A/N: Alright, now we're back on the straight and narrow it's time to put this story back on the official plot for a bit with the Final Exam. I spent a while planning out an original activity for the exam that could be fun, so I hope you enjoy reading!
Something else is that this story is now over 80,000 reads which is totally nuts, the support I've received and the follows and favourites from you all are really reassuring and it shows you're enjoying this story, which makes me really happy to see! I hope you continue to enjoy it!
The day of the Final Exam was upon them and the atmosphere in class was tenser than ever. Their day of relaxation had passed and now Monday had arrived, the weight of the exam had fallen onto everyone, even Mina was quieter than usual.
No-one had been told about what they were to be examined on first. There was no email, no morning announcement and there were only three minutes until class would be beginning and there was no sign of Aizawa anywhere. Izuku had spent the ten minutes he'd been sat in class running over some example questions he'd noted down the night before, answering them all and checking them over at the end, and although he got the majority of the questions correct, there were a handful of silly mistakes he'd spotted that he could've easily avoided.
"Morning." Aizawa grumbled, shocking the whole class to attention.
"G-Good morning." Was the slow and hectic response from the hero course.
"You don't seem as ready for this as I was hoping." He said critically, slowly closing the huge sliding door of the class and strolling up to the Lectern. No-one said anything because no-one knew the response he was looking for, and with a light sigh, the Erasure Quirk user continued.
"As you all know, today is the beginning of your Final Term Exam and I'm sure you're eager to begin right away, which even if you're not, we will be anyway." Aizawa explained, a cold expression on his face as usual.
"We will be starting off the Exam with the Practical before the rest of the days are spent on your written work..." He said, lifting his arm and pointing to the back of the class. "As you've probably already noticed, your costumes have been brought here, so you have twenty minutes to go and change and meet me at the front of the school; we're going back to U.S.J for the first part of your exam." Aizawa explained. A handful of the students looked over their shoulders at the numbered cases at the back of the class whilst others exchanged curious glances.
"See you and twenty-five past." Aizawa said, before turning and leaving without another word. The tense feeling within the class hadn't eased at all, not after being granted a little insight as to what today's part of the exam was going to be.
"This sucks… I feel like we should at least have a scheduled or something in class that we can go by." Rikido complained, the class all haphazardly went to claim their costume cases from the back of the room.
"I agree, but they probably have a good reason for not doing that." Tsuyu responded with her usual calm and round-headed tone. The Sugar-rush Quirk user gave her a sideways nod and sighed, grabbing his costume case from the floor and heading back to his seat.
"Come alone, we don't have much time to get ready." Iida ordered. "We'll make our way to the changing rooms quickly and quietly." He added sternly, sliding the classroom door open and standing aside to allow Aoyama and Tokoyami to lead the way.
"Thanks Iida." Izuku smiled as he and Uraraka followed Mineta and Sero out of the class.
"You don't look worried at all." Uraraka muttered, clutching the handle of her costume case quite tightly. Izuku turned to her thoughtfully.
"I am a bit..." He responded with a chuckle. I'm worried that I haven't prepared my body enough for this part of the exam." He added, lifting his scared hand and peering down at it with an anxious feeling in his stomach. If they suffer any more damage as severe as the Sports Festival, then god only knows what could happen to them.
"You shouldn't be. No matter how many times I see you fight I'm always impressed... And worried." She said in a jokey tone. Izuku chuckled along and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.
"I-I don't mean to worry you." He laughed, a little bit of guilt creeping into him.
"It's alright, as your best friend it's mine and Iida's job to worry." She said sweetly.
Mina watched this conversation from towards the front of the pack and felt a little feeling of defensiveness in her, or rather, of jealousy. Why was she feeling like this though? Uraraka had known Izuku longer than she had she Uraraka was also her good friend. She could trust her and would trust her with her life, so why was it that when she was close and friendly with Izuku did it make her feel jealous.
"Hey, are you alright?" Momo asked, pulling the pink-skinned girl from her thoughts.
"Huh? Oh... It's nothing." Mina responded, shaking herself and looking down at the floor.
"It's normal..." Momo started knowingly. Mina looked up to her with a curious expression. "To feel jealous." She added, smiling down at the Acid Quirk user warmly.
"I'm not jealous." Mina said, her tone making her sound even more doubtful of this notion.
"I would be too... In fact, I do get jealous. You see, I like someone and when I see him getting close with other girls, I feel the same sort of way." Momo explained. Mina looked up to her with a pleasantly surprised face. I already know who, you can't hide it. Mina said to herself.
"Now, I'm sure it's not quite the same as when you're actually in a relationship... But if we were, then I'd remember to trust him. Trust is the most important factor of a relationship." The creation Quirk user said, holding up her finger like a mother instructing her daughter.
"Besides, this is Midoriya we're talking about. He's a kind and honest guy, you have no reason to worry." She added with a smile, rubbing Mina's back reassuringly. It did make her feel a bit better about the whole situation, and what she'd said was true. Izuku was a good person and Mina knew she could trust him. Then, even so, this feeling wasn't an easy one to shake.
"Alright, we're a few minutes early so organise yourselves neatly into two rows of two so we can board the bus efficiently." Iida ordered. The class did as they were asked and split roughly in half just outside the coach to form two rows of two.
Only an hour at most until the exam began and the nerves were really biting down on Izuku. He knew there wasn't really a reason to worry as much as he was because he knew he'd prepared to the best of his ability. Yet, this feeling in his stomach was too strong to ignore.
"Okay, now you do look sick, are you sure you're feeling alright?" Uraraka muttered as Aizawa left the entrance to the school pushing his phone and hands into his pockets as he made his way over.
"I-I'm fine, really, don't worry." Izuku reassured the Zero-Gravity Quirk user.
"Good job organising them Iida." Aizawa praised the representative as he the coach doors slid open. "Come on, let's go." He ordered, nodding the class to follow as he headed up the small set of stairs and onto the bus. The row led by Aoyama and Tsuyu moved off first and once they'd all been seated, Izuku's row started onto the bus.
Izuku was gripping his case so hard the pattern of the handle had imprinted itself on his skin, so he was glad to have a place to put it on the floor as they travelled to U.S.J. With a shaky sigh he looked around at some of the students in his peripherals.
Todoroki had what looked to be a meditation app open on his phone and plugged in some earphones, leaning back in the chair and closing his eyes. Momo, Iida and a quite a few other students all had books in their backpacks to read as they journeyed, and others chose to listen to music. Izuku had never really found a good way to calm himself when his nerves were at a high like this. He often found that thinking the situation through and planning for any inevitable outcomes often eased the stress, but in this case, it hadn't worked at all.
He knew that once it came closer to the time, once the exam had really begun and he'd been able to get himself in the right mindset that this feeling would quickly disappear, but right now it showed no signs of letting up.
"Okay, I suppose I should probably let you in on what exactly the first part of your exam will be..." Aizawa started, his voice coming through the overhead speakers startling a handful of the students.
"This practical exam will be an exercise known as bulldog. This is originally a game of English origin that we've designed to be more fitting for people in your situation. To be brief, this side of the bus will be attacking first, and this side will be runners." He began, pointing to his left-hand side row, then to the row Izuku was in.
"Runners, you will be given tags to stick anywhere on your body within easy access of the attackers. You will then be placed on one side of the Urban Sector of U.S.J and the attackers will be placed in the centre. Your job will be to use your Quirks to travel down the main road and to the other side of the sector without having any of your tags stolen. It will be a pair versus pair task, and anything goes, including combat." He explained. A few members of the class exchanged surprised frowns.
It sounded too simple. Their practical exam was a pair V pair task where they simply had to make it from one side of the Urban Sector of U.S.J to the other. They weren't even able to use the entire place to their advantage; it was simply one road. Izuku did have a few queries, however. This exam was announced quite a while before now and no details of their scheduled or anything was given to them until today
They'd probably spent all this time organised pairs against each other focused on their Quirks and how they used them. If they hadn't, then the results of this practical exam would be completely unfair. There were probably a lot of factors that Aizawa was leaving them to find out for themselves too.
"Deku, you're muttering again." Uraraka whispered. The greenette quickly looked up and leaned out into the aisle. It seemed Aizawa had finished his explanation beforehand which was reassuring.
"S-Sorry, I didn't realise." He replied with an awkward chuckle.
"It's alright... I actually overheard some of what you were saying and it's a good point, it does feel to simple." Uraraka responded, her expression becoming thoughtful and serious like Izuku knew he did sometimes.
"Yeah... I really don't know, I'm sure there is a lot that Mr Aizawa isn't telling us." Izuku responded simply. Uraraka nodded in agreement and rested her head in her and, leaning up against the window. It eased a few of his nerves knowing what it was they were going to do for the practical part of their exam, but it worried him that it seemed so easy. Then again this was U.A, there was no way this was going to be as easy as it sounds.
U.S.J seemed to have been renovated again since their last visit. It wasn't anything major, but everything looked clean and new again. It made Izuku feel kind of guilty because high chance is the Urban Sector was going to be demolished once their class were done with it.
"Okay, now to run over some final details before you begin." Aizawa started as the class of costume-wearing trainee heroes followed him into the massive facility.
"Once both groups have played their original positions of attackers and runners, you will swap around and play the other position. This will allow you to be examined on your abilities to get out of dangerous situations and take action when suddenly confronted by a villain." He explained.
"The main thing you have to focus on, however, is to do little to no damage to any of the buildings in the sector. In a real-life situation, as I hope you know, repairs for damage to the city can get incredibly expensive. So, the sooner you learn how to defeat villains and do minimal damage do the surroundings, the better." He explained. That was what most of the class was waiting to hear, and that alone made this task quite a lot harder, especially in Izuku's case.
"You have already been assigned partners, so I want to get this started now. Divide yourselves into the groups you were in on the bus and then I want the runners to grab two of the tags from the box." He instructed. The class quickly did as they were asked and once the runners had put their tags in their desired 'easy-access' positions, they all made their way to the ledge Aizawa was standing on that gave them a clear view down into examination area. Izuku decided to put the tags on his chest and on the back of his right shoulder, two areas he knew he'd have a good chance of protecting
There were destroyed cars laid across the road and a handful of fallen buildings and rubble, but other than that it was just a long road. "First up, Kirishima and Todoroki running, Tokoyami and Ojiro attacking." He said simply. The four whose names were called all gave each other respectful nods and started down the staircase to the Urban Sector. Todoroki had attached his tags to his waist and his knee, whilst Kirishima had put his on the sash along his torso and on his waist as well, since those were the only places his hero costume had clothing.
"So, got any ideas as to how we go about winning this thing?" Kirishima asked as Ojiro and Tokoyami quickly took off down the road.
"I'm not sure, I haven't currently had any ideas. It's best, I think, to try and reach the other side whilst avoiding combat, but that only works for me because of my ice since I can use it to slide on." Todoroki started as they stopped at in the middle the road.
"Yeah, I understand... Well if that's the case, then I think we just have to outmanoeuvre them on foot, right?" Kirishima asked, hardening his arms and clashing them together. Then a klaxon hollered out over them and signalled the start of the exam.
"Alright man, let's do it!" Kirishima exclaimed, before the two of them took off at a sprint down the street.
Izuku understood the reasoning for this match-up. Todoroki was at the top of the class along with Bakugo and himself for attack-based Quirks, but he could also use his ice as a means of transportation, a lot like how Mina used her acid to surf. However, now Kirishima had been paired up with him, there was no way for him to use that tactic because he'd end up leaving his teammate behind. They were bottle-necking the more powerful of the three to make the battlefield fair and get Todoroki thinking in a team play manor.
This wasn't an easy situation. Ojiro definitely excelled in close-hand combat because it was essential with his Quirk, but for Tokoyami, he was in a similar position to Todoroki. He could use Dark Shadow to help in getting places faster than usual, but with Ojiro he was held back slightly, although he too was quite capable of using his tail as a means of launching himself forwards. All Izuku could see clearly as of now, was that the most likely way to make it to the end objective was to defend against their attacks whilst moving towards the other side of the sector
"Hey, Todoroki! I think we just need to try and avoid them as best we can! I'm definitely not as good at attack as you are, but I am good at defence, which we can both work together on!" Kirishima beamed, his sharp teeth on show.
"I agree, I think it would be in our best interest to-." Todoroki responded before being cut off by an ambush attack from Ojiro. The Half-Cold Half-Hot Quirk user quickly rolled to the side to avoid the downward attack from the blonde teenager and his tail. Todoroki quickly erected a wall of ice to distance the two, but it wasn't thick enough to stop Ojiro from breaking through.
Kirishima was left then to deal with Tokoyami, and there was no way for him to match Dark Shadow's attack power. However, he could deal with him defensive wise. He just had to use his hardening to deflect the attacks and try and keep moving to the objective. Damaging the environment would only be a concern for Todoroki because he was the only one who really possessed the power to do that kind of power, as seen in the Sports Festival against Izuku.
Kirishima could see Todoroki ducking and dodging the perfectly coordinated attacks from Ojiro, throwing up ice walls and using them to put distance between the two. The tags were the main thing Kirishima had to keep in mind with this challenge. Tokoyami technically had two pairs of arms thanks to the sentient shadow creature, so Kirishima had two people to worry about over the one. They both just had to focus on keeping their distance. With Todoroki still uncertain on using his left side, defence was the one thing they potentially had over their temporary enemies.
Now Tokoyami finally came on the attack. Kirishima had been glancing between him and Ojiro and luckily turned back just as Dark Shadow lunged down at him. He quickly hardened up his left arm and used it to slam Dark Shadows fist away, taking off at a run to try and match the pace at which Todoroki was now moving, but it was harder than he anticipated. There was always the option to use the buildings and cars as cover, but it would just end up slowing them down.
A left then right punch were the next attacks from the shadow creature, which Kirishima slammed away with as much force as he could before it then returned to Tokoyami, who the redhead could see was giving the being new instructions. He had to use this to his advantage.
"Todoroki, do that ice-slam thing!" Kirishima called, taking off at a run. The half-half teenager lifted his right arm and slammed his fist into the floor. The attack sent out an ice wave that forced Ojiro to throw himself back and out the way.
"Dark Shadow! Use the cars to block the way!" Tokoyami ordered as he and Ojiro pursued the runners as quickly as they could. The dark being did as ordered, using its huge hands to grab the broken down cars scattered here and there before throwing them towards their enemies.
"Over-head!" Todoroki yelled, skidding to a halt and forcing himself backwards with his ice. Kirishima threw himself backwards as hard as he could too and barely managed to avoid a tattered taxi that slammed down into the tarmac, sparking and creaking as it settled. Another car followed this, a family car, the main one that had forced them to stop long enough for Tokoyami and Ojiro to catch up.
"That was a good idea..." Todoroki muttered, inaudibly complimenting them as he pulled himself to his feet. "But it wasn't good enough." He added with a smiled, quickly whipping around and swinging his arm down towards the floor, throwing a wall of spiked ice towards each of the cars. They were sent away with loud crashes and the way was clear faster than it'd been closed off.
Whist Todoroki cleared the two cars away, the redhead hardened his arms and prepared to defend as Dark Shadow loomed over him, pouncing as soon as he was close enough. Kirishima did his best to defend against the attacks whilst Todoroki cleared the way, but he didn't expect Dark Shadow to back out of his second attack.
Kirishima had been faked out. Using the opening he'd been given, Dark Shadow quickly swiped the tag from Kirishima's sash before backing away, not pushing his luck in trying to grab the second. "Damn I lost one!" Kirishima called as Todoroki took off at a run.
"It doesn't matter, as long as you still have one then we'll be okay!" Todoroki responded. "Just keep pushing and defending, if we can keep up our consistency then we'll win this!" He added reassuringly, throwing up another ice wall to keep Ojiro from advancing too quickly. However, Dark Shadow was making his way through the walls quite easily, so it was just a matter of pace and consistency.
Frost... Todoroki muttered to himself, bring his hand down from a fresh attack and noticing the glistening material covering his costume. He couldn't overuse this tactic too much and it was something he knew he had to work on, but for now, he had no choice but to continue his pattern. With Kirishima's lack of range, there wasn't much else he could do accept ensure he was keeping them both at a safe distance.
Then, the Klaxon sounded again and the four of them skidded to a halt. They hadn't noticed, but they'd passed the ending of the Urban Sector a few seconds earlier and thus, the end of the first part of their test had arrived.
"Nicely done." Todoroki complimented, bowing at Tokoyami and Ojiro as he and Kirishima gathered themselves and relaxed a little, all of them feeling quite out of breath.
"Yeah, you guys were relentless!" Kirishima beamed. "I can't believe I fell for that fake too." He added, turning to Tokoyami with an embarrassed chuckle as Dark Shadow handed that tag he'd claimed to his user.
"Still, only one of three isn't that great huh..." Ojiro said nervously as the four of them began making their way back towards the rest of the class. It wasn't a massive distance they had to travel, especially if they were just running in a straight line, but the strategy behind the task was becoming clear and it was fantastic practice for real-world combat.
"I don't think you should worry; I feel my defence was somewhat sloppy." Todoroki muttered with a troubled expression.
"You kiddin'!? You did way more than me! Besides, we've still got later to play swapped positions." Kirishima reassured him, clenching an enthusiastic fist.
"So, as you can see, this task is not as simple as it may have originally seemed. In real-world situations, you can't afford to carelessly damage property unless it's absolutely unavoidable, so this will be very good practice for you." Aizawa started, looking over his shoulder, but more specifically at Bakugo and Izuku. The greenette faltered a little under the teacher's critical stare.
"Now, onto the next two groups. Sero and Bakugo attacking with Hagakure and Midoriya running. Take your positions." Aizawa ordered. The entire class froze and fired each other glances whilst Izuku slowly turned to face the Explosion Quirk user from the corner of his eyes. The evil smile on his face was more unnerving than anything. This was ridiculous; it was like they were trying to get Izuku killed. Damaging property was hard enough with limited control of his Quirk, but putting them against each other again? This wasn't going to end without blood being drawn from someone.
Izuku was more worried about Hagakure. He knew the fiery blonde teenager well enough to know he wouldn't hold back his full power just because he was fighting a girl. He was ruthless like that and it had been proved when he fought Uraraka in the Sports Festival and seeing her in such a condition hurt Izuku quite a lot.
"Let's go Tape arms." Bakugo ordered, scoffing at Izuku with a face of pure disgust as he headed down towards the city replica.
"Ouch man, whose side are you on here?" The Tape Quirk user chuckled, firing Izuku his usual wide and cheerful smile.
"Toru... Please leave Kacchan to me. I know him well enough to know he won't hold back and... I don't want you to get hurt." He muttered over at his invisible teammate, who was simply two floating gloves and two tags.
"Yeah but you've already been beaten up really bad by him..." Toru argued, clearly sounding uncomfortable with seeing Izuku all bloodied up again. In fact, it seemed everyone was slightly concerned. After all, putting the One For All and Explosion Quirk users against each other was like driving two trains into each other head-on. There was only one way it was going to end, and that was in chaos.
"Don't worry about me, I can take it." Izuku smiled before leading the way down to their positions. If he was being honest with himself, he wasn't even sure if he believed what had just come out of his mouth. He knew there was a possibility Bakugo would hold back due to the probable mark deduction if any buildings were damaged, but then again, he tended to get carried away quite easily. Moreover, in Izuku's current condition with One For All and the Quirk Bakugo had, controlling the power output of his attacks and, in Izuku's case, defences, was not going to be an easy task.
"I-If you're really sure you want to do this, then I might be able to handle Sero... But..." The Invisibility Quirk user started as Izuku pulled up his hood and his mask, readying himself for the inevitable duel with his old friend. He could hear how concerned Toru was and even though he knew she couldn't see his face; he couldn't help but give her a confident smile
"It's going to be alright, I promise" He smiled. Toru walked with him in silence her gloves showing her twiddling her thumbs thoughtfully.
"Has anyone told you your costume looks kinda like a bunny?" The girl pointed out after a few seconds of silence.
"I-I mean... I've never been told it... But I've thought about it myself." He replied awkwardly, trying not to focus on how his heroic mood felt somewhat ruined. The girl didn't respond so Izuku took it that she was satisfied with her answer and prepared himself for the start of his exam.
He was even more worried now than he was when he was first put against his old friend for spar training. Back then, although the situation was still serious, it wasn't nearly as serious as right now, and if the damage he could do then was enough to have half of Izuku's head in bandages for three days, then Izuku didn't want to think about what he could do now. His main priority was to keep Toru out of his way, keep his tags on and try and stay far away enough for Bakugo not to be able to reach him with his attacks, which was much easier said than done.
The most efficient way for him to do this was to go about this fight the same way he did when fighting Melodyne. Use his Quirk to deflect any attacks that got close and use the flick attack he'd used before to push Sero and Bakugo away with the wind. He was able to use that power without harming his body, so that would be the most effective course of action in this situation.
Then, the klaxon sounded, and their exam began.
"Are you ready Midoriya?" She asked softly. Izuku took a deep breath and let it out with a sigh, calming his nerves.
"Yeah, let's do this." He smiled before nodding her for her to follow and taking off at a run. One For All, Full Cowling... Five percent. Izuku growled to himself, focusing the power through his body. Red and magenta pattern covered his body before fading away, being replaced by mint green bolts of energy, the colour One For All had bestowed to him as gold given to All Might. He had to bury his rivalry with Bakugo for the exam, he couldn't allow something like that to weight him down at such a crucial time.
"Midoriya, they're up ahead." Toru announced, a suspended glove pointing in the direction of Sero and Bakugo's forms. The greenette clenched his fists and prepared for his blonde rival to make the first move, but he didn't. There were flashes of orange from where the teenager was crackling small explosions in his hand, but he didn't advance in Izuku or Toru.
"Remember, they won't see you as easily as me, so try and get through as carefully as you can. Distract Sero if you have the chance, but I'll handle them both if it comes down to it." Izuku explained, his voice stern and full of confidence as they continued running towards their enemies.
"Alright, just please, be careful." Toru responded with just as severe a tone. Izuku nodded and pushed himself to run faster, passing Toru and taking the lead and then, before Izuku even knew what was happening, Bakugo had his hand wrapped around the greenette's face.
"DIIIIIIE!" Bakugo screamed, his voice cracking as he blew Izuku back with a massive explosion. All the One For All Quirk user had seen beforehand was an orange flash, and now he was hurtling back at literal breakneck speeds. Izuku could feel the wind on his face and his skin burned slightly from the fire. His hood and mask had been torn and shattered.
"GAH!" He cried, slamming into the broken-down bus towards the start of the course. The impact created a dent half the depth of the bus in its side and shattered glass came tinkling to the floor. The sharp pain sent through his body was incredible, the wind was knocked clean out of his lungs and he released his focused power.
Get up! He yelled at himself, opening his eyes and glaring daggers down at the shape of Bakugo that was quickly advancing on him. Clenching his fists, he forced himself to his legs, cracking his neck and rolling his aching shoulders.
"One For All, Full Cowling... Ten percent." He snarled to himself, gritting his teeth and pushing the power back through his body, sparking with mint green bolts. He had to ignore this personal rivalry and look at the bigger picture. His grades had to be his main focus, and they were. Bakugo was the one who may not be thinking of it that way.
"I'll make sure you'll think twice before trying to screw me over again." He growled to himself, before pushing off as hard as he could, disappearing from his spot at the foot of the bus in a cloud of dust. Bakugo prepared for this, adjusting to a more stable stance and cracking explosions in his palms. Izuku had to make sure his opening attack would be an unorthodox one or a fake-out. Bakugo could read him easily if he committed to attacks, to he wanted to make sure that this time he was the one to get the better of his rival.
Rearing back his fist Izuku prepared for a right hook attack, keeping his eyes focused on Bakugo, who kept his stance rock solid and once he was close enough, Izuku threw the punch, using it as momentum before throwing out his right leg and kicking the Explosion Quirk user hard in the side. Bakugo had tried to react, but he wasn't fast enough.
Izuku's foot slammed hard into Bakugo's side and sent him flying with a grunt of pain. He skidded along the floor and tumbled a few feet before managing to get his footing and right himself again.
By that time, Izuku was already gone, leaping away to catch up with Toru. His body already ached from the impact of the bus, but he had to keep pushing himself and keep himself away from Bakugo. Once it was his time to play the attack position then he could go all out for the blonde teenagers' tags, but for now, he had to keep himself safe.
"Toru!" Izuku called, leaping through the air again before landing heavily at her side, stumbling a little before managing to get his footing again.
"Midoriya! Are you okay? I saw you get thrown into the bus!" Toru exclaimed, breathing heavily.
"I'm fine, anything from Sero?" Izuku asked, firing her a smile and then a glance over the shoulder. Bakugo wasn't perusing them, but that didn't mean he wouldn't be able to catch up.
"He caught up with me, but I managed to lose him. Do you still have your tags?" She asked.
"Yeah, just about." Izuku responded with a laugh, firing Toru a glance. She still had her tags too, so as of yet, they were going strong, they just had to stay on their toes and keeping their wits about them. Bakugo was relentless and since he and Sero can both use their Quirks to move faster, they would be able to catch up with him and Toru quite easily. Izuku would carry her and jump his way to the end of the sector, but that might end up losing Toru marks because she didn't do it herself. That and her hero costume was literally her naked, so that definitely made him think twice.
"DEKU!" Bakugo screamed, flying towards the two.
"I told you not to shout like that!" Sero called, using his tape to traverse across the tops of some of the shorted buildings.
"I'll kill you, bastard!" Bakugo snarled, ignoring Sero and speeding towards Izuku.
"Toru, keep moving." Izuku ordered, skidding to a halt and turning around sharply to face the two pursuers and preparing himself to fight again.
"Midoriya, the finish is just ahead, we can make it!" Toru exclaimed.
"Just go! I'll make sure we make it!" He called, keeping his eyes fixed on them. He could use One For All on his fingers and use that to push air towards them. If he could blow them back even a little bit, then he could use his Quirk in a traversal manor and leap his way to the end. He just had to make sure Toru was given enough time to make it to the end first.
He didn't wait around. Keeping Full Cowling stable, he held out his arm, reinforcing his right forearm with his left and before flicking at nothing. A huge cone of air was fired off towards the two, picking up and throwing dust and rubble into the air. Sero used his tape to pull himself down to the roof of the building he was currently over, but Bakugo fired off an explosion directly towards Izuku's attack.
The conflicting directions of these powerful forces impacted each other in a whirlwind of flames. Izuku took a step back; he wasn't expecting his to try and deflect his attack in that way. He held his ground, however, keeping Full Cowling at a steady ten percent and pushing himself to the side, rolling and landing on his feet gracefully.
As the smoke cleared Bakugo's sneering face came into view, striding towards the greenette.
"You can't beat me, Deku." He growled, crackling more small explosions in his hand. "You can't." He added. There was something in his voice that was more desperate. All his life Izuku had been chasing the tail of his best friend and all his life he'd wished for what Bakugo had, and now he finally had a power of his own; now he had friends who really cared about him and the strength to be number one, he was still looked down on by the one person he always wanted to be closest too.
"I won't let you look down on me anymore, Kacchan!" Izuku yelled back at him. He had to use more power; he didn't have a choice. He could comfortably handle ten percent and there was no reason not to use that when he battled. His main fear was that he didn't know just how strong ten percent was against another person, and the last thing he wanted to do was seriously injure his old friend.
Bakugo audibly snarled and fired himself off again, leaving behind a cloud of smoke. Izuku was ready this time, he couldn't fall to such a predictable move again. He could feel the slight buzz of increased power throughout his body and finally, he would put it to use.
He forced himself to the left, the heat of the explosion Bakugo fired off was clearly felt on his skin, but he was out of the way of the initial attack. Now he needed to open himself a window and allow himself a chance to fight back against the blonde teenager without worrying about defending at the same time.
Quickly Izuku reached out and grabbed the Explosion Quirk user by the back of his costumes shirt before throwing him back towards the start of the course with as much force as he could. The blonde teenager let out a grunt at the sudden force before firing away at quite shocking speeds. He didn't wait around for him to hit the ground however and the greenette pushed off after him.
Bakugo used his explosions to bring him to a safe stop, but almost as soon as he did, Izuku's fist slammed into his cheek. The fiery-tempered teenagers head snapped to the side and he was sent tumbling along the tarmac again. He dug his hands into the road and quickly brought himself to a stop before getting to his feet, blood drooling from a cut on his lip.
The rage in his rival's eyes was nerve-racking, but he had to hold his ground. He cared about Bakugo no matter what happened between them, but now he had his own power and could finally fulfil his dream, he wanted to prioritise himself.
Bakugo didn't wait to fully recover and forced himself back towards Izuku again. Shifting his feet to a more stable position Izuku prepared for his next move, and as soon as the blonde-haired teen was close enough, he sidestepped again. The first explosion Bakugo fired off missed, but as Izuku went to attack from behind again, the Explosion Quirk user quickly whipped around and fired off another explosion into the greenette's face.
The shock wave shook his ears and the head made him feel like he had sunburn all over his body and it was being scratched at, but it only lasted for a moment, blasting Izuku into the floor. He didn't even give the teen a chance to focus his eyes before picking him up to his feet and punching him hard in the face. Then again, and again before finally firing off another explosion into Izuku's chest.
He was lucky it wasn't another blow to the stomach. He wasn't sure how much damage another one of those would do to his body, but he sure as hell didn't want to find out. The blow sent him rolling across the tarmac, but he too managed to get to his feet rather quickly.
"Again!" Izuku hissed to himself, keeping his power steady and pushing off towards the blonde-haired teenager again. He had to keep applying enough pressure to not give Bakugo an opening. That really was his only chance of winning this fight.
He opened his attack with a hard right jab which the Explosion Quirk user managed to dodge before retaliating with a low blown explosion. Izuku forced himself to roll below and away from the attack before quickly pushing back towards Bakugo, shoulder barging him. The blonde teenager stumbled a little but quickly regained his footing.
Izuku repeated the move, moving at incredible speeds away then back towards Bakugo, landing small punches and shoves at any chance he could. If Bakugo couldn't get a handle on where Izuku was, then his chance to attack would never arrive. However, the one thing Izuku had to remember was that this was an exam, and there would be a time limit which he was no doubt beginning to pinch into. He had to finish this quickly.
The blonde teenager was getting closer and closer to catching Izuku so he had to make his next and final attack one that wouldn't be expected.
Behind him! He ordered himself after landing another punch that knocked Bakugo off balance.
"Deku!" He bellowed, wheeling around once Izuku had pushed off for another attack.
CRAP! He gritted his teeth and forced his right foot into the ground just beside his rival. The large explosion that was fired off barely missed the greenette, tearing through the right side of the top half of his costume, but he could still move. Using his foot as an anchor he spun himself a full three-sixty degrees and swept his left leg into Bakugo's, knocking his feet out from under him. Then, in the split second he was open, he launched a punch to his cheek, the hardest hit he'd managed.
"Gah!" Was the only lightly muffled sound Izuku could hear as Bakugo was sent sailing along the road before slamming into the taxi Dark Shadow had thrown at the very start of the exam.
This was it now, he had to get to the end of the sector. He still had his tags and by the look of Sero traversing along the tops of the building, Toru had kept her distance and more than likely still had hers, no now Izuku's only concern was getting past the Tape Quirk user and to the exit. However, now Toru had made it herself, he could use One For All as a means of transport and make it to the end in less than half the time than normal.
Firing one last glance over his shoulder to the cloud of dust where Bakugo had impacted the taxi, he crouched to the floor and leapt into the air, sailing over the destroyed cars and small piles of rubble in jumps at a time, and now Sero was close enough and Bakugo was far enough away, he could really focus on just dodging the Tape users attacks.
The first strand of the material fired towards Izuku as he was still in the air, so using his fists for momentum, he swung them around and close to his body which caused him to roll in the air, flattening himself out so the attack would go over him. Another strand was sent towards him once he landed, so he forced himself along the tarmac, rolling before somersaulting over the next, side flipping the other and rolling another before leaping off again to dodge the final. The end was right within his grasp and now he was out of Sero's reach, he was as good as finished.
Landing heavily at the end of the sector he stumbled a little but regained his footing with helped from Toru catching him by the arm.
"That was amazing Midoiya!" The Invisibility Quirk user said, letting go of Izuku and letting him fall to the floor, which he didn't mind. His whole body felt hot and his lungs were tight from shortness of breath. Ten percent wasn't a difficult amount of power for Izuku's body to manage anymore, but it still felt somewhat demanding, especially against Bakugo.
"T-Thanks, Toru." The greenette smiled, a small shiver creeping down his spine thanks to the top part of his costume being tarnished by the Explosion Quirk user. The weight from his shoulders felt amazing. He'd beaten Bakugo at his own game, pressuring attacks, and now his the first part of his practical exam was over, he had a little time to relax and let his body recover before having to battle Bakugo and Sero again.
"Hey Midoriya! Good job back there, I've never seen you move like that before." Sero chuckled, landing beside the greenette and stumbling a little.
"Thank you, Sero. Is uhh... Kacchan okay?" Izuku responded gratefully, before looking over his shoulder for any sight of his old friend.
"Yeah, he seemed okay, not too hurt. He's not happy though, I'll tell you that much for free." The Tape Quirk user laughed, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "Come on, we better get back too, I want to sit down." Sero added with a laugh.
"Good idea, my feet are killing me!" Toru exclaimed her gloves bouncing up and down which was obviously her uncomfortably fidgeting back and forth. Izuku simply nodded, and with a helping hand from Sero, got to his feet, and the three of them all started back towards the rest of the class.
A/N: There we have it, the first part of Izuku's practical exam over and done with. I'm not sure how well I went about this chapter personally since I haven't had a great week and I'm not really in a positive mindset, but I hope you enjoyed it either way.
If you did enjoy it then let me know what you thought with a review. This story has been doing so much better than I originally anticipated and I'm really happy overall with this.
One of the reviews pointed about how much Izuku stuttered in some chapters and I definitely agree. Like I said at the beginning of the story, Izuku's character type is very new to me but after going back to the anime I think I overdid it. I'm working on bringing it to a much tamer level and I hope I captured that in this chapter. Thank you for reading and I'll see you in part two of the practical exam. Take care!
-ElliottChap