….
While the battle between the Todoroki brothers took place in the industrial zone, the other nine pairs of Class 1-A were scattered across the sprawling urban landscape of Ground Beta; each facing their own opponents.
Before departure, Aizawa's brief.
"Ten teams in ten separate battle zones. You will be transported by bus to your assigned sectors. The rules are simple: either capture your assigned teacher with the handcuffs provided, or get at least one team member past the exit gate. You have thirty minutes. It's a two ways to pass, accomplish either one, and you're through."
He had tapped the heavy, metallic bands around his own wrists.
"The teachers will be wearing super compact weighted bracelets, courtesy of Support Course student Mei Hatsume, to handicap themselves. Do not mistake that for mercy. We are still Pro Heroes, and you are still students. Treat this like a life-or-death struggle, or you will fail."
The matchups were once again displayed:
Principal Nezu versus Kaminari & Ashido;Thirteen versus Aoyama & Uraraka; Present Mic versus Koda & Jiro; Ectoplasm versus Tokoyami & Asui; Midnight versus Sero & Shinso; Snipe versus Shoji & Hagakure; Cementoss versus Kirishima & Sato; and finally Power Loader versus Iida & Ojiro.
For Hitoshi Shinso, the stakes were even higher.
After weeks of brutal, and exclusive training under Aizawa's tutelage, this wasn't just an exam; it would determine his potential transfer to the Hero Course and everything rode on his performance.
In the central observation room, Recovery Girl sat surrounded by monitors, her gaze sharp. She knew the medical wing was about to get very busy.
….
[Sector 4: Cementoss vs. Kirishima & Sato]
Cementoss sat at the center of the zone, his palms pressed to the pavement.
He reshaped the battlefield with his quirk [Cement]; walls rose, streets collapsed, buildings shifted, turning the area into a three-dimensional maze designed to separate and isolate the students.
"They won't be able to bypass this through strategy." Cementoss murmured, his voice calm. "I will simply bury them in sheer volume."
But a sudden, thunderous crack echoed through the canyon of stone.
"UNBREAKABLE!"
Kirishima didn't go over the wall. He didn't look for a way around.
His hardening activated at maximum output, skin turning to literal rock as he charged straight through Cementoss's barriers; stone shattered into dust as Kirishima tore through the obstacle, his roar echoing off the artificial skyscrapers.
Right on his heels was Sato, his veins bulging from a high-dosage sugar rush. Sato followed in the wake of Kirishima's wake, his fists acting as sledgehammers that demolished the remnants of whatever Kirishima hadn't already pulverized.
"These kids–!" Cementoss's eyes widened behind his rectangular mask.
He slammed his hands down again, raising a series of reinforced ramparts. He watched in genuine shock as Kirishima shattered the first one with a reinforced headbutt, barely losing momentum.
"When did they become this durable?!"
As he watched them, Cementoss realized it wasn't just their Quirks that had evolved; it was their mentality.
There was a frantic, almost desperate hunger in the way they moved. They weren't fighting like students worried about a grade; they were fighting like survivors who had seen the bottom of a pit and refused to go back.
You've turned them into monsters, Dabi, Cementoss thought, a chill running down his spine.
It was indeed the result of Dabi's brutal conditioning.
Kirishima's hardening now lasted significantly longer under stress, and Sato's sugar management was precise enough to maintain enhancement without the usual crash.
They moved like a two-man wrecking crew: Kirishima breaking through defenses, Sato capitalizing on openings.
By the fifteen-minute mark, the normally stoic Cementoss was actually sweating, forced to burn through his own stamina just to keep the boys from reaching the escape gate through sheer, unadulterated brute force.
….
[Sector 2: Ectoplasm vs. Tokoyami & Asui]
Thirty clones of Ectoplasm filled the zone, creating a numbers advantage that should have been overwhelming.
"Revelry in the dark." Tokoyami intoned.
Dark Shadow erupted, but it wasn't the erratic, flailing entity from months ago; it was leaner, its eyes glowing with a controlled, predatory fury.
The training with Dabi had paid off.
Tokoyami had been trying to find the narrow equilibrium between restraint and the abyss.
He had learned to trigger a surgical rampage, feeding Dark Shadow just enough darkness to match Ectoplasm's numbers without letting the beast consume the man.
Dark Shadow swept through clones like a scythe through wheat.
Meanwhile, Asui used her superior mobility to navigate the chaos, tongue lashing out to bind clones, powerful legs propelling her across rooftops with frog-like agility.
Ectoplasm, observing from a high catwalk, felt a prickle of unease. They aren't taken aback by the fact that they are outnumbered?
….
[Sector 7: Principal Nezu vs. Kaminari & Ashido]
This battle was a masterful calculation.
Nezu had turned the entire zone into a death trap; pitfalls, collapsing structures, electrical hazards, chemical irritants.
Every step was a potential disaster, and he was loving it.
"This is accelerating!" Nezu's voice chirped from hidden speakers, ringing with a manic delight that made Ashido's skin crawl. "Your movement patterns show a 47% improvement from last month's data! But can you handle THIS?!"
Another trap slammed shut, and Kaminari moved with a twitch-response that felt almost pre-programmed. He leaned into it, absorbing the rogue current and redirecting it into the ground with a controlled discharge.
"This is insane!" Ashido screamed, sliding beneath a falling crane and melting the heavy cable with a focused, high-pH spray of acid. "He's actually trying to kill us!"
"No, no, just maiming at most!" Nezu's cheerful voice replied. "Though I must say, you two are performing admirably! Much better than predicted!"
Nezu was right.
Kaminari's electrical control had improved dramatically, he could now discharge at precise voltages without short-circuiting his own brain, and Ashido's acid control was refined enough to adjust pH mid-spray.
But Nezu was still Nezu, for every adaptation they made, he had three counter-traps ready.
It was terrifying and exhilarating, and Nezu was having the time of his life.
….
[Sector 5: Midnight vs. Sero & Shinso]
This matchup was tactical chess.
Midnight's Somnambulist quirk meant close-range exposure was an instant knockout.
But Sero's tape provided distance control, and Shinso's Brainwashing offered a counter if he could make her respond verbally.
"Come on, boys~" Midnight purred, releasing her quirk's aroma. "Don't make this difficult…. Sleep is so much kinder than what you've been doing in those extra sessions."
Sero immediately created a tape mask for both of them, improvised respirators to filter the knockout gas.
Shinso stayed silent. His eyes tracking Midnight's movements, waiting for the perfect moment to deploy his quirk.
They were trained for this.
Aizawa had drilled Shinso specifically on fighting opponents who knew about his Brainwashing; taught him patience, timing, and psychological manipulation.
The battle became a game of cat and mouse.
Midnight trying to force verbal responses, Shinso waiting for her to slip, and Sero controlling space with tape webbing.
It was tense, professional, and almost beautiful in its technical execution.
….
In the central monitoring room, Recovery Girl watched all battles simultaneously; several teachers who had finished their exams early had gathered to observe.
"These kids..." Cementoss shook his head, having just returned from his battle. "I had to actually exert myself in the final minutes. When did they become this... lethal?"
"Blame Dabi." Aizawa said flatly, observing Tokoyami's controlled Dark Shadow rampage with professional interest. "He's been running them ragged for weeks. Extra training, individual focus, brutal conditioning, and this is the result."
"I would prefer to curse him." Cementoss muttered, touching a bruised rib. "Kirishima hit me with a headbutt that felt like a demolition ball. A first-year shouldn't have that much density behind his strikes yet."
"Complaining, Ishiyama?" Aizawa's eyes flickered toward him. His expression remained a tired mask, but there was a razor-thin edge of something like satisfaction there.
"Impressed, actually." Cementoss watched the monitors. "Concerned about the long-term implications of pushing students this hard, but impressed."
Ectoplasm arrived next, looking genuinely winded. "Tokoyami and Asui passed. Dark Shadow's control is... disturbing, honestly. That much power with that much precision? At fifteen years old?"
"Sixteen for Tokoyami." Aizawa corrected. "And yes. Dabi's training methods produce results."
"At what cost?" Ectoplasm asked. The question wasn't an accusation, but a genuine professional concern.
"We will find out." Aizawa replied. "For now, they're passing, and that's what matters."
On the monitors, the final movements of the other sectors were concluding.
There were successes and failures, but even those who fell short did so with a ferocity that made the staff take notice.
The [Class 1-A] that had started the semester was gone; in its place was something much sharper.
And then–
"Oh my." Recovery Girl leaned forward. "All Might's battle is starting, this should be interesting."
Every teacher in the room turned to watch.
….
[Sector 1: All Might vs. Midoriya & Bakugo]
All Might stood directly in front of the exit gate.
His both arms were on his hips, weighted bracelets visible on his wrists.
Even with his power suppressed, the sheer pressure of his presence was enormously strong.
Midoriya and Bakugo approached from opposite angles, moving in sync without a word exchanged between them.
All Might looked at them, and for a fleeting second, the 'Symbol of Peace' mask slipped to reveal warmth.
Pride.
These two had changed more than any other students in recent weeks.
The growth was visible not just in quirk control but in their fundamental approach to Heroism.
Bakugo still carried his trademark snarl; that probably wouldn't change; but the casual death threats were gone.
After Stain's... intervention... Bakugo had learned the weight his words carried. "Kill" and "die" only came out when he genuinely meant them now.
His loud mouth remained, but the malice had transformed into something more focused, and he was working with Midoriya.
That alone was miraculous.
Meanwhile, Midoriya had found his confidence.
The self-deprecating stammering had diminished significantly.
[Black Whip] flickered at his fingertips, still being mastered but already combat-viable, while One For All ran at 35% with minimal backlash.
The strategic mind was still there, but backed by genuine combat capability now.
All Might attacked first.
Even handicapped by weighted bracelets, the Symbol of Peace was a blur of golden light.
He crossed fifty meters in under a second, fist already moving toward Bakugo's center mass–
Crack-thrum!
Black Whip tendrils lashed out from Midoriya's position, pulling All Might's trajectory slightly off-center while simultaneously yanking Midoriya into striking range from an impossible angle.
All Might adjusted mid-strike, but Bakugo had already read the shift.
The explosion-propelled kick didn't come from where All Might had dodged to, but from where he had dodged from. Bakugo had anticipated the counter-movement, positioning himself in the blind spot before All Might had even finished landing.
The Symbol of Peace blocked the kick with his forearm, and for the first time, the impact actually registered.
A dull thud echoed through the alleyway. All Might swept low, a leg-sweep designed to take Bakugo's foundation out–
Whoosh!
Midoriya's [Black Whip] grabbed Bakugo around the waist and yanked him airborne.
In the same motion, Midoriya released a secondary tendril that hooked All Might's sweeping ankle, using the momentum of the hero's own move to pull himself into a spinning, One For All-enhanced kick.
All Might blocked, but Bakugo was already descending from the sky, a two-handed explosion primed to detonate the exact microsecond All Might's guard was occupied by Midoriya.
The Symbol of Peace had to actually move. He broke his stance to avoid taking both hits simultaneously.
"Not bad!" All Might's voice boomed, genuine approval radiating from him. "But can you keep up?!"
He accelerated.
What followed was unlike anything the observing students had seen before.
All Might moved faster, still holding back significantly, but enough that most students would've lost track of him entirely.
Midoriya and Bakugo didn't drown.
Midoriya spun a web of Black Whip across the battlefield, to give himself constant anchor points.
He used them like a three-dimensional mobility system, launching himself at angles gravity shouldn't allow, repositioning faster than One For All alone could manage.
Bakugo worked the opposite strategy.
His explosion-propelled movement that looked chaotic but followed precise vectors. Every blast served a dual purpose: locomotion and offense.
He was never where All Might expected him to be, constantly flanking at angles that forced the Symbol of Peace to fracture his focus.
And they were coordinating, without words or even hand signals. Through pure combat instinct developed from weeks of forced partnership training.
Dabi was right, All Might thought, remembering a conversation from weeks ago. "Those two, when they stop arguing and start working together, are going to be monsters."
Time to see if that prediction held true.
All Might feinted toward Midoriya–
Bakugo's eyes flicked left for a fraction of a second.
Midoriya immediately activated [Black Whip] to pull himself right, creating an opening.
Bakugo filled it with a concentrated explosion blast aimed not at All Might but at the ground near his feet, creating a debris cloud and forcing upward movement.
The instant All Might jumped, Midoriya was already airborne via tendril-assisted launch, One For All-enhanced kick coming from above.
Simultaneously, Bakugo attacked from below with an explosion-propelled uppercut.
All Might blocked both, but for the first time in the exam, he actually stepped backward, from the combined force.
The students were attacking in stereo; reading each other's intentions through microscopic cues, eye movements, weight shifts, breathing patterns.
They are creating combination attacks on the fly that require perfect timing and absolute trust.
"DEKU!" Bakugo's shout wasn't anger, but a signal.
Midoriya instantly understood. [Black Whip] shot toward Bakugo, wrapping around his torso.
Bakugo detonated a massive explosion downward, launching himself and Midoriya in a spinning arc. At the apex, Midoriya released, using One For All to redirect while Bakugo continued the rotation.
The result: Midoriya coming in high with a 35% Detroit Smash while Bakugo attacked low with an AP Shot Auto-Cannon; a rapid-fire burst of concentrated explosions he had only recently mastered.
All Might caught Midoriya's fist with one hand and swept Bakugo's assault with the other, but the coordination forced him to commit both hands to defense.
The opening lasted a quarter-second.
Bakugo's eyes met Midoriya's mid-combat, and understanding passed between them wordlessly.
[Black Whip] snaked from Midoriya's free hand, reaching not for the hero, but for the debris field Bakugo had created earlier.
The tendril grabbed a chunk of concrete and whipped it toward All Might's blind spot.
Simultaneously, Bakugo fired a Stun Grenade, to create flash and sound that would mask the concrete's approach.
All Might dodged the concrete on pure instinct, stepping exactly where they wanted him: into a Black Whip trap Midoriya had laid three exchanges ago, hidden beneath the rubble, activated now with perfect timing.
The tendrils couldn't possibly restrain the Symbol of Peace, but they tangled his legs for exactly one second.
…and it was enough.
Bakugo and Midoriya struck from opposite directions; full power, everything they had left in the tank. The impact forced a grunt of genuine effort from the Symbol of Peace.
And then, impossibly, Bakugo grinned. It wasn't his usual mask of aggression; it was a fierce, pure expression of combat joy.
"THAT ACTUALLY FUCKING WORKED!"
He sounded delighted, the sound of a boy who had finally found an equal to stand beside.
.
….
[To be continued…]
★─────⇌•★•⇋─────★
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