Chapter 27: Final Exams, Part 2
Iida and Ojiro passed their exam against Power Loader, as Izuku expected. Iida got stuck in the ground, though. That was kind of uncool.
"Next up is Yaoyorozu and Todoroki, huh?" Uraraka said, looking up at the screen. "They're up against Aizawa-sensei…"
Recovery Girl stirred in her seat to the students' right. "Hmm…"
Izuku looked over at her. "What is it?"
"Shoto Todoroki relies too much on his Quirk. It makes sense as to why he's being made to fight Eraser. As for Momo Yaoyorozu…we'll just have to see."
…
The two recommended students of Class A stood at the entrance to their exam area, which was made to look like a residential neighborhood. Aizawa was nowhere in sight, just yet.
"Looks like it's our turn," said Todoroki calmly. "Are you prepared?" he turned and gave her an inquisitive gaze.
Momo started. "Err, y-yes."
"Nervous, perhaps?" he blinked.
"N-no, not really…"
"Well, considering who we're up against," he shrugged. "It's alright, though. I have an idea."
The buzzer sounded, to both of their surprise. "Team Todoroki and Yaoyorozu, practical exam. Start!"
They took off running down an alleyway between two houses. Todoroki took the lead naturally, Momo running behind him. I have a plan, actually. But will he want to hear it? His plan will probably work just as good, if not better…
He's the real recommended student, after all.
"Yaoyorozu," he said. "It doesn't matter what you make, but just keep creating small objects. When you can't make them anymore, we'll know he's close."
Momo swallowed. "...Okay…" She began to pop out Russian nesting dolls.
"What are those?" he asked in a confused tone.
"Russian nesting dolls…"
"Right, well…in any case, this exam depends on which party spots the other first. When we see him, I'll draw him to me, and then you'll make a run for the gate."
Momo blinked.
I'm rooting for you.
I'm not going to say your Quirk is amazing, that does you a disservice. You're amazing.
"Todoroki-san…if it's all the same to you, I don't think that's a very good plan."
He stopped at the end of the alleyway, his eyebrows raised high. "Huh?"
"Mr. Aizawa doesn't just erase Quirks. He has all sorts of traps and tricks up his sleeve. You saw him fight at the USJ. We shouldn't split up."
Todoroki blinked. "Then…"
"Talking out in the open, are we?" a voice grunted from above.
They both whirled, shocked. "OH NO!"
"He's…"
"If you realize I'm here, then you should start moving…" Aizawa spun downward, having suspended himself on a traffic wire using his capturing weapon. "...immediately!" He landed light on his feet, crouching.
"Yaoyorozu!" Todoroki called, slamming his foot into the ground to attack with ice…and nothing happened.
The two students split as Aizawa's red gaze bore into Todoroki. The ice boy tried to kick the pro hero, who grabbed his foot and wrapped him in the capture weapon with a graceful spin. Aizawa gave the material a yank, and Todoroki went flying into the air, suspended by the traffic wire, completely wrapped up and captured.
"When you blink, I can get rid of this in an instant," the boy snarled.
"Sure, but be careful where you land," Aizawa called back, throwing an array of caltrops onto the street. If Todoroki fell, he'd be punctured.
"Now, where did Yaoyorozu get off t…" as he turned, he realized she hadn't run like he expected.
"TODOROKI, CLOSE YOUR EYES!" Momo screamed, throwing her nesting dolls into the air, meeting Aizawa's leap.
"What are these…" he swatted one, and it opened…revealing the detonator inside.
The flashbangs went off in fast succession, erupting with brilliant light, throwing the street into relief. Aizawa screamed and backed off, rubbing his eyes.
Momo pulled the capturing weapon downward, bringing her partner to the ground. "Your Quirk is back!" she yelled. "Put up an ice wall, now!"
Todoroki wordlessly complied, stomping his foot into the pavement. The ice erupted out over the exam area, separating students from teacher with a massive barrier.
The ice-and-fire user turned to Yaoyorozu, without hesitation. "What now?" he asked. Trusting her. Turning from leader to follower in an instant.
Momo felt a strange fluttering feeling in her chest, mixed with adrenaline. "We run away. I need time to set it up."
They took off in the opposite direction, not bothering to see what Aizawa was doing. "The escape gate is on his side of that wall," said Todoroki.
"I'm aware."
"Listen, Yaoyorozu…I'm sorry for just taking the lead and not considering you. I actually voted for you for class president, so I should have realized that you probably had a plan."
"It's alright, Todoroki," she reassured with a calm smile. "You wouldn't have known if I'd kept quiet and not spoken up about it. But…yes, I do have a plan. A special operation…just to defeat Mr. Aizawa."
…
"Team Aoyama and Uraraka have passed!"
"Wow!" Midoriya exclaimed, his green eyes dazzling. "I didn't expect Uraraka-san to use her opponent's power to get in close like that!"
Tsuyu blinked at the boy. He really doesn't have a clue, does he? I'll help him a little bit. "It looked like she just let go on accident, though."
"Did it?" He tilted his head inquisitively.
Cute, ribbit. "Yeah. I wonder what Aoyama was saying to her right before that." As if I don't know. Tsuyu Asui was good at reading lips, and extremely observant of body language on top of that. There was no question about it. Aoyama had asked Uraraka if she liked Midoriya.
"Who knows…" Midoriya pondered. "We can't hear what they're saying from here."
Tsuyu quietly croaked to herself at his utter density.
The door to the observation room opened automatically, revealing Iida and Yaoyorozu walking in.
"Congrats on passing, you two. Ribbit."
"Thank you, Tsu-chan."
"My thanks, Asui."
"Yeah!" Midoriya put in excitedly. "Yaoyorozu-san, your plan against Aizawa-sensei was amazing!"
She blushed. "It was nothing special, really."
"So, who's next?" Iida asked, stepping up to watch the screens.
Tsu turned back to look. "It's…Mina-chan and Dokkun, ribbit."
"Oh…" Yao-momo tilted her head. "Those two, huh?" Her face was hard to read.
"They're up against the principal…I wonder why," said Iida.
Tsuyu blinked. "What's that supposed to mean."
"It's just…" Iida frowned. "It's hard to imagine Katayama having trouble with even a normal pro, let alone…the principal. I thought it would have made more sense for him to go up against Aizawa, actually…but that ended up being you and Todoroki." He turned to Yao-momo as he said that.
Recovery Girl sighed from her seat. All four students turned to her.
"Doko Katayama may seem like a student without any clear weaknesses. Indeed, his Quirk is extremely impressive and versatile…which is why at first glance, it may seem like Eraser would be a better matchup. But…the boy does have weaknesses. Weaknesses of self. In fact…" she looked pointedly at Mina on the screen. "I'd say one of them is standing right there with him."
…
Mina looked up and around at their exam area. It was similar to the facility they'd used for the rescue race: an industrial city filled with pipes and labyrinthine streets and smokestacks and construction equipment. Every building and structure was sleek silver or dull grey. Metal, metal, metal. It's hard to corrode metal with my Acid compared to other substances. I can still do it, but will take more time, and stamina. She told as much to Doko.
The warping boy did not reply at first. He was standing there, looking straight ahead. Hanging from his belt were the handcuffs for capturing Nezu, although doing that was not their plan. "This is a maze, isn't it?" he finally said.
"...Yeah, somethin' like that."
He clicked his teeth in annoyance. "Of course. This is the area where I'd have real trouble."
"So the environment is bad news for both of us…" Mina posited. "Where does the principal come into play with that?"
Doko frowned. Mina thought she saw a bit of violet glow floating around his face, ever so slightly. "I don't…I don't know."
"Doko…" Mina prodded him in the side with a finger. "Your Quirk has two modes. Is it in ultra-good-focus mode, like it was for most of the Sports Festival and that fight with the League of Villains? Or is it in big-alarm-panic mode, like it was during the battle trial?"
"Probably closer to the second one," he squeaked softly. He sounded as if he was about to puke.
Mina frowned in despair. What is it that's bothering him? The pressure of passing? Something else with his family, maybe? Or…does it have to do with ME?
Buzzer sounded, causing Doko to jump, his entire body sputtering purple for a moment. "Team Ashido and Katayama, practical exam," said a voice. "Ready, go!"
Doko reached up and pressed the button on his ear, closing the metal mask over his face. They took off running down the street in front of them, their feet pounding against the pavement. Mina's heart was racing something fierce.
"You should warp ahead and scout!" she told him, as they closed in on a branching path. One street went left, the other went right.
Doko's face had gone pale. "No, I think we should stay together. What happens if we both get lost?"
They arrived at the split. "But…"
"How do we know which way to go?"
"I'll go left," Mina offered. "You go right?"
"NO!" he exclaimed, more intensely than she expected. "We…shouldn't s-separate…"
"Why? What are you afraid of? It's just the principal."
"But…" Doko blinked. "It feels wrong to leave you behind…I'd just be speeding ahead…"
Mina put her hands on her hips. "Is THAT what this is about? Only one of us has to get through the gate, you know!"
"Yeah, but…the last time I just flashed away and abandoned the people I was supposed to help…it didn't go well. The only reason I didn't die was because you and Uraraka showed up." His lip was trembling, and his Quirk continued to sputter, letting off what Mina could only describe as purple sparklers.
Mina sighed in exasperation. "There's no threat of death here though, is there? C'mon, Doko, we're wasting time! We need to…"
A strange creaking noise stirred them both…and then a dark shadow grew in size from above.
They both looked up, gasping. A pipe was falling on them.
"BREAK!" Mina shouted, and the two of them slid back away from each other as the massive metal object hit the street with the loudest CLANG she'd ever heard.
And then, suddenly…there were more pipes. And pieces of buildings, and all manner of metal things raining down on them.
"It's the principal!" Doko shouted from across the way. "He's controlling the area somehow to…"
The objects closed the distance, as a massive piece of debris landed on top of the pipe with a sickening crash.
There was no choice. She had to run!
Her chest heaved and her heart pounded as she dashed away down the street, not even knowing which way she was going.
Another pipe landed to her left, and she slid out of the way.
She ducked and flipped over another piece of wreckage.
A MASSIVE slab came down above her, and she lifted her hand up, spraying acid that burst it to bits as she ran away.
It's like sparring with Switcheroo…she shot more acid at raining objects, pushing off the ground with her hand and spinning away to avoid another pipe collision…times hundred!
"GAAAAH!" she heard Doko scream, and saw purple flashes erupting from down the street. There was so much debris and smoke and movement blocking the way, but she could see those flashes at least. He's warping objects, but he's not holding out. I have to get back to him somehow!
Or did she? Mina dodged another piece of debris, her breath coming shallower now. Her agility, dance background and improved movement under Switcheroo was helping her avoid all the objects, and if she just kept going, she'd find the gate eventually, right? And then she could pass for both of them, and prove to Doko once and for all that she was equa…
No. That's not right, she thought as she turned another corner, running down a new street as more wreckage came raining down. No more feeling inferior. No more feeling superior. It's not a matter of proof. We ARE equal… because that's how a relationship works!
She skidded to a stop. "DOKO, I'M COMING TO HELP!" She turned and started to run back the other way…only to find a massive dumping of objects raining down, filling the street from which she'd just come. Blocking her way.
"Huh?" Mina turned, to try and go the other way, only to see the same thing happening on the other side of the street. She was trapped.
She looked straight up, and gasped.
An array of pipes and wreckage, falling straight down toward her.
…
"Ashido-san!" Yao-momo exclaimed, her eyes widening. A huge amount of wreckage had just fallen on top of the pink girl, causing her to disappear.
"Wait!" Iida burst out, stiffly. "Is she alright?" He turned to Recovery Girl.
The healing heroine rubbed her face. "Humans experimented on Nezu way back when. Sometimes he lets out this…vindictive side. With that said, he is perfectly capable of knocking the objects down in such a way that will trap the girl without actually injuring her."
Midoriya's eyes widened. "How?"
"It's his forecasts," Yao-momo explained. Tsuyu and the other three turned to look at her.
"The principal's Quirk allows him to predict and calculate all mathematical and logistical outcomes to any situation. For him, figuring out the trajectory of each piece of debris he knocks off, and where it will land…is simply a matter of doing some quick head math."
Iida let out a low whistle. Midoriya made a distressed face.
"Ribbit," Tsuyu squeaked, turning to look back at the screen. The camera angle showing the street where Mina was now buried showed no changes. Meanwhile, on the other camera…Dokkun was still fighting.
"Katayama-kun…" Yao-momo mumbled, watching too. As the principal swished his wrecking ball back and forth across structures, pulling levers inside the crane like a madman, Doko zapped left and right and in circles, barely making any forward progress. Every so often he'd warp an object out of the way, but mostly he was just dodging, violet light erupting out around him. His face was pale, sweaty, frantic.
"Doko Katayama's Quirk notes are frustratingly sparse," Recovery Girl sighed. "But I believe I've figured it out. While his Quirk sometimes works in tandem with his feelings, other times it doesn't. It seems inexplicable. During the sports festival, anger and negative feelings made him focus and perform better. But it's a different story here."
Tsuyu put a finger to her chin. "During the sports festival, Dokkun's Quirk got stronger as he became more determined to win. His feelings were related to the festival itself. Could it be that his Quirk isn't working with him this time…because his mind is elsewhere?"
Recovery Girl smiled sadly. "I believe that's exactly it. Doko Katayama doesn't have an emotional problem. He has a focus problem."
…
Principal Nezu sipped his tea calmly as he manipulated the levers with perfect precision, the full span of the exam zone clear before his eyes. He saw invisible threads connecting surfaces, lines of trajectory and gravity where one thing would collide to another.
Ashido and Katayama…you're already down ten minutes, you know! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
He couldn't deny that he was being a little sadistic and vengeful. These exams, by their very nature, were not the same level of fair to everyone. He knew without a doubt that Uraraka and Aoyama fighting Thirteen would go much easier for them than say, Midoriya and Bakugo against All Might. But that was the nature of these things, wasn't it? And oh, it had been such an interesting conversation, putting it all together.
"Principal Nezu, since you're the smartest one here, I'm giving you Ashido and Kaminari," Aizawa had said. "They have the two lowest grades in my class."
"Hmm…" Nezu had responded. "Are you certain that's the best pairing for Ashido, though?"
Aizawa had raised his eyebrows at that. "I won't deny having considered putting Katayama and Ashido together. But…Katayama is a difficult one in general. Currently I have him with Sero against Midnight, because the two of them had less than stellar communication in the Battle Trial, and Midnight's gas will be reasonably effective against the warping. I'd take him myself, but…I need to test the recommended students together."
"Ahem," All Might had coughed, surprising Nezu. All Might speaking in this instance was not one of the outcomes he'd predicted. "Perhaps I could take Young Katayama? I am the fastest one here, after all. Against any of the rest of you, his speed may prove to be too easy of a pass."
"No," Aizawa had said curtly. "You'll be fighting Midoriya and Bakugo. That was the first thing I decided, and I'm not changing it."
All Might had sighed in compliance.
Nezu had decided to insert himself in the conversation then. "I will be working in the metal labyrinth, which is a good location to test Katayama, is it not? He will be unable to see the escape gate immediately, making it hard to warp to. Why not switch Katayama and Kaminari? Kaminari must get in close to use his Quirk against Midnight…close enough to receive her Quirk right back."
"That's right," the heroine had said, licking her lips. "I won't deny that I'd be happy to get a chance against those two boys specifically. Kaminari and Sero. They visibly ogle me the most out of anyone in Class A."
Aizawa had sighed in annoyance, rubbing his eyes. "My students…I guess that makes sense. Fine. We'll switch them."
Back in the present moment, Nezu watched as Katayama dodged his attacks from above frantically. He knew he'd made the right decision.
There are twenty minutes left in the exam, and numerous potential outcomes. First, there is the current situation. Ashido is buried and Katayama is on the defensive. There is a possibility that it could remain this way for the rest of the exam, but unlikely.
If Ashido escapes, there are a number of things she could do. The first and most likely is that she runs for the gate. However, I have now closed off all their potential paths to the gate except one. The second most likely thing for her to do would be to go to try and assist her partner. The way between them is also blocked now, making that impossible. The third and least likely is that she attempts to attack me directly. She doesn't know where this crane is, and couldn't get past my traps anyway. Ashido is closed off.
Katayama is unlikely to figure out the solution he needs to escape his current predicament, but if he does somehow, he also has options. But they are in reverse likelihood to those of his partner. The most likely outcome is that he will attempt to directly attack me. I have traps and psychological maneuvers in the event that he closes the distance. It is unlikely he will manage to get the handcuffs on me.
The second most likely thing for him to do would be to try and go save his partner. With his Quirk, all the debris between the two of them COULD be cleared. However, it will take more time than the eighteen minutes they currently have remaining. That calculation is based on our more limited notes on Katayama's Quirk, however. It is certainly possible that I am missing important information.
The least likely thing for him to do would be to go for the escape gate. That is not in Katayama's character, especially after I have angered him with my attacks. But with that being said, Katayama going for the escape gate is their best bet at passing, as Ashido already calculated at the beginning of the exam. Once up on the rooftops, he can potentially spot the gate and bypass my blockades within a few minutes at most. Which is why…I must do everything to stop that from happening.
Suddenly, he saw something out of the corner of his eye. A flash of pink and purple and cyan. Mina Ashido, in her spotted costume. She'd melted through all the debris…and was using her acid to climb across the walls, getting over one of the street blockades.
That took less time than I expected! Nezu thought with delight. Perhaps she has improved her tenacity more than Aizawa implied? She interned with Switcheroo, did she not? Very interesting.
He briefly swung his wrecking ball over to knock Ashido off of her wall, bursting the building into pieces and sending her flying toward the street. The girl flipped in midair and rolled, landing with as much grace as she could muster. That will still leave a bruise. And now you are beyond another blockade. There is still too much debris…between you and Katayama. Nezu swung the ball back toward the structures surrounding the warping boy, continuing his assault. Ashido stopped short, trapped.
Then, something happened that Nezu had not predicted…mainly because he hadn't bothered to run calculations for this particular set of variables. Ashido in that specific spot, Katayama in his specific spot…that made it possible for her to…
SHOUT TO HIM!
…
Where did Mina go? I have to find Mina! What will happen to us if we're apart? The principal knew this would be a weakness! He succeeded in separating us! What will I do? If we fail, will she still like me as a friend? Will she still want to hang out after this?
Doko's brain went haywire as lavender sparked out from several parts of his body. Another massive pipe almost fell on top of him, and he lifted his palm up, warp-splitting the thing frantically. More stuff raining down from the left. Warp right. Back and forth.
Gah! He's played me for a fool! How is this happening? What is he doing to knock stuff off? Where is he? Where is the escape gate? Where is Mina?
The storm of objects seemed to get thicker and thicker. Doko tried to warp forward and felt like he was being closed in, all potential paths being blocked off. It was like a cold metal version of Kurogiri's void.
I can't keep this up forever! This is just like how he played me in his office! He's getting joy out of messing with me and…
"DOKO!" Mina's voice rang through the chaos, like a sweet song gracing his ears. "FOCUS! GO UP!"
He blinked. Focus…
Focus these intense feelings…
Send the power through all of his body at once…
Mina, I love you.
"I'M! NOT! A TRAITOR!" he roared, releasing his Quirk and letting it spread through all of him at once. "WARP FIELD!"
A surge of purple energy erupted from him in a shimmering dome, as a deep-bass boom reverberated through the exam zone. The ground shook and the structures vibrated. All the objects that Nezu was raining down on him cleared, having been zapped and flashed dozens of meters to the side, falling harmlessly out in a wide radius.
In the next instant, Doko looked up, suddenly seeing the crane very clearly. And the swinging wrecking ball attached to it. And the principal sitting at the controls.
Wordlessly, he refocused his Quirk into his feet, teleporting upward in a great burst as far as he could go, twenty meters into the air. Another blast of deep bass reverberated through the streets. He flashed sideways in mid-air onto a rooftop as Nezu's wrecking ball swung round. He warped onto the next rooftop. Then the next. One step ahead of the principal, at least physically.
As he jumped rooftops, he looked to his right and saw most of the exam area spread out before him. Many cascades of debris were blocking random streets, but he could see the escape gate in the distance. And the clear path that led to it. He looked down and spotted Mina.
She looked up at him, her black-and-gold eyes shimmering with pride.
"RUN FOR THE GATE!" Doko shouted down to her. "THE CLEARED PATH IS UP THIS BUILDING AND DOWN THE RIGHT STREET, THEN THE LEFT!" It's okay, Mina. I trust you. We can split up.
"WHAT WILL YOU DO?" she called back.
Doko pulled the handcuffs from his belt, and turned to face the wrecking ball as its shadow swung over him.
"Frontal assault," he snarled, and warped up onto the wrecking ball.
…
"Heav'ns t'Betsy!" Ochaco exclaimed, so surprised that she let some of her country accent slur her voice.
The six class A students of Midoriya, Ochaco, Yaoyorozu, Todoroki, Iida, and Tsuyu all watched with jaws dropped as Doko clung to the wrecking ball, holding tight to the chain. Nezu swung it back and forth, knocking it into things, as the warping boy tightened his grip, his feet slipping everywhere on the ball's smooth surface.
"What an insane plan," Todoroki muttered. He turned to Midoriya. "Like something you'd do."
"Hey!"
Tsuyu ribbit-laughed quietly. "Still, though…it was only thanks to Mina-chan melting her way out of that debris and getting to him to shout whatever she shouted. I wonder what that was, ribbit." Did she confess? Probably not. That would have maybe made things worse in the moment for him.
"I was unaware that Katayama had a move like that," Iida said in awe. "He scattered all the debris in an instant."
Midoriya nodded, similarly shocked. "He shouted something too, when he did it. Do you guys know what that means? Katayama has a Super Move."
Ochaco hadn't reacted to Doko's display of power like the rest of them, Tsu had noticed. Is that because he first showed it during their battle with the League of Villains? Tsu only knew about THAT because of Dokkun's emergency text to their group chat. In any case…it was powerful.
"My old man told Katayama to try and send his Quirk through his whole body…" Todoroki wondered aloud. "I can't help but think that's what he did to create that…teleport-explosion."
Midoriya gasped. "That's the same thing I learned in order to use One…" he coughed. "I-I mean, to use my Quirk without breaking my bones! Spreading it through my whole body evenly!"
Tsuyu tilted her head at the green-haired boy. What had he been ABOUT to say?
"Hehehehehe…" Recovery Girl chuckled from her seat, catching all of their attention. "Keeping a super move secret for this exam? That's one way to fool old Nezu, I suppose. There's no way the principal predicted that."
Ochaco's eyebrows went up. "Does that mean…they have a chance?"
…
Doko waited for the principal to swing again, and then leapt off the wrecking ball, warping onto the top of the crane. He braced himself, expecting Nezu to start moving the crane itself around to try and throw him off, but no such attack came.
"I know you're up there!" the principal's jolly voice rang through the yellow surface of the crane ceiling. "Come and down and get me!"
There has to be more to it, Doko thought, twirling the handcuffs around his finger. But I may as well try. He warped down to the back door of the crane room, and threw it open. If I'm just really fast, I can…
One step forward, and suddenly his arms snapped to his sides. He became frozen in place, stopped short. His leg was halted, his foot halfway off the ground. A yawning sound overwhelmed his ears. The world seemed to vibrate, shimmer. Doko felt like he was suffocating, unable to move in any way besides trembling. "What…is…this…" He'd been caught in some kind of forcefield.
Nezu spun around in the crane operator's chair, backlit by the sun streaming in through the crane's glass window. The principal was taking a sip of tea. "It's a Quirk suppressor of my own design. You have one use of your Quirk to get out of it, and then your Quirk will be impossible to use for the next fifteen minutes. And…" The principal made a show of checking his watch, that infuriating triangular smile still on his face. "...this exam has only eight minutes remaining! What a shame!"
"You…you're lying…" Doko struggled to speak. How would one even build a machine that lets you use your Quirk once, but then disables it afterward after you've already escaped said machine? That didn't make any sense!
"But you don't know for sure, do you?" Nezu asked him. "Why not try and teleport to me and find out?"
Doko felt that he could just barely move his legs slightly forward and backward if he strained really hard against the forcefield, his vision getting blurrier and blurrier by the second. His eyes darted down to the floor between him and the principal. It was covered in little spiky traps. Caltrops, he believed they were called. The area around the principal's chair was clear, but he wasn't sure if he could even make it all the way there in one warp from this state.
Doko's eyes darted down to the handcuffs in his hand, which had been snapped down to the side. He could move his arms a little, too…to maybe flex his Quirk through them…
"You think you might use your Quirk to warp the handcuffs onto me," Nezu guessed, correctly. "That's a difficult thing to aim from inside the suppressor, isn't it? I do have very small limbs. If you miss, the handcuffs fall harmlessly to the side…and then you're stuck. All your hope lies in Ashido from there."
"She'll…get free…" Doko choked out. "She'll…pass for both of us…"
"Will she now?" Nezu asked, raising an eyebrow. "That's interesting. You gave her the directions to the clear path, didn't you? After seeing it from the rooftop? But then you jumped onto my wrecking ball. Did you think I was swinging it around after that just to throw you off? No! I was busy blocking the path that you'd told her to go on!"
"What…you…you blocked all the paths! That's…that's cheating…" Doko grinded his teeth together, feeling his anger rise.
Nezu shook his head. "No. I also used that time to clear out one of the other paths to the gate that I blocked off earlier. There is still a clear path, but Ashido may or may not have enough time to find it."
"You…arrrghhh…" Doko closed his eyes, the feeling of being stuck like this becoming unbearable.
Nezu chuckled. "I do so enjoy playing this charade with you. Like you're the brave hero trying to capture me and I'm the villain with all the traps and schemes! A game of cat and mouse, as it were! But I have a bit of both animals in me, you see." His grin intensified. "That move you did to clear my debris out was unexpected and uncalculated, thanks to our lack of information on your Quirk. But you shouted something, didn't you? You shouted that you weren't the traitor."
"I'm...NOT! And, in regards to Warp Field…I only learned it…recently…"
"Ah, so more elaborate notes would not have helped me anyway. Good to know. And, Katayama…" Nezu took another sip of his tea. "I don't think you are the traitor. You're a very promising student, and it is wonderful to see that you have unlocked a new way to use your Quirk. With that being said, you did the most likely thing I expected you to do after escaping the situation…and that makes it all the more disappointing."
"Makes…what all the more disappointing…"
Nezu lowered his eyebrows, making his permanent smile seem sad. "That in five minutes, you are going to fail this exam."
"A QUEEN NEVER FAILS!" Mina's voice rang, and the glass window behind Nezu burst in a smoking heap of hot acid.
The principal spun in his chair, protecting himself from the steaming goop, as Mina leapt into the crane room, landing in the safe space beyond the caltrops.
In a split second, Doko ran through all the emotions of seeing her reappear, and cancelled them all. Instead, he just shouted one word. "CATCH!"
He warped the handcuffs from his hand into the air on the other side of the room. As he expected, his aim was horrible from inside the forcefield, and the cuffs fell between Mina and Nezu.
Time seemed to slow, the item suspended in midair as both of them reached for it…but then Mina swiped it with her longer arms, and fastened the cuff onto Nezu's wrist. "GOTCHA!" she declared, jumping for joy.
"Team Ashido and Katayama have passed!"
…
"YES!" Midoriya yelled, pumping his fist into the air.
"I knew they could do it!" cried Ochaco.
Iida and Yaoyorozu smiled with pride. Something glistened in Todoroki's blue eye, but when he noticed Tsuyu looking at him, he turned away, making his face more solemn.
Tsu let out a satisfied ribbit as she looked back at the screen, a smile spreading over her wide mouth as she saw Mina bounce and celebrate inside the crane room.
Recovery Girl laughed. "He was too busy talking to that boy, that he forgot to recalculate for what the girl was going to do. He just assumed she was running for the gate."
"Even the principal makes mistakes, huh?" said Midoriya.
"I think it's more that…" the healing heroine looked at the celebrating pink girl on the screen. "Mina Ashido is a truly unpredictable force to be reckoned with."
"That she is," Tsu mumbled, still grinning.
…
"Sorry about the acid damage," Mina said sheepishly to the captured principal. "I did try and aim for the left side of the window."
"Not to worry. These facilities are designed to take such hits. And I knew you weren't going to try and melt me." Nezu sighed, although his smile was bigger than ever. "You got me fair and square. Was that planned between the two of you?"
"Nope!" Mina declared. "I didn't know he would try and warp the handcuffs to me! Honestly, my plan was just to tackle you."
Nezu chuckled. "Well, that would have certainly worked, since I have the device to control the Quirk suppressor on my person." He pulled it out of his suit pocket and pressed a button, releasing Doko.
Doko collapsed to the floor from being suddenly free from the forcefield, and then got to his feet shakily. He pressed the ear-button to remove his mask, and then walked over to Mina. "I thought I told you to run for the gate."
"You did tell me…" her eyes danced upward, and she swayed from side to side playfully, sticking her tongue out. "...But I decided that idea wasn't very good, so I didn't go with it. I figured I'd save you instead."
Doko chuckled, and blushed. In her form-fitting hero costume, backlit by the sun coming in through the destroyed window, a happy-yet-sly expression on her face…Mina looked beautiful.
"Oh dear," said the principal from the crane seat, which was still smoking a little bit. "I just calculated the most interesting potential outcome to this situation."
Mina looked toward him. "Do I have your permission?"
"Hmm? Oh, yes, why not. I'll even turn away." The principal spun the chair around, suddenly facing the opposite direction to them.
"Huh?" Doko looked back and forth between the two of them, confused. "Permission to do what?"
"This, you idiot." Mina stepped forward, pulled his shirt with both hands, and kissed him on the mouth.
…
Everyone in the observation room screamed. Except for Todoroki, Recovery Girl…and Tsuyu. Tsuyu just laughed.
AUTHOR'S NOTE
Well…there you have it. There was a version of this story in which I finally got them together at the training camp, but that felt like waiting a bit too long…also, having them already together will make some things more interesting, I think.
I hope this is to everyone's liking. For the sake of pacing, Mina's motivations and thoughts as she escaped from being buried under debris, shouted to Doko, made the decision to turn and attack Nezu instead of running, and finally…that LAST decision, were all left out. But they will be explained next chapter.
I know it feels like I'm kinda snapping the whole love-triangle-with-Momo thing a bit short, but honestly I just didn't want to tease anyone who would rather see that pairing when it isn't actually going to happen in this story. There will definitely be more to Momo's feelings, but it will be explored in a different way now that Mina and Doko are becoming an item. I will probably be writing another shorter story where Momo gets her chance to shine, so be on the lookout for that. Right now the plan is to have it be mostly dorm-life stuff and no villains, maybe a bit of training, but mostly just a short romance thing that is separate canon from this story.
Speaking of Momo, I figured I would have her stand up to Todoroki immediately during their exam as a result of Doko's encouragement. I'm trying to keep Doko's butterfly-effect waves across the story be minimal but effective. Another example would be Midoriya defeating Shinso more easily because of how Doko saved him at USJ. We will see more of this sort of thing next chapter…in which, along with the chaos that will come from this cliffhanger, we will see the last few battles of final exams. See you then.