We're very nearly at the end of the practical exams. My plan is to wrap it up in the next chapter, provided that nothing unexpected happens. On a separate note, we've had one of the larger influxes of new readers/reviewers that we've seen in a while, so a big welcome to all the new faces!
Review time:
Yamajiji, The Incredible Muffin, Gan315, Dragon Man 180, Caspian123, DraTom0612, Death of Snipers, Eramis8, Clockworker, D3lph0xL0v3r, Blaze1992: I was a bit unsure what the reaction would be to two matches in a row more or less cheesing the system, but it seems that I was able to justify it to the satisfaction of most. Hitoshi and Mina's match in particular got a lot of love!
The Incredible Muffin, Gan315, Dragon Man 180, Death of Snipers, Gako959: I had a feeling that people would be weighing in on the Aizawa fight and I was not disappointed. It's interesting to see the diversity of opinions here, with some thinking that it will be easy while others don't.
Gako959: I have the major plot stuff for the training camp planned out, while the nitty-gritty is still up in the air. If I get a good idea for ways to show the kids having fun, I will certainly do that.
WhisperedEcho: Your guess regarding the site having a filter for Pat_reon is correct. It doesn't replace it with anything, just deletes it altogether.
PasiveNox, Scarease, ahein9937, James317, The Keeper of Worlds, Shinami_Nigashi, PercyGrace191, Shadow Blossom, JustAnAverageGuy101, Guest, Lawrence Horiuchi, TheWonderfulShoe, TheAttemptedWriter and everyone else: Thank you and I hope that you continue to enjoy!
Now, let's see what Izuku thinks about his upcoming match.
Chapter Seventy-One: Poker Face
Izuku Midoriya was weighing his options. Carefully. If All Might was at the top of his "teachers not to take lightly" list, then Eraserhead was a close second, followed by a draw between Nezu and Snipe. As any student in Class 1-A would tell you: Aizawa would kick your ass into next week if he thought it'd help teach you something. He wouldn't even feel bad about it.
"What do you think about our odds?" Ojiro asked as he adjusted his gi.
"Not good. Not impossible, but definitely not good."
"Are we talking 'not good' as in par for the course for this whole exam, or 'not good' as in Aizawa-sensei has both of us outclassed?"
"The latter." Izuku threaded his fingers together and tapped this thumbs, "You're definitely the best at close-quarters combat in the entire class, but we've both seen what he can do when he gets serious. My best guess is you could take him one-on-one for a little bit, but not long enough to let me bolt for the exit. That's without factoring in any of his gear."
"A fair assessment, I'd say." Ojiro nodded, completely unoffended, "The best thing I've got going is that his Quirk is useless against me, so I can fight just like I usually do."
"I definitely can't say the same. The most I can probably hope for is to get in the occasional fireball or close-range shot. As soon as I try and do anything big or activate Flame Cowl, he'll shut me right down. He doesn't even need to have Erasure constantly activated; just hitting me with it periodically would be enough to throw me off."
"So there goes any chance we had of using his chronic dry-eye against him. That was going to be my idea." the tailed combatant chuckled, "And here I thought I'd lucked out big time when I got paired with you and saw that All Might went to Bakugo-san and Kaminari-san. I probably should've seen this coming when that happened, but I held out hope that they'd stuck us with Ectoplasm-sensei or Snipe-sensei. Even Cementoss-sensei would be easier to deal with, if not as simple."
Izuku crossed his arms, mind working quickly to try and come up with a workable plan.
"We're agreed, then, that there's no real point in trying to escape from him?"
"I'd say so, yes. If we split up, it'll just make things easier for him."
"In that case, our best bet would be to try and flank him. Make it so he can't keep his eyes on both of us at once and try to end it as quickly as possible. It's risky, but it's all I can come up with. Best-case scenario I might manage to fire off a technique or two and level the playing field."
"Short, simple and easy to remember. There's that at least." Ojiro shrugged, "How should we approach him though? Once he sees us charging at him it'll be pretty obvious what we have planned."
"I was thinking about that and a question occurred to me: What would happen if I used Chicago Fire as a blinder? Throw up a wall of fire to cover our advance?"
"He would use Erasure to shut you down, like you said."
"Yes, but he'd still have to deal with the flames I'd already generated. All his Quirk would do is prevent me from making more."
"In other words, he'd have three things to worry about while we closed the gap instead of just two. I think I like it."
"Good, because it looks like we're here." Izuku said as the bus came to a stop next to a different urban-style field. While the students and teachers in front of them began to get off, he took the opportunity to properly don his mask and fix his respirator in-place.
"Show us something good, yeah?" Kirishima clapped him and Ojiro on the back as a few other classmates gave their own words of encouragement. Once they were at the entrance of the field, Recovery Girl began her then-familiar announcement. As she did, Izuku scanned the field, trying to spot where Eraserhead was starting from. He didn't seem to be in the center, which Izuku had expected.
"Do you see him?" he asked.
"No. Any ideas?"
"Begin!"
No sooner had the match started then Deku and Tailman found themselves seized by Eraserhead's capture cloth and bound together, a large knife held very clearly in Izuku's field of vision.
"That makes one time you could've been killed if this was real." the Hero spoke from behind them, waving the knife a little for emphasis, "Not every Villain will just be sitting there waiting for you to come stop them. Some of them will be coming after you instead. I think you both know what I mean?"
He was talking about USJ, but what flashed through Izuku's mind was another time when he had been up close and personal with a quick, aggressive opponent who favored blades.
Try and ignite? No, I'd hurt Tailman.
"You got us fair and square, Sensei." his partner said calmly, "What now? Are you going to keep us tied up until the clock runs down?"
"That would be illogical. This is designed to be a learning experience as much as a test. I will release you momentarily and this time I expect you to be ready from the very beginning. Should I manage to capture you both that easily a second time, you will fail. Should you 'die' three times or more during the test, you will fail. That leaves each of you with two more chances." he loosened the cloth and kicked the pair of them away, allowing them a handful of seconds to take their stances while he slowly and deliberately sheathed his knife, "Start."
The boys charged, Izuku managing to spit a single fireball before Eraserhead's hair stood up, signaling that his Quirk was active. He avoided the projectile with minimal effort as Tailman dropped down and attempted to sweep his opponent's legs using his titular appendage. Instead of backstepping or hopping over the attack as Deku expected, the pro leapt forward and intercepted his charge with a kick to the chest before delivering a spinning hammer fist to Tailman's hasty guard, shutting down his attempt at an attack from behind.
Tailman attempted to grab Eraserhead's wrist, but was too slow and ended up having to break away to avoid a retaliatory elbow.
Deku flared up and dashed forwards, intending to tackle the man before he could turn to look at him. He was half-successful, as Eraserhead dove to the side rather than turn around. Deku capitalized on this by kicking off the ground and diverting his course, left fist blazing towards his target's head before he realized that it wasn't just the wind from his sudden movement that was causing the Hero's hair to stand up. His flames went out and his breath was driven from his lungs as Eraserhead sprang forwards and tackled him instead, ramming his shoulder into Deku's chest and taking him to the ground, elbow against his throat.
"Stop."
Deku realized that the command was not directed at him as he saw Tailman frozen in place with Eraserhead's knife an inch from his inner thigh.
"Ojiro, there's a very important artery right there. You just died again. Midoriya, if I wanted to, I could have crushed your windpipe with a landing that rough. After that it's a simple matter to finish you off, so that's death number two for you as well." he withdrew his knife and got off of Deku, taking a few steps away, "Both of you are acting far too predictably. Ojiro acts like I'd expect a martial artist with a tail to act and Midoriya focuses on his Quirk too much. The fact of the matter is you're both excellent fighters, but once someone has you figured out your effectiveness falls drastically. Now come at me."
"Ojiro-san? Switch."
"Got it."
Deku raised his guard and bent his knees, creeping slowly towards Eraserhead and circling around him clockwise.
He wants something I don't usually do. Alright then.
"Shouldn't you activate your Quirk, Villain?" he taunted, "Or are you wishing you had some eyedrops?"
"If I was grading you on that, I'd give it a D. Only reason it's not an F is because you're trying to take advantage of a known weakness."
"You got me. Flashfire!"
*Fwoom fwoom*
Deku's true intentions were revealed as he sharply reversed direction with a pair of Flashfire steps, taking two forty-five degree steps to get behind his opponent.
"Smash!"
Without time to do anything more precise, Deku resorted to a dual-palm shove that took Eraserhead off his feet and sent him flying towards the waiting Tailman, who whirled on the spot and bashed him with his tail, sending him rolling over the ground. Deku wasted no time in smash-running towards him, intending to cuff him, but even that small window of recovery was sufficient for the Erasure Hero, who converted his roll into a sort of flip and ended up in a three-point stance, eyes fixed on Deku beneath his goggles.
"Better."
Deku grimaced, thankful that his respirator hid his expression. He had really hoped that would work.
Fuel reserves…a little over half, maybe? Odds that I'll be able to refuel are slim, so I need to rely on fast, efficient moves at the right moments.
As Deku made to close with his teacher again, Tailman streaked through the air towards their target, having used his tail similarly to how he usually did for jumping, arms crossed in front of him to weather the likely counterattack. Eraserhead did not disappoint as he rotated to the side and delivered a rising knee strike into the still-moving martial artist's midsection, once more displaying incredible levels of speed and precision. Deku had nearly reached him by that point and, pressed for options, did the only thing he could think of.
"Think fast!" he shouted as he seized his partner's sturdy tail before he could hit the ground and swung him in a wide arc back towards Eraserhead.
I've seen him cancel out some pretty intense momentum with his tail before, so I know this won't hurt him. He also has the reflexes necessary to overwhelm Kacchan in close-quarters. Please let this work!
With a shout that sounded like half surprise and half effort, Tailman flexed what must have been his entire torso in order to allow himself to deliver a momentum-assisted punch at Eraserhead's center of mass. The strike was poorly-aimed and didn't connect full-on, but it was still enough to throw the handicapped teacher off-balance.
"Flashfire!"
Deku barreled into Eraserhead with as much force as he could muster and took him to the ground, where he followed up with what was supposed to be a smash-empowered shot to the ribs but ended up being a normal punch as he felt Erasure drain his strength yet again. While the impact certainly made his target grunt in pain, it lacked the power necessary to prevent him from using his superior technique to immediately seize the offending wrist and slither out from beneath the sloppy mount, twisting Deku's left arm behind his back and slamming him into the pavement.
"Thre-"
*Crack*
"SMASH!"
Deku's right fist slammed into the side of the shocked teacher's head, sending him sprawling across the ground. He made to chase after him, but only succeeded in staggering a half-step forward as his now-broken left arm made its displeasure known in a way that was impossible to ignore.
"Hah…hah…" he forced himself to straighten up and shift himself so his uninjured arm was in front, even as Eraserhead rose to one knee and drew a forearm across his mouth, "Still…two."
"Deku, what the fuck?!" he heard Kacchan shout from the still-nearby entrance.
I'm going to have hell to pay if I don't manage to pass after a stunt like that.
"I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to keep fighting for now, Deku." Tailman said as he moved to his partner's side and began hastily binding his arm with his belt, "He's doing a good job of hiding it, but his damage is starting to accumulate. I think that backhand of yours may have affected his legs. If he manages to recover completely, we'll lose our last chance." he tied off the knot sharply, earning a groan from Deku.
"I can…keep going. We both know this isn't the worst I've had."
"Focus on the cuffs. It might get a bit messy, but leave the rest to me."
"Right."
Tailman did an abrupt about-face and launched himself towards Eraserhead with his tail. Instead of flying directly at him like he had before, he twisted in the air and bore down on his target with a full-power axe kick, forcing him to roll out of the way. The student didn't allow him any time to recover, seemingly having expected his attack to miss. He closed in on his still-grounded opponent and delivered a continuous series of mid and low attacks, doing everything he could to prevent Eraserhead from regaining his posture.
In spite of the fluidity and ferocity of his attacks, what stood out the most to Deku as he moved to find a good angle was the fact that he seemed to be putting his full weight into each one, prioritizing destructive power instead of speed and technique. He was throwing the most damaging blows he could, knowing that none of them were likely to hit. In other words, he was playing a very, very dangerous game where the goal was to keep Eraserhead's focus on him as much as possible. This did indeed have the potential to get messy.
He knows I'm not the type to give up, but the fact remains that I'm down an arm. He should see me as less of a threat than before, but that'll only last until I make my move.
Should I use Flashfire again? It's the best gap-closer I have, but I've been relying on it almost exclusively during this fight, so he's probably looking out for it.
Unexpected. What would he least expect from me in a situation like this?
Something stupid, probably.
"Tailman! Heads up!" Deku hauled back with his good arm, making as much of a spectacle of himself as he could, "NEVADA" Eraserhead's head snapped around, hair standing on-end, "FAKE!" Deku's arm whipped around as he threw the object that had been clutched in it directly at his partner, who caught it. Realization appeared on his face even as Deku began spitting a barrage of small fireballs slightly off-target, trying to force his teacher to dodge towards Tailman as he drew ever closer.
He's going to go for it. It's the same thing he did before when we had him flanked. I have to beat him to it!
"Flashfire!" Deku shot forwards, good arm extended, desperately reaching for the very spot that Eraserhead's hand was moving.
"What-" the Pro Hero had obviously seen him coming, but had misread what his target was. It was because of this that Deku's hand had managed to close over the fist that was currently grasping the handle of his knife. Though the teacher was stronger than Deku without his Quirk, the difference wasn't so great that he couldn't be held in-place for a moment.
*Click*
And that moment was all Tailman needed to fasten the cuffs that Deku had thrown him to Eraserhead's wrist.
"Haah." Aizawa let out a sigh as the tension left his body, "I'm not the only one who's glad that's over, am I?"
"Midoriya and Ojiro have passed, though I suppose it was too much to ask for everyone to come out of that in one piece. You all get yourselves to my tent on the double! The next match is Asui and Koda versus Snipe."
Izuku was grateful that they had remained close to the entrance, since that meant a short walk to the bus and, thus, minimal jostling of his arm. It really was nowhere near the worst injury he had suffered, but it still hurt rather badly, especially now that the adrenaline was wearing off. As expected, Kacchan was among the first to greet them and he looked less-than-pleased.
"I'm not sure whether to chew you out for breaking your arm during an exam or be impressed that you got away with backhanding Aizawa, so I've decided on both. Good job, you fucking moron."
"That was reckless!" Ochako joined in, "I really want to be mad at you right now, but…"
"Indeed," Iida crossed his arms, "the results do seem to speak for themselves. Had you been removed from the exam, it seems unlikely that Ojiro-san would have been able to defeat Aizawa-Sensei on his own."
"Yeah, we were both pretty outclassed there." Ojiro confirmed, "Even two against one, it still took a desperate ploy like that to come out on top. I'm just glad I managed to figure out Midoriya-san's plan in time."
"Sorry about that; it was a spur-of-the-moment thing." Izuku apologized, "I was trying to come up with something that Eraserhead wouldn't expect and, well…"
"I certainly did not expect you to do what you did." Aizawa confirmed, "Though perhaps I should have. I hadn't planned on using the knife as much as I did and my guess is that helped you figure out where I had it?"
"Yes, Sensei."
"All that mental maneuvering aside, you guys showed some serious guts out there!" Kirishima tapped a fist to his chest to illustrate his point, "You were soaking up hits like you were me, but you just kept on going. Manly as hell."
"Not my first choice of tactic, believe me." Ojiro grimaced, "It was all I could do just to defend myself at first."
"Enough about that though, at least for now." Ashido said, "Since you're going to be busy with Recovery Girl during Tsuyu-chan and Koda-kun's match, what's your prediction, Midori?"
Izuku took a moment to think while everyone boarded the bus.
"As much as I hate to say this, I think it's going to be rough. Snipe is a tricky opponent even with the rubber bullets he'll be using. His Quirk gives him perfect control over the trajectory of any projectile he uses. He can pull off shots that are literally impossible by normal standards in rapid succession. The best way to deal with him would be to get in close-quarters or take him by surprise. If Asu- er, Tsuyu-chan and Koda-san can manage that, then they have a fighting chance."
"You don't sound that confident." Sero pointed out.
"Well, he knows they're coming, so an ambush would be difficult. Tsuyu-chan has good mobility, but midair targets are the easiest for Snipe to hit. Getting close to him without getting riddled with bullets is…a tall order."
T – o – r – c – h – b – e – a – r – e – r
"Alright, that should do it. I don't want you doing anything strenuous with that arm for at least a day, preferably two."
"Yes, ma'am. Thank you for your care."
"And as for you, there's no single injury that stands out, but I still want you to take it easy for the rest of the day. If you wake up feeling tired, then that order extends through tomorrow as well."
"I understand. Thank you for your care."
"Now, off with you. You might still be able to catch some of the current match. I'll send your sensei after you shortly, so no dawdling."
Shota Aizawa watched as Midoriya and Ojiro exited the temporary nurse's office at a quick pace, before the nurse in question turned her attention to him.
"Off with the capture cloth. I know you've been using it to hide something."
He wordlessly complied.
"Hmm, yes. From the look if it I'd say the boy fractured your cheekbone. The way you've been moving suggests some possible damage to your ribs as well. If it weren't for the physical conditioning you've undergone, you probably would've lost consciousness." she gave him her customary peck on his uninjured cheek and her Quirk began to do its work.
"Honesly, these kids…it took my best poker face to make that look easy. The wider they believe the gap to be, the more motivated they are to improve. We need at least a few of these to be hard-fought. Preferably at least two or three more will fail, not that it really matters thanks to our logical deception."
"You mean the one about the training camp? If I'm being blunt, that's probably one of the weaker ploys you've attempted recently. I can think of a few students that would see through it immediately."
"It's all about the presentation. Like I said: poker face."
I really wanted to have Aizawa pull out the stops for this one. He's fully aware of how much trouble Izuku and Mashirao are and with the supercompressor weights serving as a handicap, he really couldn't afford to hold back as much as he otherwise would. I was originally going to have him give them four "lives," but the final scenario presented itself sooner than planned, so I changed it to three.
If you wanna see what I get up to when I write something completely original, check out ContRact over at Fires of Creation. It's currently twenty chapters long and a new one gets posted each month! You can find it by googling "Fires of Creation Pat_reon" with the underscore removed.
Special thanks to Animeguy1101, The 0bservanc3, Fallenasgardian, Hyper, RoTWS and all of my other patrons who are already doing so!
Next time, we see if Asui+Koda vs. Snipe is as much of a squash match as Izuku has predicted, as well as the remaining two matches, provided all goes according to plan.
And as always, thank you for reading!