"Shit, Shit, Shit, Shit, Shit! It's finally coming... The end is near!"
Tetsutetsu muttered as he hugged his head in fear.
"Sport Festival, Internship and a thousand other stuff... I haven't studied a single word!"
Next to him, Awase looked up with a defeated look on his face.
Indeed, the End-of-Term exam is coming.
Time has passed, and there's only 1 week left until the exam begun. Naturally, being in the Hero Course gave them little time to focus on studying for the exam, so to the Hero Courses' students, these theory exams are a huge obstacle aside from practical.
And to add to the already stressful predicament, those who failed must take the summer classes, therefore exempting them from the Summer Camp.
"You ranked 20th on the Mid-Term exam didn't you, Tetsutetsu? You better study extra hard this week."
Itsuka said as she witnessed the boys' desperate state.
Itsuka herself ranked 7th, but true to what Awase, who ranked 19th, by the way, said, it has been especially hectic since the Sport Festival, so she wasn't feeling too confident for this exam. She let out a sigh before turning to Yui.
"How about you, Yui? Worry about the upcoming exam?"
Yui nodded silently. She ranked 10th for her Mid-Term, but that was already an improvement compared to her Entrance Exam. Besides, a lot of people in her class are smart, and she knows they would help her if she asked.
"Maybe we should conduct a study session? It would be beneficial if we all study together." Ibara, ranked 9th, suggested.
"A study session! Let's do it!" Tsuburaba, ranked 15th, agreed.
"Passed! I don't need help, nor am I helping others!" Kamakiri, ranked 11th, declined.
"I mush join this session! My grade isn't too good, and I want to enjoy summer with you guys!" Komori, ranked 18th, excitedly yelled.
"Me as well!" Pony, ranked 17th, raised her hand. "My Japanese not good, test is all in Japanese, so I struggled a lot."
"Then I shall help you, Tsunotori-san!" Monoma, ranked 4th, proudly joined the conversation. "After all, English is my best subject after all. I will smoothly translate and teach you the beauty of Japanese!"
Watching from a spot in the classroom, Setsuna spoke to Reiko in a small volume.
"Your bet with Mochi-kun is by the end of this year, no? Think you still can win?"
"I am certain." Reiko replied. "Monoma-san is too ignorant about his own feelings while Tsunotori-san is too timid to admit her own feelings."
"Heh~ Then what about you, Ghosty? Anyone in this class you're interested in?" Setsuna looked at Reiko with a mischievous grin.
"I shall not converse with you on this topic. If I am in need of a Cupid, I shall look for Aki-kun." Reiko remained emotionless, although there was a quick shifting in her eyes.
"I s'pose that means you aren't shooting for Mochi-kun, huh? I don't know if I should be glad or disappointed." Setsuna chuckled, thinking of the situation she's in.
"Worry not. I see Aki-kun as nothing but my best of friends." Reiko said with an indifferent tone. "But, in case you have yet noticed, there are many people 'shooting' for him, whether they notice it or not."
"Can't be helped! My boyfriend is just that attractive, after all!" Setsuna said with a dreamy look, before taking a quick glance around the classroom and grin. "But those girls should be more honest with their feelings, don't you think?"
"They might if you guys announced your relationship between one another."
"Yui and I did propose that, but Mochi-kun said he didn't want others to look at us differently. He's so nice and caring, isn't he? Uuuuu~ I love him so much!"
"... I suppose love really changes a person." Reiko let out a defeated sigh, looking at her best friend's girlfriend. "Speaking of, are you participating in the study session? I am considering it, too, as I am not confident in my grade."
"I'm more worry about the practical exam, but it would be fun joining in and help out you guys."
"... It is indeed a wonder how different your attitude and your learning abilities are from each other."
Reiko, ranked 12th, muttered in wonderment at Setsuna, who is sitting proudly in second place.
It does make sense as she and Honenuki, ranked 4th, are recommended students. They had to pass an extremely hard entrance exam, way harder than the normal one.
"I'm still not first, though. Guess I've gotta buckle up!" Setsuna laughed. "Ibara, mind if we join in your study session?"
"Not at all, Tokage-san! We'd be honored to have you." Ibara smiled. "Anyone else?"
"I, too, will join this study session." Reiko raised her hand. "But if the goal is to improve overall, I propose we should ask for help from the person in 1st place."
At Reiko's word, the whole class turned to the 1st place... who is currently laying his head on the table with his eyes closed peacefully, before turning their looks onto Yui. The girl quickly understood their silent request and walked over to her boyfriend before she softly pinched his cheek to wake him up.
"Hmm, 5 more minutes~?" Aki softly asked as he saw his girlfriend's face.
"Mm. You can't sleep before practical class. It's not good." Yui declined. "Besides, we need to ask something."
"We?" Aki lifted his head up and looked around.
"Mmm. Class revision. Together. Help us?"
"I don't mind... But I doubt that I'm going to be much help." Aki accepted with an awkward smile.
"Aren't you in the 1st place?" Monoma asked.
"Well, I kinda have... somewhat good memory. I mean I could understand all that Skill Scroll from one look... something like photographic memory, I guess."
"Unfair..." Setsuna pouted.
"I am confident in History and Physics, though. I'll assist however I can."
"Perfect then! It appears we are going to pass this exam with flying colors!" Ibara smiled brightly. "I shall message everyone my address and the details later. For now, we must make haste for Practical Heroic!"
"...No one is going to question where that light comes from?" Monoma pointed at the holy light that shined upon Ibara's head.
"Kodai and Yanagi, Tetsutetsu and Kaibara ,Kendou and Jurota... that leaves me with a trouble pair of students." Vlad handed out the report to the other teachers.
"Mochizuki-san and Monoma-san... that is a troubling pair..." Midnight admitted as she read through the report.
"Wouldn't it be easier if we just pair them with other students?" Cementoss suggessted.
"The problem is that they work too well with other students of my class." Vlad answered. "Most of the other students' Quirks are too convenient for Monoma-kun to copy and if not, he could copy our Quirks. For Mochizuki-kun's case, his fighting style compliments well with the rest of my class. I can only limit them by pairing them with each other, but that put them at too much disadvantage if they must fight any of us."
"Why don't you just pair them against me?" Eraserhead questioned. "Monoma's Quirk cancel out mine, and I can go hand-to-hand combat with Mochizuki."
"That would make it a fight between just you and Mochizuki. Monoma wouldn't have much to perform."
Silence fell upon the meeting room as all the teachers were deep in thought about how to solve the problem.
"So, what you're saying is," Nezu broke the silence, "we need an opponent with a Quirk that let Monoma-kun copies and uses, but not too strong that it changed the tide of the combat. And that opponent must also pose a well enough challenge for Mochizuki-kun to struggle, is that right?"
"Yes, sir." Vlad nodded. "Do you have someone in mind?"
"As a matter of fact, I do!" Nezu cackled. "And I believe she would be delighted to accept my offer."
"Ah, this explains a lot." Setsuna unconsciously mumbled.
After receiving Ibara's invitation, Aki, Setsuna and Yui went together to her house. Currently, in front of them is a small church surrounded by a beautiful field of flowers and plants, and behind that is a small, modest house that fits exceptionally well with the atmosphere.
Hearing Setsuna's remark, Yui nodded while Aki could only force out an agreeing smile.
"Aki-san! Yui-san! Setsuna-san! Over here!"
The trio turned their heads at Ibara's voice as she called out to them from her house while waving. The three quickly walked over towards her.
"Lovely place you have here, Ibara." Setsuna grinned, followed by Yui's nod. "Really fits well with your personality."
Ibara smiled and led them into the living room.
"Are your parents home?" Aki asked.
"Unfortunately, neither of them is at home now. But they left us some snacks for our long study session." Ibara replied.
"-replace the numbers into this formula, and you'll get the answer. That's it."
Aki wrote the answers down on the white board while the rest copied it down. Currently, Aki oversaw teaching everyone Physics and History, subjects he ace in. For English and Literature, he left it to Setsuna since she has a better way to help others understand them. The rest, everyone worked on it together.
"Yes, Tetsutetsu?" Aki pointed at Tetsutetsu, who raised his hand up.
"Do we have to memorize this formula? Or is it given in the exam?"
"Fortunately, it is given. But don't overuse it since there might be questions that tricked you into to using it." He replied.
Everyone nodded as they noted it down. Seeing them busy jotting down the answers, Aki whispered to Ibara.
"Let me help you with the snacks. Where is the kitchen?"
"I- It's down the hall, to your right." Ibara replied.
Aki nodded and quickly left for the kitchen. After seeing that he had left, Reiko whispered to Yui next to her.
"Is it my imagination at play or Aki is a little more on the offensive side these days?"
"Mm." Yui nodded. "Spending time with Setsuna and I made him more confident in conversing with others. More precisely, different genders."
"I fear if this keeps up, he might attract more people to his side. Not to indicate that it is a bad thing, but trouble, nonetheless."
Yui nodded in agreement.
"Ara, are you perhaps my daughter's classmate?"
Aki pulled his head out of the fridge when he heard someone's voice. There, he saw a woman, possibly in her 40, stood at the kitchen's doorway looking at him with a curious look. Quickly grasping the situation, Aki straightens himself up.
"G- Good evening, Shiozaki-san. My name is Mochizuki Aki, and yes, I'm your daughter's classmate. I- I'm sorry for loitering around your fridge. My friends are busy, so I volunteered to help them get snacks. I did ask for Ibar-"
"Oh, calm down, dear." Ibara's mom smiled. "I was just curious."
She walked over to the fridge, took out some plates and handed them to Aki.
"So, Mochizuki-kun, was it?" She spoke. "My daughter mentioned you a lot."
"Good things, I hope." Aki awkwardly smiled as he followed behind her with the plates in his hands.
"Oh, wonderful things." She smiled. "We still haven't given you our thanks for what you did for our daughter at USJ. Terrible stuff, that was."
"Oh, please don't, Shiozaki-san." Aki quickly stopped her. "I just acted without thinking. I'm just glad she wasn't hurt."
"A truly good fellow, I see. My daughter is lucky to have you as a friend."
"I share the same sentiment as her, then."
The conversation stopped when they reached the door to the living room.
"Uwahhhh, I can't stuff anymore words into my brain."
Kinoko lied on her back with a tired look on face, a face that mostly everyone in the room wore as the clock hand moved to number twelve, signaling them about the time limit.
"Well, I think we already went through everything we need to for the exam. Just keep it up and we'll pass with flying colors."
Setsuna closed her books before standing up for a quick stretch.
"If we aren't planning to go for dinner or anything, I'm afraid I must head back." Monoma stood up with his bag. "My parents have rather strict curfew these days, considering everything is slightly more... dangerous, these days."
"Mm." Yui nodded. "Me too."
"Then it's time for everyone to leave then." Kendo clapped her hands together. "Pack up your things, everyone."
Everyone gave a thumbs up as they packed their stuff. Aki, who had already finished, offered to help Ibara with cleanup.
Standing in the kitchen, next to each other, they started talking.
"Your tips are really helpful, Aki-san." Ibara smiled. "I have more confident than ever that I would pass this test with flying colors."
"Glad I could help, then." Aki returned the smile. "Setsuna helped a lot as well. With this, I might finally get an A for Literature."
"Yes, I should thank her later as well. I'm truly glad we conducted this study session."
The pair was interrupted mid-conversation as they heard a couple's voice behind them. Turning around, they saw Ibara's parents walk inside, hands-in-hand before they saw the two teenagers.
"Might I guess that you guys have already finished your study session?" Ibara's mom asked.
"Indeed, mother." Ibara nodded. "Aki-kun is helping me with cleaning up our plates."
"Ah, so you're the 'Aki-kun' that our daughter always mentioned." The man, who appeared to be Ibara's dad, greeted. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you. I am Ibara's father."
"Father, please! You're embarrassing me!"
"It's a pleasure to meet you, too, Shiozaki-san." Aki shook his hand. "I am Mochizuki 'Aki-kun', your daughter classmate and friend."
"Aki-kun, too!"
Everyone in the room, except for Ibara, shared a quick laugh at her red face.
"Oh my, we should see your friends off before they leave as well." Ibara's mom exclaimed. "Ibara, honey, come with me, would you? Dear, you should join us as well."
"In a moment, dear." Ibara's dad replied.
Nodding in response, Ibara's mom grabbed Ibara's hand and led her outside the house. The young heroine followed, not forgetting a smile towards Aki.
"My wife mentioned that you are a humble child and didn't want any thank you, but as a vicar, and most importantly, a father, allowed me to express my gratitude." Ibara's dad slightly bowed her head. "Thank you, for helping our daughter."
"P-Please, no need to lower your head, Shiozaki-san!" Stunned by the man's sudden action, Aki could only insist that he raised his head.
After a moment of insisting, Ibara's dad raised his head, much to Aki's relief.
"Well, now that that's done, there is something I must give you." Ibara's dad took out a small box.
"Please, a gift is too much-"
"It is nothing, I assure you." He stopped Aki mid-sentence. "This is something that was given to me, but I found no use in it. After hearing about your... extraordinary ability, I am certain that this would be better in your hand."
He put the box in Aki's hand. The box itself was surprisingly light, too light that Aki wasn't sure if there's anything in it. As if able to read what was on Aki's mind, Ibara's dad told him to open the box.
Lifting its cover, Aki found violet-squared papers in pieces inside them. The paper was well-cut into smaller shapes of squares. The violet lights up despite the kitchen is already bright. Almost looks like...
"Confetti. This was given to me by an old friend." Ibara's dad explained. "I found no use of them, but I can sense the divinity in them so I can't find myself to put them away. Now, I hope you can find a good use to them."
"Divine Confetti... that has nice ring to it. Thank you, Shiozaki-san."
And so, after a week passed by with the written exam finished, class 1-B found themselves in their Hero costumes, gathering in front of a huge gate.
"If it's just robots like Kendo said, then we'll be just fine! Hell, we'll show those 1-A that we can achieve much higher."
"That was what an upperclassman I know said! That doesn't mean we can let our guard down!" Kendo argued back at a confidently grinning Monoma.
Reiko was watching the usual scene with little interest until she noticed her best friend being deep in thought. Curious, she gently poked him to get his attention and asked.
"Is there perhaps something bothering you, Aki-kun?"
Startled out of his own thought, Aki slightly jerked from the poke and answered.
"No- Nothing! It's just..."
Seeing everyone's attention on him, Aki replied.
"Something feels off. I sneaked into the exam site earlier this morning-"
"You did what!?" Kendo raised her voice.
"I mean it's not like they have a 'Keep Out!' sign!" Aki defended. "As I was saying, I sneaked in and didn't find any robots, so Kaibara and I-"
"You too!?" Kendo snapped her head towards Kaibara.
"I- In my defense, I want to go to Summer Camp as well. With everyone." Kaibara raised his hands up.
"-We sneaked into the admin room and searched for history log."
"And what did you find?" Setsuna asked.
"That's the thing. We didn't find anything." Kaibara replied. "Not a single log of information about any robots, exam sites or even the marking scheme. It's almost as if-"
"Almost as if we had anticipated you breaking in? Indeed, that is a correct assessment!"
Out of nowhere, they found Nezu popped in the middle of the conversation. All 20 students of 1-B turned their heads towards the source of the voice, and found their principal, along with the rest of the staff.
Immediately assessing the situation, Aki voiced up.
"I dragged Kaibara-san into this. I-"
"I'm going to stop you right there, Mochizuki-kun!" Nezu interjected. "What both of you did was allowed. In fact, I silently encourage it!"
Looking at the confusion on his student face, Eraserhead explained.
"Reconnaissance is vital to every mission. That's why we didn't forbid any information spread of the exam. Kendo used her connection to gain information on the exam is allowed as well. I'd say your efforts were worth it."
"But unfortunately..." Aki looked skeptically at his teachers.
"But unfortunately, due to recent surge in villainy, we agreed that robots would not be suffice for your assessment." Vlad announced. "That's why, we'll have you form pairs."
"And have you engage in combats with one of us." Midnight smiled.
Silence came after the announcement, until Kinoko unwarily yelled out her thoughts.
"What the f-!?"
"So, what are their chances?"
"Excuse me?"
Emma turned her chair at Recovery Girl question.
"The 1-B students. What are their chances of passing this exam?"
"Hmm, that is a little difficult to assess." Emma answered with serious thought. "I'd say they would have a higher passing rate then 1-A, considering how close all of them are and how well they work together..."
"But?"
Instead of answering the question, Emma smiled before standing up and exited the room. Seeing this, Recovery Girl just let out a tired sigh and spoke.
"Don't go too hard on them! I don't want more work than what I already have!"
"Do not worry, Shuzenji-san." Emma smiled. "I'll help as well. Besides-"
Emma stopped, before unsheathing her Wakizashi (like Katana, but shorter) with a smile that had not left.
"Aki-kun's Resurrection would probably undo all the work I'll do on him."
Watching as her assistant left the room, Recovery Girl again let out a tired sigh.
"I blame all this on you, Isshin Ashina."
A/N: Wazzup! Still alive.
Next chapter: Emma, The Gentle Blade Vs. Yomi & Phantom Thief