Notes: Good lord I really hate month spans between chapters. I apologize, everyone. it's just been so hectic with family visiting, then been doing a heavy remodel on my house, and then my computer nearly crashed, almost losing the work I had done so far. Just too much to really be able to focus doing this.

But here we are. I have got to this point and want to get it to you all. Hope you all enjoy this one.

Let's hit it!

Today was the day.

Katara took a breath as she felt their bus coming to a stop, looking out of her window to the large facility they approached. After getting through their week of punishment and their days of training, it was time for the license exam to commence. She now realized how close she was to finally getting it and being able to do what she originally wanted to do for joining this school; to be able to help people when she could despite the stupid rules that said otherwise.

"We finally made it here," Katara whispered in excitement, smiling to Shoto on her right. "I can't wait to get this done."

"You've been looking forward to this, haven't you?" He asked, noticing her more joyful mood this morning.

"It's just we can finally actually help people without worrying about those rules," she huffed out. "It's still crazy to me we almost got in trouble from before."

Thinking back to the night with Stain, Shoto took a breath and nodded. "It is frustrating, but that is the law. But now we can do what is right."

Smiling, she stood up along with everyone else as they made their way off the bus, staring up in awe to the massive arena before them. The facility appeared to be even larger than the sports festival arena they competed in, still amazed how this place seemed to have unlimited funds to build all of these hero training locations. The shock and excitement wasn't just for her, for everyone else was gasping up towards the arena in glee and worry.

"Wow, now I'm feeling a bit freaked out now." Jiro mumbled as she felt her hands shake slightly.

"This is gonna be so sick! I wonder what they will be making us do!" Mineta cheered out and pumped his fist.

"Overconfidence is something you shouldn't be doing now," Aizawa said as he exited the bus after them. "This test is not just with you, remember? Schools from across the country are here as well."

"Ah man, I can't wait for this test now!" Kaminari exclaimed out. "This is the day we've been waiting for! Let's go-

"PLUS ULTRA!"

All of class 1A turned in confusion to the sudden yell from their center, turning to see a random teen standing in the middle of them all. He was even taller than Shoji to Katara's surprise, his large frame underneath his tight white shirt and a black hat. Both her and Shoto sat in confusion to this newcomer as he seemed to throw himself into their class.

"It's rude to force yourself into others things, Yoarashi…" A purple haired teen groaned out from the side, dressed in the same as the loud newcomer, who now had a look of shock mixed with his large smile.

"I AM SO SORRY!" Yoarashi screamed out as he threw himself into a deep bow… so deep his forehead smashed into the concrete beneath his feet.

"The hell is with this guy?!" Kaminari gasped out in shock as the teen stood back up, his forehead now dripping blood.

Still smiling, Yoarashi stared at the class as he gave a powerful salute. "I am so thrilled to be able to compete with you all today! It's a true honor to be here with UA, the school being taught by All Might! Let us all do our best today!"

Katara sat in silence as Yoarashi gave another bow before turning to join his companions once more. "Okay, who in the heck was that?" She asked, receiving shrugs from most of her classmates except for Izuku.

"Those outfits… they are from Shiketsu High!" He exclaimed in amazement. "They are one of the top schools in Japan that rivals UA!"

"Really?" Momo asked in surprise. "They are on equal level as us?"

"They have always been a close rival for us. Especially this year with him…" Aizawa explained as he eyed the retreating school. "Inasa Yoarashi. He actually was a recommended student to UA, but for some reason he withdrew his application after passing."

"Recommendations?" Katara asked in surprise, glancing over to Momo and Shoto. "He went to the same testing as you two?"

Momo gave a small shrug. "I don't remember seeing him, but I was in a different testing group from Todoroki. Maybe he was in his."

Shoto lifted his eyebrow to the statement, honestly not remembering much of the testing itself. "I don't recall seeing him either."

Aizawa eyed the two curiously at their lack of memory. "Well I am surprised neither of you remember him. When it came to the testing… he in fact had the top scores of the students there."

"What?" Katara's eyes widened in shock at hearing that, turning to look at Shoto once more. She knew how strong he was, especially since he was not one to hold back before. To learn he wasn't the top student was stunning, realizing they really were going against other powerful people here. And they had no idea what kind of powers they were going to have.

Aizawa broke the tension as he walked in front of his students. "And that is only one of the schools we will be facing. Remember, we also have others like-

"Oh Eraser, is that you?!"

Aizawa's eye began twitching at the sudden voice from behind, feeling his skin crawl as he turned around to see he was right. "Oh god, you again."

The green haired woman had a bright smile as she approached, her bright orange and white pants puffed out underneath her black tank top. "I recognize that scowl anywhere. Let's get married!"

"No…"

Katara almost burst out laughing from the sudden exchange, never seeing Aizawa look so flustered at something before. Before she could even say anything, Izuku was already gushing in excitement.

"It's the smile hero, Ms. Joke! Her quirk outburst forces others to break into laughter, making villains vulnerable!" he nerded out, something that make Momo giggle out.

"It's so nice to see you here! Did you follow me to ask me out for tonight?!" Joke smirked out, only receiving a glare from Aizawa.

"Never. I'm here for the test. Are you here for security?"

Joke now put a genuine smile on her face to the question. "So you didn't hear, I see. I am actually a teacher for Ketsubutsu Academy, class 2-2."

The UA students eyes widened at the number they heard, looking past the teacher to see another class walking their way. While it wasn't much, they could certainly tell they were an older class, which meant they all had an entire years worth of experience over them… Something Katara felt immediately. While it wasn't a sense of strength, she could just feel the way they carried themselves as they approached. They had a different sense of confidence than the other teens in hers or class B of her school, obvious from the extra training they had.

The lead teen from the new school walked forward, his scraggly black hair hung just above his black eyes. He wore a smile as he approached and grabbed Izuku's hand, giving a friendly shake. "Wow, it's such an honor to meet you all! I can't wait to try my best against you all!"

"Uhh…" Izuku chuckled awkwardly as the newcomer shook his hand. "Th-thanks, I think it will-

Bakugo's hand suddenly came through and swatted the newcomer off, glaring as he stared him down. "That fake smile may work on this nerd, but I see the look in your eyes."

After a moment, Shindo's smile turned into a small smirk. "It's the same as in your eyes as I can tell. The look to win. I can't wait to see what UA can do now." Pulling away, the Ketsubutsu students followed Shindo as he walked towards the massive testing site, leaving the UA students awaiting what came next.

An hour passed before Katara joined everyone after changing into their hero costumes. They all followed one another through what seemed to be a long tunnel before coming up into a massive room with whatever other schools were already there. Adjusting her new gauntlets, she smiled to herself as she controlled the large amount of water inside them, happy to consistently have this amount with her now. She turned and noticed Tenya was smiling as well, but his eyes almost seemed to sparkle in glee. "You must be really excited about this test, aren't you?" She chuckled out.

Tenya stuttered in surprise of her statement before he sighed and smiled again. "I am… but it's not that. It's… it's Tensei. He called me this morning."

Katara's heart jumped hearing that. "He did? How is he doing?!"

"He's fine. The pain in his back is gone now. He still can't move because they have locked his legs in place for safety, but he said the doctors are very positive."

While she was disappointed to learn he still wasn't moving, just hearing he was alright made her feel so much better. "That is good to hear. It would be nice to see him sometime soon again."

"Agreed." Tenya reached over and patted her shoulder. "And he wished both me and you the best of luck today."

Chuckling, she nodded in agreement. "Then let's not disappoint him." Looking forward, she saw the others follow the large mass of fellow competitors making their way to the front of the large auditorium, noticing just how many people were here now. It felt as if this was like the entrance exam all over again. "How many other schools are there here?" Katara asked in surprise.

"There are dozens of hero schools across the country, it's just that UA is such a big name some people forget that." Momo explained as they came to a stop. "That is why they have these license exams to see who can actually qualify."

Katara frowned internally hearing that, once again reminded of the rules here saying a person needed this license simply to go and help people with their powers. The fact that half of these people here were most likely never able to do that just made her upset, taking a breath as she was determined to not be among those failing today. Looking up, she caught sight of the podium above the crowd, and at the center was… a man ready to pass out at any given moment.

"All right, let's get this test thing done with…I'm Yokumiru Mera of..." the man yawned out as he scratched his head. "… I'm from the… hero commission- er, hero safety commission. I gonna talk and…" he paused and rubbed his eyes. "God, I need a coffee… I finished writing this at three AM."

"Uh, is he all good?" Mina tilted her head as the announcer slapped his forehead to wake himself up.

Mera sat up and yawned once more. "Anyway… there are fifteen hundred and forty of you here to do this thingy, and we are getting right to it. But this year, we are doing something different. You won't be taking the actual exam until you qualify this prelim round first."

"What?" Shoji whispered in surprise. "They changed the way we get the license?"

"That's totally not fair! They change it the year we do it?!" Mineta cried out in worry.

Soon most of the crowd starting murmuring in surprise, not expecting this sudden change. Katara looked over to shoto as well. "What's going on? Why are they changing it?"

"I don't know…" he responded, "I thought it was only the test we had to do here."

Groaning in annoyance to all the noise, Mera shuffled the mic closer to his mouth. "Settle down people. Now the reason we did this is with what's happened lately. These villain attacks have brought concern to the civilians in the country. There is worry that many of the heroes are not cut out for the job anymore."

At that moment, Katara, Shoto, Izuku and Tenya all glanced at one another, the words they heard sound very familiar to what Stain had claimed. The idea that heroes didn't deserve the title since all they cared about was money and fame, but the hero commission was looking at it at a different perspective; they were concerned that many of the heroes they were allowing through simply weren't skilled enough for what was beginning to happen recently, especially since All Might was gone, and they wanted to make sure the new up and coming heroes were stronger than before.

"Now that I got your attention, listen…" Mera exhaled and rubbed his cheek in exhaustion. "… All of you are trying to move on, so this is what is important for you all to remember." He paused as the jumbo screen behind him suddenly turned on, with a large "100" in the center of it.

"It's simple; the first hundred who qualify will be allowed to participate in the license exam."

Gasps of shock ran through the crowd, all the students in disbelief hearing that announcement.

"But… there are over fifteen hundred participants here…" Momo stuttered out in worry. "I thought they told us around half of us would be passing!"

"Only a hundred before the actual test? How is that even fair?!" Kendo yelled out as well.

"How can they do that?" Katara clenched her fists in both shock and worry. "They are making it pretty much impossible for most of the people here now to even try for the license!"

Groaning to the loud chatter, Mera yawned once more and tapped his mic. "All of you quiet down, please. Now let's explain how this… uh can you bring that coffee now?" He quickly told his associate before turning forward again. "Now… this is a free for all between students. You will each be given three targets to stick on your body, and you can put them anywhere as long as it's an exposed area. You will each also have six balls to use to tag those sensors. Once all three on your body are lit up, you're out. The first hundred to tag out two people will pass to compete in the actual license exam. So… go for it."

"Huh?" Uraraka tilted her head in confusion. "What does he mean to-

The walls around everyone suddenly split apart, dropping down and revealing they were already inside the center of the massive arena. Katara's mouth fell open in utter disbelief looking around to the size of this place, now seeing it was much larger than the testing site she remembered being in. Most of the arena appeared to be a large dirt and rock clearing, while other areas appeared as cities or factory setups. It was as if five different testing areas were meshed into one gigantic arena here. More than that, though, she caught sight of all the other students around them, seeing just how many people were here.

And all of them were eyeing the same thing she wanted; the ability to be heroes. And they were all going to be battling for that chance.

After gathering the items she would need, Katara attached the three targets she had all to her front torso, knowing that was her best spot for defending them. Sighing out, she stretched her shoulders as all the others in her class appeared ready now, all now running towards the center of the arena. "This is really not what we expected, but we don't have a choice now." She announced to everyone as they reached a large clearing. "But now we just have to work together to get through this."

"Alright, but what do you have in mind?" Ojiro asked.

Izuku grunted as he looked out to the other classes making their way out. "The problem is we don't know any of their quirks… but they know all about ours."

"What do you mean by that?" Shoji asked.

"The sports festival…" Izuku quietly answered, "It was a perfect chance for others to see what we could do… but that means our powers are known by everyone now."

Tsu swallowed the lump in her throat. "That means… the festival was actually a problem for us in the long run. Ribbit."

"It doesn't matter at this point, as long as we work together we can get through to the next round." Katara stated, only to frown as she watched Bakugo walking off on his own. "Where are you going?"

"Like I'm gonna sit here and let you all get in my way. You can sit here and do your own shit, Hair Loops, but I am not getting stuck here." Bakugo scoffed out before walking once more.

"Bakugo, it is completely disrespectful for you to not listen to our class rep!" Tenya scolded after him, only to be waved down by Katara.

"If he wants to be stubborn, let him. And we-

Katara stopped mid sentence as both Kirishima and Kaminari took off after Bakugo. "Wait, you're going too?"

"Hey, someone's gotta keep an eye on him," Kirishima chuckled. "See you all in the next round!"

Sighing, Katara looked back to everyone else, noticing Shoto eyeing the large factory to the side. "What's wrong?" She asked him.

"It's just…" Shoto squeezed his fist slightly as he looked back to everyone else. "My quirk works the best away from others. Being crowded with everyone means I can't use my full power."

"Then we will all work out of your way," Katara smirked, "You can be the first wall of defense for us."

While he was somewhat concerned being in such a crowded setting, Shoto stared at her determined eyes as he remembered everything they did. All of the training they worked on for him to control his power more, and with her by his side, he knew they could do so much more. Giving a small nod, he turned to face her. "You're right. Let's do this."

Happy he was willing to work with everyone else, they both turned back to the rest of the class as the bell rang out starting the test. When it did… they were all left in shock to see dozens of students surrounding all of them, their eyes filled with determination and their mouths all smirking.

Sitting in the stands outside the arena, Aizawa and Ms. Joke were several seats apart as the joke hero continued her torment of the sulking teacher. Laughing to herself, she became serious as the bell rang out through the stadium, letting out a sigh. "I am really surprised you didn't warn your class, Eraser… You know what happens every year here."

"Even if I tell them, it wouldn't make a difference. Besides…" Aizawa narrowed his gaze to his class, seeing they were already surrounded. "They have been in tough situations before."

"Oh, but you know how the "Crushing of UA" is… target the strongest school and you'll have a better chance for yourself."

"That's the problem about other schools; they are so focused on trying to surpass UA, that they lose the opportunity for themselves to simply grab and go. And they think they can take on UA right away because they our outnumbered… Then they will learn the hard way why we are considered the strongest."

The sky was filled with armada of balls rushing towards UA, the other schools acting immediately to try and take out the strongest school standing in their way. Unfortunately for all of them, they weren't just dealing with a normal group of students.

"Go now!" Katara yelled out as she flipped both of her gloves open, the two streams rushing out and forming a water shield to her front blocking over a dozen coming her way. "Everyone, watch each others backs and get ready to strike back!"

Not needing another word, everyone acted at once; Tokoyami unleashed dark shadow, its clawed hands rushing out and smacking away any coming his way. Just behind him, Sero's tape shot out catching another mass of incoming balls before they could strike, giving Mina the perfect opening to shoot out her acid streams, melting ten more before they came in. Seeing another group of students approaching from the right, Shoto moved himself past everyone and slammed his right foot down, unleashing a massive ice wall shielding that side. "Seems like we are the targets here." he stated as his left hand ignited.

"Looks like it," Katara responded and waved her hands bending some of the ice he created into water, pulling it back towards her as she laid the massive stream on her shoulders. "Then let's make them run out!"

"Get behind me!" Momo shouted as both of her shoulders glowed, releasing two large riot shields out and throwing one to Ojiro as they blocked Kendo, Jiro and Hagakure.

"Nice move!" Kendo thanked them as she looked past the shields, eyeing Shindo leading his class in the assault. "Looks like he was all show earlier."

"Seems like Bakugo wasn't wrong," Momo glared as she tightened her hold on her shield. "We need to break through."

"Give me a boost up!" Izuku yelled to Momo and company, charging up his energy inside himself. I'll clear us a spot!"

Nodding, Kendo dropped to one knee and expanded her right hand. "Ready!"

Taking a breath, Izuku ran forward and jumped into her hand, tightening his legs as she launched him into the air toward the wave of balls flying at him. Instead of being worried, he focused his power to his leg, preparing his own move he had been practicing.

"One for All, full cowling; Shoot Style!"

With a powerful kick, Izuku released a shock wave outward pushing back all of the balls in the air around him, launching them back out away from his class. Shindo only smirked at the scene. "Huh, seems like he doesn't break his body like before. Should've figured UA got stronger since the festival." He chuckled to himself before glancing back to the shifting ice behind the group. "And didn't expect that either."

Shoto created another ice wall between an approaching group of students just before Katara whipped her arms downward, forcing the wall to shift into water and rush out towards the opposing students forcing them backward. While most of them here know Shoto was strong, they assumed he would have went off on his own being as prideful as he was. Now however he was working in tandem with the girl who pushed him to a near stalemate, their powers complimenting one another very well.

This was certainly much more interesting.

"Looks like this is gonna be more fun!" Shindo glances back to his blue headed classmate, the teen massaging his projectiles until they are as hard as stone. He then tosses them to another classmate, who tosses them down towards the ground, the items ripping through the stone and racing underground towards their targets. "They can't see them until they are too late."

As Katara threw another ice shield out, she suddenly felt a rumbling under her feet, glancing down in confusion. "Huh? What is-

She gasped out as something burst through the stone in front of her, breaking through her ice and racing straight towards her. If it wasn't for her reflexes, she wouldn't have been able to dodge backwards as it raced by, whipping downward and crashing into the ground again. "What the heck was that?!"

"They are attacking from the ground?! Come on!" Mineta jeered out as he whipped a string of his sticky balls out shielding himself.

Katara watched as the hardened balls whipped through the air, rushing straight towards Tsu who jumped out of the way, but she was now exposed to the pair of rival students leaping above her. "Tsu, look out!" She quickly shot out one of her water whips out latching onto her friend, yanking her back and out of harms way.

"Thanks. That was close there." Tsu gave a quick nod as she got back to back with Katara.

"Don't mention it. Lets watch for that attack again." Katara said as they heard the light rumble once more. "Here it comes!"

"Not this time!" Jiro yelled as she clicked her earphone jacks to her new amplifiers, slamming them into the ground and unleashing a powerful sonic wave cracking the earth beneath themselves.

"Wow, that's certainly an upgrade." Katara chuckled seeing the sight. But before Jiro could even respond, the entire area began shaking violently beneath their feet. "What in the world?!"

From his position, Shindo's hands shook the whole coliseum as his vibrate quirk took effect. "Tremoring Earth!"

The rocky ground shattered outward as the whole valley shook. The entirety of class 1-A gasped as their footing suddenly became a world of destruction, plateaus breaking apart as entire areas began splitting off into sections from the earthquake created.

"Oh shit!" Mina screamed as she and some of the others were thrown off on their own, just as another section suddenly broke off and crashed down.

"Ah!" Hagakure screamed out as her section shattered, launching herself, Kendo, Ojiro and Momo off as well.

"Momo!" Izuku panicked as he saw her thrown away, but had to react as his own footing shattered and he fell down a gully.

Katara panicked as she watched everyone being separated by the earthquake generated, but then the area she was on now broke apart and threw them in separate directions, her eyes quickly finding Shoto just before they were sent flying in opposite directions.

"Katara!" Shoto yelled as he was thrown off his perch, disappearing from Katara's sight as she fell into darkness.

Across the testing site, an entire section of students crowded in the city portion of the arena froze as they felt the earth shake beneath them, confused to what just happened. As they sat wondering what that was, they were caught off guard as the wind suddenly began rushing through the street, the gusts so strong the target balls they were all holding were ripped from their grips and pulled into the sky.

"What the hell is that?!" one of them yelled out shielding his eyes.

"This wind is crazy! Is it a storm?!" a girl asked as she tried holding on to hers, but the wind only seemed to grow stronger around her hand, her grip slipping until it flew into the sky towards the nearby skyscraper. She looked up in shock as what looked like thousands of balls spinning around a giant wind vortex, all of it coming from the hand of a teen in a thick burgundy coat.

Grinning above his thick fur collar, Inasa Yoarashi laughed in excitement as his whirlwind quirk spiraled around him. "I believe heroes should be hot-blooded! So good job with this white-hot battle, guys! I freakin' love it! If it's not too much trouble, I'd like to join this white-hot battle! Please and... thank you!"

With a swing of his arm, the air force rushed down to the street below, the students below all screaming in fear as they couldn't do anything as the wind nearly forced them to the ground. In their panic, they didn't even try to block the incoming projectiles, their targets being hit by the balls whipping through and knocking them out of the competition.

Before the wind stopped, Yoarashi laughed in success and through his fist in the air. "Alright! That is how you do it! Plus ultra style! HAHAHA!"

Down below, all one hundred and twenty students in the street just sat in utter defeat, realizing they all were taken out by one student in a single moment.

Coughing through the dust in the air, Katara stood up from the ground and looked around, realizing she was somehow in a small canyon formed from the shifting earth. "What in the world was that? That was a crazy power that guy had." she muttered out loud. Suddenly she heard a few groans from behind, turning around to see both Tsu and Shoji crawling up as well. "Hey! You guys alright?"

"Could be better…" Shoji mumbled as he cracked his back. "That was a rough landing right there."

"Ribbit. At least we are all good." Tsu chimed in as she brushed off the dust from her costume.

While the three of them were alright, katara looked upward from where they came, concerned about everyone else. "I hope everyone else is okay. Maybe we should go and find the others."

"Maybe, but it seems like those guys separating us was their goal," Shoji replied. "If we try to go and find everyone else, we may end up being targets."

Grunting in frustration, Katara continued to stare up through the crevice. She knew the others were all strong, but she was worried they would be alright since they all got separated now. At this point, she knew it was smartest to get through now and hope they all did the same fast.

"Attention everyone, the tenth student has now passed and has qualified for the test."

Very fast.

"That was…" Tsu tilted her head towards the voice over the intercom, "They already have ten people passing?"

Squeezing her fist, Katara gripped her gauntlet, glas she had put the water back in as she used Shoto's ice above and nodded. "Then we can't waste time. Let's get this now and move on as well. Let's find some people and get them out."

"Looks like we don't need to find anyone," Shoji announced as he looked above, "Here they come!"

Turning up as well, Katara caught sight of eight opposing students dropping towards them from above, flipping her canteen open and shooting her water stream up. The thick water rushing up towards the first two incoming foes, but was shocked as a spinning blur ripped through her water and rushed right at her, jumping out of the way as whatever it was crashed into the ground where she stood. She looked back as the figure stood up, his body ceasing its spinning as he smirked her way.

"Your water seems pretty tough, but my topspin quirk won't let you do your tricks on me." he chuckled out as his classmates all dropped down.

Katara gritted her teeth and backed up to Tsu and Shoji, the trio looking out as they were now surrounded. "Well this is isn't what I meant," She sighed and summoned her water back, forming a ring around the three of them.

"Looks like they are from another school. They must have been watching us just now and waited." Shoji added and cracked his knuckles, keeping his eyes on the bull headed teen next to a blonde girl holding a long staff.

"So we were the target from the beginning?" Tsu questioned as three purple haired girls walked her way, only to realize all three were the exact same girl. "Not this again..."

"Good thing Ketsubustu academy split you guys up, you were looking pretty tough together." Another blonde haired teen laughed as his arms shifted into chains, the metal scraping across the rocks as he approached.

"Of course. Makes it all easier for us." the spinning teen smirked and crossed his arms. "Me and you can take on the water girl here."

"Sounds like a plan to me." the chain user swung his right arm in a circle, making his chain forearm spin around. "Water girl it is."

Rolling her eyes at the common name people gave her, Katara readied her stance as what seemed like her two foes walked her way. "You two okay? Looks like my hands are gonna be full."

"Don't worry, I think I can handle these two." Shoji readied his six hands as the bull headed teen huffed out.

"Ribbit. These aren't the first clones I've faced before." Tsu croaked as the three girls all laughed in unison.

Nodding, Katara took a breath and looked forward again. "Just remember; if any of you need help, duck and I'll be there."

"Huh?" Shoji gave her a questioning look, "What do you-

"Just trust me." Katara demanded as the chain user got closer. "Duck."

"Get them!" The spinning teen yelled out as the others rushed forward, the chain user whipping both his arms straight towards Katara. Forging her own water whips, she slashed back his way, their attacks clashing into one another as the countered each other. The Bull headed teen roared out and charged as well, Shoji bracing his body and colliding with him. Shoji however was surprised by their strength, grunting as he was being pushed back slowly. Tsu saw his struggle, but had to focus as the first of the clones ran her way trying to punch her, however Tsu casually leaped to the side before springing back and drop kicking her to the side.

To her surprise though, the girl actually yelped out in pain and didn't disappear like ectoplasm, instead breaking off into a fourth copy of herself. "Well that sucks." Tsu mumbled as she jumped back from the other two girls, watching as the fourth helped up the one she struck. "This may be harder than we thought."

Katara glared as the chain user spun around whipping his right arm forward, ducking underneath the swiping metal and shooting several ice spikes forward only for them to be broken apart by the swing of his left. Gathering her water around her, she shot forth the stream towards him, but was surprised as the spinning teen rushed forward, his body spiraling so fast it broke right through her water whip before he was nearly on her and stopped spinning. Before she could try and encase him in water, she gasped as another swipe of the chain nearly struck her, jumping to the right just as the metal crashed into the stone wall behind her. Crawling back up, she yelped and jumped once again as the rapid spin of the other crashed into the rock wall cracking it.

'They are not giving me a chance to bend… they are fast…' Katara said internally as she quickly gathered the splattered water across the ground, only able to gather about half before blocking the incoming chain with a swipe of water. 'They really did watch us at the festival!'

Meanwhile, Shoji growled out as he scraped his feet across the ground, trying to find whatever footing he could to stop the charging bull headed teen. Grunting, he felt his feet press against a raised ledge giving him some bracing. Dropping his waist down, he used his lower arms to lift up his foe and throw him aside, turning his attention to the girl as she ran towards him and threw her staff his way. Raising his eyebrow, he brought his hand to catch the casual looking toss she made… only to go wide eyed in shock as in a flash she suddenly appeared in the air holding her weapon. "What the-

"Gotcha!" The girl snickered as she spun and landed a kick to his face making him stumble backward, grinning as her bull partner slammed into his back and plowed him to the ground.

"Shoji!" Tsu yelled out as she saw him go down, jumping back as another one of the girls attempted to grab her. Swiping her tongue out, she grabbed the girl around the waist and slammed her into the wall, once again shocked to see the girl split into another clone. Now the total had grown to six, making the frog girl grow annoyed. "How do I do anything to her if she splits every time I hit her?"

"You might as well give up…" all the copies said at once, their voices echoing each other, "You can't even hit me, why try and struggle?"

"That's annoying," Tsu grumbled and jumped as the girls all ran her direction.

Kicking off the wall, Katara managed to gather most of her water back as she shielded herself from another chain swipe, looking back and seeing Shoji pinned on the ground. While keeping her focus on her two foes, she quickly gathered a handful and shot it backwards, the ice spike rushing straight towards the bulls shocked face. Before it hit, the girl carrying her staff threw it forward, teleporting to her weapon and striking down the ice. The small distraction was enough for Shoji to grow out an extension on his arm, the extra limb grabbing the bull by the horns and throwing him off. "Thanks for that," Shoji yelled as he quickly stood up, his eyes catching a flash to his right as the girl teleported next to him attempting to crack him in the side with her staff.

"No you don't!" Tsu's tongue shot out of her mouth grabbing onto the girls staff and yanking her her direction. She only had a moment to breath before the growing army of girls all ran her direction, forcing the frog girl to leap up onto the wall to get away. "They are pretty good."

Katara formed a water whip around her body and punched at the stream, releasing several ice spikes outward forcing the chain user to go on the defense, swinging the chains in front of his body breaking the ice coming at him. Seeing her chance, Katara flipped open her right gauntlet and unleashed the water straight towards him, but glared as the spinning teen broke right through her attack. The thousands of water droplets hovered in the air for a second before Katara arched her hands out, angling the water back towards the teen as his spinning halted, only for the others chains to ensnare his partner and pull him back before he was encased in water.

"Shit, this is frustrating…" Katara growled as the battle seemed to come to a standstill for a moment, gathering up whatever water she could back around her left arm. Not only did these guys work well together, but they knew how her bending worked, needing even just a few moments between attacks to move her arms to guide her water. Their high pressure and non stop attacks made it difficult to counter both of them at once. She needed to somehow separate them.

Bing.

Katara's eyes shot open in shock as one of the targets on her chest lit up, her arms swinging down on instinct and hitting something. "What?! What was…?"

Several paces away, a blue haired girl suddenly materialized from nowhere, huffing out as she smiled at the waterbender. "That's one down. Just two more to go."

"Where the hell did she come from?" Shoji asked, confused since never seeing her before until now.

Laughing, the new girl nodded to her classmates. "Nice keeping her distracted. Now let's finish her off." she said as she took a deep breath.

Katara glared and readied her hand again. "You aren't going to do anything now and-

Katara's mouth froze in shock as the girl suddenly disappeared once again, vanishing from sight instantly. "What? How did she-

The high pitched spin coming her way again caught her attention, Katara forming a water shield just as the rotating teen collided into her barrier. Pushing out to give herself some space, she quickly squeezed her right hand, instantly forming ice over her shield blocking the incoming chain. "Can she turn invisible?!"

"Doesn't that seem familiar to someone we know…" Shoji sarcastically muttered out as he charged forward, colliding his shoulder into the bull headed teen's charge to stop him. As he strained against the foe, his ears perked up when one of his own targets lit up, swinging one of his extra limbs out and just missing the invisible girl materializing once more. "Shit… while we focus on everyone else she sneaks in…" His free limbs formed an eyeball, watching as the staff user had left him and now was heading straight for his green haired classmates back. "Tsu, behind you!" he called out as the girl chucked her staff forward.

"Ribbit?" Tsu turned just in time to see the teleporter appear right in front of her, ducking underneath as the girl flew straight into two of the running clones. While she was okay, Tsu glared in annoyance as those two now split into four now, with the army of ten girls now staring her down. Unlike Ectoplasm, these clones seemed to be truly physical, able to be hurt and still be tangible without disappearing, instead splitting into another copy when hit. "How am I supposed to do this now? They just keep coming?" She muttered as she stared at the smiling but bruised girls in front of her… before realizing a single one near the back with no marks across her body.

'That one has been sitting back the whole time…' Tsu whispered internally, 'Maybe that's…' She suddenly came up with an idea, turning around toward her friend. "Katara, now! Shoji, Duck!"

While the other students were confused as to what she meant, both Shoji and Katara gave a quick nod. While Shoji used his strength to push himself free and drop down immediately, Katara quickly shot a stream at her two foes to give herself a moment's breathing room before opening her other gauntlet. In a quick motion, she spun her body around and formed a solid ring of water around herself before thrusting her arms outward, the water racing out at blinding speed and catching everyone of the other class off guard. As it raced over Shoji and Tsu's head, the others were smashed in the chest and thrown backwards into the rock walls all around. Using this chance, Katara froze the bull teen along with the teleporter to the wall, while the chain wielder and spinning foe were able to instantly break free.

As they were all struck, the army of clones all yelped out from the pain before all splitting apart into more copies… all except the one girl in the back who happened to duck just in time. 'I knew it…' Tsu croaked out and leaped high into the air and shot her tongue out, entrapping the single girl in the back and yanking her off the ground. The panic in her eyes told Tsu everything she needed to know. "So you are the real one, then. I was wondering why you never attacked, since you are the most important one. But you have to stay close to your clones, right?"

Not giving her a chance to answer, Tsu whipped the teen around and slammed her into the wall, knocking her out and immediately making all the other clones vanish.

"Doppelganger!" The staff wielder hissed out in anger seeing her friend knocked out, dropping her staff away from her and teleporting to it, freeing herself from the ice. "You're gonna pay for that!"

"MOOOOO!" The bull headed teen roared out and broke himself free of the ice as well, huffing out steam from his nose and staring down Shoji.

"I'm up for another round. How about you?" Shoji asked as he cracked his knuckles.

While she stood off against the girl with the staff, Tsu looked around and noticed no one else stuck. 'That invisible girl must have got out of the way too. I'll have to watch for her.'

"Damn you…" The chain wielder bared his teeth at the waterbender, spitting on the ground as he drug his chains beside him. "We knew you were a pain after watching you at the festival, but really are good."

"I'll take that as a compliment," Katara responded as she gathered her water again, waving her arms around her body forming it into one solid stream. "You're pretty tough too, if i'm being honest."

Sighing, the spinning teen rubbed his head and grinned, "Such a shame we had to meet like this. Could've been interesting to work together. In fact, I'd probably have asked you out seeing you're so cute in person."

Raising her eyebrow to his wink, Katara rolled her eyes and crossed her hands in front of herself. "Sorry, but you're not my type. Besides, I'm getting through this test."

"You think you're the only one needing a license?" The chain user shouted in frustration, "This is my second time taking this test. We are all trying to get it. And unfortunately for you, I don't want to wait another year."

Tightening her hands as he came in, Katara shot her water whip out striking against his incoming chains, blocking each of his rapid strikes before catching the end of his next attack in her water, solidifying it and pulling it making him stumble forward. Before she could force the ice to crawl further down the chain, Katara quickly formed another water shield with her other hand as the other rushed at her, his high velocity spinning chipping away at her barrier. Gritting her teeth, Katara held strong as the shield began thinning, but just before it broke, the spinning stopped and the teen jumped back. While she kept her focus on the chain user who broke free of her grasp, Katara noticed the other's eyes were somewhat unfocused and hazy.

He was dizzy.

'That's why he comes in quick bursts…' Katara mentally checked as she flipped backwards as the pair of chains slammed into the ground where she was. Shooting out a pair of ice spikes, she watched as the spin user shook his head and charged forward again, his body twisting so fast it shattered her attacks. Now seeing his weakness, she kept stepping back as they approached, gathering all the water she could, which was a little more than half of her original supply. "I think it's time to end this."

"Oh yeah? I was thinking the same thing!" the chain user shouted as he leaped in the air and swung downward, his chains missing the waterbender by only inches and smashing into the ground. Before he could retract them, his eyes went wide as multiple ice spikes struck the end of his chains, piercing both of them to the rock below. Panicking, he tried yanking on the chains to get them free, leaving them tight and full of tension.

'Now's my chance!' Katara yelled internally as she whipped out a thin but dense stream of water, racing it forward and slashing through the steel. The opposing teens eyes went wide as his chains were cut in half, stumbling back as he looked to his weakened defense, glaring in anger at the waterbender.

"What the hell?! Those won't grow back until tomorrow!" he yelled in fury and smacked down his remaining links to the stone.

"You'll regret doing that!" the spin user shouted as he prepared his body for another rotation, but stopped as he watched Katara pull all of the water around her into a dense stream of water, noticing something different happening now. "What the…?"

Both of their mouths dropped in disbelief as the stream began taking the shape of something they never expected, watching as ice spines rose up the back of the water stream. The leading section of water shifted and grew outward, the jaws of ice teeth snapping open as the water horns above the head froze instantly. "What the hell is that thing?!"

Katara smiled internally as the water dragon danced in the air behind herself, understanding now what Ectoplasm meant. "Something I didn't have time to make earlier with you two.

Thrusting her arms out, the water dragon burst forward straight towards the pair of shocked teens. Panicking, the chain wielder whipped his remaining chains out in front and rapidly spun them, sweating at the limited defense he had now. "Twister! Hurry up and spin!"

Twister however only backed up in panic, his dizzy head already at his limit. "I… I can't stop that thing!" he yelled out in fear.

The chain user felt his heart jump in terror hearing his partner backing up, only able to yell in fear as the dragon rushed at him, smashing through his weakened chains and crashing him into the wall with a loud boom. Dust burst out from the impact as the dragon retracted itself, the spin user staring in shock as his partner was now knocked unconscious, his remaining chains broken apart as he slumped to the ground. His eyes found themselves back to the waterbender, the water beast hovering behind her following her hand motions. "What… What is that thing? You couldn't do that at the festival!"

"This is something I just created, actually." Katara answered as she stepped forward, "And I can tell you can't spin constantly, which is why you had to work with your friend, and why you didn't try to block this."

Gritting his teeth, Twister took a deep breath and readied himself. "You aren't stopping me! This is my time to get my license!" he shouted before spinning as fast as he could, fighting off the dizziness building up and rushing straight at Katara.

Now able to only focus on one, Katara launched her dragon forth once more and collided it straight into Twisters attack, the two forces shoving back and forth trying to break through the others attack. Even though he was going for longer than before, Katara could tell his technique was growing weaker, forcing her dragon forth even as it was being chipped away. "Just a little more!" she shouted and pushed even harder, shoving the fast spinning opponent back as his rotation left a scar across the stone. After several more seconds, he came to a quick halt, his face near green from sickness as he fell to the ground trying to hold in his breakfast. As he tried crawling back up, his hand and feet were suddenly encased in ice and pinned to the ground, looking up in defeat to the waterbender standing above him.

Taking a deep breath, Katara sighed in relief seeing she took them out. "Now how are the others-

Her words halted when a loud thud hit the ground, turning around to see Tsu sitting on top of the panting teleporting girl and pinning her stick underneath her stomach. "Looks like you can't teleport anywhere else but to that staff. Now that it's there, you aren't going anywhere." Tsu said as she tagged the targets on the girls side, all three turning on and glowing red. Seeing she was finished, the girl on the ground whined and dropped her head to the floor.

"You look to be alright," Katara chuckled as Tsu hopped off her foe.

"Ribbit. I had to fight the tricky ones. Yours were straight forward unlike mine." Tsu grumbled, making Katara raise her brow and cross her arms.

"Oh, then you are welcome to switch with me next time. How about that?" She sarcastically answered, both of them turning to see the bull headed teen panting hard, a small trail of blood dripping from his nose as he hobbled forward towards Shoji.

"You're pretty tough, but I've been training with someone a lot sturdier than you," Shoji huffed out, remembering the few sparring matches he had with Kirishima. As the bull roared out and charged again, his multiple limbs formed their ends into fists, tightening his knuckles as he readied himself."Time to end this here."

Charging forth as well, Shoji's arms cocked back, his muscles flexing preparing his assault. "Octoblow!"

A rapid barrage of punches erupted from Shoji's many limbs, the hard attacks barreling all over the bull's body making him yell out in shock and pain. The barrage went on for several more seconds before coming to a stop, the bull teen's body still wobbling before dropping to his knees gasping for breath. Taking several breaths himself, Shoji gave a small nod to his foe. "Sorry about that. Was just getting a little tired of you throwing me down." Turning around, he saw his two classmates standing there, glad to see they were alright. "Looks like you got done before I did."

"It wasn't like we were racing," Katara chuckled as she rubbed her shoulder, looking around at the downed opponents all around. "They all were pretty strong so it's a good thing we stuck together."

"Yeah, they seemed to try and attack each of us based on our quirks," Tsu added, looking over to the two Katara fought. "Although you seemed to handle them pretty easy."

"I wouldn't say easy," Katara sighed out, "They kept on me barely giving me a chance to use my bending."

"Either way, we won," Shoji responded and pulled out one of the balls from his side pocket. "Let's get out of here."

Smiling, Katara pulled out one of her own. "Right."

As the UA trio began moving towards the downed teens, the blue haired teen glared from behind the small rock outcropping she had been hiding behind. After she had barely evaded Katara's attack earlier, she had crawled over here to catch her breath again, waiting for a moment to sneak in again when they weren't ready for her. But since waiting here, her friends were all taken down immediately after, and now she was the only one left.

'This is bad, I can't believe they took down everyone so fast…' She hissed internally as she glared at Katara tagging out the chain wielder. 'If she didn't do that wide attack earlier, I wouldn't have had to get away, and could have tagged one of the others again. I'll make her pay for that.'

Taking a deep breath, the girl held her breath as she suddenly became invisible, slowly standing up and walking across the clearing towards Katara. 'I can't tag all of them in one breath, but I can get one of them at least. If my friends can't get their licenses, then you can't either!'

Before she could get any closer, the girl gasped as a large hand suddenly gripped her wrist and yanked up, the shock making her breathe and turn visible once more. Her wide eyes turned up towards Shoji, the masked teen holding her off the ground. "But… how did you-

"You aren't the only invisible girl we have dealt with," Shoji said as one of his limbs lifted up, revealing the large ear he had formed on the end. "And she is quite a bit quieter than you are at sneaking." The girl's mouth hung open in disbelief as his hand reached out and tagged her targets, pouting as all three of hers were lit up.

Surprised herself at the capture just now, Katara sighed in relief seeing she was saved. "Thanks Shoji. I owe you one for that." smiling at the nod she received, Katara turned back to Twister still frozen on the ground, reaching down and tagging one of his targets. "That was a good fight. Sorry I have to do this, though." She said honestly, knowing they all were trying for the same thing she wanted.

Letting out a small laugh, Twister laid his head back as his vision finally cleared up. "I guess it means I wasn't ready yet. Maybe I'll have better luck next year."

Happy to see he wasn't going to give up, Katara tagged the last of his targets knocking him out of the competition, waving her hands and freeing him from the ice. Suddenly, hers, Shoji's and Tsu's targets blinked blue simultaneously, the trio confused before an intercom broke the silence.

"Three more students have passed the test. If you are finished, please head to the waiting room as we await the rest of the competitors."

Smiling at the announcement, Katara turned to the others clenched her fists in excitement. They had passed the first test, and were now ready for the real one next. She only hoped the rest of her friends would get through as well.

Notes: Phew! Katara and a few of her friends made it through the first challenge. Now on to the next one. What, you thought I would have her stay with Shoto or Tenya? Nah, had to change it up.

Had some fun making up these characters they faced. And while I will show others, i won't be dragging it on like the anime or manga. Like i said, something big is coming soon, so i hope you're all ready for that. (and a heads up, the artist who created the latest work studies image will be making another one soon... but this will be of the hunters. stay tuned!)

Now that we made it here, hope to see all your reviews. i missed you guys, and can't wait to continue this! Till next time!