"Well, it's almost time for summer vacation," Aizawa brought up to us. "Don't get too excited, you can't just relax for an entire month."
"Does that mean...?" Denki asked, a tinge of excitement in his question.
"That's right. Training. While your camping in the woods." He finally said.
We all shouted with excitement, getting to experience yet another "normal" school activity. A camping trip that would be taking over the entire summer vacation sounded pretty good to me, even if it was going to have a twist like the Sport's Festival had.
"A big sleepover!" Ashido cheered.
Mineta, interjecting with his own comment about "baths".
"Fireworks!" Tsuyu said, looking up as she lost herself in thought about it.
"Being in the woods?" Hana said, tapping my shoulder. "That shouldn't be a problem for you since you're kinda a down-to-earth guy."
I smiled and waved my finger back-and-forth. "I see what you did there."
"Hanging out with everyone all summer? I'm so excited!" Hagakure shouted, her sleeves moving up and down.
"However," Aizawa said, his tone making it obvious he was the one to only be speaking now. "Those of you who do not pass the final exam before the semester is over will have summer school."
Kirishima turned around, shouting to all of us "Everyone, do your best!"
Our usual homeroom period was now brimming with excitement. Instead of sleeping I decided to talk with people around me, seeing the trip was going to be a highlight for the next few days.
"So how is it living with a parent who's also your teacher?" Hana asked me.
"Not as bad as you think. After five years, we've kept in touch so it's nothing major." I replied.
"From what you said your dad trained you how to fight, right? Does he still do that?"
I shook my head. "No. All of that was just so I knew what I was capable of. This trip is definitely gonna be different though. Lot more room, and dirt. Speaking of training, how did the internship with your dad go?" I asked.
She looked down at her desk. "It went well. He still thinks we're a thing, and wonders if I plan on inviting you home anytime soon. Hopefully, work can distract him from that for the next few years."
I felt a bead of sweat go down the side of my head. "I forgot we still had that problem..."
She gave me an anger-filled look. "How do you forget something like that!? We literally just went through that whole situation not even a week ago, and you forgot?" she then cleared her throat. "Th-then again, you have had a lot on your table with your dad, and what happened in Hosu."
"Not that much. Studying won't be hard though."
"I just remembered..."
"What?" I asked her.
"Every test you ever did you never studied, but you did better than me by two or so points." She remarked. "How?"
I shrugged and smiled. "No clue. I just remember something after learning about it a few times in class. The practical is a different story though. I'm gonna need to refine some techniques for that." I admitted.
"That's what you're worried about?" Ashido asked, her face filled with both confusion and disappointment.
"Yes, it is." I replied with a smile on my face.
"Alright, that's it for class today," Aizawa said, stacking our papers on his desk after having us do some papers on Quirk Regulation Laws. "I'm sure you're all studying constantly, right?" He waited for a response. "Additionally, make sure to keep training, the written test is only one element." He said before leaving the room. "There's also the practical portion to worry about. Good luck." He said, closing the door.
"I've barely taken notes this semester!" Ashido said as she put her arms behind her head in her carefree style, while Denki seemed to be panicking. Ashido laughed it off while he seemed... Well, the poor guy seemed to be letting the pressure get to him.
I felt fine with how my grades were, seeing on the midterm I placed seventh. To be honest, I could've scored higher, but there was just too many other people in this class who were just as, if not, smarter than me.
"No problem for you I take it," Hana stated with a smug smile on her face. She had placed sixth in the midterms.
"Just because you're one place ahead doesn't mean you have to gloat."
She chuckled. "What do you mean? It's like you said, you just need to see it once right?"
"Yes. Though I think I might need to look at my notes a second time, just in case." I said, feeling her metaphorically put me in check.
There wasn't that much to worry about anyways! I just needed to pass was all. The only thing that worried me was the practical exam. All I knew was we'd have to either fight robots like my dad had told me or show how good we were without Quirks and our skills we've learned as a Hero.
I briefly looked over at Yaoyorozu to see her acting quite cheerful for some reason. Seeing she was top of the class, as I expected her to be after seeing her in action during the review portion of the Battle Test All Might did, no doubt some of the people in the class would want her to help them with studying.
"Maybe..." I said, thinking on the idea of a study group.
"Maybe what?" Hana asked, twirling her hair along her left index finger.
"Thinking about possibly doing a study group. But it probably wouldn't be good. Since well, I don't really study." I admitted. "Just hope whatever the practical ends up being, it's something that I can pull off easily."
"I think that's what we're all hoping," Hana laughed nervously.
It wasn't until after lunch that we'd find out what the Practical Final Exam was going to be. Midoriya had learned from Kendo from Class 1-B, the girl who could enlarge her fist, that the Practical was going to be against robots.
Unlike this morning Ashido and Denki were in high spirits after hearing the news.
"Alright!" They both shouted.
"This'll be super easy if it's just robots!" Denki remarked.
"Such awesome news!" Ashido said, enjoying the fact it was only robots no doubt.
"Why do you sound so happy?" Shoji asked. "You both have a hard time controlling your Quirks."
"Yeah, but I can let loose with robots!" Denki countered.
"And melting them will be a cinch for me!" Ashido said, agreeing with Denki's statement.
"Now you just need Yaoyorozu to help you study and you'll be all set for finals!" Sero added in.
The two continued to express their excitement, meanwhile, I began thinking about how it could possibly be something different. Just because it was one type of final for one class, didn't mean it'd be for all classes.
Yet something else seemed to bother me as well. Something me and my dad had both talked about.
It was the night after my dad's first class, and of course, he had me sit at the table and talk to him.
"So..." He said, tapping his fingertips against one another. "Do they know about..."
"No," I said to him. "The only one I've told is Hana, and well, Chikara kinda got the idea of it after I got mad when he said some... Things that I didn't agree with."
"Wasn't he the kid you gave the smack-down to?" I had given him a look, to which he got the message and took a breath in and let it back out. "Right, not the time for jokes. So no one knows that me, your father, happened to rob a bank, injure a good fifty people, and killed three. One of which I didn't know about a few weeks ago."
"No," I said again.
We both sighed, and said at the same time. "How are we gonna do this?"
"The staff, as in Midnight, Aizawa, Hound Dog, Nezu, Yamada, Snipe, Blood King, and Cemetoss already know about this. Hell, a few of them were there." My dad said.
"Hana and Chikara know, and I doubt he'd tell anyone else. Not after that 'smack-down'." I said with a little chuckle.
"Do you ever plan on telling them, though? I know it's because of me you've had to be in hell for five years, so it's up to you if you want to. No doubt at least three people have tried looking up anything about me. Sure the principal got me on probation, on which I can only use my Quirk and teach if supervised. Doesn't mean everything is suddenly like it never happened though."
"I know, and I trust them," I told my dad. "If they find out about it, they find out about it. I still don't feel it's the right time to let people know. But if I wait too long, it'll make it seem like I'm ashamed. When I'm not. It's like Kuzan said, I have all this anger bottled up in me, and I'm afraid of using an outlet to get it out. I haven't let go of the past. Just because I've been friends with them for now, doesn't mean they'll still be my friends afterward." I explained.
"I can understand that. Just don't hold back too long. One of these days, people will find out." My dad said, before getting up. "You've got a good group of friends. Sure you might not talk with all of them, but when you were doing the race, I saw all of them keeping their eyes on you. not because it was you on the screen, but that it was the look of people seeing a fellow classmate, and wanting him to do his best. So keep doing your best. And remember, no matter what people think of you, only you can be who you want to be."
I was brought back to reality by Bakugo shouting "DEKU!" It seemed he was angry about something. Then again, the ashy-blonde was always angry about something. Yet whenever he talked to Midoriya, there seemed to be a thickness of animosity in the air. What was the problem these two had?!
"I don't know what's going on with your Quirk, but I see the way you're using it now and I want you to know," He said, his tone sharp and threatening. "It's seriously pissing me off.
It then clicked in my mind. The way Deku- I mean Midoriya- had been moving was just like Bakugo did with his explosions. Propelling himself through the air and hopping around.
"This might get b-bad..." Hana said, sounding concerned.
"I won't have another half-assed win like the festival," Bakugo stated. "We'll be getting individual scores in the upcoming finals. New rankings." He raised his hand up to point at Midoriya. "So we'll know exactly where we're standing, and I'll show you how much better I am!" He said angrily. "And Todoroki, I'll kill you too." He threatened, before leaving the classroom and slamming the door.
"I'm having declarations of war flashbacks..." Hana said, for comedic effect or out of memory I don't know.
All I knew is that Bakugo had some sort of problem with Midoriya. So much so that it made the explosive boy much more volatile than you think he originally was. What was his deal?
"It's been a while since I've seen him get so worked up..." Kirishima remarked with concern.
"Think it's impatience?" Tokoyami asked.
"Well guys, let's not dwell on it," I said, trying to break up the atmosphere. "Hope we all do good on the test. We all better be at that camp, ya hear me?"
"Sure will," Ashido said, smiling. Part of me felt she knew what I was trying to do with how quickly she replied.
"Let's do our best!" Uraraka shouted, similar to how she did before the Sport's Festival.
The remaining week was filled with studying and training for the upcoming events.
Whatever I didn't spend studying and reading out of my notebooks and textbooks was spent with my dad at the gym, preparing myself. My mom joined in as well, looking at foods that would be perfect for my diet with the upcoming days.
Surprisingly, I even saw Hana at the gym. We didn't spend much time together, just a simple wave at one another before getting back to work. Same with my morning jog and seeing Midoriya as I passed by the beach that had been mysteriously cleared over the course of a few months.
Even at night on the days after doing written exams, I'd study for the next day, just to give myself the edge I'd need in case a subject would pop up again or had yet to.
After three days of written exams, the clock began to numb down to the final wire of time left for the final day. Just as I finished the final problem for Quadratic Functions I set down my pencil, Aizawa finally speaking after having to be silent for so long as we took our tests.
"All right, times up. Put down your pencils and will the last person in each row collect papers and bring them up to me." He asked.
As Yaoyorozu began to do so, Denki and Ashido both got up to talk to her. "Thanks for your help!" The pink-skinned girl said.
While Denki said, "At least I didn't leave anything blank!"
After that, we were taken to the exam location for the practical. We had been told to get into our Hero Costumes and to bring any gear associated with it. For the time being my half-face mask was down as we were told what it'd be.
All of the teachers were lined up, including Power Loader, the leading teacher for the Support Course, and my dad. It was both intimidating, and at the same time kind of awe-inspiring.
Even my dad for once looked more serious than whenever I had come to visit him when he was in jail. He was even wearing an old aviator jacket I had only seen him wear on in a few pictures at home, goggles on top of his head and a metal mask covering his face below his eyes.
'Now then, Aizawa said, grabbing our attention. "Let's begin the last test. Remember it's possible to fail this final. If you want to go to the camp, then don't make any stupid mistakes."
"Why are the teachers here?" Jiro asked.
"I believe some of you have gathered information and have some idea of what you'll be faced with today," Aizawa explained.
"We're fighting those big old metal robots!" Denki shouted, leaning back and putting his fingers up in a rock-and-roll stance.
"Fireworks, s'mores, here we come!" Ashido shouted, joining Denki's excitement.
A muffled voice then spoke, Aizawa's scarf beginning to rustle around. "Actually this year's exam," And out popped Principal Nezu, with his paw high in the air. "Will be different for various reasons!"
"You're changing things?!" Yaoyorozu said, sounding surprised.
Nezu grabbed a piece of Aizawa's scarf, using it to descend down him like some sort of mountain while Thirteen made sure he didn't fall. "The test now have a new focus. There will be Hero work of course, but also teamwork and combat between actual people." He pointed at us with his paw. "So what does that mean for you? You will be working in pairs and your opponents will be one of our esteemed U.A. teachers isn't that fabulous?" He asked, sounding all too excited about it.
"We're fighting... the teachers...?" Uraraka asked, sounding terrified.
"I'll have to fight Mason's dad?!" Kirishima said, sounding a bit shaken. Was my dad that terrifying?
"Additionally your teammate and opponent have already been chosen," Aizawa stated. "They were determined at my discretion based on various factors such as fighting style, grades, and interpersonal relationships." He explained. "First, Yaoyorozu and Todoroki are a team. Against me." He said with a smile. "Then we have Midoriya, paired up with Bakugo."
Both looked at each other, stunned that they were partnered up with each other.
"And they're opponent is-"
With the entrance you would expect, All Might fell from the sky, and landed on the ground, making the dust rise up, the ground intact and not showing any sign of having broken from the force of his landing. He then raised up his fist, a smile on his face. "I am here. To fight!"
I felt bad knowing they'd have to fight the Number One Hero. At the same time, I was glad it wasn't me. Otherwise, I would lose without even getting a chance to pass the final.
"We have to fight All Might!?" Bakugo and Midoriya both shouted.
"You'll have to work together boys if you want to win." All Might said to them.
"And now, let's announce the teams and the teachers they'll be fighting in order!" Nezu said.
Is he a mouse, or some sort of long-tailed bear? I asked myself in my head, realizing he was kinda a mix of both.
In order, the finals would be Cementoss versus Kirishima and Sato. Second would be Tsuyu and Tokoyami versus Ectoplasm. Third, Iida and Ojior versus Power Loader. The fourth round would be Aizawa versus Yaoyorozu and Todoroki. The fifth round Aoyama and Uraraka versus Thirteen. Sixth round would be me and Hana versus... Well, my dad.
After us, the final four matches would be Nezu versus Ashido and Denki, Present Mic versus Koda and Jiro, Snipe versus Shoji and Hagakure, and Midnight versus Sero and Mineta. Finally, the last match would be Midoriya and Bakugo against All Might. None of these teachers would be easy to fight against.
Not just because they were teachers and knew our Quirk and how much we got along with each student. Compared to us, they had years of time to hone their Quirks. In the end, nothing could beat experience.
Well this is just going to be fun, isn't it?
"To complete the exam, you will have thirty minutes," Nezu explained. "In order to win the objective is to put these handcuffs on your teacher," He held up golden handcuffs, with what seemed to be a built-in adjuster for wrist-size. "Or you can win if one of you manages to escape the combat stage."
"So we've either got to capture the teacher or runaway," Denki stated. "It's basically like the combat training."
"Yeah, but is it really okay to just jet?" Ashido asked.
"Yup," Nezu said, holding his thumb up.
"It's gonna be much different from that combat training Y'all went through earlier in the year," Present Mic stated, moving his arms like he was messing with a turntable. "After all, you're against people WAAAAAAAAAY better than you!"
"Better, really?" Jiro asked. "Wait aren't you just the announcer?"
"Hey watch your mouth girl have some respect!" He shouted.
"This time your exam will be very similar to a real battle. As strange as it is, please think of us as villains." Thirteen asked.
"Assuming if you come across your enemy, and feel you can win against them, then fight. However", Snipe said.
"In instances where you're outmatched, it would be smarter to run away and find help," Aizawa stated. "Iida, Todoroki, Midoriya, I'm sure you would understand."
"You fight to win, or run to win," Midoriya said.
"That's right!" All Might boomed. "It's a test of your decision-making skills! But with these rules, you're probably thinking running is your only option! That's why the Support Course made this super-clever accessory for us!" He said, taking what seemed to be a silver-threaded bracelet with black plates around them.
"Behoooolddd! Ultra-compressed weights!" Present Mic shouted, fan-fare playing from the speaker around his collar.
"Those look... heavy," I said, watching as Aizawa's foot fell to the ground soon as it was attached. Even my dad seemed to have trouble as he tried to put his hands back in his pockets.
"Of course these are heavy! Did you not hear the 'ultra-compressed' part!?" My dad said, raging at my obvious statement.
"These babies will add about half our body weight to our physiques!" All Might explained. "It's not much but it will make it harder to move and eat away at our stamina- Oh shoot that's heavier than I thought..." All Might said, struggling to keep his arm up for a second. "We had a contest to have these designed, and young Hatsume ending up winning it."
"Wasn't she the girl who used Iida to advertise her inventions?"
"Yes," Hana said, answering my question.
"Oh, good for Hatsume!" Midoriya said, surprised by how heavy the weights were, or possibly by Hatsume being the one to win the contest.
"You think we need a handicap to win? Guess again," Bakugo said, sounding offended.
All Might let a long laugh, before saying in a menacing voice "This'll be fun."
"Let's begin," Aizawa said. "The teams for the Practical Exam will be taken in the order you are called. We have a stage prepared for you. Sato, Kirishima, you're up."
"Yes, sir!" Both of them said.
"Those of you who are waiting to fight can watch the fight or try to strategize as a team, it's your choice, that's all."
I looked at Hana. "Strategize?" I asked her.
"Because it's your dad, we should strategize," Hana said. "Any idea on how to fight him?"
"Where to even begin..." I said trying to rack my brain as the time went by until our match against my dad.
As I had said, this was going to be fun... Sarcasm fully included. For the next roughly two and a half hours, I and Hana would have to formulate either a plan to get the cuffs onto my dad, or possibly run from him. Neither looking to be a plan requiring simple chess board strategy. After all, like father like son.
And if my intelligence was anything to talk about it, it was we both knew how to use our Quirks to their utmost potential.
A/N: And so the preparation for the battle between father and son commence! Until then, we'll see what Hanakabe and Mason have to say about their classmate's matches against the teachers. Have to say Horikoshi had a lot going for this arc since it kinda set up each character for overcoming and realizing their own short-comings. However, since Hana is basically going to fight her mother's indirect killer, wonder how she'll take this match? Make sure to stay tuned and find out!
one step behind: You got a look to look forward to man! As for the season 3 pool episode, of course, I'm gonna do a thing on that (side note, it's done, and Jesus is that more words than I planned on doing for the chapter). Now as for screen time with Class 1-B, I'll try. It'll be hard since we only know about seven of the student's Quirks. But I do have some stuff in mind, seeing Pony is half-American. As for the interaction, I feel he does need that. Time for the boy to embrace his inner social butterfly!
61394: Your gut feeling was right!
D3lph0xL0v3r: Get ready for a lot more, cause what comes next is just gonna keep on coming.
pokemonking0924: You predicted right! I mean not gonna lie since they're OCs I feel it's best to team them up and have their own separate things going on. Can't wait to hear your thoughts on this one man!
Now, for the preview!
"So should we try to fight, or run?"
"Due to both of them having Quirks that can increase their reach, they were able to get some breathing room."
"Matro- What are they?"
Tune in next week! Also update, we're back on track for weekly uploads! I uh... Kinda got carried away since season 3 hyped me up... hehe... PLUS ULTRA!