BEN 10 DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. MY HERO ACADEMIA DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. I THINK I NEED TO STOP DRINKING, BECAUSE EVEN THOUGH I APPARENTLY STOPPED TWO MUGGINGS AND A ROBBERY DURING A BLACKOUT, I DID SO WHILE DRUNKENLY SINGING AN UNHOLY MIX OF THE BATMAN AND SPIDER-MAN THEME SONGS. I HAVE TO HAVE SOME STANDARDS, GUYS.

You know what's scarier than challenging your teacher in anything? Challenging a teacher who literally puts people in the hospital for money. UA has to have, like, a billion waivers to sign, or else they'd get sued to the eighth level of hell.

And I'm subjecting the characters I love most to that kind of pain. Am I a bad person? Probably.

My Alien Academia

Chapter 23

Exam

"Are you ready?" Uraraka asked nervously.

Midoriya nodded, though it was hard to see through his trembling. "Y-yeah."

The two of them were alone, so Uraraka gave him a quick kiss on the lips; it wasn't just for Midoriya's benefit, since she pulled away with a big smile.

"Good. So am I," she said, and then put on her new helmet.

Shortly after preparing for the exams, Uraraka had submitted a few changes to her costume. Thankfully, they weren't overly complicated, and were ready in time. The biggest change was her helmet; rather than expose the top of her head and her chin, it completely covered her head, and her visor didn't extend as far. It ended up looking like an angular full-face motorcycle helmet, with a thick antenna-like protrusion on each side. She had also added lightweight pink carbon-fiber armor to her shoulders and chest; as a close-combat specialist with a growing talent in mobility, she wanted a balance between protection and flexibility. Her wristguards were slimmer and longer, reaching to just below her elbows; they were almost like vambraces, rather than large wristbands. Her boots were also slimmer and segmented at the ankles and knees, allowing her better flexibility.

She had mentioned that there was another element she wanted for her costume, but Power Loader wouldn't sign off on it until she had a better handle on her Quirk. When her friends had asked what it was going to be, she'd just smiled and said that she'd been inspired by Midoriya and Yaoyorozu.

Even if the costume was technically incomplete, Midoriya thought it looked cool, and had said as much when he first saw it. That had earned him a quick kiss from his girlfriend, and some good-natured ribbing from everyone else.

Uraraka wasn't the only one to get an upgrade. Sero now sported iron-soled boots, and gloves with reinforced knuckles; he had run the idea by Midoriya, who agreed that he could only take a little extra weight before it impeded his mobility, which was his strength.

"That was fast," Ashido teased as the couple rejoined them. "Not enough time for a full make-out session. Looks like I won the bet, Sero."

"Should have known they'd be responsible and stuff before a test," Sero joked. "Look, they're not even blushing!"

That wasn't true; Midoriya had just pulled his hood low, and Uraraka had her helmet on. Thankfully, Yaoyorozu took pity on them, and directed their attention elsewhere.

"Come on, everyone," she said, trying to convey the authority a Class President was supposed to have. "We need to meet up with the rest of the class."

The other students in Class 1-A didn't really notice how the eight friends arrived together; it had become common to see them so close. The wall of teachers opposite them, however, shared knowing looks; the Rising Stars' close friendship had been a factor in the upcoming test.

"So, I assume you all think you know what the test is about?" Aizawa asked.

Kaminari grinned. "We're fighting those robots, right? Just give us that win!"

"Yeah!" Ashido cheered. "Campfires and s'mores, here we come!"

"Actually, we decided to change things up this year." Nezu surprised them all when he popped out of Aizawa's capture tool. "True, using the robots from the entrance exam is a traditional way to gauge how well you've improved since then, but as has been pointed out, pure power is not everyone's forte. As such, we've decided that your opponents—"

"Will be us!" All Might shouted as he fell from the sky and landed in front of the students. He then glanced back at Nezu. "Did I get the timing right on that one?"

"Yes, you didn't actually cut me off mid-word this time." Nezu smiled at him, and then turned back to the students. "You will all be divided into pairs, each of which will be facing off against one of us. Your goal is simple—either defeat and capture us, or escape through a special gate on the opposite side of your testing ground."

That caused a murmur throughout the class; fighting robots had sounded exciting and fun, but going up against Pro Heroes was impossible for students not even halfway through their first year!

Before the doubts crept too far, All Might held up one hand. "Now, you might automatically be thinking that your only choice is to run away, yes? Well, don't worry, we've got something to even the playing field." He lifted up a metal ring and slipped it onto his wrist. "These ultra-compressed weights will make it hard for us to move and tire us out! Oh, and we held a contest to see which Support Course student could make the most efficient design, and young Hatsume won!"

Midoriya smiled at that last part; he didn't see Hatsume that often, but it was because of her that his team had done so well in the second round of the Sports Festival, and he considered her more than an acquaintance. Besides, if she was the reason any of them had a chance at passing this test, he was definitely going to thank her the next time he saw her.

Of the other students, only Bakugo failed to show relief. "What, you think we need a handicap?"

All Might, who had just put seven more weights on—two on each wrist, and two on each ankle—smiled dangerously. "Maybe we do."

"Yeah, kids!" Present Mic grinned. "You might have some moves, but you're going up against Heroes who have seen it all! Don't expect this to be easy!"

"Handicap or no, each of us will be giving it our all today," Aizawa said. "Also, we've already organized the teams, and who you'll be fighting. Here's the list, in order of first to last; each team will go one at a time, and we'll only start the next test after the previous one is finished."

Aizawa read out the teams; as he did so, Midoriya's sense of dread grew.

Kirishima/Mineta VS Cementoss

Iida/Sato VS Power Loader

Kaminari/Jiro VS Present Mic

Ashido/Yaoyorozu VS Nezu

Hagakure/Ojiro VS Snipe

Todoroki/Asui VS Thirteen

Uraraka/Shoji VS Eraserhead

Koda/Aoyama VS Midnight

Sero/Tokoyami VS Ectoplasm

Midoriya/Bakugo VS All Might

Of all the students in his class, Midoriya had hoped that he wouldn't be partnered up with Bakugo. He was positive that they wouldn't even be able to speak to each other civilly, much less work together to beat All Might. The best they could do was maybe escape, and that was only if All Might was truly slowed down. Considering he had twice the weight as the other teachers on, that was doubtful.

"We'll begin the test in thirty minutes," Nezu announced. "You have until then to come up with a plan; in the interest of fairness, once the test begins, those who are waiting or have already finished can go to the observation room with Recovery Girl." Nezu paused. "Of course, if you need her to help you after your exam, she'll come to you."

Considering who they were fighting, Midoriya would be very surprised if Recovery Girl's services weren't needed.

That thought quickly fled his mind when he saw Bakugo staring him down. While most of the other teams were heading to their rooms to plan—though Midoriya's friends gave him looks ranging from pitying to outright concerned—Bakugo spun around and stomped off.

"Sorry, buddy," Ben said. "You may have to do this one on your own."

"Deku!" Midoriya jumped at Bakugo's shout. "Move your ass! I know I'm gonna have to carry your dumb ass the whole test, but at least try to come up with a decent idea or two!"

Did… did he just ask for help?

Ben seemed to have the same question in mind, because he just blinked, then flickered away. "Okay, so I could be wrong."

…

Bakugo sat on one side of the table in their waiting room, and waited for Deku to stop shaking like a leaf so that he could take his own seat. For all the spine the nerd had shown during the Sports Festival, he still had problems looking him in the eye.

Damn nerd is gonna fall apart if he can't keep it together in front of people, he thought.

"So," he said, using all his willpower to sound in control, "what's All Might's weakness?"

Deku froze. "W-what?"

"Did I stutter? No, wait, that's your thing." Bakugo had set aside his gauntlets, so he was able to rest his forearms on the table as he leaned forward. "You know more shitty trivia on Heroes than anyone alive, so do something useful with it for once. What's. All Might's. Weakness? How do I—how do we beat him?"

Deku looked down at his hands; he finally stopped shaking, and now seemed to be giving Bakugo's question some serious thought.

"I don't think he has a weakness," he said. "Not in the traditional sense—like an Achilles heel or anything. The safest bet would be to evade him as long as possible, and run for the exit."

"Bullshit!" Bakugo slammed one hand on the table, making Deku jump. "I'm not passing this test by running like a little bitch!" He pointed at Deku. "Give me a good plan, or a really good reason to run, or I'll lose on purpose!"

He meant it, too; Bakugo's pride had taken a serious beating over the last few months. He had consistently come in second place to Deku, of all people, had a humiliating loss in the Sports Festival, and then there was the embarrassment of an internship with Best Jeanist. This time, Bakugo would win or lose on his own terms.

But because his ego had been so thoroughly bruised, it had finally opened his eyes. He needed to win; he craved victory like a starving man craves food, and he had gone so long without a meaningful achievement that he was finally willing to bend, when he would have rather broken—though only to a certain extent.

Deku met his gaze, as if studying him; it pissed him off, but he needed Deku to know how much this meant to him. It killed him to admit, even to himself, but this was the closest he would ever come to asking for help.

"I… might have an idea," Deku said slowly. "We'd need to keep making openings for each other, and I doubt we'd be able to actually beat All Might…" Bakugo almost shouted again, but then he saw something clever flash through Deku's eyes, and he held his tongue. "But we can give him a good show, and make a fighting retreat to the exit."

All Might didn't lose; Bakugo knew that, even if it shredded his soul to even admit it. But he could accept a fighting retreat, and as long as he got his licks in, he could even stomach working with Deku.

"All right," he said. "What's your stupid plan?"

For the first time in years, Deku grinned at him in a similar way that Bakugo would grin right before a good fight. "Actually, I think you'll like this one."

…

When the thirty minutes were up, all of the students except Kirishima and Mineta assembled at the observation room. Bakugo stalked off to the furthest corner he could find, and as soon as he was gone, Midoriya's friends surrounded him.

"Are you okay, Deku-kun?" Uraraka asked.

"Y-yeah," Midoriya said. "I'm fine."

"You sure, Midori?" Ashido briefly glared at Bakugo, who ignored her. "If that jackass threatened you or something—"

"N-no, he didn't do anything like that!" Other than threaten to intentionally lose if he didn't at least try to beat All Might, but Midoriya didn't say that. "He was actually kind of polite. For him, anyway."

Todoroki frowned, and then put his right hand against Midoriya's forehead. "No fever. He didn't imagine it."

"C-cut it out!" Midoriya flailed his arms to get Todoroki to back off; all it did was get his friends to laugh. "Hey, isn't the first test about to start?"

Yaoyorozu looked at the screen, scowled, and crossed her arms. "I'm conflicted; I want Kirishima to pass, but I also want Mineta to suffer."

"Ouch." Sero winced at the dark look on her face. "What did he do this time?"

"I swear I saw him skulking around the girls locker room," Yaoyorozu said. "He was gone before I could get a good look, though."

"Dammit, I asked Shoji to keep an eye on him today; he's got enough to spare." Sero rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry, Yaomomo."

"First round," an automated voice said. "Team Kirishima and Mineta versus Cementoss… begin!"

The two boys gave an admirable effort to capture Cementoss, but their testing ground—a replica of a city block—was the teacher's element. It didn't take a tactician like Midoriya to see that the odds were heavily stacked against them. Kirishima hurled Mineta into the air, and then held his ground to withstand a barrage of concrete battering rams. While airborne, Mineta tried to rain sticky balls down on the teacher, to the point that his scalp began to bleed; most of the balls were blocked by a giant concrete hand, and the few that actually landed did nothing to stop Cementoss' Quirk. Also, Mineta didn't have a landing strategy, and would have been seriously injured if Cementoss hadn't caught him at the last second. Kirishima ran out of steam a few minutes later, and was buried up to his neck in concrete.

"Team Kirishima and Mineta: Fail!"

The entire match had taken less than four minutes.

"I… suppose it is our turn, Sato-san," Iida said amidst the stunned silence.

"Yeah," Sato said nervously. "I sure hope our plan works."

…

While the students studied for their written exams, the teachers gathered for a review of their own.

"All of the students are making improvements," Cementoss said. "Both in the classroom, and with their Quirks. However, there is one group in Class 1-A that has been making notable progress."

Aizawa nodded. "Midoriya and his friends. They've never had to all work together before, but they've spent enough time together in and out of class to be an effective unit… but only with Midoriya among them. Whether he knows it or not, he brought them together, and he inspired them. I want to remove him from the equation, and see how they do."

"Should we break them apart entirely?" Thirteen asked.

Aizawa shook his head. "Not all of them. For now, let's start with Iida. His speed is an asset, but it can become a liability when a teammate lacks the same mobility. I suggest we pair him with Sato; they don't know each other well, and their conflicting Quirks will force them to find a balance."

…

Iida quickly decided that Power Loader was a nightmare to fight. It was like fighting Stain again, only instead of jumping around an alley, the teacher was digging through the ground as easily as Armodrillo. At least with Stain, he could see what was happening, but with Power Loader, the only warning of his attack was a sudden rumble underneath their feet.

At first, Iida and Sato had thought things were going well; they were even in sight of the exit! However, there was a flat stretch of earth between them and their goal, and when Power Loader wasn't digging huge holes to block their path, he would pop out of the ground like a deranged Jack-in-the-Box to take swipes at them with his massive digging scoops.

"This is nuts," Sato grumbled. "How can we win if we can't get past him or hit him?"

Iida took a deep breath. "By being patient."

I already learned this lesson, he thought. When Stain attacked Tensei, I was ready to charge all through Hosu to find that madman. I didn't think of the consequences, and if my friends hadn't talked me down, I would have done something reckless. I can't forget that now, not when it might help me get through this step to becoming a Pro Hero!

"Sato-san, I have an idea," Iida said quietly. "It's a modification of our original plan to fight Power Loader-sensei. It will require perfect timing, and a great deal of strength."

Sato nodded and held up a small vial of sugar. "I've got the strength part, but it'll make me stupid, remember?"

"I do; just be ready for my signal."

Sato swallowed the sugar; his muscles bulged underneath his costume, and veins popped out on his forehead. "YEAAAHHH! Let's go!"

"Thinking of just attacking me?" Power Loader taunted from the bottom of a pit. "Kind of hard if you can't even see where I am!"

"Sato-san, now!" Iida shouted. "Throw me at the exit!"

"You got it!" Sato grabbed Iida by the arm, spun around twice, and hurled the other boy with all his considerable strength.

"So, that's your plan?" Power Loader laughed. "Just use your teammate as a human catapult? Too bad you're wide open while you're in the air!"

Power Loader rocketed up, scoops outstretched to swipe Iida out of the air.

The plan was never to escape, Iida thought as he waited for his moment. It's not me who is wide open, but you!

"Recipro Burst!" Iida's boosters flared, and suddenly, he was flying straight down, even faster than Power Loader was flying up.

With surprise and gravity on his side, Iida's leg slipped through Power Loader's guard and connected solidly with the teacher's metal helmet. There was an almighty clang, and Iida felt pain lance through his shin, but it was Power Loader who fell to the ground, stunned.

"Sato-san, grab him!"

Sato let out a primal roar as he charged, tackling Power Loader and pulling his arms behind his back. Iida limped over and used the special handcuffs they'd been given to secure their teacher.

"Nice work," Power Loader said, once everything stopped ringing. "You turned an obvious weakness into a devastating counterattack. It was risky, but it paid off."

"Thank you," Iida said as he bowed. "I knew that it was unlikely for us to get past you, and while Sato-san could have hurled me with enough force to get me to the exit, I did not wish to leave my teammate behind."

"Good choices." Power Loader grinned. "Well done."

"Team Iida and Sato: Pass!"

…

"All right!" Ashido threw her arms around Iida as he rejoined them. "You passed, Tenya!"

"Er, thank you." As comfortable as he was with his friends, Iida was still awkward when it came to shows of physical affection, especially with someone as enthusiastic as Ashido. "But I could not have succeeded without Sato-san."

Yaoyorozu smiled. "Oh, we'll congratulate him, but I don't think he's in any condition to even understand us right now."

Sato had stumbled into the observation room, and sat down with a thud. His Quirk, Sugar Rush, granted him enhanced strength for a limited time, but at the cost of reducing his intelligence. When it wore off, he became sleepy and unresponsive. Now, as he sat in the corner, Hagakure amused herself by poking him and getting zombie-like moans in response.

Iida couldn't help but chuckle at his teammate, but he winced when he put too much weight on one leg, and Yaoyorozu noticed.

"Tenya, did you hurt yourself in your match?"

"I do not believe it is too serious," Iida said. "However, Power Loader's helmet was more durable than I expected."

"Dearie, you should let me be the judge of whether or not an injury is serious." The students jumped when Recovery Girl appeared behind them. She ordered Iida to remove his boot and inspected the injury. "Hmm… I think you might have a slight fracture. Hold still, and I'll fix it right up."

After a quick application of Recovery Girl's Quirk, Iida felt almost as tired as Sato looked, and Yaoyorozu helped him find a seat.

"Perhaps you should ask the Support Department to reinforce the armor on your legs," she suggested.

"That might be a good idea," Iida admitted, even as his eyes drooped. A moment later, he was asleep, and he slumped over to the side; much to Yaoyorozu's embarrassment, his head landed on her shoulder, and there he stayed.

Yaoyorozu noticed Ashido grinning wickedly at her, and knew that it would be a long time before the other girl ever let her forget about this.

"Team Kaminari and Jiro: Begin!"

'Later, please,' Yaoyorozu mouthed, and Ashido showed mercy by turning her attention to the screen.

Unfortunately, the match didn't last very long. Jiro tried to hold Present Mic's sonic Quirk with her own, but while Jiro's Quirk was powerful, it was simply outclassed. Kaminari had tried to sneak up on the teacher during the duel of sound, but had been knocked out by Present Mic's stone-shattering voice before he got close enough to use his electricity. Distracted by her teammate's failure, Jiro was quickly defeated as well.

Like he had during the Battle Trials, Midoriya provided a running commentary, taking notes on how his classmates could have done better. However, it quickly boiled down to 'they should have just tried to escape'. For all that they claimed to be holding back, the teachers were pulling no punches.

By the time Kaminari and Jiro returned, Iida had woken up from his power nap. Like his human pillow, he was incredibly embarrassed, and apologized profusely, which had led to an 'I'm sorry', 'No, I'm sorry', that would have gone on forever, had Ashido not intervened.

"Hey, Yaomomo, I'd love to tease you guys, but we need to head out for our test."

"You're right, Mina." Yaoyorozu waved at her friends who wished her luck, then patted Jiro on the shoulder. "I'm sorry, Jiro-chan."

Jiro, whose ears were covered in bloody bandages, narrowed her eyes. "What!?"

…

"Yaoyorozu and Ashido." Aizawa stared down at the two files on the table. "The former has maintained almost perfect grades, and she's shown tremendous growth with her Quirk. The latter has natural talent in practical applications, but her academic improvement has been slower than I'd like."

"Still, she is improving," Midnight commented. "I think she's been getting tutoring from Yaoyorozu and Midoriya. Why do you want them together for the exam?"

"Yaoyorozu is smart, but she could still freeze if her plans go off the rails. She needs to learn how to make decisions on the fly, and Ashido needs to be able to rely on herself for ideas." Aizawa looked at Nezu. "I trust you'll give them a chance to win."

"I will," Nezu promised. "Still, I'm interested to see just how smart Yaoyorozu is on the field. She's one of the few humans whose intelligence comes close to mine."

Even Aizawa hid a shiver; it was rarely good whenever the principal decided on a battle of wits.

…

"I see we've been given a construction yard simulation," Yaoyorozu observed. "There will be plenty of places for Nezu-sensei to hide."

"How can he fight us?" Ashido asked. "Those weights will slow him down, and he's not that strong."

"Remember, he's one of the smartest people on the planet; I wouldn't be surprised if he came up with strategies for scenarios like this when he's bored."

Ashido turned a slightly lighter shade of pink. "Right."

"Team Yaoyorozu and Ashido: Begin!"

"We need to lure him out, force him to make the first move." Yaoyorozu led the way through the twisting piles of construction equipment. "He'll probably use hit-and-run tactics, but with this terrain, there's only so much he can do. All we have to do is withstand his attacks, and—"

"Um, Yaomomo?" Ashido held a hand to her ear. "Do you hear something?"

Sure enough, there was a strange whistling sound; a moment later, there was a thunderous crash, and a freaking wrecking ball smashed through a pile of girders, missing the girls by inches.

"What the hell!?" Ashido screeched.

Yaoyorozu saw two girders collide with more precariously balanced equipment, which started to tip towards them. "Run!"

She started to run directly away from the falling debris, but was surprised when Ashido charged towards it. She arced a stream of her acid up, melting a narrow groove through the metal; it fell in two piles around the girls.

"Holy crap," Ashido whispered, hand clutching her heart. "That could have killed us!"

"The principal isn't going easy on us," Yaoyorozu said, slightly awestruck over her partner's reflexes and precision. "We need to find out where he is."

"Er…" Ashido pointed at the large crane with a wrecking ball attached. "I think I found him."

Yaoyorozu nodded, and then created a long periscope from her stomach to peer over the walls. "It will take time for him to build up momentum with that crane again, so we have a chance to see… oh, no."

"What?"

"Nezu-sensei has positioned himself perfectly," Yaoyorozu reported. "From his vantage point, he can see the entire testing ground. Knowing him, he'll use that wrecking ball to knock over the terrain to block us, or funnel us into a trap."

"So, escaping isn't gonna happen." Ashido kicked a loose stone; it skipped across the street, until it hit something metal. When she saw what it was, Ashido froze. "Hey, Momo?"

"Yes?" Yaoyorozu was tapping her chin and pacing, trying to think of a way to outmaneuver Nezu. "What is it?"

"He can't see through walls, can he?"

"No…?"

"How about the sewers?" Ashido pointed at the manhole not far from them.

Yaoyorozu looked at the manhole, then at Ashido. "That's… that's brilliant!"

Ashido saw the wrecking ball coming back, and rapidly building up speed. "Move first, flatter later!" Rather than try to lift the heavy piece of metal, she just melted through it. "Go!"

Both girls jumped into the simulated sewer system; thankfully, there was no horrible smell to go along with it. Above them, the wrecking ball smashed apart another wall, which fell over the hole, blocking out the light.

"Well, at least he can't see us," Yaoyorozu said as she created a flare and lit it.

"Yeah, now we just have to get to the exit from here." Ashido laughed nervously. "I hope there's a manhole close to the exit."

Yaoyorozu created a small compass in her free hand. "The exit was to our south. We just have to get close enough to make a break for it… unless…"

"Unless what?"

"Unless we try to catch Nezu-sensei, instead of just running away." She closed her eyes and concentrated. "He wasn't that far from the exit; if we can get inside his reach, we could scale the crane and capture him."

"You said that he could see everything around him," Ashido pointed out. "Won't he see us coming after we go up?"

"That's… that's right." Yaoyorozu grimaced. "Either way, we'll be exposed."

Ashido almost made a crass joke, but then an idea came to her. "Well… he's only got two eyes, so he can't focus on more than one spot at a time."

"Are you suggesting we split up?" Yaoyorozu frowned. "He'll know something is up as soon as he sees one of us alone."

"Not if he thinks that we're still together." Now that she had the idea, Ashido was running with it. "How fast can you sprint?"

…

"Come on, girls," Nezu taunted from inside his crane. "You only have a few minutes left! You'll be disqualified soon!"

At least their idea to go into the sewers was a good one, he mused as he sipped his tea. Yaoyorozu had likely calculated that he would see them anywhere on the surface, so had decided to risk a blind run through the sewers. Nezu was sure she'd use a compass to get them in the right direction, but it would still be slow going. It was too bad he'd thrown a wrench into her plan so soon; however the exam ended, he wanted to ask her what her original strategy was.

Sudden movement caught his eye, and he set aside his tea. There, not too far from the exit, was Yaoyorozu, with Ashido right behind her. It seemed the girls were making a desperate run for an escape.

"Such a shame," he said as he adjusted the wrecking ball. "I expected more from you, Yaoyorozu-san."

Just as he sent the wrecking ball at the girls, he heard a hissing sound, and his keen nose picked up the smell of melting metal. He whirled in his seat, and saw Ashido crouched behind him; one hand held a set of handcuffs, while the other dripped acid menacingly. From the hole underneath her, Nezu realized that the girl must have climbed up the crane and melted a hole into the control room. She was panting heavily, so she must have been moving for all her worth.

"I have no room to maneuver," Nezu said calmly, and held up his paws. "I surrender."

"Glad…" Ashido took a ragged breath as she put the cuffs on him. "Glad to hear it, Nezu-sensei."

"Team Yaoyorozu and Ashido: Pass!"

After Ashido secured the principal, she walked down to ground-level with him on her shoulder. The test was over, so they could afford to be more relaxed.

"I must ask," Nezu said, "what did you do to fool me? I could have sworn that you were with Yaoyorozu-san."

"You'll see in a second," Ashido replied as she walked up to her teammate. "Yaomomo! I got him!"

"Excellent work, Mina!" Yaoyorozu stumbled over. "Can you please help me get this off?"

'This' turned out to be the source of their deception. It was a series of wires connected to a transparent plastic harness around Yaoyorozu's body; on the other end of the wires was a crude mannequin of Ashido. The dummy had a purple body and legs, with pink arms and head; its limbs were segmented to allow it to move, mimicking Yaoyorozu as she dragged it behind her.

"Clever," Nezu said as he examined the mannequin. "I couldn't see details at that distance, so I believed that you were both there. Excellent distraction; was this your plan, Yaoyorozu-san?"

"Actually, most of this was Mina." Yaoyorozu smiled at her teammate, who beamed. "It might have been simple in concept, but the idea of the dummy was inspired."

"Tell me, what would you have done if I had figured out your ruse?"

"We would have continued as planned," Yaoyorozu admitted. "If you went after Mina, I was close enough to the exit to escape, but if you managed to stop me, she could still catch you. Either way, we would have won."

Nezu was pleased to see how happy the girls were, so he refrained from mentioning his last resort. He could have thrown his hot tea in Ashido's face, used the distraction to stop Yaoyorozu with the wrecking ball, and then escaped through a window. Yaoyorozu would have been trapped, and Ashido would have been too far away to escape, not to mention blinded.

But that was too cruel for a test. He would have carried out such brutal tactics against real Villains, but never his students. Was he soft because he held back? Maybe, but he had made the choice to do so, and the girls' plan had been good.

It was still early days, but he had a good feeling about Class 1-A.

…

Ashido laughed as Uraraka threw her arms around her. "You passed! You both passed!"

"Of course we did," Ashido said through a face-splitting grin. "We're awesome!"

Though she had hidden it behind her usual confidence and enthusiasm, Ashido had actually been worried sick about the exams. She knew her better academic scores were entirely thanks to the tutoring from Midoriya and Yaoyorozu, and she knew she'd been way out of her depth when she saw not only who she was partnered with, but also who they were facing. She wasn't one to let doubts or insecurities get to her, but compared to them, she felt woefully inadequate. It also didn't help that a small part of her was still jealous that Yaoyorozu had done so much better during the Sports Festival.

All that had led up to her barely holding it together during the practical exam. She had fully expected Yaoyorozu to have a foolproof plan in place, but that had fallen apart when Nezu had quite literally taken a wrecking ball to her strategy. So Ashido had tossed out what she considered a truly dumb idea; after all, 'distract and takedown' was such an obvious tactic that no one would fall for it, especially Nezu. Then again, the problem with geniuses was that they sometimes ignored the simplest solution to a problem. She had expected Yaoyorozu to not only dismiss her idea, but come up with a dozen counterpoints to it. But instead, Yaoyorozu had listened to her, trusted her, and they had ended up passing.

Ashido was starting to think she might have a chance of actually being a good Hero.

…

The next round turned into an interesting game of cat and mouse. It would have been a simple matter for Hagakure to score the win for her team by sneaking past Snipe, but she and Ojiro had agreed that that was an obvious tactic that wouldn't have earned many points. Instead, Hagakure intentionally made noise around the teacher, forcing him to fire blindly, and buying time for Ojiro to prepare an ambush from the rafters above him. It had been close at the end, but Ojiro managed to disarm Snipe with a swipe of his tail, and then tossed the cuffs to Hagakure, who actually caught the teacher.

Their win had bolstered the hopes of the rest of the class; at that point, the number of students who passed had outpaced those who hadn't. When it was Todoroki and Asui's turn, many of their classmates were confident in their success; after all, Todoroki was one of the most powerful students in their year, and Asui was nothing if not reliable.

"Are we still going to try and capture Thirteen-sensei, ribbit?" Asui asked as she and Todoroki got to the starting line.

"Thirteen always says she's not a combat-oriented Hero," Todoroki said. "If I can distract her, you should be able to take herdown easily. If it comes down to it, I can still hold heroff while you get to the exit."

Asui nodded. "Makes sense, ribbit, but we still need to be careful of herQuirk."

Like most of the teachers, Thirteen was between them and the exit, though there was about a hundred feet separating the teacher from the students' goal. With her spacesuit concealing her features—and no one was quite sure what a living black hole looked like to begin with—it was impossible to tell what she was thinking.

"I was expecting a direct approach, Todoroki-san," Thirteen said calmly. "How do you plan to get around my Black Hole?"

Todoroki shifted his right foot forward. "I was thinking of testing how much you could take."

"And then allow Asui-san to attack me while I'm distracted, yes?" Thirteen sounded unimpressed as she popped the cap off one of her gloves. "Your one-dimensional tactics only work against someone who can't counter you."

…

"Thirteen, I want you to take down Todoroki and Asui." Aizawa studied the files in front of him. "Both sides of Todoroki's Quirk negatively affect Asui, so it will force him to fight strategically, instead of unleashing huge attacks."

"I understand." Thirteen crossed her arms. "I don't have to worry about collateral damage?"

"Just don't kill the students."

…

"Do you know why I focused my skills on rescuing people?" Thirteen called out over the howling noise of her Quirk. "It's because I knew that if I actually honed by combat abilities, I would become the most dangerous person on the planet. My Quirk doesn't allow for anything but absolutes; either I leave an opponent unharmed, or they die, simple as that."

Todoroki created a wall of ice to try and block the unstoppable vacuum, but it was sucked up in seconds. When he tried to freeze the floor, trapping Thirteen in place, the teacher merely pointed her finger at the ground for a moment, sucking up the top layer of the street. His fire lasted for even less time, with the oxygen snuffed out in an instant.

Behind him, Asui looked on in fear; it was sobering to see someone as powerful as Todoroki so effectively shut down, and Thirteen hadn't even taken a single step forward.

"Shoto, we can't win like this!" Asui called out over the noise. "We need to run!"

"If we run, she'll just catch us with her Quirk!" Todoroki glanced back at her, and made a snap decision. "I'll buy you some time, and you make a break for it!"

Before Asui could protest, Todoroki created a pillar of ice underneath her at an angle and launched her upward, over Thirteen and towards the exit. Todoroki had made his play, and now Asui's hand was forced; she had to escape, or they were certain to fail. Unfortunately, her momentum halted halfway through the air; she looked back and saw Thirteen aiming an uncapped finger from her other hand at her. She capped her glove as soon as Asui fell towards her, but her other remained open, eventually overwhelming Todoroki and pulling him forward as well. The students fell to their knees, and when they looked up, they saw a finger pointing at each of them.

"This fight is over," Thirteen said in no uncertain terms. "If this was a real fight, if I was a real Villain, you would be dead. For the purposes of this exam, you have failed to capture me, and you failed to get away." Her voice became a little kinder. "I'm sorry, but you will not pass today."

"Team Todoroki and Asui: Fail!"

…

Midoriya was more than a little shocked; not just because Todoroki and Asui had failed, but by how powerful Thirteen could be when she stopped holding back. If she had chosen a different path in life, she would have been a terrifying Villain.

It also hit him that two of his friends would now not be going to the summer camp.

Uraraka was the first to reach the dejected pair as they rejoined them. "Shoto, Tsu—"

"I'm sorry," Todoroki said, focusing on Asui. "I was overconfident because Thirteen focuses on rescue, not combat. This is all my fault."

Asui shook her head. "No, it's my fault too. I should have insisted on escaping instead of fighting, ribbit." She looked genuinely upset as she turned to the others. "I'm sorry, ribbit. I guess we're not going with you."

Uraraka gave Asui a hug, but then saw Shoji waving her over; she reluctantly parted from her friends, but accepted an encouraging nod from Midoriya.

"It just goes to show you just how serious the teachers are about this test," Sero commented as he put a hand on Todoroki's shoulder, and an arm around Asui.

"We won't fail again," Todoroki promised. "Next time, we'll pass."

Asui blinked back tears as she nodded, then leaned into Sero's side with a ribbit. Ashido would have teased her, but Asui looked too miserable, and Ashido herself was also too upset that some of their group wouldn't be able to enjoy the summer camp.

It was a sobering realization that they all had a long way to go.

…

Uraraka tried to stay focused, but it was hard when all she could think about was the crestfallen look on her friends' faces. It bothered her so much that not all of them would be able to enjoy something they had worked so hard to reach.

"Uraraka-san, are we still going to run for the exit?" Shoji asked with one of his tentacle-mouths. "It seems like everyone's initial plans keep failing."

"I think it's still a good idea," Uraraka said. "Aizawa-sensei can shut down our Quirks, and he's way better at fighting than we are. But we still have the backup plan."

"Right." Shoji swiveled an extra eye around as they walked through their test site, which was designed to look like a typical suburban neighborhood. "Still no sign of him, but we'll know he's there as soon as—" His extra eye abruptly reverted to its original tentacle-like form. "There!"

"No more time, go for Plan A!" Uraraka jumped into Shoji's arms, and then everything went dark as his membranes encircled her like a blanket. "Run, Shoji-san!"

…

"Both Uraraka and Shoji rely on their Quirks, either for mobility or surveillance," Aizawa said. "I'll shut down their Quirks and force them to think of another plan."

"It's amazing how often a student loses their confidence after you erase their Quirk," All Might commented. "What lesson are you trying to teach them here?"

Aizawa smirked. "To not rely on fancy powers, but their own skills."

…

Uraraka had known going in that fighting Aizawa would be a challenge; all he had to do was look at them, and their Quirks would be impossible to use.

However, that was the trick—Aizawa had to see them. She had remembered, during a ramble from Midoriya in a study session, that Aizawa couldn't erase a Quirk if there was something blocking the target, though he only had to see a small part of their bodies to do so.

That was why Shoji had completely encased her in his arms. As long as Aizawa couldn't see her directly, her Quirk was still usable.

"How much further?" she called out, her voice muffled.

"I can see the exit," Shoji reported, "but I still can't use my Quirk. Aizawa-sensei must still be close."

"I am," Aizawa said, suddenly behind them; his capture tool lashed out and wrapped around Shoji's leg. "And now, I have you."

"Plan B!" Uraraka shouted, and pressed her fingers against Shoji's chest. Now weightless, Shoji pushed off the ground and kicked off the now-slack scarf. The weightlessness only lasted for a second, and then Uraraka released it.

Shoji landed heavily, but grabbed the capture tool before Aizawa could reel it back in. His Quirk might have still been erased, but his strength was completely natural; Aizawa had no chance in a game of tug-of-war.

Uraraka leaped out of Shoji's arms and made a dash for Aizawa's legs; she slid underneath them, but now that she was out of his line of sight, she was free to use her Quirk, and reached for his back. Aizawa had clearly expected that sort of move, and unleashed a devastating reverse-kick without even looking. His foot connected with her head, but her new helmet kept her from getting anything worse than a bruise.

"Good teamwork," Aizawa grunted. "But you don't have the skill to beat me in a straight fight."

Uraraka almost snapped back, but she remembered a lesson from Gunhead—don't engage in needless conversation in the middle of a fight, to save her breath for actually beating the enemy.

As she rolled out of the way of another kick, Uraraka noticed something in a side street; it had been an idea she and Shoji had toyed with, but they hadn't been aware of their terrain before the test started, and they'd had no way to know if it would come up. Still, now that it was a possibility…

"Shoji-san!" she barked. "Plan C!"

Aizawa raised an eyebrow as Uraraka jumped out of reach and circled around to Shoji. "Plan C?"

"C for 'cover'," Shoji said, and spread out his arms as widely as possible, blocking Aizawa's line of sight to his teammate as she ran behind him.

"Duck!" Uraraka shouted, and Shoji dropped; a moment later, Aizawa saw the manhole cover Uraraka had made weightless and hurled like a discus at him.

As soon as his gaze landed on Uraraka, her Quirk was erased, which meant that gravity suddenly applied to the circle of metal again. Gravity didn't mean momentum was gone, though; if anything, though the manhole cover started to arc down, the effect of gravity made it speed up. With the weights on his arms and legs, and his capture tool still held by Shoji, Aizawa couldn't avoid the hunk of metal that collided with his stomach. It wasn't the worst hit he'd ever taken—that dubious honor went to the Nomu from USJ—but the wind was certainly knocked out of him, and he'd have to let Recovery Girl make sure he didn't have any internal injuries.

"Shoji-san, get him!"

Winded though he was, Aizawa wasn't completely helpless, and he tossed out a handful of caltrops in an effort to stave off Shoji. The boy just powered through them and wrapped his powerful arms around Aizawa, pinning his own arms to his sides. A moment later, Uraraka slapped the cuffs on him.

"Team Uraraka and Shoji: Pass!"

…

Most of Class 1-A had been stunned by Todoroki and Asui's loss, but their flagging hopes were restored by the victory over Aizawa. Most of them had subconsciously assumed that they would be unable to win after their Quirks were erased, and would have to run away. Perhaps for the first time, some of them wondered if Quirks were what was required to be a Hero.

"Ochako, that was amazing!"

For Midoriya, all he cared about was that his girlfriend had passed the exam, and he showed his enthusiasm by hugging her and spinning her around in his arms. She laughed tiredly and hugged him back.

"Thanks, Deku-kun," she said. "But I couldn't have done any of that without Shoji-san."

"R-right." Midoriya put her down and turned to Shoji, who was getting his minor cuts and bruises treated by Recovery Girl. "You were both great out there, Shoji-san."

"Thank you," Shoji said with a nod. "But if you don't mind, I will refrain from getting hugged."

Most of the students, even those who had failed the exam, chuckled a little at Midoriya and Uraraka's embarrassed reactions. They hadn't exactly hid that they were dating, though they kept public displays of affection to a minimum; still, this was high school, so their personal lives were generally known by their classmates, whether they wanted it or not.

"All right, you kids," Recovery Girl called out, "I think it's time for the next test!"

Midoriya swallowed nervously and shared a tense look with Bakugo; only two more teams, and then it would be their turn.

…

Koda and Aoyama surprised everyone with a quick and almost easy victory over Midnight. Koda had stolen the show by finally revealing the full power of his Quirk, Anivoice; he summoned a huge flock of birds to swarm the teacher, keeping her occupied until Aoyama could line up the perfect shot with his Navel Laser. She'd been stunned, but neither boy wanted to risk getting close to her, so Koda had more birds place the cuffs on her for him.

That was also the day that the class discovered that Koda had an adorably high-pitched voice. For many of them, it was worth the months wondering what he sounded like.

Sero and Tokoyami's test was more worrying; they were up against Ectoplasm, and their testing zone was built to resemble a shopping mall. The hallways limited Sero's movement, and gave the advantage to Ectoplasm, who could create dozens of duplicates of himself. Sero didn't need to have Midoriya's talent in tactics or Quirk analysis to know that this would be hard for him.

Thankfully, Tokoyami had had an idea. All they needed to do was get enough room to make it work.

…

"Sero isn't a fighter," Aizawa said bluntly. "His Quirk isn't suited to a battle of strength, but it seems he knows this."

"He does like to go on about how he loves anything involving maneuverability," All Might added. He had been quiet for most of the meeting, but this analysis of the students had started to become kind of fun, especially if this ended up helping them. He could see why Midoriya enjoyed it so much.

"Exactly," Aizawa said, though it sounded like it cost a piece of his soul to agree with the other man. "His Quirk also dehydrates him after extended use, which means he has to balance just how much tape he can make. Ectoplasm, I want you to overwhelm him; force him to really think about his moves."

Ectoplasm nodded. "What about Tokoyami?"

"You'll be fighting in the light, and Dark Shadow can only do so much without darkness." Aizawa adjusted his scarf. "In this situation, both of them will have to use their Quirks sparingly, at least until they either escape, or if they find a way to outmaneuver you."

"I'll give them a chance…"

…

"… but don't think I'll go easy on you!"

Ectoplasm opened his mouth, and silvery blobs poured out; they quickly formed into perfect copies of himself, and they fanned out to hunt down the students. It didn't take them long, but the first clone to attack was slammed to the ground by Dark Shadow, and quickly melted into a puddle.

Ectoplasm's Quirk was odd—not necessarily in what it did, but how he could control his clones. They followed his thoughts, while many other clone-based Quirks either created independent copies, or solid illusions. The downside was that he felt an echo of the pain his clones did, and he could get overwhelmed by too much mental stimuli, but decades of training had largely mitigated those weaknesses.

His Quirk was also what made him such a good teacher; he could observe each student in a classroom individually, and give each one the same amount of attention. In this case, observing Sero and Tokoyami from several different perspectives showed him one very important thing.

They were better than they gave themselves credit for.

Tokoyami's file suggested that he had struggled with the violent nature of his Quirk for most of his life. He was always fighting to keep Dark Shadow from going on a rampage, especially in the dark. However, as he watched the living Quirk methodically decimate his clones, Ectoplasm saw just how much control Tokoyami had. So long as he wasn't fighting someone with a hard counter to Dark Shadow, Tokoyami was almost unstoppable.

Sero, on the other hand, had a low opinion of himself when it came to combat. Yes, maneuverability and capture were his strong points, but he wasn't as useless as he claimed to be. His technique needed polishing, but he took advantages of any openings Dark Shadow created by delivering quick punches and kicks to weakened clones, and set up devastating combos by taping up others.

Both boys had a good eye for necessary spacing, and made sure to keep enough distance to not get in each other's way, but close enough to support the other if they had to. It was all rudimentary teamwork, nothing fancy, but Ectoplasm saw how quickly they fell into that pattern, and approved. Plenty of Heroes had to work with others they were unfamiliar with, and such tactics were a tried-and-true method for success.

The students fought their way through a dozen clones, until they found the real Ectoplasm, standing guard in front of the exit. Even if they just wanted to escape, they would still have to deal with him.

Ectoplasm could have just swarmed them with clones; after all, he could replace any he lost indefinitely, while Sero would eventually get dehydrated, and once one student was incapacitated, it would be easy to defeat the other. However, he wanted to see how they would react if they had to fight a real monster.

"Hello, students," he said in his deepest voice, a trait he'd used to intimidate criminals before. "You got through my clones easily enough. Well done."

"Thanks, Ectoplasm-sensei," Sero said, while Tokoyami only nodded his head in acknowledgement.

"Unfortunately, I have more than just numbers on my side." Ectoplasm took a deep breath, and then vomited forth a much larger blob that formed a giant version of himself. "I cannot create other clones while using this giant, but it is more than a match for you."

Sero's helmet and Tokoyami's avian features meant that Ectoplasm couldn't get a good read on them through facial expressions, but their body language told him a great deal. They were certainly surprised—not that he blamed them, since he hardly ever used his giant clone, so they were unlikely to know about it—but instead of panicking, they were determined. That was good; Heroes couldn't afford to let surprises shock them into inaction.

"Sero-san, go!" Tokoyami sent out Dark Shadow, who latched onto the giant's face.

Ectoplasm watched as Sero swung through the area on his tape. At first, he thought the boy would try to escape, but the giant would hit him no matter what direction he took. Then he saw Sero tape up the skylight above them, before kicking out every light he could reach. In less than a minute, the room barely had any light.

"You're good, Tokoyami-san!" Sero called out. "Let him have it!"

"Now, Dark Shadow!" It could have been Ectoplasm's imagination, but he thought Tokoyami's eyes glowed as balefully as his Quirk's. "Unleash your fury!"

"About time!" With so little light, Dark Shadow grew to monstrous proportions. He still wasn't as big as the giant clone, but his strength was more than enough to smash it into the far wall. "It's been forever since I could cut loose!"

While the two monsters battled, Ectoplasm tried to keep an eye out for Sero; in the darkness, that was difficult, and the first sign he had of the student's attack was a strand of tape that wrapped around one of his prosthetic legs. He was pulled off-balance, and then encased in tape up to his neck.

"Tokoyami-san, I got him!" Sero shouted. "Tell Dark Shadow to lay off!"

"I cannot!" Tokoyami yelled back. "He becomes wild in the darkness!"

"Crap," Sero muttered, then looked down at the teacher. "Sorry, Ectoplasm-sensei, I'll be right back!"

Ectoplasm knew from Tokoyami's file just how dangerous Dark Shadow could be. "The test is over, just go."

Sero zipped back up to the ceiling and tore away the tape on the skylight; once a few beams of light came through, they forced Dark Shadow into a smaller, more controllable state. He was still brimming with energy, but was no longer on the rampage.

"Team Sero and Tokoyami: Pass!"

"My apologies," Tokoyami said with a short bow. "I did not expect Dark Shadow to become quite that bad. He is usually only like that at night."

"Not my fault you never let me go all-out," Dark Shadow muttered petulantly.

Ectoplasm allowed Sero to help free him from the tape. "You both did well; Sero-san, you were key to helping Tokoyami-san become as powerful as he did. However, Tokoyami-san, you should remember to communicate such dangers, even if they may not occur. Such things may be crucial for a teammate to know; had Sero-san not acted as quickly as he had, I would have been forced to step in, and you both might have failed."

Both boys bowed. "Yes, Sensei!"

Ectoplasm smiled. "Now, you two should go back to the observation room. I am sure neither of you want to miss the next match."

…

Sero grinned as his friends surrounded him; so much time had been spent doubting his abilities in a fight, and he had not only managed to defeat a Pro Hero—with help, and said Hero was handicapped—but he had also gone above and beyond by making sure Dark Shadow didn't go out of control. He was feeling pretty good about himself, though it was soured a little by knowing that Todoroki and Asui wouldn't be going with him to camp.

"Great job, ribbit," Asui croaked, doing her best to stay happy for him. "I had no idea Ectoplasm-sensei could make a giant clone."

Most of the Rising Stars paused; they expected Midoriya to shower them with little-known trivia about Ectoplasm, but to their surprise, he was silent. Then they saw that he was locking eyes with Bakugo.

"Come on, nerd," Bakugo snarled. "I'm not gonna get disqualified because you were too busy playing with your friends."

Ashido muttered something under her breath as Bakugo stormed off; Sero didn't catch it, but Yaoyorozu did, and it wasn't nice, if her mortified expression was anything to go by.

"Good luck, Deku-kun," Uraraka said nervously, and gave him a quick hug, which he returned.

"Thanks," he said, and took a deep breath. "We're both going to need it."

Yeah, but the only reason we'd root for Bakugo is because we want you to pass, Sero thought.

The students watched the screen with rapt attention, as Bakugo and Midoriya arrived at their testing grounds. It had been designed to look like a typical small city, with dozens of houses that eventually became a business district. There was plenty of room to maneuver, but also plenty of opportunities to cause collateral damage. That would lower their score, and both of them would have to be careful.

Kaminari coughed into his hand to break the tension. "So, any bets on how long those two last against All Might? I say five minutes, unless Bakugo goes nuts and tries to blow up Midoriya."

"Six minutes, and I say Bakugo gets knocked out first!" Hagakure chimed in.

"Two minutes," Ojiro said. "I mean, it's All Might they're fighting. Even if he has to hold back, he could probably take down any of Midoriya's forms in one punch, right?"

Midoriya's friends felt a little indignant on his behalf, though they had to admit that the idea of All Might losing was a bit hard to believe.

"Ten minutes," Todoroki declared. "And Midoriya gets in at least two good hits."

"Same time, but I bet Midoriya has to save Bakugo once," Asui said.

Most of the other Rising Stars made similar bets, but Uraraka crossed her arms, never taking her focus away from the screen.

"I bet they'll pass."

The rest of the class, and even Recovery Girl, regarded her with some disbelief, but none of them argued with her. There was a deep conviction in her eyes, an absolute faith that Midoriya would win—a faith that somehow even reached out to Bakugo.

"Team Midoriya and Bakugo: Begin!"

Oh, god, this chapter was a slog to write. I didn't expect to get through every single fight (except the last one) in one chapter. I'm kind of glad that I chose to mainly focus on the Rising Stars for this story, because I'd have to write a whole lot more detail if I gave everyone in Class 1-A equal treatment.

I may go back and edit this chapter, because I feel like it's not up to my usual standards. Sorry about that, but I'm in a really bad place at the time of this chapter. Let me paint you a picture:

Dog 1: Hey, guys, I broke my foot!

Dog 2: That's nothing! I got cancer!

Dog 3: Please, that's basic. I died!

Yeah, a few days ago (at the time of this writing), my third dog got really sick. We took him to the vet hospital, and at first, he seemed to be doing okay. Then he got worse and worse, to the point that the vet said that the best option would be to just let him go, especially since they couldn't figure out what the problem was. This was very sudden for my family and I; we had no time to brace ourselves for it, so it was devastating.

Rest in peace, Hercules. You were a good boy.

Anyway, yeah, I wrote most of this chapter before all this went down, but I may go back and edit it later.

Speaking of the chapter…

Uraraka got her new costume, Version 2.1, but she'll get more added later. And Sero got an addition as well.

The exams are happening, but more students have failed in this story than in canon. I like the idea of the teachers pulling no punches, especially Thirteen. In my head, she only became a Rescue Hero because she would literally kill everyone else if she actually tried to hone her fighting ability.

Oh, and my two favorites to write were Uraraka/Shoji against Aizawa, and Ashido/Yaoyorozu against Nezu. God, those were fun.

And if you thought that Midoriya and Bakugo's little chat went too smoothly, don't worry; there's more to it coming up.

Anyway, as always, please consider buying my book, Alpha Sanction, by Josh Gottlieb. You can find it on my website (link in my profile), or as an eBook or physical copy on Amazon. Sales are good for me, and you all get something to read!

If you want to support me in other ways, please consider donating on my P-atreon (link in my profile). I dream of the day I can live off that alone and just write nonstop every day.

Shout-out to the patrons who generously help me towards that goal:

Serious Muffins: jafr86, SpaceEmperorSpar, Nimrod009, Anders Lyngbye, Matthias Matanovic, ChaosSpartan575, John Collins, Red Bard, Aaron Meek, Shaolin Khalil, killroy225

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Next Chapter: Can the rivals of Class 1-A defeat the Symbol of Peace? Can they even survive?

Stay safe out there!

Plus Muffin!