Chapter 18: The Challenges We Face

Tsu and King vs Ectoplasm: Sloth Sin by Divide Music

Tokoyami and Sero vs Midnight: Black Bird by Shwabadi

(Singing to the Sky Eng. cover by Jonathan Young)

I'll cut through the mirage then,

There's a bright blue sky behind it!

I'll spend forever flying

(I'll be singing to the sky)

I will make my mistakes

(Izuku's scarred right hand cuts the air in front of him to clear away the smoke obstructing his view before he turns around to face whoever's behind him. A determined expression is painted on his face as he stands there in his new costume before All Might comes crashing out of the sky in front of him in his Silver Age costume)

It's Fate

It's Fate

Achieve the future with our might

Hearts alight, Still we fight!

(The to look and smile at each other before they join hands and the power of One For All surges through Izuku's arm. The scene then changes to the boy whirling around and then sending a Detroit Smash to the screen, causing it to shatter and the Title: My Hero Academia - Fox Sin. Forms out of the fragments before changing colors)

Seeking out...

All the lies I've ever feared

In oceans- of tears

(All Might is seen standing on a rooftop looking over the city before images of Gran Torino and Nana Shimura are shown)

I say goodbye

'Cause time has passed I leave today

No matter what I lose, I'm on my way

(Izuku then turns towards Shoto, who then turns to face someone as the image transitions into Iida who looks at the screen angrily. The image of his brother Tensei reflects of his glasses as he prepares to run towards someone)

Frustration... Humiliation

I need them-

To reach my destination

(Ochako is seen with a determined look as a few moments of her past are shown. The same happens with Momo and Bakugo before the shot changes again)

I'll cut through the mirage then,

There's a bright blue sky behind it!

I'll spend forever flying

(I'll be singing to the sky)

I will make my mistakes

(The scene then becomes one of Stain snarling at Iida and Shoto. The latter using his engines to do a spin kick while the latter shoots at Stain with a blast of fire which then changes to Izuku bouncing around the walls)

It's Fate

It's Fate

Achieve the future with our might

Hearts alight, Still we fight!

(The shot then changes to a shot of the League of Villains and Shigaraki looking at Izuku as the boy glares at him before it changes to a tunnel of light shining with All Might standing in the center, his back turned. Then he's shown flexing and standing with the teachers before the students are shown in teams of two, Bakugo blasts himself at the screen, and then Izuku walks with his back to the screen as he activates full cowl. The students all stand in front of a wall with Plus Ultra on it as it cuts out.)

-Training ground Beta-

In the first practical test it was Team Sato and Kirishima vs Cementos, the two were currently running down the street going through the fake city looking for their opponent.

"So for this exam, we'll probably get a better score for capturing rather than running, right?" Kirishima said to Sato.

"Looks that way, yeah. Should be pretty simple." The sugar boy nodded as they came face to face with Cementoss as a wall appeared in front of them.

"Mr. Cementos moves slowly." Kirishima noted as he activated his quirk. "Let's break through from the front and go for a high score!" He added determinedly.

"Aw yeah!" Sato nodded as he downed a sack of sugar and his body suddenly started to bulk up.

"ORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORA!" The two yelled as they started punching their way to the Pro Hero, but he constantly set up more walls for them. This had the effect of causing the two to run out of steam slowly.

(Elsewhere)

"You can do it Sato, Kirishima! Do your best!" Ochako cheered as she and Izuku watched the match.

"They're not gonna win like this." The immortal said, causing his crush to look at him.

"Wait, why?" She asked.

"Their quirks are amazing, but there's a time limit on how much they can use them. Mr. Cementos on the other hand doesn't have that kind of weakness." The boy replied, arms folded. "As more time passes, Kirishima and Sato are losing more and more energy that'll leave them open for a counter attack." He continued.

Ochako stared at him before looking back at the screen in worry. "No way…" She gasped.

"This practical exam is pitting us against teachers we'll have a hard time against. Which means we'll have to think hard on how to overcome our own weaknesses in order to win." Izuku stated, taking immediate note of the situation they as students were in.

-Training Ground Beta-

Kirishima grunted as he punched down another wall. "There's no end to them!" He yelled as he punched another. Sato looked like he was about to fall asleep from overusing his quirk.

This allowed Cementos to bury them in cement and defeat them within seconds. "You're both weak in long term battles. Listen well, in a fight you have to be aware of the limits of how much you can push yourself." The man stated.

"Team Kirishima and Sato have failed the exam!" An automated voice blared.

(Elsewhere)

"Figured that was gonna happen." Izuku sighed as Recovery Girl went to take care of the two while Tsu and Taida made their way to their match with Ectoplasm.

"Poor guys…" Ochako muttered in worry. Glancing at her childhood friend, she felt herself start to blush slightly. 'I need to do this now.' She thought as she steeled her nerves. "Izuku, can we talk for a moment?" She asked.

"Yeah, sure." The boy nodded as they turned towards each other and he took notice of her blush. "Are you okay?" He asked.

"Y-yeah. It's just…" She trailed off, trying to find the words. "Y-you remember the p-promise you made me, right?" She asked.

"Of course, I'll never forget it." He nodded as he took her into his arms, resting her hands on her curvaceous hips.

"I've been thinking… how would you feel about us… becoming a couple?" She asked slowly, relaxing in his embrace.

"I'm fine with it, but let's keep it on the down low so that we can focus on our hero careers." The Fox Sin replied as he lifted her chin up. "I'm more than willing to become all yours if that's what you want, Ochako. After all, I love you." He added. This caused Ochako to smile before she felt her body move on its own and kiss him on the lips. The Sin of Greed was very surprised, but had no objections as he kissed his new girlfriend back.

As the two separated the immortal and zero gravity girl rested their heads together and smiled at each other. "I love you." They said in unison.

(Elsewhere)

Meanwhile with Taida and Tsu, the two were waiting for their match to start, the fairy king was sitting on his support item in spear form as the match began. "Team Asui and Uraraka practical exam. Ready? Go!" The announcement said as Ectoplasm's clones began appearing.

"Show me what you two are made of." The clones said in unison.

"Tsu, launch me!" King said as the girl slung him into the air with her tongue and allowed him to levitate before he snapped his fingers. "Chastiefol form three!" He called as his spear became their small forms and started attacking the clones. "Increase!" He added as they increased in number and then formed a large sphere around Tsu and started lifting her up towards a balcony and allowing them to run as the boy returned his weapon to its original form.

'So they've chosen to run.' Ectoplasm noted as he sent another group of clones to intercept them.

(Elsewhere)

"Wow! An escape only they could pull off! Nice!" Izuku grinned as he held Uraraka close to him.

"That's my bro!" The gravity girl nodded with her own grin.

"They're talking to each other. That's a good sign." Recovery Girl noted as she came in. "It may not seem like much, but it's important to communicate with everyone you may work with." She added.

'Better take note of that.' The new couple thought.

"So we were talking about the teachers being paired with students who they were strong against." Izuku said. "But I'm having a hard time figuring out how Ectoplasm is a bad matchup for these two." He added as Taida used his spear to take out several clones with quick fluid movements and bending his weapon to make it smack them, but kept getting blindsided by a clone appearing behind him.

"The matchups were made based on which hero would give the students the hardest time. This, in turn, will make you think about your weaknesses and how to overcome them." The Recovery Girl explained. "In this case, it's not good for your friend King." She continued.

"Huh?" The two questioned.

"Due to how he is, he's not very attentive, which is what's leading him to being blindsided so much." The nurse replied. "Additionally his powers are good at long range, but are also not so good at close range."

"Oh." The kids nodded as they realized this.

(Elsewhere)

Back with the pair they finally reached the exit gate and saw that the real Ectoplasm was waiting for them there. "Let's see if you can handle this!" He said as he suddenly released a giant clone to get them. "Giant Bite Detention!" He yelled as the behemoth opened its mouth.

"I don't think so! Status Demotion!" King yelled as he snapped his fingers, which caused the clone to shrink down to half its original size. "And now, Chastiefol! Form Seven! Mega Guardian!" He added as his weapon turned into a buff form of its teddy bear form.

"King, wait!" Tsu called, trying to get his attention. However it was too late, Ultra Guardian started fighting Ectoplasm's giant clone and it left the man open to be attacked.

"Tsu." The boy said as he pulled his partner behind a pillar. "Do you have the cuffs?" He asked.

"In my stomach, yeah. Why? Are you gonna use them?" The frog girl asked.

"Why do you-... Nevermind. Yeah, I'm gonna use them." The Grizzly Sin replied.

"Alright, just don't look." The girl told him as he turned away and she spat out the cuffs. Taking the cuffs from her, King flew around his guardian and Ectoplasm's clone while carrying Tsu and straight to the real Ectoplasm and started trying to outmaneuver him so he and his partner could handcuff the man's leg.

They did so by having Tsu grab him with her tongue and when he tried to kick Taida away, the boy quickly slapped the contraptions onto one of his peg legs.

"Hm?" The Pro hummed as he looked at his cuffed leg. "Well done, you two." He commented.

"Thank you sir." The two said in unison. The next match went on between Ojiro and Iida vs Power Loader, and the two passed by Iida sending his ally through the gate with a recipro burst kick. And after that, well…

(Elsewhere)

Shoto and Momo were in another one of the training grounds against Aizawa, and the two toned lad was busy trying to come up with a plan for them to use that would put most of the burden on him. Say what you will about his aloofness, at least the boy was considerate.

"Hm… Okay, we need a way to know when he's near." He muttered thoughtfully as he tried to come up with something. "Yaoyorozu, do you think you can make small objects? That way we can know if Mr. Aizawa is nearby when you stop making them." He suggested.

"Uh, yes. Of course." The girl nodded as she started producing Russian nesting dolls. Blinking, the fire-ice user picked one up and examined it.

'It kinda looks just like her.' He noted mentally. 'That's adorable. I kinda wanna keep it now.' He added as he put the doll away in one of his jacket pockets. Shaking his head, the two continued on to the escape gate, and Momo seemed to have something troubling her.

"I shouldn't have expected anything less from you Todoroki. You were able to come up with a great plan so quickly." She said, clearly downplaying herself.

"Don't start saying stuff like that until we pass. And don't sell yourself short, either." Shoto told her.

The girl seemed to want to protest, but the boy's fierce look seemed to cause any words to stop. As they kept running, he quickly took notice of something. She wasn't making anything.

"Yaoyorozu, you're not making any more objects." He told her. This made both of their eyes widen in alarm.

"He's here!" Momo exclaimed. Sure enough, Aizawa was running on some power lines like a ninja, his quirk active as he looked at the creation girl.

"If you know I'm here then I suggest you exercise evasion, since I've taken your powers." The man said as he landed in front of Shoto, before dodging a kick from the boy.

"Yaoyorozu, go!" The Two Toned Todoroki yelled as the girl ran away.

"Taking the entirety of the burden. Noble, but also somewhat foolish." The erasure hero stated as he wrapped the boy up and hung him from a light pole, throwing caltrops on the ground as well. "Maybe you should have talked things over with her instead." He added before chasing after Momo.

'She did look like she wanted to say something… Why didn't she?' He mused internally, recalling the troubled look on her face. He didn't exactly have much time to contemplate this before Momo came running back to him. Before she could say anything to him, he decided to speak up. "Yaoyorozu, you said you had a plan, what is it?" He called.

"Yours didn't work, so there's no way—!" She tried to protest.

"Stop! I'm saying that you're better at this than I am. Remember when we were voting for class rep? You got two votes, one of those was mine. I know you can do this!" He told her. The girl was quiet for a bit as Aizawa closed in, a blush on her face before she steeled herself.

"Todoroki, close your eyes!" She yelled as she hurled her Russian nesting dolls up into the air around Aizawa.

'What the-? What's with these dolls?' The man wondered before one of them opened and revealed a flashbang grenade inside! The Erasure Hero closed his eyes, but due to his proximity, he was still affected by the blast. Momo quickly released Shoto from his bindings and regrouped with him.

"That was a good move." Shoto stated as they regained their bearings.

"Thank you." The girl nodded.

"If you planned around my injury. Then you're pretty smart!" The erasure hero stated as he threw his scarf at the two.

"Yaoyorozu, get back!" Shoto said as he outstretched his arm to push her back… and unintentionally touched her right breast, which he noted was very soft. 'I didn't…? It wasn't…? What have I done…? This is the hand of evil intent!' He thought in comical shame as he looked at his left hand.

Though getting back to the task at hand, he tried blasting Aizawa with fire, but his quirk was erased. So, the two quickly retreated, with Momo explaining the plan she had in mind the whole way. And when he could use his ice powers again, he immediately made a giant ice wall to block Aizawa from them.

"Okay, so what's next?" He asked as he thawed himself out and turned around, only to see Momo with her costume open as she made something. "… Is that Mr. Aizawa's scarf you're making?" He asked uncomfortably, turning around.

"Yes. I don't know the exact material, so I decided to go with something different." The girl nodded as she kept focusing on making the scarf.

'You didn't see anything Shoto. Not a thing. Nope, nothing. You definitely didn't see what you thought you saw. Nu-Uh' The boy thought as he sweated nervously. '…They're bigger than I—NOTHING!' He corrected himself mentally.

"Okay, the scarf is ready. Just give me a moment to make one other thing…" She trailed off before producing a small catapult.

"Right." The boy nodded as he was blushing like crazy.

(Later)

Aizawa continued to wait for the two's next move, when he saw two figures covered by black cloth running out from behind the giant ice wall and towards the entrance.

'They're cloaked, so I can't use my quirk on them. That doesn't matter; I can still see them.' He thought as he moved to attack them. But as he pulled back, the catapult was revealed as well as two mannequins. 'A catapult?' He thought in surprise as he jumped back.

Momo quickly threw the switch and the cloth was sent towards the man. "Now Todoroki! Use your flames!" She yelled.

"Right!" The boy yelled as he sent a wave of fire toward the man right as the scarf surrounded him, causing it to shockingly harden as it wrapped around him. "We did it!" He grinned. Momo seemed to be overjoyed by this and started crying. "Yaoyorozu, are you alright?" He asked in concern.

"Yes, I'm fine." She told him, giving him a look that looked adorable.

'Shit. She's cute when she's crying too.' The boy said mentally. 'This girl will be the death of me, I'm sure.' He added.

"Team Yaoyorozu and Todoroki have passed the exam!" The automated voice blared.

(Later)

Now Aoyama and Ochako were currently being sucked in by Thirteen. "Oh man! We were so close!" The girl cried as she held on for dear life.

"I may be terrible at combat, but I'm excellent at capture." The space hero stated.

"I guess you could say this quirk really sucks, doesn't it?" Aoyama quipped as his mask flew off and was turned to dust.

"Are you serious right now?!" Ochako questioned in disbelief.

"Always! And besides, we're not in any trouble because I can do this!" The blonde said as he fired lasers from his knees to try and hit Thirteen… only for it to get sucked up.

"I'll suck that up too. And break it down at a molecular level." Thirteen said as she walked forward.

"This is no joke!" The boy gasped in surprise.

"What is your problem?!" The girl yelled incredulously.

"I have no flaws!" Aoyama retorted.

'Come on, think! What would Deku do in this situation?!' She thought as she tried to come up with something.

"Hey." The blonde said to her.

"Not now I'm thinking!" She yelled.

"About Izuku Midoriya? Oh, how sweet." He asked, causing her to look at him. "Is it because you like him?" He asked.

These words echoed through the girl's mind for a few seconds before her eyes widened and her face suddenly burst into a dark shade of vermilion. 'How the heck does he know?!' She thought as she accidentally let go to cover her face.

Thirteen saw her let go and quickly stopped using her quirk. Ochako quickly recognized the opportunity presented to her as Gunhead's lessons echoed through her mind and quickly brought out the cuffs before she pinned Thirteen to the ground and cuffed her.

'Gunhead's lessons just happened to come in handy here. I'm a mini battle hero.' She thought.

(Elsewhere)

Meanwhile with the others everyone cheered as they saw the two win.

'That's my girl!' Izuku thought with a grin. "Awesome! She used Thirteen's quirk against her." He grinned.

"Way to go sis!" Taida added. Tsu, however, didn't seem convinced.

"This feels a bit too easy." She stated. "It looked like Ochako just lost focus and let go."

"What makes you say that?" Taida asked.

"She and Aoyama looked like they were talking. Whatever he said seemed to have made her let go for whatever reason." The frog girl explained.

'Why do I get the feeling that I already know what he said?' Izuku thought as Momo and Iida walked into the room. "Oh, hey guys. Welcome to the observation room." The immortal greeted the two.

"Hello Midoriya." Iida said to his friend.

"So who's up next?" Taida asked as they looked up at the monitor.

"Kaminari and Ashido are up next. Against Principal Nezu." Momo explained.

"I get the sneaking suspicion that this is gonna be one sided…" Izuku commented idly.

(Elsewhere)

With Kaminari and Mina, the two were running through Field Gamma and both decided to just run. However as they made their way to the escape gate, creaking was heard until section after section of the industrial labyrinth started falling on them.

"What the fuck?!" The electric boy yelped in surprise.

"Kaminari, what the crap is going on?!" Mina yelped as the two started running for their lives from the concrete and metal avalanche.

"I don't know, but I'm guessing our opponent is behind it!" He replied as they kept running.

Meanwhile in a crane in the distance, Nezu was relaxing in the contraption with a cup of tea. If one had to hazard a guess it was probably lapsang souchong black tea.

"Why yes, I am!" The good natured mouse smiled happily.

(Observation room)

"The principal looks so comfortable in that crane!" Iida said in surprise.

"Is he using the environment to his advantage?" Taida noted as the buildings continued to collapse around their admittedly unfortunate classmates.

"Looks like it." Izuku nodded. "I've heard about Nezu's quirk from All Might, and based on what I've heard? Mina and Denki are doomed to fail." He added.

"What do you mean?" Taida inquired.

"Nezu's quirk basically makes him a military grade calculator, and if I'm right, he's using calculations to fight." The green haired teen explained. "That's gonna make this a losing battle for Mina and Kaminari." He finished.

"Midoriya's correct. With that in mind, the principal could have easily predicted their moves." Momo nodded.

(Elsewhere)

Back with the exam, Nezu was going nuts with the demolition. "There's still a way out, dear students! Come on, use your heads! WORK THOSE HERO BRAINS!" He cackled as the carnage got worse.

"RUN!" Mina yelled in panic as she and her friend ran for their lives. This continued for thirty minutes until the time finally expired and then the team lost, making the two cry in dismay.

(Elsewhere)

"Poor guys, they didn't even see it coming." Taida said.

"Was this even a match?" Izuku wondered, which was a fair question given how one-sided it was. It was then that Ochako entered the room.

"Oh no, Mina's team lost?" She gasped as she ran up to her friends.

"Yes. The principal was just too smart for them." Momo nodded.

"Yeah. They got creamed." Taida piped up.

"Aw." The girl sighed.

"Hey Ochako." Tsu said. "What were you and Aoyama talking about back there? What shocked you so much?" She asked her friend.

"N-nothing important!" The girl squeaked, her face turning a shade of rose red. Izuku sighed as he facepalmed.

"I fucking knew it." He whispered.

(Later)

Two matches went by pretty quickly. Shoji and Hagakure were able to capture Snipe by the former distracting the man while his partner snuck up on him… Though the Shooting Hero was unfortunate enough to bump the invisible girl's chest with his elbow, drawing the anger of said girl.

Second was Koda and Jiro, who were able to escape Present Mic by the former overcoming his fear of bugs to have them attack Mic and cause him to go catatonic from being swarmed by every bug imaginable.

Now it was Tokoyami and Sero vs Midnight, and the bird boy was currently doing a tactical retreat after his tape-armed teammate had been rendered unconscious by the R-Rated Hero's fragrance.

Taking Sero's tape from around himself he tucked it into his cloak pocket and turned to face his opponent—only to be whipped in the face by Midnight's weapon as she approached him.

"Not very heroic of you to retreat, bird boy. At the same time, though… It feeds my sadistic side!" She said with sadistic gleam in her eyes.

"T'was merely a tactical retreat, you scandalous succubus!" The boy retorted as storm clouds slowly covered the sun overhead. Smirking, he threw off his cloak. "Dark Shadow!" He said as his shadow familiar appeared, which had increased in size and now seemed to loom over the heroine like All Might did.

"Whaddya want?" The quirk construct questioned, it's arms folded.

"Subdue her!" He ordered, pointing at Midnight who had a surprised look on her face.

"Shut up." The beast huffed as its owner pulled out Sero's tape and the handcuffs.

"Quickly!" He ordered firmly as he hurled the objects at his partner, who caught them in its giant claws. Scoffing, Dark Shadow bolted at a still surprised Midnight and headbutt her to make her skid back off balance before sticking Sero's tape on her back and then started bouncing around and wrapping her up in it and then sending her falling to the ground and stopping her fragrance.

"Oof!" She grunted before trying to get up, but the tape wouldn't let her.

"There. You won't be causing any more problems from this point on." Tokoyami said before walking off. "Well done, Dark Shadow." He said to his construct as the sun returned and it became its nicer self. The creature cooed as it rubbed itself on its owner, who patted its head softly.

(Later)

Izuku turned to go to his testing area, and was met by Ochako running up to him into the hall before he left. "Good luck." She told him, kissing her new boyfriend's cheek.

"Thanks, babe." The boy smiled as he kissed her forehead before taking his leave. Unknown to them, Taida was around a corner and saw the whole thing.

'Hello, teasing material!' He thought mischievously. Izuku then walked towards his test ground and met up with Bakugo, who looked at him.

"You ready to win this, Kacchan?" The Sin of Greed asked.

"Heh, I was born ready, Deku. Question is, are you ready?" The blonde countered.

"Damn straight I am!" The immortal shot back. "Now let's do this, partner." He grinned as the two bumped arms.

"Oh fuck the hell yes." The explosion boy grinned madly as the two ran towards the gate… And towards All Might.

Dragon Emperor0: Well… Needless to say I'd say that Class 1-A's exams are off to a fantastic start here.

ThermalsniperN7: Yep. And I see that Tokoyami was able to adapt to dealing with Midnight via some convenient storm clouds. On top of that, Izuku and Ochako are finally together! YAY!

Dragon Emperor0: I'm really glad we didn't draw it out any longer, it would've been seriously tedious and pointless if it lasted any longer. Plus, now all the canon ship bait can be recontextualized in some pretty sweet and hilarious ways.

ThermalsniperN7: Yeah. That should be fun. Anyway, see you guys next time!