something uncommon to him, especially coming from someone as talented as Yomodachi had proven to be. He wanted to continue the conversation, however, for once in his life he did not know what to say to someone and all he could do for a bit was simply stay in a slightly awkward silence until he would think of something to say.

Thankfully, it wasn't he who had to start the conversation once more, Azukina had thankfully seen the book and she had shown the interest he thought she should, the fact that she was not that good a conversationalist herself made him feel slightly better about the lack of an interesting speaking topic earlier.
[color=9e0b0f]"Yes, my name is Yutsuko Soga, glad to meet you, ummm."[/color] He was not sure what name she would prefer to be called, while it would be normal to call her by her family name, Soga had recently learned not to treat that as absolute. [color=9e0b0f]"Do you prefer Azukina, or Yomodachi?"[/color] He asked, needing to make sure not to accidentally insult her.

[color=9e0b0f]"As for the book, yes, well, I thought it would be only natural for somone who wants to be a hero to read a book that would teach one how to actually be the best hero they could be."[/color] He said smiling, not only because his suspicion had proven to be correct once more, but also because the girl actually seemed interested in the topic at hand. "How far have you gotten into the book right, I do not wish to spoil it for you, or you for me if you are ahead."

"Azukina - I much prefer to Yomodachi. Please, don't feel awkward in saying so, Azukina-san is formal for me. It is good to make your acquiantance, Yutsuko." 
With the two of them both slightly awkward book nerds, it made talking about books feel a little... odd. At least for Azukina, she hadn't met anyone with the same taste of reading material as she did. Her philosophy could get quite heavy and for most boring, so it didn't bring in a lot of casual hero fans. Though it targeted a niche audience, it was still known well enough to get some traction in universities across the world, sharing a steady growth rate. "Unfortunately there are many who don't share your point of view on philosophy. I understand it isn't something for everyone, however. It makes me happy enough knowing someone here also enjoys it."

She took a glance at the page number he was on, then gave a confident "Mmmh," as though coming to some kind of realization. "You're behind me a fair ways. Do not worry, I will not spoil anything you do not want to be spoiled, but I will say it starts to pick up from here."

Soga's eyes widened, how would it pick up, it had already stated many of it's most major points asked the most important questions and in part answered them with the writer's own opinions, what else could it have in store. He smiled, and for once it was genuine, he had finally met someone with whom he could discuss such topics with someone who was actually interested in them.

[color=9e0b0f]"Well, if it would be ok with you, then maybe we would be able to discuss some of the topics that have been discussed until now?"[/color] He asked, placing a bookmark where he had reached with the book and turned towards her. [color=9e0b0f]"If you wish, we could make it a sort of mini-quiz, to test one another's knowledge of the book at hand, or offer our own opinions, if you feel more comfortable with that."[/color] He said with a grin on his face. [color=9e0b0f]"Also, how about we make this more interesting, though this part is more optional, I wish to collect info on all of my fellow students, how to help them improve both themselves and their quirks. So, we begin asking and answering questions, whenever somebody answers wrongly, or simply admits that they do not know the answer, then, they must answer a question truthfully, how does it sound?"[/color]

She had to admit, a quiz sounded like a pretty fun idea. Azuki was confident she wouldn't spoil anything for him, seeing as he wouldn't know unless she specifically told him. However, the usual pains of trying to talk to boys beyond formality reared its stupid head, causing Azukina to become momentarily flustered. What were his intentions? Was he trying to ask her out? Would he end up being a nasty piece of work behind that smile?

Soga almost instantly noticed her change of expression and raised his hands up in defense, to show that he had nothing to hide. [color=9e0b0f]"Of course if you do not want to make it more interesting, we could simply ask questions just for the sake of asking them, either way, it will be all the same for me."[/color] He said, not wholly sure why he had said these words in the first place, finding out info was his prime objective now, he could not afford to get emotional again and delay the search for information like he had done in the past, he had come to regret it then and he would regret it now.

Checkers shook her head. Nevermind, he was just a dolt. "It is not that, you see, I was just... no, it isn't important." She shuffled in her seat awkwardly. Damn, this was harder than it looked. Just trying to maintain some form of eye contact was hard enough, asking questions was another matter, and despite dismissing it, she [i]still[/i] felt as though she was being hit on. Nevertheless, Azukina tried to think of a question as the next student took up the challenge of demonstrations; or rather, students? Another pairing, this time being between a stocky guy and...
Oh. [i]Him[/i].
Instead of focusing on the demonstrations, the monochrome girl decided it was best to give Soga some of her attention. It was difficult, but every so-often she would find something to look at - the book, her nails, the gym, her skirt. It kept the nerves away, at least a bit. 
"Alright then, I agree to your terms on the condition personal questions for both parties have the option to 'pass', provided they are too, err, [i]personal[/i]."

Her first question was a simple one. It wasn't as though he wouldn't know it - it was highlighted towards the beginning of the book. "My first question for you, Yutsuko, is to define the three primary qualities of a Symbol of Peace." She would be shocked if he couldn't get that one, but he gave off the impression of a scholar despite being a large, obsidian dragon, so it would be no surprise to her if he could recall it off the top of his head.

Soga simply smiled upon the question being asked. [color=9e0b0f]"That was the same question, I wished to ask, but nevermind."[/color] He said shaking his head for a moment. This was really one of the easiest questions in the book, or one of the easiest questions for any aspiring Symbol of Peace, really, he would have been ashamed had he not known the answer.

[color=9e0b0f]"Firstly, a Symbol of Peace must be popular, not necesarily the Number One, but still. Second, they need to demonstrate a strong moral compass, to embody the very essence of what it means to be a hero. Third, and though I have my issues with this one, they need to be able to be anywhere at a moment's notice, to show that they are always watching, that they are able to stop crime wherever it might pop up."[/color] He answered, smiling pridefully, having proven his knowledge.

[color=9e0b0f]"Anyways, my turn now."[/color] Soga said, having already lost track of the remaining students, though he did offer very brief glances to see what was happening. [color=9e0b0f]"Though the book does not focus on the topic very much, I wish to ask you a similar question, can an antithesis to the Symbol of Peace exist and if so has there ever been one?"[/color] Soga grinned as he asked the question. This part was barely even touched in the book, at least to the point he had reached, so unless it returned to the topic once more later on, this question would truly test the knowledge of the girl before him, though as he asked that question, he could not help himself but be distracted by a girl with fiery hair showing her quirk and its... aftereffects, so to say.

He wasn't alone in his fascination of the girl with the flaming hair quirk. Another person with a quirk which could overwhelm her, given the properties it exhibited. Her skill at using such intense fire really intimidated the teenager - it brought back some memories she would rather leave alone. However, thoughts of how the girl's quirk could counter her own prevailed over silly memories best left alone, for a fire such as that could be dangerous. That said, it could also be an asset, capable of removing the frost on her arm at a moment's notice. If they worked together, provided her flames couldn't go out, the two of them would be a menacing threat.
She almost forgot Soga's question, given how intersting flames-for-hair's demo was. She pondered the question a little, however as far as she knew, the book hadn't covered such a concept outside of speculation. 

"The antithesis to the Symbol of Peace, a Symbol of Terror, can exist in theory, however we've yet to see what one would look like. The closest thing could be the person who fought All-Might, however nobody really knew anything about him, so we can assume he was more of a lone-wolf. Minor spoilers, but the book talks about it in later chapters, arguing such a person could exist, but would require anarchy in the place of peace."

Now it was her turn. The next group of students took to the demonstrations, three this time, simulating a hero vs villains scenario with a hostage in the mix. Checkers couldn't help but envy their creativity. "It is said that heroes are the modern embodiment of kings, exercising the full spectrum of the human condition and taking it to a new degree, exemplifying the personification of humanity's biggest emotions, ideals, and experiments. My question to you, err, Y-Yutsuko, is if heroes truly embody this philosophy of extremity, what does their counterpart, the villains, embody?"
Now this was a tough question. She couldn't help but stutter a little from excitement, but remained mostly composed, just a little fidgety. If he had read this far in, or considered this line of thinking himself at some point, then she felt the two may have come to the same conclusion. "Put simply, if heroes are kings, then what are villains by comparison?"

A very difficult question indeed. Soga's eyes narrowed at the question, as he swore he could briefly hear his father's voice when he was a child. [color=9e0b0f]"From their point of view, they are freedom fighters, fighting for the freedom to do as they will, whilst taking the freedom of others, but in our eyes, in the eyes of the ones who are their targets, they are but usurpers to the rightful throne of heroes."[/color] He answered, a little more poetically than he had wished it and with perhaps a bit more venom than he had wished, considering that he unfortunately had some personal experience with this, but still, he hoped that he had gotten the answer across properly.

By this point, Soga had become completely engrossed in the subject at hand, completely ignoring everything else that was happening around them. [color=9e0b0f]"For my second question..."[/color] He looked around in his mind for a question that would fit her now, but could not think of one.

[color=9e0b0f] "Let us go to the beginning, then, shall we?"[/color] Soga asked, a question finally having come to him. [color=9e0b0f] "Was the first quirk we know of, truly the first, or have quirks existed alongside us from the moment of our inception as a race? Were the mythical people of the past just that, or were they proof that quirks have existed since ancient times?"[/color]

She thought about his query for a moment. Considering he asked, she assumed he was further ahead than she thought, meaning he probably had some idea of the answer. Given this, Azuki did her best to explain without going overboard on the details, as it was a big topic later on in the text. 
"Well... I don't want to mention anything you don't already know, but quirks have been a part of humanity long before our time. Its been said that the dawn of ancient civilization marked the beginnings of quirks, although they may have been in use before that time. The first recognised quirk, Luminescence, marked the beginning of mass quirk expression, so in a way it's the first quirk we definitely know of, but remains of potential quirk-users have proven the existence of quirks before then. The question then becomes one of how deep something like this goes? Are the likes of bigfoot and apparent psychics included? Religious figureheads and founders? Magic used to sound like a far-fetched concept, yet knowing quirks may have existed before us, it isn't uncommon to assume mages were merely precursors to our modern-day heroes. But if that's the case, does that mean acts of divi-"

She cut herself off with a gasp and shook her head. No spoilers!
"S-sorry, almost went overboard there." Her face lit up a tinge of pink as she thought about her question. The three boys were still doing their demonstration - it was a long one. "This will be more of a personal question of mine, but it's based on the text, mostly. While simple, I'd like for you to define the differences between a Symbol of Peace and a Number 1. Hero."
The amount of people that got this question wrong was astounding. This question would truly test if Soga was as astute as he seemed or not.

Soga grinned from ear to ear as Azukina answered his question, not only because it was right, but because of the fact that he had finally found someone to discuss such topics freely at last. However, when she placed her own question, he once more furrowed his brows as he thought of the answer. But, was there a difference? For a very long time, both those titles had been held by one person, All Might and as such, for most people, there was no distinction between one or the other and shamefully enough, this was the case for Soga as well.

He shook his head, there was no reason to prolong this situation by pretending to think about the answer to the question when he did not know it. So, with a defeated smile, Soga acknowledged his defeat. [color=9e0b0f]"I do not know."[/color] He shook his head. [color=9e0b0f]"Congratulations, Azukina-san, you are the victor here, you may either ask me one question of your choice and I shall answer it truthfully."[/color] He said with a bow of his head, acknowledging the checkered girl as the victory.

The mini fist pump of victory was her form of acknowledgement in victory. Soga had played well, but he probably preferred other aspects of study, as opposed to boring hero stuff, Completely forgetting to tell him the answer to her own question, Azukina pondered the ideal question. She couldn't ask anything too personal of him, else she would end up risking upsetting him. Everyone had their secrets, and it wasn't her place to pry, 
So she decided to test her luck, having thought about it long enough without giving any true idea much thought. Besides, it would help determine what kind of person he was.

"Have you ever had a girlfriend, Yutsuko?"

Honestly she felt bad asking a question without giving him the opportunity to ask his own, especially with a question like that. Even if he didn't seem the type it could still stir up memories, so she awkwardly added: "J-just so you know y-you can pass, or, uh, yeah... B-but if you do ask, please ask me a question, mine was too improper! I-I... deeply apologise."
Oops.

Soga, without even realizing so, began to growl slightly upon the question being asked, it picked at a wound that had yet to even close. His tail started to slowly move around as he remembered the betrayal, his claws diging deep into his scales for a few moments as he thought of what punishment would be fitting for those who had him backstabbed so. However, he calmed himself down as he reminded himself that he had been the one to come up with the terms, it would be unbecoming of him if he refused to answer the question.

[color=9e0b0f]"No, it is quite ok, I agreed to answer any question, no matter how personal it may have proven to be."[/color] He said, raising his hand to stop her apology. [color=9e0b0f]"As for the answer itself, well, almost, I suppose, I did sort of have a girlfriend, I mean up until our separation, we had been a couple in name only when she... how do I put this."[/color] He said, as he calmed the rage that was welling up inside of him. [color=9e0b0f]"Well, I dislike being so blunt, but caught her making out with one of my other friends, so that should tell you quite well why are not together, and to make it worse..."[/color] His expression turned into a slightly pained one as he continued. [color=9e0b0f]"It happened to days ago."[/color]

With that, he took a deep breath to completely calm himself down. He thought for his question for only a second, as she had already asked it for him. [color=9e0b0f]"As for my own question, well, you could perhaps answer your own question?"[/color] He asked her, though he fully knew that the topic might be a bit hard for her as well. [color=9e0b0f]"Though of course, if you feel like the matter is too uncomfortable for you, you need not go into detail, you can answer with a yes or a no if you wish."[/color]

...
Well now she felt horrible for asking, her insecurities proving true as Yutsuko revealed a raw wound to his heart inflicted a mere two days ago. It had the girl recoiling; this was a dumb idea. A terrible idea. Why ask such a stupid question? Even if it was for fun, her mind could have thought of literally anything else, but instead it went to the one thing she knew she shouldn't have asked about. Visibly upset about the whole event, Checkers turned her gaze towards the quirk demonstrations, now in the middle of a hostage rescue mission similar to the last. Interesting, to say the least, but it was hard to focus on it right now. 

But his asking about her own relationship status helped brighten the mood a little, turning the darker mood to a dim glow. Unfortunately her answer was pretty straightforward in comparison. "I have been asked out, however I refuse to go out with people. I did so once and it was a horrible experience resulting in me almost freezing a pervert's, umm, p-par- pants off. Pants." She nodded as though to reassure herself, but now she just felt more awkward. Perhaps it would be best to give it a rest for now. 
"Th-thank you for your time, Yutsuko, but I believe demonstrations are almost over... In which case I suppose we should p-pick this up another time?"

His rage quelled as she talked about her own, much more amusing story about a past date. He even got a chuckle out of his when he heard that she had frozen somebody's pants off for being a pervert. [color=9e0b0f]"Of course, of course, we should pick it up at a later date, I have so many things I wish to talk to you about."[/color] He said smiling towards her. Overall, while a certain part of this conversation did leave a sore spot for Soga, it did allow him to probably find one of the few people that shared his interests in heroes and their philosophies. Who knew, maybe the two would actually become friends in the future, though if only for Soga's necessity for a strong ally to fight his father, or a true friend was yet to be seen.

[hider=tl;dr]Soga takes a seat next to Azukina and begins reading where he left off in the same text the monochromatic teen was during her entrance exam bus ride. The two decide to play a simple quiz out of shared interest in the subject, the 'victor' of the loosely-based rules getting to ask a personal question. They question back and forth awhile though make sure to pay attention to their fellow classmates as they do so. In the end, Azuki is the 'victor' and asks Soga whether he has had a girlfriend before, to which he responds by divulging his inner turmoil of recently being cheated out of a relationship. Despite leaving the situation on a somewhat tense note, they decide to give the game a break for the day, now that the demonstrations are almost done...[/hider]