We've seen 1-A's Saturday, but now it's 1-B's turn! Hopefully you've liked this format and style, because there's no stopping this train now! I've passed the Final Exams; the point of no return! Soon we'll meet the adorable Dekusquad Kids, and then where will we be?

Awase Yosetsu

"Alrighty then," Vlad King beamed, "You two've got a fun one today! Rin, Awase? You two get to have a little foot-race."

Yosetsu wasn't buying it. Sure, Kan-sensei was pretty nice and all, but he wasn't just gonna make it that easy. Plus, weren't they both supposed to be able to pass?

He hummed a little in disbelief, folding his arms. Vlad King seemed to pick up on it and nodded his head with a smile.

"Well, not just a foot-race, I suppose," he admitted, "Today is all about sabotage. "Can you make your opponent lose, even though they're faster than you?""

Glancing over at Rin, Yosetsu frowned even deeper. He could just weld the guy's shoe or toes to the ground and it'd be all over. Yeah, it'd be a bit tough if he had to actually grab said foot, but it only took one, and he could get something else if he needed. There had to be a twist.

"I'll time you, of course," Vlad King continued, pulling out his stopwatch, "Ten minutes seem fair? It's a simple course; just five blocks down, five blocks back. Go ahead and take your marks."

Oh, we're starting now.

Stepping up to the edge of the gateway, Yosetsu glanced over at Rin. Rin nodded back, clenching his fist and growing scales along his arms and fingers. His expression was his usual hard eyes and tight mouth, but he knew that was just how he was. Guy didn't smile just to be friendly; you had to earn a grin.

Pulling free a steel log from his belt, Yosetsu tried to gauge where and how to weld it best. He could go at this one of two ways. One: he could let Rin get ahead of him and try to catch him when they were going the opposite direction. Or Two: he could try to keep up and weld him while they were both in line. Probably simpler to try the second and then fall back on the first if things went bad, but it wouldn't be easy.

Yosetsu slid his fingers under the three-layered shield on his chest, pulling it off and dropping the metal to the ground. He'd need speed today, not defense.

"On your marks," Kan-sensei said, raising a hand, "Get set…"

They tensed, either one of them bending down slightly and preparing to push off. Yosetsu glanced over at his opponent, but the Chinese boy had his eyes straight ahead, and he quickly followed suit.

"Go!"

Vlad King's arm whipped down, and the two boys jetted into the cityscape. Yosetsu raced up beside Rin, slapping his arm with one of the metal cylinders. It wasn't a big change in weight, and it was just attached to his scales and not the ground, but it was an awkward shift to the center of mass, and he could do it fast.

He pulled out a few more and welded them to his shoulders and back, trying to tilt him. Rin was tough though. His eyes stayed level and he didn't falter even once. Eventually Yosetsu ran out of metal bits, and Rin just jangled along next to him; green and unwavering.

Twice he tried to lean down and get Rin's shoes stuck to the ground, only to stumble and lose ground. By the time he passed halfway: Yosetsu was falling well behind.

Plan 2 it is.

Taking a moment to breathe, Yosetsu slowed up and came to a full stop. If he could stop Rin: he could take his time finishing the race. He just had to make sure he made this last one work.

Yosetsu readied his right arm; fingers tensed as he brought them back to his chest. He only needed one.

The plan seemed like an excellent one right up until he saw Rin's face as he sprinted back towards him. He was smiling with menace, and his gait was utterly smooth.

"^^^n," Yosetsu breathed, noticing where his steel logs had gone.

Rin's scales had one major downside when compared to say: Tetsutetsu's steel. Namely: they could fall off if given enough damage. But in this instance: they'd become an advantage. By continuing to go at full pace and let the bounce and weight of the welded objects pull on his prepared armor: Rin had forced them to fall off, leaving Yosetsu with less options and the one worse for wear.

Well, his gear failed him: so he had to go all in. Glancing around, Yosetsu tried to find something he could use; an improvised tool or something to strike his imagination. For the most part: all he saw were alleyways and sealed up buildings. Neither of them had flashy Quirks that would really let them get inside, so that was a bust. Then again…

Can't go through: then go around.

Pushing off from a stand-still, Yosetsu dashed down the nearest alleyway and then turned back towards the entrance. He had to get Rin off-guard; keep him guessing as to where he'd pop up. As soon as his opponent was sure he knew where he'd show up: that's where he wouldn't be, and that's when he'd hit.

A fire exit caught his eye, and Yosetsu grinned to himself. Yeah. That'd do.

Without hesitating, he threw himself at the wall, welding his fingers to the cement. He wasn't very good at this yet, but he could just barely connect himself to something else. To minimize the power he'd need, Yosetsu only grafted his fingertips. It made it harder to crawl along the wall, but at least he could get stuck.

Curled on one edge of a building Rin would have to pass by, he waited until he heard the scaled boy's footsteps. Rin was diligent, but even he had a weakness. In this case: his in-bred desire to conform and excel. The idea of coming in with a poor time would be inconceivable for Rin, which meant he wouldn't waste time searching through the streets for Yosetsu; he'd just sprint right for the exit.

Sure enough: the rapid tap-tap-tap of his shoes on the ground came without delay. Just as Rin was about to come far enough out to see him hanging there: Yosetsu threw himself off the wall and out atop the other boy.

"Oh f-Gah!" he managed before they crumpled to the ground.

"Gotcha ^^^ch!" Yosetsu cheered in victory, welding his cheek to Rin's exposed upper arm, and then his own hands to the ground.

They caught their breath for a moment, before Rin glanced down at him and frowned in confusion. He grew some scales, but the spot where their skin fused together didn't produce any. The edges hurt like a ^^^ch though.

Rin frowned deeper, pulling away to try and stand up, only to find he'd have to tear Yosetsu's cheek and/or hands off to do so.

"You do realize you'll lose, right?" he checked, as if unsure Yosetsu knew what he was doing.

Yosetsu grinned.

"'Bout that:" he chuckled, "Vlad King-sensei never actually said this was about winning the race. He said it was about making our opponent lose. So, as long as I have you here: I win."

A minute later, an air horn sounded the end of the match. Yosetsu un-welded them, and they dusted off before heading to the exit.

"Sorry, by the way. The whole ^^^ch thing. I got excited," Yosetsu mumbled.

"'S fine."

"Right…"

They just let the awkward silence lie after that.

"Two victories! You do me proud!" Vlad King cheered when they did make it back, "Come on: we've got nineteen more matches to go!"

Kaibara Sen

"Oh sweet Kami no," Sen sighed to himself, seeing the casual way Kosei was stretching out on the mat, as if somehow completely oblivious to how it highlighted his-

Focus!

He had a job to do. He had to pass this exam. So what if it was a spar against the boy he was crushing on and had slept with a half-dozen times? So what if that jacket looked cute on him? So what if he'd been kind of pent-up and touch-starved and emotionally empty for the last week while he and K- Tsuburaba were on "a break"?

I said Focus! You can daydream later! Remember what Bakugo said… gah that feels wrong, he mentally berated himself.

Sen was off his game. There was no other way to say it. Bakugo had been right on the money when he'd said this would hurt them when things cracked, as much as it pained him to admit. His whole deal was that he was the chill guy, the all-rounder who could be relied upon. Now he was falling apart and the match hadn't even begun.

"You ready to… ya know?" his- opponent asked.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm- yeah."

Real eloquent. You smooth-tongued devil, you, Sen's inaudible sarcasm echoed through his mind.

Tsuburaba chuckled at that, and Sen's heart did many traitorous things just then.. He took a deep breath and tried to cram his feelings down into his stomach and then tie them off in there. They'd undoubtedly blow up and send him into a spiral of tears and crippling need later, but for now it'd be fine.

"In that case: tell us when, Vlad King-Sensei," Tsuburaba grinned, clapping his hands together.

"First to two. Begin!"

The two of them shook, tensing and stepping side to side a bit, either of them looking like a predator about to strike. Sen was feeling more like prey though.

If he hit Tsuburaba right now, while they were on a break… what would he think?nk? Would he think Sen was angry at him? That he didn't want… everything he wanted with him? But what if his not hitting him made Kosei think he didn't respect him as a Hero?

About that time he realized Tsuburaba had started boxing him in with air shields, laying them out on either side and now one in front. Clearly: he didn't really want to go in for the kill either.

Revving up his fingers, glad for the drill-bit fingertips, Sen jabbed his arms outwards. Keeping his hands flat and parallel to the ground, he easily pierced the air walls. If only it was that simple.

In the few seconds it took for him to crack through the walls, Tsuburaba had already made a new one directly between them, which he was continuing to push towards Sen as it expanded. Without waiting for it to push him out of bounds or even touch him: Sen clenched his fist and broke it with a straight punch, not even bothering to use his Quirk.

"I always liked watching you break things," Kosei half-whispered, "no one else has quite the same… omph."

Chills ran up Sen's back, and he felt his expression tense. Sorrow, affection, and uncertainty flickered through his chest, and Tsuburaba reacted in kind. It only made it worse to know they were hurting together, even though he should have been delighted to know the break wasn't out of a desire to push him away.

"Well, I can't exactly let loose on everything. Whatever I do break has to be… special," he replied, shifting his stance and placing a hand behind his back.

He gave a "come on" gesture with his tight fingers ahead of himself, and tried not to smile as Kosei smirked and began to advance. He got about a meter away when he started boxing as best as he knew how. Sen was able to dodge with ease, purposefully holding still from time to time just to block the basic thrusts and hooks and have a few heartbeats of contact.

Boxing was a martial art, no doubt, but it's ratio was somewhat sharper than others. While most gave a balance through technique and time, Boxing was a style which relied on a solid trio of power, endurance, and agility. While his Aikido and Karate would allow Sen to fight with minimal loss in energy and damage endured: Boxing meant each blow could end the match, few moves could go awry, and his opponent was ready to endure far more punishment than he could quickly dish out. It was a solid, straight-forward dance. But for all its lack of complexity, there was a simple beauty in it when done correctly.

"You're getting faster," he noted, still evading and letting Kosei tire himself out, "I didn't know you'd been practicing so hard."

"Yeah, well… we kind of skipped talking these last few months," he grunted, sweating a fair amount as he continued to throw punch after punch, "plus, I… don't exactly have the body for a bruiser. Thought I'd try going for a swarmer style… if it worked out."

Sen laughed, spiraling his torso with his Quirk as he pirouetted around behind Kosei. His friend stumbled forwards a few steps as his punch's momentum carried him past where he'd been standing and out of the ring.

"First match to Kaibara," Vlad King announced, though he didn't sound quite as enthusiastic as usual.

Tsuburaba quirked a grin back at Sen and stepped into the ring again.

"Okay. For real this time," he said, clenching his fists and holding them up, "Actually hit me."

"You first," Sen said, his emotions turning less pleasant as he admitted to himself that Tsuburaba hadn't been holding back.

He frowned too, inhaling deeply through his nose. His face inflated somewhat before he blew out his breath and formed a strange air wall. It was much deeper than it was wide, more a cylinder than a disk. Tsuburaba slapped both his palms against the nearly opaque block and pushed, and to Sen's surprise: it moved.

Most of Tsuburaba's solid air constructs became imobile after being created; fixed in space relative to the planet. But somehow: he was moving this one.

Sen wound back an arm, aligning his hand into a flat blade and spinning his fingers as fast as they could move. He lunged straight into the center, his arm embedding in up to the wrist before it stopped dead. He was stuck.

Pulling didn't get him anywhere, even when spinning his blades backwards, and he couldn't punch in any further. A most effective trap indeed.

Tsuburaba kept pushing, and Sen felt himself nearing the edge of the mat. He grinned and pulled out the power Midoriya had helped him develop. He spun his forearm independent of the rest of his limb. He'd originally had bladed sleeves installed to use as big offensive moves, but now they also doubled as defensive armor, thanks to his studying.

But he took too long. By the time he extracted his arm and stepped out of the air brick's way: he'd been pushed out.

"Second match to Tsuburaba. Match point. Next point wins."

Sen slammed his forearms together, spinning them up to speed and sending sparks flying.

"Okay. I guess that means I should finish this quickly."

Without waiting for permission: Sen rushed Tsuburaba, leaping into the air and preparing to kick him in the stomach. His leg spun with vicious intent. Tsuburaba inhaled again, preparing to release a shield, but Kosei wouldn't get it out in time, nor would it be strong enough to block his attack.

Sen closed his eyes and let himself miss, landing outside the ring. He couldn't do it.

"Kaibara out. Third match to Tsuburaba," Vlad King sighed, "I'm afraid you've failed this exam, Kaibara. Both by merit of the match and the fact you didn't give it your all."

"Aye…"

"Tsuburaba, I'm afraid you too failed to live up to expectations and failed. You didn't draw out Kaibara's fighting spirit; either by strength or heart."

"R-right… I get it."

"I'm sorry," Vlad King sighed, "Head on back to the viewing room. You'll get your chance next match."

Turning to leave, Sen felt a hand brush his shoulder before hesitating. He glanced over at Tsuburaba, who'd come over and was staring at his shoes.

"I'm… sorry."

"Me too. After exams tomorrow… let's talk."

Kosei nodded, then stepped past him. Sen felt a little weight in his stomach ease, but not much.

Kamakiri Togaru

"Didn't," Togaru asked, "We just leave this party?"

Vlad King sighed, gesturing him and Kuroiro towards the cityscape of Ground Gamma.

"Your combat abilities are without question, Kamakiri," he said, folding his arms in what looked like disapproval, "Which is why your examination is not how well you fight: but how well you can fight that which cannot be fought."

Togaru sniffed angrily.

"You gonna keep talking in riddles or can I expect a clear answer sometime this month?"

Kuroiro chuckled behind him, making Togaru's back tingle in anticipation and irritation. The dark-bodied prick always rubbed him the wrong way, sometimes literally. He hissed across his pincer-like tusks, making the other boy back off.

"Just sayin', pissing Vlad-sensei off doesn't usually end well."

"Quite true," their teacher confirmed, "But in this case: my answer was clear. I was speaking literally. You have to fight Kuroiro, who you can't simply cut or punch your way through. When he hides in shadows: he is literally unable to be fought. So it is that we want to test."

"Of course you do."

"Just go," Vlad King groaned, pushing the two of them ahead of him and gesturing a bit, "You've got twenty minutes to make him surrender. Get to it."

"Can do!" Kuroiro cheered, before turning and sprinting into the nearest shadow and vanishing.

Togaru clenched his hands, trying not to snap at either of them too much. It mostly probably wouldn't help. Instead: he started walking along the edge of the shadows, eyes flicking around as he tried to find Kuroiro amongst them.

Preparing a blade from his forearm, he bounced light from the sun above him into the dark, wondering if it was even doing anything. Kuroiro wasn't exactly tough, and he tended to be mostly stuck to singular dark objects before jumping to another, but unless he could illuminate the entire shadow and destroy it… well, it probably wouldn't do him much good. Unless…

Glancing down at his arm, Togaru began making some small adjustments to the base of his blade. Tsunotori had mentioned something about his weapons once, but he'd brushed it off as stupid. Then again, he hadn't really had a reason to try using his weapons like this before.

He just stood there beside a large pipe, fiddling with his Quirk and grumbling in annoyance each time his attempt failed. Eventually he managed to get some of it to work, though the bits falling off the end made him a little worried.

"Ya know… we are s'posed to be fighting… right?" a voice asked next to him.

Togaru glanced down at the head emerging from the shadow pooled at his feet, grinning up at him wickedly.

"Hi."

"Hello, Kuroiro," he sighed, half-heartedly kicking at the head before it vanished back into the darkness, "Aren't you supposed to… I don't know, test me?"

"Oh, you want to be tested?" the noir student asked, his mouth twisting up into a grimace of joy, "Can do, mon capitaine."

He slid down into the shadows again, then popped out of the ones above his head.

"Your hair looks stupid."

"Oh sweet Kami in heaven," Togaru groaned, realizing he'd just opened the door to being insulted the rest of the day.

"Ye?"

"No. Don't even-"

Kuroiro giggled menacingly, retreating into the darkness again. Togaru gritted his teeth and threw one of his blades in after him, knowing it missed when it sheared its way into something metal and sent back the screeching sounds.

"Gonna have to come in after me~" his irritating voice echoed out of the alley, "Scared of the dark?"

"Do you not enjoy having a face?" Togaru countered, stepping in and producing another blade from his arm.

"OOOOH! Face-talk? I can do dat."

Suddenly his voice was behind Togaru's ear.

"I."

He swung around and slashed through the empty air, only to hear the voice again; now near his knee.

"Hate!"

Togaru slashed again, this time cutting the concrete. The third time it was right above him, and he managed to clip one of the steel lines.

"Your!"

Throwing one more, Togaru felt his blade grate against the concrete at an angle that kind of hurt.

"...dumb face," Kuroiro whispered, almost casually.

Instead of bothering with a blade, Togaru kicked his leg back and felt it finally connect with someone's gut.

"Oho, my appendix !" his enemy whined playfully, though with an edge that said he probably did hurt a bit.

"Ya done?" Togaru asked, cracking his knuckles.

"Done? I'm just getting warmed up!" Kuroiro grinned, going full Portal and simply dropping from the ceiling over and over, letting the unified shadow from beneath a pipe and along its underside carry him back up over and over.

"In that case," Togaru grinned, slicing at the patch he'd already hit and causing a segment to fall to his side in pieces, leaving him standing in the center of a light beam, "Let's see you try this improvised move."

Creating a wickedly curved and slightly warped blade from his forearm which nearly touched his shoulder as it bent back; Togaru's weapon began to buzz and shimmer, casting rays of light around the shadowy enclosure.

"Cute, but that's not gonna work. I mean, what kind of blade is that? Doesn't even look sharp."

"It isn't, much," Togaru admitted, smiling as the shine began to increase and the sound grew louder, "But it doesn't have to be."

Then, suddenly the blade shrieked with energy and blasted rainbows and stabs of illumination along the area, knocking Kuroiro from his latest spot and entrapping him in the material world.

"What the-"

"Improvised special move: Headlight Saber!"

Kuroiro tried to run for the dark of Togaru's uniform, but before he could get close: another blade extended from his palm and held the other boy against a wall.

"I win," he said, with just a little pride.

"Um… okay, yeah," Kuroiro conceded, "How…?"

Holding out his dull sword, he let his classmate come close and see the edge had a small intent on either side of the blade. Then he began to generate tiny blades which would push one another out from his skin, lined up with the little rail before falling off the edge and to the ground.

"I just had to make them very fast, and their shifting movement did all the rest," he said, pointing at the little pile of tiny blades by his back foot, which he'd hidden behind his leg to prevent Kuroiro from catching on.

"Got the idea from Tsunotori, didn'cha?"

Togaru sniffed, turning away. It was his own idea, ^^d^^^^it.

"Toldja it was handy."

"Shut up, you can't even talk to the girls."

"Ayayayayay."

Kuroiro Shihai

Yeaaaaaaaaah, no. I'm out.

Shihai stuck his right foot out to parallel with the ground, turned on his left heel, and started walking away. Vlad King caught him by the collar and stopped him from moving, but he kept walking.

"Uh, Rude!" Komori pouted, that adorable, huffy expression no doubt on her face.

"Kuroiro…" Vlad King said, his tone holding no room for foolery (as usual).

Shihai came to a stop, before sagging in his captor's grip. Vlad King picked him up like a kitten, pivoted his arm, and deposited him back on the sparring mat. Komori had her arms folded, tapping her cute shoe in annoyance.

"Now, if there are no more attempts at escape?" their teacher asked, to which Shihai nodded, "Good. First to two. At your convenience: Komori."

This totally isn't fair, Shihai mentally groaned, I bet nobody else has to fight their crush in these. It's not like I'll ever have to fight somebody I'm way into. Like… maybe a sexy villain, but sexy people don't need to do crime.

Still, he gave the ready nod to his examiner, and she nodded in turn. Her hands went up almost like a boxing stance, but with the palms out and the fingers like claws. It was adorable and Shihai felt himself losing just by staring at it.

"Die, cute Hero!" she cheered, leaping at him playfully and swatting at him with her "claws."

Oh my gosh… she's got a crush on me!

The more rational part of Shihai's brain slapped the other side, and he recovered in time to step out of her way. It was a good thing he did.

As Komori's hand came down through the air, she released a powder from her clenched fist, as if it was full of dust. No… not dust: spores. She was totally trying to poison him!

"Nyah! I missed!" she whined, now obviously playing up the "cutsie" angle in an effort (a successful effort, but what did you want from him?!) to throw him off guard.

"Um… Can I fight someone else?" he asked, his skin lightening as he blushed, "Like… maybe a teacher? If I throw this fight, can I just fight All Might instead?"

"If you give up: you fight Midnight," Vlad King deadpanned

"^^^k."

Komori threw more spores at him, making Shihai dance out of the way again.

"No swearing! Bad!"

"Are you intentionally using babytalk to make me more off-balance?!" he asked, fighting his desire to scoop her up.

"Is it working?" she asked nicely, smiling at him.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

Shihai froze up, certain she could hear his mental scream. She could see his blush, at the very least.

Komori leaned in, and bopped his nose with a single finger like a fairy enchanting a rose. The touch broke his stupor and he launched back in alarm, skidding out of the bounds of the mat with some kind of fungus growing from his face.

Tugging at it, he removed the irritating addition and wiped at his face. His hands felt filmy and oddly powdery afterwards, and he didn't want to inhale or open his mouth for fear of what might come inside.

"First match to Komori."

"Hehehe. Victory."

Clenching his fist, Shihai shook his head and cleared it of all thoughts.

"Not yet," he decided, bouncing back in, "I have a super-secret super move I've been developing!"

"Really," Komori asked, tilting her head, "Since when?"

"Since I saw Kamakiri had one, of course!" he beamed, turning away from her as Vlad King nodded for the next match.

Spinning back around, he rolled his eyes backwards so the irises disappeared and stuck out his tongue.

"BLEh!" he garbled blindly.

Komori screamed and he heard her fall over as he relaxed his face and blinked to help ease the soreness in his eyeballs. When he finally got his sight back: she was on the floor, having scuttled away a bit and out of bounds.

"I… suppose that counts. Match point."

"That was mean!" Komori whined, standing up and stamping her foot, "Why- why would you scare me like that?"

"You did it first!" Shihai complained, folding his arms in superiority.

"Uh, yeah? 'Cause that's what I was told to do when I got this job?"

That made Shihai pause.

"...oh."

"Yeah, "oh."" she grumbled, turning her head away in annoyance.

Shihai turned to Vlad King with an expression that he meant to convey "can you believe this?". Based on his unimpressed look: he didn't get the message.

"Would it help if I said sorry?" he asked Komori a bit timidly.

"No," she huffed, "No it would not. I'm gonna need like… ten hugs from my date to feel better."

Date? Oh…

Feeling a bit shut down that his crush evidently already had plans, Shihai took a deep breath and shook himself.

"Fine," he said, decided, "If sorry won't make it better, then I'll just have to hope you can forgive me for this."

She spun back to face him, hands up in a defensive posture.

"For wha-"

But she was too late. Shihai leapt forward and into her belt, cackling with his usual glee. Komori screeched, grabbing the item and pulling at it to remove him.

"Get out! Get off!" she screeched, tugging at it like she could pull him free of the belt with enough force.

"Okay."

Without warning: he ejected himself and sent her wobbling back, off-balance.

"Sorry," he said again, stretching out his leg and pushing on one of her knees to send her toppling back to the ground.

Kendo Itsuka

Bouncing up and down on the balls of her boots, Itsuka grinned at her opponent.

"Just FYI: I'm not afraid to hit a girl," she teased, bringing her fist into her hand and enlarging them a bit to look menacing.

Shiozaki blinked at her, unimpressed or disinterested (it was hard to tell).

"I should certainly hope not. If you were: I would be at a disadvantage."

Right, Shiozaki could sass when she wanted to now. Had to keep an eye on that. In the meantime: she could probably get along fine by just sticking with the basics.

Unlike Kyoka, Itsuka had been having trouble with her Uwabami training as of late. Yeah, she could project her emotions pretty well, and do the stealth thing alright now, and even influence people who found her hot, but she was running into significantly more trouble. While she was definitely the more girly of the two (on the outside), she also had a bit of a tomboy streak that wasn't exactly everyone's flavor. Not to mention: she found it harder to pretend to be someone she wasn't. She was Itsuka, and it was hard not to be bluntly herself.

Either way, Martial Arts and Quirk was the way to go.

"Oh it's on, Shiozaki-chan!" she grinned, glancing over at Vlad King, "So what's the game? Do I gotta rough her up too?"

"Not quite," he said, shaking his head, "Rather it's you who's going to be roughed up."

Itsuka tilted her head in confusion.

"Say what now?"

Vlad King gestured to the two of them and the wider Ground Omega expansively.

"This entire area is yours to use for the next forty-five minutes," he declared, "Shiozaki will be attempting to batter you into submission for the entirety of the time. Don't surrender or be knocked unconscious in that time: and you pass."

That seemed easy enough. Shiozaki wasn't exactly violent. Maybe she could get some practice in while they ran down the clock?

"Your time begins as soon as I step out of the gate," Vlad Kin continued, turning and walking towards the metal archway, "Have fun. Try not to kill her."

"I won't!" Itsuka promised.

"I wasn't talking to you."

Rude.

Turning back to her opponent, Itsuka grinned at Shiozaki and tried to put on some of Uwabami's wiles.

"Looks like it's just you and me, honey," she teased, giving her hips a little sway, "Wanna practice makin' out? I'm sure Kyoka-chan and Yaoyorozu-chan wouldn't mind too much."

Shiozaki's eyes went from their normal quiet meadow green to a suddenly dark and ominous forest. Itsuka's ability to read emotions was high enough for her to instantly recognize she'd messed up.

"Begin!" Vlad King called from the exit, and Itsuka felt something grab her leg.

Her eyes snapped down in time to see one of Shiozaki's vines wrapped around her ankle. She felt her stomach drop before she was even moved, and managed a "Wait!" before there was a tug and she was flung up into the sky and into the deeper part of the forestal area.

At the apex of her arc, Itsuka expanded her hands and held them flat, trying to get some glide so she wouldn't crash into a tree and break her spine. She did manage to slow herself, only for an array of three vines to lash out from somewhere under the foliage and ensnare her waist, her legs, and her wrists.

Itsuka didn't even have time to say anything this time before she was dragged down and through every single branch in the forest. At least, that's what it felt like. Razor-sharp spines of wood and snapping whips of bark lashed at every bit of exposed skin. She tugged at the vines and managed to burst the ones around her wrists with a clever expansion and shrinking combo, but even as she grabbed for a handhold and tried to pull herself free of the ones still dragging her: she was simply moving too quickly to get a solid handhold.

Her enlarged hand caught hold of a trunk, and Itsuka gripped it for all she was worth, but it only bought her about a half second. Then an array of more vines sprouted from nowhere and entirely encapsulated her legs, ripping her into a new direction so fast that her grip shredded the bark from the tree as she was taken away.

"Gah!" she gasped, hissing in pain as the ragged scrape was exposed to the air across her massive palm.

Okay, that's it! she decided.

Winding back, she began to beat at the vines around her body. Each blow sent jolts down the lines and off into the gloom of the forest where they were coming from, but she didn't hear any returned sounds of pain or irritation from her attacks.

She managed to grab another tree, wrapping it in both hands and stopping dead once again. If she could just get an angle on Shiozaki's attacks: she could maybe start to ward her off. Or if she could escape for even a second: she could hide and wait her out?

Itsuka felt her arms strain as Shiozaki's vines continued to pull on her lower half, her hands barely keeping their hold on the tree. A cracking sound came from the wood, and she looked up in fear. If it broke in her hands: she'd have worse than just scrapes. She might start to lose blood, and that would be far more deadly than just getting tossed around.

Reaffirming her grip, Itsuka tried to perform a horizontal pull-up, trying to get her body around the tree and maybe lever off the vines' strength. She got about to a 90 degree angle with her elbows when the cracking sound intensified and she felt herself start moving again. Itsuka closed her eyes, prepared for a spray of tiny wooden fragments to embed along her face, but all she felt was the normal smattering of branches.

Cracking a single eyelid: she looked up at the tree in her hands. A bolt of awe ran through her. It had been entirely uprooted, leaving her with a smallish tree in her hand and no leverage.

She'd just have to make some leverage. Itsuka grinned and wound back her arm.

"HYAA!" she roared, slamming the roots down on the vines pulling her along.

The sheer weight of the tree severed the vines and sent her tumbling to the ground. Before Shiozaki could mount another attack: she got her feet under her and gripped the tree like a baseball bat.

"Come on!" she screamed, noticing a small cluster of vines emerging from the ground at the edge of her vision, "Come get some!"

As if taking her challenge: the vines struck from all sides, a five-pronged attack that seemed to be going for each of her limbs and her head. Itsuka simply swung her tree bat in a circle, knocking all of them aside. They arced around her deflection and tried to hit her again, but Itsuka wasn't having it. Shiozaki could come in here and fight herself, or not at all.

The forest went quiet, but Itsuka didn't drop her guard. She kept her eyes ready, swung her tree like an underwater baseball bat a few times, but nothing happened. She just waited there for another ten minutes, listening to the deafening silence.

Just as she was certain Shiozaki had either given up or was wandering around to try and find her: Itsuka heard the familiar hiss of vines moving through the grass. She tensed up, holding the tree high so she could slam it into whichever direction she needed. Then she felt it get lighter and her fingers slipped before Itsuka could stop it from being plucked out of her hands by a massive array of vines which blotted out the sunlight as they tossed it aside.

"Ah… crap," she grumbled, expanding her hands as far as they'd go and making the best shield she could as the mass lowered on her like a hammer blow from some deity.

The impact made Itsuka's arms vibrate and her knees ache, but she managed to keep on her feet. Itsuka knew that if she were to lay down or even kneel to try and block it: she'd be trapped if she needed to move. So she just endured it, feeling her body edge closer and closer to giving out.

After the seventh impact, she felt the warmth of the sun on her skin again, and heard a distant yell.

"Time's Up!" Vlad King's voice echoed over the forest, "Kendo passes!"

Itsuka sighed in relief, letting her hands shrink back to normal and flopping into the grass. Or rather: she'd thought it was grass. When it started to move and carry her gently back towards the exit, she realized it was a bed of Shiozaki's vines.

"Heh… good for something after all," she sighed, trying to take a quick nap before her next match.

Kodai Yui

"This should be a relatively easy match for you to succeed in, Kodai-san," Vlad-sensei beamed, gesturing to the battered Itsuka on the mat, "You need only beat her once!"

Yui just stared at her best friend for a second before glaring (kinda) up at Vlad King in silence. He had the gaul to look affronted.

"Kodai, this is a most important examination," he protested, "You cannot hope to be a Hero without overcoming this trial."

"Hm."

"I am not!" Itsuka protested weakly, swaying a bit on her feet, "You take that back right now, Miss Sass."

Itsuka's fiery spirit was fine at least, but that was the extent of what she'd call "okay." Her battle gi was torn in so many places it was more a collection of strings over her costume's underwear and her face. Yui felt her eyes drawn across the various patches of exposed skin, doing little to stop herself visually tracing the curves and edges.

MMmm.

"Down, girl," Itsuka smirked, making Yui look even harder.

Then she realized precisely why Vlad King had made her fight this battle. She rounded on him again, this time letting her eyes fill with so much outrage she'd be surprised if they didn't literally catch fire.

"MMMM!" she growled.

Itsuka gasped in alarm that seemed tinted with amusement.

"Kodai!" she grinned through her bruises, "Don't swear at him like that! He'll make you lose out of spite."

"I wouldn't out of sp- wait, what did she say?"

Yui tapped her nose with a finger knowingly, and Itsuka giggled, making her chest tighten painfully. It only hurt more when it was her own fault.

Vlad King shook his head with a groan, before waving her forward to the mat.

"Just go win already."

Complying with his (unfair and totally biased) exam, Yui stepped into the square of fabric and slid a hand into her pouch. She had a few items in there to use on short-notice, so she just had to find one that would let her push Itsuka out without hurting her. She had a few options. Pocket lint, a pencil, a cute kitty eraser, her phone, a wireless headphone charging case, and some lembas bread Shiozaki had given her to try.

I clipped on the wrong storage pouch, she realized mentally, …hm.

She could use her phone as a way to distract her, but Itsuka might be a little too distracted if she saw the homescreen. Her eraser was springy now, but at an expanded size… eh. The bread might be funny, but she'd have to get it out of the plastic bag it was in and then Shiozaki would see she hadn't eaten it yet, and that was just a whole deal she didn't really feel like getting into. That left her the lint and the pencil (she was not breaking her headphones any more than they already were. The lid was already falling off, and she didn't really want to go buy new ones just for them to get jostled around too…).

Pulling it out, Yui held it in her fingertips; expanding the writing utensil into a rather wide diameter staff. She gripped it with both hands and leveled the eraser at her best friend, jabbing it at her a couple times to try and ward her back. Itsuka just smiled weakly and grew her hand out to the same size. She reached right over and plucked it out of Yui's hands, spinning it around her massive fingers a few times before holding it like she was gonna write something with it.

"Dear me," she snarked, scribbling in the air and waving the tip rather close to Yui's face, "I fought Yui today, and she tried to poke me. I decided to poke back."

She went to jab Yui with the writing end, only for the object to snap back to normal size and fall through her fingers.

"Release," Yui said, tapping her hands together.

Her plan had (predictably) failed. Now she had to try something else. Heroes never gave up, that was the rule, and Rule was her.

Reaching back into her pouch, she pulled out the lint and tossed it aside. She hated how that gunk got in her stuff. She didn't even know what it was. Then she grabbed her phone and an idea came into her mind. Yui used her phone for exactly what everyone around her expected, but she also used it for something else. Something that even Vlad King didn't know about her (and based on her match: he knew a lot more than he should).

Yui closed her pouch and stared directly into Itsuka's eyes. Her best friend shivered and took an involuntary step back, before taking the step forward in reaction to her movement.

Cute.

Yui started walking forwards, not hesitating even when Itsuka's hands came into range to grab her.

"Wh- what are you doing, Yui?" she asked, holding her hands up like shields.

Yui just kept walking, eventually coming into contact with Itsuka's palms. She placed her own hand against the scraped skin, only disinfected since her last bout. She frowned at the marks, showing emotion just barely before it faded away. Yui pulled her hands off and gave them a quiet clap.

"Release," she said again, just loud enough for Itsuka to hear it.

Itsuka's hands shrank back to normal, despite Yui's Quirk having no power over living things. Then again, Yui's power was not just her Quirk.

She kept walking, until she was right up next to Itsuka. Then she brought her hands up and hugged her. Itsuka sagged in her arms, the exhaustion of fighting Shiozaki and putting up her "invincible big sister" front all that week slamming into her at full force and turning her to what she already was: a tired girl who needed a friend.

Yui eased her to the ground, the two of them kneeling at the edge of the ring. Itsuka struggled a little, but it was so little compared to what she could really bring to bare that Yui knew she wasn't okay, even though she was putting on her brave face.

"Let me go," Itsuka said in a strange voice, which Yui almost obeyed without thinking.

But she managed to overcome it.

"Your little tricks don't work on me," she whispered, "Please… stop fighting. You don't have to be invincible around me."

It seemed to be just enough. Itsuka buried her face in Yui's neck, and a small damp spot began to form on her collar. She couldn't cry in front of the class, so even here: she had to hide it. Yui just hugged her all the tighter.

Then Itsuka patted Yui's back twice. Yui wondered if she was asking to be let go, when Vlad King spoke up.

"Kendo surrenders. Kodai passes," he sighed, almost relieved, "If you'd escort her to Recovery Girl? I think it's time she got some sleep."

"Mm."

Komori Kinoko

"Behold," Vlad King said, gesturing to the abomination of metal and smarm, "The Nomabot.011!"

Kinoko blinked at the thing, kind of surprised they'd been allowed to build something like that. It was a single-wheel treaded robot, just like all the others, but its face was far more humanoid. A smug smile was painted over its speaker, and its eyes seemed to be… snarky. Which was crazy, since it was a robot with glass cameras for eyes.

It was clearly a repaint of the Midoribot.010, but it wasn't any better.

"It's a piece of Shiitake," Kinoko said, rather bluntly, "I mean, dear Goblet Waxcap: it looks like bad fan-art. I hated how it was before, but this is… even worse!"

The robot, for its part, managed to look affronted somehow.

["I am most certainly not!"] it whined, ["I am the most cutting edge piece of technology on this earth! I could win this exam and become a Hero before a little sprout like you could."]

Kinoko leveled her spray bottle, preparing to cover the thing in so many shrooms it would be crushed into a powder when Vlad King stepped in-between the two.

"Your objective," he said firmly, "is to defend this robot. How you do is your own choice, just so long as it survives. It has air vents, so don't get spores inside it that'll damage the circuits or you'll lose."

She continued to hold her shroom blaster leveled for a few more seconds before giving it a Jango Fett twirl and holstering it.

"Fine, but if I win: I get to destroy it with my shrooms."

"Alright, but three people after you have to use it though, and we only have one back-up. So please: wait until after the exams to have your fun."

She considered it for a second, then nodded.

"Done deal."

"Good. Then you can get to planning your defense. You have five minutes before Fukidashi will come in on the offensive."

Fukidashi? Oh, this'll be easy!

He relied on his voice to use his Quirk, which meant he'd be extra susceptible to her spore cloud. Kinoko knew what she was gonna do for her defense grid.

As soon as Vlad King was away, she walked over to the bot and leveled her tertiary squirt gun at it.

["You cannot harm the majesty of-"]

"Shut up and listen," she cut it off, "I'm gonna start filling the air with a lot of mushroom spores that will probably kill you. So close your air vents, don't move while I sterilize you, and try not to talk while I take care of this, okay?"

Miraculously: the thing listened. It lowered itself on its wheel, locking down and making a few whirring noises as it closed a pair of flaps. Kinoko didn't bother paying it any attention after spraying down its hull. Instead: she got to spawning.

Revving up her Quirk to its fullest potential, Kinoko started spraying water into the air and around on the nearby stones of the quarry-thing they'd been put in. It was kinda dry, and there weren't a lot of tall surfaces she could unleash on, but it was open and she could make do. In moments: the entire ground was filled with a multitude of colorful and springy fungi, continuing to spread like water flowing across the ground.

"Fear the almighty power of my Portabello WMD!" she called, getting excited as her power continued to spread like wildfire across the face of her test.

It was about then that Fukidashi came into view. He stepped around the edge of a large boulder, holding the word {Sharp} along its flat side and chopping out a path for himself. Kinoko grinned and danced over to him, spraying at him with her misters.

"Hi!" she beamed, utterly unaffected by her little Buttons, "Ready to lose?"

Fukidashi came to a stop, his face showing a sudden exclamation mark as she surprised him. Evidently he hadn't been paying attention to her. Well, she'd make him pay attention.

She leveled her sprayer and squirted his costume's chest, an array of smaller shrooms popping up instantly in the now ideal environment. They'd cover him up soon enough, and then he'd either choke on them when he tried to act, or he'd be stuck doing nothing. Win-win for her, really.

But he didn't seem… bothered by it. It was kind of odd, really. Most people freaked out when she shroomed them, but Fukidashi was just… looking at them.

Kinoko was about to ask him what was up when he cupped his hands and inhaled.

{"Fwoosh!"} he shouted, and the letters appeared from nowhere.

Kinoko's heart dropped as she beheld the word. It was a bright orange and red, covered with licking flames and radiating warmth like a giant heating coil. They fell onto her field of shrooms and exploded into an almost liquid mass of destruction, rolling and swarming across her defenses.

Each cap which turned to ash was like a stab into Kinoko's heart, melting and cremating her entire forest. Each stalk which burned was like her own death, replicated a million tiny times.

She fell to her knees, unable to bring herself to do anything else and Fukidashi stepped past her and touched the singed but undamaged bot. Her hair fell down over her face and she tried not to cry.

Kinoko knew: she'd just goofed it big time.

And all over mushrooms… Things I can replace. Easily, even. How stupid am I?

A hand touched her shoulder, and she looked up to see Fukidashi looking down at her.

"You okay?" he asked, sounding a little concerned.

"I'm- …I'm fine."

That seemed to placate him, and the boy left to go get ready for another match. Kinoko just stayed there for a bit, thinking. She couldn't lose the next match, no matter what. Even if she was a useless, stupid-

NO! Don't think that way! she mentally berated herself, Focus on how you can improve. Don't dwell on this. Don't let it get inside you.

She tried to regulate her breathing, knowing that if she let herself fall into that pit: she'd be in the dumps all day. Kinoko didn't like her swings, they were always too much for whatever she was doing, either ups or downs, but she didn't want to lose them either. It wasn't exactly an ideal Hero mindset, but she was working on it, okay?

Eventually, she managed to get herself under control. Kinoko took a deep breath and nodded. She would not lose the next one.

Shiozaki Ibara

"An interrogation?" Ibara asked, confused, "Aren't those usually undertaken by law enforcement officers?"

"Sometimes there are criminals too dangerous to leave to anyone not trained in the use of their Quirk," Vlad King-sensei explained, gesturing to Kaibara, "Such as someone who can break out of any restraints given only moderate time."

Ibara nodded, recognizing the logic. She supposed it would be foolish to presume those not allowed or sometimes capable of enforcing capture with supernatural powers would be capable of holding everyone who was. It seemed she'd assumed far too much as of late. She'd have to fix that.

"Well, have fun," he said, giving a little mock salute with two fingers as she and Kaibara walked into the cityscape.

"I will," he assured the teacher, though she noted there was a slight tension in his posture.

Probably worried about his earlier failure, Ibara guessed.

Without waiting for him to run or try anything, Ibara released a wave of vines from her scalp to enrapture the other and hold him in place. Predictably: he started drilling his way out almost immediately.

"A useless gesture!" he proclaimed, popping free of her hold and leaping to run, "Useless! Useless, Useless, Useless!"

Ibara didn't bother responding, just capturing him again and throwing him towards a nearby building. She'd heard that on accident: Kaibara had embedded himself in a wall sometime last month. Hopefully she could replicate the event. It seemed he'd learned, however, as Kaibara managed not only to come to a stop before hitting the wall, but to sever another handful of vines.

"What did I say? Useless," he smirked.

"Indeed," Ibara said, smiling and releasing some more vines after him, "But I'm not attempting to interrogate you yet."

Kaibara's lower body began to spin at the waist; his toes forming a kind of drill which began to skate away from her vines for a moment, only to quickly be caught around the chest and lifted free of the ground. Before he could switch tactics, Ibara lifted him up a few meters and decided to test something else.

Once again: he broke free, falling for a few seconds before landing on the ground and embedding into it a little, thanks to his Quirk's dispersal of the impact force. That was all she needed to know.

Ibara fired a final array of vines and wove them into a massive cocoon of green and thorns, before throwing it as high as she could reach and placing him on the top of a nearby tower. She had her vines pull her up after him, grateful for Kamui Woods' training in mobility. Kaibara tore free in only a few seconds, but the height seemed to give him pause, and he held onto the ball for the rest of the trip.

"You can't throw me off this building and hope I'll just confess," he warned her, the confidence he had was quite impressive, "You're too nice, and I'm not scared of you."

Ibara just smiled and lassoed him with a single vine around the leg. Without warning, she held him over the edge and sat down on the edge to look at him.

"I believe you," she informed him honestly, "This was just so I could interrogate you without worry of you running away. Please: try to escape all you like."

Kaibara seemed to consider her offer for all of a second, before wisely deciding not to.

"Good boy," she praised, "Now, let's begin."

"I won't tell you anything!" he declared adamantly.

Ibara sighed and brought over a few more vines to squeeze his chest a bit, lessening how far his lungs could expand without permanently damaging him. He wheezed out a few more syllables before quieting down.

"Could you rephrase that for me?" Ibara asked sweetly, "It's quite windy up here."

Kaibara shook his head, his lips firmly pressed together. Ibara took that as a "I didn't say anything."

"Very well, let's get to the questions then," she beamed, "I believe the most pressing one is: what is the code to this safe Vlad King gave me?"

Holding up the cube she'd been carrying behind her with some reserve vines, Ibara set it beside her and patted it cheerily.

"I was told it contains some kind of nuclear explosive that will go off if the case is damaged or the wrong code is input. Naturally, threatening to just input whatever strikes my fancy while you're nearby won't help, you being a zealot of your various causes and willing to die for them and whatnot. So, instead I'll be trying something else."

Kaibara glanced around, clearly unsure as to what other methods of coercion she had in mind. Death was, evidently for him: the most terrifying leverage. Unfortunately for the both of them: she knew that there were many many many things worse than death.

"I'll begin by finding us a camera," she explained, pulling out her phone and placing it in a vine.

She tapped the record button with a finger before bringing it around to show Kaibara and then point it towards the two of them.

"Wave for the audience, Kaibara," she instructed him, "I'm live-streaming this to the group-chat, so don't be afraid to get anything off your chest you'd like to say to them all."

They sat in silence for a few seconds before he gave a half-hearted wave.

"Um… hi guys?"

Ibara smiled and pulled out a few books from her dress. Three were religious texts that she quickly put away again, but one was just a notebook.

"Now, I heard some very interesting things recently," Ibara told him, smiling as evil as she could manage (which wasn't much), "Mainly concerning the various inter-class romances. One of which happened to include: you. Imagine my surprise."

Kaibara paled, but he held firm.

"I don't care about rumors," he declared, but with a lot of waver in his voice.

"Then you have nothing to fear," Ibara told him, opening up and flipping to a blank page, "The first thing I heard was from our sister class regarding something that happened last week. Namely: a very long hug between you and someone else who you'd just confessed your undying love to."

He was sweating now. But he hadn't begged for her to stop. She had to go further.

"Who it was I'll keep for the very end," she promised, "so you have every chance to turn back before the end. The next thing was that you were spotted on public transit heading somewhere that was neither the school nor your home, but was in the direction of someone else's home in our class."

"That- that could have been for anything," Kaibara protested.

"It could have been," Ibara admitted, before moving on to: "But I was also told by a very good friend of mine that you were one of the people who went to the debaucherous potluck that some hand-made fliers announced around the school. One which only you and one other person attended."

That got him. His eyes flicked to the phone and he shook his head.

"You're bluffing," he insisted, "You couldn't possibly-"

Ibara leaned forward and pressed a finger to his lips, not scared of falling thanks to her vines.

"I'm friends with Yaomomo and Jiro," she reminded him, "One hears everything that goes on officially, and the other hears everything period. Do you really doubt I know what I say I know?"

Kaibara shivered and shook his head.

"Then I suggest you give me the code before I have to give up this secret who."

"I- fine," he gave in, wilting a little in the vines, "It's the first seven primes."

"Starting from…?"

"From two."

Ibara nodded and wrote down the numbers. Two, three, five, seven, eleven, thirteen, & seventeen. Of course, she wasn't going to go off his word alone. She had to push just a little more.

"Hopefully you gave the right ones," she said off-handedly, reaching for the box, "After all: Pony knows too, and she has instructions to tell everyone if I fail."

She winked at the camera, then placed a finger on the two.

"H-hold up," he said suddenly, "D-did I say from two? I meant from three. Silly me. Got all twisted around, you know?"

Ibara nodded and input the correct code, opening the box and holding out the little "You Won!" paper. She smiled and looked at the phone.

"It's Tsuburaba, by the way," she said, before taking the phone and stopping the recording.

"Shiozaki!" Kaibara shouted, aghast but also furious.

"Calm down," Ibara admonished him, "It's only on recording, not streaming. I'm not evil, if you recall."

He harrumphed and she set him back down on the building. Ibara felt a little guilt build up in her stomach. She didn't feel unjustified in going as far as she did, especially with the revelation that he'd been lying up until the end, but she didn't want him mad at her.

As a peace offering: Ibara offered him her phone.

"What's this?" he asked warily.

"You can delete it, if you want," she told him, pushing it a little further towards him, "I never had any intention of telling anyone until you were ready."

Kaibara stared at the phone for a second before sighing and pushing it back towards her.

"Keep it. Consider it insurance in case I ever do something else as stupid as what led to it being possible. I trust you not to abuse it."

Ibara felt honored at the gesture and bowed in thanks.

"I'm certain you passed," she reassured him, "I had to employ dreadfully unfair and underhanded techniques to coerce you, after all."

"I'm not worried about that," Kaibara grumbled, "Vlad King sensei told me that I'd pass if I could keep you from breaking me for about ten minutes, and it's been… what, fifteen? I'm just a little bummed about me and Tsuburaba."

Ibara sat down next to him and waited. If he wanted to talk: she wanted to listen. If not… well, she could be here for her friend. They sat in silence for a few seconds before he blew out his breath and opened up.

"We… took a break," he said, lacing his fingers and spinning them one at a time, "No more sex, not even really friend stuff. He said it was because he wanted to try and figure out his feelings without me influencing them, but…"

Kaibara inhaled through his nose, and Ibara realized he was trying not to cry. He laughed, and the sound was thick with emotion.

"This is so stupid. I mean- how many of us are even going to still be together come the end of the year, let alone end of school? Of course we weren't going to last. I just-"

Ibara placed a hand on his back and gave it a gentle rub.

"Feelings are all stupid," she told him, "But that doesn't make them invalid. He was special to you; he's still special to you."

She sighed and looked away, not really sure her advice was worth much.

"All I can say is… if he needs space, forcing the issue won't help, but… don't give up. Let him know you miss him, but make it clear you respect his space."

Kaibara chuckled again, though with less sadness in his voice this time.

"You make it sound so easy."

"Oh no," Ibara grinned, ""It isn't easy. But it is possible." I suppose I'm just trying to be helpful… sorry."

"Nah, it was… I needed some hope," he smiled back finally, and Ibara finally felt like she'd done some good.

Shishida Jurota

This was… not an ideal matchup. Jurota could fight most opponents he could see, most anyone really, but that naturally precluded those enemies which he could not see. Tokage was such a one.

When their match had begun, he'd been quite sure he could defeat her. He'd even taken the time to dismantle a large water tower to try and retain the pieces of her he might manage to capture. Tokage was clever and powerful, yes, but she was also reckless and tended towards arrogance at times. These things Jurota thought he could take advantage of.

He'd been mistaken.

Tokage had split into a dozen pieces almost instantly, her head hovering around his ears and chattering about how badly he was doing while the rest of her soared hither and thither. He'd managed to grab her foot and what seemed like part of her lower torso, but those were paltry prizes.

"I mean, it's so crazy that I'm the last girl in the entire Hero Course to actually get a date," Tokage babbled into his ear, continuing to drive up his ire and his bestial side to have greater dominance, "Like, seriously: how was it me? I'm the sexy one! I'm the gal with the skills to make everything better! I mean, sure: technically like half the rest have the will-they, won't-they's with their partners, but I don't even have like… a guess! Nobody to pine after, no swooning honeys traipsing along behind me, it's so sad. It's not like I want to settle, but come on: Hero Power Couples are the best. Plus, am I like the only one who realizes that Quirk Sex has got to be like: way good? I'm all for getting a harem, or really a polycule, that's the dream; but what if it was like a Hero polycule? Do you think I could like, recruit from other schools, or should I stick with the girls and guys in our class? I'd have to recruit from existing couples… Hagakure and Ojiro maybe? Mina and Kirishima for sure are on the list, so maybe toss in Tetsutetsu for good measure? I bet I could convince Komori and Yanagi once they get off the ground, but then again… hm, do you think that crazy girl from the support course is a good choice? She seemed pretty hyper, but like, that's not always a bad thing, ya know? I once took my head off to try something, and getting excited can be really good if you know what I mean. Maybe I should ask Kayama-sensei for advice? She's got her whole youthful harem deal she talked about, but then again she's kinda got it bad for Ingenium now. Did you hear he rebranded? Crazy. You'd think those kinds of things would be hard to do, what with public image and all, but apparently it's going over pretty well. I wonder if it's just because he got to fight a big villain and got publicity right beforehand, or if it's just because he's so low on the scoreboard. I'm always kinda shocked that some Heroes never break the top 25. Like, I could swear Godzillo would have been up there, movie deals and all, but he's never been above 57th apparently. Raptari got up to 34th once, didja know? I love her. Dinosaur-themed, so that's a major plus, and she once mentioned she's polyam too, so it's like staring at a future version of me, but prettier and less split-y. Also more clever. Glad the copyright passed so she could use that catchphrase. Ya know, I need to come up with-"

That was about as far as Jurota could take it. He'd been patient, he'd tried ignoring her, he'd given her every opportunity to shut up and stop playing around, and Tokage had ignored all of them. His bestial side would not be denied this.

"SHUT UP!" he literally roared, swiping at her head with a paw and smashing the hollow basin he was holding into the ground; sealing her captured parts inside far more permanently.

Tokage giggled and fluttered between his digits, blowing a raspberry and keeping just out of his grasp. Jurota felt himself shake in rage, fists beating at the air and smashing into anything else that happened to come nearby, like buildings.

"Dawww, you didn't like talking to me?" Tokage pouted, "But I was just about to see if you wanted to join the cuddle pile. Furry is easier to pet than scaly."

That pissed him off for reasons he couldn't explain, and Jurota ripped a light post from the ground to use as a club. Sadly: he couldn't hit her even with a weapon. Tokage was just too quick, especially when the only visible part was her face.

Jurota blinked, some of his rational mind coming back on. He could see more of her than her head though, he realized. Both of Tokage's hands were over at the little cylinder of metal he'd been trying to trap her bits in. They were tugging on various spots and punching at a few places where the remains of the tower seemed moderately delicate. Despite all their effort though, they didn't seem to be making much headway.

It seems that despite her ability to become nigh invincible and highly mobile: Tokage is unable to increase her strength as of yet.

Swiping his hand down, Jurota managed to pin one of her hands against the metal. Pressing a finger against a nearby spot: he punctured the steel and pushed her hand through before crushing the edges back together. One more part he could stop worrying about.

But that was where things started going downhill at a much more breakneck pace. She just started flying away, leaving him to his meager prizes and in silence. Jurota growled and decided that chasing down her head was all he could do. But he couldn't find her. She'd flown away too quickly, and too erratically to guess her destination.

Jurota rushed after the only parts he could see: what seemed to be parts of her leg. But they too vanished into the buildings before long, leaving him alone in the center of a silent city.

"Shishida!" came a distant shout, Vlad Sensei, he thought it might be, "I'm sorry, but your time's run out! Come on back!"

Shrinking down to normal, Jurota felt himself wilt in defeat. She'd played him quite well, and he'd been too blind to see. What nagged at him most though: was that he wasn't sure how he could have attained victory. He wasn't sure what he'd done wrong.

Shoda Nirengeki

Tetsutetsu bounced up and down like he didn't have a care in the world, his metal feet clanking along the concrete like a very slow but also rather happy jackhammer. Nirengeki decided to be funny and touched the side of his eyepiece, making it run a systems check but with sounds that were more akin to what it was based on visually.

"What's my power level?" Tetsutetsu asked, stopping and looking exceptionally eager, even for him.

"One-thousand and Six," Nirengeki smiled, hoping it would please him.

It did.

"Yeahahaha!" he cheered, fist-pumping, "that means I'm gonna win, right?"

Nirengeki shrugged, though privately he hoped it didn't.

"I mean… maybe? I can kind of see why they paired me with you for my test," he admitted, "I can't exactly hurt you much. I'd have to throw something pretty hard in the first place for my Quirk to make it hurt you when you're all steeled up."

That actually seemed to bug Tetsutetsu. His face got all screwed up in that way he did when he was annoyed, but not yet angry (though he was probably getting there). He folded his arms and scowled.

"Shoda-kun, you can't think unmanly thoughts like that!" he insisted, "You've gotta be positive! Think you can win: and you can!"

He punched his own hand for emphasis, making a sharp clang sound.

"Plus, you can like: drop heavy stuff on me and make it super heavy! Or something…"

Tetsutetsu seemed to consider the implications of that application.

"Can you fly?" he wondered suddenly, "Like, by jumping?"

Nirengeki shook his head.

"My Quirk affects things I already hit, but not me. And they have to be given energy by me to be affected. Just dropping something doesn't count, and the ground just gets an extra push if I jump and use my Quirk."

"Darn. I was gonna say that flying was super manly, but I guess you can't do that. Sorry. Not motivational."

Even so, it made him smile, so Tetsutetsu had accomplished that at least. It was better than nothing before their match began.

"Alright," Vlad-sensei said, gesturing for them to begin.

Running at Tetsutetsu with all the speed he could manage, Nirengeki watched his friend brace against the ground. His arms splayed out, clearly inviting the attack. He couldn't wait though. He had to build up a lot of power in order to punch through that steel.

Leaping at the last second: he kicked with all the power he could and felt his heel connect with his adamant chest. It actually hurt a little, but he pushed off without hesitation and swung another kick at the same spot with his other foot. That one hurt even more, his boots not steel-toed and leaving him limping for a few seconds as Nirengeki tried to gauge if he'd bruised or broken them. It was probably the former.

Rounding on Tetsutetsu: Nirengeki threw a punch and regretted that too. Now his fingers hurt, his thumb especially. He tried his other hand, and it actually felt like something gave that time; though when he shook it out after: it seemed to be all in the right places.

Hopefully that's enough, he thought, stepping back.

"Twin Impact!" he shouted, letting all four hits rebound through the spot once more.

Tetsutetsu skidded back, a deep clanging sound echoing from his chest, but didn't seem much worse for wear.

Crap.

"Wow," Tetsutetsu grinned, rubbing at the spot absently, "that was pretty tough. I think your voice hurt more though. Sorry buddy."

Nirengeki felt his heart sink. He'd just used up all four of his limbs on Tetsutetsu, and it had made him itch. Itch! What the heck could he throw at him that would actually hurt?

Then Nirengeki's brain recognized what his friend had said. His ears had hurt. His voice had penetrated the steel.

Of course it did! His eardrums still work, steel or no!

That meant Nirengeki had a chance. He just hoped it would work and not damage his friend too much.

Sprinting at Tetsutetsu once again, Nirengeki inhaled as deeply as he could and screamed at his friend with all the volume he could muster. The steel boy winced and took a step back, shocked and evidently a bit unnerved. Nirengeki's lungs were rather large, so he wasn't surprised that his normally quiet nature was at odds with how loud he could be when he wanted to.

Taking another breath, he clapped his hands to his own ears and said: "Twin Impact."

In theory: Nirengeki's vibrations into the air wouldn't directly damage or affect Tetsutetsu, but he could re-attack the air itself and recreate the sound at a higher frequency and intensity. Now the question was: would it be enough.

A shrieking whine on par with a train's horn blasted from nowhere and all around them, making Tetsutetsu clap his own hands to his ears. But unlike Nirengeki: his hands were just as much metal as his head. His entire body began to vibrate with the sound, and he slammed his fist into the ground in agony, unable to stop the pain.

Nirengeki felt a pain in his chest unrelated to his sonic attack (though that hurt too; a lot more than he'd expected). He didn't like hurting his friend, and hadn't realized how much more it would affect a metal person than someone made of meat like the rest of them. He worried he might have gone way too far.

I have to train this attack so I don't kill someone! he realized with horror.

As the sound died away, Vlad King stepped in, his ears clearly ringing as much as everyone else's as he shouted in a very small and distant voice.

"Good job! You both pass! We should all go see Recovery Girl before we lose any of our hearing!"

Tetsutetsu looked around and noticed his mouth moving.

"WHAT?"

"We're gonna go see Recovery Girl!"

"...WHAT?"

Tsunotori Pony

"Do you know what time it is?!" Pony called at Bondo, punching her hand and grinning brightly.

Bondo opened his mouth for a moment before shaking his head. He'd just activated her Trap Card.

"It's time to: D-d-d-d, d-d-d-d-d-d-d-Duel!" she proclaimed, leveling a finger and making him flinch.

"Don't antagonize the poor boy before your exam, please," Ectoplasm-sensei requested calmly.

Pony saluted and he nodded. The robot that bugged her just folded its arms and made what seemed like a huffing noise. She silently promised herself she'd break the thing if she could. Making fun of Monoma was all well and good, but that was a little too far.

"In that case: you may begin."

Wasting no time, Pony placed either hand against her head and just under her horns. She leveled them at Bondo and grinned.

"Horn Cannon: GO!" she cheered, firing a few unguided horns to try and pin his costume down.

Bondo was quick on the defensive, that was for sure. He released a blast of his glue-ish stuff, catching all the horns easily. Pony decided to give it a bit of a stress-test. She fired a few more, jamming them into the wall of glue with as much speed as she could muster.

For all its stickiness: it wasn't particularly durable. Her horns cracked and flexed the stuff easily, leaving it to distend and then crack. A few more blasts and it fell apart like wet cardboard. Pony giggled maniacally.

"Sixteen horns, huh? How'll you handle twenty?!" she called, firing with all the speed she could.

Bondo called forth another wall, but it crumpled almost instantly, pulled by each horn as a very heavy tablecloth more than anything. A trio of her horns got through and shattered near his feet. Pony aimed again and decided to try going around this time if he called up another one. But then Bondo did something rather surprising: he turned and ran.

Thinking this might be part of the test, Pony called up a quartet of horns to hold against her shoulders and shins. She caught the air and rocketed after Bondo, letting out a little "wheee!" as she chased him down. Luckily: she couldn't fire horns while controlling four of them, otherwise he'd be pinned down by her very best fighterjet toy impersonation.

"Wyyyyyyr!" Pony made the sound effect with her lips, pretending to be a turboprop.

Strangely: Bondo seemed even more terrified of her after that. He fired a few squirts of glue after her, but none even came close. It seemed oddly strange to Pony, so she decided to make sure everything was alright.

Pushing off her shoulder lifts, Pony directed the two to hover by her head while she rode the others like skates (thank you Mr. Hawks). She slid over to fly beside where Bondo was running, gliding backwards and keeping pace with him. He sprayed some glue at her, but Pony didn't really need to move right then.

"Um… is this part of the test?" she asked, concerned.

Bondo didn't reply, just firing more glue and trying to get away. Pony was really confused and kind of scared now. She called over her other two to pin him to the wall by the shoulders, careful just to snag his costume and not actually hurt him. He kept on firing, and she realized he was trying to hide the fact that he was shaking.

Oh… Bondo, buddy…

Pony sighed and hovered over, patting Bondo's shoulder and letting him down.

"Sorry, man," she whispered, before turning and flying back to the stupid Nomabot.011.

She knew he was cripplingly timid and shy, but she hadn't realized just how deeply his fears ran. Pony felt guilty about getting her win, but she knew that failing for his sake wouldn't do him any favors either. So she gripped her spare horns in either hand, sped up to as fast as she could manage on two: and decapitated the robot with a pair of synchronized swipes.

Without waiting for Ectoplasm to confirm her victory, Pony flew back to Bondo. But he'd started running again, and she couldn't find him.

Tsuburaba Kosei

"Really?" Kosei asked, unimpressed, "Hide and Seek?"

Ectoplasm's stern expression didn't change much, but it did darken.

"Would you prefer to fail outright?" he asked pointedly.

Kosei got the message and shook his head silently. He could do Hide and Seek.

"Good. In that case: here are your special rules," Ectoplasm explained glancing over at Shoda as well, "You must count for 100 seconds each time you are found and become the seeker. Your goal is to be the one hiding and not yet found at the end of the forty-five minute period. We will begin as soon as Shoda begins to count."

Kosei rolled his eyes and turned to ask if Shoda would cover his eyes for fairness.

"One, two, three," the vice-representative said, staring at him dead-on.

Kosei decided he should probably start running.

Shoda kept watching him as he ran into Ground Beta, so Kosei made sure to turn as soon as he could. He didn't have a lot of ways to hide well, but maybe he didn't have to…

Inflating his lungs, Kosei released a wall into the entrance of an alley, then another, and then another. He kept filling up the space until the invisible walls were lining the entire alley, then crouched behind a large trash receptacle. Shoda might find him, but he'd never get through enough walls to find him. He just had to stay very still and very quiet.

His plan worked right up until Shoda finished counting. He ran up to the alley and stopped dead, turned to look at the spot where he was hiding and seemed disappointed. Shoda cupped his hands around his mouth, and then… whistled? It was hard to tell without sound, and Kosei didn't know what to make of it. Then Shoda mouthed something that looked suspiciously like "Twin Impact."

A shrill whistle sounded through the air, and all of the walls shattered instantly. Kosei winced in surprise and reflex, before wilting as Shoda walked over and looked down at him.

"Found you."

Kosei waved his hand irritably, sighing.

"Yeah, yeah."

Shoda turned and walked away, leaving Kosei to sit on his own in the alley. He sighed and rubbed at his eyes, starting to count.

That was a stupid plan, he mentally berated himself, Get you head in the game, Kosei! I'm already one down; I can't afford to mess around.

As his time ended, Kosei decided he'd have to cheat. Or rather: he'd have to bend the rules. Official Hide and Seek said one had to cover their eyes when counting, but Shoda had broken that rule on the first count. So, since he'd opened up the field: Kosei could use the same move. Or rather: he could improve it. Now he just had to buy himself time so that pulling it wouldn't leave him utterly screwed.

Making a few air walls parallel to the ground, Kosei got himself some steps up into the air. He needed to figure out where Shoda was quickly and then stall. In theory: he could find him and then wait until about two minutes before the end to find him, and just hope he could remain hidden for over twenty seconds, but he didn't think he could time it that well. Burning ten was the safer bet.

He didn't see any signs of the other boy, nor any obvious destruction that would indicate his Quirk in use. …That might be a problem.

Jogging back down his transparent stairs, Kosei started looking through various alleyways, hoping for some indicator as to where Shoda was hidden away. He ran past a few different shops that made him admire the detail UA went to, mostly ignoring them until he skidded to a stop outside an American Boxing dojo. He didn't see anything really wrong with it at first, but something had caught his eye.

Then Kosei grinned. The slight glint of the handle was what caught him, his eyes used to seeing the confusing reflections of his air walls which were normally invisible. The door was well disguised to look closed, but it had recently been forced open. He threw open the door and stepped inside.

It was a pretty standard area, with a boxing ring and ropes, weights and gloves, a few hanging bags and pictures of old fighters on the walls. They all looked a little smaller than Kosei thought boxers were supposed to be. Then again, he'd always been more of a fan of All Might's slugger style. Power and Endurance over speed and precision. This place seemed more tailored to a Swarmer or Out-Boxer style. Speed being their big draw. Funny. He'd always seen Shoda as more of a Puncher-Boxer.

Turning in the doorway, Kosei quietly made a wall just outside the door and closed it. If he was careful, this just might work.

Kosei began to search the place, hearing the occasional shuffle on the carpet that sounded like something he wasn't moving. Shoda was here, he just had to give him a moment.

Grabbing the skirt of the raised ring so he could check under it, Kosei left himself utterly unable to see the rest of the dojo, and in that moment he heard the slam of flesh into his Quirk. He pulled back almost casually, turning to see his buddy spread-eagled against his trap, the door having swung closed and pinned him momentarily to the air.

"Found you," he grinned, jogging over and giving his face a look over.

Shoda seemed fine, so Kosei nodded and kicked at his wall. He realized he was trapped too, and made a bit of a show of his annoyance as Shoda started counting. Kosei managed to break it down before he hit 60, but he didn't have much time to hide.

In the end, he just threw up another shield to slow his examiner and went to the nearest alley to try climbing the fire exit. Shoda found him almost immediately.

Just according to cake.

Shoda turned to hide, but Kosei didn't let him go. He started counting, walking along right behind him. For a second: it seemed like he was going to protest, but Kosei just counted a little faster and the panic seemed to override Shoda's desire to call for arbitration. When the time was up, he just tapped Shoda's shoulder to switch back.

"You do realize this is all up to chance now, right?" he asked Kosei, folding his arms.

"Yep!"

Kosei inflated his lungs and summoned a wall, trying to direct it how Bakugo had taught him. Instead of making a flat plane: he cupped his hands around his mouth and forced it to remain a certain diameter, but continued to feed it a constant stream, making a cylinder. If he broke off his air: it would become fixed in place and a separate cylinder would form, so he had to be careful not to lose breath.

The pillar slammed into Shoda's gut, pushing him back and planting him against a wall. Kosei cut off his air and aimed a second one at Shoda's arm, pinning it too. He got both his legs and his other arm before Shoda managed to hit 40 this time, counting like an American auctioneer of old. Then Kosei gave a little salute and went over to the boxing studio.

He closed the door and started layering walls, trying to jam the door so it would take more than even a twin impact at full force to open. He just had to hole up and hope now. Kosei was silently glad there were no windows.

Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu

"Ready?" Vlad King-sensei asked, his voice intentionally quiet as they hadn't really recovered from the sonic attack just yet, even after Recovery Girl's help.

Tetsutetsu nodded, and his opponent grinned. Or, at least it looked like a grin. It was kinda hard to tell with Honenuki, his teeth being how they were. Luckily: his helmet was off when he did it, otherwise it would have been impossible to tell what his expression was.

Either way: the two of them knelt in preparation to begin. It was a simple foot-race along the P.E. Grounds, and based on how heavy Honenuki's armor seemed… yeah, he had this in the bag.

"Go!"

Tetsutetsu pushed off the ground and tried to sprint for the goal, in his flesh form to avoid weighing himself down. …But the ground gave. The entire area seemed to turn into a gooey trampoline which had lost all bounce to its springs. Honenuki's Quirk!

"You won't get me that easy!" he declared, churning his arms in a freestyle even as the ground became softer and softer.

For a second he almost crawled his way up and out of the pit of fluffy ground, but then he felt his weight shift and dip ahead of him. The slightly harder mass he'd been gripping had been softened as well, leaving him to start sinking. Tetsutetsu steeled his hands into claws and began to dig his way out, but the furrows disappeared almost instantly as the mass above them sunk into it.

"You'll never beat me!" Tetsutetsu called, fighting off his own disbelief as best he could.

But he was being beaten. No matter how hard he fought: he was almost literally treading water. Each fresh attempt to break free just left him more and more exhausted and more thoughrally trapped. He eventually had to steel up his entire face to prevent anything from getting into his mouth and choking him.

As he sank though: Tetsutetsu realized why he hadn't been able to swim before. While it was only just barely softened at the top and mixed with the fully solid dirt around it: the bottom had become almost totally liquid-ish by then. He just had to get below the annoyance line and swim under and he'd be home free!

Tetsutetsu formed the best streamline he could and began to kick his way towards the finish line. If he could find the edge of the pit: he could dig himself out. He hit it soon enough, and tore through the dirt as best he could. But while his plan had merit: in practice it wasn't very bright.

The dirt he pulled out of the hardened soil was supporting almost six feet of dirt above it. Tunneling only made more fall on top of him and left him weighed down and sinking even lower.

Only a few minutes after the match had begun, a hand caught his and pulled him free, and the ground returned to normal.

"I lost," Tetsutetsu said, his tone defeated.

"You did," Vlad King confirmed, setting him on his feet, "I'm sorry, Tetsutetsu."

"How come…" he began to say, but he stopped himself.

Vlad King seemed to know what he wanted to ask, and patted his shoulder reassuringly.

"You did your best. That counts for something. We'll go over everything after the rest of the exams.

It seemed like it was meant to be a reassurance. Tetsutetsu thought it sounded more like a consolation.

Tokage Setsuna

Oh yeah. This'll be easy! Setsuna decided, bouncing on her feet and preparing to beat Awase black and blue with her clearly superior Quirk.

Awase, for his part: just stared at her with dull eyes. How dare he?! She was Tokage Setsuna! She was the one girl in the world (that she'd met, anyway) who you could make out anywhere and not worry about losing teeth or tongues! She was the real deal; the sex machine reincarnated! How dare he not stare at her with slack-jawed arousal and then look away in embarrassment?!

I need to get that Midoriya guy over here, she thought, show him how it's done.

It wasn't that Set was taking Awase lightly in their fight (no way, she'd seen him kick Rin's cute tush), but she had her plan to beat the guy. He could weld anything, so that meant if she got close, even in pieces, eventually he'd tie her down. And no man or woman could tie down Tokage Setsuna! Unless she wishes it…

"Ready to go?" Awase asked, cutting into her thoughts, "Or do you need to do another inner monologue?"

Set flipped him off, and Vlad King nodded in what looked oddly like approval.

"Good enough for me. Begin," their teacher said.

Without waiting for him to make the first move: Setsuna burst into two dozen smaller pieces, rushing him and blinding her opponent for a moment so the rest of her could get away. She felt him grab two chunks of her and weld them to the ground, but the rest of her got away, so that was a win.

Set's first job was simple: get junk. It wasn't that junk was the preferred device, but she needed a lot of disposable weapons, and in the cityscape of Ground Beta that wasn't exactly perfect for finding sticks and stones to hit him with. Trash bags and discarded junk? That she could work with.

Her hands and six other segments went out to grab some flotsam for her next attack, while she decided to stick with the same plan that had beat Shishida otherwise. Namely: her mouth would hover just out of reach of Awase and chatter at him

"Soooooo, ya interested in anyone?" she asked, smirking as the lower half of her head broke off to hover behind Awase's ear, "'Cause I think we're kinda runnin' low on girls. Like, our class already has a confirmed couple between them, Tsunotori's going after that bird guy in 1-A, and Kodai's doin'... whatever she and Kendo are doin'. And then there's Shiozaki's whole deal; woof. That kinda just leaves me, and as much as I hate to do it: I've gotta be the mature one here and remind everyone that High School romances like, never work out in the end. I'm gonna wait for somebody after I'm a full time pro, thank you very much. But, like: even 1-A's all got called. I know you said you're straight when we had that "Nice to Meet You" assignment at the start of the year, but don't you think you might be the tiniest bit bi? I bet I could set you up with that Shoji guy, he seems pretty fun."

Her hand managed to catch hold of a trashbag, and Setsuna had to hide her excitement. If Awase noticed any distraction or hesitation: her plan would be in ruins.

"Oh! Or I could try finding you a General Studies Girl!" she beamed, hovering around to his face and trying to fluster him a bit, "I know lots of them would be down for a Hero boyfriend. Gotta be, right? We're like the most glam track in the world, and when we graduate: I've got money down at least one of the boys will have a harem. Good money's on Todoroki and You, actually. I mean, I'm not exactly a fan of oblong polyamory myself, gotta have mutual lines or it's just a recipe for broken hearts, right?"

Awase reached towards her face so smoothly she almost didn't see it coming until he'd almost touched her mouth. Setsuna dodged back instantly, and for a moment she lost sight of him. As she swung back around: Awase vanished.

Did I just get Batman'd?

Set knew Awase was quick, and being unable to see any of her broken-off limbs meant that he could strike them with impunity. Trying to avoid his impending attacks, she had her bits head upwards and begin to reassemble. She'd managed to grab ahold of a pair of trashbags and a metal pipe her shin had grabbed from… somewhere. Setsuna made sure put them in her hands as she put herself back together, not wanting to have one accidentally embedded in her.

Despite being reassembled: Set continued to fly above, having broken herself off at the hip after momentarily reattaching and resetting her time limits. In theory she could fly while totally assembled, but she'd always been hesitant to try. Breaking off a piece and having it just move in 3-D space unaided was just natural to her, but trying to hop into the air Superman style? It felt weird.

Gripping the pipe with her feet and a bag in either hand, Set spotted Awase looking up at her. He was just standing there, casually waiting.

Oh it's on now!

Setsuna dove, detaching her neck so she could keep an eye on him while her body began to spin like a top, either bag pulled outwards into an offensive centrifuge. Awase didn't even try to block them. He just let the refuse filled plastic hit his shoulder and crumple, the sound of breaking bottles making Set involuntarily impressed at his strength of will.

Tossing her other weapon down and shooting her torso up to catch the pipe, Setsuna swung down at his face with all the power she could. She had to go full cavewoman on this cultured wackadoo. This time he did move; grabbing her hands and welding them to the metal, before slamming it down against the ground and placing its tip firmly against the concrete, where it stayed.

Set cursed herself and dissolved her body into indistinguishable globs, leaving only her fingers and palms attached to the now useless weapon. Plan A was always gonna be a test, but she'd hoped to bruise him a little. Well, Plan C was probably her best option now.

Sending her bits to collectively grip onto his arms: Set started to lift him up as high as she could. It was a slow process, and it only got harder as Awase started pulling her pieces off and welding them to his metal stick things he carried in his costume. Setsuna realized she wouldn't be able to hold him for too much longer if he kept going.

A dirty, excellent idea got her fancy, and Set smirked. She reassembled her chest, specifically her upper chest, and then bisected it into a very soft sphere each. She placed the backs against his arms and used those to lift, waiting to see if he'd dare to grab and weld them now.

There's the blush I was waiting for, Set internally cheered, seeing Awase's entire visage turn crimson.

He might be able to resist her charms (for now), but he wasn't gonna grope her without shame. By the time he worked up the courage to start reaching for them: Set broke apart again and just pulled him up by his torso. Awase seemed to be confused for a moment, before realizing just how high she'd got him.

"Give?" she asked, panting.

Awase looked down, then up to her, then back down.

"That was a dirty trick," he grumbled, "But yeah. I give."

"Hehehehehehehehehehe. Yeah."

Fukidashi Manga

"Your goal, Fukidashi: is to escape," Vlad King had said, gesturing to the distant exit arch.

Sure, at the time it had seemed rather simple and easy. Who could blame him? He was fighting Kodai; not exactly a mastermind of combat after all. Oh how wrong he was.

Almost as soon as the match had started, standing in the charred remains of Komori's mushrooms, an army of stone and charcoal walls had begun to expand from nowhere, made of whatever little objects Kodai had evidently touched on her initial pass before he'd come through. He'd tried a few ways through, of course. He'd shouted "Bang!" and blasted some of the less durable walls to bits, but the dust had left him coughing and unable to speak (and thus unable to use his Quirk).

Manga had taken a swig of water from a small pouch he'd had installed to sit in a pocket on his shoulder, and manged to cut through the cloud with a soft "w-whoosh." The problem now though was that he didn't exactly have a plan for how to get through the rest of them. One major issue with his attacks was that they were one and done.

Sure, some words made solid manifestations of themselves, but the most powerful were onomatopoeia words which existed for a fraction of a second and took effect, before vanishing. He would prefer to use one of those when removing the walls, as otherwise he'd be here for a long time.

If only I had a sonic attack like Shoda, he mused, Something that could push away the debris at the same time as breaking the walls.

Manga had considered trying using "Kaboom!" his biggest attack to date, which would probably level the entire quarry grounds, but while it would leave his throat sore and the area filled with a smog of powdered stone: Kodai could grow new walls almost immediately. He needed something constant. Something… that didn't tax his throat much.

So now he was sitting on a stone, running through all the words he knew of, both Japanese and English. He'd toyed with humming, but that wasn't exactly a word and it might not work. Manga knew he was missing something, but he couldn't figure out what it might be. He tried thinking back to some of Present Mic's lessons, recalling he'd mentioned something about how to find words.

"So remember:" he'd said, "If you ever have a hard time figuring out what all the buzz is about: use this simple trick that Manga can totally remember. Why, it's so easy to remember: he can definitely remember it right now… right now… Nnnnnnow.

Okay, now his imagination was running away with the memory. He evidently did not recall the method.

Manga looked up at nothing, his brain replaying the imagination-fueled memory. He didn't know if buzz could help, but buzz was one of those English words you could just hold forever. And the syllable you stretched out was an easy one: a z. It was just a buzzing tongue, which would be easy on his throat!

Inhaling and hoping it would work, Manga let it out.

{"Buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz-"} he held, making sure his word didn't get interrupted.

The effect was a continual stream of stylized Z's, but the sound was even more impressive. A rolling, roaring vibration began to sound from the letters as they floated away and vanished, shaking his teeth and the entire area like a mild earthquake or helicopter. The supersized mushroom remains disintegrated without bursting, the ash seeming to warp a little as it fell, while the stones cracked and fell into rubble more normally.

Manga realized that while Kodai was making things larger and heavier: they weren't actually gaining mass. The pebbles were just as disorganized and easily broken as normal pebbles, they were just bigger and had more surface area to disperse forces along them.

He held the note as long as he could, walking straight and steady towards the exit. Here and there a new wall would come into being, but fractured it just as easily as the others. His throat was aching something fierce by the time he got to the exit, but hey: Plus Ultra, right?

Honenuki Juzo

Juzo blinked in surprise. He was fighting… Tsunotori?

"Now, we won't be having you two spar in the traditional sense," Vlad King was saying, cutting into Juzo's misgivings, "Instead this will be a mobility check. Tsunotori will be testing your ability to catch a villain as spirited and agile as she is, both on the ground and off."

Tsunotori (who's Japanese had come a long way, it was really quite impressive, even he had to admit) gave an adorable grin at that, but her eyes were filled with a fire and mischief that Juzo didn't like. She'd been hanging around that Tokoyami guy too much. Perhaps Monoma was onto something with that whole "rivalry" business?

"We're gonna play Tag!" she declared, slamming her fist into her other hand with far too much enthusiasm for "tag."

"Quite. Now, if you'd like to begin, Tsunotori?"

She beamed at him and nodded, before stepping over to Juzo and bopping him on the head.

"Tag! You're It!" she shouted, before turning and sprinting into the woods.

Juzo tried softening up the ground she was heading through, but just before it reached her: Tsunotori dropped to all fours. Her uniquely shaped legs allowed her to run even faster with her hands than without, and to keep her back mostly level to the ground while doing so. It was quite impressive, actually. The downside (for him anyway) was that she almost immediately vanished into the trees, leaving his Quirk to just tip a few trees into the semi-liquid ground. Still, he was fortunate she wasn't flying.

Normally he'd try using his Quirk to show off his Heroic skills, but Juzo knew that doing so would be detrimental at this time. He could run faster than he could swim, so that was what he did. He sprinted after Tsunotori with all the speed he could summon. It wasn't enough to catch her, but he kept within earshot.

Periodically he'd shoot out some softening, trying to trip her up by chance. He didn't hear anything that suggested he was succeeding, but it was his most effective current action. Or at least, it was…

"Hi Honenuki!" Tsunotori called, racing past him from nowhere, having somehow turned around and then rocketed past him.

"Hello… Tsunotori?" he managed, twisting in an effort to see where she went, let alone tag her back.

That was… odd.

But then she did it again, coming from the side. He didn't even know how she'd got there. She said "Hi" again, and Juzo tried to catch her. Tsunotori succeeded and he failed. And again, she whipped past, clearly intent on doing so for the next while ad infinitum.

Perhaps it was a code? A way for him to defeat her? Prediction perhaps.

Juzo gave it a try; softening the ground around him and treading soil in preparation for the next pass. But then she just jumped over it, saying "Hi" like always. He tried swimming along a softened tract, trying to get her to overestimate her leap and fall in. She didn't seem to, and if she did: her horns were probably helping her avoid falling.

It was starting to irritate him, actually. It took a lot to rile up Juzo, he prided himself on his easy-going nature, but there were several factors he felt were being ignored by his classmate just now that were moderately infuriating.

First was that she didn't seem to have a point in her constant passes and greetings. She was supposed to be testing his mobility, not his ability to greet someone consistently.

Second being that they were in a test. His grade was dependent on her examination, and her playing around was not appreciated.

The third, of course, was that she was just saying the same thing over and over. She couldn't, well, give it some variety?

"Hi Honenuki!"

…okay, now she's just being a sass.

Juzo gritted his teeth, slamming a hand into the ground and deciding to go scorched Earth on her hide. He started softening everything, letting the effect spread out as far as he could. He heard a splash and almost literally flew over to it. Sure enough: Tsunotori was starting to swim her way out of the earth.

"Not so fast!" Juzo shouted, racing over and grabbing her shoulder, "You're it!"

Tsunotori turned to him, beamed, and said exactly the wrong thing.

"Hi Honenuki."

That broke him.

"That's it! I, am going, to kill yo-"

Tsunotori erupted out of his hands, some of the earth spraying free as her horns picked her up out of the puddle. She swatted his forehead, cutting him off.

"TAG! You're It!"

Juzo didn't have the words, so he just scratched out an unrefined roar of fury. It likely sounded something like: "WNRGRAAAWWW!" He thought it was rather fitting. Tsunotori just giggled at the sound and flew around in loopty-loops.

As Tsunotori flew away, Juzo splashed after her. Just before he reached a bank though, he felt something click into place in the back of his mind. Had she been intentionally pissing him off? That was even more infuriating!

But not without its merits…

Clambering onto the "bank," Juzo raced towards Tsunotori, noticing how she whooped with laughter as she flew away. Yep, she was trying to bug him alright. Fine. He'd be angry. But he wouldn't be stupid.

Juzo waited until she was out of sight before coming to a stop. He made the ground soft and silently slid down into it, careful not to let it spread outwards. And then he waited. And listened.

There was a slight vibration, but he didn't fall for it. Juzo waited until it was right up next to him before pushing off the bottom and snapping his hands around Tsunotori's arms.

"Gotcha!"

"Holy- ^^^ch!" she screamed, alarm coming into her eyes as he caught and prevented her from escaping.

She struggled, but not as much as she could have. Evidently Tsunotori wasn't interested in victory now. Juzo realized what she'd said.

"Holy… ^^^ch?" he smirked, "I think Shiozaki will take issue with that comment."

Tsunotori sniffed and looked away.

"Just let me go so I can chase you for my turn already."

Juzo wasn't playing that game though. He was playing to win.

"Sorry, I think I'll do this instead."

"Do wha- eep!" she managed as Juzo pushed her down into the softened ground and then hardened it back up around them.

He'd wait all day if he had to, but she was not getting any tag-backs.

Bondo Kojiro

Kojiro felt ashamed of himself. His cowardice had already cost him one match, and now he had to fight Kamikiri? It wasn't fair. He hated having to be so combative. Couldn't he just be a normal rescue Hero and avoid all this violence?

"On your marks," Vlad King Kan-sensei said, "Get set-"

Kojiro didn't dare fail again, so he didn't even wait for the final words. He just sprayed Kamikiri with all the glue he could muster and then sprinted for the finish line.

If he could just make it to halfway before Kamikiri broke out: everything would be fine.

"...go?" his teacher managed, clearly surprised but not going to stop them.

Kojiro got a quarter of the way when Kamikiri broke his way out and started chasing him, fury in his eyes and voice. Kojiro didn't know precisely what he was saying, but it was very angry. He tried spraying the area behind him with adhesive that wouldn't harden as fast, hoping against hope it would slow Kamikiri.

If he could just make it another quarter of the way before Kamikiri caught up: everything would be fine.

Kamikiri… he did get stuck. His feet froze to the ground for a few seconds before he cut himself free and started walking on what fragments of the terrain he couldn't cut off. After that: he didn't get stuck.

Kojiro tried one last gambit. He made a wall with his glue, making it as wide as he could to try and prevent Kamikiri going around or through easily. He kept running while he made it, praying for just a few more centimeters.

If he could just make it another few steps before Kamikiri got through: everything would be fine.

A shattering sound made Kojiro almost turn around and see his doom. Turning would take too much time, and he was so close.

If he could just make it another few seconds before Kamikiri reached him: everything would be fine.

Kamikiri was close, he could hear him growling and clanking behind him.

If he could just make it a little further before Kamikiri closed in: everything would be fine.

If he could just make it a little further: everything would be fine.

If he could just make it a little further.

A little further…

A little-

A hand slammed into his back and Kojiro fell to the ground, feeling his spirit break as his palms smacked against the dirt. He hadn't made it. He'd failed his friends and his class twice in one day. How could he look them in the eye-

"Victory for Bondo!" Vlad King Kan-sensei called.

Kojiro stayed still for almost a full two minutes, not registering the words. He wasn't sure what to think, or even if he should think.

Monoma Neito

He was so proud of his class. They'd almost all passed with flying colors, and even the failures were minor ones they could easily recover from tomorrow. Now it was time for him to show off some of his own moves. He'd made sure to pick three exceptional Quirks to copy for this event, ones which would show off both his talents and the exceptional power of his classmates who might not have had a great showing.

In order to deal with Yanagi-san, he'd need three things. One: range. Two: power. And Three: trickery.

Yanagi carried a telekinetic arsenal with her at all times, able to turn anything and anyone around her into a weapon (assuming they were light enough for her Quirk to lift). Particularly dangerous weapons, seeing as they could be fired like ballistics for even those things out of range. To counter this: Neito had copied Shoda-kun's Twin Impact. Thrown objects or just a shout would be his best attack to get close.

However: when close there were other considerations. At that point she might be able to lift and throw him, or otherwise bombard him nonstop with things. Her direct control of the objects made her even more deadly than if she fired them. He had to be too heavy to move and too durable to deflect. Tetsutetsu-kun's Steel was the natural choice.

And lastly: his secret weapon. Neito couldn't stand straight-forward Heroes, who thought that the only way to be good at their job was to show off and do the obvious "good guy" things. A great Hero had to be crafty, clever, willing to go beyond their morals or their preconceptions to get the job done. Edgeshot and Hawks certainly showed that (though few enough people actually saw it).

Now he just had to apply them before his time ran out. Given that it had taken a second to touch all three of them and then run out to Ground Gamma, Neito guessed he had about three minutes left. Since Vlad King had given the match twenty… that didn't bode well.

First thing's first, he decided, I have to find my spooky examiner and vanquish her ghoulish countinance. Best to start from somewhere up high.

Forming some claws with his steel hands, Neito clambered up the nearest structure and started looking for the characteristic purple glow of something Yanagi had picked up. He wasn't long in searching. A flicker of color and motion caught his gaze somewhere deeper in, and as he focused on it: Neito realized it was indeed Yanagi.

She was doing her exorcist thing where she floated upwards, chest to the sky and limbs askew, evidently trying to freak him out as she got on top of a pipe-encrusted building. But he was not intimidated. He'd seen the man behind the curtain, and now it was his turn to be the puppetmaster!

Sliding back down the side, Neito slid into the shadows and merged with them, racing unseen to just shy of Yanagi's position. Kuroiro's Quirk was his ace in the hole, his secret weapon, but he had to keep it in the back pocket until he was ready to unveil it. If Yanagi saw before it was time… she'd be able to prepare. For now: mystery was his true weapon.

So he skulked about the base of her tower for a bit, waiting for the moment she would look away and he'd be able to strike. Just a few seconds more…

And there it was.

Neito pulled himself free from the shadows and started breaking various pipes free with Steel, not bothering to avoid her gaze now. He just needed a few more seconds.

Neito gathered a collection of useful debris and began to hurl it at Yanagi up above with all haste, quickly muttering "Twin Impact" under his breath each time they started to slow. She would no doubt catch most of them, but he just needed her to be distracted long enough for him to get up there.

Finally the last bits were away, and he slid into the shadow of a particularly thick block of concrete he'd thrown, using the sun's angle to literally leap up the side of the building and right next to her. Neito popped out and switched back to Steel, ready for the one and only required punch.

"I Win!" he cheered, going for Yanagi's shoulder.

There was a soft flump as his knuckles hit her jacket, and Yanagi gave her usual deadpan stare. Neito felt his stomach drop, while his face remained a mask of victory.

"Time's up," she informed him politely, before burying him in all the crap he'd just finished throwing at her.

Yanagi Reiko

A simple recovery operation. That was easy. Or at least: it was supposed to be easy. The large beast rushing at her was a bit of a difficulty.

She'd tried picking Shishida up with her Quirk and holding him a few centimeters off the ground so he'd be unable to harm anyone, but he'd been too heavy. She'd attempted throwing refuse and debris at him, but he'd transfigured himself into a large beast and that didn't seem to do much.

So now she was just running from the rampaging monster of fur and claws and other such dangers. Luckily: he was not exactly agile, and she could quickly lose him in alleyways or other narrow spaces. He caught up fairly quickly, but it at least prevented quick annihilation.

I must outthink my opponent. He cannot preserve his higher thinking while in this form, at least not well, so that must be my path to victory.

The only issue was: she wasn't really sure how to bamboozle him. He never got out of sight for more than a few seconds, and while she'd tried distracting him with a few flying pretties or making herself seem spooky by possession-posing: Shishida hadn't taken any of the bait. Reiko really needed a better weapon for when things got dicey. Maybe some kind of… laser sword?

A fist slammed into the ground just behind her, and Reiko used her Quirk as best she could to redirect the next one to somewhere other than on top of her, the act driving all thoughts of support gear from her mind.

If only I could actually fly, Reiko mentally berated herself.

Technically speaking: Reiko could lift herself with her Quirk, but doing so required she put all her power into it, and it wasn't very fast or easy. Not to mention: she may or may not have had a slight fear of falling from great heights. She had to float Exorcist-style in order to trick her brain into not giving out midway, which limited her ability to imitate someone like Midoriya or Pony.

Hold up… Pony…

Pony's horns weren't exactly hyper-durable or damaging, but they were rather numerous when she got going. Perhaps she could take a page out of her book for once?

Gripping everything she could find with her Quirk that was smaller than her fist; Reiko began to pelt the area behind her with all she could. It didn't sound like it was making much headway at first, but the impacts near her person started slowing and having larger gaps between near-misses.

The breathing room helped Reiko to get out of sight and somewhere she could rest. Running was hard, especially with her slight frame.

Crouched atop a structure which would hide her from view if she just stayed in the center, Reiko tried to relax and focus her mind. Her panicked thoughts would only lead to mistakes, and acting out of emotion led always to destruction.

Except for with Komori, a distant part of her mind objected, but she silenced it and tried not to get distracted.

""Through focus I gain serenity, by serenity is found peace, by peace: victory comes to fruition, by victory my focus is sharpened,"" she whispered to herself, her heart rate slowing and her emotions petering out.

Taking a final deep breath, Reiko stood up and stepped to the edge of the building, seeing Shishida still tramping around in a rage. Good. She just had to avoid him for a bit and get back to the bot.

Easier said than done, all things considered. Shishida had very good senses, and if she went straight for the thing: he'd almost certainly beat her there. She had to be… unpredictable.

Reiko had manipulated distant things before, but it was always a comparable strain to its weight. Light things far away were just as hard as heavy things up close. Still, something like a pebble or loose bolt would do, supposing she could find it.

Her Quirk latched onto something in the distance, but Reiko felt no pleasure in it. She was calm, untethered. She was the rock in the river: unseen, and unhindered. Reiko threw it just slightly, and the sound attracted Shishida's attention. He rushed for the spot, and Reiko used her opportunity.

Leaping from her perch, she managed to slow her fall; closing her eyes to remain focused. Once her toes touched down: she sprinted for the robot. She could hear Shishida's crashing starting to turn back, but Reiko was already far ahead of him.

Exploding out of an alleyway, but still the picture of zen, Reiko stepped forward and touched the Nomabot.011 with a single hand. Vlad King praised her, but she didn't respond. She saw Komori standing at the entrance to the grounds, looking warily. Reiko's serine construct fractured, and she felt herself again feel pride and affection. Her date was waiting for her. Peace could wait.

Rin Hiryu

"Last round of the day," Vlad King said, clapping his hands together in anticipation, "You two ready?"

Hiryu nodded. Monoma just pouted. Poor bugger had come so close, just to fall short when it really counted. He was really kind of pitiful sometimes, like a younger brother who just wanted to be like the cool kids but just wasn't there yet; while also like an older brother who had no friends and so tried to teach his siblings the ways of being "rad" but with only a 50/50 success rate.

Wu Mei would like him, Hiryu thought, briefly feeling a bit wistful before returning his focus to the here and now.

There would be time to videochat her after exams. He'd passed one, and this wouldn't be too hard if he stayed focused.

Hiryu'd already guessed why he'd been pitted against Monoma. His Quirk was inherently a simple one, and even with excellent application: he'd be heavily reliant on support gear or on his skill to overcome more powerful or versatile powers. Monoma was the opposite however. He was a walking arsenal, assuming he could snag a few of the Quirks around him. Even civilians with unusable Quirks became assets for him.

In plain Chinese: he should be well and truly outmatched.

But Hiryu wasn't going down that easily. He also knew Monoma's weaknesses. Five minutes for each Quirk, three Quirks total, and he only had as much control as he'd practiced with. Hiryu just had to outlast him. Yanagi had already managed it.

"Begin!"

Monoma charged him, his face growing much more hairy all of the sudden. Ah, he'd taken Shishida's Quirk. Irritating, but manageable.

Hiryu scaled up his arms and face, running to meet his foe. Monoma's eyes suddenly widened in surprise. He clearly hadn't expected to be met head on. Hiryu didn't give him time to react, instead holding both arms parallel to Monoma's face and then firing off all the scales he could at once.

The wall of sharp edges began to fly, and Monoma blinked. Hiryu didn't wait for another opening. He leapt up and around to sit behind his head, using his legs to enwrap Monoma's neck and begin choking him. He'd no doubt revert to one of the other Quirks he had in stock before long, but all Hiryu needed was a chance to fight something he could last a little longer against in straight-up fisticuffs.

Sure enough: Monoma began to shrink before too long, and something purple caught the edge of Hiryu's eye. Telekinesis? He could deal with Poltergeist.

Hiryu dropped off Monoma's back, landing upside down on his hands before letting gravity pull him back down to his feet. He didn't wait for that to start covering his body in more scales. Yanagi's Quirk under Monoma's control or her own was a force to be reckoned with, but it had just as many drawbacks as any other power, and Hiryu had seen it in action the last few months.

Loading his scale cannons, Hiryu leveled his arms at Monoma and unleashed his gatling-gun-like barrage of green. It didn't make it far, the purple haze catching each of them as they neared him, but as Hiryu kept firing: Monoma had to keep catching them. After a few seconds, he started dropping the first ones to catch the next batch. Good, that meant he was at his limit, but that also meant Monoma was about to get desperate.

Hiryu stopped firing and armored up every inch of exposed skin and what he could manage in the softer parts of his uniform, noticing the subtle twitch of his arms that preceded movement. Just as he expected, the next few seconds were laced with the bombardment of his own scales back at him. He couldn't scale over his whole body yet, but what he got was able to take the hits.

Then a fist slammed into his arm and sent Hiryu tumbling back. Ah, as expected: Tetsutetsu's Steel Quirk. Monoma claimed he didn't have favorites, but… clearly Kirishima's Hardening had felt good back at the Sports Festival. Every training session since: he'd taken the time to grab Steel for their sessions. The simplicity and straight-forward nature of the Quirk no doubt appealed to Monoma's inability to copy technique or experience.

"Three… two… one…" Hiryu growled, holding off the new bombardment of attacks and counting down his best guess to when Monoma's time would run out.

Monoma's metal fists kept impacting his scales, knocking some free and leaving raw skin for him to pummel. Hiryu moved away, trying to bring other spots to block while he regrew, feeling himself grow sleepy and dizzy. His calcium reserves were running out!

With nothing left to lose: Hiryu caught the next fist on his wrist and pushed up, opening up Monoma's guard. He was able to steel up his torso and stomach before Hiryu's fist impacted, so he didn't feel too bad about not holding back as he slammed his own armored knuckles into the suitcoat.

Monoma reeled, suddenly coughing in pain as the grey vanished from his body. Hiryu had made it to the time limit!

Getting back to his feet, Hiryu prepared to catch Monoma around the throat again and claim victory.

"Finish!" Vlad King called, "Well done!"

Hiryu paused, confused as to why he'd been called to a stop. Had he failed to subdue him quickly enough?

"And another two victories to round out the end of the exams," Vlad King beamed, clearly quite proud, "Excellent. Come, let's get your results."

He headed towards the exit without a second glance at the two of them, leaving Hiryu rather unsettled. He hadn't achieved victory. True, he'd avoided defeat, but that wasn't the same thing… was it?

Kan Sekijiro

Sekijiro was so proud of his kids. They'd done so well, and now it was almost over. In fact: he wasn't even going to have to sulk around Eraser for the next few months, having the exact same number of students who'd be taking exams tomorrow. Speaking of…

"I hope you all feel you did well," Sekijiro announced to his class, folding his arms as they looked up from their seats attentively, "I believe you've acquitted yourselves quite honorably. I commend you all."

Most of his students seemed to be pleased with the news, though a few seemed a bit put out or even miffed at the praise. He'd best address that.

"Now, I won't keep you any longer than we need, so let's get tomorrow's assignments out of the way," he sighed, pulling up his clipboard.

"First up: Kaibara and Tsuburaba," Sekijiro noted, nodding to himself, "You both failed to truly fight during Kaibara's exam, and as such you were disqualified. You two will be paired together against Hound Dog tomorrow. Please be prepared to sort yourselves. I know you can do better than this."

Kaibara seemed quite cowed by the words, but Tsuburaba seemed more annoyed than anything. Poor, young fools.

He moved on to the next in line anyways.

"Komori… you failed due to having a bit of an emotional episode when your Quirk was set ablaze. I take it you know why this resulted in failure?"

She just nodded, her hair covering her eyes and her posture very small. Yanagi looked over at her with concern, but didn't say anything.

"Well, in that case you should do well tomorrow. Shiozaki has been assigned as your sidekick against Lunch Rush."

"M- mhm…"

"Next up is… Shishida," Sekijiro confirmed, "I noticed you were a bit confused at the end of your match, so I'll clear this up for you. You were expected to struggle against Tokage. She is by her nature: a difficult opponent for someone with a plain power-type Quirk. However, you did have some options you failed to exploit. Her personality is one which does its best when it receives reactions, and had you remained calm: you could have tricked her into acting recklessly. Further: sometimes Quirks aren't the answer. You could have attempted to catch her head without it."

That seemed to at least set the poor kid's mind at ease. Good, that would help him considerably.

"Your opponent will be Ectoplasm. Tsunotori will back you up."

"Thank you, sensei."

Sekijiro nodded before moving on to the next.

"Bondo… you had a similar emotional episode to Komori. I believe you know why you failed as an examiner?"

"Y- yes, sensei…"

"Then we won't say anything more about it. Report to me tomorrow with Honenuki."

"Yes sensei…"

"Tetsutetsu, do you have any questions on your failure before I give you your verdict?"

The "manly" boy considered for a moment before nodding slightly.

"I don't know how I could have escaped. His Quirk just overwhelmed my abilities, and I couldn't exactly wait for help. So… what should I have done?" Tetsutetsu asked, clearly conflicted.

Sekijiro smiled at his student, proud of his determination to learn.

"Your honor is a wonderful gift, Tetsutetsu, but this battle was indeed not one you could win easily. Your path to victory was through the underhanded. Had you found a way to disable Honenuki before the battle had begun: you might have claimed victory. Or, you could have used mental tactics to trick him into making a mistake or hesitating at a key moment. You must learn to think around your preconceptions for the sake of others."

Tetsutetsu nodded solemnly, but it was clear he didn't like it.

"Yanagi will help you face Cementos."

"Right! I won't fail again!"

"See that you don't. And lastly… Monoma."

Everyone seemed to tense up, like an explosive was being disarmed nearby. Clearly: many of them knew how temperamental he could be, especially since his internship.

"I know you like your tactics and tricks," Sekijiro began, trying to be diplomatic, "And when you're with allies or against foes who don't know what you can do: it's often more than enough to gain victory. But unfortunately: you need to be able to deal with opponents who take longer to fight for one reason or another. You have to learn to let go and just fight all out."

Monoma sniffed and muttered something that sounded suspiciously like it contained the names "Jeanist" and "Bakugo."

"Quite so. Fukidashi will help you against Eraserhead, so coordinate with him on what you're going to do."

"...right."

Rolling his eyes, Sekijiro closed his book and gestured to the door.

"Alright. Go enjoy what's left of your Saturday. Be well rested tomorrow."

"HAI!"

Hehehehehehehehehe. Nobody's even gonna read this chapter, and I wasted a month of my life on it. I'm all out of caring at this point.

Ya wanna know something cool? I got a whole two comments on the chapter I released while writing this. Two! That's almost… a twentieth the amount of comparable fics. Heck, I almost broke eleven thousand hits too. And it only took a hundred and ninety thousand words to get there. I actually did the math too. If everyone who visits my story reads every single chapter: I have just about 49 readers. Gee, if that doesn't make me just… have no motivation to even keep going with the other parts.

Question of the day: Who's exams surprised you? What do you think they could have done differently? Which ones did I utterly screw up?

Love you all.

Be safe out there!