Glad to be back everyone X3 and I'm glad you're all still excited for the story!
Also I hope no one takes jerk Bakugo too personally lol I do love his character, he was just a bit pissed because of Midoriya! But we aren't out of the woods with him yet, time to start shifting perspective to new character development before the exam~
Also as for an update schedule, I'll probably just be posting every couple of days. I still have to finish the last two... Maybe three chapters, so I need to space some of these out a bit XD
"Alright, that's it for class today," Aizawa spoke in his usual bored tone as he gathered his papers together, "There's only one week left before the final exams, I'm sure you're all studying constantly right?" He questioned, more than a few students giving him rather forced nods, "Don't forget to keep training... The written exam is only one element, there's also the practical portion to worry about," He added, heading to the door and stepping out, "Good luck."
The moment the door closed, the classroom exploded with noise. Two rather slacking students opening up with their cries in unison, "I haven't even taken notes all semester!" Both Ashido and Kaminari exclaimed.
Though, while Ashido was beaming with carefree laughter, Kaminari lamented, "Between the festival and our internships I didn't have time to read the textbook!"
"It's true that we haven't had very much free time lately..." Tokoyami sweatdropped, his own rather below average mid term score weighing on his thoughts.
Adachi chuckled lightly at that, "Yeah you know for someone who seems so wise you're not much of a braniac are you?" Though, as he thought about it he only ranked number 11 in the class on his own mid term. Sure, that was a far cry from Ashido who was in dead last at 21st, but... "I'll need to put more effort into studying, my physical training can wait for now..." He decided with a nod.
"Come on guys, we've still got time to study!" Midoriya assured, "That way we'll all get to go to the training camp together!"
"Yes!" Iida chimed in, raising a hand, "As Class Rep I have high hopes that we'll make UA Proud!"
"It's really not that hard to pass," Todoroki added, in a more serious tone, "If you just pay attention in class."
"Why do you gotta cut me down like that!?" Kaminari collapsed in despair.
"Hey don't worry about it you two," Yaoyorozu smiled, "I'd be happy to help catch you up on the important topics if you'd like?"
Both Kaminari and Ashido were beaming with delight, "You're the best Yaomomo!"
Momo's smile turned to a frown as she added, "Though, I'm afraid I won't be any help in preparing for the practical part of the exam..."
"Don't suppose you'd mind a third?" Adachi asked nervously, figuring what better place to get in that extra practice than with the smartest girl in class?
"I've been studying but, could you help me out too?" Jiro asked, holding up her note book, "I'm having some trouble with understanding Quadratic Functions..."
She blinked, looking between them with surprise, "R-Really?"
"Tutor me too please!" Sero pleaded bringing his hands together, "Classical Japanese is killing me!"
"Is there room for one more?" Ojiro asked nervously as he approached, "I'm afraid I'm falling behind a little..."
"Agh~" Yaomomo gasped in surprise, "This is wonderful! Alright let's do it!" She declared, rising from her seat, "We'll hold a study session at my residence over the weekend!"
"Seriously!?" Ashido exclaimed as she bounced forward, "I can't wait to see your fancy digs!"
"Ooh! I must call mother have her prepare the great hall for us!" She began rambling on, beaming with excitement.
While Kaiji chuckled, and looked towards his red haired friend, "What about you Kirishima? You getting in on this?"
"Hmm, yeah I don't know..." Kirishima shrugged with a smirk, Kaiji's own smile vanishing as he turned attention to Bakugo, "Maybe I should be studying with her..."
"What you don't think I know enough!?" The firebrand demanded, "I'll beat the lessons into your skull!"
"Ha, I'm counting on it." Kirishima nodded.
Adachi shook his head, brushing off his lingering dislike of Bakugo. Though he still couldn't understand why Kirishima was so interested in being friends with him sometimes...
. . .
"Alright!"
Class 1-A was preparing to depart for the day, but Midoriya had found some useful information in the form of Kendo from class 1-B during lunch earlier. She explained that the Practical Exam would be against robots, just like the entrance Exam. And both Ashido and Kaminari were overjoyed to hear it would be something so simply.
"It'll be super easy against just robots!" The orange haired boy grinned.
"Such awesome news!" Ashido added.
"Why do you both sound so excited?" Shoji asked with a tentacle mouth, "You both have a hard time controlling your Quirks..."
"Yeah, but with robots it'll be easy to let loose!"
"And melting them will be a cinch for me!"
Adachi chuckled lightly as they bounced around excitedly, "I guess with all the recent craziness I'd forgotten how reckless Ashido was with her schoolwork... And powers... But with such an easy exam, and Momo's tutoring we should all be able to go to the training camp."
"Shouldn't matter if its robots or people... Why are you morons so excited?" Bakugo scoffed at them both.
"Hey!" Kaminari jabbed a finger at them, "Who are you calling a moron!?"
"SHUT UP!" Adachi narrowed his eyes as Bakugo shouted at them, "You need to learn how to control your Quirk! You got it!?" He demanded, before his eyes shifted across the room, "Hey! Deku..." The room fell silent, as the rivals locked eyes across it, "I don't know what's going on with your power, but I want you to know I've seen the way you're using it... And it's seriously pissing me off." He warned with a venomous look in his eyes.
"Uh oh..." Uraraka muttered, standing beside Ashido, "He must mean how he was flying around just like Bakugo..."
"Yeah that's right..." Mina nodded.
"I won't have another half assed victory like at the Sports Festival," Bakugo growled, raising a finger and pointing at Midoriya, "We'll be getting individual scores! New rankings," He stated sharply, as Midoriya shook under his glare, "So we'll all know exactly where we're standing! And I'll show you how much better I am..." His wild eyes quickly shifted behind him, "And Todoroki! I'll kill you too..." And finally, Bakugo locked eyes with Adachi, "Don't think I've forgotten about you either, you may not have come here with any outstanding scores... But you've been creeping up the class rankings, well that ends with the exam, I'll crush you too!"
Kaiji nodded, eyes never leaving Bakugo's, "I'd like to see you try..." The classroom door slammed shut, as the aggressive boy left the class, tension hanging in the air.
"Geez... It's been awhile since I've seen him so worked up." Kirishima nervously scratched the back of his head.
Tokoyami nodded, "You think it's impatience... Or hatred?"
. . .
The first two days of studying flew by with Yaoyorozu's amazing teaching. The six students under her tutelage worked hard to absorb everything she said. And Adachi cramped his hand more than once with how much he was writing down trying to take note of every little tip and information she gave her. He was determined to become better in all areas, even if that meant putting some of his physical training on hold for awhile.
Sero and Kaminari were a bit less intense as students, just doing all they could to comprehend what she was teaching. While Ojiro kept up with relative ease, given his martial training he had great discipline and was open to learning new ways. The two that surprised Kaiji the most were Jiro and Ashido. Both girls attacking their studies, outside of school they showed a passion for learning he hadn't seen in either of them before...
Well, before Zodiac.
As they were packing up and getting ready to head home that Saturday evening, Kaiji couldn't help wonder if that had anything to do with it. "I certainly wouldn't deny it, considering how much harder I started working after the USJ..." He decided, tucking away his notes, "A brush with death certainly is a good motivator."
"Hmm? Oh, you're still packing up?" Momo asked as she returned from showing the others out, "Need a hand?"
"Huh? Oh, no I'm fine," Adachi chuckled, stuffing the last of his notes into the bag, "I just got a little carried away with note taking... Thanks for the help by the way."
"Of course," She bowed her head with a smile, "Honestly, I can't believe you even needed my help, but I'm glad to give it!"
"What do you mean by that?" Kaiji asked confused.
"Oh I just..." She hesitated for a moment, "I don't mean anything by it, but I guess what Bakugo said the other day was true... When classes started, I looked into a lot of our scores, and well... You seemed so average." She shrugged.
Kaiji blinked, looking down at his scaly hands, "Yeah I... I guess I've changed a lot since school started... But that doesn't mean I'm any better than the rest of the class."
"But after what you did at the USJ," She argued, "At Tagua... And then in the Dokuga District-" Her words caught, immediately regretting bringing it up, "Sorry... It's just, you and Midoriya, Bakugo and Todoroki... You've all advanced so much further than I have, and three of you didn't even get in on recommendation..." Yaoyorozu frowned, looking away, "Even at the Festival, before you changed so much you stood your ground against Todoroki, the strongest student in our whole class!"
"The festival," Adachi suddenly remembered as he processed her words, the images of her crushing defeat flashing through his mind, "Is that what this is about?" He wondered, shaking his head, "I'm not as amazing as you'd think, my bad decisions and reckless actions would have gotten me killed if I didn't have regenerative abilities..." Kaiji explained, shaking his head, "And up until the USJ incident... I was scared of my Quirks full power, maybe I still kinda am?" He shrugged, "Nobody is perfect, that's why I'm here," Kaiji added with a smile, "Because I trust that you're smarter than a reckless idiot like me, the others believe in you too..."
"A-Adachi I..." Yaoyorozu was left a bit stunned by his words, surprised he had so much faith in her despite her failure as a hero in her mind. "Thank you..."
"No no, thank you for the tutoring." Kaiji chuckled, brushing off her praise.
"Hey!" Ashido called, sticking her head back in the door, "Hurry up scale butt! We're gonna miss the train!"
"Right right sorry," He nervously laughed, slinging his bag over his shoulder and heading towards her, "Same time tomorrow for tutoring?"
Yaomomo nodded her head eagerly, and stifled a giggle of amusement, "Sure, same time tomorrow, Scale butt."
Kaiji sighed and shook his head as he made his way out the door, "Dammit Ashido..."
. . .
"If we don't do something this man DIES!"
"I-I'll bring help! Just hang on! AND DON'T YOU DARE DIE!"
"Tch, if you can't control your Quirk that's YOUR PROBLEM!"
"Agh!" She shot up in her bed, panting for breath and covered in sweet. The troubled young girl looked around her room, calming down steadily as she looked towards the clock. Seeing the time, she sighed heavily, "Dammit..." Swinging her legs over the side of the bed, she got up to start her day.
Noticing a blinking notification on her phone, Jiro stepped towards her desk and picked it up. "A message from Yaomomo?" She quirked an eyebrow, sliding it open with one finger while trying to rub the sleep from her eyes.
It was a group message, between her, Ojiro, Ashido, Kaminari, Sero and Adachi, "Hey everyone, sorry I know I promised we could study more today but something came up! I won't be available until later, sorry!"
Jiro sighed with a small smile, shaking her head, "Even in her texts she sounds so sincere..." Jiro sent back a small message to tell her it was fine.
But just as she sent it, another message popped up from Adachi, "I wouldn't mind getting together still, I mean I might not be as smart as Yaoyorozu but it'd be good to keep up the study pace, get in everything we can before the exam tomorrow."
As the others started messaging, Jiro stuck her head out of the bedroom door. Listening for anyone else, she only heard silence. Bringing up her phone and typing quickly, "My parents will be gone with work until pretty late, we could study here and chill for a few hours."
"That sounds good, my house is a little cramped now that Mom's home." Adachi answered.
"I'll send the address, see you guys in a little while." Jiro replied, before setting her phone aside. She looked towards her desk, those memories still gnawing at her mind, "I guess... I could maybe write a little before they get here..." She decided, going to quickly get ready so she would have the time, "A few minutes to blow off some steam with music, that'll be fine!"
. . .
A short two hours later, the group was on their way to Jiro's house. Walking through a simple suburbs area, though the houses were nice. Nicer than Adachi's, he noticed. The streets were mostly clear, as everyone was at work in the more major parts of the city of just running their daily routines, so it was easy to get around. And it wasn't long before they reached the right address.
"This looks like the place," Ojiro noted, checking his phone for the address, "Yeah this is definitely it."
"Should we call her?" Sero questioned, "Or just head up and knock?"
Adachi shrugged, "It'd be more polite to give her a call first I think..."
"Hey wait," Ashido blinked, putting a hand up to her ear, "Do you guys here that?"
"I... Think so?" Kaminari added, "It's faint... I can't tell what it is..."
"Hmm..." Ashido focused more intense, "Sounds like... Music?"
"Music?" Ojiro repeated confused.
"I'm gonna check it out!" Ashido decided with a grin, throwing her bag at Kaiji who had to scramble to catch it, giving Ashido the chance she needed to spread her wings and fly off without much protest.
The fluttering pink heroine flew around the modest home, searching for the source. Keen eyes searching for the target, when she spotted an open window! The soft sounds of a the tune coming from within. Ashido swooped down towards it, hovering just outside the window and trying to peer inside. Through the screen, she could see what must have been Jiro's room.
It had posters of various bands across the walls, as well as a few instruments. But most notable at the moment, was Jiro sitting in her desk, leaning back and gently strumming the cords of an acoustic guitar. Ashido had heard Kyoka listening to music before, but it was so much more rock than what she heard now...
"This music sounds... Kinda sad." Ashido realized, frowning for a moment, before a new sound entered the fray. One that shocked her even more than the gentle, somber music.
"I cut right through the wreckage... Look up to the sunset, eternity of flying singing right into the sky... No I can't live, with regret..." Jiro sang softly, leaning forward as she looked over a few pieces of paper with words scrawled on them, "Ugh... Can't think of the next line..."
"I didn't know you could sing!" Ashido exclaimed in awe.
"AAAGH!" Jiro screamed in fright at the sudden voice, falling out of her chair with the guitar and a loud thud. She turned to the window, panting as her heart raced, cheeks flushing red as she processed what Mina said, "A-Ashido! What are you doing at my window!?"
Mina laughed nervously, rubbing the back of her neck, "Oh yeah, I heard some music and wanted to check it out, the others are here too waiting outside!"
"Already?" Jiro blinked, looking to her clock, "But it's only... Oh," Her blush deepened, "I uh... Guess I got a little distracted."
"That's fine!" Ashido beamed, landing on the window frame carefully, "That was amazing! I had no idea you could sing so well! Or even play instruments!"
"Yeah yeah I can just..." She waved her off bashfully, having never gotten such praise from anyone but her parents, "Just don't bring it up alright? I want to study today."
"Okay okay okay," Ashido sighed, Jiro opening the window and letting her climb inside, "That song was really good... But why did it sound so sad?"
Jiro hesitated for a moment, looking down, "Just... Don't worry about it..."