Chapter 45: Clash of the Titans
"So, we are facing the teachers in combat for our practicals?"
Momo stares intently down at the paper Kyoka had brought her and Midoriya after classes. Due to the meeting being after school to not raise suspicion, most of the class had gone home for the day, and Momo had made her way to a cafe near UA as their pre-arranged meeting spot.
She's not sure how Midoriya had gotten the information of when the meeting was happening. When asked, he just gave her that sly grin he likes to use and said, "All Might didn't know what hit him until it was too late." Sometimes, she finds it best not to dig deeper into her classmate's shenanigans.
Everything had gone smoothly. Too smoothly if you asked Momo her opinion. Midoriya turned Kyoka into the cleaning robot, and using her enhanced senses, she was able to ascertain the details of their exam. Now, the three of them sat in the cafe with drinks ordered, looking over the details of what the teachers had planned.
"Looks like it," Midoriya nods, leaning over the table to look at the paper on her side, before shaking his head in disgust. "This is annoying, hold on." With a quick wave of his hand, he creates an illusion of the paper for Kyoka and him to read more easily.
Momo is quick to look around the medium-sized establishment in alarm, but thankfully, everyone is too absorbed in their own business to notice. "Midoriya," she hisses. He sits up in confusion. "Using your quirk so flagrantly in UA is one thing, but please stop making it a habit of doing so in public as well. I would rather you not get in trouble for public quirk usage."
There was that sly grin again as Midoriya rests his head in his hands. "It's a good thing it's not a quirk then, yeah?"
He laughs a little at his own joke and looks back down at the paper, absentmindedly rolling one his blue marbles in his hand, while Momo glances at Kyoka, who gives her a slight nod.
…How does he do it?
The creation user is well aware that Kyoka's quirk can help determine if someone is lying, a very useful tool that has helped her and her allies uncover pranking plots when interrogating Midoriya's friends…but never him.
Whenever he says his quirk is not a quirk but in fact, magic, or describes his origins as being extraterrestrial in nature, something Todoroki seems to believe, Momo looks to Kyoka. Her friend always confirms that, at least according to Midoriya's heartbeat, he is telling the truth.
Or more accurately, he believes he's telling the truth. And Momo is unsure which might be worse.
Strange feels too harsh of a word, but Midoriya is certainly unlike anyone she's ever met. His aversion to rules and willingness to do things 'for the fun of it' come to mind immediately, but as does his desire to help everyone around him succeed.
Just gifting both her and Toru those suits last week is proof of that. Momo did her research. To say the use of the materials in the suit is rare is an understatement. Outside the original Fantastic Four team, very few heroes have been allowed to use the substance for themselves over the years. The most prominent example of someone using it being the current Spider-Man in America.
To sum up, Midoriya certainly is something. The problem is, she can't place what. Why does he believe his quirk isn't a quirk? What special training did he receive to use it so well before UA? And how does his family have so many connections?
These questions are frustrating. First, because she doesn't think she'd get an answer even if she asked Midoriya directly. But also because Momo's not sure the answers could help her as she hopes.
She's learned so much since coming to UA, but she's also learned that she's lacking in many areas she's never even considered. It's clear, whether he's aware of it or not, that Midoriya has a natural charisma that helps others feel comfortable around him. Combine that with his eagerness to help anyone who asks, and why he got so many votes for president becomes clear.
This is something Momo had never thought about. While her upbringing has given her plenty of advantages, socializing with peers was not one of them.
It pained the black-haired girl how much it felt like she was falling behind, despite being a recommended student. She had been eliminated without being able to do a thing against the general studies student in the Sports Festival, and her internship was a waste of time besides being able to get to know Kendo more from 1-B and help with the cleanup of Hosu.
So, why was she so interested in Midoriya as a person? Momo would never admit this to him, but she can't help but be envious of a few of his traits and wonder how he does it. Hopefully, she can make it through these exams and use the training camp to achieve some much needed catch-up.
"Not sure how the teachers decided these pairings…but looks like they have me and Koda fighting Present Mic." Kyoka makes a face at the thought, already rubbing her poor ears while Momo pats her shoulder sympathetically.
"I can understand the sentiment." Momo tries her best to give her friend a reassuring smile. "It says I am supposed to be facing Aizawa-sensei with Todoroki. I am…not confident in our chances. And you, Midoriya?"
She turns to the greenette and is surprised to see him giving her a weird look, before shaking his head and looking down at the paper. "Yeah, I'm not too excited about mine either. It's supposed to be me and Kacchan against…All Might."
Momo gasps, double-checking her paper. "I see…that is…well…"
"Dude, you guys are fucking screwed."
Momo doesn't think she would have said it quite like Kyoka did, but the sentiment is the same.
"Your confidence is very reassuring, thanks," Midoriya replies sarcastically.
"I'm just telling it how it is." Kyoka leans back in her seat. "And if it helps, I'd think that about anyone paired to fight All Might."
"I guess that's fair…" Midoriya studies the sheet some more. "Honestly, I'm more worried about having to tell Kacchan than actually facing All Might."
The waitress returns and hands them their drinks but shakes her head when Momo retrieves her card to pay. "No need, ma'am. The gentleman already paid."
She leaves, and Momo sighs, putting her card away while Midoriya watches her from his seat. Kyoka raises her drink. "Thanks, dude. I'll have to get ya the next time we all hang out."
"Maybe you can repay me by being the one to tell Kacchan we're partnered up for the exam?" Midoriya tries.
"This drink ain't that good, man. Buy me a new sound system and then, we can start talking." Kyoka takes a loud sip.
"…What kind of sound system?"
"I was kidding!"
"Fine, fine!" Midoriya shakes his head, sipping on his float, before making a face. He quickly conjures a can of soda labeled 'Josta' and pours half of it into the float, before taking another sip and nodding in satisfaction.
"Wait, I'm the president, right?" Momo doesn't like where Midoriya is going with this. "That means I can delegate tasks to my vice-president? So, Yaomomo, about this whole situation with Kacchan-"
"I decline."
"You can't just decline!" Midoriya whines while Kyoka watches the two of them, amused. "This is stuff that has to do with the class, you have to do it!"
"Then, I resign."
Momo covers her mouth, not sure where something like that came from. In any setting, that was very unprofessional to say. She should apologize and-
Her thoughts are halted when Midoriya and Kyoka burst into laughter, both having to hold the table for support. "That- that was-" Kyoka says through gasps of air.
"Great!" Midoriya finishes for her, getting a little control of himself. "I didn't expect that!"
He finishes laughing and regains his breath. "Okay, please don't resign, I'll tell Kacchan. Anything he does can't possibly be worse than what Nezu did after I messed with his tea."
"What did he-"
"I signed an NDA."
While they talk, Momo thinks back to just a moment ago, when Midoriya and Kyoka had laughed at something she said. As in, they actually found it funny. Again, it won't be something Momo ever admits, but it felt really good to make them laugh like that.
"Our counter strategy to the teacher's test should be an obvious one," Momo refocuses the subject of their talk. "Come up with ways for every pair to win their fight in conjunction with overall quirk improvement."
Momo doesn't like how she feels she has to look at Midoriya for approval on her plan, but the fact of the matter is, his judgment has proved better than hers in most areas, and she trusts it more. Even if his decisions when regards to pranking her and their classmates are debatable.
"Good plan, I can't think of anything better." Midoriya looks to Kyoka, who shrugs and shakes her head. "Then we should make time to meet with each pair to get their input and come up with a strategy to beat their teacher. Jiro, did you want to-"
"Nah," she puts her hand up, taking another sip of her float. "Strategy is all you and Yaomomo, I'll just focus on training."
"Okay, would that be okay with you, Yaomomo? We have over a month before the exams, so plenty of time to meet with all the pairs and come up with strategies, I think."
Momo blinks. "Wait, you'd like me there?"
Midoriya and Kyoka give her bewildered looks. "Yeah? Two heads are better than one, and who better to have helping me than the smartest person in class? I think everyone would look at me crazy if I showed up without you." Midoriya chuckles, as if what he said was so obvious and sips on his drink more while Momo's mind whirls.
She always figured that, while academically she was at the top of the class, her peers would look to Midoriya for his brain first. They really thought that highly of her?
"I can tell from your heartbeat you don't know how what you just said could be taken," Koyoka starts, a little smirk on her face. "But look at you Midoriya, taking two lovely girls out for drinks and singing their praises, what would Uraraka think?"
"Singing their-" Midoriya sucks in a breath. "Wait, wait! I didn't make you guys think this was a- no, no this is for the exams! And Uraraka knows I'm here- ah! Not that- why would she care?!"
Momo decides it's best to take a long sip of her drink, embarrassed that she hadn't realized the implications of what Midoriya had said either, too focused on her surprise that her classmates wanted to hear what she had to say.
Kyoka and Midoriya stare at each other, the latter calming down while the former twirls one of her jacks in her hands while giving him a look that says, 'really?'
It seems that Midoriya finally understands what she's saying and groans, letting his head hit the table. "How long have you known and how many people have you told?"
"Since the first day back and no one. You two should've really thought about who was in the classroom with you before you started whispering to each other," Kyoka teases, prodding Midoriya with her jacks.
Midoriya sighs, sitting up and conjuring his phone to send out a text. "See? This is why I need your help Yaomomo. Because I do stuff like this." A few seconds later, he gets a reply and sags in relief. "Okay, Ochako knows. And you can tell Momo."
"Tell me what?"
"Green bean and Kirby are dating. Don't tell anyone, it's a secret." Midoriya glares at Kyoka, mumbling something about the nicknames, but he's only given an innocent wave in response.
After offering her congratulations, and a short lecture about what's appropriate during class, where Midoriya looked horrified and Kyoka looked as if she was having the time of her life, the two set back on the final exams.
"I have some backup plans in mind just in case, but based on what Nezu said, I think we should use the cameras to our advantage," Midoriya suggests.
Momo thinks for a moment, before it clicks. "I see…as in what you did during the battle trials? If the rest of the class agrees, I would not be opposed to making earpiece radios for all of us to wear during the test. Thereby those of us in the viewing area can assist the current test takers by giving them live updates on what their opponents are doing and their location using the cameras."
"Yes!! That's- that's better than what I thought! You can really make radios for the whole class? What am I saying, of course you can. I was just gonna use my astral projection but you're right, radios are better."
The vice-president of class 1-A nods, a little taken aback by just how enthusiastic Midoriya is. "Yes, in case one of the teachers does something unexpected during the test, you'll be there to help them come up with a new plan on the spot."
"You keep saying that's my thing," Midoriya rolls his eyes. "But you just came up with using the radios in about a second! And you're saying you can't make a new plan on the spot?" Momo…doesn't have a response. Especially with Kyoka's 'I told you so' look also drilling into her.
"Okay, I think we're set." Midoriya looks to them for confirmation, before letting his illusions disappear. "There's just one more thing I want to ask…"
"Do you really believe this will help?" Momo inquires. It was the following day after her meeting with Midoriya and Kyoka, and the green-haired boy had asked her to come join him and his friends as they trained for the exams, saying he thought he could help her.
Momo stands in the cement gym while more than half the class, not just Midoriya's group, are in various stages of training.
She wears the new suit Midoriya had given her, the Unstable Molecules covering her completely from her neck down to her hands and feet. Midoriya was not lying about its adaptability, resizing itself to fit her perfectly while still being breathable and flexible. She had indeed changed the color scheme slightly, making the suit red with black accents throughout.
Using her finger to swipe through another list of formulas, Momo shuts off her touchpad when Midoriya approaches, also in full costume. "If I'm being honest? No, I'm not sure this will help," Midoriya answers frankly but a little unsure.
Momo frowns. "You're not?"
"Nope!" The black-haired girl almost gets whiplash from how quickly Midoriya changed tones. "But you pretty much said you don't think you can be decisive, and I don't like it when other people put themselves down, so I'm here to make you stop." He giggles, pointing his dagger at her, starting silly before switching back to serious. "This isn't up for debate…unless this makes you that uncomfortable?"
That isn't the right word Momo would use. Maybe intimidated? Not something she ever thought she'd feel, but Momo never thought she'd ever consider letting anyone see how ill-prepared she can be. Starting to let her worries build up, Momo defaults to what she knows best, checking Midoriya on the things he says and does.
"I would hope our class president is practicing what he preaches?" Momo is not one to simply accept help and let that be that. She won't be comfortable until she knows Midoriya is getting help for his own tendencies on putting himself down. Memories of a few particular clones of his from the Sports Festival flash in her mind.
"I'm trying," he admits sheepishly. "Ochako and Denki can be ruthless when they want to be. And do you know how much Iida's chops hurt? Because I do!" He laughs, rubbing his head and wincing a bit. "So, are you alright with this?"
With no other reason to say no and knowing the importance of trying new things, Momo nods. Midoriya grins eagerly. "Great! Catch!" In an instant, he's whisking a throwing knife at Momo. She gasps, leaning on her back foot as she creates a shield, and happy to see her new suit instantly repairing herself, blocking the object.
It's only after that the creation user realizes Midoriya threw the knife backward at her, with the handle hitting the shield. She looks up, preparing for next attack when-
"You lose."
Momo turns slowly where Midoriya waves behind her, a dagger stopped centimeters from her back. "You spent too much time thinking about my first attack and not what was coming after," the greenette analyzes, walking back to her front. "Again?"
Feeling a little humiliated and determined to remedy that, Momo bends her knees, tossing the shield to the side. Midoriya begins again, tossing another knife at her, handle first. Being ready, she creates a shield and then a Bo staff to block the knife and attacks behind her, but this time Midoriya isn't there.
He still stands in front of her, throwing two more knives at her but as he does, he uses his illusions to make it seem as if six knives are flying at her. 'Curses. I can't tell which knife is real and which to block! Think! You're running out of time!'
But she can't come up with an answer in time, with one of the handles hitting her in the gut and the other colliding with her knee. The suit absorbs most of the physical pain, but none of the blows to her pride.
"Again?" Midoriya asks.
Momo didn't get to where she is by giving up. "Yes!"
'Clang!'
"Good!" Izuku strains against Iida's Ebony blade with his Dark Elf sword. "You're getting the forms down, but you're still stiff!" He shoves his friend's blade and counters, using slower and wider attacks so Iida would have the chance to block.
Momo quickly becomes overwhelmed by the amount of clones barreling down on her and is easy pickings when Izuku kicks her knee out from under her. "C'mon, you can do this!"
"Really? I didn't think she would like something like that?" Izuku inquires, both impressed and…if he's being honest, surprised.
In front of him and Ectoplasm, Eri rolls under Laura's stab and slices the other girl's knee. The Spanish girl grunts but gives her sparring partner an encouraging smile. Eri beams as Nomu claps enthusiastically from the side.
"She really likes math?" Izuku has to ask one more time, still weirded out that any kid would do such a thing.
"She does," Ectoplasm confirms. "She is eager to learn and I'd say, advancing quicker than I would've ever expected."
"Huh."
Izuku separates himself from his clone and runs around to Momo's back while invisible. What he isn't ready for is when he reappears, for Momo to dispatch a flashbang, blinding him. He turns invisible once more to avoid a counter attack but…
That was quick thinking on her part.
"You're not teaching me today?"
Hitoshi has long practiced keeping his voice in its usual bored tone, so he's fairly certain none of the actual disappointment leaks into it, but he has the feeling Eraserhead catches it anyway.
"I have to go keep an eye on my gremlins today before Midoriya has Yaoyorozu destroying the gym with dynamite…again. But you're past the basic fighting techniques and he hasn't stopped bothering me to help train you, so I figured today would be a good trial."
Raising an eyebrow, the door opens on the side of the room and a hero walks in, one Hitoshi recognizes instantly since he was all over the news during Hosu. "Gunhead?"
"Hello, young Shinso!" The hero waves at him happily, before thanking Aizawa-sensei. The man grunts his reply and walks out. "I've been interested in you since the Sports Festival."
"Why?" Hitoshi doesn't bother to hide his caution.
"Potential." Gunhead towers over him, hands on his hips. "You got pretty far in the Sports Festival using, let's be honest, some underhanded tactics, but would you like to know a secret?" He leans down, whispering. "There's no such thing as a clean fight. Your opponents will most likely fight dirty and you must be prepared for what they might throw at you, and I think you are."
Gunhead straightens. "After Uraraka, I had actually requested you as well for an internship," that causes Hitoshi's permanent look of boredom to drop momentarily. "But was sadly turned away due to you not being in the hero course yet. But I'm here now so, shall we begin?"
The hero holds his fist out and Hitoshi eyes it warily, uncertain because due to the man's mask, he can't tell how genuine he is. A few more awkward seconds pass and Gunhead chuckles. "You're supposed to hit it with your own fist, you know?"
Slowly, Hitoshi raises his knuckles and quickly bops the man's hand before he could take it away as part of some sick joke. A decision he would immediately come to regret when pain shoots through his palm, causing the teen to rub it. "Ow, dammit. What the hell, is your fist made of metal or something?"
"Something like that," Gunhead laughs. "Now show me what you can do!"
Izuku gasps as his sword goes flying from his hand, allowing Yaomomo to point her Bo Staff right at his face. "You are disarmed."
"I am, and you stopped checking your surroundings again." Before the girl can look, a pillar of ice hits her on the side, knocking off her feet and the staff from her hands.
"I suppose you find that funny?" She asks in annoyance while rubbing her side.
"Very much so, yes." Izuku offers her a hand to stand and she takes it, right before they immediately have to jump out of the way as Mina skates toward them.
"Excuse me! Pardon me! Gonna borrow this!" She scoops up Yaomomo's Bo Staff off the ground and starts to mercilessly whack Kirishima over and over with it.
"Wha- Mina- that's not fair!" He yells as his pink-haired friend doesn't listen, only increasing her attacks. "Hey! This isn't manly at all!"
"This is great! You mind if I keep this for a bit? Kay, thanks Yaomomo, you're the best!" 'Whack! Whack!'
"Ow! Mina!"
In other parts of the gym, Tsu jumps from wall to wall as Tenko creates new strands of Blackwhip, attempting to grab her. Denki and Tokage stand off to the side, laughing during their water break, and the booms outside could only mean one thing, Nomu and Ghost Rider were sparring again.
They required a lot of space for that.
"Midoriya." Todoroki catches his attention as he walks over. "Are you ready to begin practicing our ice constructs again?"
"Yeah, are we-" Izuku looks to Yaomomo, who waves him off. "Okay, yeah, we're good. Mind if you show me more how you use your feet to control your ice? I'm still having trouble with that."
"Of course."
"Were you…have you always been this ruthless in a fight?" Izuku pants.
"Think about who's taught me the most…and ask that again…" Ochako replies, squirming in his hold. Currently, Izuku had her pinned face-first against a wall with her arms twisted behind her back and her hands pressed against her back, her sparring gloves preventing her from floating herself.
The two had agreed on no quirks (or magic), but keeping her hands facing her stopped Ochako from hitting him with a blast from the rings. As to her answer…
"Fair point." Especially considering Izuku teaches to fight like he was taught. The bruises Ochako gave him certainly agree. "Do you give up?"
"Do you remember what I told you about the rings?" Ochako says instead, piquing his curiosity. "How the more rings I have on an arm, the more power it has?"
"Yes?"
"That doesn't just apply to my arms."
'What is she-' Izuku looks at her pinned arms and is horrified when he realizes there are only nine rings counted for. And it doesn't take him long to find the last one on her leg.
"That's not f-" A hard kick powered by the ring sends him sprawling, and by the time Izuku comes back to his senses, he's face first on the ground, his own arms twisted behind his back.
"I told you that you'd be the one eating dirt, Deku."
"Joke's on you, I actually love the taste of dirt."
"Give?"
Izuku squirms, but the pin holds and he's not allowed to use his powers so… "yeah, I give."
Ochako cheers, rolling off of him as Izuku sits up. He normally didn't like to lose, but seeing her progress from when she first nervously asked him for help to now, and seeing how happy it made her, for the first time, Izuku isn't upset he lost.
They're both out of breath, covered in dirt, sweat, and bruises, but neither can stop stealing glances at the other. Or fail to notice they were alone in the gym.
Izuku glanced at her again. "Break?"
"Break."
"Cool."
That's the last thing Izuku says before the pair grab each other, trying to make each other breathless in a new way.
"Mido! Mido! Look!"
Izuku tilts his head, walking to the middle of the gym where Eri stands with Nomu and Ghost Rider. "What is it?"
"Nomy and Ghosty came up with a secret handshake!"
"They did?"
"Yeah! Show him!"
Nomu then proceeded to punch Ghost Rider in the face.
"When did you learn to make that?!" Yaomomo doesn't have time to answer Izuku's question before the mine from the Sports Festival blows up in his face.
Jumping back to his feet, Izuku throws knives at her, no longer backward, while making a few of them illusions. Yaomomo made a pressure air gun that blew all the knives off course.
Surrounded by clones, Yaomomo drops dozens of small exploding pellets on the ground, revealing which Izuku is real so he could be properly tased.
Izuku switches it up, attacking her constantly, either as himself or using his clones to fool her. Yaomomo makes a pair of goggles for her eyes, and drops a mat under her. She blocks every one of his attacks with her electro staff and ignores his clones. How did she know?!
He tries to sneak up behind her, but as soon he steps on the mat she had made, it felt like he was caught in fly paper. In other words, he couldn't move out of the way as he got tased again. His subsequent ice attack was stopped by a freaking flamethrower because of course it was.
"How did you know which one was me and which were my clones?…"
Yaomomo smiles, pointing to her goggles. "They're thermal. You don't give off much heat, but your clones don't give off anything." Another tase and Izuku is down while his classmates in the gym clap for their fight.
Taking off her goggles, Yaomomo offers her hand, and Izuku smiles back at her, taking it. "Guess I'll have to stop going so easy on you."
"I look forward to it."
"That was awesome!!" Kirishima claps heartedly for them. "I can watch those two fight all day!"
"Truly, a clash of the titans of class 1-A," Tokoyami…agrees Izuku is pretty sure.
Wiping his pants off, Izuku looks to most of his classmates standing before him, tired but proud of the work they've put in with the finals only a few days away.
"Let's do our best! With the training and information we got, we'll crush these exams!!"
"Yeah!!"
"I'm happy to announce that the information you gathered was false!!"
"EHHHHHH?!"
Class 1-A looks up in shock at their principal who rubs his paws in anticipation from Aizawa's shoulder. They were all outside on the day of their practical exams in full costume when the bombshell was delivered.
Everything seemed to be going how they thought, all of their teachers lined up to take them to their exam sites, but…
Izuku, especially, reels back. No! His plan was foolproof! Where had he gone wrong?
"Oh, and Mr. Midoriya…" Izuku gulps as Nezu grins down at him without mercy. "Information gathering is an important step for any hero. But so is learning not to plan your deceptions in a place your enemy can see."
'This is for the salt in the tea, isn't it?!'
"I'm pretty sure I asked you once if you had cameras in my classroom?" Aizawa asks tiredly, giving his boss the side-eye.
"And I told you the truth!" Nezu cheers, drinking a cup of tea he got from…somewhere. Izuku swears he has a pocket dimension too. "I didn't have cameras in your room!…at the time."
"And you didn't think to inform me you had them installed?"
"You didn't ask!" Nezu takes another sip of his tea while Aizawa seems to debate the consequences of shaking his boss off his shoulder but ultimately decides against it.
"Yes, I'm afraid the information you learned for these exams will be mostly unhelpful. I say mostly because despite what the faculty may tell you, I am merciful and only care about nurturing your young minds." Several looks between teachers seem to contradict this statement, but no one is brave, or stupid, enough to say anything.
"Because you all took the initiative to investigate on your own, I let you discover that your opponents would be teachers and that one of the correct pairings. Every hero, whether limelight or underground, should know the importance of investigative work, so congratulations on your intuition."
Rubbing the excess tea off his mouth with Aizawa's scarf, Nezu continues, "On that same token, heroes should be aware of the possibility of being given bad intelligence, whether that be by accident or on purpose. I hope this helps in your learning of that lesson."
Izuku shifts uncomfortably on his feet and finally gains the courage to look up and around at his classmates, but calms down a little when none of them are giving him dirty looks. Though, he wouldn't blame them if they were. All of this, from his plan to their preparation being wasted, is his fault. He has to make it up to them.
"Villains in today's day and age are constantly evolving in their tactics and strategies, and more often than not, heroes are finding themselves caught in situations they are not prepared for and have to improvise. So, I hope you are ready to do the same! For the first change up to the exams, you will all be taking your exams at the same time, instead of one group at a time."
Nezu wants to test his thinking on the fly? Fine. But with Yamomo also more confident in her quick decision making, their principal is in for a bad time.
And while Izuku likes to have his plans, he wouldn't be a very good Prince of Mischief if he couldn't come up with things on the spot either. Just ask Hirona Shigaraki who has her Nomu now and Izuku rests his case.
The demigod meets Nezu's challenging gaze with his own. He takes in every word his principal says, his mind whirring on how to take advantage of their new circumstances when he feels a tap on his shoulder.
Izuku turns around to find Yaomomo handing him an earpiece radio, along with the rest of the class. Look at that, he's still trying to figure out what to do and Yaomomo is already steps ahead. He accepts the radio with enthusiasm and places it in his ear.
"The rules are the same, capture your specific opponent or escape from the gate of your assigned testing site. The teachers are still wearing half their body weight in the compressed armbands from the support department. Next, predictably, who you are facing and your partners have all been changed, and you will not find out who you are fighting until the exam begins. Now go on, adapt and survive students!"
Hanta curses as another gunshot rings through the air. He and Koda hide behind a few pillars as Snipe takes pop shots from out in the open. "Stay hiding, ya'll," Snipe taunts. "I can be at this 'til the cows come home, but I'm not the one with a time limit."
Koda flinches at the next gunshot, and Hanta is tired of this. He fires a strand of tape in the corridor to get moving but is disheartened when a blank fired by Snipe destroys it. "We'll be having none of that, ya hear?"
"Koda and I have Snipe and he has us pinned," Hanta reports. "How are the rest of you guys doing?"
"We are finding proceeding…difficult." Fumikage answers as Dark Shadow destroys several more walls created by Cementoss. But just as she begins to make progress, Aoyama using his laser beam causes the living quirk to shutter and decrease in size, thus letting Cementoss regain his advantage.
The two students try to separate, knowing their quirks hinder each other, by running to opposite ends of the street, but their teacher blocks their escape, forcing them together.
"Mon Dieu! It appears, for lack of a better word, Cementoss has Tokoyami and I stuck. I wish the best of luck to our other comrades!"
"Uh! I can use some of that luck right about now!" Eijiro digs his hardened feet into the ground while he and Ojiro hang on for dear life to a light post, his classmate having a slightly easier time since he could use his tail as well.
But the black hole quirk is relentless, as is Thirteen, as they try to suck them in.
"Isn't this the part where you talk about how manly this is!" Ojiro yells over the wind.
"I mean-"
"Please don't!" Ojiro stops him. "Kirishima and I are about to be sucked up by Thirteen's quirk! Someone has to be doing well, right?!"
"Definitely not me!" Toru screams as a cut pipe is sent hurling towards her, forcing her to duck. She runs through the piped tunnels over shattered metal, thankful more than ever for the suit Midoriya gave her.
"Toru!" Shoji locates her. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah," Toru pants. She's completely invisible, so her partner can't see as she puts her hands on her knees. "But Shoji…he- he has enhanced senses, I can't get around him!"
Screeeeeetch
The pair freezes as the ear-splitting sound of metal scratching metal approaches them. "If there's one thing you kids should know about me…" Wolverine rounds the corner, dragging his claw through the pipes. "Patience isn't my strongest suit."
"Go, go!" Shoji commands. Toru doesn't need to be told twice and she knows he'll keep track of her with his own senses. "We're going on the run from Wolverine!"
"Cowards!!"
Ochako rolls her eyes as Bakugo screeches into his earpiece. "That old fuck ain't that tough! He's a dog with some claws, that's it! So turn around, work together, and win!! And stop embarrassing us!!"
She's tempted to tell him 'look who's talking' with the whole dog line, but then Ochako catches him actually encouraging their classmates to work together. It's not enough for her to understand why Izuku won't let her float him to Asgard, but she holds her tongue anyway.
"The Hero Killer didn't take the fight I saw from you at the Sports Festival away, did he?" It takes Ochako a second to realize Bakugo had finally chosen to speak to her.
"Why don't you come over here and find out?" Ochako replies harshly.
"Heh." Bakugo stomps past her, looking at the roofs of the suburban houses they stand in between. "Look at you, some fancy bracelets and you think you're hot shit."
Just remember Ochako, if you actually do float him into space, Izuku will be upset and give you those adorable puppy dog eyes…or worse, he'll actually turn into a puppy! He's so unfair.
Bakugo puts his palms behind him and blasts into the air onto a nearby roof without another word. Huh.
Looking at the five rings on each of her forearms, he gives Ochako an idea. Feeling the power of the rings build up in her, she points her fists down at the ground and lets out a concussive blast.
Success! She did it! Ochako found another way into the air!…Way too high in the air…and now she's coming back down…
Flailing her arms and legs for a moment, Ochako taps herself, using her quirk to stop a bad fall and land safely on the roof next to Bakugo. "Graceful," he scoffs.
"Angry yap yap boy," Ochako smirks victoriously. Bakugo hates the nickname Eri gave him.
Proof of this is in the pops coming from his hands. "What the hell did-" the pops stop. Bakugo looks shocked, and Ochako realizes a second too late what's happening.
Aizawa-sensei's capture scarf wraps around Bakugo and pulls him harshly away, and Ochako is gifted a solid kick to her ribs that she is only able to partially block. The brunette yells as she skids across the roof, before rolling back on her feet to see her homeroom teacher standing there intimidatingly, keeping them both under his gaze from beneath his goggles.
"Heroes don't have to like each other, but they do have to work together and not let themselves be distracted," he lectures flatly.
Ochako raises a hand to her ear. "Eraserhead found us! Be on your toes, everybody!"
"Kind of don't have a choice over here!" Mina slides down on her knees, using her acid to get over the dirt ground while avoiding the punch. She quickly flings a glob of acid at her opponent, but like before, when it hits him, it does nothing.
"Wonderful!" Colossus compliments her, smiling. The acid burning his metal arm did not affect him in the slightest. "Using your abilities to dodge and counter at the same time, those are fantastic instincts to have!"
"Thank you, Sensei!" Mina lobs more acid at the metal man, using her speed and agility to skate around him.
"I admire your effort," Colossus shrugs the acid hitting his upper body off. "But surely you have been taught the definition of insanity?"
"I have!" The mutant gives her a confused look at her confident answer and takes a step, before realizing Mina had been tossing acid at his feet, causing him to slip and fall. "Do it now!!"
A wave of powerful ice slams down on the man, trapping him underneath. Todoroki exhales, already using his left side to warm him up a little. "I am unsure how long that will hold. We should-"
Before he can finish, the ice explodes and Colossus moves at a speed terrifying for a man his size, chucking a small piece of ice at Mina that hits her in her stomach and sends her flying. Todoroki tries to use his fire to stop the man, but it's no use before Colossus can backhand him in the chest.
The fire and ice user hits the ground hard but summons some ice to cushion the last bit of his tumble. "Ah, teamwork!" Colossus yells happily. "It fills me with such joy to see the heroes of tomorrow already understand the importance of it!"
Todoroki puts his right hand to his chest, letting a little chill out help his bruise in the area. "It appears Mina and I have been sanctioned to fight Colossus. Everyone else, be quick to report who you have."
"Thank you for the swift update, Todoroki!" Tenya responds, blasting through the mock city with his quirk. "But I must confess, I believe even I have had my fill of speed for the day. Jiro, have you been able to locate him?"
"…dammit, no. He's too fast in the air for me to track, and anytime he touches a building, he's gone before I can even begin to figure out where he is!"
Tenya hears him before he can see him. On instinct, he drives the Ebony Blade into the street, an energy blast destroying the cement around him. But he misses, as his foe changes direction mid-air before he could be hit.
The dot bounced around him and Tenya can dodge the first couple of attacks, but the man is too experienced and unpredictable, and the blue-haired boy takes a shot to the back, throwing him on the ground.
"Hmm, this is actually pretty nice," Gran Torino chuckles, landing hard on Tenya's back. "Having someone who can almost keep up with me to fight. If you stop being daft, this might even be worth getting out of bed this morning, kid."
He tries to swing his leg at Torino, but the old hero dodges easily, flying up and away from Tenya, who hits the ground in frustration, before widening his eyes. 'No, that's not me. Relax. That's the sword, not you.'
Exhaling and slowly rising to his feet, Tenya says, "I apologize, but I've lost him again, Jiro. I'm heading back to you so we may regroup."
"Alright, sounds good. Everyone in the class owes us one for being the ones to take this crazy old geezer off their hands."
"Speak for yourself!" Sato destroys another wall placed in their way while Tsu quickly scouts ahead. "I'd take crazy old man over principal Nezu any day!"
"I heard that! And thank you for the compliment!" Nezu's voice rings over the loudspeakers of the test site.
Tsu wraps her tongue around Sato's waist and yanks him from the building corridor before the floor could collapse under him.
"Thanks," he grunts, standing back up and retrieving a few sugar cubes from his belt.
"Preserve those, ribbit," Tsu advises, peering out the window. "You should save your strength until we know where he is."
"That's a good idea," Sato concedes. "If I eat tiny pieces of them, it should give me a little boost in strength but keep the side effects to my brain down, does that sound alright?"
Tsu shrugs, she doesn't know his quirk like he does so she'll go along with it. Sato nods, eating the tiny piece of sugar, before offering her a candy bar for saving him. She politely declines.
The sound of destruction gets them on their feet again. "Looks like he's coming!"
"Ribbit," Tsu agrees. "That's nearly everyone, who else are we missing?"
"How could you guys… forget about this handsome face?" Denki quips through gritted teeth, lightning shooting through Thunderstrike almost as powerful as he can make it. "Run! I'll hold him so you can-"
"So, he can do what, young Kaminari?"
Debris blinds Denki as All Might rushes him, his lightning having only delayed the number one hero momentarily. "Ack!!" He cries as the pro hero punts him into the air.
Denki feels the urge to puke as he's grabbed while he flies through the air and is thrown as if he weighs nothing to his partner. "Oh, come on!-" Tenko shouts in pain as Denki slams into him, attempting to escape using Blackwhip and his thrusters.
They land on the ground roughly and Denki rises to one knee, pointing his weapon forward. The wind around them begins to shake violently as the high-speed air launches at All Might.
Windows break, doors fly off their hinges, even things nailed to the sidewalk fly off their bolts as the winds around Denki pick up, going faster and faster. It's so powerful now, that even All Might starts to be pushed back.
"Neat trick, mind if I try?" All Might rears his fist back and punches forward; the gust created by his enhanced punch overtakes Denki's, and the two boys are sent hurtling back once again.
"This…this is Denki…" the blond says into his earpiece. "Tenko and I are about to die to All Might. Tell my family I love them. Any last words, Tenko?"
"GG."
"That's good enough for me."
"This is almost insultingly easy." Ghost Rider looks around the city, looking for any sign of Momo, who had hidden behind the wall in a nearby alley, trying to get her breathing under control. A few meters from Ghost Rider, Midoriya lies in a crater in the street, panting heavily and drenched in sweat.
"Even I can see why one would feel sorry for you," the Rider says, looking back at Midoriya. "To be forced into conflict with one who utilizes your weakness to their advantage." The fire around Ghost Rider flares for a moment, causing Midoriya to groan. "But to fight the injustices of the world, one must learn to overcome those weaknesses and forge ahead!"
Midoriya yells in the effort as he rolls on his stomach and gets up on all fours, his breathing very labor intensive now. "I was wondering which would break first with you." The Rider walks casually back over to the green-haired boy, whose pain only seemed to increase as his opponent got closer. "Your spirit…or your body."
He swiftly kicks Midoriya away as the teen shouts in pain, rolling away. The only consolation Momo could take is that, looking at Ghost Rider, he had turned his flames down for the fight. She knows from classes and training that he can make himself much hotter, so there was a feeling close to relief that at least he wasn't doing so with Midoriya so close to him.
"Do you plan to abandon him?" the Rider asks the air around him. Momo clenches her fists, as if she would ever do such a thing! "If I were truly a villain, and you left him behind, his blood would be on your hands. You may not have done the deed, but a sin is a sin."
If he's thinking she doesn't have a plan, then the Rider has another thing coming. Because they're going to regret making her testing site the same area the teachers used for the regular entrance exam.
She and Midoriya had had over a month to go over the testing sites, and with maybe a little too much help from a certain eccentric inventor in the support course, the teens had all figured something out.
Momo's hand glows and in it, a remote appears, one that had a button she couldn't push fast enough.
The ground rumbles beneath their feet as if an earthquake has hit it, and a zero-point testing robot emerges from underneath the ground. And though she is sure it's not the case, Momo could almost swear it was roaring as it came up.
She hits a few more buttons on the remote and the zero pointer looks down, locking onto the Ghost Rider. "This is a useless delay." He shoots into the air with Ingenium's quirk, his fist slicing through the robot's head like a hot knife through butter, before landing back on the ground…surrounded by dozens upon dozens of one to three point robots.
"He's dangerous," A one-pointer comments.
"How can you tell?" another asks, before a chain flies through its head and sweeps around the street, destroying robot after robot with ease.
"Take him down, no prisoners!" A three-point bot leads the charge as others follow, seemingly inspired.
"Roger, roger!"
Nearby, Momo creates a heavy-duty wrench to destroy the side of a fire hydrant, letting the water wash over Midoriya, who sits up coughing and sputtering.
"Are you alright?" Momo leans down to check on Midoriya's burns while he takes a second to nod.
"Yeah…yeah, thanks." He turns some of the water around him into ice to help cool himself off. "Good call with remembering the robots, but they won't hold him long."
"I concur. I have some ideas to help our friends, but won't be able to implement them until we figure out a way to defeat Ghost Rider."
"Don't worry about that." Izuku smiles mischievously, slowly standing. "I have a plan on how to help with that."
"That's my plan, what do you think?"
"Sewers?! Seriously?!" Tenko raises an eyebrow.
"It's a mock city!" Denki defends desperately. "There's gotta be some mock sewers you can use to get to the exit while I fight All Might!"
"Come out, little heroes…" Tenko and Denki hold their breaths as All Might's heavy footsteps approach them. This is it. He was going to find them and they were going to fail. "Ah, there you are."
Both boys brace themselves to fight like hell, but when they hear All Might dash, he actually dashes away from where they're hidden. Denki dares to peak out of the room and is surprised to see All Might chasing…them?
The hero is busy going after them, or at least, two people who look like them. What is going-
"Hey, guys! Great illusions of you both, wouldn't you say?"
Denki and Tenko's jaws drop when Izuku lands on his feet next to them, smiling widely. A few seconds later, Momo lands next to him, offering her own smile in greeting, with a jetpack that looks strikingly similar to the one that the hero Airjet uses.
"You…you both came on that?" Denki asks, pointing to the jetpack. "It could support both your weights?"
"I turned into a cat!"
"Figures."
"Hey," Tenko interrupts, walking between the cousins. "That's great and all, but I got one little question…what are you guys doing here?!!" He yells as loud as he can while still keeping his voice down for All Might. "You can't just travel to other test sites during the exam?"
"Why not?" Izuku smirks as he watches both boys' brains work in real time. "Remember what the rules Nezu laid out were?" The greenette conjures his phone and sends a quick text to somebody. "To win, we either have to capture our villain or escape through our gate. With all the tests going on, Nezu never said we couldn't travel to each other's sites and help out."
It clicks at the same time with both Tenko and Denki grinning madly at the same time. "Nice!!" Denki slaps his cousin's shoulder. "Another Izuku bending of the rules moment, let's go!"
"I must admit, it's clever." Momo giggles a little with the boys, their excitement is contagious. "And our teachers haven't ended the exam since we came here, so it must be allowed."
"Told you!" Izuku cheers, before turning back to the other boys. "Yaomomo's brain has been working overtime on how to help everybody and I say, we help her! And maybe turn these exams upside down to get back at the teachers for trying to trick us, what do ya say?"
"Do you even have to ask?" Tenko shakes his head good-naturedly.
"Oh, yeah!! I'm in!" Denki pumps his fist.
"An innovative plan…but one problem." The four teens turn slowly to see the imposing figure of All Might staring down at them from across the road. Meanwhile, the sound of something streaking through the air above them becomes louder and louder.
"I'm afraid, as a villain, I can't let you students enact your plan without trying to stop you."
The threatening aura around All Might seems to grow. "So, how do you plan on dealing with me?"
While the others look at each other worriedly, Izuku's smile only broadens. "I'm happy you asked…"
The streaking through the sky gets even louder.
"I thought of a lot of tricks I could use to get us away from you, All Might. Some simple, some complicated…"
The figure in the sky is almost upon them.
"I thought of what combination of my classmates would have the best chance to outsmart you and take you out of play…"
Nezu laughs hysterically from where he's hidden in his testing site, turning off UA's defenses for the coming person.
"But in the end, I just decided the direct approach was best."
The figure crashes into the street in between All Might and the teens, creating a wave of dust. It's silent for a few seconds, before they hear the sound of someone climbing out of the crater. "Speaking honestly, I'm glad you decided to text me, Izuku," the man says.
All Might's eyes widen as he figures out what's about to happen. The hero rips the compressed weights off his arms and legs, knowing he shouldn't have anything slow him down for the upcoming fight.
"Another thing Nezu didn't forbid in his rules." Izuku shrugs, full on smirking now. "Outside help."
"I felt horrible about not being able to help during Hosu." The figure walks slowly out of the dust. "So, I made Izuku a bargain. That I would help him in any way I could. All he need do is ask."
His red cape flutters in the wind. "Even if it was as simple as pointing me in the direction of whoever's ass I needed to kick." The dust settles, revealing Thor to be staring down All Might. "And it looks like that's you." Lightning crackles up and down his body. "You're big. Fought bigger. But I humbly do accept your surrender."
All Might hums, the ground breaking underneath his feet as he gets into a fighting position. "The most inflated egos are often the most fragile." His perpetual smile becomes a little more genuine in anticipation. "But you will find I am one to always rise to a challenge!"
Thor snorts. "Not bad. But if you wish to harm these children 'villain…'" He threatens, playing along with the exercise before smirking. The lightning on his body revs up as the God of Thunder raises Mjölnir to his opponent. "Then you will have to go through me!"