"First and foremost, let us announce the pairings!" Kan announced.

"Kodai Yui & Yanagi Reiko Vs. Present Mic!"

"Komori Kinoko & Shishida Jurota Vs. Hound Dog!"

"Awase Yosetsu & Nirengeki Shoda Vs. Snipe!"

"Kamakiri Togaru & Shiozaki Ibara Vs. Principal Nezu!"

"Kaibara Sen & Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu Vs. Cementoss!"

"Kendou Itsuka & Hiryu Rin Vs. Eraserhead!"

"Tsuburaba Kosei & Fukidashi Manga Vs. No.13!"

"Kuroiro Shihai & Tokage Setsuna Vs. Midnight!"

"Honenuki Juzo & Tsunotori Pony Vs. Power Loader!"

"Everyone, follow your designated teacher to the exam site!" Kan barked out the instruction. "Work with your teammates and the best of luck to all of you."

"Kan-sensei, if I may." Monoma raised his hand. "Mine and Mochizuki names weren't mentioned."

"Ah, right. Both of you will follow me to where Recovery Girl is to observe your classmates. Your fight will commence whence all the others have finished theirs."

Seeing that Kan's brief explanation wasn't enough to clear the hesitation in the air, Principal Nezu took over and explained.

"Mochizuki-kun and Monoma-kun's opponent is busy assisting Recovery Girl with the injuries of 1-A. Also, I thought this over and believed that it would be beneficial if all of you could observe that match. Of course, you guys are free to leave immediately after you passed your exam." Nezu snickered. "But this is something you would not want to miss."

Although not completely satisfied with the answer, most of the students nodded and followed their teachers.

"I don't mean to sound pessimistic, but isn't it impossible for us to fight against the teacher?"

Monoma said in a skeptical tone. Although he wanted to believe it was possible, Aki squinted his eyes at odds of his classmates.

"We would not make a test so that you children would fail." Recovery Girl explained. "The teachers are given handicapped. Huge handicapped that limit their powers. Most of 1-A already passed their exams and are resting in the other room."

"I see." Monoma nodded. "So, what you are saying is if even most of those scoundrels can passed it, us 1-B, who are obviously superior, can pass it effortlessly!"

"I did not say that." Recovery Girl let out a tired sigh. "But yes, if 1-A can pass, so can you. Although, you do need to understand..."

She pressed a few buttons on the keyboard, showing the ruins of the exam sites on the monitor.

"None of those idiots plan to go easy on you kids."

"Yanagi and Kodai are paired together to work on their communication skills. As far as I've seen, Kodai limited talking to the minimum while Yanagi's way of expressing is... more complicated than most. Present Mic, please put them in a situation where they need to communicate."

"Leave it to me!"

"For Komori and Shishida, the latter tends to lose control of himself after unleashing his Quirk whereas Komori is too withdrawn and shy. I want her to gain more confidence in herself and at the same time, be able to reel in Shishida from his rampage. I'll leave it to you, Hound Dog."

"Grr."

"For Awase and Nirengeki, their Quirks conflicted with each other, so I'll need Snipe to pressure them to be creative with their Quirks."

"No problem, partner."

"For Kamakiri and Shiozaki, they are over-reliant on their Quirks and since Eraserhead can't erase Mutant Quirk, I'll leave this to you Nezu-sensei."

The rodent principal only smiled as he sipped his tea.

"This pairing explains themselves. Cementoss, make them think of anything else than brute forcing their way out of troubles."

Cementoss nodded in response.

"It's the same for Tsuburaba and Fukidashi. Thirteen, please make them think of creative ways to use their Quirks to escape from your Black Hole."

"Roger that!"

"Kendou and Hiryu are both professional at hand-to-hand combat, but so are you, Eraserhead."

Eraserhead nodded.

"Kuroiro and Tokage are masters of reconnaissance mission thanks to their Quirks. Midnight, make them figure out a way to overcome you."

"With pleasure."

"For Honenuki and Tsunotori, I want them to get used to fighting on unstable ground. I'll leave them in your hands, Power Loader."

"Alright."

"Principal Nezu, if you don't mind." Kan turned towards Nezu. "Why do you suggest we pitch Mochizuki and Monoma against Dogen?"

"We already discussed it last time, no?" Nezu tilted his head.

"Yes, but I believe your reasoning is beyond that. Am I wrong?"

"Rarely, Kan-kun!" Nezu laughed. "Thing is, even though we are playing as Villain, our opponent is still our student."

"What do you mean?" Eraserhead asked.

"Mochizuki-kun's Quirk made him... ignorant to death. I believe it is important for Mochizuki-kun and the rest to realize that even he has obstacles to overcome. And Emma-kun is the right person to teach him that!"

"How so?"

Nezu smiled. "She won't hesitate to kill him."

"Kendou-san!"

Itsuka turned her head and saw clas 1-A's president walking over to her along with the rest of her classmates.

"Yaoyorozu-san! I didn't know 1-A took the exam at the same day as us!"

"Eraserhead-sensei told us to stay back and observe you guys. Nice work taking him down, by the way!"

"You too! Funny how both of us had him as our opponent." Itsuka smiled. "How did you guys do for your exam?"

As if to answer Itsuka's question, Momo turned around to look at the deflated Mina, Denki, Eijirou and Rikido.

"How about yours?" Momo asked.

"Well, the 18 people who took the test passed." Itsuka scratched her head awkwardly, trying to hide the pride in her word.

"18? Did 2 not take the test?" Momo tilted her head.

The two girl was so engrossed in their conversation that they did not notice all the students from 1-A and 1-B, sans for Aki and Monoma, have gathered around them.

"They are, just after we have finished." Itsuka explained. "Nezu-sensei said it'd be beneficial if we watch their match."

"Who are they going against?" Someone from the 1-A crowd asked.

"I... don't know. Nezu-sensei said she was assisting Recovery Girl so probably... Dogen-san?"

"At least they didn't have to go against All Might like Midoriya and Bakugou, I guess."

"All M- You guys got to go against All Might!? And won!?" Tetsutetsu pushed through the crowd towards Izuku. "That's so manly!"

"B- Barely..." Izuku awkwardly smile. "Kacchan is still resting up from the injuries."

"But still! All Might, dude!" Tetsutetsu slapped Izuku's back. "We need to fight each other sometimes."

"Come on, now, Tetsu. Give him some space." Itsuka grabbed Tetsutetsu's collar and pulled him away from Izuku, much to the green head's appreciation and the silver head's dismay.

"You don't see me complaining when you swarm over Mochizu-" Tetsutetsu was immediately cut off with a chop to the neck.

"P- Putting that aside, do you think they're going to win?" Itsuka quickly shifted the topic.

Setsuna, although she wanted to tease, looked passed it and confidently announced. "Bet'cha sweet ass he's gonna ace it, Prez!"

"Perv." Tsuburaba giggled. "But if Nezu-sensei specifically pitched Dogen-sensei against them, doesn't that mean she is as good, or even worse, better than the rest of our teachers?"

"I don't mean to be pessimistic, but since it's Nezu-sensei, doesn't that mean he believe that Dogen-sensei has a work-around Aki-kun's Quirk?" Ibara anxiously asked.

Silence fell upon them as each person presented thought about what was said until a bubbly cheerful voice woke them.

"What're you worrying about? Of course, my cute Kouhai-kun's going to ace this!" A familiar blue head floated in with a wide smile on her face.

"Hadou-senpai? What are you doing here?" Reiko asked.

"Ah, sleepy Kouhai-chan! Long time no see! Congratulations on passing your exam!" Nejire waved at her, which the ashen hair waved back. "I'm here to cheer for my Kouhai-kun, of course!"

"That is a bit over-simplify, Nejire." Suddenly, another loud, cheerful voice came into the conversation. The group turned around and found a... cartoonish man with blond hair stood there, laughing.

"Oh my God, it's Tin Tin!" Awase pointed and yelled, which usually, Ibara would love to slap back but this time, she couldn't help but agreed with him.

"Haha, that's a good one!" The blond laughed louder. "But no! My name is Togata Mirio. The quiet, mumbling behind me is Amajiki Tamaki. And you already knew Hadou Nejire over there."

"We are your senpai." Mirio continued. "Nezu-sensei called us over here to watch over UA's new crops. You guys did great, by the way. That was a great POWER show there!"

Not a single chuckle came after that joke. Mirio then continued as if nothing happened. "We're supposed to give you guys pointers and go over what you did during the exam. But we'll do that after we watch Nejire's favorite kouhai finished his."

"This is a bust, Mirio..." Tamaki meekly said as he tugged Mirio's shirt. "There're too many people here... I can't be here anymore..."

"Yo, he's like a more depressed version of Mochi-kun with worse social anxiety." Setsuna whispered to Reiko, which the ashen hair couldn't help but see some similarity.

The commotion came to a halt when they saw the rest of the staff walk in.

"Ah, I see you have already made yourself acquainted!" Nezu clapped his hand together. "This is UA's Big Three. They're here to help us go over your performances. You have much to learn from them!"

"Nezu!" Recovery Girl yelled out from her chair. "The children are in position!"

"Splendid!" Nezu cheered. "Emma-kun, it's your stage."

Emma slightly bowed her head and left the room. After watching her left, Recovery Girl spoke.

"Nezu, are you sure about this?"

"Don't fret, Shuzenji-san! I'm sure the children will pass splendidly, just as their peers!"

"No, I mean..." Shuzenji sighed. "Are you sure you want the children to watch this? I understand why the Big Three is here but these kids... it'll be hard for them to watch this."

"Hard for us to watch... what?" Yui cut into the conversation.

"Don't worry!" Nezu smiled. "Your boyfriend will be fine, Kodai-san, Tokage-san."

Although not satisfied, Yui nodded and sat back down along with the rest of her classmates. There was silence amongst the group, before Ibara realized something, look at Yui and Setsuna before unconsciously raised her voice.

"What do you mean by 'Setsuna and Yui's boyfriend?'"

"Ha-choo!"

Monoma turned his head at his teammate's loud sneeze.

"You good?" He asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Aki answered, as he wiped his nose. "Someone's probably talking about me."

"Probably those 1-A's heathens sitting there, mocking us..." Monoma clicked his tongue.

"Worry about that later." Aki said. "What's the plan here?"

Monoma nodded at his teammate's words. "The 'Exit' Gate is at the bottom of this building, so Dogen-sensei definitely is waiting for us there. But we only needed one person passing the gate to pass this exam. So, we'll rush her the moment we see her, and whoever she aims will distract her for the other to pass."

Aki nodded, agreeing that this was the safest plan to go through for now.

"1, 2, 3, Mic check!" Recovery Girl's voice came through the PA system. "Alright, are you children ready? The exam starts... now!"

Nodding at each other at the cue, Aki and Monoma ran towards the stairs.

And both found themselves knocked back to the end of the room by the door in front of them.

"That is a correct assessment, thinking I will be waiting near the gate." Emma spoke up. "But your problem is thinking this as an exam." Emma drew her sword and pointed at the students who were staring at her from the floor.

"This, children..." Emma smiled. "Is me hunting you."

"How did she-!" Kaminari raised his question, a question which many students presented shared watching the scene.

"Emma is trained by Isshin Ashina." Eraserhead explained. "Her Quirk may not be combat based, but she is a master of the Ashina Arts. If it's a fight without Quirk, she is stronger than any of us."

"Okay, there goes plan A." Aki groaned as he pulled Monoma up.

"Not yet." Monoma breathed. "Keep her distracted."

Aki nodded and drew his katana as Monoma moved out of Emma's sight.

"I suppose your plan here is distracting me while Monoma-kun ran to Gate." Emma smiled.

At a blink of an eye, Aki found Emma's blade inches away from his face. Instantly, Aki put up his sword to block it, resulting in him jolted back from the impact. Emma swiftly threw 2 Kunai in front of Monoma's feet, halted him in his steps.

Quickly got back on his feet, Aki dashed towards Emma and swung his katana at her side. Emma blocked it and elbowed at Aki's face with her left hand which was blocked. Seeing that she had a hold on Aki's hand, Emma grabbed them, spun Aki and slammed him into the ground. Turning to the side, Emma saw Monoma rushing her. She quickly caught his hand and threw him across the room, away from the door.

"Is this really what UA has been teaching? I'm disappointed." Said Emma as she looks at the boys on the floor.

Aki quickly rolled away to gain back his ground. Groaning from the pain, he went into a defensive stance, eyes stayed sharply on his opponent stood calmly from across the room.

"You got her Quirk?" Aki whispered to Monoma.

"Yeah." Monoma's palm glows from the green aura that it emits. He used it to heal himself and Aki as both glared at a smiling Emma.

"It is funny, you know." Emma spoke. "The point of this exam is to see how you fare against an opponent who is stronger than you. But the thing is, the teachers aren't allowed to use lethal force."

"I, as a doctor, do not want to hurt others." She pointed her sword at the duo. "But I made a promise."

She dashed over and swung her blade at Aki, which the young hero barely blocked. Monoma swung his fist at Emma but before it could land, he received a straight kick to the stomach that pushed him away from the scene. Seeing that Emma's push against him was slightly loose, Aki raised his sword up and performed an Ichimonji, but it didn't do much damage as Emma securely held her sword to reduce the impact and jumped away.

Finally having some space, Aki walked over to Monoma while still keeping a cautious watch over Emma.

"Okay, so clearly, taking her down is our only gamble now." Aki chuckled darkly. "You have any idea?"

"We already went through A and B." Monoma returned the negativity with a smile. "No choice but to roll the dice now!" On cue, they split and charged at Emma from her sides. Aki threw a shuriken at Emma and followed with a Chasing Slice while Monoma rushed in to distract Emma.

Emma gently swung her blade and the shuriken bounced away. Before Aki's katana could touch her, Emma ducked underneath Monoma's hand, grabbed it and threw him into Aki. Quickly adapt to the situation, Aki came to a quick halt, stabbed his katana on to the ground and held onto it with one hand while with the other hand, he caught Monoma, spun him around threw him at Emma.

Over at the viewing room, many of the 1-B couldn't help but cover their mouths to stop themselves from laughing out loud.

"I don't know what you're teaching your kids, Kan, but I approve." Aizawa grinned.

"Don't push this all on me." Kan glared at him. "He interned with you."

"Put the questionable method aside." Midnight stopped them. "These two fought well with each other. Their coordination and communication are all on point. They're even doing the vanguard-and-support style."

"Indeed." Power Loader nodded. "I thought the blonde would be hard to work with, considering his usual behavior."

"Monoma-kun is only that way when he is, well, competitive." Kan shrugged. "Besides, as I've mentioned, Mochizuki-kun works well with all of his classmates."

While the staff were grading them, the students were discussing the match, there was a group having a heated discussion among one another.

"Yui, explain." Itsuka ordered.

"Mm." Yui looked away.

"Setsuna." Itsuka snapped her head towards the greenette, who disconnected her mouth from her head and floated it away.

"Reiko-chan, could you please tell us what's going on?" Gave up on the other two suspects, Ibara impatiently turned her attention towards Reiko.

"I plead the Fifth." Reiko blankly stated.

"We're in Japan, Yanagi-san." Momo pointed out.

"Then I shall only speak when all the parties related are present." Reiko showed both her hands. "Apologize, Ibara-san."

Watching over the three who were being pestered by their friends, Momo whispered to Ochako.

"Should we... do something? To help?"

"Let them cook." Ochako squinted her eyes. Over at the side, Izuku nodded.

Seeing the doctor jump away after colliding with Monoma, Aki realized that his opponent's defenses are weak. If he kept on pushing and attacking, maybe he'll break her defenses and go for a swift capture!

As if realizing that Aki had found her weaknesses, Emma smiled. "Seems I've been found out. Wolf has taught you well. Though, I must admit." She sheathed her blade. "That man soft side for strays has greatly affected his teaching method."

Although the throw affected Emma more, Monoma could still feel the pain from colliding with another human being at full force. Grunting from the pain, the Copycat forced himself to stand up with the copied Heal Pulse to help his teammate, who he can see was keeping distance from their opponent.

But it seems his effort was... unnecessary.

The moment Emma sheathed her blade, Monoma could clearly see Aki's eyes widened in fear. But before the young Shinobi could even make an escaping step, Emma's blade glinted and struck him in a deadly gentle motion. Aki collapsed on his knees, eyes stared Emma in shock as blood spewed from his new injuries.

"I apologize, Mochizuki-kun." Emma spoke up in an apologetic tone. "But I promised Tomoe-dono that I would prepare you for what is to come."

She then stabbed Aki through the neck.

Awoke from his shock, Monoma rushed at Aki but before he could make contact, he found Emma's knee to his face.

The last thing he heard before blacking out was Aki choking on his own blood.

"NEZU." Aizawa's eyes flared up in a crimson color as he yelled. "WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS!?"

"Calm down, Aizawa-kun." Nezu calmly spoke, eyes still stuck to the screen.

"Stand down, Aizawa." Kan stood in between them, but his eyes glared dangerously at Nezu. "Sir, I know you always have your reasons for doing things, but I expect a heads-up and an explanation before you decided to kill one and traumatize the rest of my students!"

He glanced over at the students. Although many has seen what happened at the USJ, this is the first time some of them have actually seen someone killed right in front of their face. He could see some of 1-A, even some from his class, ran out and vomited. But that's not the worst of it. He could see Ashido and Komori went into a near panic attack and was hyperventilating while their friends were trying to calm them down with Recovery Girl and Midnight's help.

The situation was even more dire for the Big Three. It took the combined effort of Amajiki and Mirio to barely hold Nejire back from rushing to the scene. The girl wore an angry, cold, murderous look that she had back when she was in First Year. Something the rest of UA haven't seen since.

"LET. ME. GO!"

"Nejire, just calm down first!" Amajiki yelled as he struggled to hold her with his tentacles.

Even Mirio didn't know how to response to the situation as he kept glancing back and forth between the screen and Nezu. He knew Nezu has a reason, but it didn't sit right with him just watching his junior killed so brutally like that.

"Setsuna. Setsuna! It's fine. He- He'll be fine, all right. Breath with me." Itsuka stroke Setsuna's back while struggling to control her own voice. The greenette had tears in her eyes as she stared at the screen while having difficulty breathing, looking at her boyfriend who got stabbed in the neck.

"No, please, no, not again, please, no, please, please, please-" Ibara clasped her hands together while trapping herself in a constant muttering storm of prayers, ignoring her friends' voices calling out to her.

Sitting between all of this, Reiko kept her eyes on the screen with a scowl on her face. She understands that it is illogical to go into a panic. Aki can resurrect. Yet, she couldn't help but winced at the sight of her friend being so coldly murdered like that.

Nezu silently followed Kan's gaze at his students before speaking with a serious tone. "I know this is cruel, and I will apologize in whichever way you want after this, Kan-un. But this is something important for Mochizuki-kun. He needs to know that his Resurrection won't always get him out of a dire situation."

"That I can understand." Kan growled. "But is it necessary to make the others watch this?"

"They need to understand it too." Nezu sipped his tea. "They must understand that even if their friend has Resurrection, he can't always do things alone. And they must have each other's back. Don't you agree, Aizawa-kun?"

Aizawa only responded with a grunt, which Nezu smiled and accepted it. "I believe we have... 10 minutes left?"

The corpse of Aki laid lifeless on the ground as Emma calmly wiped the blood of her blade, eyes coldly stared at her student's corpse.

"The Ashina Cross you mastered." A smile formed on her lips. "Was passed down to you by the man who copied it. I learnt mine from the one who invented it. I could help you perfected the way it's intended to be."

"Not sure-" The murdered student pushed himself off the ground while coughing violently, letting the blood out of his throat. "If I can even sleep without having nightmare about you."

"That's a tad rude, no?" Emma chuckled. "Here I thought Tomoe-dono would at least teach you how to speak to a lady."

"Not when the lady stabbed a blade through my neck." Aki rubbed his throat. "Feels like drowning."

Both of them got into their fighting stances while staring down at each other.

"I don't suppose you would go easy on me now since I may or may not be subjected to death, now?"

"I'm afraid I can't do that. Try to stay alive this time."

The moment Emma finished, she dashed over to Aki and swung her sword. Aki deflected it and returned with a Whirlwind Slash. Emma blocked it, turned and raised her blade to the air with the sheath on her left hand before elegantly stepping onto her opponent and swinging her blade. As the blades connected with each other, Emma slightly raised her blade to the air and vertically sliced it down, but it was parried by Aki. They slammed their blades into each other while glaring at each other.

"Better." Emma grinned. "Maybe this will be not boring like I'd feared."

"Yeah?" Aki returned the devious grinned. "Let's make this more interesting, then."

Aki grabbed Emma's hand and threw the woman to the side before drawing his foot and sword behind and rushed towards Emma. After quickly regaining her ground from being thrown, Emma used both her hands to block Aki stabbed at her chest. The younger launched himself towards the air and threw a firecracker before following with a drop kick that was blocked by his opponent's hand which made him jump backwards to gain some distance.

Emma tried to close the distance with a straight stab at Aki's chest, but the young Shinobi retaliated with a Mikiri Counter. Emma kicked ki down to the ground, raised her sword and made wide lunar slash that aimed at his neck, but Aki managed to roll away before his head was severed, if the cut on the floor says anything.

Her blade then shone a familiar glint again as she sheathed it. Ashina Cross. But this time, Aki perfectly deflected it with his own version of Ashina Cross. The sound of blades clashing echoed through the entire exam site along with both tired breaths as they got back into their fighting stance. Emma raised her sword high in front of her forehead head and performed an Ichimonji which Aki spread his Umbrella out and blocked it, before splitting it into half in both hands and made a cross slash. Emma dodged by rotating behind Aki and slashed at his back.

"Argh!" Aki grunted from the pain as he collapsed on the floor.

"You want to survive this, Mochizuki-kun?" Emma asked. "You will fight as if you meant to kill me."

Before Emma could made her finishing move, Recovery Girl's voice echoed through the PA System.

"Time's up. Team Mochizuki Aki and Monoma Neito: PASSED!"

"I think you all must have many questions." Nezu raised his voice as he stood on the chair in front of all the students. "But before I answer any of them, allow me to apologize first."

"I'm terribly sorry I made all of you witness such a gruesome scene." Nezu bowed his head. "But I believe it is important for you to understand this: your classmate, Mochizuki-kun, has an extraordinary Quirk, one that makes him a target. He is strong and capable, yes. But that doesn't mean he is invincible."

"Can't be a hero alone." Kan picked up. "Even Miruko and All Might need helps from others."

"He can die anytime." Aizawa's voice turned serious. "No one knows the capabilities of his powers. He can die easily as any of us."

The teachers noticed many scared looks on the student number, but they can also see determination in their eyes

"But he's not alone. He's got all of you." Nezu smiled. "Now, I will take any questions. Yes, Tokoyami-kun?"

"It was announced that they passed their exam." Tokoyami raised his hand. "But I am under the impression that either one must escape, or their opponent was captured, no?"

"For the rest of you, yes. But this pair, Mochizuki-kun, specifically, he has another passing condition. Stay alive until the time's over."

The students shared an understanding, but uncomfortable look among one another. Nezu decided to continue. "Yes, Kendo-kun?"

"Sir, I understamd your intention here, but what about Aki's safety?" Itsuka glared. "How are you sure that he won't..."

"I assure you; I would only do this if I knew Mochizuki-kun will be 100% safe." Nezu smiled. "How and why, I'm not at liberty to share."

Although not satisfied with his vague answer, Kendo reluctantly sat down and held Yui's hand to reassure her.

Just when the tension and silence in the room couldn't get any louder, everyone's head jerked towards the noise of door swinged open and found Aki struggling to walk in even with Emma assisting him over her shoulder.

"Aki-kun!" "Mochizuki-san!"

The students immediately swarmed over Aki while the man himself startled from it. Emma discreetly moved away from the group but did not forget to leave an encouragement wink at Aki.

"Are you okay?" "Did it hurt?" "He got stabbed through the neck, idiot! Of course, it's hurt" "Bro, that was metal!" "Somebody shut Tetsutetsu up! Stop sharpening your blade, Kamakiri!"

Excitement and concern flowed around the startled boy who was at the receiving end. Just when he thought he was already at the worst of it, Aki saw Yui and Setsuna's expressionless faces walking towards him and dived into his chest like their life depends on it. He shot Reiko a questioning glance, which the ghost girl just returned with a shrug.

"Guys, it's fine!" Aki assured them. "Look, no permanent damage or scars!"

But the girls' grip on him did not loosen. Seeing that there was no way out, Aki gently patted his girlfriends' heads. This sugar-inducing scene went on for a while before he heard Principal Nezu call out to him.

"Sorry for the interruption, Mochizuki-kun! But I need to talk to you for a quick moment. Privately."

Although reluctantly, Yui and Setsuna released him, but not forgetting to leave him quick kisses on both cheeks. Aki showed an embarrassed smile before kissing them back on their foreheads and following Nezu.

Closing the door, Nezu pointed Aki to a seat before seating down on the opposite chair.

"It's hard having protective significant others, isn't it?" Nezu cackled.

"... Not really, sir." Aki smiled. "It's nice knowing that they care about me that much."

"I am glad to hear it, Mochizuki-kun!" Nezu nodded his head. "Now, I brought you in here because I believe I owe you an apology, in private."

"What are you-"

Before Aki could finish his sentence, Nezu stood up on his chair and bowed deeply at Aki.

"I'm sorry for ordering such a brutal and heartless order. Even though it is with a purpose, what I did wasn't appropriate, especially when I did not even inform you about my decision." Nezu spoke in an apologetic tone. "You got hurt, badly, because of that. As an educator, I could not be more shameful. That is why I sincerely apologize, Mochizuki-kun."

Nezu kept his head bowed as the word sunk in. However, the lack of reaction for quite a while made him slowly lift his head up, only to find Aki's eyes widen, looking at him in shock, as if he couldn't believe what was going on. When their eyes met, Aki woke up from his shock and spoke.

"Emma- Dogen-san already explained to me, but I still do not get it. What is so important that you must ask her to kill me for me to understand? I- It's not like I don't believe you and I certainly don't mind the stab. I just... don't understand..." He mumbled the last part, which did not escape Nezu's ears.

"... As I've told your classmates, I'm not at liberty to share. Not yet." Nezu said. "And because it's my duty as a teacher to apologize to his student when I hurt them, directly or indirectly."

Aki only stayed quiet before he nodded and left the room. Before he exited the door, Nezu walked over to him.

"Although this is not much, I would like you to have this!" Nezu handed Aki a ticket. "Go and have fun before the Summer Camp, Mochizuki-kun!"

Aki looked at the bear, nodded and thanked him, before looking back at the ticket.

'I-Expo: UA's Principal/Nezu's Guest'

After a moment, Nezu heard a gentle knock before he saw Emma walk in.

"Excuse the interruption, Principal."

"Not at all, Emma-kun." Nezu greeted her. "I was just about to call you in."

Emma nodded and sat down at the same spot Aki was, before she put on a cold glare directed at Nezu.

"I only did this because Tomoe-dono asked me to. There will not be a next time." Emma spoke, but with a threatening voice that no one has ever heard before

Seeing Nezu replied with smile and nod, Emma relaxed her gaze and spoke gently. "I am glad we got that cleared. Now, can you finally tell me why exactly you asked me to kill Mochizuki-kun? The real reason, please."

"What I told you when I asked was real, Emma-kun." Nezu said. "As for the other reason, not yet."

"... I see." Emma nodded, as if she already had a clue what Nezu meant. "You really live up to your name as the smartest and most devilish being, Principal."

Nezu only laughed maniacally when he heard that. After the laughter ended, he asked.

"I did notice his slip-up on your name, Emma-kun. I suppose that means he is comfortable around you?"

This time, Emma showed a genuinely happy smile as she replied. "I sincerely hope so. After everything that happened to him, even when he hadn't met me yet, I always see Mochizuki-kun as a sibling I never had."

"I see." Nezu nodded in understanding. "I believe Hadou-kun also shared that sentiment. Although, to be honest, I thought you would see him as more like a son-"

Nezu quickly stopped as he saw Emma's expression, still smiling, but seeming more menacing somehow. He quickly changed the topic.

"Speaking of, I think you may need to go out and pry Hadou-kun off of him."

"You sure you're alright?" Ochako asked one last time. "I'll walk you home and come back later! It won't take long!"

"Please, I'm fine, Ochako-san." Aki assured her for the last time.

"You should have seen her during your fight." Mina giggled. "Ochako looked like she might kill Dogen-sensei."

"You almost had a panic attack, Pinky. I don't think you can tease her on that." Kyouka pointed out. "As metal as that was, Mochizuki-san, I don't get how you could be so... nonchalant after being stabbed like that."

"Pure determination? I wanna go to the Summer Camp, too." Aki sheepishly smiled as he tilted his head.

"Uwahhhhhh! Don't even remind me!" Mina pulled her hair.

"Not like I'm going though..." Aki mumbled, an action which caught the attention of the rest.

"W- What do you mean?" Kinoko asked with a shaking voice.

"Monoma and I passed... barely. So, we talked and agreed that we'll stay and attend the extra lessons."

"Ugh, responsibility!" Mina jokingly stuck out her tongue which Aki returned the gesture by sticking out his own tongue in retort. The group laughed at the two antics.

Aki was heading home before he was caught by Midoriya and the girls from both classes. They approached, fretted over him again before insisting that he should go with them before they left for their girls' night out. Although reluctant to butt in the middle of the girls, Setsuna and Ochako didn't give him much of a choice when they locked arms with him and went on the train. The atmosphere was a little weird at first, considering he didn't know anyone from 1-A, sans for Ochako, Momo and Jirou who he briefly worked with during the USJ, but thanks to Setsuna, Mina and Toru's outgoing nature, the group quickly grew comfortable with another boy's presence.

To be honest, Aki was a little scared when he heard Mina and Kinoko almost went into a panic attack when they saw he died. But Mina, with her friendly personality, quickly debunked Aki's fear and assured him that it was not his fault, something Kinoko agreed. Aki and Mina surprisingly became quick friends with each other. He bantered with Mina as much as he joked around with Reiko (something Reiko argued that she has a lot more common hobby with him).

Something even more peculiar was that during the whole train ride, Ibara stayed close to. Not Setsuna and Yui's level of closeness, but she tugged his sleeve as if her life depended on it. Aki noticed this but considering what she watched, he decided not to say anything. Setsuna and Yui also noticed this and just cuddled more closely into him while smiling. Although they were being comfortable with one another, the train reached the girls' stop so they had to let him go, reluctantly.

"I'll see you guys at school!"

Aki said before he kissed Setsuna and Yui on their cheeks as the train arrived at the girls' station. Yui and Setsuna each replied with kisses and hugs before they waved goodbye. Following them were the rest of the 1-A and 1-B's girls, who either cooed or fidgeted at the display of affection. Before the train closed, he turned his attention towards another green head.

"... You're getting off here, too, Midoriya?" Aki narrowed his eyes at the greenette.

"I- uh... it's just- I-" Izuku babbled as his eyes darted back and forth in panic.

Seeing this, instead of pushing on, Aki smiled. "Train's about to close. Or do you want a goodbye kiss, too?"

"Well, I mean if you don't mind-" Izuku mumbled.

"What was that now?"

"NOTHING! GOODBYE, AKKUN!" Izuku yelled out with a bright red face before dashing off the closing train. Left alone on the train, Aki let out a sigh while twirling his top knot, being deep in thought.

"Akkun... huh? That's a new one..."

Walking under the gentle warm of dusk, Aki rubbed his neck at the spot where Emma's blade was driven through. Emma knew what she was doing so he didn't feel any pain, but the cold sensation of the tip when it touched his neck still made him shiver thinking about it. The battle, what Emma said were the only things occupied Aki's head as he strolled towards his apartment. The way he barely passed the exam, barely survived the fight...

It frustrated him, knowing that he could be easily kill if he kept being hesitant that way.

But the other thing that was in his mind was what Emma said: 'But I promised Tomoe-dono that I would prepare you for what is to come.'

Setting aside the fact that his aunt knew Emma-sensei somehow and didn't tell him, the doctor did mention something about 'preparing for what is to come'.

She also did mention that he should talk about it with his aunt if he wishes to know more. That might be a tad difficult, considering his aunt is still in Korea, or God knows where.

Aki didn't notice he had already reached the door to his apartment while he was still deep in his thought. He mindlessly inserted his key, only to find out that the door was already unlocked.

That's strange, he always locks and double-checks every time he goes out. Cautiously, Aki entered and turned on the light of his apartment...

And get tackled by a familiar long silver-haired that he hadn't seen in months.

"Aki-chan~! I miss you so much! I heard today was your final, so I came back early to surprise you. But then, I forgot that I can't cook so the kitchen is burnt, along with the food!" The woman said as she tried to hug Aki, who blocked her tackled by holding her head away from him with his palm.

"... I'm terribly sorry, do I know you?" Aki smiled affectionately at the woman.

"Wah! Your aunt came back from such a long trip, and this is how you greeted her!? You're mean, Aki-chan! I don't remember raising you to become like this!" She kept pushing on to embrace Aki.

"Maybe if you stop burning down the kitchen every time you came back!" Aki groaned as he struggled to hold his aunt away. "I might greet you kindly, Tomoe-san!"

The fight(?) went on until Aki's hand gave out and the boy got embraced by Tomoe.

A/N: Heh, now I've got I-Expo to write about... looking forward to losing sleep, I guess.

I have a question though: I saw other authors put their I-Island arc inside normally, or made it into a long AF chapter, or created a whole new book dedicated for that arc. Which one should I follow? I'm thinking of one long chapter but idk so...

Anyways, hope you enjoy this chapter. Yes, Aki technically loses to Emma. As did everyone when they got ass-whooped when they first encounter her. Don't worry, he gonna get his ass whooped by others as well.

Shit, I need to find more content for my other fic. That shit needs a lot of mythology research. I already slapped Slenderman onto that shit, might as well slap Sirenhead or Backrooms and shit... right? Nah, JK. Cool concept, afraid of poor demonstration.

Next chapter spoiler (or I-Island spoiler or whatever idk):

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you! My name is Melissa Shield! Mei-chan mentioned you a lot, Aki-kun." Melissa shaked Aki's hand

"It's a pleasure to meet you, too, Shield-san! Thank you for taking care of her." Aki returned the shake with a slight bow, showing his appreciation.

"C'mon, don't be so humble!" Melissa slapped Aki's back. "We're Quirkless buddies! Call me Melissa!"

"... Mei told you?" Aki's voice has a tinge of shock, happiness and another emotion that Melissa couldn't tell.