After the instructor had finished giving us the quick rundown on what we were going to do for the practical exam, Mezo-san and I made our way toward one of the changing rooms UA had set up for the applicants.
Going inside the one for men, we immediately saw multiple applicants getting ready and putting on their training clothes.
Setting my bag down on the floor and opening it, I grabbed my most prized possession: my indestructible shorts.
Mother had bought these for me when I was 10, and during that time Mother would frequently buy me new pairs of clothing due to the fact that my body grew extremely quickly.
With all the muscle training Mezo-san and I do, those shorts were basically destroyed.
Taking off my usual clothes until I was only in my underwear, I grabbed my shorts and got them on.
Once they were firmly around me, I looked toward the other applicants and saw some of them staring at me.
They quickly averted their gaze when I noticed them, but who could blame them? These muscles were rather eye-catching, and coupled with the fact that I wasn't wearing a shirt right now to avoid destroying it, you had a rather tall and bulky beast standing with you.
Placing my old clothes in the bag, Mezo-san tapped me on the shoulder to get my attention. Turning toward him, I saw he was wearing a rather plain tank top, military pants, and boots.
"You ready to go, Toji-san?" Mezo-san asked me.
"Yeah, I just need to find a mirror," I told Mezo-san before moving farther into the changing room, and after looking around I saw a blonde-haired boy with multiple mirrors surrounding him.
I moved closer toward him and gently tapped his shoulder to get his attention.
"Um, if you wouldn't mind, could I borrow one of your mirrors?" I asked the blonde-haired boy.
"Why, of course you can! After all, what kind of hero doesn't share his gifts to this beautiful world? Here, take it! And may your beauty shine as brightly as me!" He handed me a mirror rather dramatically before skipping away.
That was rather weird, but at least I had a mirror now. Raising the mirror closer to my face, I tried to remember what All Might looked like when he was smiling and tried to copy it.
After a few attempts of smiling, I got one that closely resembled All Might's, and I think I did good.
I'm still not sure why Sir Nighteye wanted me to do this, but he's helped me so far, and he wouldn't make me do something that would cause me problems.
Placing the mirror down, since the blonde-haired kid had simply left me alone with it, I turned back toward the entrance of the changing room and noticed everyone had already left for the practical test.
Walking toward the exit and opening the doors, I saw Mezo-san leaning on a tree. He must've been waiting for me.
"Mezo-san!" I called out to him, catching his attention.
He looked up toward me and, with a smile under his mask, answered back.
"Toji-san, what took you so long?" Mezo-san asked.
Moving closer to him, we began walking alongside each other before I answered his question.
"Well, remember Sir Nighteye? He had a rather strange request. He wanted me to smile like All Might during the practice test. Not really sure why, but maybe he has his reasons," I told Mezo-san before showing my smiling face to him.
"Nice. You kind of already look like All Might, with the build and the smile, of course," Mezo-san said.
"Thanks! Now let's get going; I don't want to be late for the practical test," I told Mezo-san before we began running toward one of the testing grounds.
We didn't run long, as after only a minute we finally made it to where the test was taking place.
Staring at the rather impressive giant metal door, the students were all doing all sorts of things to get ready. Some were warming up, some praying that they get accepted and do well, and the... blonde-haired boy was doing dramatic poses.
...
He's a bit weird.
But weirdness aside, I had to get ready for this. Standing up straight, I began doing some light stretches, catching a few of the female students' eyes and even overhearing some of their gossip.
"Wow, look at those muscles. He's almost as big as All Might," one of the girls said.
"I know. If it wasn't for his face, I would have asked him for his number... but," she said, taking a quick glance at my body.
"Hey, don't you have, like, a boyfriend?" the friend said.
"I already broke up with him. He was cheating on me with some lizard girl, and I dumped him immediately!" the girl said to her friend.
Not particularly interested in their conversation, I finished my stretching, and when I did, the speakers around the metal door began playing.
"What's up, you beautiful people! It's me again! And I'm here to announce that the practical exam is about to start in 30 seconds! So get your game faces on, because this is it!" the instructor from before said through the speakers.
Cracking my neck, I began walking toward the metal doors, and with a deep breath, I placed the smile of All Might on my face once more and got ready.
As I did this, some of the candidates began to slowly shuffle away from me. Maybe they were trying to make sure I didn't try to slow them down, which was a good call.
"10 seconds!" the instructor announced before a countdown began, and with each passing beep, the air around us became much heavier, and with one final beep—
The doors opened.