Exams of all Kinds
"Sho-chan!" Terra dashed over to her friend and threw her arms around him. "Are you okay?! Are you in any pain?!" She pulled back, cupped his face, and examined him. "Tell me!"
"I'm fine. I only got minor injuries. I told you that." Todoroki pulled her hands off him.
"Tell me every detail." Terra knitted her eyebrows. "Every. Single. Thing."
"I will." Todoroki glanced around. "But not here. Let's get home first."
Terra nodded.
After the slow trek back home the two showered then settled in to Terra's room to talk. An icy chill washed over her body with each word he spoke. "You were... Hero Killer..."
"I'm all right." Todoroki placed his hand over hers. "You see me. Right?"
Terra nodded.
"Look at me, Ter-chan."
Terra forced her eyes to him.
"I'm only telling you this because it's you. I could never lie to you. I know you'd be able to figure it out eventually anyway. But you can't tell anyone. Only those involved know the truth. If the world found out the truth we could get into trouble."
"I understand. You know I won't say anything to anyone."
Todoroki nodded.
"I'm so glad you're all okay." Terra settled against his side. "Other than that, how was your internship?"
"I managed to survive." Todoroki put his arm around her. "Despite the fact that my old man is a scum bag he can teach me a lot of things. And I did learn more on what it's like to be a hero."
"So over all it was good."
"You could say that. What about you?"
Terra groaned. "All we did was patrol and film a hairspray commercial."
"Hairspray commercial?"
"Uwabami is a model. Heroes can take side jobs. That was hers. She brought me, Yaoyorozu and Kendo to her agency because we're cute. And she wanted to help me shine."
Todoroki chuckled.
"What's so funny?" Terra lifted off him.
"That I'm going to enjoy seeing you in a commercial."
"Sho-chan! I hated it! And I look silly with such large curls in my hair!"
"Large curls? I'm definitely going to record it." Todoroki stood from the couch and walked away from her.
"You better not!" Terra followed him.
"I am!"
"Sho-chan!" Terra chased him around the house.
"Come on, future model." Todoroki ran around the couch. "You can do better than that."
Terra fumed. "You asked for it!" She shot out her vines, barely missing his arm. "Shoto!"
...
"Long time no see, boys and girls! How have you been?!" All Might bellowed with his hands on his hips as they stood in costume in front of a cement gate that held their current training grounds. "For this time's hero basic training, we'll have some fun with a rescue training race. Welcome to Field Gamma!"
The gate pulled open with a heavy clank. They walked into an industrial facility that was an elaborate labyrinth of pipelines, factories, and large cranes.
"Seriously. Where does UA get all the money for this stuff?" Jiro asked.
"This is a dense area filled with various factories." All Might followed them in. "You'll break up into three teams of five and one team of six. When I send out a distress signal from somewhere inside, you'll all start at once from the outskirts of the city. It's a race to see who will rescue me first! Of course..." He pointed his finger at Bakugo. "You will need to keep damage to your surroundings at a minimum."
"Why are you only pointing at me?" Bakugo growled.
Terra noticed some of their class wanted to answer, but didn't have time as All Might divided them into their groups. The first ones to go consisted of Midoriya, Iida, Ojiro, Sero, and Ashido. The class started talking about who would win this race.
"They're all pretty fast," Jiro said as she sat on the floor.
"Perhaps Midoriya is at a slight disadvantage," Yaoyorozu said. "And whenever he does something, he always gets badly injured."
"Who do you think will win? I think Sero will be first," Kirishima said.
"But Ojiro's there, too," Kaminari said. "I'm betting on him!"
"I think it'll be Ashido. She's really athletic!" Mineta shouted.
Terra studied the group. Sero definitely had the advantage in this round. With his tape he'd be able to fly through this course. Ojiro also had an advantage over the others with his tail. Iida had his speed but with so many obstacles he wouldn't be able to move very fast. To Terra Ashido and Midoriya had the biggest disadvantages in this test.
It wasn't surprising as Sero took the lead by flying through the air with his tape while Ojiro came at a close second, utilizing his tail to launch himself forward and cling to anything it could wrap around. Tenya and Ashido were following closely behind using their own quirks. Then a green flash of light flew past Sero and took the lead by a long shot. Midoriya jumped and kicked off the nearby platforms with ease and speed.
The class gasped at Midoriya's speed and control over his quirk.
"Amazing," Terra breathed. "He's so fast now. And he's got amazing control over his quirk. What did he do during his internship?"
Midoriya slipped on a pipe allowing Sero to rush ahead and win the round.
Now it was Terra's turn. She with her group at the front door of a large warehouse and waited for All Might to start the race. Given the word her group launched into the race. She snapped out her vines, grabbing on to railings and pipes. Bakugo blasted in front of her. Behind her Mineta used his balls to bounce from place to place. Aoyama used his navel laser to launch from platform to platform. And Yaoyorozu created multiple objects that helped her along.
Terra managed to come in third. It wasn't bad considering everything. She rejoined the others and finished watching the rest of the races before they headed back to UA.
Time passed at a steady pace throughout the semester. Final exams were racing upon them now. She and Todoroki spend their off time studying together while the rest of the class broke into groups or chose to study by themselves.
Finally the exam days had arrived. Terra quickly work through the written test. Studying was never a challenge for her. She had plenty of time to get good at it since she remained underground so much. However, the practical exam was another story.
"We're fighting the teachers?" Terra looked over all of the pro heroes standing before them.
Nezu popped out of Aizawa's scarf and began to explain things to them. Thanks to the attacks on UA the exams had to been changed.
"So much for fighting robots." Sero sighed.
"Yes, but it makes sense," Iida said. "There's really no challenge facing off again heartless machines."
Terra knew all too well that he was right. That had be proven in the sports festival. Even she, who didn't want to be a hero, was able to handle them just find. A growing hero can't grow if they fight such easy opponents who couldn't change their movements. But fighting the teachers? Pro Heroes?
The students concerns about going up again pro heroes were eased a bit when it was revealed that the pros would be wearing weights that limited them. Despite them it was still going to be a hard task to fight.
"Tanaka, Uraraka, and Aoyama will be up against Thirteen," Aizawa said.
"Really?" Terra asked.
"All right!" Uraraka cheered. "We're together, Terra!"
"Mangifique!" Aoyama posed.
"We have some time before our test. Shall we discuss it?" Uraraka asked.
"We better." Terra nodded. The three headed into the build with waiting rooms and the room where Recovery Girl would be monitoring the exam. Before they could find a place to talk Aoyama spotted a mirror and began to strike poses in front of it. "Well, he's gone."
"Guess we can't come up with a strategy." Uraraka huffed. "Guess it's for the best. I'm not sure how we can go up against Thirteen."
"I'm concerned about that too. Anything we throw at her she can suck right up."
"Let's go watch the others' exams. Maybe we can get a idea from them."
"Okay." Terra followed Uraraka down a hall. "But I'm not sure it will help. I don't think anyone in our class has a quirk that will do well against Thirteen's black hole. Our best bet would be to just make a break for the exit. But we still need to get past her black hole."
"That is going to be the toughest part of our exam."
A door whooshed open in front of them. They stood with Midoriya and watched the matches until it was their turn.
"Those matches were intense." Terra let her shoulders droop.
"Come on, you." Uraraka grabbed Aoyama's cape and pulled him away from the mirror.
"Is it our turn? Wonderful," Aoyama said.
"I don't suppose you came up with a way to win this fight while you were modeling for yourself?" Uraraka looked over her shoulder.
"No. I did not."
"You're useless."
"Maybe two of us could distract Thirteen while the third one goes for the gate?" Terra offered.
"That might be our best bet." Uraraka nodded. "We should give it a try."
"So who's going to go for the gate and who's going to distract Thirteen?" Terra asked.
"But first we need to see what our surrounds are going to be like." Aoyama finally stood and pointed at the building they were headed to. The building was dome shaped with multiple windows similar to the USJ.
"Right!" Uraraka nodded. "Let's get inside and see what we have to work with."
The three held their ground for a moment before heading inside. They stood at the front of the building, eyeing the little decor. A railing stretched out in front of them, which made no sense since there were no stairs near it. A few plants were located near the walls.
Terra huffed. "Not much to work with." Her eyes landed on the opposite side of the dome. Thirteen was standing in front of the gate they had to pass through. "Ideas?"
"I say you and Aoyama work as the distractions," Uraraka said. "You two can fight at long distances. Well, longer than I could."
"This is truth." Aoyama touched his chin. "I will be glad to give you my services."
"Are you three going to stand over there and talk all day?" Thirteen walked towards them. "I have an idea of how you are going to get by me. And I won't let that happen. Black Hole!"
Suction pulled at their hair and clothes. Their shoes slid across the floor.
"This is not good!" Uraraka said a second before their feet slipped.
Their bodies flew towards Thirteen.
"Grab the rail!" Terra snatched the railing.
Uraraka grabbed as she passed, but Aoyama's fingers slipped past it. "Aoyama!"
"I got you!" Terra snapped out a vine, wrapped it around his wrist and pulled him back to the railing.
"Merci, Terra. I own you one." Aoyama's skin was pale.
"There goes our plan. The heroes are too good for us," Terra said. Anything she threw at Thirteen now would be sucked up.
Uraraka gritted her teeth.
"What are you thinking about?" Aoyama asked. "Could it be Midoriya?"
Terra turned to find Uraraka's ears turning red.
"Could it be that you like him?" Aoyama asked.
Uraraka grabbed her cheeks.
"Hey!" Terra snapped out a vine but the girl slipped past her. Suddenly the suction stopped. She dropped to the floor with a thud. A victorious yell erupted from Uraraka. Thirteen had been captured. "We... won?"
"Indeed we did." Aoyama winked at her.
Terra pushed herself to her feet.
"Good job, all of you." Thirteen walked over to them with Uraraka.
"But we didn't do much," Terra said. "And you only stopped your attack because you didn't want to hurt Uraraka."
"You didn't run away. I could tell you all were weighting your options," Thirteen said. "And, if I'm not mistaken, two of your were going to distract me while one headed for the gate. It was a good plan. You all knew that your quirks weren't good at going up at me. Not reaction is also an option when it comes to being a hero. Don't forget that."
"Merci."
"Thanks."
Terra nodded.
Their group headed for the door. Terra returned with Uraraka to the control room so she could watch Todoroki's exam before reuniting with him afterwards. "Hey, Sho-chan?"
"Hm?"
"I think I'm ready."
Todoroki glanced at her.
"To meet your mother."
...
Terra fiddled with her fingers. "It's okay. I'm fine. Nothing to worry about here. This is good. Right? Of course it is."
It had been a hard week with all the exams they had taken. And the shock that Aizawa had lied to them, again. Turned out that all of Class 1-A was going to the training camp. To celebrate the reveal the class decided to go shopping to get supplies they would need. She, however, decided to go with Todoroki to see his mother.
With each step they took her doubts became heavier and heavier.
"I'm going to say something stupid. I know it."
"You're going to be fine." Todoroki squeezed her shoulder.
Terra swallowed. They stepped through the opened gate of the hospital grounds, then the front door. She paused along side him as he spoke to the woman at the front desk.
"Come on." Todoroki took her hand and led her down the hall.
Terra tightened her hand on his. Her heart pounded her ribs, desperate to break out.
"This is it."
Terra looked up to see a door. Beside it was the name Rei Todoroki. Before she could protest going in, Todoroki opened the door and pulled her inside.
"Shoto." Rei smiled.
Terra froze, eyes wide. The woman before her looked like a female version of her beloved Shoto, minus red hair. "You look just like her. Well, minus the hair color. And the scar." She jolted. "I'm sorry! I shouldn't have mentioned the scar. Ack! I did it again! I'm so sorry!" She bowed. "I really didn't mean to. Ignore it. If you can. I mean if you want too. I mean... Sorry! I don't know what I'm saying."
Rei laughed. "You're right, Shoto. She's adorable."
Heat flooded Terra's cheeks. She looked at the woman then at Todoroki. "You think I'm adorable?"
"Mom, this is Terra." Todoroki ignored her. "Terra this is my mom."
"N-nice to meet you." Terra bowed.
"Nice to meet you as well. Come it." Rei waved to two stools across from her bed.
Terra swallowed and walked over to the stools. She sat down, hands in her lap.
"Shoto's told me a lot about you." Rei bowed her head. "Thank you for being there for him."
"Uh... well, I really didn't do much." Terra rubbed her head. "He helped me more than I could ever help him."
Rei smiled. "I believe you two helped each other equally. I truly am grateful to you."
Terra relaxed. This woman was as gentle as her son was.