Chapter 32 – Preparations for Finals and Summer Plans
"Summer vacation is close at hand." Aizawa mentioned during homeroom, looking at his students. "Of course, it would be completely irrational for all of you to take a whole month off."
"Don't tell me…" Kaminari was already concerned about what Aizawa was going to say.
"You'll be doing a summer training camp in the woods." Aizawa informed them all flatly.
"I freaking knew it! Nice!" Kaminari cheered as the rest of the class began to speak up as well. This was at least something different from their normal training!
"Truth or dare!" Mina nearly bounced out of her seat as she threw her hands into the air with a bright smile.
"Are we going to a place with an onsen?" Chikuchi asked with a curious look. She hadn't been to a hot spring in a while, and it would be awesome to have one around for the summer training!
"Fireworks would be nice." Tsuyu put her index finger on her chin, imagining it with a cute grin.
"Making curry and other meals, yes?" Iida recalled some of the summer trips that Somei Private Academy had done while he'd attended.
"Since we'll be out in nature, our training activities will change too." Sero mentioned with a grin at the change of pace.
"So, it's all about making the right decisions regardless of environment…cool." Sato nodded at what was probably the basic idea of the summer training.
"All of us living together?! I'm pumped!" Kirishima punched his fist into the air with a cheer.
"However," Aizawa's eyes glowed red and his hair rose up slightly. The class was immediately silent. "Anyone that doesn't pass the upcoming final exams is in for summer school hell, right here."
"Do your best, guys!" Kirishima turned to his classmates to encourage them all.
"So, freaking stupid." Bakugo grumbled out at the idiots that were close to failing.
As the class began to talk amongst themselves, Izuku and Momo were planning with the others that wanted help for the study group. With the number of people that they would have, it only made sense that Momo would host it at her home, of course. The ravenette was practically bouncing in her seat from joy. Many of the students could only smile at the adorable sight, even as Momo accidentally flaunted her vast wealth while talking about teas, snacks, and how best to arrange the Main Hall.
-Hidden Location-
"The Hero Killer…I never thought he'd be caught, but for the most part, he performed as expected." All for One mused as he used his Electric Imaging Quirk to look at what was shown on the screen in front of him, a picture of Shigaraki Tomura. "Those wanting to rampage, those sympathetic to the cause…all sorts. That was the catalyst needed for them to seek out the League of Villains. Now, it is Tomura's job to unify them."
"Can the child do it, I wonder?" Garaki made his doubts known without speaking directly against All for One's plans. "I still believe that if you came to the forefront, this would proceed smoothly, master."
"Heh…for that to happen, you'll have to hurry and fix my body, Doctor." All for One chuckled lightly to not disturb his weakened body.
"It took us almost five years to acquire Hyper Regeneration." Garaki sighed heavily at the length of time needed to find the powerful Quirk. "But that type of Quirk does no good if your body has already healed." That was the limitation of most Healing Quirks, the injury still had to be in a state of active healing for any of the Quirks to be effective. Wounds that had healed, even if they left behind horrid scars or missing pieces, couldn't be fixed by Healing or Regeneration Quirks. 'Or not any of the ones that we've been able to find with my extensive medical records access, at least.' Such a setback had stalled their plans for years already.
"It's fine." All for One reached out and touched the screen with Tomura's face on it. "We'll let him do the heavy lifting. All to prepare him to be the next me." He gently rested his chin on his left fist. "I know that boy will rise to the occasion. He was born twisted. So, enjoy it while you can, All Might. This transient peace of yours." All for One scowled in place of glaring, since he'd lost his eyes.
-Yaoyorozu Estate-
"Ah, welcome, you all must be Momo's friends." Yaoyorozu Robin smiled at the teens when they entered the large mansion.
'She's an absolute MILF!' Nearly every student in the study group thought simultaneously. Most of the boys quickly bowed to the woman and thanked her for letting them come over. This was one half politeness, and one half hiding the red on their faces. Even a couple of the girls followed suit, lightly flushed from seeing where Momo clearly got her beauty from.
"The Main Hall is to the left; everything is prepared for you all." Robin smiled softly at the students. "Ah…" Her blue eyes found Izuku's green. "You must be Midoriya-kun." The smile became a knowing grin.
"Y-Yes, ma'am." Izuku nodded, doing everything in his power not to lock up in front of his girlfriend's mother.
"It's a pleasure to meet my daughter's boyfriend." Robin smiled pleasantly, but the undercurrent of amusement at watching Izuku tense up was unmistakable.
"Okay, time to go." Kyoka, Ochako, Tsuyu, Chikuchi, and Camie all spoke simultaneously and began to usher the others towards the Main Hall that they'd been pointed towards. They all felt it would be better for Izuku and Momo to have this little meeting privately.
"Mother…" Momo was flushed a bright red at what was happening.
"Now, now, dear…it's only right that I meet your boyfriend." Robin barely held in a little giggle at seeing both her daughter and Izuku getting so flustered. "You're lucky that your father is at the office today, or it would be a full meeting."
"Please don't…" Momo looked up at her mother with a cute little pout.
"Fufufu…" Robin did giggle this time. "I won't keep you two for very long." She promised them both. "But let's go sit and talk for a bit."
"Y-Yes, ma'am." Izuku agreed, gently taking Momo's hand in his.
"Alright…" Momo agreed, gently squeezing Izuku's hand as the two drew comfort from each other.
"Wonderful." Robin smiled brightly. "Follow me." She turned and led the couple towards a sitting room down the right side hallway.
Even Izuku, as much of a polite young man that he was, had to physically force his eyes not to drop down while following behind Robin. Momo gave him a warm smile when she saw that he was firmly keeping his eyes on the back of her mother's head, instead of letting his eyes wander. She'd seen grown men lose that battle instantly when it came to her mother.
-Main Hall-
"Please, enjoy your refreshments." A maid bowed to the teens all sitting at the long table in the Hall. She left them to their snacks and closed the door behind her.
"Anyone else feeling kind of out of place?" Sato asked the table at large.
"Me." Everyone replied instantly.
"I feel like if I touch anything, I'm going to be in debt for the rest of my life." Kaminari squirmed a little in his seat.
"Same." Chikuchi nodded, looking around the opulent and lavish room.
"I'm pretty sure my house can fit in this Hall a couple times over…" Ochako gaped at the sheer size.
"Yeah, mine too…" Sero looked up at the chandeliers hanging from the high ceiling.
"This mansion is almost the same size as the apartment building where I live." Mina remarked, the pink girl looking around to try and take in everything.
"Kero, it's amazing that Momo's family is so well off." Tsuyu was also taking in the room while reaching for a tray of snacks. "But it shouldn't change how we see Momo."
"Agreed." Kyoka nodded to Tsuyu with a grin. "Yaomomo is Yaomomo, no matter how big the class difference is."
"Preach, sister!" Camie laughed as the tension in the Hall began to ease noticeably.
"This tea is magnifique!" Aoyama smiled after taking his first sip.
"I was surprised that you showed up, no offense. You just didn't seem like you cared much when we brought up the study group." Toru spoke up to the Naval Laser user.
"My…Papa and Maman were not pleased…with my seventeenth place ranking in the midterms." Aoyama admitted with a slight shiver of his body. "I decided to take the help this time around." He'd lost so many privileges for his poor showing on the midterms and was really hoping to get them back by passing the finals.
"Ah." The group of teens all made the same understanding expression and noise at the same time.
-Sitting Room-
"Tea?" Robin offered to Izuku politely.
"Th-Thank you." Izuku nodded to the woman.
"No need to be so nervous." Robin poured the tea with a grin. "I don't bite."
"Mother, please don't tease Izuku." Momo looked unamused by Robin's antics.
"Nonsense, that's part of my job as a parent." Robin waved off with a giggle. Momo didn't seem to agree, but just took her tea and sipped from it quietly.
"Now, to get to the heart of this little meeting." Robin placed her teacup down after taking a sip. "Midoriya, what are your intentions with my daughter?"
"I would like to date her, ma'am." Izuku bowed his head for a moment. "Momo is intelligent, kind, wonderful, and beautiful inside and out. I'm sometimes surprised that she wants to be with me, but I'll do everything in my power to make her happy." He spoke strongly as he looked into Robin's eyes with nothing but pure honesty.
"Izuku…" Momo placed her hand over her heart as she felt it thump in her chest. Her face was warm and she knew that she was smiling brightly without even thinking about it.
"Fufufu…" Robin giggled behind her hand. "You're quite the sweet boy, Midoriya-kun." She gently placed her hand on her cheek. "A mother worries, you know? Especially given the standing our family has. There are many, in our circles, whose sons have shown interest in our daughter since she's only a couple years from marrying age."
"No." Momo denied, almost pouting at being reminded of that. She held onto Izuku's hand again. "I have no interest in any of them."
"Which is why we've turned away all such talks and offers, Momo-chan." Robin reassured her daughter with a soft smile. "Both your father and I want you to be able to find your own happiness, like we did." To be fair, Robin and Momo's father had both been a part of the same societal level even as children. That was how they'd met. Momo and Izuku's relationship had come about entirely because they'd met at U.A., and it would be looked at rather differently by those of high society.
"So, is it okay if we keep dating?" Izuku hoped for a positive answer.
"Oh, I have no problems with it, Midoriya-kun." Robin smiled brightly at the young man.
"Thank you, mother!" Momo wrapped Izuku in a tight hug and buried her face into his neck. Izuku wrapped his arms around her and held her close, a big smile on his face the whole time.
"Thank you very much, Yaoyorozu-san." Izuku turned his grateful smile onto Robin.
"Fufufu…of course, but you will have to meet my husband for his approval too." Robin grinned at Izuku, seeing the young man lock up was amusing. "I'm sure he'll want to have a 'man-to-man' talk with you about his expectations for dating our little Momo."
"Y-Yes, of c-course…" Izuku nodded robotically to Robin. Momo just squeezed him a little tighter. "Do you have expectations, Yaoyorozu-san?" It was probably best to find out what they could be now, instead of later.
"Oh, nothing that would hinder your relationship." Robin waved off and picked up her teacup to take a sip. "But…in a few more years, after you're both Heroes and all, a grandchild would be nice. Or two…three maybe… Fufufu." She giggled softly.
"MOTHER!" Momo's face was burning red as she snapped a sharp gaze onto Robin. The sheer embarrassment Momo was feeling nearly washing over the older woman as Robin hid her grin behind her teacup.
"G-Gr-Gran-Grandchildren…" Izuku was putting a tomato to shame with how red his face was. The young man looked a few seconds away from completely shorting out.
"Fufufu, how adorable you two are." Robin was having far too much fun with this. But the privilege of being a parent should be taken when it came along.
-U.A. ~ Principal Nezu's Office-
"Hmm…that's still bugging me." Nezu once more looked at the ever-shortening list of medical professionals that the investigation team was going through. One name in particular was starting to stand out more and more with how well it fit all of their search criteria. "Garaki, why does that name seem familiar?" The chimera rubbed his chin in a pondering manner. The man had all of the PhDs and relevant years of experience, but he was listed as Quirkless as well. But his list of charitable work along with setting up clinics, orphanages, and retirement homes across the country was nagging at Nezu's hyper-intelligent mind.
"Something on your mind, Nezu?" A woman's voice spoke to the principal through his computer. She was blonde and had blue eyes, and her Japanese was rough, which is why Nezu normally spoke English with her.
"Just considering the information I have left on the last several names to investigate." Nezu replied to the woman. "Does the name Garaki Kyudai sound familiar to you at all?"
"Hmm…not really." The woman mumbled before a look came over her face. "Wait, isn't that the name of the one that came up with the Quirk Singularity Theory? Like over a hundred years ago?" She questioned as if she was trying to refresh her own memory. "I'm pretty sure that name was briefly brought up in History Class back in school when we were studying the era called the 'Dawn of Quirks' and all that."
"Ah, that was it." Nezu's mind clicked as the missing piece fell into place. "Well, it's not impossible for two people to have the same name, especially a century apart." He refocused on his conversation. "So, how was getting into contact with the U.S. Hero Commission?"
"They're curious, of course, and are asking why you want to work with such a specific American Hero." The woman answered, waving her hand around as if that was an occurrence that she was familiar with.
"I'll compile our initial investigation findings into a detailed report for them shortly." Nezu nodded to the woman. "I believe once they understand the severity of this threat, that we'll be talking directly about assistance in handling it rather quickly."
"Well, I can introduce you to Zone, that's not a problem, I've worked with him plenty of times in the past." The woman chuckled lightly. "With how he moves up and down the East Coast to wherever he's needed, I'm sure he wouldn't mind making a trip across the globe if it would help stop the things that you've shared with me." Her blue eyes hardened slightly at recalling even the little that Nezu had shared with her so far.
"I'm glad to hear that." Nezu smiled thankfully at the woman. "I'm trying to get into talks with the United Kingdom's Ministry of Heroics as well. But that's a little more, slow going, since I don't have a contact like you there."
"Is there a particular Hero that you're hoping to get help from?" The woman questioned curiously. "I might've worked with them at some point."
"I'm hoping to get the Hero known as Law to help with bringing this case to a close once we move on to that point." Nezu sighed at all of the international reaching out that he'd been doing since starting this investigation into the Nomu and the League of Villains.
"Law, huh?" The woman nodded while thinking about what she knew of the UK-based Hero. "I think I'm starting to see the pattern with the Heroes that you're requesting."
"It does become rather obvious once you know a few of them, huh?" Nezu chuckled at the quick wit of the woman. "But I believe the help of such Heroes may be imperative to keep this situation from exploding into a worst case scenario."
"I'd be willing to come and help out when the time comes." The woman offered with a firm nod.
"We'd love to have you, but that might be a harder sell than getting Zone's assistance." Nezu reminded the woman with a sigh.
"The perils of being Number One." The woman grimaced at the restrictions that she had when it came to leaving the States because of her position. "Still, once that report is ready, I'll make sure to present it myself so that they see how serious it is."
"That would be very much appreciated, Miss Bate." Nezu smiled at the woman thankfully.
"You'll have to call me by my Hero Name while we're working together, Nezu." The blonde chuckled at the chimera.
"Of course, Star and Stripe." Nezu returned the good-natured chuckle just before the video call ended. "Her help will be invaluable in getting the cooperation of the U.S. Commission when the time comes." He looked over the information he had on the Pro Hero known as Zone again. The only problem his High Specs Quirk could predict was the Warp Quirk that the League of Villains had access to. It took time for Zone's Quirk to go into full effect, and for a Warp Quirk even a short amount of time could be a large window for them to escape. "So many variables to parse through to make sure this is a success." Nezu got back to work on the investigation, making note to keep Garaki as a person of interest.
-Class 1-A ~ The Next Day-
"Ugh…I'm not feeling confident about the finals at all…" Kaminari slumped over his desk. "Even with the study group…I've never been good with tests like this!" He ruffled his hair with both hands.
"Hahaha…cheer up, we still have plenty of time to study up!" Mina laughed brightly, not letting the stress get to her.
"Ashido, Kaminari! Let's do our best!" Izuku, as both a friend and the Class Rep, smiled at the two encouragingly. "It'll be great if we could all go to the training camp together, right?!" Left unsaid was that Izuku was currently fourth place in the class rankings.
"Yes! It is only a matter of dedication and focus!" Iida chopped the air once. "I believe that everyone in our class can pass this exam!" His words were appreciated, but as the number two of the class, both Mina and Kaminari knew he'd have no issue with the written test. Iida thrived on such things after all.
"Haven't you been attending class? How could you possibly fail?" Todoroki, currently ranked fifth in the class, questioned the bottom-ranking pair.
"Words hurt you know?!" Kaminari grabbed his chest in faux pain at the bluntness from his classmate.
"Boo~!" Mina stuck her tongue out at Todoroki for his lack of tact.
"Hadō Nejire, to the staff meeting room please. All Might-sensei would like to speak with you." The PA System rang throughout the campus.
"Huh? Hadō-senpai?" Izuku blinked at hearing the name of the upperclassman that he'd met back in Hosu.
-Staff Meeting Room-
"You wanted to see me, All Might?" Nejire closed the door behind her and nearly floated over to the couch opposite of the one All Might was sitting on.
"Yes, young Hadō, thank you for coming so promptly." Toshinori smiled at the girl. He was wearing his yellow pinstripe suit, but it was baggy on him in his thin form. "Given recent events, I feel that it's time to talk to you about the history of One for All. How it came to be. How it was passed down. And the reason that I needed to pass it down myself."
"Shouldn't Ryukyu be here too?" Nejire tilted her head slightly. As Ryukyu's protégé, Nejire thought that the Dragoon Hero should be around for a discussion like this. After accepting One for All, she'd had a massive boost to her energy and her Quirk was much stronger because of it. She'd had to tighten her control and steadily work to integrate the massive amount of power into her Quirk and how she used it. Ryukyu had been there for her every step of the way, just as All Might had. So, it seemed perfectly normal to Nejire to have discussions like this with both her Pro Hero mentor as well as her One for All predecessor.
"I plan to have a meeting with both of you soon enough, but for this particular discussion I feel it's best to have it one-to-one, from predecessor to successor." Toshinori smiled at the girl, even though he was having conflicting emotions within. He hated bringing up the past when it involved him, but that was part of his role as one of the inheritors of One for All. He needed his successor to know everything about the Quirk that he did.
"Okay!" Nejire smiled right back, the airhead was quite intelligent under her friendly and outgoing personality. It was a fantastic combination for a future Pro Hero to have.
"Have some tea." Toshinori poured his successor a cup. "This is going to be a long talk." He was happy with his choice of successor. Nejire was not only strong and kind-hearted, but the girl's Quirk was so unlike how he fought that Toshinori was sure that no one would ever be able to connect the two of them together. That would let the secret of One for All remain a secret.
"Hmm," Nejire sipped the green tea with a smile before setting it back on the coffee table between them. "Alright, I'm ready to learn." She leaned forward a little to show Toshinori that he had her undivided attention.
"As you already know, One for All is a unique Quirk that can be passed down so long as the current holder wills it to pass on." Toshinori began what would be a lengthy story. "It cannot be stolen, but it can be given to an unwilling recipient. That is because of its origin. One for All was originally derived from a different Quirk altogether." He stopped for just a moment, the memories of the monster he thought he'd killed five years ago resurfacing. "All for One. A Quirk that lets the user steal other Quirks…as well as grant those stolen Quirks to others."
"All for One…" Nejire hummed thoughtfully for a moment. "Does that mean it's a Quirk designed to take everything for its user?" She had a full year as Ryukyu's protégé, she wasn't slow on the uptake.
"Perhaps," Toshinori sighed a bit. "No one knows why the Quirk was named that by its wielder. But this was back during the 'Dawn of Quirks', before the world had even had a chance to adapt to the changes." Toshinori looked into Nejire's blue eyes. "You may have even heard about this, it's still a bit of an urban legend today if you know where to look." He continued to tell his successor of All for One and how One for All came about from it. The two brothers that had started this so long ago, and how Nejire now fit into it all.
-U.A. Cafeteria ~ Lunch-
"The academic tests will just be stuff we learned in class. That's manageable," Izuku spoke as multiple members of 1-A sat down at a table together. "But the practical? That's more unnerving because we don't know what it is."
"I can't imagine it'll consist of anything particularly unusual." Iida replied as he picked up his chopsticks.
"So, about the academic subjects being manageable…" Ochako had a flat expression, having placed thirteenth on the midterms.
"It's probably just a comprehensive test of everything from the first semester, right?" Camie shrugged, not particularly worried about it herself. She'd made it into the top ten at the ninth place on the midterms.
"That's all that Aizawa-sensei has told us." Tsuyu nodded as she took her first bite of lunch.
"So, that's battle training, rescue training, and basic training, right?" Ochako went over the classes they'd done in her head.
"Yes." Momo nodded, looking determined to succeed. It was also adorable though and made Izuku and the girls smile. "That means in addition to our academic studies, we need to keep ourselves in top shape physically as well."
"Exactly." Izuku agreed with her. "Since we won't know what the practical is, we can only keep ourselves ready for any…ow!" He was cut off as an elbow bounced off his head.
Everyone at the table turned to look at the one behind Izuku, only to see Monoma from Class 1-B.
"Ah, sorry, My tray just couldn't get around that big head of yours." Monoma apologized insincerely.
"You're Monoma from Class 1-B, right?" Iida shot a sharp look at the other boy. "How dare you strike another student?!"
"I heard it was two of you guys that ran into the Hero Killer." Monoma spoke up with a mirthless grin. "I guess the Sports Festival wasn't enough for you? You just keep getting attention for one stunt after another, huh, Class 1-A?"
"That wasn't a stunt." Todoroki spoke up with his usual cool tone while side-eyeing Monoma. "You shouldn't assume that everyone's after attention like you are." He went back to slurping his soba, having said his piece.
"I'm just worried that, one of these days, we're all going to get caught up in some of your antics. Scary…" Monoma was cut off as a strong hand chopped the side of his neck and dropped him to the floor.
"That's not funny." Kendo Itsuka chastised her classmate. "Sorry about him. He's way too competitive about our classes for some reason."
"Kendo-san." Izuku nodded to the orange-haired girl, having met her before with Momo when all of the first year Class Reps had to meet and introduce themselves to each other shortly after being chosen. "I overheard you guys saying that you're not sure about the practical exam." Kendo smiled at the group. "Between you and me, I hear it'll be a battle against robots, like in the entrance exam."
"Huh? Really? How do you know that?" Izuku asked, curious as to where she'd gotten the information.
"I know an older student that told me." Kendo pointed her thumb at herself. "It's a little unfair, I know…"
"Not unfair at all! Preliminary intel gathering is just one aspect of the exam. Of course, why not just ask second or third year students? Why didn't I think of that?" Izuku was on a muttering spree and Kendo raised an eyebrow at the storm of words pouring from Izuku. His girlfriends only giggled at seeing Izuku's little habit again.
"Kendo, you fool. We finally had an intel advantage over them." Monoma spoke up from where he was being held up off the floor by Kendo. "This was our chance to show up the detestable Class 1-A…" He was cut off again as Kendo chopped him over the head this time.
"They're not detestable." Kendo corrected, dragging Monoma away from the group. "And it's called being considerate of others."
"Talk about Big Sister energy." Camie snickered while watching Kendo drag Monoma back towards one of the tables that Class 1-B was sitting at.
"Well, at least we know what the practical is going to be now." Ochako breathed a sigh of relief.
"Just because we know doesn't mean that we can slack off though." Tsuyu pointed out simply.
"Asui-san is correct!" Iida nodded to Tsuyu with a small smile. "Now that we know, we must still give our all to our studies and our training until the day of the finals!"
"Yeah!" Camie, Ochako, and Izuku cheered.
Todoroki just slurped his soba while watching them.
Chapter 33 – Finals Begin
The day of the Finals was a nervous time for the students of U.A. and most especially the Heroics Course. The Practical Exam was on everyone's mind and it was still preceded by the written exam that they'd all been studying for as well. One could feel the tension in the air throughout the school all day.
"That's time, pencils down." Aizawa spoke up and anyone still writing stopped what they were doing. "Pass your tests forward and they'll be graded over the weekend."
The tests were passed forward to the people in the front row, who then handed them to Aizawa as he came to collect them all. "You have one hour to prepare for your Practical Exam, which will require you to be in your costumes. Meet at the designated area on time, or you'll be barred from taking the Practical Exam."
"Yes, sir!" Class 1-A acknowledged in unison.
Aizawa nodded to his students and left the room.
"Yaomomo!" Mina cried out in relief and joy. "I think I did okay! Thank you so much!"
"I didn't leave anything blank at least!" Kaminari gave the Vice-Rep a thumbs up and a smile.
"I'm glad to hear that!" Momo beamed, sparkles seeming to come off of her entire body in her adorable excitement.
"Still, that was a lot to go over all at once." Sero exhaled and rubbed the back of his head.
"No kidding, I think I might've messed up on question twelve." Shoji nodded, thinking back on his answer to the specific question.
"The short answer one?" Kirishima questioned, recalling his own answer. "That was based on your own perspective…so, is there a wrong answer?"
"I'm sure the teachers are looking for at least a certain type of answer at the very least." Toru pointed out to the redhead.
"That's true." Sato nodded in agreement. "I felt alright on most of my short answer questions, but not so much on some of the laws and regulation ones, you know?"
"Indeed, Monsieur…" Aoyama had clearly gone all in on his written test; the boy appeared wiped out and wasn't even doing his typical posing. "Such specific examples too…I'm not certain I referenced the proper regulations on some of them."
"Guys, come on, you're starting to make me nervous about my answers now!" Kaminari worried if he'd properly answered some of those questions now.
"No kidding, let's just chill for a bit." Camie suggested as she stretched her arms above her head.
"It's hard to chill when we have the practical coming up so soon." Chikuchi looked over at Camie with a lopsided grin.
"You can say that again." Kyoka still rolled her shoulders to try and get the tension out.
"We should probably start getting ready though, we only have an hour." Tsuyu reminded the class.
"Bakugo and Iida are already gone." Ochako pointed out that the ever punctual Iida and the angry loner Bakugo had already left the room.
"Let's do our best!" Izuku gave everyone his best smile and put his fist in the air to try and pump up his classmates.
"Yeah!" Most of the class cheered back with him as they all started filing out of the room.
-Practical Exam Site-
"Let's begin your practical exam." Aizawa spoke in his typical flat tone.
With their homeroom teacher were seven other teachers: Cementoss, Midnight, Ectoplasm, Power Loader, Snipe, Thirteen, and Present Mic.
Opposite of the teachers, Class 1-A stood in their costumes, ready to go. This was actually the first time that anyone had seen Chikuchi's costume before.
Her costume consisted of a navy blue skin-tight turtleneck bodysuit with two thick light-blue lines running parallel down her torso, thinning as they jut inwards below her breasts and outwards again around her navel, two other lines going around the tops of her thighs. She wore light-blue shoulder-pads that contoured to her shoulders. On each forearm, there was a gauntlet with what looked like four canisters attached, one on the top and bottom and one on each side. She had thigh-high boots which dip down at the front in a pointed 'U' to her knees, and a mask over the lower part of her face that seemed like it had some filtration and possibly respirator functions.
"Sweet costume, Chi-chan!" Toru whispered to her friend with a thumbs up.
"Thanks, Toru-chan." Chikuchi whispered back. Seeing Toru's costume was always odd, as it appeared empty, but it could also vanish entirely since it was apparently made of DNA-encoded metamaterials.
"It is, of course, possible to fail this exam." Aizawa continued, ignoring the whispers for now. "If you want to attend the training camp, then don't mess this up."
"Sure are a lot of teachers here." Kyoka mentioned, looking the group over.
"Six…seven…eight of them." Camie counted off quietly.
"Knowing you guys, you probably asked around and you might think you have a vague idea of how this will go." Aizawa mentioned, even as his capture weapon scarf seemed to be moving a bit on its own.
"It's gonna be a robot rumble, like the entrance exams!" Kaminari cheered, throwing his head back. "Yeah!"
"Fireworks! Curry! Truth or Dare!" Mina listed off one thing after another that she wanted to do at the training camp, all while pumping her fist in excitement.
"Not quite!" Nezu popped out of Aizawa's scarf with his paw raised high, shocking several of the students. "Various circumstances have demanded a revision to the exam format!"
Mina and Kaminari went stock still in shock at hearing that the practical had been changed completely.
"The principal!" Sero exclaimed, stunned that Nezu had popped up out of nowhere.
"A revision…?" Momo blinked at the announcement.
'Why was he in there?' Todoroki just stared as Nezu climbed down from Aizawa's shoulders, using the end of the capture weapon like a rope.
"Well, you see…" Nezu turned to look at the students fully.
-Flashback-
"Worried about a Villain revival?" Present Mic questioned the point that Nezu brought up as they were in a meeting to determine the practical exam for the Hero Course's Finals.
"Of course, we hope to prevent such a movement before it takes hold…" Nezu nodded to his staff. "But as a school, we have to take all necessary precautions." He placed his paws down on the papers in front of him. "It's not unreasonable to imagine that counter-villain battles in our current society will intensify considerably."
"That means battlin' against robots ain't all that practical." Snipe spoke up, agreeing with the direction that Nezu was clearly headed in.
"To begin with, the robots were conceived of as a means to avoid claims and suspicions that people were being harmed in our entrance exams." Nezu reminded all of the faculty.
"Is that all? What a waste. Why not just ignore the complaints?" Aizawa sighed at the lack of reasoning that was used by people to try and discredit U.A. sometimes. "So irrational."
-End Flashback-
"From now on, we'll focus on battles against flesh-and-blood opponents. It is critical that our teaching simulates practical experience as closely as possible!" Nezu clenched both of his paws, a nearly oppressive aura seemed to be coming off the chimera-like principal. "As such, you students will be pairing up and fighting one of the teachers that you see here!" The oppressive aura vanished like it had never been there as Nezu was back to his light-hearted tone. He even laughed like what he'd just said was no big deal!
"Against…a teacher…?" Ochako looked uncertain of their chances, looking over the assembled Pro Heroes.
"Your pairings and assigned teacher have already been decided." Aizawa took over the explanation. "Your battle moves, your grades, your friendships or lack thereof, all of these factors and more were considered, so without further ado…Todoroki and Yaoyorozu, you two will be against me." He grinned at the pair, his hands already unwinding his capture scarf.
'Erasure against students with powerful Emitter Quirks.' A couple of the students realized at the same time.
"Midoriya, you're with Bakugo." Aizawa stated and watched the two teens turn to look at each other. Well, Izuku looked at Bakugo, while Bakugo glared at Izuku. "And your opponent…"
"Will be me!" All Might landed off to the side of the other teachers with his signature grin. Bakugo and Izuku looked up at the man with wide eyes. "You'll have to work together to win, so come at me you two!"
"Ashido and Kaminari, you're going against Principal Nezu." Aizawa announced next.
"Eh?!" Mina gaped at the chimera.
"Seriously?!" Kaminari looked a mix between relieved and concerned.
"Aoyama and Uraraka, you're both going against Thirteen." Aizawa continued.
"Oh man." Ochako looked at her favorite Hero.
"Merci, mademoiselle." Aoyama bowed to the Rescue Hero.
"Koda and Jiro, you'll be against Present Mic." Aizawa might've had a glimmer of sympathy in his eyes for the two…maybe.
"Let's see who has the higher decibels!" Present Mic grinned at the two students.
"I'd rather not…" Kyoka grimaced.
Koda just shook his head side-to-side at the idea. He was a quiet boy and only interacted with a few of his classmates.
"Asui and Tokoyami, you two will be facing Ectoplasm." Aizawa declared.
"An army comes upon us." Tokoyami stated, looking at their Math teacher.
"Kero." Tsuyu croaked, already trying to go over everything that she knew about their teacher's Quirk and how he fought when doing Hero Work.
"Togeike and Utsushimi, you're against Midnight." Aizawa looked at his newest student and Camie.
"Sick." Camie grinned at one of her favorite teachers.
"Range is the name of the game, huh?" Chikuchi didn't like the grin on their teacher's face.
"Shoji and Hagakure, you'll be against Snipe." Aizawa motioned to the cowboy themed Hero.
'Long Range versus Close Range.' Multiple students thought of the match up.
"I can stay invisible…but can you make armor or anything?" Toru whispered to Shoji.
"I can do a few surprising things, but all of it will still require getting close to Snipe-sensei." Shoji whispered back.
"Sato and Kirishima, you two are with Cementoss." Aizawa looked at the boys and then Cementoss.
"Right!" Kirishima bumped fists with Sato.
"Isn't this a defensive capture specialist against two power fighters?" Sato raised an eyebrow at their opponent. This test might be harder than anything he'd considered before.
"Iida and Sero, you'll both face Power Loader." Aizawa finished off the list with a nod.
"Crap…we don't know much about Power Loader's abilities." Sero grimaced at their match up.
"We'll simply have to do our best to overcome this test!" Iida nodded firmly, though even he wasn't liking the wide grin on the Pro Hero's face.
"Allow me to fully explain this test!" Nezu spoke up cheerfully. "You'll all be separated into ten prepared areas, which you'll be placed in the center of. Once the test starts, you'll have thirty minutes to accomplish one of two objectives." He pulled out a pair of specialized handcuffs and showed them to the students. "Either put these handcuffs on your teacher, or at least one of your pair has to escape from the test area through the only available exit."
"Is it really okay to run away?" Mina questioned with her hand raised.
"Of course." Nezu nodded to the pink girl with a smile. "In fact, I might go as far as to say it would be the correctoption in many cases."
"This is nothing like your previous battle training!" Present Mic declared crossing his arms in front of him. "Because this time your opponent is on a whole other level!"
"That's not really the impression that I get from you." Kyoka mentioned with a deadpan stare.
"Hey, girl, watch your mouth!" Present Mic shot back with a grumble.
"This test is meant to simulate true battle as closely as possible, so please, think of us as actual Villains!" Thirteen nodded to the students, a smile in her voice.
"If you do engage in battle." Snipe adjusted his cowboy hat. "And manage to fight and win, that's fine."
"However, if you find yourself overwhelmed by your opponent's power, then fleeing and calling for help might be your wisest option." Aizawa subtly looked at both Izuku and Todoroki, which both teens caught. A reminder of their decision to go after the Hero Killer.
"It's either fight to win, or run to win." Izuku simplified the point of the test.
"Yes! Your decision-making is being tested!" All Might declared to the class. "But, given the rules and circumstances, you're all probably thinking that running is the only option." The Number One Hero pulled out a cuff and showed it to the students. "That's why we had the Support Course make these! Ultra Compressed Weights! With these, each of the teachers will be weighed down with an extra fifty percent of their bodyweight! They're a tried and true method of slowing movement and draining stamina!" He strapped a few onto himself to demonstrate and only a couple of students heard his next words. "Shoot…they're heavier than I thought!"
"We held a competition among the Support Course as part of their practical exam to make these." Power Loader chuckled at the curious looks the students were giving the weights. "Hatsume from Class 1-H won, so her design was chosen."
"Hatsume…" Izuku recalled the girl from the Sports Festival with a chuckle.
"Is that why the Support Course's practical exam was last week?" Toru raised her hand to ask.
"Yeah, it was two birds with one stone." Power Loader grinned at getting to test the Support Course and come up with the weights for the Hero Course test at the same time.
"To further make you consider between fighting or fleeing, each of your teachers will also tell you of the handicap they've placed on themselves aside from the weights." Nezu cheerfully announced with one paw raised in the air. "Allow me to go first!" He looked at Kaminari and Mina with a grin. "I will not be moving from my initial location unless you force me to. Should you manage to escape the range that I can affect from my location, then you are free to flee and pass your test."
"Nice!" Mina and Kaminari high-fived each other, not noticing the looks of sympathy directed at them by the other teachers.
"I'll be giving you the handicap of not using my full arsenal of gear." Aizawa mentioned to Todoroki and Momo. "I'll only be using what I can carry on my belt."
"That's still not very reassuring." Momo mentioned, clearly wary of what gear Aizawa would still have access to on top of erasing their Quirks.
"Hmm." Todoroki was thinking much the same thing as his soon-to-be partner.
"For you two, I'm only using that excavation exoskeleton that I use for rescue incidents." Power Loader pointed his thumb to the mentioned exoskeleton off to the side. "It's not one of my combat machines, so you'll be fine."
"That grin on your face makes me think that we won't be fine…" Sero commented on the teacher's wide grin.
"Indeed." Iida looked between the Hero and the machine a couple of times.
"Our terrain is not in my favor, even though it's a cityscape." Cementoss smiled at Sato and Kirishima. "So, I won't be able to just manipulate the entire area and defeat you instantly."
"I was actually kind of worried about that." Sato nodded to their teacher.
"Nice, we have a fighting chance then!" Kirishima clearly wanted to attempt fighting at least once.
"I will not use my full number of clones against you, nor any support gear." Ectoplasm explained to Tokoyami and Tsuyu.
"That's a good handicap." Tsuyu nodded at the limit their teacher was using.
"Not an army, but a squadron…an acceptable force to give us a chance." Tokoyami agreed with his partner for the test.
"For you two, I'll be limiting my ammo and refraining from any special bullets that would capture you in a single shot." Snipe tipped his hat to Toru and Shoji.
"Okay, so we at least have a few options now." Toru breathed a sigh of relief.
"True…but that still means we have to close the distance, if he'll even let us." Shoji was already trying to come up with ways to pass against a sharpshooter like Snipe.
"I'll be restraining myself to opening no more than five caps at any one time." Thirteen assured Ochako and Aoyama with a wave, showing them the five caps on the tips of the gloves that were part of her costume. "That way you won't have to worry about everything around you, along with the ground under your feet, being dragged into my Quirk all at once."
"Half power…we should be able to figure something out, right?" Ochako looked at her partner for the test.
"Oui!" Aoyama nodded to her with a smile. "My sparkles shall not let you down!" Sparkles appeared around him as he posed, clearly back to his normal self now.
"No worries here, little listeners!" Present Mic exclaimed to Kyoka and Koda. "I'll stay nice and still for you! I won't even use any of the sound directing functions of my gear." He pointed to the speaker gear around his neck. "Just my voice against both of you and everything that you can bring!" He grinned at the two teens while making 'come on' motions with his hands.
"This is still going to be a pain, isn't it?" Kyoka was not looking forward to her sensitive hearing being blasted by Mic's voice.
"L-Let's do o-our best, J-Jiro." Koda's voice was barely heard, but it was clear the boy was doing his best to be more vocal.
"As for you two…" Midnight had a teasing grin on her lips. "I'm limiting myself to just my whip for gear. So, make sure you bring your best for me." She licked her lips and the look in her eyes made both Camie and Chikuchi nearly take a step back instinctively.
"Damn…you're crazy forward, Midnight-sensei." Camie grinned back at the woman.
"Why doesn't the handicap give me much more confidence?" Chikuchi narrowed her eyes at Midnight.
"Whatever could you mean?" Midnight asked with a lilt in her voice and a teasing wink.
"Long range it is." Chikuchi deadpanned, making Midnight pout playfully while Camie laughed.
"As for you, young Bakugo, young Midoriya, I will, of course, refrain from using my full strength." All Might laughed his signature laugh. "It wouldn't be much of a test if I took you out with a single punch!" Then he shivered out of nowhere. "Ah, ahem…" He coughed into his fist. "Also, putting both of you into the hospital would make Recovery Girl very mad at me."
-Recovery Girl's Onsite Medical Tent-
"You better hold back you gorilla!" Recovery Girl glared at one of the monitors in the tent. "If you falter on your control, you'd do worse than put them in the hospital! Those boys would be blood mist!" She was already anticipating being rather busy today. She didn't need any more work than what would be coming as is! "I'll break the shins of any of you brats that gives any of these youngsters a severe injury!" She threatened the monitors, waving her syringe-themed cane above her head.
-Practical Exam Site-
"Trying to bring this fight down to our level or something?" Bakugo scowled at what he perceived as the teachers looking down on him. "That's insulting."
"Haha! We'll see!" All Might grinned at the explosive teen, his blue eyes shining with restrained power.
"Now, each student pair, and their assigned teacher, will board one of these buses." Nezu pointed to the ten buses in the parking lot in front of the meeting site. "And head to your designated areas. When the alarm sounds, that will be the signal to start the tests!"
The students were quick to follow their assigned teachers onto the appropriate bus. The vehicles pulled out of the parking lot one by one and headed to various training sites throughout the campus. Some of the students chatted with their partners, hoping to use the travel time to get a plan together to pass the test. Others…were not so talkative.
"Are you sure that you two don't want to discuss strategy among yourselves?" All Might looked between Izuku and Bakugo, seeing the ash blonde had sat as far as possible away from the green-haired boy. "I promise not to eavesdrop."
Bakugo remained silent, sitting in his seat at the back and looking out the window.
"Yeah…sorry, All Might…I don't think that's going to happen." Izuku sighed at Bakugo's intense dislike of him.
Once the bus rides were over, the students were taken to the center of the training site they arrived at. The teachers all took up positions near the only exit and awaited the test to begin. Some of them would stay by their gate, guarding it from the students pitted against them. Others would take a more active role in hunting down the students and defeating them. Only the students weren't aware of which method their assigned teacher would employ.
"Everyone in position?" Nezu's voice came over the speakers in every test site. "Let's begin the final exam for Hero Course Class 1-A! Ready…GO!" The speakers went dead and a large digital clock above each gate started counting down from thirty minutes.
-Tokoyami and Tsuyu-
The instant the time began, four clones of Ectoplasm formed around the two teens. Not having noticed the thin mist creeping along the ground, both Tsuyu and Tokoyami were caught off guard and instantly put on the defensive.
"We forgot to mention that we teachers will be giving it our all to utterly crush you students." Ectoplasm's clones informed the two in unison.
"Grab her, Dark Shadow!" Tokoyami used his Quirk to pick Tsuyu up and toss her to a higher floor in the tower-like building that they were currently in. "Run! Asui!"
"Kero!" Tsuyu landed on the wall right beneath a balcony. "Tokoyami!" She launched her long tongue, wrapping it around her partner, and then hauled him up right behind her, getting both of them out of the encirclement.
"Not bad." One Ectoplasm clone noted the teamwork.
"So, they've chosen to flee?" Another clone surmised, watching the students bolt in the direction of the exit.
"I guess we should give chase." The third clone mentioned before all four turned into the same mist as before, slightly glowing when all gathered together. The cloud floated to the same balcony that Tokoyami and Tsuyu had used to escape and the four clones then reformed and chased after the students.
-Recovery Girl's Onsite Medical Tent-
"Communication skills." Recovery Girl smiled at the screens as she watched the tests with a careful eye. "Overlooked in modern society…but absolutely essential for Heroes." She sighed at the glory hunting that some Pros engaged in. "It's not enough to just have good teamwork with your trusted Sidekicks, but to be able to work well with anyone to a certain degree." Recovery Girl looked at one monitor in particular. "Which means those two have the most to overcome in a test that requires communication."
-Izuku and Bakugo-
"Stop following me!" Bakugo yelled at Izuku.
"Will you at least listen to my suggestion?" Izuku requested, having a Quirk that would help them pass this test easily if Bakugo would just go along with him.
"Obviously beating him down's the best option!" Bakugo shouted over Izuku's words.
"But we can avoid a battle entirely and still pass!" Izuku pointed out to Bakugo. "They gave us that option because battle isn't always the right choice!"
"I'll let him mess around until the very end." Bakugo growled, already scanning the cityscape to look for All Might. "Then, when he's exhausted, I'll let him have it!"
"You're going to try a battle of attrition against All Might?" Izuku nearly gaped at the sheer…stupidity…of that plan. "Battles of attrition only work if the enemy can't one shot you from halfway across a city!"
Bakugo turned and swung at Izuku, but Izuku had already compiled multiple Quirks before the test had even begun, one such combo being his 'Perception Enhancement' group of 'Mental Boost', 'Amplification', 'Efficiency', and 'Enhance Function'.
"What the hell?" Izuku had taken a step back so that Bakugo's swing went wide. "Are you trying to fail?!"
"Stop talking." Bakugo growled at Izuku with wide eyes. "You think you're all that? Well, it's pissing me off."
"I'm offering to work with you so that we can pass this test together! What's wrong with that?" Izuku questioned his former friend.
"YOU THINK I NEED YOUR POWER TO PASS! FORGET IT, YOU DAMN LEECH!" Bakugo exploded verbally upon Izuku; his eyes wide at the other teen's words.
"Stop yelling for once! This is why we can never actually talk!" Izuku raised his voice now, not quite a yell, but noticeably louder than his normal tone so that he'd be heard over Bakugo's shouting.
THOOM
It was like a hurricane had hit instantly. The cityscape was devastated by a powerful shockwave and the following wind pressure that tore apart buildings and the ground alike. Every window shattered, every sign was torn from the ground or buildings, the wind howled, and debris flew all the way from one end of the mock cityscape to the other.
"You know that was probably just a single punch, right?" Izuku mentioned, just a hint of snark seeping into his voice as his translucent green barrier had formed a dome over them, keeping both safe from the previous attack.
"I don't need your damn help!" Bakugo barked back, punching the barrier from the inside. Izuku dropped it with a heavy exhale at Bakugo's stubbornness.
-Recovery Girl's Onsite Medical Tent-
"Those two have the worst communication." Recovery Girl shook her head. It wasn't like Izuku wasn't trying. Her student in healing was laying out the facts of the test and their opponent, but Bakugo just refused to listen. "What could cause such an attitude in a boy his age?" The old Hero wondered as she switched to a different monitor to keep watch of all of the students during their tests.
-All Might-
"Now." All Might smiled, his fist still extended from his punch that had devastated the mock cityscape. "Get ready to have a really bad time!"