Chapter Twenty-Five: One Day

Doomsday, alternatively titled 'Practical Exam' day, had arrived at last.

With several clicks, the weighted bands which bound Morie's hands and wrists were removed and stowed away. Her hands and legs shook themselves out, marveling at how much more nimble and lighter how body felt. Then her mind set itself in deep concentration as she tried to get herself into the zone for the exams, slipping on her Hero costume, all the while trying to placate the nervous twisting of her stomach.

Surprisingly, written exams had been a breeze. It went better than all the other exams she had taken in Yuuei combined - perhaps due to the fact that she was now taking studies a lot more seriously - hell, she even had time to check her answers for once! The exception was math, where there were a few questions she just could not understand.

It had to be said, however that Bakugou was a pretty terrible as a teacher - he had absolutely no patience and his explanations often made Kirishima more confused than he already was. For the most part of the study session, she and her red-haired friend had been trying to decipher what they dubbed Bakugou language (to quote, 'murder this number than smash up this fucker! And then kill off this thing from this number- ')

Utterly hilarious.

To his credit at least, he was amazingly able to point out the mistakes in her workings instantly while she had to agonise over her workings for houra; it was perhaps not the most productive study session but it had certainly been fun.

And now that written exam woes were over and done with, Morie stood warily together with her classmates in the training ground, all decked out in their respective costumes.

Seeing the line of teachers in front of them made her feel caught between excitement and anxiety - despite the claims of the cheering Mina and Kaminari, Morie highly doubted that they would need ten teachers to facilitate an exam consisting of fighting robots, of all things. And after the whole fiasco with Shinsou, surely Yuuei would have realised their shortcomings in employing the use of such robots in the first place.

"Knowing you guys, you probably asked around," Aizawa-sensei was talking, looking listless as usual, but all she could think about was how distracting the bandages shifting around his neck were. "And you might think you know what's going on…"

Keyword: might.

Another red flag...

"It's a robot rumble, like the entrance exam!" Kaminari called out victoriously.

Excitably, the pink-faced Mina cheered alongside him. "Fireworks, curry! Truth or dare! We're cominggg - "

"Not - quite!"

A new voice chimed in jovially, and the principal Nezu popped out of Aizawa's bandages as if it was a completely normal thing to do. Their principal continued his address in a singsong voice. "Circumstances have demanded a revision to the exam format, my dear students!"

The aura around Kaminari and Mina took a one-eighty gloomy shift as the implications of this statement seemed to sink in. No robots, in a somewhat ominous change in events. The deceptively adorable principal took that as a sign to keep on talking as he hummed out loud, holding out his paws.

"As such, you will be pairing up with another student and fighting one of the teachers you see here!"

... holy shit.

The brown-haired girl looked up and down the line of Heroes assembled before them, who were practically people she had idolised growing up. People with infinitely more wisdom and experience than them, who would have to rely on numbers and teamwork.

Two freshly minted fifteen year-olds were supposed to win against a Pro. Already, the odds were not in their favour. The nerves were stabbing at her now, and the girl felt somewhat sick.

As Aizawa began to announce the pairings, the pieces of the puzzle began to come together slowly in Morie's head. Earlier, he had mentioned that they had been paired together based on multiple factors, be it their grades, relationships and battle styles. When it all corresponded with the teachers they were put against, Morie thought that she could vaguely see a pattern, no matter how much of a stretch it was.

The quirk-reliant Todoroki and Yaoyorozu, put against Eraserhead. Bakugou and Midoriya, who simply could not get along, put against their childhood hero, All Might. Kiri and Satou's brute strength, which would be challenged by Cementoss. The straightforward, happy-go-lucky Mina and Kaminari, against the genius Nezu. The long-ranged Uraraka and Aoyama, put against Thirteen, who could easily absorb anything they threw his way, rocks and lasers and all.* The reserved Jirou and Koda would have their sound-based quirks put to the test against the loud, brazen Present Mic. Sero and Mineta, who respectively could 'escape' and 'secure' against Midnight, who they wouldn't be able to get close to.

And as for her -

"Next, Minamoto. You're with Shoji, and your opponent will be Snipe."

At Aizawa's words her dark gaze shifted first to the cowboy-like Hero, before glancing over to the tall and stoic Shoji, meeting his eye. Somewhat hesitantly, she nodded, and her new partner returned the gesture.

To be brutally honest - Morie had never exchanged words with the large, stoic boy before; they at most shared a common acknowledgement for the other's abilities.

Class 1-A had gone through enough training sessions by now for her to at least have an idea of his quirk and capabilities. It was clear to her how his enhanced sensory abilities would be advantageous against a long-ranged shooter like Snipe. Her own role in this partnership was unclear, however, meaning that she had to be as adaptable as ever, and consider what she could do to support Shoji.

With the deliberate way their partners had been decided, it was made clear to her that for each pairing, there was certainly a way to win - no matter how strong their opponent was. There was hope after all, and it was up to them to act accordingly.

"Shoji," she went over to stand by his side. Certainly there was a small part of her which felt awkward upon working with someone new, though she swallowed it down and set her eyes on the shared goal they held. After all, Heroes were thrown into new situations all the time - being able to adapt had to be a given. "Let's win this."

.

It was no secret that Morie kept to herself more, and had only been closely interacting with the people in the Bakusquad.

Interacting with Shoji made her regret that she was not more forthcoming in interacting with others - from just talking to him alone, she could tell that he was a very kind and thoughtful person - he had patiently listened to her thoughts as she rambled on about her deductions, adding in his own input from time to time. He was a calming presence, what with his deep voice and careful manner in which he talked. It got her thinking about how 1-A was full of interesting people, and she would like to get to know the other people in class more.

(So set forth another goal for her to accomplish - reach out to other people more.

But for now, this could wait.)

Shoji had largely agreed with her ideas, and the duo had decided that they would choose fight over flight; the reason being was that their quirks were reasonably suited to handle Snipe's bullets. That, and in a real-life scenario it would be unwise to turn their back against someone as deadly accurate as Snipe - snipers were undoubtedly a big threat who ideally would be taken down.

Morie surveyed their location. Numerous long, towering stone pillars, dark, shadowy ceilings, with the only clearing in the middle of the room. The only exit was an entrance on the opposite side of the room.

The spacious, echoey room meant that they had to take extra care to be quiet - yet with Shoji's quirk it was a blessing in disguise. Combined with her own quirk, Morie was confident they would be able to pinpoint Snipe's location precisely.

What they did not expect, however was the way that Snipe had practically gone on a rampage from the start. He seemed intent on turning this battle into a cat-and-mouse game as he fired off at them unforgivingly, forcing them to take cover.

"Hide, Shoji!" Morie called out, releasing a wave of high pressure against the rain of bullets, before sending a final wave crashing in the direction of Snipe. She flinched - the power of her Pressure had been nowhere near powerful enough to fully deflect the bullets, and had to twist herself mid-air to dodge some of the bullets.

In the interval Snipe took to dodge her attack, she quickly took the chance to follow after Shoji, disappearing from sight.

Morie forced her breathing to slow; it was essential that they masked their presence for as long as possible.

For good measure, they didn't stay in one area for too long, though they did retreat further to discuss their next moves - all the while checking on Snipe's location. His back to the stone pillar, Shoji used his extra arms to scope out the situation discreetly.

An announcement rang out over them then, blaring from unseen overhead speakers.

"Team Bakugou and Midoriya has passed the practical exam!"

Too damn fast. And against All Might, of all people.

The two childhood friends - if she could even think to call them that - were the two strongest people in their class, and for damn good reason.

Morie looked over, exchanging solemn glances with Shoji. Evidently, the announcements served to throw them off, make them panic as they got reminded of the thirty minute limit that was ticking down. But instead it gave them hope - passing was not impossible after all, if the duo who got along like cats and dogs had succeeded against All Might, the Symbol of Peace.

She diverted her attention back to the situation at hand, closing her eyes and tuning her senses to the pressures around them. It seemed that Snipe was out of her range for now, for she could sense only her partner next to her amidst the buzzing of air molecules.

"He's destroying random pillars it seems," one of Shoji's mouths muttered lowly, moving nearer to her. "It's safe to say that he is not confident of our location... yet."

Then they heard it - a heavy clunking metal sound against the floor. Plumes of dark smoke spewed out of the object, and vaguely they heard Snipe's voice echo out lowly.

"Let's see who's better at playing hide and seek, shall we?" A disturbance in the air particles told her that the mock-Villain was on the move.

So soon? For a sniper, Snipe isn't very patient. Perhaps the announcement had unconsciously set their teacher on edge, made him want to end the match before they could get the better of him.

His aim was to smoke them out, it seemed, but the smoke was thankfully not as much as an irritant as she expected it to be - she guessed that it served to deteriorate their visibility at most. Just to make sure, she glanced over at Shoji, who seemed to be alright; it helped greatly that the other boy had a dark mask that covered the lower half of his face.

Morie reached out, softly tapping on one of Shoji's limbs. His eyes turning to her curiously, she tapped against her ear, sending him a meaningful look.

He nodded in understanding, one of his extended limbs morphing into an ear.

"I have an idea," her voice was barely audible as she leaned forward on her tiptoes, uttering into his extended limb. Trying to keep her explanation as brief as possible, she glanced up at him to see if he was agreeable with her plan.

"Let's give it a shot," Shoji nodded after a few moments of contemplation. One of his hands morphed into an 'okay' sign, and she could make out his mouth moving under his black mask. "I trust you."

The sudden words of affirmation made her wonder if the taller boy had picked up on her underlying unease, and inexplicably she was touched by his statement. Perhaps it was a testament of the bonds within 1-A which had been formed from so many shared experiences together. Truly, she was lucky to have been paired with someone who was as considerate as him.

"I trust you too," came her soft declaration in response. Morie beamed up at Shoji, her fist bumping against one of his hands encouragingly. "Let's go, then."

.

The observation room was silent.

Midoriya watched on as thick smoke clouded up the cameras, making it nearly impossible to see what was going on.

After finishing his own match, battered but recovering, Midoriya had opted to watch the other battles unfold before his eyes. Watching other people's quirks was by now a habit of his - after Tsuyu and Tokoyami's match had come to an end, he had turned his attention to that of Morie and Shoji's.

Shoji appeared on screen for a few seconds, his multi-limbed figure a blur as he rushed from behind a stone pillar and into the smoke, seemingly rushing straight into the crossfire.

"Don't be too rash!" A voice chided out. The Gun Hero could barely be seen, steadily stalking through his constructed veil of smoke.

Gunshots rang out again - this time, Snipe shot a line of bullets straight into Shoji's path, forcing him to come to a halt. The tall boy stood his ground without a word, holding up his arms as he stared at the Gun Hero head on.

"As a Hero, aren't you being a little too quick to give up?"

Suspicion laced his tone as Snipe reluctantly lowered his gun. His eyes shifted from the tall, masked boy before him, instead tuning into his senses for any signs of disturbance around him. At the lack of movement around him, the mock-Villain's eyes shifted onto the student, narrowing slightly behind his shades.

"You're playing the decoy and trying to distract me, while your partner is either going to attack me or make a break for the exit behind me. That strategy is way too easy to read, don't you think?"

Shoji did not respond, his dark eyes unblinking. Midoriya on the other hand was waiting with bated breath for what would happen next.

Snipe seemed to take his silence as a confirmation. The man turned to his right as he picked up on a soft tapping sound against the concrete, sounding like they came from the small-sized girl, Minamoto, Shoji had been paired with. Presumably, since she was faster and smaller-sized, she would be making a break for the exit. His eyes trained on the nearest stone pillar, he took aim and began to fire off unforgivingly.

"Come on out! Unless your friend's life here means nothing to you!" Snipe called out, continuing to fire off shots at the pillar in an attempt to draw her out.

At this point, Midoriya was studying the respective camera feeds intensely, trying to locate the missing dark-haired girl in question. Yet for a moment the smoke shifted just enough for him to catch sight of a flash of light blue.

There Morie was, directly above the Gun Hero. Balanced precariously on the ceiling, she was crouching in the shadows the stone pillar provided her with, clearly preparing to jump.

"They never separated," Midoriya thought out loud and realisation dawned on him. "Shoji must have carried her into the smoke - since Rie-san is small, it wouldn't be hard to boost her up to the ceiling."

Crack.

The stone pillar the Gun Hero shot at was near crumbling from the onslaught. Snipe had just fired off a last shot when Morie fell freely towards him, her jump propelling her through the air.

"Hello, sensei," her voice was soft as she brought her hands forward in a clap in front of his face, creating a deafening explosion of air in his face.

"What the- "

His brown cowboy hat was blown away. Managing to secure his hold on his gun, Snipe whirled around.

'Shit, from above.' His hands raised themselves in a defensive stance as he took in the dark-haired Pressure user in front of him, realising his mistake too late.

"You're naive if you think that close-ranged combat would be a weakness for me!" The Hero darted away as Morie leapt towards him, a fist raised. Snipe narrowed his eyes and stepped to the side at the last moment, aiming to make the younger girl lose her momentum and balance. He raised his gun, intending to hit her with the back of his gun though she fell into a roll and out of his reach.

Minamoto was more dynamic then the Gun Hero had expected. The thought dawned on him, and automatically he knew that he needed to put some distance between them.

It all happened in a flash. Midoriya, watching from the camera feed was able to see it before Snipe did - one of Shoji's limbs, replicated numerous times.

As the mock-Villain moved to back away, a long, gangly appendage swiftly lashed around his arm and came away in a instant, revealing a pair of handcuffs dangling off his right wrist.

"Got you, sensei," Shoji's voice rang out clearly despite the black mask which hid his features.

The smoke was clearing now, and the older Hero froze in his movements. In stunned silence, Snipe's eyes sharply moved to survey the multitude of web-like arms which had snuck up on him. Slowly, the web of limbs were shrinking back into themselves to form Shoji's original limbs.

"Got you!" With a pit-patter of footsteps, Morie had darted up in front of the two, breathing heavily even as a bright grin was forming on her face. Then she hurried over to the nearly-destroyed stone pillar. Digging around for a bit, she managed to reclaim her boots, dusting them off with a scrunch to her nose.

Midoriya, who had not noticed that she was barefoot, blinked at the movement. He voiced out his theories to Recovery Girl beside him, the gears in his mind turning furiously.

"The boots were discarded to try to throw him off. Take advantage of Snipe's cautious nature," he listed, going off into a full-speed ramble. "While Snipe was still shooting, Rie-san struck him from his blind spot above him. By then Shoji, whose duplicated limbs can duplicate more limbs, snuck up on Snipe-sensei to capture him. It's a very intricate plan."

"That's right," the Healing Hero spoke from beside him. "There were many risks in this plan, though I must say - I've told Snipe forever that his silly hat was a blind spot to him, but he still sticks to his cowboy fashion as stubbornly as ever."

She scoffed softly once before continuing. "Nevertheless, I'm remarkably impressed. Both of them are admirably astute - this plan only succeeded because they were perfectly in sync."

The Hero's earlier words rang in his ears; it was important for heroes to be able to work with pretty much anyone with ease - and that was exactly why he had been paired up with Kacchan earlier. He could definitely see how the two fit well together despite having never interacted much during class-time. Instantly, he was reminded of the battle of Tsuyu and Tokoyami against Ectoplasm.

"Sensei, may I ask a question?" Midoriya piped up again. "Similar to just now with Asui-san and Tokoyami-kun, I'm not clear how Snipe is supposed to be a foil for Rie-san and Shoji-kun. In fact, with their quirks combined, would it not more accurate to say that they were more at an advantage?"

The aged Healing Hero took a moment to consider that query. Then she turned to Midoriya with a raised finger.

"Ideally, that is. But it is clear to me that Minamoto Morie-san acts cautiously, she seems to get confidence from being around others. Just as how Tsuyu-san was able to act as an emotional support, Shoji-kun is doing the same for Morie-san. They deduced that aside from sound, Snipe was also observing for disturbances in the smoke. Since her quirk is more likely to create a visible disturbance, she chose to place Shoji as a key player. Why not just cover up her tracks with the use of her quirk? It seems she lacks the fine control to pull this off yet. That being said, I do not think the decoy with her shoes was necessary - though I get the impression she wanted the full assurance of Snipe's attention being directed away from Shoji-kun."

From the camera feed, Snipe was begrudgingly looking at the handcuffs that were secured around his right wrist, before he moved to pick up his brown cowboy hat which had fallen a few feet away. He uttered something out of earshot to the duo, and Midoriya watched as Morie gave a small bow, before excitedly rushing towards Shoji to give him a high-five.

"Team Shoji and Minamoto have passed the practical exam!"

.

!(•̀ᴗ•́)و ̑̑

.

The atmosphere around the class was as gloomy as ever, with nearly the whole Bakusquad failing the practical exam.

The four looked so upset that Morie could not bring herself to say anything in case they didn't feel like talking. Even Sero, who had cleared the exam, seemed more troubled than usual, as he explained that it was entirely due to Mineta's efforts.

As the good and kind-hearted Midoriya attempted to comfort them only to be faced with abuse, the door slid open to reveal Aizawa, who looked red-eyed and haggled as usual.

"That's the bell, be seated," a hush fell over the class as the long-haired teacher continued to address them. "About your practical exams, we sadly had some failures..."

Morie glanced over quietly at Kirishima, feeling her heart break at the pointed downcast look on his face. Then she saw the shit-eating grin forming on the shaggy teacher's face.

"... as such, all of you will be going to the training camp!"

Aizawa announced.

Chaos ensued. Tears were erupting from the four concerned, and even Morie couldn't help but crack a smile at their pure joy.

This guy… She sighed inwardly, eyes resting on Aizawa who stood before them. I bet he's going to say something like 'this was just another rational deception to push you all against your limits!'

And much to her exasperation, he did.

Damnit.

"We've been fooled again! As expected from Yuuei!" Iida's hand shot right up as he practically jumped up from his chair, his voice booming through the room. Morie winced slightly at his sheer loudness. "But now that we've been lied to twice, aren't you worried that our faith in you will be shaken?!"

"Way to be a wet blanket, Iida," Uraraka deadpanned, and Morie coughed to hide her own laughter.

Much to his credit, Aizawa kept a straight face, having been more than used to his uptight class president at this point.

"Perhaps, but look at the facts - it wasn't entirely a lie," his voice was even as his dark eyes focused on the bespectacled boy. "Failure is failure. You five will still be receiving supplementary lessons from the school, and to be honest, they'll be a lot worse than summer school. Anyway, I'll be handing out camp manuals. Take one and pass it along."

When class ended, Morie stared at her own copy of the manual. She finally brought herself to flip through it aimlessly. The packing list was long, and she wondered if she would be able to finish packing on time. She let out a sigh.

"Hey, whatever the case, at least we'll all be able to go for the camp." Mashirao commented out loud, his eyes looking out at the doorway.

"Right, I feel wary, but it's something worth looking forward to, at least," she turned to smile at him. "You waiting for someone?"

"Yeah," the plain-faced boy replied somewhat bashfully. "I stay near Hagakure-san from 1-B, and she asked if I wanted to go home with her."

"Oh. Cool," the dark-haired girl remembered the bubbly, adorable invisible girl. She was about to tease him when she noticed the red tint in his ears, but decided against it, instead settling on sending him a thumbs-up and a grin. "Have fun!"

"Ojirou-kun!"

The mild-mannered boy looked up, and Morie took in a floating set of uniform in their doorway. Hagakure walked in with a confident ease, as if she could fit in anywhere (both literally and figuratively.) She stopped in front of the duo, and out of habit Morie bowed her head a little in greeting.

"Hagakure-san, right? Hello," the dark-haired girl beamed. "I guess I shouldn't impose on the two of you."

"Nooo it's fine!" The invisible girl responded, sounding a tad bit flustered. "You're Minamoto-san, right? Our classes will be together for the training camp so I wanna get to know you guys as well!"

Hagakure had an adorable voice, she thought. She was so bubbly that Morie could not help but smile, even if it threw her off just the least not being able to see Hagakure physically speak.

"That's me," she responded softly. "It's nice to meet you, Hagakure-san."

"Ehehe," Hagakure started. "That reminds me, class 1-B is going out tomorrow to buy supplies and stuff! You guys should totally do that too, we have so many things we need to get!"

Her outburst got her classmates talking. Kaminari was grinning widely, his hands already forming a thumbs-up as he turned towards them.

"Good idea, Hagakure-san! This'll be our first class outing ever!"

"You coming along, Todoroki?"

"I'm visiting someone, so no."

"Cool idea! Bakugou, you coming?"

"No way in hell! What a waste of time."

The sudden liveliness which filled the room made her feel excited, yet disappointed. Seeing her classmates were one thing - seeing them outside school was another.

"What about you, Rie-san?"

Being addressed so abruptly made Morie felt put on the spot as Kirishima called out to her. Yet her answer was already clear in her mind.

"Sorry, Kiri, I already made plans."

Her red-haired friend's eyes widened owlishly at her sheepish statement.

"Aww man it's alright! We're going to the station now, you coming?"

Morie glanced at Mashirao and Hagakure somewhat apologetically, before sending Kiri a nod.

"It was nice meeting you, Hagakure-san," she waved goodbye to the both of them quickly. "I'm coming!"

"Bye, Minamoto-san!" Hagakure called out, and moments later she could hear the girl beginning to chat animatedly with Mashirao over her day at school. Morie smiled - not going to lie, the two seemed to be close despite being in different classes. It was sweet, she thought, inwardly slapping her innate shipper instincts.

Hurrying over to where the Bakusquad was waiting, the brown-haired girl walked with them slowly, caught up in her own ponderings. There was the recently concluded practical exams, the upcoming training camp, and last but not least, the end of a term. Then there were her classmates, smart, lively, and as energetic as ever.

Must be nice to be close to your neighbour, the sudden thought crossed her mind for some reason. She mused over the thought dryly, remembering the closeness of Mashirao and Hagakure.

In spite of herself, her dark eyes flickered over to her own neighbour, Mr Spiky Hair, who was surprisingly walking with them for once - even if he was scowling heavily and very much keeping to himself. Then she turned away from him, deciding to strike up a friendly conversation with Jirou instead as they walked on side by side.

Who knows, maybe one day we'll be goddamn besties too.

.

ヾ(。・ω・)シ

.


A/N:

The practical exam! Kinda a transition chapter too, to the more major training camp arc.

took a few creative liberties in the exam scene - i based it off the manga, where only Midoriya was watching the exams for the most part. gave the exam scene audio input, because why the hell not :P I really don't like that fight scene at all that I wrote, but since I couldn't come up with another idea this ended up being the version I decided on. Hope it doesn't bother you guys too much.

anyways, I gotta apologise for the lateness of this chapter. I just started college studying nursing, and I'm really swamped by the workload... Currently juggling so many things that it's a wonder I'm still kind of sane. i hope to be able to update monthly at least though, I missed BNHA. I hope you guys are doing well.

tldr; the practical exam! and the aftermath.

Thank you for your support! And til the next chapter~ Let me know what you think!

- C