Chapter 20:

A/N: I would like to thank everyone who reviewed the last chapter, as well as everyone who has followed and favorited this story.

"I'm home!" Naruto announced as soon as he came back from his internship and thank Kami that he was home. He wasn't sure how much more of the Endeavor agency he could take, and now realized why Shikamaru was so tired every day after work. It wasn't because his boyfriend was lazy by nature, it was because that place just drained your lifeforce a little more each time you went.

Half-leaning on said boyfriend, Naruto unceremoniously dropped his stuff next to the door and kicked his shoes off before leading his boyfriend to the couch, were they could hopefully cuddle and take a nap because Kami did, he need some sleep after the week that he had.

Unfortunately for Naruto, his plans were interrupted before he could even sit on the couch, by the presence of a certain black-haired former teammate that was seated right where he wanted to lay down.

"Well fuck me over, I didn't think that anyone was telling me the truth when they told me about the real you and the mission that you were on, but look at where you are, dobe." Were the first words out of his teammates mouth.

"Teme, what the fuck are you doing here?" Naruto growled, as he unconsciously began to use the fox's chakra and regained all his previously lost energy.

"Well dobe, I don't know if you know how a group mission works, but we need to sort out any problems we have before I get too deep into the mission." Sasuke slowly told the blonde, as if he was dumb.

"Don't forget that Jiraiya and I are here to make sure everything stays civil!" Haru called out from the kitchen. "Shikamaru, come in here and help Jiraiya and I with dinner, let those two talk alone!"

Squeezing his hand in reassurance, Shikamaru glanced once more at Naruto to send him a warning look that said he would hurt Naruto if he did anything stupid, before he let go of the blondes hand and made his way into the kitchen.

Tearing his gaze away from his retreating boyfriend, Naruto looked back at his former teammate. "Fine, if you want to talk, than let's talk." He said, still standing as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Hm."

Naruto hated to admit it, but after a week of training and hanging out with his boyfriend, he forgot how exhausting it could be to be around it entire class. Sure, he was also there training with Endeavor and Todoroki, but Todoroki was a very quiet and calming classmate who Naruto didn't need to socially strain himself to be around.

In short, homeroom hadn't even started yet and all of his classmates were already giving him a headache. Mainly Bakugou and his friends, who were making fun of his new hairstyle, and Uraraka, who was practicing her battle stances around the room.

But the class suddenly became silent when Kaminari brought up the topic of the Hero Killer, which prompted Sero to point out Naruto, as well as the other three boys involved in the attack.

The conversation shifted from the class expressing their worry over the boys, to how the number two hero saved them (and Naruto was shocked when he heard Todoroki confirm this with their classmates), to how the Hero Killer was possibly connected to the league of villains, to the video posted online about Stain where Kaminari (as Naruto was beginning to expect from his classmate) turned the conversation even more sour by explaining what Naruto assumed was support for the villain.

"Seeing that, you can really see how he's really single-minded and like, tenacious. Does it almost make you think he's cool?" Kaminari said, which further supported Naruto's theory that his classmate half-supported the villain.

"Kaminari!" Izuku exclaimed in alarm upon hearing this statement.

"Huh? Oh! Sorry!" Kaminari responded, as his brain seemed to catch up with his actions.

"No, it's fine. It's true that he was tenacious. I understand how people could think he's cool. But he chose purging as a result of his beliefs. No matter what he thinks, that part is definitely wrong. In order to keep anyone else from turning out like me," Iida said, as he stared at his arm, before turning his gaze to the entire class and finishing his statement. "I will once again walk on the path to becoming a hero! Now, it is time to commence class! Everyone, take you seats!"

Now that Iida was back to ordering the class around, accompanied by his ever so rigid hand motions, Naruto allowed himself to fade into the back of the room and observe his classmates with a smile on his face.

"Okay, I am here. Anyway, we'll start now. Right. It's hero basic training! Long time no see, boys and girls! How've you been? For this hero basic training-since you've all just gotten back from your internships, we'll have some fun with a rescue training race!" All Might said, albeit a little rushed, as he addressed the class outside of a training ground.

Naruto was beginning to learn that some habits his classmates had would never die out. Now, this wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but the same thing that had happened the first time All Might taught a class was now happening yet again. Interrupting the man's speech, Iida raised his hand to ask a question. "If we are doing rescue training, than shouldn't we do it as the USJ?" he asked, as he quickly raised his hand high into the air.

"That place is for training disasters. Do you remember what I said? That's right! I said 'race'! This is Field Gamma! A dense area filled with factories laid out like an intricate labyrinth. You'll break up into four five-person groups and go through the training one group at a time. When I send out a distress signal somewhere inside, you'll all start at once from the outskirts of the city! It's a race to see who will rescue me first! Of course, you'll have to keep the damage to a minimum." All Might explained to the class, as he moved his hand to point at Bakugou during the latter part of his statement.

"Don't point at me!" Bakugou growled in response as he looked away from the hero, almost as if he was embarrassed.

"All right. Frist group, get in place!" He announced to the class as he left to move into his 'hiding spot'.

"Isn't Midoriya at a slight disadvantage here? This group is comprised of people with great mobility." Yaoyorozu noted as she looked at the members that made up the first group for the exercise.

"That's true. Honestly, I don't know how good he is. Uzumaki would be a better fit in that group." Jirou said in response to her female classmate, as Naruto felt her eyes shift over to his frame across the watch-way.

"That's true. And he gets injured every time he uses his quirk…"

"Hey Kaminari, who do you think'll win? I think Sero will be first!" Kirishima announced, trying to get rid of the depressing air that was beginning to settle over the class.

"I think it will be Ashido, she's really athletic!" Kaminari said, though Naruto had a feeling that was not the real reason he wanted his female classmate to win.

"What you are both forgetting is that Ojiro is also there. While his presence isn't the most noticeable one, he has a very strong quirk and that tail would be very useful in a situation like this, especially with all of the buildings around them." Naruto said, figuring he should also add in another opinion to spice things up.

"Deku will be last!" Bakugou yelled from the back.

"Even if he is injured, I still think Iida will win." Ochako said, also adding in her opinion.

"Ah, but speed is not everything in a situation like this." Naruto reminded his classmate.

"Okay, here we go! Start!" All Might announced, before pressing a button that sounded an alarm, letting everyone know that it was time to start.

Everyone immediately took off, using their quirks to the best of their ability. Ser used his tape to hop from building to building, Ashido used her acid to skate across the surface of the buildings, and Ojiro used his tail to propel him from building to building.

"See! Look! I told you!" Kirishima yelled out, as he watched Sero take first place right off the bat. "In a place all jumbled together like this, it's standard practice to go up!"

"Which means, Sero has an advantage in the air huh?" Shoji said through one of his excess limbs.

It wasn't too long after this that the class saw that an advantage wasn't everything in life, as Izuku stole first place from his classmate as he jumped from building to building, showing off parkour moves that he must have learned over his internship.

"Wow! What's with those moves man?!" Naruto, Kirishima, and Kaminari all announced in unison through the one collective brain cell that they shared, completely awed by their classmates 180 in terms of his quirk usage in just a week.

The race continued on for a few more minutes, with Sero and Izuku alternating between first and second place. But ultimately, Sero won in the end and was presented with a sash from All Might, that the teen proudly wore.

"Man, that was some hard training. It was the first class in a while that made me sweat!" Aoyama said as he whipped his face with a towel that matched his cape.

"I really need to work on my mobility…" Kirishima said as he slowly took apart his hero costume.

"You must compensate for it by gathering information." Tokoyami told him as he began to tie his tie around his neck.

"That'll put me a step behind everyone." Kaminari told his classmate as he switched out his t-shirts. "I'm jealous of guys like you and Sero."

"Excuse me, Naruto, Todoroki, I hope I am not overstepping any boundaries when I ask you this, but where did you both learn the moves you exhibited in the training today? Endeavor isn't exactly the type of hero that is known for his stealth."

Upon hearing the question asked by his classmate, Naruto took a minute to think back to what had happened during the exercise earlier that day. He and Todoroki were paired in the same group for the training exercise. Because All Might had specified no damage to the buildings, both boys came to the same conclusion, which was that they would take the stealthier route with the lesson.

It was something that paid off, as Naruto came in second place with Todoroki as a close third.

"Oh, well when I was interning with Naruto and Shikamaru, I noticed that they had a very similar fighting style, which was quick, calm, subtle, and quiet. I know that as a hero I will be put in situations where my presence must not be known or I could fail a mission, so I asked them to teach me some of their moves that I could potentially use. While I could never get the fighting style down, I did learn how to sneak around better." Todoroki said, surprising Naruto that he even answered the question at all considering that the was extremely embarrassed when he first asked the question to, he and his boyfriend.

Before any response could begin to form from Iida, the entire lockeroom's focus shifted to Kaminari as he yelled out "GUYS!" and looked at everyone like he had just won a pot of gold.

"What?" Ojiro asked him, a worried mom look embedded into his face.

"Is that a peep hole over there?" He asked, as giddy as a kid on Christmas as he pointed over to a hole in the wall that was previously covered by a poster that now has one fallen corner.

"Stop this right now Kaminari! Peeping is definitely a criminal act!" Iida announced as he began his hand motions once more.

"Mini me is already a criminal act!" Kaminari announced as he made his way over to the poster to pull it back farther in order to look through it.

Fortunately for the girls, Kaminari didn't even get to look inside the hole before Jirou's headphone jack was coming through the hole and stabbing Kaminari through the ear.

"Jirou's headphone jack! With its brutal combination of precision and surprise attack abilities, it's super strong!" Izuku announced, never not taking note of other quirks.

"Well, it's almost summer vacation. But of course, it wouldn't make sense for you to rest for the whole month." Aizawa-sensei announced the next day in class during homeroom.

"Don't tell me…" Kaminari muttered to himself as he looked at Kirishima who was seated behind him to share the panic.

"During summer vacation, we'll be having a training camp in the woods!" Aizawa told the class, ignoring the blondes comment.

"I knew it! Yes!" The entire class yelled out as they celebrated.

"Let's test our courage!" Mina yelled out, as full of energy as ever.

"Fireworks!" Asui said as she looked up at the sky.

"Curry!" Iida said, raising his hand to ensure that he was still following the rules.

"If we're out in nature, we will have to work under different conditions, right?" Yaoyorozu wondered to herself.

"No matter what the environment, we must choose wisely…interesting." Tokoyami muttered.

"Eating and sleeping with everyone! I'm getting excited!" Hagakure announced, just glad to do something fun as a class.

"However," Aizawa yelled, activating his quirk to get the class's attention back on him. "those who do not pass the final exam before that…will be in summer school hell."

"Everyone, let's do our best!" Kirishima and Kaminari yelled out in unison.

"This is damn stupid." Bakugou muttered to himself.

"Okay, that's it for class. There's only one wee left until the final exams. You all are studying properly, right? I'm sure you already know, but it won't just be a written exam. There's also a practical component. Make sure you train your minds and bodies at the same time. That's all." Aizawa-sensei announced, as he left the classroom to teach his next class.

Upon the reminded of the upcoming final exam, the students that scored in the bottom of the class during the mid-terms immediately began freaking out about the test. Naruto, who had not gotten much sleep the night before after Jiraiya and Haru felt the need to remind him every other second that he had to be able to go on the class trip, put his head down and attempted to catch up on the sleep that he had lost the previous night.

"Excuse me…Uzumaki," Once Naruto heard a voice calling out to him, not even a minute after he had put his head down, he mentally sighed to himself and picked his head up to see that it was Tokoyami talking to him.

"Oh, hey Tokoyami, what's up?" Naruto asked his classmate.

"Well, I was just wondering…if it wouldn't be too much trouble, could I possible train with you for the practical portion of the exam? The rescue race that recently took place made me realize that I need to up my endurance and close-combat training." He bashfully asked his classmate.

"Of course, if that's something you really want to do. But just know…I will not go easy on you." Naruto told his classmate, eloping in a dark aura before returning back to his normal self. "Of course, I can help you with the basics but if you ever wanted to go more in-depth with stuff, than you would have to talk to Shikamaru."

"Who's Shikamaru?" Tokoyami asked, tilting his head to the side.

"Long story short, he's my roommate." Naruto answered.

Apparently, Izuku and some of his friends were able to find out what the practical part of the exam would be at lunch, because Kaminari and Ashido were celebrating the easy win they had yet to get as soon as they walked into the classroom. Which, in Naruto's opinion, was a stupid thing to do. If there was one thing, he had learned during his time at U.A., it was that there was always a new twist or turn when it came to stuff like this.

But, before he could think of what that turn would be, Bakugou decided that he wanted to declare war on everyone in front of the entire class.

"It doesn't matter if they're people or robots. They're the same if you beat 'em up, right? What're you idiots talking about it being a cinch for? If you need to control your quirk, then control it! Idiot!" He yelled at Kaminari and Ashido, before turning his attention to his childhood friend.

"Hey, Deku!" He yelled, and the air in the classroom immediately became tense. "I don't know if you've figured out how to use your quirk a little or what, but you seriously keep rubbing me the wrong way. I don't need another half-assed result like at the sports festival. At the upcoming finals, we'll get individual scores, so we'll see who's better whether you like it or not. I'll beat you with an indisputable difference! I'll kill you!" He declared, pointing at Deku as to affirm that he was talking to him, despite already yelling out his name.

Now most would think that Bakugou would be done here, but he decided to address yet another classmate of his that he had formed a sort of one-sided rivalry with. "Todoroki! You too!" He yelled, before walking out of the classroom and slamming the door behind him.

'Todoroki?' Naruto thought to himself. 'Since when does Bakugou refer to anyone by their actual name? He still called Izuku by the nickname he gave him, and he hates him more than Todoroki.'

'Maybe they're gay for each other.' Naruto heard Kurama suggest. 'One with no emotions, and the other with anger as their default emotion, I say they balance each other out quite well.'

'No Kurama don't be ridiculous.' Naruto said, immediately shooting down the fox's idea. 'There's no way they can be in a secret relationship. Plus, Kirishima said earlier that he was counting on Bakugou to beat the information into his head to the final exam. If that doesn't scream that they already fucked each other than I don't know what will. Besides, he's over there now trying to apologize to the two of them on behalf of his boyfriend.' Naruto explained to his tenant, as his eyes shifted over to the man in question, who was frantically apologizing to everyone in the class.

Naruto knew when he agreed to help his classmate that he would have to work at the same pace as him, no matter how much it killed him. So, because Tokoyami had only ever done training with his quirk due to it allowing him to be more skilled at long-range fighting, the entire week was spent doing basic genin conditioning exercises.

But Naruto would be lying if he said that he didn't feel proud of Tokoyami as he saw him steadily improve by the end of the week. Maybe he would ask the old lady about getting his own team once his real rank and skill were revealed to the rest of the village.

"My student," Naruto began, as he stood at his doorway with Tokoyami, sending him off for the last time before their final exam. In celebration of the progress that he had made, Naruto had invited his classmate to stay for dinner with he, Shikamaru, Jiraiya, and Haru, who all genuinely enjoyed Tokoyami's presence, despite him constantly talking about his battle with his darkness.

And, the student comment Naruto made was just to see the annoyed look that would come over his classmates face every time he said that.

"Can he be your student if you are both in the same class?" Shikamaru asked Naruto.

"Can you really be a student if you are smarter and have more experience in the field than your teacher?" Naruto asked his boyfriend.

"Touché." Was the amazing comeback that the genius could come up with.

"Anyway, I just wanted to say that I really am proud of what you have done this week, you came a far way in such a short amount of time, and definitely exceeded my expectation with your progress." Naruto said, as he puffed his chest out and gave his classmate a thumbs up. "You must have had an amazing teacher." Naruto added at the end, just to see the reaction from his classmate.

"While when you usually say things like that it bothers me," Tokoyami began, "I will admit that you were a great teacher and taught me to never give up and push myself beyond my limits every day. I wish you luck on the final exams and thank you once again for welcoming me into your home." He finished with a bow.

"Oh kid, don't worry about it. You're welcome here anytime. Maybe even more than Naruto if you keep this up. I'm beginning to like you more than the gaki." Haru told the teen, while doing one of his most favorite things, which was to poke fun at Naruto.

"Hey, watch it!" Naruto yelled at his senior.

"Or what?" Haru asked, a smirk beginning to form on his face. But before the banter could continue any further, they were interrupted by Tokoyami's light chuckling. Naruto was pretty sure it was the first time that he had ever heard his classmate laugh and be so carefree.

"I will keep that in mind. If there is any way I can ever pay any of you back, than please let me know. Naruto," His classmate said, turning his full attention to the blonde. "I noticed that you too, also struggle with the darkness the same way I do, a demon inside of you that you never asked for. I noticed that your demon would sometimes stir like dark shadow would, without your consent and for no reason. If you ever need any tips on how to control and work with your demon than let me know, I would be more than happy to help." He said, before bowing once more and then walking away, leaving four stumped shinobi at the door, with their mouths hanging open.

Three days just for a written exam was a little much if you asked Naruto. Having to sit still for seven hours each day for three days straight was slowly killing the poor teen, who was having to go home every day and beat up his boyfriend, and then the surrounding environment when his boyfriend decided that everything was to troublesome and went to smoke a cigarette in the corner as he watched Naruto continue to let out his energy.

But, alas, Naruto got through it and now it was the time that Naruto had been waiting for, the practical exam.

The class was told by Aizawa-sensei to change into their Hero costumes and meet him at the Practical Exam Area-Center Plaza, so everyone, excited for what was to come, rushed to change into their costumes before racing out to the battle center, where they were met with most of their teachers.

"Now, we will begin the practical exam." Aizawa-sensei announced to the class. "Of course, it is possible to fail this exam. If you want to go to the training camp, then don't make any stupid mistakes. I expect that you have heard about the practical portion of the final exams and have some idea of what you will be doing." He continued, going back to his emotionless self.

"We're fighting robot warriors like at the entrance exam, right?" Kaminari yelled out.

"Fireworks! Curry! Test of courage!" Ashido screamed out, excited for the training camp.

"Too bad! For various reasons, the exam will be different this year!" A muffled voice yelled out, before the principle came out of Aizawa's capture gear, which was more than beyond bizarre for Naruto. Why would that man let that small creature sit inside his capture gear in the first place? And look so calm while doing it?

"From now on, we want to focus on person-to-person combat and hero work, and stress teaching that is closer than to actual fighting. So…we'll have you form teams of two and fight against one teacher!" The principle continued as he hopped onto the floor.

And once they realized they would have to control their quirk, Ashido and Kaminari immediately fell to the ground in despair.

"Against the teachers?!" Ochako yelled out.

"In addition, the pairs and who each pair will be up against has already been decided. These were determined at my discretion based on various factors, including fighting style, grades, and interpersonal relationships. So here they are: First, Todoroki and Yaoyorozu are one team, and they are fighting against me." Aizawa said, as he smiled at the two students and lifted his capture gear up. Next, Midoriya and Bakugou are a team, and their opponent…" He continued, trailing off as the final teacher made their appearance.

"I...will do it! Work together to beat me, you two!" All Might announced as he fell onto the battle grounds.

"And now, we'll announce the teams and the teachers they'll be up against all at once! First is Sero and Kirishima against Cementoss! Second is Tokoyami and Asui against Ectoplasm! Third is Ojiro and Iida against Power Loader! Fourth is Todoroki and Yaoyorozu against Aizawa! Fifth is Uraraka and Aoyama against Thirteen! Sixth is Ashido and Kaminari against me! Seventh is Jirou and Koda against Present Mic! Eighth is Shoji and Hagakure against Snipe! Ninth is Sero and Uzumaki against Midnight! And the last match is Bakugou and Midoriya against All Might!" The principle told the class. "The time limit for the exam is thirty minutes! Your objective is either to put these handcuffs on the teacher, or to have one of you escape from the stage!" He continued.

"Is it really okay to run away?" Ashido asked.

"Yup!" The principle said, nodding in confirmation.

"This isn't like combat training! You'll be up against someone waaaaaaaaaay better than you!" Present Mic told everyone.

"Better…than us? I can't really imagine it, though…" Jirou said, taking the opportunity to make fun of her teacher.

"Dummy girl! Watch your mouth you hear?!" Present Mic told her, acting like a middle-schooler.

"This time, your exam will be very similar to a real battle. Please, think of us as villains." Thirteen said, trying to get everyone back on track.

"Assuming you come across the enemy, if you think you can win a fight against them, than that's fine. However-" Snipe started, before Aizawa interrupted him.

"In cases where there's too big a difference in your abilities, it would be smarter to run away and get help. Todoroki, Iida, Midoriya, Uzumaki, you all should understand this very well." Naruto personally had many things wrong with the 'run away' portion of the test but held himself back from speaking about it in front of the class, as it was neither the time nor place for that.

"That's right! Your decision-making skills are being tested! But with these rules, you're probably thinking the only choice is to run, right? That's why we had the support course make these for us!" All Might exclaimed as he held out a weight.

"Ultra-compressed weights!" Present Mic yelled out to the class.

"We'll put on about half of our body weight. It's to give you a handicap. It's old fashioned, but it makes it hard to move and eats up stamina! Oh shoot, they're heavier than I thought…" All Might said, muttering the last part to himself. "By the way, there was a competition to decide on the design, and we ended up using Young Hatsume's."

"All right, each team will take the practical exam in order on the prepared stage. Sato, Kirishima, get ready. Those waiting their turn can watch the exams or think of strategies as a team. Do what you want." Aizawa told the class, before walking away with all of the teachers.

Not wanting to waste any time talking to any of his classmates, Naruto immediately walked up to Sero, grabbed his wrist, and started dragging him into one of the holding rooms so they could discuss their strategy against Midnight.

"Woah Naruto, I also wanted to come up with a plan but did you half to be so aggressive about that?" Sero asked, as he stood in the room rubbing his wrist as Naruto slammed the door shut behind them.

"Sero, I think you are a great classmate, but there is one thing I want to set straight before we even start. Under no circumstances are we going to fail this exam. I need you to be completely honest with me if you want to pass this exam, because it is the only way that we will win." Naruto told his classmate, completely serious as he stared at him directly in the eyes, a completely serious aura around him. After all, he wasn't going to let anything or anyone stop him from completing his mission, even if that thing was a stupid final exam.

A/N: I am so sorry for the late update! I just started school again and do various extracurriculars for my school and am an officer in one of the clubs that I am in, I just got a new job, plus I am currently raising three animals on my own, and this is all stuff that has happened in the past 2 weeks. I will try to keep updating once a week, but it might turn into once every 2 weeks or once a month until I can figure out a schedule and set aside more time for writing. But what do you guys think of this chapter, a lot has happened so let me know your thoughts! Naruto helped train Tokoyami for the exam, and he may know about the fox that rests inside Naruto, which was actually a suggestion that one of you guys left, so thanks for that idea! What do you guys think about Naruto's pairing for the final exam, as well as the teacher that he is fighting against? What do you think everyone will do know that they know Tokoyami knows about Kurama? How do you think the conversation between Sasuke and Naruto will go? Let me know!