|Chapter 12: Exam Prep

While Izuku and the others recovered in the hospital, news of Stain's arrest reached every corner of Japan. His ideals and identity were the talk of the underworld, as well as who they suspected he worked with… The League of Villains.

Izuku, Tokoyami, Todoroki, and Iida were all mentioned in Stain's capture. This had the effect of boosting Yuuei's reputation and dropping crime rates around their area and other select areas around Japan. The villains all seemed to be biding their time… for now.

The Next Week, U.A High School

Sero and Kirishima were both currently on the ground laughing their asses off, Kirishima also had his phone out. The reason for their good mood this early on a Monday; Bakugou's hair.

"D-dude!" Kirishima wheezed, falling to the ground again.

Sero tried to stand up and used the red-haired teen as support. "W-what happened to your hair?!" He burst out laughing again, toppling over Kirishima.

"Shut up." Bakugou huffed out with restrained rage. "My hair won't go back."

"We can see that, Bakubro." Kirishima typed away on his phone before falling on top of Sero again.

Bakugou's hair exploded. "That's it, you're both dead!"

Sero and Kirishima just kept laughing. "It's back to normal!" Their laughter made it hard to run away from Bakugou after he got up from his seat.

Behind them, Jiro, Yaoyorozu, and Tsu talked about their internships.

"So did you actually get to fight anyone?" Jiro asked. "All I did was help with evacuation and logistical support."

Yaoyorozu hung her head. "I only went on one patrol; I spent the rest of the time filming commercials and helping Uwabami with modelling."

"I just spent most of the time training and upkeeping the ship." Tsu said with a shrug. "Though, we did catch a few villains trying to smuggle drugs past the borders." She finished with her usual tone.

Jiro and Yaoyorozu looked at her with wide eyes. "That's so cool!"

Kaminari stood with Tokoyami and Iida around Todoroki's desk. "I still can't believe you guys faced against the Hero Killer!" He exclaimed.

"Seriously." Sato said, walking up to them. "How did you guys even survive all that?"

Iida felt the cut on his shoulder. "If it wasn't for Midoriya keeping him distracted, Todoroki and Tokoyami wouldn't have been able to get there in time."

"Indeed." Tokoyami said, nodding. "Though, even with a four-on-one, the only reason we survived is because he kept making mistakes."

Todoroki nodded as well. "And we still didn't walk away from the battle unscathed." He felt his scar twitch.

On the other side of the classroom, Mina sat on Izuku's desk, waiting for him to walk through the door. 'I can't believe he'd do something so stupid.'

Behind her, Akira also waited so he could yell at him. 'I'm going to tear him a new one.' He became distracted as Uraraka hugged him from behind. 'After school…'

The door opened and Izuku walked through the door. Mina instantly stood up and walked over to him.

"Oh, Morning, M-" Izuku didn't get to finish his greeting as she instantly hugged him. "M-mina, w-wha-"

"I was worried about you, idiot!" She said, looking up at him. "You didn't answer a single one of my calls…" Her sentence drifted off as she dug her head into his chest. "I was really worried about you."

Izuku reigned in his blush as he wrapped his arms around the pink girl. "S-sorry, Mina." He said, trying to keep his composure. "I'll try to be more careful next time."

The class's resident energy ball looked up at Izuku's eyes before she sighed and nuzzled her head back into his chest, cheeks slightly purple. "You better."

Their small moment was interrupted by Jiro. "Sensei incoming." She said.

The two reluctantly separated and the class got back to their seats.

Aizawa walked in immediately after and walked to the podium. "Good morning, problem children." He greeted dryly. "I hope you learnt a lot at your internships." His gaze was directed to four certain individuals. "For your hero studies class in the afternoon, All Might will be testing you all at Ground Gamma."

The entire class became excited. 'Mystery All Might Class!'

Aizawa pulled out a white board marker. "That's all for notices, time for hero theory." The class's excitement dropped significantly. "More specifically, law and safe procedures." His gaze once more turned to four specific individuals.

Said individuals sighed. 'This is fair.'

Fourth Period, Ground Gamma

"WELCOME TO GROUND GAMMA!" All Might bellowed. "Today we'll be using this for a rescue scenario!" All the students got a little pumped. "Ground Gamma is made up of a number of faux factories that create an extremely intricate labyrinth, so good luck trying to get through." Izuku and Akira hid their grins, Sero didn't though. "Please try to keep property damage to a minimum." He looked to Bakugou as he said this.

Bakugou had a confused look on his face. "Why me? Icyhot and broccoli hair can do more collateral damage!" He exclaimed. (A.N: Does have a point though.)

"This place looks so cool!" Mina cheered. 'I wonder how my skating would work on this?'

Momo nodded. "Yes, this is all quite 'cool'" She said, trying out what she had dubbed 'commoner-lingo'. 'Is this place funded by the World's Hero Association? That's the only possible explanation for the facilities here.'

"I'll say!" Kaminari seriously loved this school. "This place just keeps getting better!"

"On to your objective!" All Might said, getting the class's attention again. "You'll be split off into groups of five. Each person will be starting from a different space in the training ground. I'll set off a distress beacon and then you all do what you need to." He explained. "First to find me wins; any questions?" The students shook their heads. "Alright, first group is: Sero, Iida, Midoriya, Ashido, and Ojiro."

5 Minutes Later, Observation Room

"First group, ready?" All Might called from the P.A system. The five students nodded and readied themselves.

"Who do you think is gonna win this one?" Kirishima asked his classmates. "My money is on Midori-bro."

Jiro thought it over in her head. "Yeah, Midoriya." She agreed, getting a nod from Yaoyorozu.

"I reckon Sero might pull in a win here." Kaminari started. "His quirk's flexibility in places like this put him at an advantage."

Jiro looked at him in surprise, she didn't know he was capable of commenting something intelligent.

"Hey, you said that out loud!" Kaminari yelled, deflated.

Shoji observed the five with keen eyes. "That being said, Ojiro could also pull in a win here."

Next to him, Sato nodded. "Yeah, the guy can make his tail extend and wrap around things like Sero's tape, so they're more or less even."

Hagakure nodded. "Yeah, I hear that." She said. "I think Mina might be able to win though."

Uraraka and Tsu nodded. "Yeah, she's got this." Uraraka said, cheering for her pink friend.

Akira came behind her and wrapped her in a hug. "Yeah… no." He began. "I'll admit everyone here is good but, if he feels like it, Izuku is gonna steamroll the rest of 'em."

Uraraka blushed but pinched his cheek. "Don't be like that." She scolded. "At least try to be supportive of others."

Akira laughed. "Alright, Iida might be able to pull in a win." He said, getting a smile from the brown-haired girl.

Bakugou eyed the screen carefully. He knew who was gonna win, as much as he hated to admit it. The blonde just wanted to know if the gap between the two had become a chasm.

Kirishima slid next to him after seeing his serious expression. "Come on, who do you think will win?"

"De-" Bakugou caught himself as Akira glared at him with murderous intent. "The nerd."

"Yeah, call us nerds." Akira mocked under his breath. "Like you're no different."

Kaminari watched as All Might pressed a button. "Well, looks like we're about to find out."

On the other side of the room, Tokoyami smiled. 'Time to show them, Midoriya.'

Ground Gamma, Observation Deck

"Begin!" All Might announced, his voice echoing throughout the pipes, smiling as he saw them shoot off at incredible speeds. 'There we go.'

Sero and Ojiro were both doing much better than he expected; the two had clearly been working hard on their traversal skills. Mina slid on the pipes with practiced ease, smiling as she did a few flips here and there for flash. Iida, despite his injuries, still kept up with everyone and ran carefully through the maze of pipes.

'Wait a minute…' The large pro's smile disappeared as he realised he couldn't find his protégée. 'Where did he-'

"Wow, they're doing really well." Izuku said, standing next to All Might. "Internships definitely helped." His gaze lingered on Mina as she gracefully made her way through the maze.

"What the heck!" All Might exclaimed. "How did you-"

"Sorry, Hawks Agency Secret." Izuku said, cutting of his mentor. "Only for those who have passed Hawks' Leap of FaithTM."

All Might didn't even bother to inquire and announced the winner. "Midoriya wins!"

Sero and Ojiro both slipped slightly and came to a halt. "What!?" They both shouted.

Mina didn't stumble and continued to race to the finish line. 'Can't say I didn't see that coming.'

Iida was also not surprised. 'Expected.'

Observation Room

Back with the rest of the class, they all had similar reactions.

"Yes!" Jiro and Kirishima exclaimed, bumping their fists together.

"It is just as how Hikaru said, steamrolled." Yaoyorozu added, looking like a proud puppy at being better at commoner lingo.

Kaminari seemed shocked; pun absolutely intended. "How in the world did he get there so fast!?"

"I didn't even see him on the screen." Shoji said in awe, and he had an eye on each screen.

Kirishima looked to Tokoyami. "Do you know how he got there?" He asked.

The raven boy only nodded.

"So you gonna tell us how or…" The red-haired teen had an expectant look on his face.

Tokoyami shook his head. "Apologies, friend, trade secret."

The rest of the class seemed confused but let it slide. "Well let's see who can rack in second." Sato said, all eyes immediately returned to the screen.

Observation Deck

Because of their stop, neither Sero nor Ojiro came in second, that title went to Iida. Mina came in next followed by a defeated Sero then Ojiro.

"You've all shown incredible improvements since the start of the year!" All Might praised the group. "Keep this up and you'll be able to pass your final exams with flying colours!"

"Sir!" The five said, saluting.

All Might smiled at them. "Alright, kiddos, off you go." He turned his mic on as they walked off. "Group two, get into your starting positions!"

End of Training, Boys Changing Rooms

"Man, I gotta work on my mobility." Kirishima sighed, taking off his shoulder guards.

Sato nodded as he buttoned up his shirt. "I hear ya there bud, definitely need to work on getting around places."

Tokoyami did up his tie. "You could also compensate by improving your other skills." He advised.

"Easy for you to say, you and Izuku both ran through the course before anyone else made it quarter of the way." Akira said.

Ojiro hummed in agreement. "How'd you guys even get through there so fast?"

Izuku and Tokoyami looked at each other before shaking their heads. "Trade secret." They said in unison.

The others just groaned.

"Oh, yo!" Kaminari said excitedly. "Guys, check this out!" The others all spared a confused look at him. "There's a peep hole that goes into the girl's changing room in here." Confusion turned to disappointment and they gave the electric blonde a tired look.

"Not cool, bro." Kirishima said, folding his arms.

"I agree with Kirishima, not 'cool.'" Iida bellowed, doing his signature Iida air chopTM.

Kaminari's shoulders sank. "Oh come on, don't act like you don't want to." He looked around the room, hoping to see understanding, but sunk even further when he saw none of their expressions change. "Seriously, none of you?"

Akira walked up to the hole. "No, we actually respect women." He said, making Kaminari fall to the ground. "Yaoyorozu, if you can hear me, can you plug up this hole until I can inform a teacher?"

"Okay!" They heard the onyx haired girl yell from the other side. "And Kaminari, don't be a perv!" Yaoyorozu added before plugging up the hole.

"Alright I get it." Kaminari groaned.

"Good." Akira said. "Cause you wouldn't have liked the outcome if you had looked through that hole." His eyes glowed a bright gold as he said this before returning back to normal.

Kaminari had a horrified look on his face as Akira walked away. However, the others simply chuckled or smiled at his misfortune.

"Come on guys, we still have All Might's final announcements." Akira said before walking out with his bag.

Next Day, Class 1A

"…And that's all for the class." Aizawa finished with his ever bored tone. "As I'm sure you've been made aware, you all have your final exams coming up in a week." He said, getting a groan from a few students; he fixed them with a glare. "I hope you've all been studying." His gaze lingered on a few specific students. "The test is both a practical and a physical so be sure to train both your minds and bodies." The tired pro picked up his sleeping bag and walked to the door. "And remember what I said about the training camp; no pass, no go, understood?" Everyone nodded and he left promptly.

Upon hearing the door shut, the class descended into chaos.

"I HAVEN'T STUDIED AT ALL!" A majority of the students shouted.

"With the sports festival and internships, I totally forgot about studying!" Kaminari yelled in panic, holding his head. [Midterm: 20th].

"I didn't forget, just got distracted." Mina said with a sheepish shrug. [Midterm: 19th].

Tokoyami seemed to be sweating slightly. "It's true that we've had multiple events that have gotten in the way of studying." [Midterm: 14th].

"The midterms weren't too bad since we had just started school but…" Sato started. [Midterm: 12th].

"The finals will most certainly be different." Shoji finished. [Midterm: 10th].

"I don't understand English at all." Koda signed. [Midterm: 11th].

Aoyama gave him his usual calm smile. "Neither." He signed back. [Midterm: 18th].

"History is my weak spot, kero." Tsu said from her desk. [Midterm: 7th].

"All you have to do is pay attention in class." Todoroki said. [Midterm: 6th].

Iida nodded furiously. "Yes, you must remain diligent and always review your notes." [Midterm: 2nd].

Kaminari looked at the two in envy. "Alright, I get it; don't rub it in."

Izuku looked at his two friends with an unapproving look. "You can't just tell them to pay attention." He started. "Everyone's brains operate differently. While it's easy for us, the others brain's prioritise other things or hyper fixate on others. So, again, don't tell them to just pay attention." [Midterm: 3rd].

At the end of the explanation, the greenette had a crying Kaminari on his shoulder. "Thank you for understanding my struggles, Midoriya. You're too good for this world."

Izuku had an embarrassed look on his face and waved him off. "N-no, I just know that people have different strengths and weaknesses."

Mina looked at Izuku with dreamy eyes. 'Nah, Kaminari's right.' The greenette smiled at her and she felt her cheeks warm up a bit. 'Way too good for this world.'

"If you want, I can try and catch you up to speed with the important topics." Yaoyorozu offered [Midterm: 1st].

"Really!" Kaminari asked, getting a nod in response. "Thank you, Yaomomo!" He said as he bowed to her.

Jiro walked up to the heiress' desk. "I could use some help as well; quadratic functions are bugging me out." [Midterm: 8th].

Sero walked up and got on his knees. "Please tutor me as well, Yaomomo. Classical Japanese is killing me." [Midterm: 17th].

"Could I also get some tutoring, I still have a lot I don't know." Ojiro asked as he walked up to the small group. [Midterm: 9th].

Yaoyorozu blushed from the attention she was getting. "Alright then, let's do it!" She shouted as she stood up.

"Yeah!" The others responded.

"We'll hold the study session at my residence over the weekend." The onyx-haired girl exclaimed with a sweet tone.

"We get to see her fancy digs, y'all!" Hagakure squealed, hanging off of Ojiro's tail. [Midterm: 16th].

"I'll call Mother and see if she can have the great hall set up for us." Yaoyorozu thought aloud, ideas bouncing in her head. "Ooooh, it'll be the perfect spot for us."

'Great hall.' The class thought in unison.

"What kind of drinks does everyone like, I'll make sure that we're stocked for anything!" The onyx-haired crafting table was more or less getting lost in her own world at this point.

'Overkill there but whatever.' The class thought to themselves, not wanting to look a gift horse in the mouth.

"I'll make it my personal goal to have you all up to speed by the end of the week!" Yaoyorozu thrusted her hand in the air, a fierce conviction in her voice.

Kirishima smiled widely at her from his position next to Bakugou. "So, think we should join her?" He asked. [Midterm: 15th].

Bakugou gave him an incredulous look. "You saying I don't know enough!" He got up and grabbed him by the collar. "I'll beat those lessons into you!" [Midterm: 5th].

Uraraka hugged Akira's back. "Can we join her?" She asked sweetly. [Midterm: 13th].

Akira sighed and rubbed her arms. "You just want to see the fancy house, don't you?" The gravity girl sheepishly looked away and Akira laughed. "Alright, we'll go." [Midterm: 4th].

Uraraka gave him a big smile back before peppering his face with kisses.

Cafeteria

Izuku sat at a table with his friends after getting their meals from Lunch Rush. "I gotta come up with a good study plan if I want to cover all the bases for the written exam." The greenette said as he put down his water.

"Don't forget the practical." Akira added, sculling down his ramen. "We don't know what that's gonna be like."

Iida downed his orange juice in one gulp. "I doubt they'd give us something too big." He said. "Then again, a prestigious school such as this one would be pushing its students to the hig-"

"All we know is that it's a comprehensive test of everything we've learned this year." Hagakure interrupted her fellow blue-haired classmate.

"Yup, kero." Tsu croaked. "That's all Aizawa-Sensei or any other teacher will tell us."

"So that's stuff like rescue and combat, right?" Uraraka asked.

Izuku nodded. "Yeah, and we have to make sure that we-" He cut himself off as he felt Danger Sense ring. His head automatically moved to the right and dodged an elbow that was headed his way. Upon looking to who it was from, they saw a rather pompous blonde.

"Figures you'd dodge that." The blonde said with a scowl. "I heard you four ran into the Hero Killer." Tokoyami, Todoroki, and Iida all instantly turned their attention to him. "Just like at the sports festival, Class 1A is trying to take all the spotlight."

Those at the table and the surrounding ones internally groaned.

"You know people don't like you because you're good heroes, it's only because you keep getting stuck in the spotlight." Tokoyami sent him a glare. "Honestly, it's a shame the Hero Killer couldn't do more damage, maybe then you'd kno-"

*Crack!*

The blonde was cut off as he found his face forced to the ground. "Finish that sentence and there's gonna be another Hero Killer you'll need to worry about." Upon looking up, Monoma saw Akira had him pinned to the ground; his eyes were glowing gold. "Where the hell do you get off-"

"Akira…" The black-haired boy felt a hand placed on his shoulder. "He's not worth it, and he's not our problem." His eyes trailed to Izuku and saw the greenette jerk his head towards another student.

The student in question was a rather tall girl with orange hair, she had a mad but mostly embarrassed look on her face. "Sorry about Monoma, he can be a real ass." She apologised before grabbing him.

Akira sighed as he backed off, eyes dimming. "Keep him on a leash." He said before going back to his seat.

"As an extra sorry, I'll tell you something I heard about our final exam from one of the upper class men." She said, instantly gaining the table's attention.

Monoma readjusted his nose. "Don't, Kendo, you'll take away our advantage." He complained.

"Shut up, you're lucky it's only your nose that's broken." Kendo threatened, silencing the blonde. She looked back to those at the table. "They said it's gonna be robots like the ones that we faced at the entrance exam."

Surprised and relieved looks were shared all around. "Wait, really?" Iida asked, seemingly confused.

"There's no way it's gonna be that easy." Izuku said.

Kendo shrugged. "That's what I heard, believe it or not, your choice." She grabbed Monoma's tray and began to walk off. "Anyway, good luck!" Her eyes immediately shot towards the blonde she was carrying. "Dude, what the hell, just you wait for the-"

End of the Day, Class 1A

"Yes!" Kaminari and Mina said, pumping their fists in the air. "This is gonna be a cinch!" The electric blonde beamed.

"Yeah!" Mina said in her cheery tone. "I don't have to worry too much about the practical if it's just robots, I can melt them easy peasy."

"Don't forget about the written exam." Akira reminded them.

Bakugou grabbed his bag and tossed Kirishima over his shoulder. "Alright, you morons have fun celebrating the test being easy instead of trying to improve yourselves. We'll be doing something productive if you need us." He kicked open the door and walked off.

"See you guys next week!" Kirishima said with an embarrassed smile.

As the class left, Mina pulled Izuku aside, earning him a confused look.

"H-hey, Izuku…" Mina began with flushed cheeks. "I-if you wouldn't mind, could you tutor me?" She asked, twiddling her fingers.

Izuku's face flushed red. "W-why me?" He asked. "Wouldn't y-you be better off with Yaoyorozu?"

Mina shook her head. "I need a lot of help and I don't think she'll be able to give me the attention I need." She looked up at him with hopeful eyes. "Please help me." The pink girl asked with pleading eyes that made Izuku's heart wrench.

He really couldn't say no, and it's not like he would mind spending time with her. "Alright, Mina." Izuku said, nodding. "I'll help you."

Mina beamed and hugged him. "Thank you, Izuku!" She pressed her head into his chest.

Izuku went rigid before shyly returning the hug, enjoying the warmth he felt.

Late Afternoon, Principal Nezu's Office

Aizawa walked into the Principals office, earning a confused look from Nezu.

"Aizawa, can't say I was expecting you." Nezu admitted. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Aizawa placed a few third year profiles on his desk. "A bunch of our senior students have been blabbing the final exam to our first years." He explained. "Now they know what they're going up against for the practical."

Nezu grinned widely. "They think they're going against robots." He said to himself.

Aizawa felt a chill go up his spine as he observed the Principal's smile. "Is that not what the test is?" He asked, that's what they had all agreed on.

Nezu looked Aizawa dead in his eye and picked up his phone. "Yes but…" he dialled a number. "No." He waited for someone to pick up. "Hello, Detective Tsukauchi… No, no one has broken in… I was wondering if I could borrow a few quirk cuffs… 20 pairs would do nice… Excellent… Yes, next week will be perfect… Thank you, goodbye." He put down the phone and grinned evilly as he began to call another number.

"Uhh, Principal Nezu?" The chimera looked to Aizawa. "What do you need quirk cuffs for?" He asked.

Nezu said nothing as he placed the phone to his ear. "Maijima… Prepare the enforcers… Yes, the hooded ones… And I'll be sending you a few quirk cuffs… You know what I'd like… Goodbye." He put down the phone and stared at a horrified Aizawa.

"Sir, what are you planning?" Aizawa asked, genuinely confused.

Nezu's smile seemed to become more manic. "Plus ultra..."

All students from 1A and 1B suddenly felt a chill go down their spine.

Weekend of Studying and 3 Days of Hellish Written Exams Later, Cafeteria

Mina tiredly leaned against Izuku's shoulder as they sat down at the cafeteria. "Izuku, feed me." Mina tiredly asked.

The greenette's face instantly reddened like a tomato. "W-w-what?" He exclaimed quietly, taken completely off guard.

Mina gave him a tired look. "These tests killed me; I can't do anything by myself."

"T-t-those were o-only the t-theory tests." Izuku stuttered out; Mina gave him a pleading look and he instantly caved. "O-okay." He said, getting a tired smile from the girl.

As he awkwardly fed her, Akira and the others talked about their theory exams.

"So how do you guys think you did on the tests?" Akira asked his friends.

Tsu grabbed a spoonful of jelly. "I still had a few questions on the history test that I didn't understand, kero." She smiled as she ate it. "But other than that, I think I did fairly well."

Uraraka jabbed Akira. "Akira ended up helping Yaomomo tutor us." She said with a smile. "With both of them helping, those tests were a lot easier."

Hagakure nodded energetically. "I'll say!" She gulped down a soda. "I didn't even leave a single question blank!"

Akira looked over to Izuku and Mina, internally laughing at his best friend's expression. "Ashido." He said, getting the pink girls attention. "How was studying with Izuku?"

Mina's tired attitude vanished and she beamed, hugging the green boy's arm. "Izuku was awesome!" She exclaimed. "He didn't get mad at me when we had to go over math eight times." The pink girl had a sheepish look on her face.

Izuku was slightly rigid from Mina hugging his arm. "W-well, I-I wanted to make sure that you knew as much as possible." He stuttered out.

Mina smiled sweetly at him. "And you did a great job, I'm pretty sure I finished every single question!"

Akira laughed as he watched Izuku continue to stutter. 'Wow you both suck at this.' The bell ringing cut his thoughts short and he stood up. "Alright, you two can continue flirting with each other later." This statement turned both of them into stuttering messes. "We've got to get class."

The whole table stood up and walked off to class after putting away their trays.

Class 1A

"There has been a slight change in the exams." Aizawa said after he saw everyone seated.

This worried a few members of the class. 'Oh no…'

"For one, we'll be having them tomorrow instead of today." The tired man began. "Also, you will all be wearing your P.E uniforms instead of your hero costumes."

"EH!" The class shouted in disbelief.

Aizawa activated his quirk, silencing them instantly. "There's one more thing… But I think Principal Nezu would like to tell you that in person tomorrow."

All the students were on edge. 'A surprise from the principal…' The same chilling feeling from earlier ran down their spines.

Aizawa sighed and held his head. "Not even I know what the principal has done to your final exam." He admitted, getting shocked looks from the class. "I suggest you rest; tomorrow could be rough." And with that, he promptly left the classroom.

As the bell went and the students began to pack up, they all had one collective thought. 'We're so screwed.'