Chapter 39: (Episode 34: Gear Up for Final Exams)
Enji couldn't understand how a person could be this naive. To think that the boy truly believed he could save someone from their prophesied fate was idiotic in itself, no matter what this voice had said when he arrived. Everyone had their designated role to play in this life, and nothing this show crafted would change that.
Watching the kid through narrowed eyes, Enji eventually casted his attention to his son, who welcomed his brainless idea, as Izuku sat beside him. With the room growing dark again, the number two hero huffed, as he awaited one thing in this future show: Who would take the title of number one when Toshinori was gone. Of course, the unexpected discovery of the hero's fate was shocking, however, it changed nothing for what he needed to do for himself. If he could watch Shoto take the placement, that would satisfy him. It was the only thing he mustsee.
Once he settled into his seat, ignoring the speakers starting up the episode, Shoto asked his friend, "Midoriya can I ask you a question?"
"Oh… Um, sure, Todoroki-kun…"
"It's about-"
"What is this…?!" Mina's exclamation cut off what the boy was saying, as they looked at her frowned expression, before glancing to the screen to assess her disgust.
"And so, we have these two in the studio today…" a male host of his show gestured to the two female pro heroes on set, Midnight and Mt. Lady, after asking a question about if sexiness matters in a hero's career to his audience.
Ignoring what was happening up front, Shoto continued to say, "I had a few more questions about your discussion on blood type."
"Oh-Oh…?" Izuku was glad for a distraction, however, he hadn't been expecting the topic to come back up again, asking with interest, "What about?"
"Am I supposed to know all my family member's blood type?"
The question took a few others by surprise as well, with Izuku blinking at the serious look in his heterochromatic eyes, before replying, "Um… I mean, it would be useful… to know… right?"
"I see… But, what if I don't know what their blood type is? What if I don't know my mother's blood type- Does that make me a bad son- A bad person?"
"Todoroki-kun, no one is blaming you or saying you are a bad person for not knowing. I feel it is quite the opposite, really- You didn't grow up with your family around you, so you did not share the knowledge of knowing who they were…"
"Iida's right, and here's something to make you feel better 'bout yourself: You can always check with your mom about her blood type when you get back…!" Mina grinned, hoping this reminder would help him calm down, and while what she said did provide some comfort, Shoto wasn't yet done with the conversation.
"Midoriya, do you get your blood type from your mother, or your father?"
"Ah, well, um, I… actually don't know…"
"Why's that?"
Izuku tapped his fingers together, sweating, while sinking into the cushions, as he tried to answer, "Well, um, my-my mom's blood type doesn't… and my dad's… I… don't know my dad's…"
"I see… So we are in the same situation?"
"No! No no, my dad…" Izuku wanted to explain that his dad wasn't in a hospital or an abusive parent, but he felt saying that would be insensitive. Yet, he could feel eyes staring down at him, questioning his reaction to the simple question.
Listening in on the conversation below, Ochaco, who sat with Eijiro and Katsuki, looked at the blond-haired boy, whispering, "You should go down there and help Deku-kun out…"
"Why the fuck would I do that?"
"Because he doesn't know how to tell someone to stop. And, you're blunt enough to tell them an answer where someone'll stop asking."
"Oh, hush up- You're just as curious to know where Deku's fucking dad is, too. Don't think you're slick…!" Katsuki huffed in reply, turning his head away from the brunette, who puffed out her cheeks at not being taken seriously. Of course she wanted to know what was going on with Izuku's father, but she also wanted to help her distressed friend.
"Mineta, what the heck…?" Mina glared at the eyesore in front of her when it was revealed that he had been watching this insulting show about women.
"Hey, don't judge me for what I watch in my free time…! That was quality entertainment there that was cut short!" Minoru defended his future self, and while ignoring their judgmental looks, went on to say, "Also, this was crucial information: We learned more about who Mt. Lady is as a person. Which goes to show that maybe she is a demon in disguise…"
"I mean, he's not wrong about the judging what he does in his free time… Knowing guys like him, it could have been a lot worse."
"The hell is that supposed to mean, Shinso…?!"
"Hey, don't yell at Shinso! Someone was trying to defend you for once, Mineta, and this is how you repay him…?!" Mina shouted back down at the puny boy, before turning to her friend, noting, "I get what you mean, but at the same time, we were just forced to watch that… Nobody wanted to see that."
"You got a better point."
Interested in the previous conversation, Mina looked to the other side of her, before prompting again, "Midori-kun, I'm a little concerned that you don't know where your dad is-"
"I do!" Izuku exclaimed, wheezing, and causing those beside him to lean away from him, while he struggled to explain, "He, uh, he's just… Somewhere…! Out- Out of the… Out of the country- For… work… purposes."
"You don't sound convinced. And, why would this make you unaware of your father's blood type?"
Pouting at him, and flashing her eyelids, Ochaco silently hoped that her pleas would get his attention, gleaming when she heard Katsuki yell, "Who gives a shit what, where, or who Deku's dad is?! Just watch the damn episode!"
"It's still the opening song, Bakugo."
"I don't give a fuck what it is!"
As the melody became their only sound, Ochaco hummed to herself proudly, "He truly does care…"
"All right, I've had enough of you- Go back to your damn friends, and stop getting in my business-"
"Sorry, but your business is my business now. So, I'm staying here until you and Deku-kun talk it out. Or come to an understanding." Ochaco straightened up, crossing her arms, to face his glaring expression, while Eijiro began to worry about having to separate the two.
However, Katsuki simply clicked his tongue, before falling back down into his seat, with Eijiro impressed by the brunette. He wondered if Denki witnessed this interaction, to know that Ochaco could handle herself.
Title screen 'Episode 34. Gear Up for Final Exams'
"Damn, already…?"
"And why does it have to show that…?!"
Tomura was glad to know he wasn't the only complainer this time.
While the bell rang to end their homeroom period, Aizawa called out to his class of first years, reminding them, "Okay, that's it for class. There's only one week left until the final exams."
"WHAT?!"
"It's okay, Ashido-san, we don't have exams yet…!"
"Oh, thank goodness…" Mina sighed, a hand to her chest, until she began to think, leaning toward Hitoshi, as she whispered, "You know, we're getting an insider's look on what could be our exams for our first year…!"
"You guys are. I'm screwed." Hitoshi usually did fairly well in his classes, but he was still worried nonetheless.
"I HAVEN'T STUDIED AT ALL!" Ashido and Kaminari both exclaimed, however, one was panicking about this discovery, whereas the other laughed without a care in the world.
Her scoring nineteenth in the class meant that Kaminari was dead last, causing him to stress, "With the Sports Festival and internships, I didn't study at all…!"
"It's true that we had one event after another, but…" Tokoyami, who scored fourteenth in the class, could understand his classmate's worry, while Ashido mercilessly continued her cackling.
"For the midterms, we'd just started school, so they didn't cover much, so I didn't really have a hard time with them, but with the back-to-back events and stuff, the finals will be different…" Sato, scoring twelfth in the class, sat at his desk, while talking with Koda, who scored a spot higher.
"Man, I don't know if I should strive to score better or just be happy with where I'm at…" Rikido knew he was capable of doing better, but what slightly surprised him was that Koji was in eleventh, as he would have assumed that the boy got anxiety on tests, too.
"Can we see those… squares… showing our placement in the class?"
"I would presume that would be impossible…" Momo figured that the reason they may know one another's scores is from Shota, since they were shocked to see how high Minoru scored in the class, ninth.
"Where's the demand for this…?!"
"The world, I guess."
Walking up to his failing peers, Midoriya called out, "Ashido-san, Kaminari-kun. L-Let's do our best…! We all want to go to the training camp together, right?"
"Oh shit, I completely forgot about that…!"
"Midoriya… Bro, lemme study with you!" Denki wasn't shocked to see that his friend scored fourth in the class, but he knew he needed someone to help him study.
Placing a hand to his chin, as the vice representative of their class, Tenya hummed to himself, "Perhaps it wouldn't be a terrible idea for our class as a whole to study and help one another prepare…"
He could see what Momo thought of that idea as well.
"FIRST?! IN THE WHOLE CLASS…?!"
Momo covered her cheeks at the rising heat, until Toru latched onto her arm, squealing, "Yaoyorozu-san, I totally need to study with you!"
"'Yao-'...?!" Momo, having heard what her friend said, was also taken aback by the nickname given to her on TV.
"Yao-momo sounds so cute!" Mina also approved, spinning around in her seat to ask the girl, "Hey, Yaoyorozu, would it pretty please be okay if we started calling you that…?! I'm literally in love with the way it sounds…!"
At her silent, hesitant nod, the pink-haired girl cheered in gratitude. Meanwhile, Momo thinned her lip, and hoped that everyone else had ignored what her future self spoke.
"-quadratic functions…" Jiro, who had scored seventh in the class, approached their class rep for help as well, admitting her struggle, while Yaoyorozu turned her head up in surprise.
"Huh?"
"Sorry, me too! How are you with classical Japanese…?" Sero held his hands over his head in hopes that he could get help, too, scoring seventh in the class.
"Huh…?!"
"I'd like to join, too. There's a bunch of stuff I don't get…" Ojiro shyly made his way toward them, seeking out Yaoyorozu's aid, as he had scored eighth in the class.
As the three crowded her desk, stating their cases, and only hoped that she could help them, "Please!"
Feeling honored, Yaoyorozu raised her hands over her gaping lips, before jumping out of her seat in excitement, "Everyone…! Yes, of course!"
"All right!"
"Well, my butt's saved… for now…" Hanta didn't want to imagine what the next final would be like.
'I feel like I shoved myself into that session, but at least I'm getting the help I guess I need…' Mashirao also did fairly well in his classes, but the extra help was always appreciated.
"-this weekend…!"
"Seriously…?! I can't wait to see your house!" Ashido was delighted to be invited to a friend's house.
"Oh, in that case, I must tell Mother and have her open up the hall…!"
Tensing up at her words, Jiro and Kaminari blinked at what they heard, 'Hall…?'
"What kind of tea are you all partial to…?!"
Sero and Ojiro also couldn't believe what she was saying, 'Tea…!"
"In my family, we always drink Harrod's or Wedgwood, so if you have any preference, let me know! Of course, you can trust me to help you study, too! I will definitely show you how I can help!" Yaoyorozu was too thrilled to notice their stunned looks on her, but soon her bubbliness affected her five classmates' when they smiled at her cheerfulness.
'It's like she casually slapped me with the huge difference in how we were born… but her bounciness is so cute I don't care…'
"FORGIVE ME!" Momo had only realized her mistakes due to their inner monologue.
"Yaoyoroz- Yao-momo, it's totally fine…! I wish I had heard you were doing a study session, because I totally would have joined!"
"You still can, Toru-chan. This is the future, kero."
Watching how his twin got help from Katsuki, this puzzled him, as Hanta turned to his brother, "Kirishima, dude, you can absolutely join us with Yaoyorozu."
"Oh, uh… okay." Eijiro awkwardly grinned, before facing toward the screen, but not without taking a glance at Katsuki, who was already staring him down.
He didn't know if the guy was angry at him for asking, or angry that he told Hanta he would study with someone else.
'Fuck, why the hell do I have to tutor this guy…?! I should be striving for number one and surpass Smartass, not worry about this idiot passing…'
"Shouldn't you try cramming a little?" Shoji, who scored tenth in the class, overheard Aoyama already accepting his placement of eighteenth in the class, and hoped to give a little friendly advice.
"What are you talking about?"
Leaning forward to catch his attention, Mezo called down to the blond, "Aoyama, we can study together if you want."
"I appreciate the offer, Shoji. I will keep that in mind for when the time comes." Yuga hoped he played that hair flip off well, because deep down, he knew the reason why he was failing.
"-it'll be anything crazy."
"The written exam questions will come from what we study in class, so I should be able to manage somehow, but…"
In the cafeteria, as she listened to her friends discuss the upcoming finals, Uraraka, scoring thirteenth in the class, couldn't help but feel insulted, softly mumbling, "You can manage, huh…?"
"Uraraka, you can totally join our study session at Yao- At Yao-momo's…!"
"Yay!"
Because the girl wasn't sitting with them anymore, Izuku swallowed with guilt at hurting his friend's feelings, and being unable to apologize at the moment. He also didn't feel like calling out to Ochaco when he realized she was sitting with Katsuki.
"'-semester.'"
"That's all Aizawa Sensei would tell us…" Asui, scoring sixth in the class, noted about what the invisible girl said beside her, with Hagakure scoring sixteenth in the class.
"Everything we did so far… So, combat training and rescue training… and then basic training."
"In addition to studying, we'll have to keep in good physical conditio-" Midoriya began to ramble, until he got elbowed to the back of his head, cutting off his sentence, and sending him forward.
While Tomura was by far the loudest, Katsuki let out a little snicker at whoever hit the greenet, before grumbling when it was revealed to be Neito. In the end, he was glad that Izuku hadn't gotten into a muttering tangent like always.
"Monoma…" Mina huffed, crossing her arms, and turning her face away from the screen.
"Your head was so big that I accidentally hit it."
"Well, that just means that he's super smart! And that he has a big brain, which you could only dreamof having!"
"Say it louder…!" Ochaco cheered for the pink-skinned girl's cries, receiving an echo of approval, with Izuku covering his reddened cheeks.
At Monoma mentioning the hero killer, the three boys who encountered the villain went silent, Todoroki still blissfully eating his meal, while Uraraka glared at their sister classmate.
"Just like at the Sports Festival, you guys in Class A just have to have all the attention, huh? But that attention isn't because people have high hopes for you. It's because you keep attracting trouble, huh?" Monoma, with his grin widening, mocked the six, as he continued to gawk, "Oh, that's scary. Someday, the rest of us might also be caught up in the trouble you bring and become victims as well… Like getting cursed by the God of Pestilence…! Oh, that's scar-"
Monoma choked when someone striked the back of his neck, knocking him out, and causing him to fall to his knees, until he was caught by Kendo, who was glaring at her classmate. She also managed to gracefully catch his lunch tray, too, hardly disrupting the liquid inside the open cup.
"Monoma, that's not funny!"
"I'm so sorry, I forgot your name- Kendo!" Denki exclaimed after he got his answer, going back to what he was originally saying, "Thank you for your existence, Kendo… And for silencing him to death."
"Here, here…!"
Placing a hand to her head, apologetically, Kendo began to inform her sister class, "You guys were talking earlier about how you don't know what's gonna be on the practical exam for the finals, right? Looks like it'll be combat against robots like in the entrance exam."
"Like an improvement check, then…!"
"This will be interesting… Especially for Midoriya, since he won't be breaking his bones anymore."
"-kind of cheating, though."
"No, it's not cheating." Midoriya dropped his chin into his hand, defending what Kendo said when she got the information from an upperclassman, beginning to mutter, "That's right, I'm sure gathering information ahead of time is also part of the test. I see, I should've asked some upperclassmen… Why didn't I realize?"
"Are you an idiot, Kendo?"
"Shut up! You're supposed to be dead!"
"-advantage…" Monoma, having regained his consciousness, narrowed his eyes up to their class representative, while uttering his master plan, "This was our chance to get ahead of the detestable Class A…!"
He was cut off with another chop to the neck, before getting dragged off somewhere, while Kendo grumbled her frustrations, "They're not detestable…!"
'She's like the big sister of Class B, huh?' Midoriya thought, watching her walk away with his tray in hand.
Getting back to the classroom after their break, Midoriya and the others went to tell the rest of their classmates about what they learned, causing a few to sigh with relief at their findings.
"All right!"
"Oh, it'll be easy if it's robots…!"
"Yeah, yeah!" Ashido agreed one hundred percent with Kaminari, both planning to relax on practical training.
"You guys look like you'd have a hard time controlling your quirks against people."
"You said it, Shoji! I mean, you saw me at the Sports Festival."
"Yeah, and your dumbass loss."
Glaring over at the ash blond, Denki inhaled, then exhaled through his nose, repeating to himself, 'Don't get worked up, don't get worked up, don't get worked up- He's just trying to work you up, don't fall for it…!'
"If we're bringing up the Sports Festival, Ashido had good control while she fought me…" Yuga wanted to act like remembering his loss would make him stronger, but he hoped his future self planned to fail both exams.
While listening to the students' chatter, Shota buried his grin into the thick of his scarf, thinking to himself, 'The entrance exam is a lot harder to change throughout the years, but the final exams can be rearranged to be… different.'
It was logical in order to help the students improve.
"-be able to go to the training camp now!" Ashido and Kaminari announced happily, with a few of their classmates joining in. But Midoriya stayed seated at his desk, recalling what All Might told him a few days ago.
'You may one day have to fight this great evil…'
"Pause." Toshinori called out, looking down at his successor, as he began to say, "I'll make this quick, Young Midoriya, but remember what I told you. Now that I know All for One is still out there - and closer than before - this is something you will not have to worry about. This villain is none of your concern."
Thinning his lip, Izuku slowly nodded to his mentor, until they heard Tomura's deafening groan.
"I'm calling bullshit! Why can't Sensei be here- This isn't FAIR!"
Considering the villain's complaint, Momo blinked, parting her lips when she remembered something, 'All Might spoke about how this century-old villain may have possibly obtained a quirk that could theoretically make him live longer… So, hypothetically, if All for One had shown… would he… have died in this place…?!'
Though she knew it would be horrifying to be in his presence, Momo almost wished he had appeared. If she was right.
Clenching his fist, Midoriya narrowed his gaze, as he reminded himself, 'In order to prepare to face those words… I have to make everything count from now on.'
"It doesn't matter if they're people or robots. They're the same if you beat 'em up, right?" Bakugo caught everyone's attention with what he spat, about to walk out of the classroom, before he scoffed at them, "What're you idiots talking about it being a cinch for?"
"Who're you calling an idiot, idiot?!"
Denki was proud to know that at least he could stand up for himself in another time. However, his eyes shot wide open at hearing Katsuki's next words.
"Shut up! If you need to control your quirk, then control it! Idiot!"
Kaminari and Ashido backed off after hearing him yell, because he wasn't entirely wrong in what he said. Meanwhile, Bakugo's eyes strayed to another classmate of his, glaring at their insulting fringe of hair.
"Hey, Deku."
Midoriya jumped at the call of the childhood nickname, now his hero name, as he blinked at the intensity in his red eyes, frightened by what Bakugo might have to say. Since the USJ Incident, they hadn't spoken much, nor had the blond attempted to do anything to him, so he wasn't sure if he should be nervous that he had his attention now.
"I don't know if you've figured out how to use your quirk a little or what, but you seriously keep rubbing me the wrong way."
Confused by what he meant, Uraraka stepped toward her three classmates at the front, mumbling, "Oh, he must be talking about how Deku-kun was moving like Bakugo-kun the other day…"
"Oh, yeah." Ashido remembered now that it was mentioned.
"I don't need another half-assed result like at the Sports Festival. At the upcoming finals, we'll get individual scores, so we'll see who's better whether you like it or not." Bakugo, raising his hand to drive his point in, declared to his rival, "I'll beat you with an indisputable difference…! I'll kill you!"
While Midoriya wasn't sure what to say to that, his old friend had already moved on, Bakugo yelling out next, "Todoroki!"
"Holy FUCK?!"
"So you do know our names…!"
Ignoring their shocked exclamations, Ochaco carefully glanced over to the person beside her, attempting to read him, before she spoke, "You know that Deku-kun already sees you as better…"
"Shut up."
"Are you saying that because you don't want to admit it out loud, or because you already know that?"
Eijiro was also curious for the answer, but he didn't want to aggravate Katsuki, as he softly whispered, "Uraraka, may… maybe you could talk about this later…"
"But I think it should be said now."
"Fucking- Can you can it with your dumb questions…?! I'm obviously fucking pissed off there because I don't know about Deku and his quirk, all right? And so what if I admit that I know Deku thinks I'm better than him, that doesn't change a damn thing, because this show just keeps proving that I'm just dirt on his foot…!" Katsuki huffed through gritted teeth, annoyed that he keeps getting worked up by what Ochaco says.
And listening to his words, she backed away from him, because hearing what he said meant that Katsuki was capable of accepting it. So she stayed quiet. For now.
Pressing what Jiro assumed was the doorbell to the gates, she began to panic when Yaoyorozu's voice came over the speaker, "Everyone, I have been waiting for you! Please, come in."
As the large gates parted, allowing the five students to enter their friend's home, they all gaped at the mechanics, before slowly waltzing into the plot of land that their classmate apparently lived on. Heading inside, Yaoyorozu led them into the hall that she mentioned, letting them unpack, before she left to retrieve their drinks.
Unsure what to talk about while she was gone, Ojiro said what they were all thinking: "I feel so out of place, it's making me nervous…"
"I apologize-"
"Yao-momo-san, you have nothing to be sorry for! You're just from a different background, that's all…!"
"If we ever do that sleepover, it's gonna be in your room, Yao-momo." Ashido determined, and due to the fire in her eyes, Momo didn't have the spirit to disagree, so she accepted this fate with a nod.
Late into the night, and still up studying, Midoriya focused on his notes, while simultaneously working on his grip. Meanwhile, at the same hour, Uraraka struggled to stay awake.
Embarrassed that her study habit was shown, Ochaco muffled through her hand, "Maybe I should have joined someone's group study session…"
"Study when you can fucking stay awake. It's not that hard."
"Okay, if it's so easy, then tutor me, then, Bakugo-kun…!"
"No."
"But you're helping Kirishima-kun…! He didn't even ask!" Ochaco pouted, with the redhead jolting in his seat, as once again, his friend threw him under the rug.
"I don't wanna fucking help him! He's gonna have to find somebody else to save his ass."
"Don't take this abuse, guys. Just come study with us at Yaoyorozu's when this happens for real." Hanta offered, and for some reason, Eijiro wanted to decline. He didn't know why.
"Fucking Shitty Hair…" Katsuki spat under his breath at watching the boy show struggle while taking his exam, visibly showing that he did a terrible job when even Denki and Mina could look more focused.
"The last person in each row, collect the answer sheet and bring them here." Aizawa announced the end of the testing period, as the final day had come, and it would soon be time for his class' practical exam.
"Do I have to watch these stupid brats do their fucking exams…?" Tomura, if anything, only wanted to watch how Katsuki's went down, but since he wasn't the main character, it was going to be brushed to the side. As always.
"Why do we have to watch our exams? That's so boring…"
"Maybe there's an importance to it that we don't know yet." Shota replied to the boy's complaint, straightening himself to glance over to Minoru, who scooted closer to Mashirao to hide from the hero's gaze.
The next day, wearing their hero costumes, the students of Class 1-A gathered outside of a building on campus called Center Plaza, with some staff from the school standing before them.
Among them, Aizawa was glaring at his class, before announcing with his usual monotone attitude, "Now, we will begin the practical exam. Of course, it is possible to fail this exam. If you want to go to the training camp, then don't make any stupid mistakes."
"There are a lot of teachers…" Jiro whispered quietly to those around her, Yaoyorozu and Ojiro taking notice of this, too.
"I expect that you all have gathered information ahead of time, and have some idea of what you will be doing."
"So we were supposed to get information ahead of time…" Izuku hummed to himself, thankfully that Itsuka said something about it to them.
"Curry! Test of Courage!"
"TOO BAD!"
An exclamation from Aizawa's scarf silenced the students, as their principal popped out of the cloth, Nezu announcing with his paw in the air, "For various reasons, the exam will be different starting this time!"
"SAY IT ISN'T TRUE!"
"Different…?"
"From now on, we want to focus on person-to-person combat and hero work, and stress teaching that is closer to actual fighting." Nezu explained a bit further, while scaling down Aizawa's arm with the help of his scarf, Thirteen assisting her principal as well. Pointing to the group of students, the short-haired animal decided to say what he knew the kids would comprehend, "So… We'll have you form teams of two to fight against one teacher…!"
As this sunk in, Hitoshi, who was unaffected, closed his eyes, while he sighed, "You guys are going to fail."
"Say it isn't so…!"
"When the pairs are shown, we should sit together, and talk about strategies to win, kero."
"I call being partnered with Midoriya-kun!" Toru shouted, causing the boy to jump at her words.
"I'm sure the pairs are already decided…"
"-so here they are."
"Wait, wait, wait, wait, pause!" Toru screamed after realizing the teams were about to be shown, waving her sleeves when she stood up, until the speakers cut out, facing her peers, as she announced, "I don't know if you heard Tsuyu-chan, but I really like her idea of us sitting together based on who we're paired up with…! And I was wondering if we should do that, because I think it would be super fun!"
"You do this every fucking time! Just let the episode freaking play so we can go home…!"
Even though they ignored the villain's pleas, Katsuki agreed with him, "We don't need to fucking sit together while doing this shit."
"See, even Bakugo gets it! He gets what I'm trying to say."
"Fucking shut your trap, Chapped Lips!" Katsuki went to tune out his laughter, as he continued with what he wanted to say, "This isn't going to happen anymore, now that we know what the fuck is up."
"I can see Bakugo's point…"
"But come on…! Don't be such a buzzkill, Bakugo-kun!" Ochaco lightly punched the blond's arm, receiving a glare from him, as she turned away to exclaim, "Raise of hands: Who wants to do Tsuyu-chan's suggestion…?!"
More than ten of them shot their hands up, and though Hitoshi wasn't in the exam, he also raised up his arm.
"I'm not fucking moving…"
"That's fine. You'll save your partner the decision of where to sit." Ochaco chuckled when she walked past him.
As they slowly migrated from their seats, Toshinori approached the underground pro, wondering, "Aizawa-kun, should we go off to the side to allow the student's to speak freely about their strategies…?"
"Fine by me."
Enji eyed the horde of children now off to the side, before turning his fiery glare back to the television screen, seeing Shoto on the display, with the black-haired girl. He wouldn't accept another disappointment from his son here again.
Noticing them in the frame as well, Momo didn't want to make assumptions, but it seemed too obvious, so she approached Shoto to tell him, "Todoroki-san, it appears that we may have been paired up for this exam."
"You think so?"
"I believe it is… evident, yes."
"But you guys are the recommended students, right? You can't be a pairing, that's too powerful…!"
"Oh, yes, correct. Well then, we shall wait, I apologize for… for jumping to conclusions!" Momo backed away from the two-toned teen after hearing Toru's statement, as the invisible girl had to be right.
"-Todoroki and Yaoyorozu are one team, and they're fighting me." Aizawa pulled on the weapon around his neck, grinning mercilessly toward the pairing about to face him.
'Oh, I guess Yao-momo-san was right…' Toru felt guilty for calling out her friend, wanting to apologize, until she watched Shoto sit down on the second row, with Momo hurriedly following the boy.
"And Midoriya and Bakugo are a team-" Aizawa went on with the pairings, ignoring his two students' gasping, as he announced the teacher they would be against, "-and their opponent…"
Falling from the sky, All Might made his grand entrance like always, with his booming voice declaring, "I… will do it!"
"Oh… this was a bad idea…" Denki didn't imagine their teacher would be this oblivious.
'I can understand why them being a team is necessary, but… why against All Might of all the staff members…?' Shota pinched the bridge of his nose, as he wasn't looking forward to witnessing their exam.
Anxiously looking for a reaction from Katsuki, Izuku swallowed the lump in his throat, before heading to walk toward his partner, until an arm stopped him, hearing Mina's voice say, "You don't have to sit with Bakugo… He probably wouldn't want to talk about a strategy anyway…"
While she was right about that, Izuku also was aware of what his old friend was thinking for a plan.
A few days ago, the teaching staff of U.A. High sat around in the principal's office, ready to discuss the upcoming final exams.
"I still don't believe that's everyone that teaches at U.A…."
"-Stain and the League of Villains, there is the possibility that the villains will be reinvigorated, huh?"
"Of course, it would be better to prevent that before it begins, but as a school, it would be best to be completely certain. If we consider how fights against villains will continue to intensify in today's society, then combat training against robots is not practical." one of the teachers spoke after hearing out Nezu's point about the villains growing, and wanting to help their hero students succeed, adding his own opinion as well, "Originally, robots were used to avoid complaints about people being injured in the entrance exams."
"Boy, Midoriya sure hit that ball out of the park…!" Hanta snorted, which flustered the green-haired kid, while Hitoshi widened his eyes at the implication of those words.
"Does this mean there's a possibility of the entrance exam changing soon…?!"
Looking at the kid, Shota didn't want to give him false hope, answering the best he could, "We can't say for certain since this is the far future. But I do hope so."
He didn't say that just for Hitoshi's sake, but for other non-combat quirked kids hoping to be heroes one day.
"-students fight us in teams of two…"
"Yes, I think that is a bit unfair."
"If we win too easily, we won't be able to give them grades."
"So, mostly all the teachers agreed that they didn't want to do this. Then, why are they still doing it?"
"Principal Nezu can have a way of swaying others to agree with him." Shota replied to the tail boy's question, noticing the way he straightened up, as if he forgot his future homeroom teacher was among them.
"I-I see…"
"-practical exam. What should we do to keep the students from being in even more danger? The answer is simple… We must have the students themselves become stronger."
After Nezu's declaration, the rest of the faculty in the room slowly came around to understand his view.
"That's true…"
"I have no objections."
"Then, to determine the teams-" Aizawa moved onto the next topic at hand, holding a few sheets of paper, as he began with his students, "First, Todoroki."
"But I'm not the first in the class."
"I am certain Aizawa Sensei did not mean by class roster… Simply… from out of the class, he selected your name first- Or, he wished to focus on you first…!" Momo found his perplexed expression a little odd, as she was used to him having hardly any expressive features.
"I see. It may be because of the incident at Hosu City, too, which would make sense why Midoriya was considered next…"
Katsuki gritted his teeth at the reminder of his partner for his final exam. There was no way he was relying on Izuku.
"-and Bakugo, I'm leaving them to you, All Might-san." Aizawa looked at their newest hire, catching the number one hero by surprise, until he explained, "For these two, I didn't pair them up based on ability or grades. Just on how badly they get along."
'I should have looked into their history more- It's good to know that my future self also wants to help their relationship, but is this really the way…?' Shota knew the only way to get that answer was by watching their exam. He only hoped it would go well.
"We know you're a fan of Midoriya's. Instruct both of them well."
Recalling that meeting to memory, All Might stared at the two students that have known each other since childhood, thinking to himself, 'Nothing gets past you, Aizawa-kun…'
Raising his paw, Nezu continued with the reminder of the students, "And now, we'll announce the teams and the teachers they'll be up against! First will be Kirishima-kun and Sato-kun, versus… Cementoss!"
Eijiro felt guilty that he hadn't remembered the boy's name, but he spotted the brunet from across the room, getting a slap on the back from Hanta, as he walked over to Rikido.
"Kirishima, let's do our best…!"
"Yeah, I remember what Cementoss' quirk is, but I feel bad that I don't know yours…"
"Oh, yeah, it was never mentioned, I guess…" Rikido rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, hoping to explain his power once they sat down to discuss a strategy as well.
Partners again, Tsuyu and Fumikage silently met up to sit down together, as their opponent was Ectoplasm, who they had no knowledge about quite yet.
"Ojiro-kun, I am counting on our victory!" Tenya enthusiastically hoped to build up his comrade's energy, leaving his friends' side to head over to Mashirao, who wondered what kind of relationship he had with their class rep in this timeline.
'I have to fight Thirteen Sensei…! Crap, this is the worst match-up!' Ochaco lightly pulled on her hair, as not only did she have to defeat her hero, but her partner was Yuga, who she felt guilty for thinking badly about. However, he didn't have a good track record of winning much.
"Kaminari!"
"Ashido!"
Slapping their hands together after seeing that their opponent was their principal, Mina and Denki proclaimed loudly, "Let's do this!"
"Too loud…" Kyoka mumbled under her breath, while walking toward Koji, who slightly jolted when he noticed her, until he heard her ask, "Where do you want to sit? I don't have a preference."
As they walked over to where the first pair sat, Kyoka tried not to be annoyed with who her teammate ended up being. If it was because they were both quiet and needed to be more talkative, she might need to have a talk with Shota.
"I love this!" Minoru rubbed his hands together when finding out he was going to fight Nemuri to win.
"I hate this…" Hanta grumbled into his hand when finding out who he was partnered up with to fight Nemuri.
Being the only ones left standing, Izuku and Hitoshi turned to each other, unsure what they should do. Though, they were fine with standing as they were now.
"Your objective is either to put these handcuffs on the teacher, or to have one of you escape from the stage."
"Capture the teacher or escape… It's kind of like the combat training." Kaminari hummed, with his hand to his chin, after hearing the instructions from their principal, while Ashido listened closely.
"Is it really okay to run away?"
"Yup." Nezu approved, his paw up to resemble a thumbs up.
"But it'll be different from the combat training! You'll be up against someone waaaaaaay better than you."
"Better… than us?" Jiro quirked an eyebrow toward her opponent, Present Mic, and while Koda hoped she would stop, the short-haired girl hummed out loud, "That's not really the image I have of you…"
"Dammit! Hey girl, watch your mouth! You hear…?!"
Kyoka brought a hand to her lips to cover her laugh, before turning to see horrified looks from Rikido and Eijiro, choking out, "Sorry…! Sorry- I mean, I honestly don't have an opinion on Present Mic…"
"What did he say at the end, though…? All I could understand was 'Dammit! Hey girl-' and then it gets confusing…"
"'Watch your mouth. You hear?'" Shoto answered for whoever asked the question, with some of his peers glancing at him in awe for knowing a foreign language.
"You understood what language he was saying?"
"Yes."
'English can be a difficult language to understand… So I believe it is understandable they did not know.' Momo had grown up learning several languages, fluent in a few, but she was now starting to realize that not everyone had that privilege.
"I see now… So this exam is because of what we faced with the Hero Killer…"
"I don't know what Power Loader's abilities are, but do you think we would be graded a higher score if we managed to capture the teacher?" Mashirao wondered after what his partner pointed out, however, Tenya wasn't sure if he could give a proper answer.
'-after me and that kid in the white armor, right? Don't fight back. It'd be better if you ran away…!'
'I won't make that mistake again. I will pass this test and prove that…!' Iida had vowed from that day to become a better hero, and today was going to show this.
"Fight and win, or run and win…"
"That's right!"
"I hope Bakugo fucking kills All Might with one of his cannons…!" Tomura had been disappointed to find out that his exam would be the last one, but it would be so worth it to witness the number one hero's death by one of his students.
"-only choice is to run, right? That's why we had the support course make these for us." All Might, pulled out a heavy-weighted bracelet, presented the device to his students, as he explained, "Ultra compressed weights! We'll put on about half of our body weight. It's to give you a handicap."
"I don't need no fucking handicap- You're underestimating me, All Might…"
"You mean 'we' and 'us.'"
"Hah…?!" Katsuki snapped at the brown-haired girl, having enough of her antics, while Ochaco watched him with an evened gaze. However, Yuga cautiously eyed her, as sweat formed along his cheeks.
"Deku-kun's your partner. And, besides, there's no way you can defeat the number one hero on your own-"
"Don't tell me what I fucking can and can't do- I'm going to have a victory in every battle I fight. No matter what, I'll always win. Be number one. Just watch what I can do, Uraraka."
Ochaco's eyes blew open at hearing her name from his lips, despite the way he snarled it. Meanwhile, Izuku's jaw hung open when he listened to the blond tell Toshinori that he was underestimating them. Meaning…
"Deku!" Katsuki's sudden scream made the greenet jump where he stood, with Hitoshi caught him from behind, before they heard him yell out, "Get the fuck over here already…!"
"Okay, Ka-Kacchan…!" Izuku hurriedly walked over to sit next to Katsuki, who plopped back down in his seat angrily, until he saw Hitoshi creep his way down the row.
"The fuck is Eyebags doing…?"
"Well, I don't trust him being near you…" Hitoshi mumbled under his breath, with the brunette nodding her head in agreement, while Izuku glanced at his old friend to see if he heard.
"-their turn can watch the exams or think of strategies as a team. Do what you want." Aizawa instructed the rest of his class, letting Kirishima and Sato know their exam would be starting soon. Turning around to walk away with the other teachers, their homeroom teacher called back over his shoulder, "That's all."
"Ojiro-kun, I would like to see what we can do with our quirks."
"Of course."
"Tokoyami-chan, let's come up with a plan."
"Very well."
"The problem is how to strip Midnight Sensei, right…?!"
"How did I get stuck with you?!" Hanta would have taken any of his other future classmates, even Katsuki, over the short pervert beside him.
"Well, somebody had to…"
"Look, Sero, I've been improving myself…! Whatever happens up there, know it's not going to happen when we do this!"
'You seem to be forgetting that the future isn't certain anymore, Mineta!' Hanta didn't know that for certain, but he's heard enough about what the others were saying about their timeline now to know that it was a possibility.
"-I'll have a lot of work today…" Recovery Girl sighed where she sat in front of the cameras showing a few angles to the exam area, with Midoriya standing beside her, as he hoped to learn a thing or two while watching his classmates.
Until he heard the door slide open, turning around to see Uraraka, who gaped, "Oh? You're watching, too, Deku-kun?"
"Yeah. We don't have many chances to see other students and the teachers fight." Midoriya replied, as she walked over to stand next to him, with him sheepishly glancing away when he added softly, "Besides, even if I wanted to talk about strategies…"
"I see…" Uraraka understood, knowing how Bakugo was, while she spoke of her own dilemma, noting that Aoyama would rather stare at his reflection than pass, "Well, for me… It's like there's no point trying to talk to him."
"Apologies, madam… I have to make sure I look fabulous for every occasion-"
"At least try and talk to me about strategies…! You talked about knowing the heroes that work at U.A., so help us pass, Aoyama-kun!"
Yuga was taken aback by her eagerness, blinking in shock at the fire in her eyes. Then, he slowly came to understand that she didn't know what was at stake. While he had already assumed that it would be best for him to stay away from the training camp, Ochaco wanted to go to the event, to improve her abilities, and become stronger. But she didn't know that if he came along, danger might follow, and it would be best for him to stay in at school so they don't get hurt.
"All right, Uraraka. Let's pass this exam. Together." Yuga wondered if there was any possible way he could still fail without dragging Ochaco down with him.
"We got this, Kirishima…"
Eijiro anxiously nodded, feeling a bit better about their final now knowing his partner's power, however, he couldn't help but fear for Rikido's side effect. With excessive amounts of sugar intake causing him to grow tired, that would mean he'd be on a time limit for action. The less the brunet moves, the more he can stay awake.
'That means I need to be at the forefront… I need to max out my stamina…!'
"For this exam, we'll definitely get a higher score by capturing rather than running, right?"
"I think so." Sato huffed back in reply, as they ran through the streets of the fake city, hoping to find their opponent.
Thankfully, they didn't have to wait long when a pillar of cement rose from the ground before them, jumping back in time, and catching Cementoss a ways ahead.
"Cementoss Sensei moves slowly." Kirishima observed, slamming his hardened arms against each other to cause a spark, declaring loudly to Sato, "Let's break through from the front and aim for a high score…!"
"All right!"
"Sugar…?"
"Time for my quirk introduction…!" Rikido rubbed his hands together with excitement.
"For every ten grams of sugar, he'll be five times as strong for three minutes. However, when he uses sugar for power, his cognitive function goes down accordingly."
"Sato-chan's power is a double-edged sword, like Kaminari-chan's Electricity, kero."
"Tsuyu-chan…?!" Denki couldn't believe the blunt insult, while Mina snorted.
"I don't know why you're laughing, Mina-chan. Kaminari-chan's your partner."
Mina immediately grew quiet, pretending to focus on the episode, and that she didn't get mentally punched in the gut.
Together, the two students broke down their first obstacle, using their combined strength to make a path toward Cemenoss, who had hardly begun to sweat, as he continued to build up more walls for them.
"Not yet."
"You can do it, Kirishima-kun, Sato-kun…!" Uraraka cheered from the observation room, while Midoriya looked more worried.
"They won't win at this rate."
"S-Sorry-"
"It's the fucking truth." Katsuki cut him off, which made Izuku freeze up once more.
Meanwhile, after hearing what he said, Eijiro and Rikido listened closely to their peer's advice.
"-are amazing, but there's a limit to how long they can use them. On the other hand, I don't think Cementoss Sensei has that. The more time passes, the more of a disadvantage Kirishima-kun and Sato-kun will be at."
"No way…"
"This practical exam is pitting students against teachers they'd have a hard time with on purpose." Midoriya slowly came to understand this, but gave a little hope to his words for Uraraka, "I think the key will be how they deal with their weaknesses to pass."
"Kirishima, what do we know about Cementoss and his weaknesses…?!"
"Ah… Ah…!" Eijiro couldn't think of anything off the top of his head, but it didn't help when Rikido started shaking him by the shoulders.
"Quickly, Kirishima! Think, or we're going to fail!"
"Kill the kids…!" Tomura hollered, though, his words hardly shook the children, but they were also worried about the outcome.
Screaming out in agony, Kirishima gritted his teeth, as he went to punch another chunk of concrete, "This is never ending, man! No matter how many times I break it, they just keep coming…!"
"Sleepy… I'm tired…" Sato, on the other hand, was seconds away from giving up, and taking a nap.
"Hey, keep trying!"
"Crap…" Rikido couldn't believe they were going to fail because of him.
Eijiro wished there was something he could say to raise his spirits.
"I'm sleepy…"
Kirishima went to strike another wall, but due to exhaustion, he winced when blood smeared across the rock, looking to see his fist was unhardened, causing him to gasp, "I-I'm running out of breath…"
They were soon overwhelmed when waves of cement pulled them under, losing their footing, as the ground became liquid. Their opponent, unharmed, decided that these kids had enough, as he lifted his hands off the concrete to let them resurface.
"You're both extremely weak in a war of attrition. Listen, in a fight, you have to see just how much you can push the things you're good at." Cementoss stood up, while the dust cleared, making sure his students were all right, before a loud buzzer sounded.
"Team Sato and Kirishima retire due to both students losing consciousness."
"Oh… man… That's not a good look."
"Kaminari getting a drink with Ashido when they should be working on a plan to defeat the principal of U.A., who's probably the toughest opponent of the teachers aside from All Might? Yeah, you're right." Kyoka honestly didn't care if they passed or failed since they would most likely have a new exam.
"I mean, I thought Cementoss was a nice guy…"
"At least he gave us some advice at the end…?"
"That we couldn't hear because we were unconscious…" Rikido had a point.
'-Kacchan and I are up against…' Midoriya, frustrated with how his classmates' exam turned out, began to understand the difficulty of this final, and he already knew defeating All Might was next to impossible.
However, putting his thoughts away for now, Midoriya looked up to the screen above, to watch Tokoyami and Asui's match. The two were set in a tall building, with multiple, open floors, as they had plenty of space to jump up to higher grounds.
"We, the examinees, are starting from the middle of the stage, huh?"
"In order to escape, we must pass through the designated gate, right?" Asui, from her crouched position, glanced up to her partner, as she took from the given instructions, "Which means, the teacher's probably waiting for us by the gate."
"Team Asui and Tokoyami, practical exam. Ready, go."
Another buzzer sounded, jolting the two's attention, before they were surrounded by multiple clones of their opponent, Ectoplasm.
"I forgot to tell you. We teachers are also trying to crush you with everything we have."
From behind, more pairs of the pro hero appeared, forcing them to turn around, as they tried to find the real one.
"Prepare… your determination and resolve."
The ending song commences.
"A hologram ability, huh…?"
"Or cloning, kero." Tsuyu turned to her partner, as she began to explain her idea, "I think that depending on what they are, we shouldn't waste too much time fighting them. We'll need to keep our stamina and strength up to be able to either fight against the real Ectoplasm, or for one of us to make it past him for the gate."
"A well-crafted plan, I see. As long as our foe is without light, Dark Shadow can do our battles for us, while we focus on preserving our energy." Fumikage proclaimed, with her approving nod, before he went on to ask, "While I am in agreement with this plan, how can we determine that our opponent isn't tempting to deceive us with a decoy? Hiding in plain sight, if I may say."
"He wouldn't. I can say that for sure because it would be idiotic to leave the gate open and unguarded. I assume that Ectoplasm would have control over his other halves. But with so many that he created, it will be harder for him to focus."
"Divided, he may fall…"
"Sort of, kero." Tsuyu, believing they had a good enough plan for now, casted her eyes back to the screen, until she caught Mina's gaze on her, looking to her friend, as she asked, "Is something wrong, Mina-chan?"
"You guys hardly know about who you're fighting against, and you already have that good of a plan…?!"
"Come on, Ashido, you're freaking out over nothing." Denki lightly punched her in the arm, grabbing her attention, as he noted with a cheeky grin, "I mean, Principal Nezu is hardly an opponent. He's so small, one zap of my electricity would knock him out cold. But your Acid is what he should really fear."
"You're so right, Kaminari…!"
"You guys should be more worried, kero."
'This is where those lyrics Jiro-san was trying to show Bakugo-kun will come in…!' Ochaco, watching the visuals of the song, observed how the fictitious versions of Izuku and Katsuki were about to fight together, meaning that maybe it wasn't so impossible after all. Humming the tune of the music, she hoped to grab the light blond's attention by singing, "You will always be my hero~!"
Katsuki was getting really annoyed with this girl's shenanigans.