Chapter 68: And we're done
As Powerloader freed Iida from the hole he had somehow found himself in, Jirou began to head to City Whiskey, where, along the way, she found Koda. She greeted him and said, "Well, time to face the music."
Koda didn't respond except for a slight head nod that was so small Jirou almost missed it. Jirou took a deep breath and let out a deep sigh. It was time to face the music in more ways than one. As they walked, Jirou tried to talk with Koda and form a plan. Yet despite being classmates for almost four months, Jirou still struggles to understand Koda's hand signals.
Even when Jirou was attempting to lay out a plan, Koda just responded with nods and shakes. Jirou's plan was simple in nature. Present Mic wasn't known for close quarters, and his quirk gave him serious range. So it would be best to avoid him entirely and head straight for the goal. And in case Present Mic was near the escape gate or simply in their way, Jirou was to buy time and create space so Koda could use his quirk to have the animals attack and overwhelm Present Mic.
Arriving at City Whiskey, the duo walked through the archway and, on the other side, found themselves in a dense forest that could almost be called a jungle. Looking around, all Jirou could say was, "Huh." It certainly seemed like a place a lot of wild animals would move into. If they were lucky, a few monkeys or foxes, perhaps a few birds had nested amongst the trees. Though Jirou won't be surprised if Principal Nezu has somehow brought in a large animal like a boar or tiger.
Getting one of those to go after Present Mic would make their job all too easy, though whether such a plan was possible was yet to be seen.
"Kyoka Jirou, Koji Koda, Midterm exams begin." The PA system announced.
Gesturing to the forest in front of them, Jirou said, "Might as well get started." Jirou began to forage her way forward, and it didn't take long for her to wish she had a machete or some other large knife to easily cut through the thick branches and overgrown brush. Without looking over her shoulder, she knew Koda was following her as she could hear his footsteps behind her.
Pushing aside at least another large branch and getting ready to duck under, Jirou heard a distant ringing that sent a chill down her spine. Before she could question what she was hearing, a loud, booming voice carried over the entire fake city, "Hey, little listeners, where are you? It's only been half a minute, but I'm bored already. So let's get this party started."
Ringing immediately began in Jirou's ears, and it didn't disappear even after Present Mic stopped talking. Dread settled in her body as the realization of why she had been pitted against Present Mic hit her. UA's first-year English teacher loved his voice more than anyone should; he even had his own radio show so he could talk more. And if he was going to use his quirk every time he talked, then Jirou wouldn't be able to hear her own thoughts, let alone communicate with Koda.
Coming out from behind the tree she had hidden behind and attempted to use as a bluff, Jirou tried to look like the dense forest to see any sign of their opponents. A calm seemed to have begun to settle over the forest, and Jirou began to trek forward. A few meters later, the only warning this time was the sudden increase in rustling leaves, barely giving her a chance to dive behind a fallen tree.
"Hello out there. Anyone going to respond? I know I'm not transmitting on empty airwaves. Hellooooooo, Mic Check 1, 2, 3. Is anyone out there? That's strange. I told my receptionist to make sure the power bill was on autopay. Maybe my volume is turned down." Jirou did not like what that entailed, so she quickly looped her earphones around her ears and then covered her headphone jacks and ears the best she could with her hands, "HELLO OUT THERE. YOU LITTLE LISTENERS DIDN'T GET LOST ON YOUR WAY?"
If Jirou wasn't having to deal with a migraine-level headache, she would comment on how Present Mic wasn't even giving them a chance to respond to his questions. Looking over her shoulder, she could see Koda similarly hiding and covering his ears as well. Present Mic's voice was drowned out by the very increasing ringing in Jirou until all she could hear was the high-pitched droning sound.
Jirou knew that if they wanted to make any kind of progress, then she needed to find a way to overcome Present Mic's volume. Withdrawing her hand right from her ear, the ringing got loud, but Jirou was able to put up with it. She covered her earphone jack as she lowered her hand down to her boot. Gently inserted her right headphone jack into the port, Jirou took a deep breath as she raised her leg above the log. Pouring her whole heartbeat into her boot, she was surprised by the strength of the attack.
While they were still her original boots, Izuku stated he had done some modifications when he studied them to make her gauntlet prototype. Yet during heroic class and spars, Jirou hadn't noticed much of a difference. Then again, she had gone full power since the USJ, so it came as a surprise when the force that came out of the boot was much more powerful than she had expected. Even to the point that the recoil had nearly made her foot hit the ground as if she were doing an axe kick.
On the opposite side of the fight, and from his position in front of the exit gate, Present Mic heard the boom of Jirou's quirk and could feel the resistance his quirk was encountering. Letting off his quirk, Present Mic could hear the soundwave from Jirou rushing towards him. He thought it would just be a small whisper and felt a breeze, but as it reached him, it was instead a bit of a yell and a strong breeze that made his eyes a bit watery.
Yet despite that, Present Mic still called out, "Huh, sounds like someone needs to get some better bass. Well, might as well give the little listeners five."
While he began to whistle, Jirou gently sat up and brought her right boot in. As she started to massage the calf with her left hand, she gently pulled her headphone jack out and began to massage it. The ringing was still in her ears, though as she massaged her quirk, it was slowly becoming more tolerable. Looking out from her hiding spot, she looked towards Koda, "Are there any animals nearby you can use your quirk on/"
Koda shook his head, and then in a quiet voice, Jirou could barely through the ringing he said, "Present Mic's voice scared them away."
Jirou could only nod to show her understanding. As she continued to massage her quirk, she couldn't help but look down at her boot. She had not accepted that kind of power, though that didn't mean she wasn't grateful, as it had helped shut Present Mic up for a bit. Suddenly, she grimaced as she had hit a sore spot on her right headphone jack, and the nerve shot off like crazy.
In the observation room, Izuku noticed, and it made him pause. He had been thinking over his plan to go against All Might while watching the exams in the back of his mind. Yet seeing Jirou give that expression drew his attention. It was similar to the expression Mei gave when she had overworked her quirk, and any level of light affected her.
Izuku's mind immediately started a new train of thought as it started to create a blueprint for a pair of noise-canceling earmuffs. They would help block out any loud sound automatically for Jirou's enhanced hearing. Though for moments of powerful sound quirk like Present Mic, extra buffering might be in. So maybe some kind of small cover that could go directly over Jirou's quirk.
Though Izuku would have to do some extra research into acoustics before he could make any definitive plan.
Taking a moment to catch her breath and realizing Present Mic was giving them more than just a chance to catch their breath, Jirou slowly stood up and turned around, "From what I can tell, Present Mic is straight ahead. Most likely on the other side of the exam area. It's not great but if we want to make it to the escape gate then that is the direction we have to head."
Even though her small massage had helped with the ringing, it was still present in her ears. So Jirou started to search for a calm, steady beat. It would help her quirk work through all the noise, while also helping to calm and steady her mind. Though that didn't mean she was also on guard, keeping her hearing attuned for sounds of Present Mic using his quirk again.
Finding a calm, flowing stream, Jirou felt her body begin to relax. Yet they were still in the middle of a fight, so it wasn't like she could lie down and take a nap until her headache disappeared. Foraging head, Jirou jumped over a fallen tree and continued.
Barely a minute and a half had passed when she heard a deep breath be taken, and knowing that it couldn't be Koda, Jirou reacted quickly and dove behind a rock. "Come on, little listeners, this isn't fun anymore. I'm starting to get really bored over here." Jirou covered her ears and looked over her shoulder. She saw Koda falling to the ground and giving a silent scream, "Hurry up already."
Jirou knew that the shape of the boulder she was hiding behind was providing a good acoustic barrier, but Koda was taking the whole brunt of the attack. She knew she couldn't take Present Mic out on her own and would need Koda's help. Lowering her left phone jack down to her boot, Jirou let a quick loud burst of her heartbeat, to hopefully act as a temporary counter against Present's Mic quirk.
As the heartbeat soundwave traveled out, Jirou dove out from behind the rock and ran to Koda. Grabbing his shoulder and attempting to pull him up, but she wasn't one for the gym, so she yelled, "Koda, come on, we need to get to the boulder!" That got Koda moving, and he got his feet under him, and he began to move.
It was slow going as Koda was still dizzy and having to lean on Jirou to still stand. This meant that Present Mic overpowered Jirou's shield they were hit by his quirk again. Jirou would have fallen to the ground, but Koda used all of his strength to grab hold of Jirou and dive towards the boulder he had seen her come from. Hiding the ground, Koda used his larger body to protect Jirou as they slid against the ground and hit the boulder.
Through her blurry vision, Jirou saw this and quickly plugged in both her jack into her boot and used her quirk to try and form an acoustics wall to block out Present Mic. Then, in a breathless voice, she said, "We need to come up with a plan; otherwise, Present Mic is going to have us dead to rights."
Koda nodded his understanding, yet before either of them could come up with a plan, Jirou noticed something small crawling on the ground next to her hand. Sliding her hand over and letting it crawl onto her glow, she saw it was an ant. Koda had said all the animals would have been scared, yet here was a small insect.
"Hey, Koda, look." Jirou lifted her hand to show the ant, hoping to show that there was still an animal he could use his quirk on. Yet the moment Koda looked at the ant, he tried to push himself further into the boulder, "Okay, not a bug guy. We still need to come up with a plan to get past Present Mic."
"It's quiet." Koda said in a whisper, Jirou could only hear because of her quirk, "Why?"
"Huh." Jirou questioned, "I'm using my quirk, the acoustics of the boulde,r to cancel out Present Mic's quirk." Otherwise, the small cave they were in would be filled with Present Mic's screaming like it was outside, but instead it sounded more like a large whisper.
"Continue after we leave?"
Jirou took that as Koda asked if she could continue to counteract Present Mic's quirk even after they left the cave. She had to shake her head at that idea. While Jirou was able to create the loud soundwave, it was only because of her support equipment, and even given Izuku's upgrade, Present Mic's quirk was directly linked to his voice. Even if he didn't have his support equipment, he could probably still hold against Jirou.
They were safe in the cave, but they couldn't win from within the cave. They needed to come up with a way to distract Present Mic. Direct his attention somewhere else and get him to stop yelling. Jirou looked down at the ant still crawling on her glove. If it was still around, there was probably more. If Koda could command them to crawl through the ground and attack Present Mic, then that could be the distraction they need to get close.
Though Jirou wasn't too confident that sending an army of bugs after Present Mic would distract him for long enough. They need a powerful ranged attack, powerful enough to knock him down, maybe even for good. She looked down at her boots, thinking about how Izuku had upgraded them overall. That had been unknown to her, but there was an upgrade she knew about.
It had been Jirou's second visit to Classroom 6-G and had only swung by because Izuku had texted her asking her to do so. So after the final bell, Jirou headed over, and after the large metal doors opened, she stepped on it and found Izuku sitting at a table with both of her boots. One was off to the side, while he had the other in hand; the cover of the speaker was off, "Oy, Bushhead."
Izuku paused and looked up from Jirou's boot. As he had a pair of magnifying glass goggles, his eyes were really big as he looked over at Jirou, "Oh, Jirou you came."
"Yeah, you texted me, asking me to stop by. What did you need?" Jirou asked as she stepped in, and the door closed behind her.
"Can you whistle with your quirk?"
Jirou gave Izuku a confused look, which was the exact reason he hadn't simply asked over text, "What? What do you mean by whistle?"
"Your quirk allows you to push your heartbeat through her headphone jack and into other items." Izuku said, and Jirou nodded, "Have you tried to condense that to a point
"What?" Jirou asked, fidgeting with her earphone jack.
Izuku slipped his goggles up and thought for a moment. "Um, um. Okay, think of it this way. If normally the sound waves you create with your quirk are massive sound waves like you would get from giant speakers from a concert. What if you condensed the soundwave to a single point. Like a high pitched whistle."
"What made you become an expert in Musicology and acoustics?" Jirou asked.
"Last night." Izuku joked as it was no secret that Class 1-A viewed Izuku as a certified genius. Even those at the top of the class for grades said Izuku was smart, though Bakugo refused to agree.
Jirou thought about it for a second, then shook her head, "I can't do anything like that. All my quirk does is take my heartbeat and push through my headphone jacks. I can increase the volume like striking a chord on the guitar harder by increasing my heartrate. But changing the pitch to be high or lower, that would mean physically changing the way my heart beats."
"Yeah, it doesn't sound too healthy when you put it that way." Izuku said with a stumped look on his face, but then he reached over and slipped the cover back onto Jirou's boots, "Then maybe this modification I've added to your boot might be about to help with that."
Jirou looked down at her boots. Izuku had described the upgrade less like a giant wave of sound, but like a piercing whistle traveling like a bullet. But it would take time to get into position and to switch mode; all that time, she would have to take the brunt of Present Mic's attack. She just needed to buy time.
Turning to Koda, Jirou said, "Koda, I know you don't like bugs, I need you to use your quirk on them. If you can get them to distract Present Mic for long enough, I can get into position and hit him with an attack."
Koda shook his head. There had to be another way, a different plan.
"I'm sorry, but I can't think of anything else," Jirou said, withdrawing her left headphone jack while pouring all her quirk into her right one, making it so all she could hear in that ear was her own heartbeat. Ramming her left jack into the boulder and pushing a bit of her quirk into it, resulting in the ground shaking underneath and several different types of bugs crawling out, "I know you can do it."
Koda looked at Jirou and could see all the strength, effort, and determination she was putting into their exam. She, like he, was trying to become a pro hero, so shouldn't he be trying to act the same way? Knowing he was going to have nightmares about this later, Koda quickly dove to the ground and began to whisper yells at the bugs, "I call upon you, crawler of the earth, find your way to the loud man and attack. Sending him fleeing and restoring the peace of the land."
If asked, Jirou would not have taken Koda to be such a Shakespearean speaker.
On the other side of the arena, Present Mic was currently beating his world record for longest yell and still going. When his breath finally petered out, he took a large breath and felt it crackle a bit. Present Mic was happy he had already lined up his assistant to do tonight's radio show, as his voice was going to need a break.
"I should probably give the little listeners a break; I don't want to completely lose my voice." Present Mic said, all the while reaching down to his belt to grab his water bottle. Lifting the bottle and ready to take a drink, Present Mic paused as he felt the ground shake. Looking out to the forest, he didn't see any major breeze, so something must be blowing up to him.
Taking a quick drink, and then tossing the bottle off to the side, Present Mic jumped off to the side just as the ground where he was previously was cracked apart and a horde of bugs crawled out. Present Mic did his best not to get distracted by the shiver that crawled up his spine. There was a reason why he had talked with Snipe in an attempt to switch exam areas. He hated the outdoors and loathed bugs. Yet there couldn't be any way Jirou or Koda knew about that fear; only Aizawa and Midnight knew. Just like he was the only one who knew about Aizawa's Aulophobia and Midnight's Antophobia.
They had mutually agreed never to share those.
Yet either way, the moment Present Mic saw the bugs, he let out a high-pitched screech that would make a high schooler girl question his sanity. While the quirk-powered screech stopped the bugs from advancing, it also pushed Present Mic back. With some quick footwork, Present Mic stayed on his feet, all the while keeping his eyes on the ever-growing horde of bugs.
If he hadn't, then he would have noticed a few branches of a tree on the edge of the forest, suddenly shaking. As Jirou caught and steadied herself on the large tree branch, she looked out at Present Mic and saw that he was completely focused on the bugs. The sight made her smile, half because it gave her the chance to enact the final step of her plan. The other half was everyone watching was learning about Present Mic's fears, bugs, something she had no issue holding over him.
Speaking of her plan, Jirou reached out and pressed an unseen button on the insides of her boots. The next second, she could hear what sounded like metal panels around in her boots, before clicking into place. Well, there's no time like the present, so after lining up her shot the best she could, Jirou inserted her headphone jacks and pushed her heartbeat through them.
The resulting sound was less of a loud booming, but instead started as two loud whistles, and as the sound shot out of Jirou's boots, they became like two wailing fireworks. This caught Present Mic's attention, and he turned in the direction of the sound. He saw Jirou standing in a tree, and that was all before an air bullet hit him and exploded. Present Mic was thrown back and hit the chain link fence that marked the edge of the mock city.
Falling to the ground, Present Mic groaned a bit as it wasn't just his voice that felt sore, but now his entire body. Opening his eyes, he found his vision to be blurry, but even he could tell someone was walking in his general direction. He figured it was either Jirou or Koda coming to put the cuffs on him. Based on the size of the figure, Present Mic had to guess it was Jirou. However, when the figure was halfway to him, they started to drift a bit to the side. Present Mic followed them the best he could, only to see them step through the exit gate.
"Kyoka Jirou has escaped. Kouki Koda and Kyouka Jirou have passed," the PA system announced, and Present Mic nodded his head. He had earned himself a nap and fell asleep, "Hanto Sero and Yuga Aoyama, please report to City Foxtrot."
As Sero began making his way to City Foxtrot, he came across Aoyama, who was still practicing dramatic poses. Upon seeing this, Sero couldn't help but drop his shoulder as he realized he was going to miss his opportunity to go to the summer camp. Thirteen's Blackhole quirk dominated in range, destroying any projector before they got close to her.
And it wasn't like they could get close, because all Thirteen would have to do was point her quirk at them. Even if the teacher were skilled enough not to accidentally kill any of the students, Sero was willing to bet that if any of the students were put in a position where a villain with the same quirk could kill them. Well, that would probably earn them a failing grade.
Upon arriving at the fake city, Sero found it was a mostly enclosed space. While he would have preferred a bit more open space, he would take a narrow space over a vast and open area; at least he still had a point he could use his quirk on to move around.
"Aoyama, our best bet is to maneuver around Thirteen and make our way to the gate." Sero said.
"As long as my sparkle is not diminished." Aoyama said with a flutter of his cape.
Sero took that as Aoyama agreeing with his statement.
"Hanta Sero and Yuga Aoyama, midterm exams begin." The PA system announced.
Normally, Sero would have been quick to use his quirk to scout ahead and do recon, but seeing as there were only two of them, Sero didn't want to accidentally come across Thirteen by himself or leave Aoyama on his own. So as the announcement continued to echo through the hallways, Sero and Aoyama began a slow jog.
Like Tsuyu and Tokoyami's exam, the first few minutes for Sero and Aoyama were quiet. They didn't see or hear any sign of Thirteen, which made Sero think that their opponent was deploying a similar tactic to the other teacher and waiting by the exit gate. That was bad, as by the time they found the escape gate, there would be little time left to either cuff Thirteen or get past her.
It wasn't too bad a strategy, kill as much time as possible, then hold them off until time expired. From that logic, Sero and Aoyama would have to play into that and somehow beat it. Sero couldn't help but recall their first heroic lesson with All Might. He couldn't recall who had made the statement, but it was brought up how it seemed that the hero teams were all at a disadvantage. It was starting to feel the same for the mid-term exams as well.
Then again, All Might had stated a pro hero's job was to overcome that disadvantage and find a way to win.
"Monsieur, I do believe I hear something behind this door," Aoyama called out, pulling Sero from his thoughts. Sero turned and saw Aoyama standing in front of a wooden door, and as the tape user walked over, he could start to hear what sounded like rushing air. Like if an airplane had been suddenly breached and was quickly becoming depressurized.
Turning the handle on the door, Sero and Aoyama didn't have a chance to react as the door not only swung open but was ripped off its hinges and pulled down the hallway. Sero turned to Aoyama to comment on how it must have been Thirteen's quirk, but paused as he noticed the background behind Aoyama was moving. Sero tilted his head at that. Thirteen's quirk was blackhole, not any kind of reality wrapping.
Yet when Sero looked down, it became clear what was happening. He and Aoyama were sliding across the floor as if it were frictionless, being pulled in by Thirteen's quirk. Sero acted quickly and threw tape towards the wall, but the tape was barely a few centimeters out of his arm before it was caught in the vortex and pulled further down the hallway.
Sero tried to yell, but it got stuck in his throat as he and Aoyama went racing down the hallway. They tried to get traction against the ground, either to stop or to push themselves towards the wall; it was hard to tell. Soon they came across another doorway, the doors having already been ripped off, and got to a large open space that looked like it could be a food court for a mall.
The duo came out on the second floor and crashed into the railing of the walkway. While Aoyama managed to get a hold of the railing, Sero went crashing through. Flipping around in midair, Sero threw his arm out as fast and as hard as he could to try and get his tape to connect to something, in hopes that he would be able to control his descent and get somewhere to hide from Thirteen.
"Ahh, there's one of my prey." Thirteen called out, causing SEro to look down and under his arm, and saw Thirteen standing in the clearing with nothing around her. Before Sero could respond, he felt his tape go tight, and he started to swing away from Thirteen.
Crashing through the glass panel, Sero rolled until he hit a clerk's counter. Looking up, Sero found himself in a video game store, though the only evidence left behind was some old, torn video game posters. Quickly getting up and jumping over the counter, Sero tapped his ear to make sure his communicator hadn't come loose.
"Aoyama, Aoyama are you still there?" Sero asked.
"I'm still shining bright like a diamond." Aoyama replied.
"Can you see Thirteen. Is she still in the food court?" Sero asked as he suddenly heard something heavy scraping across the ground. Standing up just enough to peer over the counter, Sero saw an information kiosk being dragged across the ground.
"She appears to be making her way towards us, though I don't believe she has noticed me." Aoyama said.
Sero nodded his head to the side. While Thirteen might not have seen Aoyama, she couldn't have missed him. His attention was once again pulled to the outside of the store as he saw that the info kiosk was no longer moving. Sero wanted to take that as a good sign, as it could only mean Thirteen was no longer actively using her quirk, but that hope was dashed from her white puffy suit came into view.
"Hey Aoyama, I know you're on the second floor, I could really use an assist here. Thirteen's got me pinned in. I've got a backdoor I can escape through, but the moment I make a run for it she'll see me." SEro said as he quickly dropped back behind the counter.
"Have no fear Can't Stop Shining will stop any evil doer that crosses his path." Aoyama said.
Sero wasn't quite sure what Aoyama planned to do to provide a distraction. Maybe curve his light beam and hit Thirteen, or use a glass panel to redirect his beam. But loudly proclaiming, "Stand fast evil doer. Give up your wicked way and return to the light of hope." was not even close to the list.
Peering over the counter once again, Sero saw Thirteen turned away from the store, looking down the hallway to where Aoyama was standing. Sero shook his head; his teammate was going to get himself killed. Normally, he would have bolted for the back door, but now he had to save his teammates.
Vaulting off the counter, Sero bolted across the empty store, and about halfway across, he lifted his right arm. Shooting out a strand of tape, it traveled through the broken window and caught Thirteen in her right arm as she started to lift it. Acting fast, Sero jumped forward, reeling in his reel to pull himself towards Thirteen at high speed. Kicking Thirteen in the mask on the side of the head, Sero dodged her grab by backflipping off her shoulder.
Instincts kicked in, and Sero rolled under Thirteen's swipe. Knowing the moment Thirteen had her hand point at him and opened just one finger cap, it would be over for him, Sero quickly popped back onto his feet. Running behind Thirteen, he fired a strand of tape up to the second floor with his left arm. The moment the tape had wrapped itself around the railing, Sero used it to pull himself up and escape the close encounter.
Sero was going to easily clear the railing, but as his feet started to go over, he felt his right arm suddenly get pulled back down. This resulted in him flipping around and landing on his ribs against the railing. With the wind knocked out of him and as he slid down to the walkway, Sero looked through the glass panel and saw the strand of tape from his right arm going down and was still connected to Thirteen's right arm. Focusing on Thirteen's arm, Sero saw that the tape was around her arm and seemed to be holding it against her side.
Disconnecting his quirk from his right arm, Sero stood up as ideas started to run through his mind. Thirteen's quirk was focused on her arms. If they could immobilize her arm for long enough, then one of them could get in close and get the cuffs on her. Sero recalled his match against Izuku for the Sports Festival, and he smirked as a plan started to form in his mind.
Though he would have to think of the run as Thirteen had turned to him and was aiming her left arm. Shooting a strand of tape, Sero quickly moved out of the way, "Hey Aoyama, are you dead yet?"
"No, Monsieur." Aoyama.
"Good, I think I've got a plan," Sero said as he reached the other side of the hallway. Kicking off the sign for a small shoe store, Sero used his quirk to swing over the railing and drop to the first floor before swinging back up and landing on an archway on the second floor, "Do you recall how I fought against Mido.. Sutaku for the Sports Festival." It would be a lot easier to recall that than Sero trying to explain what he was thinking for a plan
"I remember how quick you lost." Aoyama said.
Falling back off the archway to dodge Thirteen's quirk, Sero shot some tape at the underside of the archway. Swing forwards SEro shot back up to the second floor and vaulted over the railing to land back on the second floor walkway, "Unimportant and unhurt. Do you remember how I tried to tape his arm to his side?"
"Yes, however, he had a blade to free himself." Aoyama said.
Coming out of a roll, Sero stole a glance down and saw that Thirteen was tracking him, "Maybe, but take a look at Thirteen's right arm."
"Je vois."
Sero took that as Aoyama seeing what he was pointing out, "Well, I'm betting Thirteen doesn't have a hidden blade. If you can give me any distraction, then I can get in close and wrap up her other arm. That should give us plenty of time to get a pair of handcuffs on her."
"Ah, monsieur, vous avez un esprit si brillant. Nous brillerons ensemble jusqu'à la fin des temps." Aoyama said.
"Huh, we'll go on my mark." Sero said he stepped to the side and out of Thirteen's view. He needed to get into a better position. He would have to get the correct angel and enough speed to enact his plan before Thirteen could react.
"Oui," Aoyama said, and at least Sero knew that level of French.
Backing up a bit to get a running start, Sero clenched and unclenched his hands. He didn't understand how some of his classmates could go through with crazy plans like this one. Then again, they were obviously crazier than he was. Either way, he and Aoyama were most likely running out of time and would have to end the fight soon, "3,2…1"
Taking off, Sero used a bench to jump over the railing. As he fell, he saw Aoyama firing off his quirk to draw Thirteen's attention. Passing the bottom of the second floor, Sero shot out tape to both sides so he would swing straight.
Reaching the bottom of his arch, Sero cut the tape from his left arm and used it to fire another strand at Thirteen's outstretched arm. The moment the tape was connected, Sero started to reel in the tape on his right side. This forced Thirteen's arm down and against his side, but if he wanted to get it pinned, then he would have to act fast.
Pushing off the sign of the game store, Sero quickly flipped around and shot his quirk across the hallway. Pulling himself in, Thirteen's arm was pulled behind her back and then across it, with the tape going across her back and around her right and across her front.
Seeing this, Sero cut the tape on his right arm, allowing the left tape to swing him around, while fully wrapping itself around Thirteen's suit. Once his momentum slowed down and he got close to the ground, Sero cut the tape. Sliding across the smooth floor, Sero flipped around and landed on the tips of his boots and hands.
Before he had come to a stop, Sero was pushing his foot against the ground and shot towards Thirteen. As he got in close, Sero reached down to his belt and pulled out the pair of handcuffs. Thirteen had started to turn around and face him, so Sero sidestepped to her back and, without slowing down, slapped a cuff over her left arm.
"Thirteen has been captured. Hanta Sero and Yuga Aoyama have passed." The PA system announced, and Sero took in a breath of relief.
Turning away, Sero saw Thirteen looking at him. Giving the best bow she could, given the position of her arms, she said, "You did well to divide my attention and stop from using my quirk." Sero took a step forward to help free Thirteen from the tape; however, knowing his intentions, Thirteen took a step back, "Please return to the observation room. I will free myself."
Thirteen didn't want to take the chance that Sero accidentally ripped her costume. As if that happened, her failsafe would activate, and it was as uncomfortable to wear as it was to reset. Even though Blackhole was an emitter type, it was not easily turned off and was naturally dangerous, more so if not properly contained. This had led to the construction of her suit, as it was able to withstand the gravitational pull of her quirk.
And should it be ripped or punctured as it was during the USJ attack, her arm would be encased in a high-density material. Such material limited the motor functions of her elbows and hands. Which is why Thirteen was never seen without her suit, as she'd rather deal with the puffy suit than the failsafe that took away major of her ability to use her hands.
There was a failsafe that encased her arms in high-density material the moment a large enough breach was detected in her suit. The latest time this had to happen was the USJ, and it is why Thirteen was rarely seen without her suit, as her options were wearing her suit or walking around with the failsafe that took away the ability to use her hands.
"Tooru Hagakura and Mezo Shoji, please report to City Zulu." PA system announced. Getting up from his meditative pose under a tree, Shoji rolled his shoulders and head as he began to make his way to the designated exam way. Somewhere along the way, Shoji heard a second pair of feet behind him.
"Hey Hagakura." Shoji said with a slight chuckle.
"Darn it." Tooru said while taking a few quick steps to follow in line with Shoji, though all he could see was her boots and gloves, "One of these days, I'll sneak up on you."
"I think you should be proud you at least got Jirou." Shoji then saw Tooru's glove wave in a dismissing motion.
"She's easily directed. On the other hand, you and Hisahito, I mean, I can at least get close to you, but with Hisahito." Tooru growled, but all Shoji could do was give a light-hearted chuckle.
"I'm stressed over here about going up against Snipe and you're more concerned with coming up with a plan about sneaking up on Hisahito. It really bothers you that much."
"Maybe," Tooru said with a light brush on her cheeks. She knew she would never be strong or be able to take a hit, so she had focused on stealth and agility. In elementary and junior high, around the time of Halloween, it had become a tradition of hers to scare as many people as possible. And she had not come across anyone she couldn't scare.
Since the start of high school, Tooru had managed to get Jirou a few times. It was all just a matter of waiting for Jirou to focus on something else, but Shoji had never failed to hear her footsteps or her breath once she got too close. But for Gizon, it was like the moment she even got the idea to try and sneak up on him, he would look at her and wink. And that irritated her beyond words.
But vengeance would have to wait as the duo had arrived at City Zulu, and walking inside, they found it to be a large warehouse. A maze of wooden crates, boxes, and other assortments of shipping containers. Dotted throughout the maze were cement pillars, making the drone of fans in the ceiling echo through the space.
"Well I feel like I just stepped into a horror game. Just need a fog cloud to roll and the distant cries of cries." Tooru said.
Unfortunately for the staff of UA, Principal Nezu heard Tooru's comment and was now making plans to use City Zulu for a haunted maze for UA's annual Halloween party. A party that he always used to remind those under his employment how scary he could be.
"So how should we go about this?" Hagakura asked as she walked over to a stack of crates and tapped it. While the crates swayed a bit, meaning it would be impossible to climb without them falling out, it was clear it would take more than a simple nag to move them, "Do we race through the maze and complete it, or take a page out of Kirishima's a page and kool-aid man our way through."
"Snipe's quirk makes him deadly at a range, and his control over his bullets most likely covers the entire warehouse. However, there's one downside: he has to know where we are so he knows where to direct his bullets to." Shoji explained, "We start breaking through crates that will give our position, and Snipe will be on us before we even know what's happening."
"So stealth." Tooru said, cocking her head to the side.
Shoji nodded.
"Tooru Hagakura and Mezo Shoji, Midterm exams begin." The PA system announced, and Tooru and Shoji took off in a little jog through the maze. Tooru quickly realized making a path through a 3D maze was very different from those 2D mazes she liked to do on the back of cereal boxes while she ate breakfast.
A minute into the exam, a gunshot off, echoing through the warehouse, soon joined by the sound of metal hitting cement.
"He's probing," Shoji explained, "He knew our starting position, but with all the different pathways, he couldn't keep track of us. He'll be smart to test the shortest route, but finding us will be more luck than anything else. If we keep quiet and don't give ourselves away we'll be able to sneak up on him."
Tooru nodded but then realized Shoji couldn't see that, so she signed yes with her hand. Amidst the gunfire, Tooru and Shoji continued through the maze. A few times, when a bullet hit the ground in front of them over on the other side of the wall they were next to, Tooru had to cover her mouth with her glove to stop any scream from coming out. On the other hand, the only sound Shoji ever made was the sound of his boots hitting the ground. Even when the bullet landed only a meter away from him, Shoji didn't let out a yell.
Reaching another intersection, Tooru whispered to Shoji, "Have you been able to get a lock on him yet?"
Shoji shook his head, "Nothing new. The gunshots echo too much for me to tell anything beyond knowing which direction he's in and that's forwards."
"I know, it's just I feel like we're running out of time and I'd rather not fail because we got lost in a maze." Tooru said.
"We're not lost. The corridors of this maze might look alike, but the ceiling has a pattern to it." Shoji said, causing Tooru to look, yet whatever pattern Shoji was talking about, she couldn't see, "We need to go right."
Trusting in her classmates, Tooru followed Shoji further into the twists and turns of the wooden crate maze. The pot shots Snipe was taking were becoming more and more difficult to ignore, as they became more frequent. Tooru wanted to take as Snipe was starting to panic and was rushing to find them, but more likely, he was trying to psych them out.
Tooru suddenly froze as a bullet struck the ground between her and Shoji. While Shoji barely flinched, Tooru quickly jumped back and would have screamed if she hadn't covered her mouth with both hands. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest and hear it thumping in her ears.
Ever since Kendo of Class 1-B had told them the mid-term exam was usually robots, Tooru had switched between anger and self-pity. Anger because she had thought the entrance exam was stupid, and it was stupid that the midterm exam was the same way. Self-pity became despite all the training and experience she had under her belt, she didn't think she would pass. She half-heartedly believed it was more luck she had gotten a passing grade on the entrance exam, but if it had been any harder than she would have been put in the general course.
Hearing that 1-A was going up against the teacher had put some hope into Tooru's soul. But now, as she was having to muffle her curse-filled scream, she would rather just take the robots. As her anger started to level out and Tooru found it within her to control herself, she thought the worst had passed. Only to hear, "You young fellas should be close enough now."
Tooru and Shoji froze at Snipe's voice, as due to the echo, it sounded like he was standing right above them. Following his voice, they heard the sound of a small metal casing landing on the ground and the soft clicking of bullets being loaded. Next came the same sound of something rolling, then the ever distinct sound of a revolver being cocked.
Then came the barrage, but instead of coming from above, it was coming from across. Bullets were tearing through the wooden crates, sending splinters flying.
"Hit the deck," Shoji called out. He and Tooru dove to the ground and started to crawl, feeling every bullet that went over them. Some were as far as three feet, others felt like mere inches above them. All around, Tooru could hear and see the walls of the wooden crate falling to the ground. It seems Snipe had decided to go all scorched earth and destroy the maze, forcing them to face him head-on.
Taking a hit to the back of the head and pushing the small broken crate off of her, Tooru suddenly heard the gunfire stop. While she wanted to be a good thing, Snipe had run out of bullets, he was taking a moment or any other thing, only for her fear to come true. As with a sly voice, Snipe called out, "There you are."
Slowly getting into her knee, Tooru peered over the wrecked crates in front of her. She spotted Snipe 60 meters away, a dust cloud of sawdust bellowed behind him, kicking up his cape while his hat was down, and hitting the upper half of his mask. The only thing missing to make a true western was for a tumbleweed to roll past.
"Thought you could hide in my town." Snipe said, dramatically lifting his revolver and pointing it towards Shoji and Tooru, "Where's your little friend?"
Tooru froze. Snipe couldn't see her. His gun was focused on Shoji, and being careful not to disturb anything, Tooru looked over and saw that Shoji was having the same realization. Shoji then looked over at one of the cement pillars. Then, without looking back, Shoji transformed one of his appendages into a mouth and whispered to Tooru, "Break right, I'll draw his attention."
Without hearing Tooru give a confirmation or knowing if she had given a nod, Shoji quickly picked himself up and ran for the cement pillar. Luckily, Tooru had caught Shoji's meaning and ran to the right, making sure to go as quietly as possible while keeping her glove out of sight.
Sliding behind a different pillar, Tooru pressed her back against it and attempted to catch her breath. She flinched as she heard a series of gunfire and then bullets hitting cement. Her earpiece then crackled to life, and Shoji's voice came through, "I have his attention. I'll try to keep it while you sneak up behind and cuff him."
"On it. I'm not going to take any chances, I'm going to lose my gloves and boots." Tooru said this while removing said articles of clothing.
In the observation booth, while there wasn't anything that could be seen, Izuku still averted his eyes, "So she'll like fully nude now."
The majority of Class 1-A who had returned to the observation booth gave a hum of confirmation.
"It was weird for the first few classes, but eventually you get use to it." Ochaco said.
"We asked, and Hagakura said it was the best the costume designers could come up with. Something about not being able to find any material that worked, "Gizon said, while turning his head and looking at Denki. As if sensing his presence, Denki had a small blush on his mind, but shook his head and ended the train of thought that was going on at the moment. Luckily, Mineta was still being treated by Recovery Girl.
Izuku thought about it for a second. While invisibility, true invisibility, has been sought after even before the age of quirk. Even with the technological advancement, perfect invisibility was still a far-off dream. Though Izuku recalled an interview he had seen. It was Togato Mirio, a sidekick under Sir Nighteye, who went by the name Lemillion. The now third year had made heads turn the year prior for accidentally going nude during the Sports Festival.
Luckily, this time, despite losing his tracksuit, he still had underwear on. During his winner's interviews, a question had arisen about the change in undergarments. Mirio had laughed it off by stating after so many incidents, he had gone the same route as his hero costume and gotten some normal day clothes that had been made out of his hair, which allowed them to work along with his quirk.
Izuku wasn't quite sure about the science as he was working more with metal, but he knew a few classmates that especially interested in quirk biology and would want nothing more than a chance to make pro hero support gear. Maybe Zeke Seto or Reina Kinzuko.
He was drawn back to the monitors as he saw Snipe reach down to his belt and grab a few canisters. As the canisters bounced across the cement floor, they popped open, and smoke started to fill the room.
"Filling up a room with smoke can block your opponent's view, but unless you've got a quirk or equipment lets you see through smoke, it can block your vision as well. So, now you have to ask yourself. Do I have equipment like that? Are you feeling lucky, punk?" Snipe said as he took a few more shots and used his quirk to direct them at the pillar Shoji was hiding behind, "Well do ya?"
"Do you?" Shoji asked, seeing whispers of smoke coming from around the pillar. Hearing Snipe having to reload, Shoji took the chance to dash out from behind the cement pillar and quickly make his way to another. Drawing Snipe's attention in one direction and forcing him to have his back to Tooru.
"I wouldn't have thrown down the smoke if I weren't confident in my ability to fight with an obscured vision," Snipe said, having followed Shoji's movement and pulled back the hammer on his revolver, and fired a few more shots.
"Alright then how about this. Appear weak when strong. Appears stronger than weak." Shoji called out.
"Ah yes, I recall Hisahito has a fondness for quoting Sun Tzu, but how can doing so help you now?" Snipe questioned.
"Because I know you don't have thermal vision." Shoji said, as he held two little steps right behind Snipe, "And I know because otherwise you would have seen Hagarkura earlier."
Upon hearing this, Snipe grabbed his cape with his left arm and spun around in an attempt to catch Tooru or made her step back while clearing the smoke around him. Yet as his arm hit empty air and he couldn't see the smoke hit a human figure, he heard the sound of metal clicking, and then he felt some weight on his left arm.'
"Snipe has been captured. Tooru Hagakura and Mezo Shoji pass." The PA system announced, all the while, that a fan turned on and dispersed the smoke.
"Well done, kiddo. You were focused on the battle but not too laser-focused and were about to realize important items because of what I had said." Snipe said, taking a step to the right, but then felt his right arm hit something. Something that compressed under the pressure, only to bounce back. Snipe had never been happier for his mask as it blocked the embarrassment that washed over his face when he realized what he had hit, "Wait, no, I didn't mean."
"Ah, Snipe." Tooru gasped, "how dare you touch a woman like that. As a Pro hero you should know better than not to do that. I'm going to have to report you."
"Wait, I didn't know you were there," Snipe said, waving his arms around as he took a step away from Tooru,
"Nah, okay, but I'm going to tell Midnight," Tooru said, and Snipe couldn't explain why, but that filled him with more dread than if she reported him to Principal Nezu. The white rodent would probably just give a passing comment, but Midnight would endlessly tease him. That.
Shoji sighed as he walked towards them, "Hagakura's, you know Hisahito to give you an earful about that."
"I'm a woman, I'm allowed to embarrass men using my body." Tooru laughed, though her comment made a blush appear on her face.
"Have you not seen the sink eye he gave to Midnight." Shoji pointed out.
"Good point."
Up in the observation booth, Class 1-A gave a cheer for their classmates. A few had failed, but many had passed. But more importantly, the stress had finally passed, the exams were over, and they would now get a chance to enjoy summer break. As the cheering slowly got quiet, everyone's attention shifted to Izuku.
Oh, right. He still had to go.