The information of the practical exam's setup was taken in with much pleasure by both Ashido and Kaminari who, Sora thought, were as good as started celebrating their success already.
" Yuu." The boy blinked as Sora approached him with a ticklish smile. " Sorry about this but, you think we can study together? It's been a while since we did so."
" Huh?"
" Oh, that's of course if you're free." She added.
Whisper tapped his chin. " I will be training him late at night." The way Yuu jolted didn't go unnoticed by Sora. " So I think that means he can study along with you in the evening and early at night. What do you think?"
" There is no need to ask. I will be glad to study with you." He smiled.
Sora grinned from ear to ear as she clapped her hands together. " Well then! We can head to my house straight away then!"
" Straight away!"
" I will be telling Grandma!" She bolted to her bag, rummaging for her phone.
It was then that Bakugo declared war upon Midoriya, catching all of their attention. One look at his aura told Sora he was angry beyond any other time she had seen him. It made her gulp just seeing it. So when he shifted his eyes to both her and Todoroki her feet rooted to the ground from the intense stare. " Todoroki! Shirogane! You too!"
Sora only breathed when the boy left the classroom, slamming the door shut with a forceful tug. She had never felt that much anger directed at her.
" It's been a while since I've seen Bakugo that intense," said Kirishima.
" Impatience... Or rather hatred?" Tokoyami inquired.
" I would rather it be the former." Sora laughed awkwardly.
" You noticed. He didn't call you feather head," Whisper commented.
" True..." She thought about it. It seems he was more than serious about making that challenge.
_______________
The week passed by in a hurry. While they were all buried to the nose under the load of their work and studies, they also trained hard to keep their bodies in shape. It was rather hard balancing both. Before they knew it, they sat down for the 1st day of the written exam.
Sora and Yuu would haunch over their papers and wouldn't raise their heads until the allotted time was over. Sora had to admit she liked to see Ashido and Kaminari's faces every time they bent on their exam papers. They were dead serious, their pencils flying about almost unseen.
By the end of the third day, Sora and Yuu stood to collect the papers of their rows while Ashido and Kaminari thanked Yaoyorozu deeply. Glad they did well. Sora smiled.
After delivering the papers, Sora stretched her arms. " Now all that is left is the practical one."
" I'm nervous." Yuu shivered as he checked the calendar on his phone, the day of the practical exam was the next one.
" It will be alright. You underwent hard training, so have confidence." Whisper slapped his back and Yuu choked on air.
________________
On the day of the practical exam, they gathered in front of the central plaza where the exam would take place. The first interesting thing that caught their eyes was the many teachers waiting for them in front of the entrance.
Aizawa warned them against doing any stupid mistakes. The class was already tense enough without him telling them. Apparently, Aizawa expected them to do some research about the nature of the practical exam.
" We're fighting robot warriors like at the entrance exam, right?" Kaminari stated proudly.
Ashido was already listing things she wanted to do at the camp.
" Too bad! For various reasons, the exam will be different starting this time!" Another voice spoke and a lump in their teacher's scarf wobbled before their principal poked out of it.
" The principal... Was hiding under Aizawa-sensei's bindings, right?" Sora turned to her friend as though trying to confirm her eyes weren't out of commission.
" Yeah, he definitely was," Yuu confirmed.
Sora hardly muffled her laughter. " How did he... And how did Aizawa-sensei... That's really strange," she said wiping away her eyes.
The principal clambered down the long of Aizawa's body as he elucidated further, telling them they wanted to focus on person-on-person combat while Ashido and Kaminari blanched and froze at the back of their group.
" It's definitely because of all the things that happened with you guys," Whisper pointed.
" So... We'll have you form teams of two to fight against one teacher!" The principal announced.
" Fight a teacher!" Sora choked on her salvia hearing his words. No one of them was even near the strength of a teacher. That much was made as clear as day during the USJ incident. The other students seemed to agree with her.
What was more shocking was that Aizawa had already paired them as he saw fit. The first team was Todoroki and Yaoyorozu against him. Then there was Midoriya and Bakugo, much to the green head's dismay and the ash blond's annoyance. And it didn't help at all that their opponent was none other than All Might who dropped down from the sky in a rather flashy show. Showcasing the gap between them further.
Please don't flaunt your superhuman strength in front of us before the exam! She cried inwardly.
Sato and Kirishima were up against Cementoss. Tokoyami and Asui's opponent was Ectoplasm. Iida and Ojiro's was set to be Power Loader. Uraraka and Aoyama were to face Thirteen. Ashido and Kaminari had the principal.
Sora sweat dropped as Ashido stared down in shock at their principal before smiling widely, apparently confident of their victory.
Jiro and Koda had Present Mic as their opponent while Snipe was to challenge both Shoji and Hagakure. Mineta couldn't be any happier when his opponent was set to be Midnight. Yuu pitied Sero who would have to deal with him. Then, the last team left out there was...
Sora and Yuu stared at each other. " That's right. Shirogane and Seijin are a team. Their opponent will be this person..." Aizawa pointed back at the door of the facility.
From the building came a person walking up to the rest. He had spiky greyish hair, narrow small eyes and a large moth with the lower canines visible even though it was closed. He was wearing a red tight suit and huge white gauntlets. The left side of his face and neck bore a few scars on them.
" Who is he?" Whisper inquired, having not met the person in front of them before.
" This is Vlad King, class B's homeroom teacher." Aizawa introduced him. Vlad walked up to the duo and peered down at them. Sora and Yuu jolted at the intimidation his glare was sending off. Sora could even feel his aura overwhelming them.
" You're kidding me!" He turned around to face the rest of the teachers. " You're telling me to face off the chibi and the scaredy cat, Eraser!"
" Hey you! What's you-" Yuu gagged the ghost before he could insult the teacher any further. Facing the hero itself seemed like a hard feat let alone facing him when he is annoyed.
" And there seems to be an egg-head pet with them. To think this is actually the class that stole the attention for the whole semester." Vlad snorted as he headed back to the teachers' side.
" The time limit for the exam is thirty minutes!" The principal elaborated. " Your objective is either to put these handcuffs on the teacher, or to have one of you escape from the stage!"
" Capture the teacher or escape...it's kind of like the combat training," Kaminari summed.
Still, it was beyond them. Their teachers were too strong to be defeated by students. Namely All Might. Even Present Mic confirmed that.
" This time, your exam will be very similar to a real battle. Please think of us as villains." Thirteen told them.
The teachers reminded them that, unless they knew for a fact that they can beat their opponent, running away and asking for help is a better choice. Aizawa's words were directed at Iida, Midoriya and Todoroki especially.
Because of the incident of the Hero Killer. Sora looked back at her friends. But... If they chose to run away back then...
She shook her head. She didn't want to think of it. What happened had happened and there is no helping it. While in this exam things will be different. Running away is a choice they could take.
All Might then surprised them with the fact that the teachers will have a handicap. Compressed weights that weighed about half of theirs.
" All right, each team will take the practical exam in order on the prepared stage." Sato and Kirishima were the first to go while Aizawa addressed the rest. " Those waiting for their turn can watch the exams or think of the strategies as a team. Do whatever you want. That's all." Aizawa then joined the rest of the staff marching away.
Everyone around them started moving filing into the building, Mineta being the loudest as he wanted to think of a plan to strip Midnight. Sora flicked her eyes to her friend. " What do you want to do?"
Yuu considered the facts carefully and narrowed his eyes. " Unlike most of the other teachers, we're not familiar with the fighting style of our opponent."
Sora tapped her chin at that. " So we need a plan to avoid combat right?"
" True. We better make an escape plan so we can grasp victory. Facing him head-on will be troublesome." Yuu added.
" Then let's come with a plan inside." Whisper's head floated in front of them upside down. " You're the only ones left here."
True for his words, they were the only ones left outside of the building. Having noticed that, both of them rushed after their class.
________________
Sora and Yuu entered the Monitor room almost about the end of Asui and Tokoyami's fight.
" Kirishima-kun and Sato-kun already finished?" Sora blinked.
" Yeah. They didn't make it." Midoriya informed her.
" Those two didn't!" Sora was astonished hearing that. Kirishima and Sato weren't easy to be defeated.
" They ran out of stamina." Uraraka turned back to her. " They lost their time trying to break through Cementoss-sensei's defense."
" I see. Both of them have limits to their Quirks after all." Whisper pointed while folding his arms in front of him while Yuu tapped his chin in thought.
" So basically, they're trying to shove us to a corner, forcing us out of our comfort zone."
" What do you mean?" Uraraka blinked.
Midoriya had his hand holding his chin as he thought about it. " What Seijin-kun said is true. Kirishima-kun and Sato-kun's fighting style consists of rushing and beating everything within their sight. They had stuck to that style for too long that they didn't think of other possible paths to take to pass."
" So basically, we have to think out of the box, right?" Sora inquired.
" Exactly." Yuu nodded.
" Are you okay with not watching what's happening now?" Recovery Girl's voice resounded through the room from where she was sitting on her chair.
Everyone directed their focus to the huge screen broadcasting the duo's battle.
Just as they were about to reach the exit gate, a huge clone of their opponent manifested, bitting into the structure of the building and swallowing both of them, entrapping them.
" I didn't know he could make one that big." Yuu stared awestruck at the screen.
" But you know, even though he trapped them, but still, Dark Shadow can manifest." Sora pointed, recalling their fight at USJ. It was thanks to Dark Shadow that both Tokoyami and Koda managed to get out of the silk ropes binding them. " So, if only Dark Shadow can pass through the gate..."
It seems both the examinees thought of the same thing. However, facing a pro hero was a great deal for him. Dark Shadow retreated for a moment and then dived back at the teacher. Ectoplasm bolted at him, booting him back. Yet, at that very moment, handcuffs enclosed on his leg.
" He's been handcuffed!" Cried Uraraka.
" They passed! Dark Shadow and Frog! They were able to use both Quirks well together!" Midoriya exclaimed.
" Yeah, as expected!"
Yuu tapped his chin. " Still, Asui-san's fast thinking saved them. She is amazing."
" That's Tsuyu-chan for you." Sora clapped her hands happily.
The next match was Ojiro and Iida's. Their opponent, Power Loader, dug the whole ground so to reduce their footing.
" He is going all out," Whisper muttered.
" But Iida-san will pull through." Yuu insisted.
True for that, Iida dashed at full speed, passing the pitfalls before they crumbled under their weight. But as they neared their goal, Power Loader created a steep crack in front of them, blocking their way.
Iida jumped off with Ojiro wringing his tail around the boy's ankle. With a strong thrust and a trundle, Iida managed to propel the blond towards the gate. Though Power Loader was about to catch him midair, Ojiro managed to fend him off and get through the escape gate.
" They're both amazing!" Uraraka cheered.
" I told you they would get through!" Sora held her fists enthusiastically.
Next were Yaoyorozu and Todoroki. Though cautious they were as they made for the gate, still they ended up under the mercy of Eraser head, who eventually managed to grasp hold of Todoroki while Yaoyorozu ran away.
" What a pinch," muttered Whisper.
" I wonder if Yao-momo would be able to come up with a counter plan." Sora was clearly worried.
" Yaoyorozu-san is smart. Still, when her plans fail she tends to lose confidence and fall into despair, making one mistake after the other." That wasn't hard to tell from the sports festival and the training they did.
" That soldier lacks flexibility," added Whisper. " The ability to think fast and act under the pressure of the threat you are facing, to make the adapt choice with no delay. It's hard but, that much is needed out in the field."
" I totally agree with you." Recovery Girl piped in. " In our profession, a second delay means a life. Hesitation is intolerable. You can't waste your time pondering on what to do. You have to do what you can do at the moment."
Aizawa caught up with the girl, but as he restrained her, she created a cylinder around her wrist, expanding the knot around it and sliding her arm away.
" He... Didn't he erase her Quirk?" Sora tilted her head in confusion.
" As I thought. There was an aftereffect for the damage he sustained in USJ." Whisper gritted his teeth.
" Is that true, Recovery Girl?" Midoriya asked the woman by their side who bobbed her head in response.
" The activation time reduced and the gap between them extended," she explained.
After a moment of dithering, Yaoyorozu used flash grenades to disturb Aizawa as she helped Todoroki down before running away. A few moments later, the huge ice wall from the sports festival appeared in between the two and their opponent.
" Defense, he can't attack them. Also, he can't erase the Quirk if he can't see." Yuu thought out loud.
" But wait... The exit is in the other direction." Sora pointed, rather confused. " They won't get there if they keep hiding."
Soon, they could see two cloaked figures running out from behind the wall of ice. Aizawa ran after them, but as he captured them, they turned out to be dummies. In the moment of befuddlement, Yaoyorozu launched some kind of binding at him, and with Todoroki's heat, the material tightened around him, ensnaring him.
The match ended when Yaoyorozu handcuffed him.
" Ho, some interesting plan she came up with," Recovery Girl complimented.
" Seems she got through her hesitation, at least for now," Whisper smirked. " She has a good head on her shoulders, that soldier."
Sora turned around, only to notice Uraraka had left. Right, it's her matchup next. Do your best, Ochaco-chan.
Asui then entered the Monitor room only to be tackled into a hug by Sora. " Well done, Tsuyu-chan! Congratulations on passing! You were awesome!"
" Thanks, Sora-chan... Though I feel a little embarrassed ribbit." The green head looked around. " Had Ochaco-chan left already? I hoped I could wish her good luck."
A few minutes later, the match in USJ started. Aoyama and Uraraka managed to sneak their way up to the escape gate, but Thirteen was waiting for them. The hero used her Quirk on them and all they could do was hold onto the railing for dear life to avoid getting sucked into her black hole. Even Aoyama's attack was absorbed.
Uraraka suddenly let go of the railing and was pulled back towards the teacher, who immediately shut her Quirk as she got too close. Uraraka then had a switch of mood, flooring the hero on the ground. Aoyama flew to her help, restraining the other arm of Thirteen while Uraraka handcuffed her, winning their match.
" She did it!"
" Ribbit! Ribbit!" Sora and Asui held each other's hands in utter joy.
" Uraraka-san, Nice judgment!" Midoriya cried in excitement. " I can't believe she thought to use her opponent's power to get in close!"
" Seems Gunhead-san's training came in handy," Yuu muttered.
" Ribbit... For me, it seemed like Ochaco-chan just happened to let go, though..."
" Really?"
" Yes. I wonder what she was talking about with Aoyama right before she let go?"
Midoriya was confused by that. " Who knows? We can't hear what they're saying over here."
" Still..." Whisper sweat dropped. " That was particularly cheating..."
" Eh?" Everyone blinked at him.
" It's like back with your match during the combat training, Midoriya-san," Yuu told them.
" Whisper is right. If it wasn't an exam, and Thirteen was concerned for her student's safety, it wouldn't have ended up this way. If it was a real villain, then that girl should be gone by now." Recovery Girl explained.
" So, Ochaco-chan and Aoyama-chan passed only because it's an exam," Asui concluded.
The doors opened from behind them as Yaoyorozu and Iida came in. They congratulated them for passing their exams before their attention went back to the screen in expectancy of the upcoming match.
" Who is next again?" Whisper asked.
" The sixth match is team Ashido and Kaminari. They will be up against principal Nezu." Yaoyorozu stated.
" I wonder what type of Quirk the principal has?" Yuu had a hand around his chin in thought.
" Eh? Isn't him being... Cat or dog or... Whatever is his Quirk?" Sora was rather bewildered.
" Well... That's kind of hard to explain." Yuu looked back at her. " He's an animal with a Quirk. It wasn't made public, you see. He was always helping from the back lines. Not much is known about him."
Ashido and Kaminari's battle occurred in ground Gamma. A rather cramped place. They didn't have much of a chance against their principal as he wrecked down the area with a crane while predicting their route. Needless to say, the duo failed.
" Our principal is really scary..." Sora gulped with goosebumps running up her body as recalled what Recovery Girl just said about the humans doing experiments on him. Hope he isn't the type to hold a grudge. But again... Seeing him play around with Mina-chan and Kaminari-kun the same way they used to put mice in a maze to test their intelligence...
We mustn't cross him... They all thought. Yuu especially had an image of the principal wanting to experiment on him.
Uraraka joined them, surprised to see Ashido and Kaminari all beaten up.
They congratulated her as well before Asui asked her about what Aoyama told her down in the field. Sora couldn't ignore the way her cheeks went red and she was all flattered.
" What's wrong with her? Does she have a fever or something?" Yuu inclined his head, only for Sora and Whisper to sigh tiredly.
" I thought you were the dumbest. But even Yuu could put a challenge for that," Whisper told the white head in a hushed voice.
" He really doesn't know anything about love stuff is he?" Sora whispered back.
" Not the slightest idea." Answered Whisper with a shrug.
The next match ended in a peculiar way, for Present Mic was attacked by a lot of insects from under his feet while Koda ran past the gate with Jiiro in his arms.
" So he really could control insects... Wonder why he didn't use them against us?" Sora thought out loud, recalling their battle training. For once, she knew the building was swarming with insects. Seeing their number and small size, it could have been a better choice than mice and birds. Think he got his own reasons.
The matches went on. First Shoji and Hagakure managed to capture Snipe with a sneaking ambush from the invisible girl while Shoji tried to distract the teacher.
When it was Mineta and Sero's turn, Uraraka turned back to them. " You three. It's almost your turn, don't you want to go to your exam areas?"
However, Midoriya, Sora and Yuu wanted to watch everyone's battle to the very end.
By the moment they looked back to the screen, they saw a tearing Mineta running away in the other direction from the exit gate.
" What happened?" Sora was confused. She knew Mineta was determined to go to the camp, also, with his opponent being a woman like Midnight, it was hard to think he was running from her.
" Midnight had taken down Sero with her fragrance, but he managed to save Mineta at the last moment. It seems that's why he's frustrated." The ghost pointed with a huge bead of sweat sliding the side of his face.
" That boy..." Sora gave a tired sigh.
Just as they all thought he was done for, he surprised them when he rushed at Midnight who followed after him. With Sero's tape wrapped around his nose and mouth, the perfume had no effect on him. He threw a bunch of his hair balls at her while she was flailing her whip and it got stuck both to the ground and her hand, creating an opening for him to slip through. Before they knew it, he had dragged Sero and passed the gate.
" He had such a plan up his sleeve!" The white ghost was speechless.
" Well, guess he wasn't 10th in rank for nothing." Sora laughed as she turned her head to the purple-haired boy by her side. She was surprised by the serious expression he bore.
" Everyone... they were really awesome." His eyes were still glued to the screen. " We need to do our best too."
Sora smiled, seeing him that determined, seeing him that resolved, it was something she liked about him. She liked the face of Yuu who was working hard to realize his dreams.
Gently, her hand reached for the boy's shoulder, drawing his attention to her. Her face beamed with a bright smile and her resolution leveled his. For the sake of the hard-working Yuu, she also needed to do her best. " We're going to pass that exam!"
With a united nod from all three of them, they silently slipped through the door, heading to their battle area...