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Chapter 26: Final Exams, Part 1
"Okay, that's it for class," Aizawa announced as the bell rang, shuffling through his stack of papers. "There's only one week left until final exams. I hope you're all studying properly, but just remember…there is a practical component that goes along with the written exam. You should be training both your minds and your bodies. That's all." He closed the sliding door with finality, leaving the students of Class A alone.
"I HAVEN'T STUDIED AT ALL!" Mina [19/20] and Kaminari [20/20] exclaimed at the same time, the former laughing maniacally with her hands behind her head, the latter with an expression of pure, unbridled panic.
"GAAHH," the electric boy gurgled. "Between the sports festival and the internship, there's been no time to…"
"It's true," Tokoyami [14/20] put in, looking uncharacteristically panicked and sweaty. "It's been one event after another."
"Midterms were easy enough, but the finals will be different…" said Sato [12/20]. Koda [11/20] nodded in agreement.
"And since there's a practical exam…" Doko [9/20] shuddered. "Who knows what the staff has up their sleeve."
"Wait…" Mina leaned forward. "Doko, you got ninth on the midterms?!"
"Err, yeah…"
Kaminari gasped. "That doesn't check out! You're the character type who either does really well, or ironically poorly!"
Doko's eye twitched. "You got me all figured out, huh?"
"Ashido-san, Kaminari-san…" They all turned to look at the sunshine-and-puppies gaze of Midoriya [4/20]. "Let's do our best! We all want to go to the training camp together, right?"
Mina seemed surprised at the green-haired boy addressing her. "Uhh...you bet!"
"No, I don't want to go with them at all," Doko protested. He was ignored, of course. Typical.
"I concur with Midoriya!" Iida [2/20] yelled robotically. "As class rep, I have high hopes for all of you!"
"It's pretty hard to fail if you just pay attention in class…" commented Todoroki [5/20].
Kaminari clutched his chest and bent over as if they'd dealt him a blow. "Be careful with your words!" he shrieked.
"Ahem, if you two desire assistance, I can provide help with the lectures!" called Momo [1/20] from across the room.
"YAO-MOMO!" both Kaminari and Mina exclaimed together.
"I can't help much with the practical, but…"
"THAT'S OKAY!" they both said quickly, too consumed by her top placement on the midterm.
"Erm, could I get some help, too?" Jiro [7/20] asked, holding up her math book. "I'm having some trouble with quadratic functions…"
Is a study group being organized? Doko found himself wanting to join. I'm a little worried about my English performance…
"Do you know much English, Yaomomo?" he asked her. "Trying to think in another language makes my brain go haywire."
She shifted in her seat bashfully when he spoke to her for some reason. "Well…"
Sero [17/20] slapped his hands together in a begging gesture. "Me too! How are you with classical Japanese?"
"I'd also like to join…" Ojiro [8/20] walked over sheepishly. "There's a lot of stuff I don't quite grasp…"
"Please!" they all said together.
Momo blushed and gasped, her grey eyes glittering with excitement. "Everyone! Yes, of course!" she lurched from her seat, sending the chair backward against the wall. "Let us hold a study session at my residence this weekend!"
"Oh really?" Mina bounded forward, matching her excitement. "I can't wait to see your house!"
"Oh, this means…" Momo held her fists close to her face breathlessly. "I must have Mother open up the hall…"
Kaminari, Jiro, and Doko all sweatdropped, retaining uncomfortable smiles on the outside. Hall? they all thought together.
"By the way, what kind of tea are you all partial to?" Momo asked them.
Mina, Sero, and Ojiro echoed the gesture. Tea?
Momo began babbling on about types of tea that her family enjoyed, while the six of them just smiled and nodded in a dazed state.
Meanwhile, Aoyama [18/20] chuckled smugly and stapled his hands under his chin. "Everyone's panicking, even though it won't do any good to cram this late in the game…"
"Wouldn't it do you some good?" Shoji [10/20] asked dryly.
The French boy whirled to look at him, a threatening shadow over his face despite retaining that same pointy smile. "Whatever could you be talking about?"
…
After lunch, they heard from Midoriya and them who'd heard from Kendo who'd heard from an upperclassman friend of hers that the practical exam would consist of robot fights like the entrance exam.
Kaminari and Mina danced around each other in a joyous circle. "Robots will be a cinch!"
"Using my Quirk against humans is difficult, but against scrap metal I can be indiscriminate!"
Doko looked on, feeling a little uncomfortable. Since when were the two of them all buddy-buddy? Do they bond over their utter idiocy?
The others looked on with lighter expressions. "Man, once we get Yaoyorozu to help us study, we'll be set for the finals!" Sero declared with a toothy grin.
Yep, and I'm going too. I wonder how rich Yaomomo really is. Doko couldn't deny that he'd been paying more attention to the creation girl than usual recently. Her behavior since the sports festival had been a little…strange, right? He wasn't the only one noticing that, right?
But no, he wasn't paying attention to her like that. Shut up, brain. She's very pretty, but…
He gave another look to Kaminari and Mina dancing around. Mina doesn't see me like that, does she? We're just really good friends. He sighed. Maybe there's nothing wrong with looking at the other girls a little. Or even not worrying about romance at all! That would also be VERY cool, if you could just stop worrying, brain. That'd be great. Just dandy.
Plus, Kaminari and Mina would both be there at Momo's house too. And Sero, who was always fun. Plus Ojiro and Jiro, two people Doko had not spoken all that much with. In fact, he'd spoken to them the least out of everyone in the class besides Aoyama and Sato.
"It doesn't matter if it's people or robots!" Bakugo snapped. Kaminari and Mina froze, confused. "You just beat them up all the same! What are you two idiots singing about it being a cinch for? If you wanna control your Quirk, then control it!"
"Who are you calling an idiot, idiot?" Kaminari snapped back, pointing.
"You, idiot!" Bakugo turned toward the other side of the classroom. "Oi, Deku!" he snarled.
All the classroom chatter was snuffed out in an instant. Every pair of eyes darted back and forth between the two boys.
Midoriya had been in thought about something at his desk, but now he looked up, terrified.
Bakugo narrowed his eyes. "I don't know if you've suddenly gotten a little better with your Quirk or not, but you're seriously starting to piss me off."
"Leave it, Bakugo!" Kirishima called loudly.
"Yeah, what's it to you whether he's improving or not!" Uraraka said with a bit of sass in her voice.
"Can it, extras. I'm talking to Deku here. Listen, nerd. There won't be a repeat of the sports festival. We'll get individual scores from the finals, so we'll see who's better whether you like it or not."
"What're you so worried about Midoriya for?" Doko asked casually from his desk, chewing on a granola bar. "I'm the one who already beat you."
Mina and Kaminari both snickered.
Bakugo whirled on the warping boy in pure white rage. "I WAS GETTING TO YOU IN A SECOND! ICY HOT, YEAH YOU IN THE BACK! YOU TOO!" he shouted at Todoroki. "I'LL BEAT YOU ALL WITH AN INDISPUTABLE DIFFERENCE! AND DEKU, I'LL KILL YOU!"
"The murder part's a little excessive," murmured Sero with a deadpan expression.
Bakugo stormed out of the room.
"Does he realize that no one takes him seriously?" Jiro asked no one in particular.
"That's more intense than I've seen him in a while," Kirishima said, exhaling in relief.
"Impatience?" Tokoyami wondered aloud. "Or hatred?"
Doko finished his granola bar and tossed the wrapper into the trash can by the door, which happened to be in front of his desk. "Maybe I shouldn't have said anything. It's probably better to just let his words wash over you, right?"
"Nah, you're good, Katayama," said Kirishima. "I think in his eyes, you beat him with a trick, so he's viewing this exam as a fair rematch. Even though we're not competing anymore."
"Bakugo's always competing," Midoriya said in an uncharacteristically dark tone.
You're almost correct, thought Doko. More accurately…this school is always competing.
…
Mina was nearly to the address that Yaomomo had given her when she spotted a familiar head of dark grey hair on the sidewalk up ahead.
"DOOKOO!" she called, waving him down and running to catch up. The tall, violet-eyed boy turned with a cute, inquisitive expression, which then relaxed into comfortable recognition as she reached him. He smiled easily. "Hello, Mina."
She folded her arms behind her back and got on her tiptoes in front of him, grinning. "This is exciting, isn't it? Seeing Yaomomo's house?"
Doko shrugged. "I guess so. It's been a while since I've been to a friend's house, so…"
I haven't been able to invite him on any more…not-dates since our last not-a-date. As a result, Momo has surpassed me in a very important category! A home invitation!
Of course, it was just a study group, and more people would be there. But she hadn't failed to notice Momo's slightly different reaction upon Doko asking to join the group. I must act quickly!
The side of the sidewalk opposite the road was now blocked off by a fancy dark-iron fence. Doko pointed at something between the trees. "Oh my god. I think I just saw it."
Mina sweatdropped. "You…s-saw it?!"
"I caught a glimpse. This is so nerve-wracking."
Mina peered in-between the fence bars, and gasped. "AH! I think I just…"
"You saw it too?"
"I think I j-just saw something…"
They came up the side of the hill, and suddenly a gap between trees revealed a section of a huge mansion.
"ARGH!" Doko yelped, clutching his heart, his eyes bugging out.
"AHHHH!"
"OH, IT'S MASSIVE!" he wailed in despair.
"I…I feel faint…" she bent over the sidewalk, going pale.
They both paused, and looked at each other.
Then, they burst out laughing.
"Pffft…hahahahaha!" Doko punched his knee repeatedly, his eyes jammed shut.
"Hahahahahaha!" Mina clutched her sides.
"I…I can't…"
"What the hell is up with you two?" a voice asked from behind them.
They both immediately stood up straight like boards, standing at attention. "Jiro-sama!" Doko barked.
"We were about to enter the mansion, Jiro sir!" Mina echoed, saluting.
The purple-haired girl gave them a nonplussed look. "Whatever energy this is, you two better run out quickly. Sparky is already gonna give me a hard enough time."
"Hey!" Kaminari said, appearing from their other side.
"Oh hey idiot. I was just talking about you," Jiro told him casually, twirling her earplug around her finger.
Kaminari released breath through clenched teeth. "God, I wish you hadn't come. Anyway, Sero and Ojiro are already at the gate! Come on, it's just over the hill!" He waved them along to follow him.
"There's a gate," Doko mumbled, tailing after the girls. "Of course there's a gate."
"You should be excited, Doko," Mina told him solemnly. "Entering through a girl's gate for the first time is a big deal."
Jiro made a face. "Ewww."
"Wh…who says it's my first time?" he shot back, slightly stumbling over his words.
The pink girl looked up, gauging his facial reaction. The results were less than stellar.
Doko had actually blushed at her joke. He'd blushed. Which means…he is thinking of Momo in that way, or has done so in the past. My window is shrinking.
They arrived at the gate, and could see the mansion beyond in full. It was enormous, with a private road leading up to it.
Ojiro and Sero were already standing there dumbly, gazing up and beyond at the structure. "I knew she was rich, but I didn't realize it was like this…" the tailed boy muttered.
Jiro pressed the call button on the keypad by the gate.
"Everyone, come in!" Momo's excited voice crackled. "GAH!" Jiro pulled her hand away, as if the thing was alien technology.
The gates opened automatically for them. It was like a moment from a fantasy film.
As they made their approach, Doko nudged Mina's arm. "Still feeling queenlike?" he asked her light-heartedly.
That hits harder than you realize! "Yes, as a matter of fact. A true queen needs no palace," she replied haughtily, turning up her nose.
"Yeah, but they're nice to have."
The six students were directed to the "hall" that Momo had mentioned asking her mother to open up. It was a long room with massive windows, red carpeting, shiny walls, gold trim everywhere, and a pristine wood table. Above their heads dangled an intricate chandelier.
Kaminari looked at his shoes as he shuffled toward a chair at the long table.
"Dude, what are you doing? You look stupid," said Jiro.
"Just keeping my eyes down. If I look at something, I'll break it."
Ojiro awkwardly sat, moving his tail out of the way. "Man, I feel so out of place here…"
"Me too," Sero said with a weak laugh. "It makes one a little nervous…"
Doko sat down at the last chair on the end, next to Mina. Their side of the table also included Ojiro. Sero, Jiro, and Kaminari were in the three seats on the other side.
The sound of the double doors opening and squeaky wheels got all of their attention. In walked Momo, bouncing with excitement, dressed in a red collared shirt and short shorts. She was pushing a wooden cart with tea, cakes, and elaborately decorated tableware.
They all gave her looks of pure, dumb awe.
"What is it?" she asked, tilting her head cutely to the side.
"Oh, nothing…" they all droned together.
…
"Doing alright, Katayama-kun?" asked a voice behind him.
After an hour or so of group review, they had somewhat split up into groups to focus on smaller things. Ojiro was helping Sero with his Japanese, while Kaminari and Mina received history help from an exasperated Jiro. Doko was by himself at the opposite end of the table…or so he'd thought.
"I have trouble with English," he explained to Momo with a weary smile. "It's somewhat to do with my Quirk, actually."
"I see." She frowned, and then sat down in the chair next to him, scooting in close. "Well, what have you got so far?" She leaned in to look at his notebook, where he'd written several English sentences.
Doko froze up a little. She was very close, and her dark raven ponytail was brushing against his shoulder. "Ermm…well, I don't know if my word order is very correct…"
Momo leaned back, her eye twitching. "It's…all out of order," she said, pushing her hair back over her shoulder. "Here, why don't I give you some more stuff to translate? If I see you do it in real time, I can figure out what the problem is."
"Okay." Doko leaned over his notebook, pencil in hand, ready to go.
Momo blinked. "You're left-handed?"
"Yeah. What about it?"
"Nothing, I just…" she averted her eyes shyly. "I just d-didn't know."
Doko turned back to his paper, his heart skipping a few beats. I don't even think about being left-handed anymore. She's the first person in class to acknowledge it, unless someone else did and I forgot.
"Go ahead and start. I'm ready."
"Okay. Ahem." Momo cleared her throat and flipped through her English phrasebook. "The man walked his dog through the park."
Doko wrote as she spoke and finished about three seconds after she did. Momo looked at him. "Done already? You don't need me to repeat it?"
He felt heat rush to his face. "Umm…"
"Okay, I'll give it a look." She slid his notebook toward her, their fingertips briefly brushing. "You wrote the park dog through the man walked. That doesn't make sense, even in Japanese word order."
He grinned sheepishly. "Sorry. My brain goes a little haywire in other languages."
"I think you just need to slow down. You're too hyper, like a Pomeranian."
"A what now?"
"It's a dog breed."
Doko made a glum face at being compared to a dog. "I'm sorry."
"No, that's okay." Momo smiled gently. "To be fair, there are many possible ways to write this sentence in English. You could say through the park, the man walked his dog or the dog was walked by a man through the park, and those would convey the same idea."
"That's complicated," he mumbled in a childish voice.
They both shared a chuckle, unaware that someone was watching them from across the room.
"Say…" Momo suddenly got a distant look in her grey eyes, twirling her hair around her finger. "...This is strange, isn't it?"
Doko raised his eyebrows. "What's strange?"
"I mean…" She folded her hands in her lap. "I can understand why these others came here for my help. But…you won the sports festival, so it feels weird to teach you things…"
"I got ninth on the midterms," Doko told her. "I'm average when it comes to grades. Which feels weird to me, because…" he swallowed. "I don't know. I still think about that Quirk assessment we did at the start of the year sometimes. Where you got first, and then Todoroki and Bakugo and Iida were next after that…and then me and Tokoyami. Then there's Midoriya, who has improved his Quirk since then…if you regarded that group of people as the top of the class, me and Tokoyami just don't compare as far as grades go. Even though we placed well in the sports festival and all that. We're too reliant on our Quirks. I'm…too reliant on my Quirk."
"But…Tokoyami beat me!" Momo said frantically, staring him in the eye. "He wiped the floor with me! So…"
"You still got first place in that initial Quirk assessment, and first on the midterms," Doko interrupted. "That's just how things play out sometimes. I wish…" He sighed. "I wish this school wasn't so competitive, you know? I feel like it's…" Do I dare say it? "...done you in a bit."
She tilted her head. "Wh-what do you mean?"
"Just like…" He coughed, his Quirk sputtering a little. Speak, damn you! "Since you got first on the very first thing we did, you probably felt pressure to maintain that position, right? And then you…" Oh no, I'm saying too much, her eyes are going dark. "...Never mind. It's not my place to say."
Her hand suddenly rested on top of his. "It's okay," she said quietly. "Please, continue."
"...And then you may have choked during the festival. And now, since then…you've felt useless. But you aren't useless, Yaomomo. Look at all the good you're doing for me and these guys. Your Quir…actually no, I'm not gonna say your Quirk's amazing. That does you a disservice. You're amazing."
Momo gazed at him, her eyes shimmering with tears.
Doko paled. "Umm…did I say something wrong?" God, you fucking idiot. "I'm…I'm sorr…"
She got to her feet, sniffling, and walked out of the room.
"Yo! Where's she going?" Sero called from the other end of the table.
"Katayama!" Jiro snapped. "What did you say to her?"
"I…I…" Doko felt dazed, unable to move. "I don't know…"
Mina was looking at him, a strange glow in her dark yellow eyes.
…
There were apparently other study sessions at Momo's house over the course of the week, but he didn't attend them. The day before exams, he got a message from Mina.
Mina: why arent you coming to yaomomo's study group anymore?
Doko: i think i made her mad that first day. i just kind of assumed im not welcome
Doko: its okay though. im studying on my own and i think ill be fine besides english
Mina: well, as someone whos still been going
Mina: i dont think you made her mad at all.
Doko: then what was that reaction?
Mina: lmaooo doko
Mina: you really dont know anything about women do you
Doko: .
Doko: please dont do this to me.
Mina: hmm.
Mina: if i tell you, will you hang out with me again after finals?
Doko: is that your condition
Mina: yep!
Doko: i'd hang out with you after finals even if you didnt tell me. easy condition.
…
Mina felt her heart flutter upon reading that message. Lilac spread up her face, and she let out a happy sigh without realizing it.
Her mother, sitting on the other end of the living room couch, looked from the TV to her. "Did he just say he loves you?"
"MOM!" she snapped, blushing even deeper. "I'm not even texting a…"
"Don't even try it, Mina-neesan," her little sister said in a bored voice, not even looking up from her toys on the floor.
Mina huffed angrily and looked back down at her phone, curling into a protective ball on the couch. She texted him back.
Mina: did you mean for that to be smooth?
Doko: yea, kinda.
Mina: it just backfired, buddy. now im not gonna tell you.
Doko: fuck
Doko: whyyyyyy
Mina: hehehehe, ur gonna have to text her urself and find out.
Doko: fine. are we still on for plans after finals tho?
Mina: of course. you better be coming up with something good this time. i already took my turn.
Doko: yeah, i got it.
Mina briefly lowered her phone, mulling things over in her head. I have to tell him soon. We can't just keep dancing around each other like this.
I'm fairly certain he would say yes, but…this isn't a crush anymore. I REALLY like him. I'd want to take things seriously. And…
I'm scared.
…
Doko decided to take the dive and text Yaomomo. Mina claimed she wasn't mad, and she clearly had an eye for this sort of thing…
Doko: hey.
It took several minutes for her to reply.
Momo: Hello, Katayama. I'm sorry for storming out on you earlier this week, especially in my own home. I must have made you terribly uncomfortable.
Doko: thats ok. i was just checking in to apologize as well. if i hadnt said anything none of this would have happened.
Momo: No, I'm glad you said what you said. It actually made me really happy.
Doko: it did?
Momo: So many people have told me my Quirk is amazing. The implication is always that…I have to live up to my Quirk, as a person. That I myself am not good enough.
Momo: You were one of the first people to tell me otherwise. And back at the rescue course, when you said you were rooting for me…I needed to hear that too.
Momo: That's why it saddened me when you didn't show back up to the study group, although I understand why you avoided it now. I felt like I needed to repay you for all your help.
Doko: all i did was say words. no repayment required.
Doko: i dont want to pat myself on the back or anything
Momo: If you'll allow me to make an assumption, is that how you feel sometimes about yourself? Is that why you were able to know the right things to say to me?
Momo: You said that you think you rely too much on your Quirk, so.
Doko: you mean that people say my quirk is amazing, but imply that i myself dont live up to it?
Momo: Yes.
Doko: well…i kept my quirk kind of a secret from most people for a long time, but those that did know did occasionally say something like that
Doko: it does feel that way sometimes. especially since i did average on the midterms and lost the battle trial really badly
Doko: you could even say that i entered UA because i felt like i was doing my quirk a disservice by not using it for better things.
Doko: almost like
Doko: im in a weird relationship with my quirk, i guess? and by not becoming a hero, i wasnt pulling my weight in that relationship?
Doko: sorry for rambling.
Momo: That's okay.
Momo: I believe I understand you much better than I did before, Katayama.
Doko: well, im glad you arent mad at me. im still sorry for making you cry.
Momo: That's also okay. And I'm here if you need any help with anything else.
Doko: right back atcha.
The conversation ended there. Doko sank back into his bed, feeling much better. And now come the exams.
I've got this.
…
Three days of exams later, everyone relaxed in relief and exhaustion in the classroom.
"THANKS, YAO-MOMO!" Mina shouted happily.
"Yeah, I didn't leave anything blank at least!" Kaminari added.
Momo sighed, smiling. "That's good to hear."
And then, it was time for the practical.
They all changed into their hero costumes. Doko had made a few alterations to his costume. His dark purple sleeves now covered his entire arm, and he wore black gloves on his hands. It would be stuffier, but he'd be less susceptible to cuts and bruises. He still wore the black elbow and knee pads, and he'd added a lightweight black chestplate around his lower torso. The inkblot design was visible right above it.
He lowered the metal mask-piece into his ear, testing the button to make sure it was folding over his face correctly. Luckily it was.
As the twenty of them walked up toward the exam facility, all in costume, Doko's head swirled with thoughts. If we're fighting robots again, it'll be a perfect opportunity for me to try and use Warp Field. I can potentially destroy three pointers with it.
In the entrance exam, he'd been able to warp off crucial parts of the robots to disable them, but it had been slow going, and he hadn't gotten as many attack points as he could have. Well, that and because I got my leg pinned under a robot. But if he that hadn't happened, he wouldn't have gotten saved by Mina.
He looked over to the pink girl now, his heart feeling strangely light. We're gonna go hang out after this. I'm feeling nervous about that, too. Ohhhh, this whole thing is nerve-wracking.
Surprisingly, it was more than just Aizawa standing before them. Seven other teachers had assembled as well. Midnight, Cementoss, Power Loader, Ectoplasm, Snipe, Thirteen, and Present Mic. I know all their names now! Hooray!
"It's time for the practical exam," Aizawa announced in a bored voice. "Remember, it is possible to fail this. Don't make any stupid mistakes if you want to go to the training camp."
"There's a lot of teachers," Jiro mumbled, curious.
"I assume you've all gathered information ahead of time and have some idea of what you'll be doing," said Aizawa.
"We're fighting robots like at the entrance exam, right?!" Kaminari exclaimed with a massive grin.
Doko grimaced. Idiot! That's too telegraphed! Now they're going to subvert…
Principal Nezu burst out of Aizawa's scarf/capturing weapon without warning. "Too bad! For various reasons, the exam will be different this year!"
…our expectations. "You just had to set off a flag, didn't you?" Doko deadpanned at Kaminari, who was now looking on in shock.
"Different…how?" asked Ojiro.
Nezu slid down the scarf, landing light on his feet…paws…something. "We want to focus more on person-to-person combat. Stress teaching that is closer to actual fighting, you might say. So…you'll be forming teams of two to fight against one teacher!"
The class gasped.
"Against…the teachers?" asked Uraraka.
"Indeed," said Aizawa. "The pairs and matchups have already been decided at my discretion. I have based the setup on a variety of factors, such as grades, Quirks, combat ability, and interpersonal relationships. Firstly…I'll be fighting Todoroki and Yaoyorozu."
The recommended students, thought Doko. Everyone in the class looked at the two of them. Todoroki's eyebrows had gone up a hair. Yaomomo looked significantly more surprised.
"Midoriya and Bakugo are also a team," said Aizawa, and everyone gasped all over again. The two boys whirled to look at each other in pure shock.
"And they'll be fighting…"
Doko looked up, all of this feeling kind of predictable. "Here he comes."
All Might landed powerfully in front of them, causing the ground to shudder. "I…" he stood up straight, closing his fist. "...will do it."
"ALL MIGHT?!" Bakugo and Midoriya cried at once.
"Please do your best, you two," the Symbol of Peace boomed, although he seemed uncomfortable about something.
"Kirishima and Sato will be fighting Cementoss," Aizawa continued. "Asui and Tokoyami will be fighting Ectoplasm. Iida and Ojiro will be fighting Power Loader."
"Excuse me!" Iida raised his hand robotically. "Isn't this sort of unbalanced?"
"It's been handled," Nezu told the class rep. "Each of us teachers will be putting on weight to slow us down. Also, the solution to winning is to either capture us with these handcuffs…" He held up a pair to demonstrate. "...Or to simply run away and make it through the escape gate!"
"I see," Ojiro nodded. "The weights are meant to make fighting seem like a more appealing option."
"Anyway, Aoyama and Uraraka, you'll both be fighting Thirteen," said Aizawa.
Uraraka froze up, trembling a little. Is she put off by fighting her favorite hero, or that she's teamed up with Aoyama?
"Ashido, Katayama," said Aizawa.
Both of them tensed up and looked at him, then each other. A grin spread across Mina's face. They both thought it at the same time: we're a team!
"You'll be up against Principal Nezu."
Huh? Doko's eyes widened. He looked down at the principal, who was smiling up at the two of them with that enigmatic furry face of his. "Do your best, you two!"
Mina's grin had gotten even wider.
"Jiro and Koda will fight Present Mic."
"Ohhh yeaaaa!" The loud announcer hero did a spin, pointing at the two students he was up against. "You better be lucky these weights are getting put on, or else you'd be getting a hard time!"
"But…" Jiro's eyelids lowered. "It's kinda hard to imagine that, though…"
"Damn girl watch your mouth!" he said in offended English.
Koda lowered his head quietly.
"Shoji and Hagakure will fight Snipe."
"YES!" The invisible girl leapt into the air with a fist. "Shoji-kun, we're a team! This is perfect!"
"Aye, it is preferable," the multi-armed boy answered with a nod.
"Careful not to get too confident, young'ns," Snipe said in his whispery, husky voice.
"Kaminari and Sero, you're up against Midnight."
There was a confusing mixture of excitement and absolute terror radiating from the two boys. Midnight strutted her hip out and licked her lips. "Ready for a good time, are we?"
"A few more things," said Nezu. "Your time limit to either capture the teacher or escape is thirty minutes! Also, only one of you has to escape to complete the exam! Any questions?"
The class murmured and stirred. It seemed not.
"Alright then," Aizawa droned. "Sato, Kirishima, get ready. You're up first. The rest of you can either watch the matches from the viewing room or discuss team strategy."
The teachers, as well as Sato and Kirishima, began to walk off.
Mina leapt in front of Doko, eyes shimmering. "Isn't this great, Doko? We're up against Principal Nezu! This is gonna be a cinch!"
"Umm…" Doko swallowed. "Have you ever talked to the principal before?" He was thinking about the time he'd been summoned to Nezu's office, under the suspicion that he was a traitor to UA. Nezu had manipulated the situation brilliantly to get the information that he desired, basically laying Doko out from an intellectual standpoint.
Mina blinked. "No, not personally…"
"He's like, really smart. I think his Quirk is his intelligence."
"Okay." Mina nodded. "So…I was thinking we just capture him, but he'll probably like…" She wrinkled her nose. "Set traps and stuff, right?"
"That was my thought as well. He'll use the environment to his advantage. The only problem is…"
"We don't know what the environment is yet." She made a sour face, but then suddenly brightened up. "I bet it'll be a place that's hard to navigate, right? Since you can warp to places you see, it would be too easy if the escape gate was in full view! So I bet it won't be any kind of clearing!"
Doko raised his eyebrows. "Huh. That's probably true. Maybe he'll just hide himself somewhere, and then hope we never find him or the gate before time runs out. I genuinely have no idea as to how he might attack us directly, so…"
"Okay." Mina put her hand on his shoulder. "It seems like we're mostly gonna have to wait and think on the fly. But that's okay, right? That's what we're both good at!" She lifted a fist, her eyes shining.
Doko nodded, smiling. "Right."
To their shock and fear, Sato and Kirishima ended up failing against Cementoss. Just like that, they'd lost their training camp privileges.
Tsu and Tokoyami passed against Ectoplasm after that, but…
An air of uncertainty hung over them all.
AUTHOR'S NOTE
Couple of people commented on the last chapter that they'd rather see Doko with Momo than with Mina. I'll admit to shamelessly teasing that in this chapter for the sake of a plot point, but uhh…this fic is still gonna remain an x-Mina pairing. I dunno if it's because of a failure on my part to make Mina likable enough so far, or if people just prefer Momo in general. But damn that kinda sucks.
If there's enough interest, I can compromise by writing a separate shorter fic that pairs Doko with Momo, because it does interest me on a basic level. It'd probably be just romance without any canon stuff. That would mean sparser updates for this, so let me know what you think.
Next time, we'll peer briefly into Momo and Shoto's match versus Eraser Head, and then jump into Nezu vs Mina and Doko. Will they pass? Will they fail? Stick around to find out!