My Hero Academia - Under Pressure - Chapter 12 - Shuffle Up...

In a room, a desk with a familiar set of cards in the center of it was illuminated by a dim light. A pair of gloved hands extended out towards the deck, but didn't touch them. Rather, the hands gestured to them.

"How many times shall I cut the deck?" asked the man with the gloved hands.

"Three," answered a pained voice.

"Bold, very bold."

The man's hands motioned across the deck and the cards separated themselves into three sections, then reassembled themselves differently than they were split apart. The cards then split again and started to shuffle themselves.

The man watched the cards shuffle themselves and gave a slight grin, "Most people would say that you can tell the most about a person by how they play a game of cards, but I feel you can go deeper. You can learn a lot by how they ask someone to cut the cards. For example, if they choose not to cut it, that tells me that they have so much confidence in their skills that it doesn't matter how good it's shuffled. Or, if someone like you asks for it to be cut multiple times, that shows that they feel the need to make sure it's as perfectly shuffled as possible to ensure no...funny business is had."

"Or I just like the number three," said the voice weakly with a failed attempt at a laugh.

"Indeed," acknowledged the man, amused. "I have a feeling that I'll be learning a lot more about what you're really like soon...Mr. Keitomo."

A light emerged from above and Keitomo was illuminated, strapped to a chair, face heavily beaten and bleeding. Despite this, his expression was very defiant and ready for anything.

Ten hours previous, Tonen Keitomo had a much kinder and calmer expression on his uninjured face. He and much of the rest of Class 1-B were huddled around a pair of tables. Sitting across from one another in the chairs was Eri and Kuroda, arms extended and almost touching as they were doing a game of slaps.

Both ladies looked confident as gazed at their opponents eyes. The classmates that were around them were eager to see who was going to fail first. In this round, Kuroda had to try and slap Eri's hands before she could avoid it.

"I'm waiting, Kuroda," said Eri, confidence rich in her voice.

"I bet you are," answered back Kuroda, voice just as full of confidence.

Eri's eyes weren't just fixed on Kuroda's eyes, but her whole body, she was seeing her as a whole so she could determine the slightest twitch. Sure enough, Eri saw Kuroda's shoulder tense and she immediately pulled away, but Kuroda's hands didn't move. This amused Kuroda greatly.

"Oh...I'm sorry...did you expect me to attack because of that shoulder twitch? My bad."

Eri bit her tongue and swallowed some pride, "Well played, Kuroda."

"Why do you think I challenged you, Eri? I know you've been working on how to read people for certain situations and thus your body language senses would be off the-" Quick as a flash she slapped Eri's hands before she could react, "Charts."

The others reacted in surprise and awe as Kuroda had gotten the better of Eri, which is something many of them didn't expect.

"Dang it, we played again, Kuroda."

"Don't feel bad, that trick won't work twice on you, right?"

"Right, and now it's my turn."

"I'm at your mercy."

The ladies swapped hand positions and the game continued. The others watched and talked as it happened.

"That was impressive, wouldn't you agree, sister?" asked Ryu as he watched the matches.

Ryo nodded, "Indeed, brother, I should've expected Kuroda to try something."

"Kuroda's not easily intimidated, that gave her an advantage," noted Tonen behind the two. "Most of us wouldn't dare challenge Eri because of her copycat talents, but Kuroda sees it as a fun challenge. She's not someone who gets flustered or frustrated easily. That's why she's our class rep."

"Don't you forget it, Tonen!" called out Kuroda as the game continued.

"Wouldn't dream of it, K-Rep."

The game inched forward and Eri got a sudden slap on Kuroda's hands, making her wince before they swapped positions once again.

Many of the remaining ladies of Class 1-B were huddled behind Kuroda and cheering her on when appropriate.

"This game slaps," joked Fenella.

"Bet that pun came in hand-y," ribbed Ebirima.

The two snickered softly, Hana was next to them and rolled her eyes, "Do you two ever stop with the puns?"

Fenella poked Hana repeatedly to egg her on, "Come on, Shifty...lighten up."

"I'm fine, thanks for asking, I'd just rather show support for Kuroda than have to hear your puns throughout this. Right, Kanagita?"

"Huh?" asked Kanagita, who didn't her name would be called. "Oh, um, I don't mind the puns, I do want to support Kuroda though."

"Ok, we'll stop," relented Ebirima putting her hands up in surrender.

On the other side, many of the guys watched curiously as the intense game picked up speed with each person getting quick victories over the other.

Oshibu watched the match with great curiosity, and smirked as the speed picked up, "I'd win this easily if I were playing."

"Your Quirk doesn't work that way and you know it," said Anno next to him.

"Speed travels throughout my body, all I have to know is the destination and I can move myself there. Evolution my dear shark!"

"If you say so."

"Of course I say so! Now, the real question is are you going to try and so your strength test against Kanagita in her brick form?"

Anno tried to contain a laugh at the suggestion, "That would be foolish in all the ways that matter, and sharks aren't fools."

"Alright, I'll bite," put forth Ikaim, "why not? You've challenged her in strength whenever you could, why not now?"

"Because this isn't about strength, it's about texture. Shark skin is tough, but it ain't as tough as brick."

Ikaim and Oshibu thought about it for a bit and then after picturing Kanagita's brick form slapping their hands they realized the truth behind the statement and muttered in acknowledgment of it while Anno merely shook his head in annoyance.

Not too far from them, a vibration came from Wasuke and he pulled out his phone, "Oh dear. Everyone! We're going to be late for class if we don't finish soon. Ladies? Finish it up please."

Eri smirked, "Ok."

She pulled a similar tensing move on Kuroda that she had done to her before, making Kuroda retract her hands too soon, and when she placed them back on top of Eri's her foe swung around and slapped them. Securing her win.

"Dang it," said Kuroda with a sigh as she shook her hands to get the pain out of them. "Nice one, Eri, using my trick against me."

"Like you said, body language. I look forward to the rematch, Kuroda."

"Glad you're already accepting there'll be one. But, that's another time, you heard Wasuke, let's get going Class 1-B! I won't be held responsible for us being late!"

"Except in this case it would be your fault because we had to learn about the time from Shield Hero instead you, our representative," teased Tonen while sticking out his tongue in jest.

"Pray we never face off in a game of slaps, Tonen."

"I'm all a quiver."

They both stuck their tongues out at one another and then with the majority of their class they headed to their homeroom.

Thankfully for all involved, they were able to get there on time. Angel Wings greeted them and once school started they went through their usual routine of being told the plans for the day and then classes starting.

By this point in time, Tonen and his classmates had gotten used to what UA had to offer in most respects. From the various teachers that they had, to the kind of physical and mental exercises that they did to test their abilities and thought processes for Pro-Hero work and so on, they had become more aware of what was expected of them and how to try to grow to be the heroes they each wanted to be.

After lunch ended, they proceeded back to their class where Angel Wings again waited for them.

"Everyone have a good lunch?" she asked with a happy smile upon her face.

The class answered in kind and a wave of noise resulted and made their teacher laugh.

"I'll take that as a general 'yes'. Now, I noted earlier that we might have a potential special class today depending on certain factors. Well I checked in with the teacher heading the project and they say they are ready. So, leave your materials here, and follow me."

With a motion of her hand she beckoned everyone to fall in behind her and that's exactly what they did. Eventually, they ended up in the gym, which greatly surprised the students as they were in their uniforms still and not their gym clothes.

As they entered, Tonen and many of the others looked around for any sign of what they might be going up against.

"I don't see anything different about the gym," noted Hana.

"Perhaps that is the point!" suggested Wasuke, "To lure us into a false sense of security, and then test our wits as we fight an unknowable situation."

Kanagita shivered at the thought, "I hope not, those kinds of surprises are the worst."

"I'm with Kanagita on that," said Azujima, and the two smiled to one another, happy that they weren't alone in having certain fears.

Kuroda put a hand on Kanagita's shoulder to show support, "If that was the case, we'd help get you through it."

"Besides, with your senses Azu, you'd be able to hear or see it before us," added Tonen before realizing something. "Oh, how are your sensory gadgets? I know that you've been going into The Tinker a lot to get them adjusted."

Azu smiled again but this time with true happiness. Thanks to The Tinker he not only had a pair of earbuds to dull his hearing, but a set of glasses that allowed him to dull how far he could see, as well as slightly dampen his smell through the parts that rested on his nose.

"We're getting there, even he was surprised by how supercharged my senses are if you remember. But I'm loads better than I was a little while ago and they're easy to adjust for when I need to have my senses at full power. Thanks for taking me to him, TK."

"Happy to help, Azu. Just remember, if I'm ever in trouble I'll be tapping out SOS so make sure to have your hearing on full blast when that happens."

"Let's just hope it doesn't happen here."

"Well nothing seems off here, so perhaps we'll be doing nothing major."

"An incorrect assumption," came a voice.

The class and Angel Wings turned and at the other entrance to the gym floated in Big Brain, his demeanor as nonplussed as ever.

"Oh great, IQ..." muttered Tonen. Which got many of the others near him to laugh.

"What was that?"

"Nothing! Just surprised to see you, Professor Quo."

"...I see..."

Professor Quo went to Angel Wings and gave her a slight nod of the head, "I can take it from here, Tsubasa."

Angel Wings answered his gesture with a small salute, "Great! I have to take care of some things anyway. Class, I look forward to hearing how you did here. I'll talk with you all at the end of the day."

With a flap of her wings she rose up and soared away. A clearing of a throat quickly got the class to look back at the teacher that remained in the room.

Quo looked over them with a stern eye, "Class 1-B, so far you've been pushing your physical talents to certain extremes. And while many of those required mental pushes as well, I proposed to our Principal that we do something more...thought-provoking. So today, we're going to do something never done before at UA."

He pressed a button on the arm of his chair and a series of noises caught the ears of the students. Many tensed up as they wondered if Wasuke's prediction was about to come true. To their surprise though, all that happened was a series of tiles in the gyms' walls opened up and projectors popped out of them. Said projectors turned on and all of a sudden the gym was bathed in a blue glow, one that made them all feel like they were in a digital world. The change in venue though didn't faze Professor Quo.

"These projectors are emitting a holographic area for us to work in. This is a personal project that I created alongside the head of the development studio, Yaka Daisaburo. The test you will be doing today is thus..."

Quo pressed another button on the chair and the ground area of the projection shifted and started to grow in place. The students backed up when shapes started to form, but they realized soon they were in no danger as they were just projections. Eventually, the movement stopped and they found themselves looking at a projection of a familiar city landscape. It was of their training area outside.

"I will be dividing you up into teams, 6 of 3 members, and the last with 2. Then using my personal computer I'll devise scenarios that will test your ability to think through a situation and use your powers to save lives or defeat villains based on information provided."

"Is that a way of asking us to test our cleverness?" pondered Goya with a smug smirk on his face.

"If you wish to be basic about it, then yes, but I seem to recall you saying multiple times that you AREN'T basic, Goya Ramasu."

Tonen, Azujima and many others snickered at the backhand their teacher just gave Goya, who was seething at the insult. Quo cleared his throat again to get them to stop.

"Focusing back on the task at hand. Your teams will be given a scenario and then you'll work step by step to see how you would solve each problem. With every step that you take though, the simulation will update various factors based on a complex algorithm I created to predict most eventualities and responses. Your moves matter, and you'll be graded based on how those moves play out."

Eri was amused by this, "So we're seeing how we'd handle a situation...without having to be in it physically..."

"Correct, Ms. Ogata," he acknowledged with a nod. "While your other teachers would want you to do this physically in the field, when things go wrong there, it's hard to think of the big picture. Not to mention, there is a severe risk of injury. Also, this simulation will give us resources and participants via villains and scenarios that aren't openly available to us right now, so thus we'll be able to truly give a wide range of scenarios and not have all of you think you know what's coming."

Chuya raised her hand, "Professor, the last team will be at a disadvantage though, correct?"

"In a way, however, as this is the first time we'll be doing such a project, the difficulty for each group will be tailored to be difficult...yet not impossible. Should this prove valuable though, future tests will put you at greater odds, as that has happened in the world outside these walls. Now, anymore questions, or shall we begin?"

Class 1-B looked at one another for a bit and then shook their heads in reply.

"Excellent, now let's see who the first team is..."

A holographic projection emerged with profiles of the students. They were shuffled up and three were shown.

"The first group is Hana Yasuyomi, Oshibu Noka, and Tonen Keitomo. The rest of you can stand over on the side of the gym and don't try and interfere with the test. Your time will come."

The class started to disperse, Azujima gave a thumbs up to his friend, "Good luck, TK!"

"Thanks, Azu. I got a good pairing. Hana's smart and Oshibu...well, it could've been worse. I could've been paired with The Soldier again."

"Soldier? Is that my nickname now?" asked a voice.

Tonen's face hardened as he turned and saw Chuya looking at him with a familiar glare, "Seemed appropriate. Oh! You don't like it! I'll think of a better one...oh wait! I don't have to...cause we're not friends, right?"

"Hmph, right," grunted Chuya as she turned to leave.

"You should take heart, Soldier."

"Why's that?"

"You only have the second-worst nickname in the class. I don't technically have one for Goya, I just call him a dick."

Azujima and certain other classmates who heard this snickered. Chuya grunted again and walked away, Azujima followed behind her but gave another thumbs up to Tonen before fading beyond the projection.

"We're waiting, Tonen Keitomo," noted Quo with clear annoyance.

"Right! Sorry!" called back Tonen as he moved towards Hana and Oshibu.

Oshibu couldn't help but show his confidence in his posture as he waited for the test to begin, "Doesn't matter if it's physical or holographic, my powers will help us get done in a snap."

"Calm down, Speedster."

"That's such a basic nickname! I'm more of a blitzer anyway."

"Then make that your hero name."

Oshibu made to respond, but thought about it and was pleased, "Great idea, thanks."

"Don't mention it," replied Tonen as he restrained a chuckle.

"Guys, please focus," pleaded Hana, "we're the first ones up, which means we can be the first to fail and none of us want that."

"Right you are, Shifty. Thank you for keeping us in line. That's why you're our Vice-Rep."

"Oh gosh, I'm glad that's not my nickname. That's a terrible moniker."

"If you all are done," overrode Quo, annoyance plastered even more on his face, "then we can get started. Stand still as the projection scans you and the data compiles."

No sooner had he finished that sentence than beams of light came down and scanned the three of them. As it did, virtual boards stating who they are, their powers, and various stats about them appeared.

"This is the data we've collected on you based on the tests and exercises you've done so far at UA. It's not going to be 100% accurate, but it'll be enough for a test run such as this, and the computer will create a scenario that'll best test your abilities and how you would handle such a situation. Are you ready?"

Tonen looked to Hana, who nodded to him, and he turned to Oshibu who just adjusted his shades with a smirk, "We're as ready as we will be, Professor."

"Very well, let the simulation...begin."

The virtual area shifted all around them, and eventually a large-scale projection was made. In it they saw rendered holographic versions of themselves, as well as a set of four people. Three of whom were tied up, and a fourth holding a gun to them. The area was outside on a street.

Igasato Quo hovered just behind the main rendered area so he could have an overwatch perspective. He typed up a few things before looking back at the three, "Your scenario is thus. You have a hostage situation after a robbery gone wrong. The villain in question has three people bound and has a gun ready to kill them. Your mission objective is to go and save as many of these people as possible and contain the threat."

"That's...a pretty intense scenario," admitted Hana, slightly nervous.

Tonen made a noise of acknowledgment before gazing at the renders of them, "Professor? How do we get our...uh...Avatars...to move?"

"A good question. You will simply tell me what you want one of them to do, and I'll have the program do just that. It'll render in real time what happens and the actions that happen right after. Understand?"

"Yeah, sounds simple enough, ok, first we should-"

"Blitz him and get this over with in a flash!" burst out Oshibu with a pose, "Have me do a speed burst towards him and land just behind him with gun in hand."

"No, don't!" called out Hana.

Quo smirked and typed on his chair, "As you wish."

Before it could be stopped, the rendering of Oshibu went into a very typical pose for him and blinked out of sight, but instead of landing right in the spot Oshibu wanted, his Avatar bounced off of a barrier that surrounded the four people, knocking him to the ground.

"Attempt unsuccessful. Your speed was blocked and now the villain is angry, and decides to show how serious he is."

The render of the villain moved their gun to one of the hostages and shot one in the leg, many in the class recoiled at this.

Oshibu was livid, "What the heck? You didn't tell us that he was a villain with powers!"

"And you'll know every detail of every situation as you go into it? I think not. Many heroes don't know what is coming for them when they go out into the field, especially with so many Quirks out there that we don't know about. So don't get mad at me because you rushed in AND DIDN'T DO THE TASK REQUIRED OF YOU! USE YOUR HEAD FOR ONCE!"

Quo's anger reverberated throughout the room, and the students were not expecting that. Hana was the first to regain her composure, "If you had listened to him, he said that we were fighting a villain, not a thug or basic robber. That proved he had a Quirk. We should've tried to figure it out nonchalantly instead of speeding forth for style points!"

Tonen pointed to Hana with a glare to Oshibu, "What she said. I was going to have us try and gauge the situation before doing anything else."

Oshibu's had to restrain himself from retorting loudly, "Ok, fine! My bad. So what now?"

Tonen and Hana looked at one another and shook their heads at Oshibu's action. Tonen gazed at the renderings and turned to Quo, "Are we allowed to see his barrier? Or is it really invisible?"

"This villain is actually one in our databanks," answered the teacher, "his barrier is only visible when impacted by something, else it's invisible. He was a top villain for some time due to this."

Hana tried to think of options, "Ok, so we know it's there surrounding them all, but we can't see it, and we can't risk trying to break it. He'll go and hurt more people."

"True, and he's already angry so we have to be careful with our next move," Tonen noted as he surveyed the situation. "He'll be antsy if he sees anything untoward, so an overt use of Quirks will likely get him to hurt another hostage, possibly fatally."

"Oh! But I can go under it with my Quirk! It's just like the USJ, all I have to do is touch the ground since we're outside and I can vanish into it, get through the barrier and then take him out."

"Nice one, Shifty! Wait, if you transform now he'll know something's up."

"Then have her get out of his sight," muttered Oshibu, still annoyed at what happened before.

"What?" asked Hana confused.

"This is a hostage situation, right? Which means he wants something. We ask what he wants, have Hana go off somewhere to 'get it', and she can use her Quirk to get inside. She drops the barrier, I can blitz in to save the hostages."

Tonen looked at Hana, who was surprised at the logical suggestion and nodded in approval, Tonen did likewise, "Sounds like a plan. See what happens when you slow down? Professor, our next move is to ask what the villain wants."

Quo typed up the data on the computer and rendered the scenario. Voices didn't emerge, but the intent was there, "He wants to go free, and a helicopter to take him and the hostages away to ensure his safety."

"Why is it always a helicopter?"

"Classics never go out of style," joked Hana

"That's not a pun!" shouted Ebirima.

Fenella joined in and shouted out, "Yeah, you should've said the suggestion was really FLY, Shifty!"

"Will you two stop?" begged Hana.

"Yes, stop, now!" ordered Quo before turning back to the three. "Ahem, what is your next move?"

"Have me agree to make a call and get the helicopter, move me out of sight, and have me use my Quirk to fade into the ground and then emerge inside the barrier to subdue the villain."

"Just a sec, that's several moves, let me program them all..."

The render played, and the various moves went on as was relayed, and to their joy, the idea worked as Hana's Avatar was then seen struggling inside the barrier with the villain. Quo read the data as it was relayed to him.

"You have the villain tied up, but because of his larger frame you're struggling to keep him from hurting the other hostages. Think fast."

"Well since he's distracted by Shifty, I can step in," said Tonen with a smirk. "Have me do a focused air blast at the barrier. It won't break more than likely, but it'll get his attention."

He looked at Hana, who understood what he was teasing out, "Right! And then when he focuses on Tonen's power, I'll knock him out."

"And with the barrier dropped, I'll blitz in and get the hostages away before anything else goes wrong," finished Oshibu.

Impressed, Quo typed up the actions and the render played. Tonen's Avatar unleashed a powerful air blast that revealed the size of the barrier and indeed got the villains attention. Distracted by the new threat, Hana's Avatar delivered a blow to the back of the head, and the barrier dropped, which allowed Oshibu's Avatar to get the hostages away to safety.

Scenario complete, the render dropped, and the three turned to their teacher, who looked at them rather blankly.

"Mission complete, and now...for your grade," he stated with a slightly ominous tone. He typed some things on his chair and a projection similar to their stats sheet from before arrived. Hana and Tonen's scores were the same at a B+, Oshibu's was a C. "I shouldn't have to state why the grades are thus. You did complete the mission without a fatality, but, a hostage got injured severely. Oshibu Noka, you jeopardized everything with that bull-headed move. Don't do that again. Hana Yasuyomi, you did well with your adaptation Quirk, and that is too be praised. As was your clear thinking on how the villain would notice Hana's Quirk, Tonen Keitomo, and distracting him to ensure the final blow was a nice touch. You may go back to the rest of your class now."

They all gave a nod of acknowledgment and left the area. As they did, Quo shuffled up the remaining classmates and brought up three more names.

"Next up is Eri Ogata, Anno Mako, and Doza Risuke."

The three of them stepped forward and like before, they were scanned and their stats were presented to them.

Anno was particularly enthused with this as he pounded his hands together, "Oh yeah, look at that strength stat, that's the power of a shark!"

"You do realize you're not actually going to do anything, right?" pointed out Eri with a slight look of disbelief.

"Oh...yeah, right."

"Very smooth, Anno," consoled Doza. "But hey, I'm sure your virtual version will be able to show off its strength well."

"Right! Bring on the villain! My avatar will be broken by the shark!"

"You won't get the chance..." muttered Quo as he typed on his chair.

The simulation warped and weaved and the Avatars of the three found themselves in a very different situation than they the last group. All three were knelt down on the ground, people surrounding them, and their environment wasn't a city, but somewhere underground.

"Your scenario is thus. Your team was sent to rescue some people trapped in a cave-in within a mine. You were able to get them out of the lower corridors and into the main tunnel near the exit. However, another cave-in occurred and you're blocked on both sides by massive boulders that reach up to the ceiling..."

The simulation expanded and showed the group were indeed blocked on both sides by mounds of rocks. All three of them in real life groaned in their own way at their virtual predicament. Quo smirked but continued.

"...you are to get out of the tunnel with everyone alive."

Eri looked at the virtual situation for a bit before turning around to face Quo, "Professor, may I ask a question about the scenario?"

"Depending on the question I may refuse to answer, but go ahead."

"Is it safe to assume that the cave is still unstable due to the cave-in?"

"Yes, that is very fair to say given your current virtual state."

"...and the oxygen level?"

Quo smirked again, but he did it in a kinder way as he was hoping Eri would ask that, "A very good question. Yes, because of how tight the cave-in is, your oxygen level isn't the best. The longer you dawdle, the harder it will be for you to breathe. Especially with that amount of people in your group and the small space you're in. I do believe that is all the answers I can give you Eri Ogata. Begin your mission."

Eri turned back around to her teammates, who were anxious at the turn of events, especially Anno, "This is no good for me! If I try and break through with my shark strength I'll cause a cave-in and kill us all!"

Doza rubbed his arm subconsciously, "And if I try and resonate all the rocks it'll have a similar effect. These aren't just scenarios for us to go through, they're ones that limit what we can do with our Quirks!"

"No doubt the Professor's intention," Eri noted. "Here my muscle memory is almost useless unless we get free, and even then. But, unlike last group, at least we realized the problem and didn't rush in. So let's think this clearly...but somewhat quickly as the oxygen will no doubt be depleting every minute we dawdle."

The three looked at the scenario, and both Eri and Anno walked around it to try and get a better perspective on things and see what could be done.

Anno went into deep thought about tactics, "I may be a shark, but all of us have to breathe, we need to make an opening first, but how do we do that without causing a cave-in?"

Eri's face went alight with revelation, "We're thinking too big! You and Doza were thinking about creating a big hole, when instead we need to make a small enough one!"

"Come again?" asked Doza, confused.

"It's simple. We have Anno here use his shark strength to carefully take smaller rocks from the edges of the piles and then hand them to you to vaporize with your touch."

"Oh...cause if we do it one at a time, we won't risk setting everything off."

"And we'll create a hole to allow us to breathe more and give us some time," finished Eri before facing Quo once again, "Think you can type that up Professor?"

Quo was pleased with the plan and nodded, "We'll see how this goes."

He typed up the steps and the projection rendered them. Anno's Avatar turned into his full-on shark form and careful took loose rocks from the side of the pile and handed them to Doza to go and use his resonance on. It was a slow strategy, but it was a working one. But, after a minute or two of this the projection showed the pile fall down a bit, sending rocks hurtling towards the group. Anno stopped them, but it was close. However, the slide did go and open up a section at the top.

"Your action was successful in most ways. You did cause a rock slide, but Anno's strength prevented harm to the group. Also, you did create an opening at the top and so now you have plenty of oxygen to breathe in. Think of your next move carefully."

He gestured for them to continue and the three went to analyzing the situation once again."

"Alright, so that kind of worked," Doza said with a shrug. "You know, aside from almost hitting people with rocks."

"Shark strength with the save, you're welcome," boasted Anno with a flex of the arm.

Eri waved them down, "Calm down boys, it was a calculated risk, and we did get an opening...an opening... Anno? How big vertically would say that opening is?"

Anno gazed at the hole at the top, "Oh...a little over a foot, why?"

"Think I could fit through there?"

"Maybe, but climbing up that pile is a no go, and even with your copycat abilities I doubt you can jump 10+ feet in the air."

A sly grin grew on her face, "So that's why you'll throw me through the hole."

"What? That's nuts!"

Doza wasn't sold either, "Eri, if that virtual version of him misses you'll go splat and likely cause more rocks to fall. Or, we might have misjudged and you could get stuck, which would also suck."

She waved him down again, "I know how to get out of tight spaces, trust me. If I can get to the other side, I can be more useful. Besides, do either of you have a better idea?"

Anno and Doza looked at one another and shook their heads. Eri was pleased by this and turned once more to her professor.

"Please have Anno's Avatar throw me at the hole at the top of the pile. I hope that my Avatar knows all my acrobatic skills that I know I can do..."

"I'm sure she does, I try and update my data on the students as much as possible," pointed out Quo as typed in the new moves.

The projection rendered and the Avatar for Anno picked up the Avatar of Eri with one hand and aimed her carefully at the space in the pile before throwing her at it. Sure enough, Eri's Avatar angled her body to be like a spear and she easily made it through the top and rolled as she reached the ground, totally unharmed.

"Success."

"Excellent, I know what to do next, Professor, have my Avatar start removing rocks from the middle of the pile and tossing them to the side."

"As you wish."

"Won't that cause another rockslide?" wondered Doza.

"That's what I'm counting on," stated Eri with a confident smile.

Eri's Avatar went to work, and in no time flat her prediction came true and another falling of rocks happened. But this time, it rolled in the direction of Eri's Avatar and not towards the rest of the group. Furthermore, the space at the top of the pile was now much longer and wider.

At this, Anno's face lit up with inspiration, "Oh! I get it, you needed the space open more so we could send Doza over, right?"

"Such a smart, shark."

"Dang straight! Ok, have my Avatar toss Doza over, professor!"

"Very well," acknowledged Quo.

The avatar did yet another through. And while not as graceful a landing, Doza got through.

Seeing his avatar on the other side, the situation clicked in his brain, "Gotcha. Professor, have start resonating the rocks on my side, while Anno moves them away on his."

"Two-pronged strategy, I approve."

With the new orders in, Doza, Eri, and Anno's avatar's went to work and soon the pile was dispersed without any further issues. The path clear, the group of miners and workers rose and was able to exit the tunnel. The simulation shut down when it happened as the scenario was done. They all turned to their teacher who was gazing at them with clear admiration.

"Mission complete, and now...for your grade," he said as he typed one last time on his chair. Projections came forth and all them of them got an A grade. "You all worked well together and thought with true clarity, you should be proud. There were a few mistakes, but none that seriously dropped your grade. For example, you should not have taken rocks from the side as those are more unstable spots than the core of the pile. Second, the throwing of Doza over the pile was unnecessary as it was in a good position to be taken down from where you were. However, as noted, these are small gripes and merely something to think about for the future. All in all you did well, now go back in with the rest. The next pairing is..."

For the next hour the rest of the class had to go and partake in these simulated exercises. Each one different from the last and tested the students to the limit in certain ways. By the time they were done they had all passed with various grades.

Quo shut down the simulation in full and looked at them all with his usual blank expression, "For a first time with this kind of test you all did rather well. Some better than others, but still, rather well. I will inform the Principal of the success of this and suggest this to be used with all classes going forward. When the time comes to do this test again, except a more even more...rigorous test. You are dismissed."

With a small nod he turned his hover chair and went away, leaving the class watching somewhat confused at the blunt dismissal.

As they left, they immediately talked to one another about the scenarios they were put in. Tonen was with the Twins, Azujima and Eri as they talked.

"So that was something," Tonen joked.

"I actually enjoyed it," Eri noted with a small shrug, "mental tests like these are important. And strategy sessions are invaluable for us working towards eventual field work."

"You would say that, Copycat."

"I meant it! Look, I focus on my physical aptitude and skills all the time, and it works for me, but I work just as hard on learning how to do mental things like seeing a situation through and how to read people for situations like this, for when my powers AREN'T enough."

"And that's why you're one of the best here and at the top of the class in many ways."

He gave her a genuine smile and this took her aback but she smiled back and nodded in thanks.

Azujima though wasn't smiling, he was more relieved than anything, "I'm just glad these weren't real physical tests, I was in a towering inferno!"

"Yeah, that was a bit intense, Azu," admitted Tonen with a more strained smile to try and be supportive.

"But thanks to you using your senses and working well with Chuya and Iha you pulled through!" praised Eri.

This didn't comfort Azujima, "Yeah, well...Iha was easy to work with...Chuya not so much. She clearly didn't want to listen to me. Probably because I'm friends with TK."

Hearing that angered Tonen, "I'll straighten her out later, but she listened eventually, so that's what counts I guess."

"Our test was no picnic either, sister," stated Ryu.

"Oh yes, a whiteout snowstorm that we had to get out of, brother?" added Ryo with a shiver. "If it weren't for my drones we wouldn't have had it so easy!"

As she thought about it, Eri's expression grew very curious, "You two were paired together again...and in fact, you were the solo group of two...how do you keep doing that?"

"It's a gift," said the Twins with a beaming smile.

Tonen and Azujima laughed at the comment while Eri just shook her head cause she knew that she wasn't going to get a good answer.

They went back to homeroom where Angel Wings awaited them and the rest of the day continued. Once class was done, many stayed and talked for a bit before departing. Azujima and Tonen were some of the last to leave and as they entered the main hallway Tonen saw Angel Wings down a ways talking on the phone. Her expression seemed tense and this concerned him.

"Azu, head back to the dorm, I want to talk with Angel Wings for a bit," he said with small motion of the hand.

"I can stay if you want me to, TK," suggested Azujima.

"Nah, it's fine, go ahead."

Azujima shrugged and left and Tonen headed towards his teacher. As he did, her conversation reached her ears, "...are you sure? Ok, I'll find someone to pick it up soon. Just please have it ready, ok? Yes, we'll be there in an hour before you close. Thanks..."

She ended the call and sighed heavily before turning round to see Tonen looking at her, "Something wrong?"

"Oh! Tonen, you surprised me, I didn't hear you coming."

"Probably because you were lost in that phone call."

"Oh, you heard that? Darn. Well, that tech store you picked up stuff from last time? We were supposed to pick up some key supplies tomorrow, but something has come up and they'll be closed for the rest of the week. If we can't pick it up today then we'll have to wait until next week and now I have to go and find someone to pick it up because me and the teachers have to do this meeting about the Sports Festival and I-"

"I'll pick it up," interjected Tonen.

"Really? You sure?"

"I know the way, and this will save you time from trying to get someone else to do it, right? Besides, we have less than an hour to get there, and this will save you the stress of getting someone there on time."

Her face melted in relief as she looked at him, "You're a good kid, you know that?"

"How I was raised."

"And I'll be sure to thank your parents after I meet them. Thankfully, the items we need are in one box, so you'll be able to get them yourself. I do appreciate this Tonen, I owe you one."

Tonen waved it off and turned to leave, "You're a good teacher, this is me paying you back. I'll return with everything soon!"

"Just leave it on my desk in homeroom. Thanks again!"

He gave a wave as he continued on, Angel Wings left down a different corridor with a smile on her face.

A little while later, Tonen exited the tech store and thanked the owner for the stuff. The streets were busy but he was able to weave through them without much issue.

As he entered a slightly less busy area a feeling of unease washed over him. He paused and looked around to see if he could pinpoint what it was, but nothing stood out to him. People were around him but nothing that screamed danger. He shook it off and continued on.

When he turned a corner and entered a virtually empty street the feeling intensified, and no sooner did he react to it than a set of hands grabbed him from behind and he dropped the box.

At UA, a meeting of the teachers, most of them anyway, Principal Rinoda was outlining some things for the Sports Festival.

"Finally, security. We're bringing in some outside heroes to make sure nothing goes wrong as well as help with maintenance as the area inevitably gets destroyed. Any questions on that front?"

In a dark room, Tonen was tied to a chair with a bag over his head, he struggled to get out of it and thought of using his Quirk but decided against it. He knew he'd only have one shot at it and if he was too quick he'd lose the advantage. Plus, he didn't know the number of people there.

Footsteps entered his hearing range and suddenly the bag was taken off his head. A massive man stood before him, his hands adorned with brass knuckles, "Hello there, kid. I need to ask you about a card. Answer truthfully, and you won't be harmed. Don't...and you'll feel how hard my knuckles are."

Tonen scoffed, "I'm not saying anything."

"As you wish."

The man quickly dealt a blow to Tonen in the stomach, toppling him over and gasping for air.

At the teachers meeting, Rinoda continued on with the preparation talk, "Yaka is almost ready with the various things for the challenges no matter what is selected in the second round...all we need are those last set of parts. Tsuru? Did you get someone to the tech store?"

"Yes, Tonen overheard my chat and he's on it."

Rinoda smiled in appreciation of this, "Ah, how kind of him, we'll be sure to reward him later."

In the dark room, Tonen continued to be beaten by the man.

"Like I said to him, he's a good kid," said Angel Wings.

Tonen screamed in agony as the hits kept coming to him.

"Indeed," acknowledged Rinoda. "Well if there's nothing else pressing, we're done here. Let me know if anyone needs any help..."

The man reared back and decked Tonen incredibly hard in the head. He fell over in his chair once again, and was knocked out cold.

*credits*