Hello and welcome to chapter 21 of this story! I hope you all enjoyed the last chapter, and I hope you all continue to support this story! We have well over 200,000 views on this story, which is very incredible! I'm glad people are enjoying this! Thank you all for the amazing support, and for also putting up with this very inconsistent update schedule, but hopefully, I'll manage to get a chapter out at least once every two months at the least. Don't expect quick updates.
As for other news, my Fire Emblem story is in the works, and I will be combining Fire Emblem with an MMORPG type element, so hopefully, that isn't so bad or cliche, or trash. Hopefully.
Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy this latest chapter!
Chapter 21: Time for the Exams! (Arc 2 Beginning)
"Hello everyone on this normal Monday, I hope you all had a great break this past couple of days, however, I'd like to note that those days off have put us behind schedule in terms of training. Your final exams for the term will be a culmination of everything you've learned thus far and I expect everyone to be in top shape, no excuses. The exams will be held on Friday. That is all." Aizawa said before walking out of the classroom. After he exited the room, groans could be heard all over, especially coming from Kaminari and Mina.
"Come on man, why do we have to do this? I'm totally screwed!" Kaminari complained to Midoriya and Kirishima. Iida and Todoroki were also present as Kaminari continued to voice his complaints about the exam.
"Well, maybe if you applied yourself a bit more, then the exams wouldn't be a huge concern," Todoroki said, not noticing the downcasted look of the lightning-quirk user, and kept his gaze at Midoriya and Iida.
"That's not fair coming from you of all people! You're like...freaking smarter than me! You get it easy with having smarts and an awesome quirk." Kaminari kept on going, turning his complaints towards Tokoyami and Koda, leaving the rest of them to their own conversation. Kirishima ended up following Kaminari and left the three boys to discuss the contents of the exam, and if it was going to be very challenging.
"All he said was that it was going to compile everything we've learned so far during this term, what do you suppose that entails?" Midoriya pondered, several trains of thought consumed his mind as the exams were already putting a tense atmosphere in the classroom and his own mind.
"I suppose we'll have to wait and see, maybe get some study groups together to go over the information we've acquired through class, and maybe also run some simulations such as hostage rescues and other situations. Aizawa-sensei was vague on what we were going to test about, so it would be beneficial if we go over everything." Iida said to the entire room. Voices of agreement came from all around the room, with Kaminari and Ashido complaining. Yaoyorozu walked up to the group and sat down on Midoriya's desk.
"I think that is a great idea, Iida. I don't mind being a tutor for anyone, on that note, Jiro asked if I could tutor her in her weak areas. I wouldn't mind more people joining in on our little group." She said, and immediately both Ashido and Kaminari groveled at Yaoyorozu, begging for help. Midoriya chuckled a little, seeing the elated look on Yaoyorozu's face as Hagakure and Ojiro also asked to be a part of her tutor group, and Sero also joined right after them.
"Yes, yes, YES! I'll be your tutor and help you with your education! Leave it to me!" Yaoyorozu said, stars in her eyes as she had the widest grin Midoriya has ever seen since knowing her. He began to pack up his things and eventually left the classroom alongside Iida, Uraraka, Tsu, and Todoroki to go get lunch. The three boys were discussing the exams while Uraraka and Tsu were talking about having a study session in the library. Once they got into the cafeteria, they quickly grabbed their food and sat down towards the middle of the room.
"I suggest we don't spend too much time on the exams, it'll create restlessness among the class. We can do some study sessions, but we shouldn't overstress it." Todoroki noted before eating his food.
"I suppose that does make sense. We shouldn't allow the stress of the exam to accumulate and affect our performances on it. Anyways, shifting away from the exam, apparently, there's going to be a special training camp at one of the resort areas. It'll be for both Class 1-A and 1-B, with some additional others." Iida said, grabbing the attention of Uraraka and Tsu, who were engaging in their own conversation earlier on.
"Really?! That sounds amazing! Except for the training part, especially since it's going to be Aizawa most likely overseeing it. Although I wonder how they're going to train both classes, maybe even Vlad King will come along for the camp." Uraraka chimed in, Tsu nodding in agreeance.
"I wonder if there is a pool where we will be at. That would be an amazing time, kero." Midoriya agreed with Tsu, the thought of a pool would be nice, especially given the stressful events that he had experienced too soon for a hero-in-training. They continued on with the conversation, switching from topic to topic until it was the end of lunch. Classes continued as normal, with each teacher suggesting to study the material before the exam, going over key subjects that might be on the exam. The day progressed slowly, much to the dismay of some of the members of Class 1-A such as Kaminari and Mina, who continued to express their dismay for the exam. After school ended, Midoriya spent most of the evening conversing with Hatsume about her latest babies and other important topics, such as her surveillance bugs that helped during the Nomu attack in Hosu and possible upgrades to the gear that she made for him. He watched as she tinkered with some random parts, scurrying around the workshop and grabbing whatever was available.
"You know Deku, I'm excited to work on this project while doing the upgrades for you, Viney, and Purple! It gets my body movin' and my hands ready to tinker with many different ideas that have been buzzing around in my noggin!" Hatsume voiced her excitement as she rushed around the room, digging her hands in multiple piles of random pieces of scraps. Midoriya followed her around the room, making sure to pick up everything that she had thrown over her shoulder.
"Well, I'm glad that you're motivated to tinker, however, don't you also have exams that you need to study for?" Midoriya asked, picking up some sheet metal off of the ground and placing it along the wall.
"Exams? Pshh! I'm not worried about them. The exam is a breeze because I get to create some babies again! Isn't that wonderful?!" Hatsume said dreamily, a smile on her face as she placed her hands on the desk she was working at and planted her chin right on top. She sighed happily and wiggled her body languidly, already coming up with her next side project. Midoriya chuckled at her enthusiasm, then went back to cleaning up the workshop, leaving Hatsume to do whatever she pleased.
The following days were one filled with studying and speculation on what the exams would consist of. Yaoyorozu did her study camp at her mansion, causing everyone present there to gawk at the sheer size of the building. She also managed to convince everyone to attend at least some of the days, even allowing Mineta to attend as well, but quickly had to take precautionary measures when he tried to slip away to 'explore'. Each little seminar covered a different subject, so different people could come when they needed to. At first, it was held in the dining room, but given the uncanny amount of space the room had, they soon opted to do the study sessions outside given how beautiful the days were. Midoriya ended up being present at the sessions, but he ended up practicing his solar powers on the other side of the front lawn. He was still impressed by the size of the lawn, given the grand her mansion was, but it did give him quite a bit of space to work with. Todoroki, Iida, and some others also worked on their quirks if they chose to do so. Yaoyorozu had the biggest smile at the end of the study sessions, writing notes on what to go over the next day while they cleaned up. On Thursday, they had a cookout after the session with everyone invited, including members of Class 1-B and Hatsume.
"How are you over there, Todoroki?" Midoriya asked, placing the firewood right next to the grills. The icy-hot quirk user simply shrugged before grabbing some of the logs and igniting them.
"I'm fine, it's still foreign to me, these little get-togethers." He said, placing another log into the pile before igniting his hand, setting the lump of fuel ablaze. Midoriya gazed at his classmate for a couple of seconds before closing his eyes and looking up at the starry-filled sky.
"I suggest you enjoy it to the fullest Todoroki." Both of them turned to see Iida walking towards them with the meat and placed it down on the table. He then began to place the meat all over the grill.
"After tomorrow, I have a hunch that things won't be this calm and happy-go-lucky. We should just enjoy this time together before the storm hits us when we least expect it. Anyways, can you both help out with the grilling?" Midoriya and Todoroki pondered his words for a little bit before they each grabbed a clamper, and began to place meat all over the griller. A couple of minutes later, Shinso arrived with a couple of skewers and other types of foods.
"Yo." Shinso greeted the others as he began making skewers. The three boys gave their own greetings before going back to the calming sounds of the fire crackling and the sounds of the cooking meet. Conversations from the other students filled the night.
The night soon filled with laughter as the two hero classes plus Hatsume blended together, having a great time with each other before the exams and the course work got even more relentless. All of the students conversed with many different people, familiar and unfamiliar. Midoriya talked with many of the Class 1-B students alongside Kendo and Shiozaki, asking about their quirks and aspirations. Eventually, some friendly competition between Tetsutetsu and Kirishima sprouted many other different friendly challenges such as a pie-eating contest between the boys of each class, resulting in Sato being the victor. Many of the boys forfeited after the first couple of plates, Todoroki called it quits after the first pie.
"It's quite nice to see everyone getting along." Shiozaki said, clapping her hands together as she looked around, seeing everyone enlightened. Midoriya hummed in response before taking a sip from his juice-filled cup. Shinso rubbed his neck before pointing.
"Well, I wouldn't say everyone is having a blast. Looks like the '#1 fan of Class 1-A' isn't." Shinso pointed out, gesturing towards the currently unconscious Monoma being carried by Kendo, apologizing to Iida and Todoroki. The Class 1-B president strolled over to Midoriya and laid the unconscious boy leaning against the tree.
"Sorry about that guys, apparently he tried to pick a fight with Iida and Todoroki there, saying that Class 1-B will beat your class in the exams. You know, the usual stuff that comes out of his mouth." Kendo explained, taking a seat right next to Shiozaki right after grabbing a cup of juice.
"It's fine, just some friendly competition to light the fires between the two classes. We'll need it for tomorrow's exams, especially the second part of it. The written portion won't be that difficult, but the second half of it, we don't even know what it is going to consist of." Midoriya stated.
"I'm putting in that it's going to be something hero-related, like maybe a hostage situation, or something along those lines. Either way, it's not going to be easy." Shinso chimed in, observing everyone. All of them agreed on the difficulty being challenging, but all they could do now was get ready mentally and face whatever is put forth in front of them.
"Oh look, it's the pervert.' Shinso said, pointing at a fuming Yaoyorozu pulling a chained Mineta from inside of the mansion. Midoriya noted the unconscious and bruised state of the boy. Kendo chuckled a little and looked at Midoriya sympathetically while Shiozaki glared harshly at the boy.
"Such uncouth behavior. May he soon repent his disgusting behavior. How in the world did that boy manage to get into the hero course with that horrendous behavior?" The continuous questioning from the holy hero-in-training caused Midoriya to sigh in disbelief while Shinso smirked at his fellow classmate's distress.
"Seems like he's all yours, Mr. Class President. At the very least, change his behavior. It's starting to grate on my nerves, especially when we're in the changing room. I can understand why the girls all have the pitchforks and torches against him, given how Ms. Prickly over there is still ranting hard about him." He said, gesturing towards their third member of the internship group, still ranting to Kendo. Midoriya chuckled as he made his way over to Yaoyorozu and the bruised Mineta. The raven-haired girl turned around, seeing her boyfriend waving at her as he walked towards her.
"I'll take care of him," Midoriya said, grabbing the chain from her and walked to a secluded area of the front lawn before placing his hand on the boy's shoulder. Both of them were surrounded by a pale white light as Midoriya hummed softly, using his lunar powers to heal the wounds. During the time he spent healing Mineta, there was a prominent tingly feeling as he continued with the procedure. Midoriya gasped and collapsed into a sitting position, calming his heart as he caught his breath.
"Why am I feeling very tired from just a simple lunar healing technique?" Midoriya thought, wiping away the sweat that accumulated on his forehead, looking over the unconscious but healed boy. He looked down at his hand and watched as the pale white glow from his hand diminished faster than the golden yellow aura from the same healing technique when using solar energy.
"Damn, does this mean….?" Midoriya said, closing his fist and looking up at the moon, seeing the celestial entity softly shining in the sky, as if it was sending a message to him.
Friday rolled around and the tension in the classroom was as everyone waited as Aizawa entered the room, a stack of papers in hand.
"Alright, everyone is ready, I presume? Even if you're not, then that is too bad. We will begin the written portion of the exam, everyone please take a copy and begin immediately. You'll have an hour and forty minutes to complete the exam. Good luck." Aizawa said, passing the papers and setting the timer before getting into his sleeping bag. Midnight came in a couple of seconds after to chaperone the students per Aizawa's request.
"I hope all of you do well on this exam! Do your best!" She said, gazing at everyone individually, noting each of their expressions. She sweat-dropped when she saw Kaminari gripping his hair in frustration and Mina looking blankly at the exam, not once touching her pencil since it started.
"Well, this did have some challenging problems, that's for sure, but it wasn't too difficult." Midoriya thought, circling one of the answers.
"Alright, everyone! The time is up! Please stop writing and pass up your exams face down." Midnight said as she stopped the timer. Everyone followed the instructions and passed the exams forward. Midnight collected the exams before placing them on the podium.
"Good job everyone. There will be a fifteen-minute break before the second part of the exam, please make your way to the Simulation Site Alpha for the second part of the exam and be dressed in your hero gear." Aizawa emerged from his sleeping bag and grabbed the exams before exiting the classroom to deliver them to the teacher's room. Midoriya stretched and sighed, opening his eyes to see Yaoyorozu walking up to his desk.
"So, how was it?" Yaoyorozu asked, sitting on Midoriya's desk while sipping some juice, addressing both him and Todoroki.
"Overall, it was what I expected. Nothing too difficult, just a couple of thinkers here and there." Midoriya stated. Todoroki nodded, agreeing with the greenette's statement.
"I concur, most of the questions were general knowledge across all of our classes. However, some of the questions were in the field of hero work, but I still feel very confident in those answers." The three of them turned to see Iida, Uraraka, and Tsu walking towards them. The group soon engaged in conversation about the test, and after some time, started to head over to the simulation site while grabbing their hero gear from the cases.
"What do you suppose will be in this part of the exam?" Kirishima said out loud. Midoriya was already dressed in his gear but decided to wait for his classmates.
"Maybe it'll be like the entrance exam, meeting a certain number of points. Now that would be easy, assuming that Midoriya and Todoroki don't destroy them all within a couple of minutes." Kaminari said, looking over at the strongest in their class.
"I highly doubt they would do the exact same thing, and it doesn't fully gauge everyone individually, only your quickness and quirk's potential. They might go for individual or pairing groups to fully establish an overview of how we perform." Midoriya said. Once everyone finished changing into their gear, they made their way towards the site. Midoriya noticed the group of teachers that were in front of the site.
"I thought so. It's going to be an exam based on quirk and teamwork analysis." Midoriya thought as they made their way over to the teachers. He noticed All Might and gave a curt nod to his mentor, who gave him his signature grin.
"We will now begin the second phase of our exams. If you haven't noticed, all the teachers are here to administer your test. Think of it as a means to test what you've learned during the time here at U.A., and also during your internships." Aizawa said before pulling out a sheet of paper, then his eyes rested on Midoriya.
"Midoriya, your test will be administered at Simulation Site Beta. Please make your way over to that site. The rest of you will be examined here." Everyone looked at Midoriya, who had a confused expression before looking around, landing his gaze on All-Might.
"Just give it your all, young man. Someone has requested to administer your exam. At first, we were suspicious about her, but she explained who she was. Anyways, better hurry up, young man, and remember, go PLUS ULTRA!" All-Might said. Midoriya nodded before waving everyone goodbye before dashing off to Sim site Beta, already anxious for his exam. As he neared the exam site, he felt an immense pressure in the surrounding order, as if it was trying to suffocate him.
"This aura and tension…" Midoriya said to himself before entering the site, immediately noticing the golden aura that enlightened the area. The hallway leading into the site was lit up with small little sun projections. He exited the tunnel and immediately noticed the arena in the center of the site, similarly to the one during the Sports Festival. He also took note of the two present figures that were there as well.
"Ah, welcome my champion. It is good to see you again." Amaterasu said, welcoming her champion as he walked up to her.
"..." Io just stared at him with a passive expression on her face, however, Midoriya felt very uncomfortable.
"So, you are going to be administering the second part of my exam?" He asked. Amaterasu smiled and nodded.
"Correct, my champion. Also, I wanted to test you, so might as well kill two birds with one stone, no? Anyways, that is all for now, we can talk after the exam. Now, are you ready?" Amaterasu asked, stepping off to the side of the arena, leaving both Io and Midoriya in the arena.
"Wait, what is the exam supposed to be…?!" Midoriya said before quickly backstepping away instinctively. He then saw Io charge straight at him, around her entire body, a golden aura. She sent a punch flying causing Midoriya to bring his hands to his chest if she went for the face or chest. At the last possible moment, she missed his face but quickly used her momentum to twist her body and landed a solid kick to his chest. Midoriya coughed out and quickly retaliated with a solar infused Detroit Smash to her stomach, sending back...
"I believe you can guess what the exam entails. I want you to battle Io here to gauge how far you've come with your solar powers, and to pass the exam, you'll need to defeat her using only your solar powers. I will allow you your other quirk, but it also must be enhanced with solar energy." Amaterasu declared. Midoriya grunted a little before wiping some blood from his lips and quickly got into his fighting stance. To Midoriya's shock, Io chanted something he couldn't understand and once she was finished, two beams of light struck the ground right in front of her.
"I will not go easy on you, so if you slack off, you've already lost this battle." She said before grabbing both of the rays and they morphed into two fans, both had a golden handle with the paper is red. She flicked them open, revealing intricate designs of the sun all over the paper, and closed it before getting into her ready stance. Midoriya furrowed his brows but stood relatively calm.
"So this is my exam, I'll have to face her. This will be on a whole other level…" Midoriya thought before surrounding himself in his solar aura, causing his entire body to shift into his solar state, eyes were golden and hair had a golden hue to them.
"Very well, I expect a great battle from the both of you. I hope you give it your all." Amaterasu said before clapping her hands, a barrier covering the entire site. Midoriya felt sweat accumulate on his forehead, but he had bigger problems to worry about, one that was right in front of him.
"Let us begin. When the chimes ring, the exam will begin." Amaterasu said. Both of them got ready, then the chimes rang, signaling the start of the exam.
"Begin." That was all she said before the two dashed forward.
And that is that! I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Once again with these two-month delays per chapter, I apologize for that. It's just that I haven't been finding proper time to work on it. Since the virus is very dangerous, I can work on the chapters a bit more after I finish my school work online.
By the way, how is everyone? I hope all of you are doing fine.
Not really anything to talk about, except that Persona 5 Royal is coming out next Tuesday, and I will be playing that religiously. Very excited to play it.
If you have any concerns or comments, do share. Anyways, I hope you all are safe, make sure to wash your hands, you know, stay healthy, and I'll see you in the next chapter.
Bye!
