"No! I didn't study enough! I don't want to fail!" Kaminari groaned, cradling his head mournfully as he rocked back and forth in his seat.

"You're not going to fail, man! We can do this!" Kirishima encouraged, clapping a hand over his shoulder. "We're heroes, dude! A little thing like finals can't get us down!"

"I think so too!" Naoko smiled pleasantly, "It's almost summer! We can do it!"

Kaminari slowly lifted his head up from his desk, peering up at them with pleading eyes. "Do you guys think you could lend me some of your brain for this test?"

"Sorry, man, I think I'm going to need all of mine," Kirishima laughed, cupping a hand around his mouth before pointing to Naoko. "She's got better grades than both of us though. Maybe she has brains to spare?"

"Can't spare what you don't have," Bakugo snorted from a few seats away.

"Oh, don't listen to him! Naturally gifted people could never understand what we go through!" Kirishima shook his head, clenching a fist to his heart dramatically.

Naoko laughed, nodding in agreement just as the classroom door slid open and a gloomy Aizawa stepped inside.

"Take your seats. I'm going to pass out the written portion of your final exam," he announced tiredly.

Naoko quickly whispered a goodbye to the two boys before getting up and shuffling towards the back of the classroom, smiling at Todoroki and Yaoyorozu as she passed, and sliding into her seat. Aizawa handed out the exam packets that then quickly made their way down each row, a shuffle of papers sounding as he started the timer.

After completing the written section, the students were sent to change into their hero costumes before being led outside for the practical portion of their final. They were surprised to see a number of other teachers besides their own. Aizawa explained the practical exam would not be like the previous years, as some had heard from their upperclassmen friends, but instead would be a two-on-one battle between students and teachers.

"Since we've already faced villains twice this year, it would be a little boring to go back to fighting robots, huh?" Jiro mused, tapping her chin.

"In order, the teams will be-" Aizawa glanced down at his clipboard, "Sato and Kirishima versus Cementoss, Asui and Tokoyami versus Ectoplasm, Ojiro and Iida versus Power Loader, Todoroki and Yaoyorozu versus myself-"

"Lucky! The wonder duo!" Ashido whispered dramatically, drawing a few nods from those around her.

"Uraraka and Aoyama versus Thirteen,-"

"Aw, I wanted to be paired with one of you," Uraraka whined, tugging at the girls' arms.

"Don't worry! I'm sure you'll do great!" Hagakure encouraged, throwing an arm around her shoulders.

"Kaminari and Ashido versus Principal Nezu, Koda and Jiro versus Present Mic, Hagakure and Shoji versus Snipe, Sero and Mineta versus Midnight-"

Mineta screeched, causing everyone around him to flinch and cover their ears. "JACKPOT! BOO-!"

Tsuyu shoved his face into the grass before he could finish.

Aizawa cleared his throat, looking back down at the list, "Midoriya and Bakugo versus All Might, and Ito versus Hound Dog. The first battle will begin in ten minutes; you'll each be brought to your exam locations when it's your turn."

"Huh? How come you don't have a partner, Naoko?" Midoriya blinked at her curiously. "That's not really fair, is it?"

"Well, there is an odd number of us, so someone had to be alone," she reasoned, tilting her head thoughtfully. "It wouldn't really be fair to have a team of three either. And besides, this way I don't have to argue with anyone about strategy!" she laughed lightheartedly.

"Well, I guess you're right. I think you'll do great either way!"

"Thanks, Midoriya!" she grinned, "Good luck dealing with Bakugo, by the way."

"Uh, y-yea! Right!" he laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head, "I don't think he'll want to strategize with me beforehand, so it might be difficult…"

"Yea, he would probably ignore me too. I think you can do it anyway!"

"Y-yea!" Midoriya grinned, nodding in determination. "Oh, the first match should be starting soon. Do you want to go watch in the monitoring room?"

"Sure, let's go!"

After ten of the eleven battles had drawn to a close, it was finally Naoko's turn. She waved goodbye to her few remaining friends in Recovery Girl's monitoring room and followed Hound Dog to the exam location: Ground Omega.

The sectioned-off area was barren and flat, unlike the rest of the lush forest around it, with only a few small rocks scattered about. On the other side, all the way across the field, she could see the exit gate with the Principal's encouraging face painted on it.

"Ito, you know the rules, right? You pass by capturing me with those handcuffs or by escaping through that gate," Hound Dog stated gruffly, pointing behind him. "My weights are also heavier than the other teachers', if you'd like to know, since you don't have a partner."

"Understood!" she nodded firmly, shifting her weight in anticipation.

"Then we can begin in 3…

"2…

"1…

"Go!"

He lowered his stance as Naoko raced towards him, his arms spread and ready to catch whatever she would throw at him. Just as he was within arm's reach, however, she ducked to the side and slipped past him. Reacting quickly, he ran after her and clawed at her shoulder, missing by a hair as she jerked away and landed off to the side. She quickly made for the gate again, but anticipating this, he lurched forward and his fist connected with her stomach. She bit back a yelp of pain as it sent her flying backwards, her body kicking up a cloud of dust as it scraped and tumbled across the dirt.

"Do you know why you were paired with me, Ito?" he asked seriously as she pushed herself up without much grace. "Eraser Head said you avoid combat too much. In other words, you're predictable; that in itself puts you at a heavy disadvantage before the battle even begins."

Naoko didn't respond, only pressing her lips into a thin line as she ran forward and leapt over him, dodging his claws, a gust of wind beneath her, and dashed towards the gate again. He cut her off in seconds, grabbing her arm and hurling her to the side.

"Sometimes running away might be the right choice, but other times you have to face the enemy head-on! Every hero needs to have enough brute force to rely on when necessary!" he shouted, charging at her again.

She rolled backwards just in time to avoid his fist; the ground where she once stood split open with a rumbling crack and a cloud of dust flew up around them. Quickly, she ducked a second punch and grabbed the fur trim of his jacket, launching herself up and behind him. He whipped around in pursuit, but a dense fog of dust blanketed his vision.

'I could have sworn it wasn't nearly this thick a second ago…' he grunted, 'but no matter...' He raised his head and sniffed the air for a moment.

He quickly spun around as he found her scent, eyes zeroing in on a spot a few feet behind him.

'Found you!'

He charged at her and swung at something he couldn't see, only to stumble forward when his fist met empty air. He whipped around in alarm, quickly sniffing the air again when a mechanical chime sounded across the arena.

The dust rapidly cleared, and he soon spotted Naoko smiling cheerfully on the other side of the escape gate.

He sighed.

"Guess I couldn't get through to you, huh, kid?" he huffed, walking over to her.

"Sorry, sir," she smiled up at him apologetically, "but your advice was really good! I'll be sure to keep it in mind!"

"Well, I guess I should have prepared better. I thought clearing the field of obstacles would force you to fight me head-on, I didn't consider you'd be so clever. You used the dust as cover to blow your scent away from you, right?"

"Yes, sir," she nodded.

"You're a smart kid, just like Eraser said," he sighed, ruffling her hair, "You could be better if you were a little more combat-forward though. Give it some thought; if you ever decide you want to talk about it, you can find me in the counseling office," he said, starting back towards the school.

She grinned and nodded in agreement, quickly hurrying after him. "Thank you, sir!"

"Excuse me," Naoko called quietly, pushing open the plain white door. She smiled politely as Recovery Girl turned around in her chair.

"Another one? Those teachers don't know how to take it easy on you kids, eh?" she sighed as she waved her over. "Looks like you can walk: that's good. Where are you hurt?"

"Oh, I'm… not," she smiled sheepishly, glancing over at the occupied beds, "I'm just here to visit those two."

"Ah, that's right. I've seen you drop in on Midoriya when he was here before; how nice of you. Well, his back is going to take a while to recover, as I'm sure you saw, but he's alright. He was awake earlier, but he fell asleep a while ago."

"What about Bakugo?"

"He had injuries just about everywhere, but he'll be ok as well. It'll be a while before he wakes up though."

"Oh," her lips formed into a small frown. "Do… you mind if I stay here for a little bit? I promise I won't disturb them."

"Go ahead, but you might not want to stay too long; it's going to get dark soon," she advised, hopping off her stool and walking over to the door with a file in hand. "I need to give this to the Principal upstairs. Keep an eye on the office while I'm gone."

"Thank you," Naoko smiled gratefully as the door shut behind the little old lady.

A soft silence filled the room.

She set a chair down in between the two beds and took a seat. She glanced at Midoriya, who still wore his costume, lying face down in a rather uncomfortable looking position, snoring quietly as a trail of drool dribbled down his chin. Her chair squeaked lightly as she shifted. She gazed down at Bakugo, his face uncharacteristically peaceful without its usual frown. The scrapes and wounds from earlier were all healed by now, and his skin had been cleaned of blood and dirt, leaving him looking much as he always did. His hero costume was surprisingly intact, if not a little battered, and had she not known otherwise, she might have thought he was only asleep.

A pang of guilt rang in her chest and she frowned at the unwelcome feeling.

She had watched their battle earlier. She wished she could say his deathly stubborn personality was simply an inconsequential flaw, but his refusal to cooperate had caused them no small amount of grief. Midoriya was right: Bakugo had no interest in discussing strategy with him. Instead, they each tried to win in their own way, and perhaps that would have worked had their opponent been anyone else. All Might didn't let them off easy. In a way, she understood why he pushed them so hard. She knew it was to imprint upon them the value of teamwork, after all, but it still didn't sit well with her. She didn't feel it was right to go so far to the point of incapacitating them; it didn't make sense to her, but maybe it was just something she couldn't understand. She never liked heroes much. The battle was rather painful to watch, as was the aftermath.

The warm orange glow of the evening sun blanketed the room softly. The stale office air smelled of the same kind of chemical cleanliness it always did, gently shuffled around by a small electric fan somewhere in the back of the room.

Naoko sat quietly as the light from the windows gradually shifted to a deeper red as the sun slipped further down the horizon.

After a while, she breathed a shallow sigh, figuring it was time to leave. Staying like this wouldn't do anyone any good, she supposed. She glanced down at Bakugo again, reaching forward to brush an out-of-place hair away from his forehead- not that his hair wasn't already an unredeemable mess. Just as her fingertips grazed him, however, she froze as he began to stir.

He half-opened his eyes, wearily, and it seemed to take him a moment to realize where he was and what had happened. As he slowly came down to reality, his gaze landed on her.

"...get off me," he croaked, voice cracking dryly.

She looked up, realizing she was still touching his forehead, and quickly retracted her hand, a small smile appearing on her lips.

"Hi."

"Loser," he muttered, averting his eyes.

"How are you feeling?"

"Me? I'm great, can't you tell?"

She smiled warmly and leaned forward in her seat. "I saw your fight earlier."

"So?"

"You did great."

"...whatever."

"You passed, by the way. I thought you might not have known since you passed out before the match ended," she smiled.

He didn't answer, his eyes staring intently at the desk on the other side of the bed, frowning slightly.

"Midoriya carried you through the escape gate, you know- he wouldn't leave without you. I know it wasn't how you wanted to win, but," she glanced behind her at the still-sleeping boy, "maybe you should consider thanking him when you can."

Bakugo huffed, but again remained silent. She wasn't sure if her words had reached him.

"Well anyways! I don't want to keep you up for too long," she smiled cheerfully, grabbing her backpack and quickly standing up. She stretched her legs a bit before taking a step towards the door. "I'll go now. You should rest some more. Tomorrow's the weekend, so don't worry about waking up early, and I'll let your parents know what happened too. I hope you feel better soon! Good night, Bakugo!"

"Wait."

She paused, turning around as one hand propped open the door. "What is it?" she smiled.

"Let me know when you get there," he grumbled, finally glancing at her.

She tilted her head questioningly.

"So I know you didn't die on your way back or something," he muttered before quickly turning the other way once again.

She paused, blinking owlishly.

A small laugh escaped her lips as she gazed back at him, a sweet smile illuminating her features. "I'll text you when I get home. Thanks, Bakugo," she waved before slipping out of the room, gently shutting the door behind her.