7 Chapter 7: Back In The Swing I
The feeling of the form-fitting metal on his wrist brought Peter a sense of calm, a sense of purpose. The boy rolled his wrist while playing with a web cartridge in between his fingers.
He'd been wearing his web-shooters 24/7 for the past few months, so it wasn't like the feeling of having them on was unfamiliar or anything.
But it was just different .
Before, when he wore them at home or the beach, it was just the feeling of having them own, but right now?
Having them on brought him comfort, it reminded him that they were on because he was gonna do something he hadn't done in a bit.
Be Spider-Man.
Then again, it was just robots made by a school instead of guys robbing ATMs, but the feeling was the same.
It made him feel like he was someone with a purpose.
It made him feel like he was Spider-Man again.
He guessed he never stopped being Spider-Man, but you get what he's saying.
After months of downtime, he was back in the swing of things.
Heh.
Swing? Get it?
He's so funny.
The feeling of someone nudging him with their elbow brought him out of his thoughts, Peter quickly remembering where he was.
The UA entrance exam.
His gaze turned to Hado, who was sitting next to him and motioning with her head to pay attention to what was going on in the front of the room.
Yeah, he should probably do that.
Present Mic was loudly explaining the basics of the practical portion of the exam, Peter having picked up the parts about being put in a fake city and fighting robots, then being graded on how many robots you destroyed.
You know, the important stuff.
As he looked around the room, he saw how many people started to nervously sweat at hearing the exam would be combat-related. They must have quirks that don't work well on robots.
UA did have the horrible habit of screwing over none combat quirks every year.
The room was bathed in bright light; Peter watched as the large screen above the leather-wearing hero started displaying different diagrams and animations explaining the finer details like rules and stuff.
This was so boring.
Even the written portion was more engaging than this!
The only thing that made him pay attention was when Present Mic tried to hype up the audience and failed miserably.
Peter made the web cartridge dance in his hand, flipping the small object in between his fingers and back while drumming his other hand on the table.
Incredibly enough, Hado seemed to be listening with 110% focus, although she seemed to be bouncing up and down at seeing a pro hero.
Ten minutes and Peter repeats, ten minutes passed before the dude finished talking and explaining the exam.
Maybe yelling would be a better word?
God, was this guy loud.
"Alright! Now that we're done let's get started with the practical section of the UA entrance exam! Can I please get a plus ultra?!"
Silence.
Complete and utter silence, the only sound being Peter snorting before being elbowed by Hado.
"… That's cool, too! Please exit to the left, get changed, and go to your assigned bus! I wish you luck, young heroes!" The man announced, the room uttering a quick thanks before everyone excited toward the buses.
Finally!
Present Mic stepped away from the desk and downed a water bottle in one go before starting to make his way toward the observation room.
"God knows they'll need it … That kid Shouta brought in most of all, there's no chance Kan gets him in 1-B…"
...
Peter rolled his shoulder as he stepped foot on the bus, he sat down and sighed at finally wearing something he was more comfortable using.
His old vigilante outfit, goggles and all.
It was a miracle Naomasa let him keep all of it instead of confiscating it as evidence.
Although it did help that the detective was just way too nice, Peter almost felt bad that him running around gave the guy so much more extra work.
He ran a gloved hand through his hair and took out his phone from his hoodie pocket. He went to open one of the playlists that he made while patrolling, only to see that they hadn't been played in more than six months.
Wow, has it been that long?
He guesses he must've lost track of time.
As he hit play and pocketed his cracked phone, the bus slowly started to move forward, the kids inside began cheering.
He placed an earbud in his right ear and checked that his goggles were still around his neck. The boy proceeded to lift up his hoodie a tiny bit and sighed at seeing that his belt was still there.
Nothing was missing, that was good.
All there was now was to wait.
Should he have a strategy when going into this? Like, avoid certain streets or do some specific stuff?
That did sound smart to do, but it didn't feel like him.
It didn't feel like Spider-Man.
Spider-Man felt like a thrill, like doing what you had to do and enjoying yourself. He was about going in without a moment of hesitation.
Spider-Man was about following your gut.
Spider-Man was about being spectacular.
Yeah.
Yeah, that felt like him.
Peter felt his spider-sense buzz lightly as someone sat on the seat next to him just as the bus began picking up pace.
It was some shy-looking guy with long indigo hair and elf-like ears, he wore a white short-sleeved hoodie and purple sweatpants. He looked to be in deep thought about something.
Should he say something?
Eh, sure.
Conversation is always nice.
"Hey, man! I'm Peter Parker, nice to meet you." Peter extended a hand while offering a friendly smile, the boy jumped as if startled.
The indigo-haired boy looked between his hand and his face quickly, a look of panic on his face. Reluctantly and nervously, he shook his hand before quickly letting go.
Alright … then?
"T-Tamaki Amajiki …" The teen, now known as Amajiki, quietly introduced himself while looking away. He turned back to see Peter still looking at him and got even more nervous, and hid his face behind his hood.
...
This guy was shy .
"Oh, sorry if I made you uncomfortable or anything." Peter quickly apologized, trying to ease into starting a conversation with the guy.
This was a huge contrast to talking to Hado.
"No, it's f-fine. I-I'm not good with me-meeting new p-people, sorry about that."
"It's cool, I get it." Peter waved a hand, inwardly sighing at Amajiki seeming to relax. "You nervous? About the exam, I mean."
Amajiki seemed to think about his response for a second before sighing and giving a small nod.
"Y-Yeah… I wish Mirio were here…" The teen responded, muttering the last part under his breath.
Peter raised an eyebrow at the response, he guessed Amajiki mainly was talking to himself at that last bit. Should he try to ask about it? It may just be a close friend or something.
One of those extrovert and introvert types of things he had heard about, you know?
All he knew was that this guy needed some serious hyping up before the test, and Peter was gonna try to give it to him.
"You'll be fine, man! What's your quirk, anyway?" Giving a small smile, leaning forwards in his seat and propping his elbows on his knees.
Amajiki seemed to slightly relax at his friendly demeanor, at least he was less on edge now.
The bus kept moving as the teens inside rocked it back and forth in excitement, Peter looked out of the window to see the approaching city.
Almost time!
"I-It's called 'Manifest'." Amajiki started, Peter just listened. "It lets m-me get the p-properties of wh-what I eat."
That.
That was so freaking cool.
"Dude, that's amazing! Man, I can't even begin to think of how much stuff you could do! I wish I had such a versatile quirk like that, mine lets me do whatever a spider can, but it's not that bad." He laughed, rolling his shoulders as Amajiki nodded.
Sadly, that was the end of their talk. Amajiki seemed to be trying to calm himself down with an anxious look on his face, Peter decided not to disturb him.
His hand reached into his belt and pulled out a web cartridge, he spun the small object between his fingers to try and relax as his 20th-21st century playlist cycled to a new song.
Fluidly, the cartridge danced in his hands as Peter made it spin around the gaps of his fingers. The boy sighed and put the cartridge back into his belt just as an intercom on the bus announced they had reached their destination, the kids inside the vehicle started to rock it back and forth in excitement.
Almost time.
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