My Hero Academia - Under Pressure - Season 2 - Episode 21 - Written Words, Real Dangers

In an office, Big Brain was typing quickly on a virtual keyboard. He was coding something at an incredible rate, and just when he finished with one thing, he would immediately work on the next. His face was unflinching in the face of all the elaborate works he was doing. Because for him, this was child's play given his vast intelligence.

A holographic screen popped up from his chair and upon it was Principal Ayatsune, "Igasato."

"Rinoda," Big Brain replied without looking at the screen.

"I'm not interrupting you, am I?"

"No, I can multitask better than anyone. Are you checking up on me?"

"Yes. I know I kind of sprung this idea on you last minute, so I wanted to make sure everything will be ready by the time final exams arrive ."

"You know I love a challenge, Rinoda," Big Brain said with a very small smirk. "And I was honestly touched you wanted to use my device for the final exams given all we have done before. This is...refreshing, and my brain is very much stimulated by this."

Principal Ayatune stopped herself from laughing, "I'm glad your brain is happy. Hopefully this will deliver the challenge and intent we need to show these 1st-year students."

"Your records on them have helped me greatly with these programs, it'll be ready, just make sure I'm not disturbed for the next few hours and I'll be able to do a test run before the end of day."

"Excellent. Alert me when you're ready to do the tests, I want to be there to see them up close."

With a nod from each the call ended and Big Brain went back to work.

Elsewhere at UA High was Tonen Keitomo. The school day was over and so he retired to his room to do some drawing. Tonen felt he hadn't done drawings in forever given all that had gone on with the internship and other matters. So he went to work and did various pieces. Including doing one of Sparky, as well as him and Sparky teaming up.

Drawing put him at ease, even if only for the time being. He kept at this for a while until his phone went off. As he checked it, he realized it was a video call from his parents, so he put down his art materials and started the call.

"Hey guys," greeted Tonen with a smile.

Shitaka and Soyuki were on the other end and smiled at their son, "Hey Tonen!"

"What's going on? I wasn't expecting a call from you tonight."

"Is it wrong for us to talk to our son?" asked Soyuki in a very motherly way.

"You know it's not, but usually you give me a little heads up is all. It's like...oh, this about what happened at the internship, isn't it?"

Soyuki gave a nervous laugh and looked away as she knew she was caught, so Shitaka took point, "We just wanted to check in on you again because the last time was when you told us what happened and...it was a bit of a tense conversation."

"Heh, that's an understatement," joked Tonen. "I felt mom was going to race over to UA to try and protect me."

"I was tempted, for sure," noted Soyuki seriously. "It was bad enough when you were taken by those villains, but then to encounter one randomly on your internship? I don't like it Tonen. And while I know you are capable, this is different."

"I know, mom, I know."

"Are you ok, TK?" wondered his father.

"Honestly? I'm just trying to get through the next few days. Final exams. Heh. Seems so small a worry now given what I've already gone through."

"I know a few heroes who said they wished they could face final exams every day rather than some of the villains that are out there."

"I bet! Heh... I just...I wasn't..."

"It's ok Tonen, take at your own pace," encouraged his mother.

"Before I came to UA, all I thought about was trying to be the Pro-Hero I wanted to be. To be more than many of the heroes I know are out there, including some I've met personally. It seemed like that would've been my biggest obstacle. But now? With what I've learned about The Deck? Their focus on me and the members having orders to keep me alive? It's hard to think of anything else as mattering. While it's grim, I can't help but wonder..."

"If you'll even make it out of school alive?" finished Shitaka.

Tonen lowered his head to hide a small smile, "Yeah, something like that. And please don't say I can't think like that mom, it's all I'm thinking about since Mr. Ishii."

Soyuki hung her head in sadness at what her son was going through, "Trust me, I would love to say that you should just focus on schoolwork and all that, but I know you can't. You should never have been put in any of those positions, Tonen, especially that kidnapping."

"Come on, mom, don't sell heroes short. You've all been put in situations where the odds were grim. Remember the Okinawa Incident? Or that time you and Uncle Brazen had to hold off that multiplication bad guy until Blaze Blue showed up?"

"The difference is we knew backup was coming! You didn't."

"No, I did," corrected Tonen. "I knew that the others would realize I was gone and come for me, and I told Azu what to do if I was lost, and sure enough, that's how he found me. Sure, I didn't know if he would remember that, but I had to have faith, right?"

He smiled at his parents, who smiled and laughed back at their son's positivity. Shitaka was especially happy with this, "Well son, now I guess I need to turn your words back on you."

"Huh?"

"It's hard what you're going through. And I while I don't know exactly what you're going through because I'm a Support Hero, I can tell you that I've had that fear for your mother going out into the fray many a time. Especially in the early days of our marriage before you were born, she and Brazen were out there fighting villains almost every day it seemed. All I could do was just wait for her messages, and for her to come home and let me know that she was fine. It was hard."

"But then..." Soyuki chimed in, "I reminded him that I chose this life, as did he. And we knew the risks going in."

"Exactly, and while it's true you were more worried about being a 'different kind of hero', you knew that this meant you'd have to face villains. And while not something that happens regularly, it was possible you'd find one that would be fixated on you for one reason or another. It just so happens that it came to pass far sooner than it should. But the point is, you need to have faith that you'll get through this."

"But dad-" started Tonen.

"No, no 'but' son," cut off his father. "We raised you to have confidence in your skills and to be smart about what to do with them. Right now, your focus needs to be on what's inside UA High, not what's outside it. Yes, The Deck is out there, but they've also been out there for years. It's not just on you to worry about them. And while your final exams might not seem the most important thing right now, if you are to face The Deck one day, you'll need to be at your best to handle them, right?"

"...right."

"So focus on your final exams, do well in them. Listen to your teachers and let them train you however they feel will make you stronger, make you more prepared. This is the path you need to take right now. Understand?"

Tonen gave a small laugh and nodded, "Yeah, I understand, thanks guys."

"We love you, Tonen," Soyuki said with small tears in her eyes, "and whenever you need us, even if just to talk like this, we're here for you."

"I know, and I'm grateful."

"Have a good rest of your night son, let us know how the final exams go," said his father with a wave goodbye.

Tonen waved back at them and ended the call. He smiled more widely this time, he was lucky to have parents like them, and he knew it. He also knew that just like most parents are, they read the situation perfectly.

Principal Ayatsune had warned him not to internalize things, and he did his best when he talked with his fellow 1-B students about their internships. But when he was alone, he felt the anger, the pain, the doubt creeping in.

In that moment, it hit him, he was relapsing to how he felt after he was kidnapped. Nothing to focus on but that. But that wasn't true as his dad pointed out, he needed to focus on getting through his final exams, on getting stronger so that he could be the hero he wanted to be. And if he dwelled on The Deck, he wouldn't be able to do that.

With a smile still on his face, he went back to drawing. But this time, he drew his parents, smiling at him just as they had done in their call. Seeing this, Tonen felt they were right there with him, and so he carefully pulled the page out and propped it up on his desk. That way if he needed encouragement, he only needed to look at the photo to remind him of his parents being there for him.

After that, he grabbed one of his school books and dove into studying, because he knew he needed to be sharp for what was to come.

The next day brought a certain sense anticipation amongst the 1-B students. Though not exactly in the positive way for all.

While some students were fine in their preparations for the final exams in terms of the written exams, others were heavily dreading it. And others were trying to find the small bits of hope to cling on to, such as with Azujima.

"Taking tests was the worst for me before UA," he admitted to Tonen, Iha and the Twins as they waited for class to start.

"Why's that?" wondered the Twins

"Think about it, when you're doing a test, your stress levels spike, and then you try and do certain things to keep yourself calm. But even then, you emit things through your body that I could hear or smell. Like stress sweat."

"Oh yeah, I definitely had that at times," acknowledged Tonen with a chuckle.

"Really, TK?"

"Yeah! My parents had to help me find a rhythm to get through test times at my grade school. By the time I was ready for UA I was good, but at times I'd be sweating bullets. Then the sweat would get onto the paper and that would stress me out even more."

"Gross," said Iha simply.

"Indeed, Up Down. What about you? Were you good at taking tests?"

"Meh."

"Yep, saw that coming. Anyway, I'm guessing you're going to be fine this time because of your dampeners, Azu?"

Azujima nodded, "Yes, and I will even use the nose one The Tinker made me. Just so I can block it all out."

"Why don't you use it all the time?" wondered The Twins once more.

"It just feels weird on my nose. The earpieces feel natural, the nosepiece doesn't. It itches, a lot, makes me want to wiggle my nose constantly."

"Fair enough. Angel Wings will give us our final preview of what to expect on the written part of the exams today, so if anyone wants to do some studying afterward to make sure we all got it, I'm game, ok?" he put out with a motion to them all.

"I'm totally in."

"We're in!" added the Twins.

"Sure," finished Iha.

Before he could praise their unity, the class door opened and Angel Wings came in, her usually happy demeanor in place for all to see.

"Good morning class!" she said to them all.

"Good morning, Angel Wings," they replied.

"Now, tomorrow, as you all hopefully remember, is the start of the two-part final exams for this semester. There will be a written exam, which will take a few days to cover all topics, and then a practical exam the day after that. You won't know the practical exam until it happens by request of the Principal. However, I am allowed to tell you that the practical exam will be individually focused. So it will not be a team or duo event like with previous practice sessions. Understood?"

"Yes, Angel Wings."

"Now, as for your written exams, it'll be covering both the general studies topics that you've done with your teachers over the semester, as well as very questions about Pro-Hero work. Including certain "what if?" scenarios and how you would handle situations that are presented to you. Each of your teachers today will be doing a light overview over everything you've learned. But, it'll be up to you to go dive deeper into your past lessons to find the things that will be on the test. The teachers will be dropping hints on what to look for, so please pay attention..."

Angel Wings gave a stern look at the class at this, ensuring they knew she was serious on this matter.

Kuroda raised her hand, "Angel Wings? I meant to ask this earlier, but what happens should we fail either the written or practical exam?"

"Ah, a good question, Kuroda," noted Angel Wings, snapping back to her usual composed state. "After the semester is over, you all and Class 1-A will be going to a special summer training session. Whether you pass or fail will determine whether you get to participate in the main function...or...whether you'll have to be playing catchup during the week. I don't recommend the later as this training session is going to be intense."

"Intense as in...?" asked Anno, genuinely curious.

"You'll see once you get there. But trust me, you'll want to be focused on just the main thing and not the side stuff. But that's for after the semester is over. Let's get started on your basic overview of the written exam topics so you'll know what to study tonight in your final prep session."

Angel Wings went into as much detail as she could about the written exams, and all the 1-B students took notes on everything they felt was relevant. As the day progressed, the students went from teacher to teacher and again took notes on the topics that would be on the written test.

By the time the day was done, the students were ready to cram as much as they could into their heads. Tonen and Kuroda took point and suggested that they divide into smaller groups with certain leaders so that they could make sure everyone got the help they wanted or needed.

Most were fine with this, but Goya and Chuya declined. When Tonen gave Chuya a look at this, as she was ducking out of being a part of the group again, she came close and said, "This isn't me being stubborn, I honestly study better alone. It's how my dad taught me, and I don't want a lot of white noise going on as I try and remember things. If you all decide to do last minute fighter training? I'm in for that, ok?"

He nodded and let her go. With now 18 of them there, Kuroda, Eri and Tonen each took five others and worked with them in various parts of the dorm where they could be apart from the others and yet hear one another talk so that they could do back-and-forth and ensure that no one got left out.

They did this well into the night until each of them were exhausted mentally. They got so focused on the written exam they didn't even think about the practical exams. But given that they had a few days to deal with that, it didn't seem like a big deal at the moment.

The next day dawned, and after a small motivational speech by Kuroda, the students of 1-B went to take on the exams.

As promised, they were very difficult, as they were being tested on not just knowledge retention, but how to define certain things beyond the basic answers that are usually given. Even some of the top students like Tonen, Ebirima, Kuroda, Eri, and Goya had troubles with certain sections.

What's more, the reason that it took days to complete the exams was because of how lengthy they were. Hence the cramming session that they did the day before, as well as the nights to follow.

By the time that the third day of tests was done, all of the students were glad it was over.

"There's no way the practical exam is harder than that," said Doza as he rested on the couch with some of the others.

"Don't make that bet, boyo," scoffed Fenella. "You know how teachers are, that was just the warmup, the practical exam will be about our Quirks, and you can bet that they won't go easy on us with that one."

"I'm with Fenella on this one," stated Eri, "it makes no sense for the written test to be so hard, and then the practical to be easy. Don't forget, we're doing that summer session soon, and Angel Wings said that would be intense. Why note that if the final exams aren't the same? Especially if we'll have to do more work if we fail?"

Oshibu gave a fake shiver at her dialogue, "Way to suck the fun out of things."

"Don't think I didn't notice you taking the tests slowly, Oshibu. Even you were cautious, as you should be for what's coming."

"...fair enough."

"Let's not depress ourselves, ok?" suggested Hana. "All we can do is prepare mentally and think about what they might want to test with us. Aside from that? We can't do anything. It does us no good to wonder what might be the test when it's clear they're going to go all out for it."

Kuroda joined Hana in this, "Right you are my No.2. We did the written stuff, and we all feel confident in it, right?"

Pretty much everyone nodded.

"Good. Then I have faith in what will happen tomorrow. So let's get some last minute food in us and rest. Tomorrow we'll take everything on as it happens. Now shove off!"

She motioned them away, and they all went to their rooms to rest and mentally prepare one last time. Tonen and Azujima locked eyes just before closing their doors, and Tonen made sure to give a thumbs-up to his friend to let him know it would be fine.

As the morning dawned, they were told to get their hero outfits from the classroom and then head into the gymnasium. This took many by surprise as they were sure they would have to go and face off against whatever in the more open areas of the battle areas. But apparently this was not the plan.

When the class entered the gymnasium, they were immediately taken aback by how it looked. It wasn't how it was before. Rather, it seemed more like a fortress. The walls, floor, and ceiling all resembled stone and there were no markings as they were the last time they were here.

"What's with the remodel?" asked Ikaim as he observed all this.

"Is this part of the exam?" added in Kanagita, suddenly worried.

"Indeed it is," came a voice.

From the other side of the gym, Big Brain emerged from the other side of the wall, again taking the students aback. Until Eri realized what was going on, "This is that simulation again, isn't it? You're going to test us mentally again?"

"Yes and no, Ms. Ogata. This is a form of the simulation you took a while back, but there are...upgrades. For example, one of you go and touch the walls that look like stone."

The closest to the wall was Hana, and she touched the wall. To her surprise, her hand didn't go through, but instead, it touched the surface and it felt like stone, "I don't understand, last time this was a hologram."

"The keyword, Ms. Yasuyomi, being 'last time'. After the success of last session, and going over things with Principal Ayatsune, I worked with Yaka in order to make not holograms, but hard light constructs."

"I'm aware of that term," stated Yasuke, getting the attention of the class. "It's the ability to literally solidify light into whatever you want it to be...within reason of course. It's not been done reliably before to my knowledge."

Big Brain nodded at this, "Indeed. Mainly because I had not put my intelligence to it. Once I figured out some issues, it was easy to do, and that brings us to your practical exam. Each of you are going to be given a scenario that will test your individual abilities. The gym will be your test area, and I've personally made programs that the hard light constructs will replicate in order to give you a realistic scenario...while allowing me to control things should it get out of hand."

Kuroda seemed put off by this, "So it'll be fake, but still very real..."

"An apt way of putting this, Ms. Fuji. Yes. It is a simulation, and I'll be able to shut it down with the press of a button. However, within the test space itself, you'll be in real danger. For example, if you are in combat with a foe, and they throw a rock at you, the hard light will make sure that you feel the rock hitting you."

"...and if it's a bullet shot at us?"

"No scenario has that, you have my word. However, had one contained that option, if it would've hit you, the simulation would shut down. In fact, if any of you are put in a death scenario, the simulation will shut down, as you'll have failed."

Goya was also uneasy at what was being described, "But what of those of us who have Quirks that need external objects for one reason or another? Such as with my psychic abilities?"

"To those who do need external things, the programs are sophisticated enough to give you everything you need. Such as terrain to work with, and items to use or shield yourself behind. That is, unless it's designed to restrict what you can do to test you further. As I said, I programmed each one to test your individual skills as well as mental abilities in the field. If you fail...it's because you allowed yourself to fail."

The lack of encouragement got many in the class nervous. Big Brain was known for being very "cold equations" and one could only imagine what he would base their individual tests on. But they were going to find out soon enough.

Big Brain noticed their uncertainty and seemed to derive joy from this, "So, who shall go first? Or should I choose randomly?"

"I'll go first!" said Anno stepping forward. "Your scare tactics don't work on sharks."

"Scare tactics? You misinterpret my meaning, but that's fine. Everyone else, go to the far wall of the gym, I'll make sure you're not affected by this test while still being able to observe Mr. Mako."

They went to the wall, and with a few presses of a button, Big Brain moved the far wall of the gym before them so that they were beyond the barrier. But as promised, they could still see Anno.

"Are you ready, Mr. Mako?"

Anno went full shark mode and pounded his fists, "Landshark is most definitely ready."

"We shall we. Your test begins...now."

Big Brain hit a few buttons on his holographic keyboard and the room instantly shifted into something else entirely. Suddenly, Anno was in a city-like area. Not unlike the training area outside of UA. The textures and sounds of everything in the projection appeared life-like, which rocked Anno for a bit until he laughed it off.

"That's it?" he said with confidence. "Put me in a city area? I've already proven I can handle things on land as well as the sea!"

"I know..." came the voice of Big Brain from all around the simulation. "That's why your challenge had to be rooted in something else. Something that makes you rethink how you fight. Tell me, can you feel that rumble?"

No sooner had he said that than the ground started to shake. He didn't know how, but it was shaking, and as he looked for the source, he was greeted by a colossal creature tearing through the nearby building and almost punching him. Anno dodged at the last second and then looked at his foe.

It stood twenty feet tall, and was an amalgamation of creatures, yet had a humanoid frame. Initially unnerved by this, Anno steeled himself and gave a roar, "I don't care what you are, you're not beating this shark!"

He lunged into the air and threw a punch right at the head of the creature with all that he had. But to his shock, the punch landed, and yet it did no damage. In fact, the creature snickered and then swatted him back down the ground, creating a crater where he landed.

"My punch did nothing? That's impossible..."

"Is it?" Big Brain's voice asked. "Never forget, we're in a world where all sorts of Quirks exist, or can be manifested in certain ways. So why not a monster that has an endurance level higher than your strength? Get clever Mr. Mako, it's about to strike again."

Sure enough, the chimera creature struck at him, but he was able to dodge once more. With a grimace on his face he fought the monster. But despite him having the ability to dodge much of the monster's attacks, his own attacks weren't working on it at all. He tried punching, kicking, and even biting with his razor sharp teeth, but it did little. His teeth did pierce the beasts' flesh, but it wasn't enough to make a major difference. Especially when the creature was able to pull Anno off of it rather easily and throw him away.

The others could only watch from their vantage point as things grew more dire for Anno. Kuroda especially wanted to help him, but she knew that it wouldn't be allowed. This was Anno's test, and he had to win on his own, or lose.

Anno's stubbornness refused to let him give up, and he attacked again and again at the chimera, but once more, nothing seemed to work.

Then, the chimera grabbed him and flung him through several buildings until he hit the far part of the simulation. He landed hard on the ground and didn't get up for a few moments.

Big Brain projected his face into the test, "I can tell you're not knocked out yet, but if you wish to stop, I will allow it."

At first, Anno didn't respond, but then he slowly got up, "A shark doesn't yield. It takes, or it dies."

The chimera sensed Anno's re-emergence and proceeded towards him.

For Anno, he had to think fast or fail, he pondered what to do, "I don't get it, how is this a test of my skills if I can't even hurt this thing? It's like it has armor I can't break! But if the rules here are similar to the ones of our previous test with this holographic thing, it can't be impossible to win. So how do I break something I can't break?"

"There's always a way you can't see, Anno," came a calm voice from his memory.

Anno flashed back to his internship, where he was under the guidance of the Pro-Hero Surf, who went around the waters on his board.

The two were relaxing on the surface, watching some waves build up and then crash on the shore. Surf was almost entranced by this, "You should see the waves in Hawaii, they're breathtaking, and terrifying."

"Like a shark!" Anno said with a laugh.

"Yes, like a shark. I've had more than my fair share of waves that almost took me down, even with my Quirk."

"Really?"

"Oh yeah! Those waves can be killers, they make you think they're easy to surf through, then they'll close up quick as a flash and you wipe out."

"But you made it through them?"

"Once I understood them, yeah," Surf noted as he pointed to the waves. "There's always a way you can't see, Anno. Whether it's surfing, fighting, or even just life in general, there's a way through. Even in the moments where you have just moments to think, there's a way through if you calm down and see your options."

Anno recalled a fight where this happened to him, "I had a fight with a speedster where I did that and I won because I used my senses on top of my strength."

"There you go, man! Sharks aren't just strength, they're precision, and speed, and skill. Never be afraid to use that when the time comes."

Back in the present, Anno looked at the Chimera and took a breath so that he could analyze his foe. When he did, he noticed the bite marks on its arm that he made. They were still there.

"That's it!" he realized. "Blunt force doesn't work on this beast, but piercing attacks can! Ok, that's how I hurt it, but how do I stop it?"

He went back to analyzing the chimera, which was very close to him, and as it reached out, he saw its muscles ripple with movement.

"The muscles! If I can severe the right ones in his arms and legs, it can't move!"

The hand was mere feet from him when Anno dodged and got some minor distance between them.

"Can't just rely on my teeth for this one, have to think bigger..."

He shook as he focused on his Quirk, he grew slightly bigger, his teeth getting even sharper as he did. But to the surprise of all, his hands started to grow much longer nails, almost like claws.

After his transformation, Anno looked at his new appendages and was impressed, "Not bad, now let's put them to work!"

He rushed the chimera, who again lunged at him with a hand. Anno this time only slightly dodged it in order to remain close. Then he used his shark senses to find the key muscles via their electric output. When he found it he slashed at the chimera's wrist, making it go limp, as well as the beast roaring in pain.

Seeing his opportunity, he rushed in to the body of the chimera and started slashing at his legs and arms in order to cripple them.

The monster was able to react to these attacks and got some blows on Anno, but he wasn't going to be held back this time. He roared like only he could and went back to his strategy.

Eventually, after getting the last set of muscles, the chimera dropped to its knees and then onto the floor of the simulation, unable to move.

Anno looked at his fallen foe then returned to his basic shark form. Exhausted, he fell to one knee himself, and when Big Brain emerged before him, he gave his teacher a toothy grin, "Your monster is shark food."

Big Brain grunted unamused, "Indeed. Congrats Mr. Mako, you passed. I didn't expect those claws, I figured you would use your teeth or the objects around you to pierce the chimera. But your way worked too."

"Sharks can't do that though...right?" asked Ebirima, still shocked at what she had seen Anno do.

"Sharks can't, but he can, Bubble Gum," said Tonen with a smile.

Big Brain dropped the projection and both Tonen and Kuroda went to Anno to help him up.

"We got you, Mako."

"Great job," praised Kuroda.

"Thanks guys," replied Anno relieved it was over. "I know now why it's called 'hard light', that thing packed a punch despite not being real."

"An accurate summation, Mr. Mako," stated Big Brain as he addressed the rest of the class. "Now you know what lies ahead of you. This is going to be as real as it can be without the fatal conclusions that could happen in the field. So...who is next?"

*credits*