This Color Ain't It

Chapter 20: Rescue

Notes:

tw : panic attack , canon-typical violence

some paraphrasing from the show. hope you enjoy!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text
"A search-and-rescue operation, huh?" Kenji wondered to himself, taking a small nibble from the onigiri Yaoyorozu had offered him earlier.

Behind him, the excited and nervous chatter of the hundred students who passed was loud and wondering what the exact scenario for the exam was going to be. There was even some talk about it appearing like Kamino and how it would have gone down if there were any casualties in the aftermath. Something the agency and mafia had made sure would not be necessary.

Yaoyorozu came to stand next to Kenji while shaking her head, a look of disappointment clear on her face. "It is distasteful that many are saying this is what rescue efforts in Kamino would have looked like if Yokohama hadn't evacuated the residents. Nobody was injured, and that's what we should have taken away from it."

Tsuyu joined the duo with Uraraka right behind her, nodding along with a biscuit in her mouth. Uraraka looked at the big screen and sighed.

"I guess it does sort of look like what was left of Kamino that day," Uraraka said with a frown. "Kamino or not, it is still a Hero's duty to know how to perform rescues that don't involve Villains, right?"

Kenji smiled into his hand as the girls talked behind him. His eyes roamed across the room and lingered on each of his classmates to see what they were doing. All of them had managed to pass (a first according to one of the third-years). Despite being given ten minutes to use the bathroom and do any other steps of preparation, nobody seemed to have even left the room. Everyone was in varying degrees of chatter and gossip, and Kenji noticed a couple of groups from other schools huddled together and having serious discussions if their expressions were anything to go by.

They must have been discussing how they were going to go in to rescue, Kenji figured. Something his own classmates were very much not doing.

Midoriya was being throttled around by Kaminari and Mineta with pretty irritated faces.

Bakugou, Sero, and Kirishima were standing to the side watching the three. Todoroki was standing on the other side.

Shoji and Tokoyami were conversing by the snack table.

Aoyama was hunched over on the benches with Iida, Hagakure, and Mina offering him shoulder pats and chatter to distract him from his stomach ache.

Ojirou and Satou were watching the big screen, and Jirou was standing by herself against the wall scrolling through her phone. How she managed to get it in the exam facility Kenji is unsure.

Then Kenji's eyes wandered to the group being led by a hairy guy towards Midoriya's group. Except he directed his conversation to Bakugou. Curious, Kenji stepped a little closer to hear what that was about and was unsurprised when Yaoyorozu, Tsuyu, and Uraraka did as well.

"– must have offended," is what Kenji began to pick up. "He has the tendency to impose his own values on others. He probably couldn't help himself after seeing you, since you're pretty famous." He lowered his head in apology, and now that Kenji was standing next to Midoriya to see his expression without interfering, he could feel the genuineness radiating off of the upperclassman. "I would like to build a good relationship with UA. I apologize on his behalf."

Kenji hummed in approval while his classmates repeated his words with uncertainty. He tilted his head at them in confusion. Why should they doubt Shiketsu's sincerity? They're not competing against each other anymore. They're all reaching for the same goal. The goal, for now, is to –