This is the start of Part 2, which is were I had originally planned to start this. More than likely, this part will be shorter than Part 1.
The second year for the new Class 2-A felt a bit slow for Zen. The start of the year played out much like his first year, but the Number 1 hero, All Might, signed on as a hero studies teacher, making things a bit more interesting. Zen also took an interest in the new Class 1-A, particularly towards a student named Izuku Midoriya, whose Quirk damaged him when he used it. Zen was also intrigued by the new League of Villains that had shown up, having become curious if they had any connection to Kira.
Zen had advanced his Quirk further, pulling Zen Style's max output to 30%, with individual elements at 40%. He also strengthened his senses, now being able to properly use them in battle. Kitsuna also strengthened her hold on her Quirk, using 7 tails with little trouble. Kyosuke's Tendrils became stronger, and with help from Zen, became more resistant to fire. Ketsugi upped his max speed to 90 miles per hour, and learned how to recover from any trips without losing speed. Yui became more skilled at catching and returning projectiles. Now it was time for the dreaded exams. Zen wasn't too worried, ready to take on the villain bots once more. Class 2-A arrived at their exam sites' monitor room, being met by the teachers they sought to be like.
"Surprise, students! It's me, your principal, to tell you that this year you will be fighting your teachers as your exam!" Principal Nezu said, jumping onto All Might's shoulder.
"We're fighting you guys?! That's not very fair." Jinto said, looking at the heavy-hitting teachers. Zen was staring at All Might, who caught the boy's gaze.
"Villains won't play fair, Jinto. Besides, with the recent attacks, we've upped our training." Aizawa said, almost scoldingly.
"We've been taught by them, guys. Just use what we've learned, and how you've seen them demonstrate. We can do this." Kitsuna said.
"Alright, kids, you'll be split off into six teams, one of which will be a team of three. Your teams and opponents have already been selected. You must either escape through a gate located behind your mock-villain, capture your villain with a pair of cuffs, or defeat your villain. Only one of you has to escape, but if you get incapacitated or captured before your partner escapes, you will fail. Also, all of us teachers will be wearing high-density weights to handicap us in some way. First up is Ketsugi and Ginjirou, you two are up first." Aizawa said. Ketsugi and Ginjirou were then taken to their exam space.
"So, let's get a game plan. Wind Speed allows you to use the wind to up your speed, so we can use it with Swift Pivot to drastically up the speed of one of us. We should probably avoid combat and go straight for the escape."
"Sounds good. If need be, I'll distract whoever we're facing." Ginjirou said, tightening his boots. His hero costume was almost like a race car driver's uniform, and was green with white arrows on the arms and legs. He also wore a pair of goggles.
"Alright. Let's do this." Ketsugi said.
Ketsugi and Ginjirou were positioned on one side of the field, while Power Loader was waiting on the other side. They heard the alarm sounding the tests start. Power Loader then disappeared under the ground.
"What's he doing?" Ketsugi asked aloud.
"I've got a feeling." Ginjirou said, picking up a stone. He tossed it, activating a pitfall.
"Great. This test is designed to trip us up. Two speed based Quirks against fall traps." Ketsugi said, thinking.
"I think you can use your Quirk first, since it requires more of a head start to get fully going, Get speed and then throw me. It'll increase the amount of wind I can use to speed me up." Ginjirou suggested.
"Perfect." Ketsugi said. He began running, activating his Quirk.
After getting all five pivots, Ketsugi grabbed Ginjirou and began running through the pitfalls. Ginjirou was then thrown, being flung at the gate. Power Loader jumped out of the ground as Ginjirou landed, the wind around him flowing towards his legs. Ginjirou began running on his own, narrowly avoiding Power Loaders attempt to catch him. Ginjirou quickly made it through the gate. A speaker came on, announcing that Ketsugi and Ginjirou had won.
"Yes!" Ketsugi yelled out, with Ginjirou matching his excitement.
"Good job, boys. Your speed based Quirks aren't very good when so many fall traps are around, so you basically chose to get a better hero for the job." Power Loader said, complimenting the boys.
Back at the monitoring room, everyone had been watching the fight. Zen smiled at Ketsugi's excitement.
"It was quick, but they were effective." Yui said, happy her boyfriend had passed.
"Yes. Despite the disadvantage, Ketsugi and Ginjirou managed to use their speed based Quirks to avoid conflict." Aizawa explained.
Next up, the team of three went. Two of them managed to escape, but one was incapacitated. After them, another team went up and both passed. Then it was Kyosuke and Chinami's turn. Being taken to their battleground, they found themselves in an industrial park looking area.
"I've got a feeling about who our opponent is." Kyosuke said, activating his Quirk. A single tendril wrapped around his arm.
"Who?" Chinami asked, looking around.
Kyosuke then felt it. His tendril quickly retreated, refusing to come back out.
"Aizawa." Kyosuke said.
Their former homeroom teacher was hiding in the shadows. Kyosuke caught a faint red glow.
"Chinami. Quirk." Kyosuke quietly said, continuously trying to use Tendrils.
"What?" Chinami asked, confused.
"Use it." Kyosuke said.
"I can't." Chinami said, trying to send out a shockwave.
"How necessary is your new cape?" Kyosuke asked.
"Not very. I just like it." Chinami said.
"Spread it out." Kyosuke said.
"Okay." Chinami said, grabbing her cape and making a curtain.
Kyosuke hid behind it, feeling Tendrils reactive.
"Sorry. We're going for a ride." Kyosuke warned Chinami.
"Say what?" Chinami asked.
She let out a screech as Kyosuke grabbed her, piercing her cape with his tendrils and moving them closer to where he saw Aizawa's eyes.
"Keep trying to send out a shockwave pointing backwards." Kyosuke told her.
"That's kinda hard when I can't see what's going on!" Chinami said, a bit annoyed.
"Yeah, I'm sorry. It's the only way on of us can keep our Quirk active." Kyosuke explained.
Aizawa had already moved away and was watching them from another angle. He could easily see Kyosuke and Chinami.
"This is one of the oddest things I've ever seen." Aizawa thought to himself. He then activated Erasure on Kyosuke again.
Kyosuke and Chinami suddenly fell down. Fortunately, they were but five feet above the grounds. They both stood up and dusted themselves off.
"Ow. That hurt." Chinami said, having become very annoyed by the whole situation.
"Why can't we get to him? He's definitely already moved. But where is he now?" Kyosuke said aloud.
"Right here." Aizawa said, his scarf wrapping Chinami's hands up. He was standing on a pipe above them.
"Hey!" Chinami yelled out.
"I'll get you!" Kyosuke said, using a nearby pipe to climb.
"Chinami's tied up and you can't use your Quirk. It'd be best for you to give up." Aizawa said, trying to trick his student.
Kyosuke then remembered that escape was an option. However, he knew he needed to free Chinami.
"Kyosuke! Just run!" Chinami called out.
"No! I can't leave you behind." Kyosuke responded.
"So then, hero, what are you going to do?" Aizawa asked demeaningly.
Suddenly, a cloak was thrown at Aizawa, obscuring Kyosuke from his sight. In that split second, Kyosuke's tendrils activated and pierced the part of Aizawa's scarf that held Chinami, cutting her free.
"Chinami, Shockwave!" Kyosuke ordered.
"Right!" Chinami yelled out as she pointed her hands at Aizawa, hitting him with a wave.
Aizawa stumbled from Chinami's Quirk. Suddenly, he felt the cuffs go around his arm. He saw one of Kyosuke's tendrils holding them and Chinami in a throwing stance. The speaker then announced that Kyosuke and Chinami had won.
"Yes." Kyosuke said in a calm celebration.
"Whoo! Let's go!!" Chinami yelled out, jumping for joy.
"Good job, you two. You managed to capture me." Aizawa said.
Back at the monitoring room, the class was buzzing.
"Now that was a good fight. I wasn't sure if those two were gonna make it." Ketsugi admitted, letting out a sigh of relief.
"Yeah. It was so close in the end. I'm glad they passed." Yui said.
The two returned, being met with praise from most of their classmates. Zen, however, was silent. He was watching who was gonna be up next. Seeing Ectoplasm leave, Zen grew a smile. He knew who he was fighting. Yui and Jinto were then called to get ready. The next match began. Yui and Jinto v. Ectoplasm.
"So our opponent is Ectoplasm. You're a close-quartered combatant, whereas I'm a long-range. This is honestly a strange combination." Yui said, thinking about the pair.
"Honestly, you against Ectoplasm makes sense. I know you can throw a mean punch, but you can get outnumbered easily." Jinto said.
"Alright. This is gonna be hard." Yui said, spotting the first of Ectoplasm's clones.
"I think it's best we just run. Ectoplasm creeps me out." Jinto admitted.
"I think we should run, too." Yui responded.
They quickly made their way to the gate, encountering many clones. They avoided as many as they could, but had to fight some. Yui constantly used her Steel Arrow move to take out the clones that were further away while Jinto used a sword made from a cloth to fight the ones that got close. They eventually made it to the gate, but were met by the real Ectoplasm.
"Did you think it would be that easy? Foolish." Ectoplasm said.
"Crap. This isn't good." Yui said.
Ectoplasm began forming a giant clone. Yui and Jinto ran away, avoiding getting caught in the clone's goop. Yui then had a thought.
"Jinto, protect me." Yui said.
"Alright. I'll do that. Don't want Ketsugi chasing me around." Jinto remarked. Yui laughed.
A few small clones came at them, with Jinto cutting them down. Yui ran at the real Ectoplasm, avoiding the giant clone's attacks. She then threw one of her metal balls.
"Steel Arrow!" Yui yelled out.
Ectoplasm avoided the attack.
"Twice Notched!" Yui continued.
A second ball hit one of Ectoplasm's legs, breaking the prosthetic.
"Gahh!" Ectoplasm let out as he fell.
Yui ran up to him as fast as she could. She just managed to get the cuff on Ectoplasm when the giant clone grabbed her. It then dissipated as the speaker announced their victory.
"YESS!!" Yui screamed out.
"You go Yui!" Jinto yelled out.
"You managed to beat me with long-range, the reason you were paired against me. You did well." Ectoplasm said.
"Oh my god! I'm so sorry about your leg!" Yui exclaimed, helping Ectoplasm up.
"It's quite alright. You did what needed to be done to win." Ectoplasm said, trying to keep her from feeling guilty.
The three of them returned to the monitoring room, with Yui being praised for her quick thinking. Despite their excitement for Yui, everyone was far more jittery about the next and final fight, Zen and Kitsuna v. All Might.
The stage was set. The battleground, a city area. The fight, an intense one. The two strongest students in Class 2-A versus the strongest hero in the world.
"All Might. I've been praying for this fight." Zen said, his eyes a bright purple. Kitsuna could see the electricity buzzing around him.
"Remember Zen, we've gotta work together." Kitsuna said.
"I know. I just can't wait." Zen said. His belligerent nature was fully taking over. His desire to fight and beat All Might overwhelmed him.
The alarm for the start of the fight then sounded. All Might wasted no time. He threw a punch that let out a shockwave which reached Zen and Kitsuna. Zen responded by using Isolation Style at 50%, matching All Might's attack. Zen then switched to Zen Style at 30%, with Kitsuna forming 4 tails. The duo rushed in All Might's direction, meeting the No. 1 Hero halfway.
"Foolish heroes! You think you can best me?!" All Might said, getting into character.
"I will defeat you, villain!" Zen said, matching All Might's energy. All Might smiled.
Zen quickly deactivated Zen Style, then used Isolation Style at 50% in his leg to kick himself off the ground before switching it to his arm to strike All Might. All Might blocked the attack, but seemed to take a bit of damage. All Might then back-handed Zen, sending him into a building. He turned to Kitsuna, who activated all 7 of her tails. Just as he was about to throw a punch, All Might was struck in the face from the side. Zen had already recovered and hit All Might with an Isolation Style kick.
"Don't lose focus on me, All Might!" Zen said. He had a gleeful smile on his face.
"A cheap shot for a hero!" All Might taunted.
"Not when it comes to keeping others safe, villain!" Zen said.
Isolation Style deactivated as he set a bolt of lightning at All Might. The No. 1 Hero took the attack head on, but was showing more damage. Zen noted this, beginning to believe that victory by incapacitation was possible. He activated Zen Style at 30%, rushing All Might and hitting him with a flurry of punches. While most hits showed decent damage, Zen noticed that hitting All Might's abdomen on the left side caused him immense pain. After Zen's first strike there, All Might grabbed him and threw him at Kitsuna, who had yet to find an opportunity to join the fight.
"Woah!" Kitsuna said, catching Zen.
"This is so much fun." Zen said. Kitsuna noticed Zen was bleeding from his left shoulder.
"Zen, we need to work together! You're bleeding." Kitsuna said, worried for her boyfriend.
"What?" Zen said, looking at his shoulder. He placed his hand on his shoulder and blasted it with fire. The wound cauterized, stopping the bleeding, but burning his arm.
"Zen, what the fuck is wrong with you?" Kitsuna asked. She saw the battle-crazed look in his eyes.
"Come on!" Zen said, reactivating Zen Style, but forcing it to 35%.
Zen blitzed All Might again, who was momentarily taken aback by the sudden increase in speed. All Might threw a punch, but Zen avoided it. Zen struck All Might's weak spot, seeing a bit of blood leak from All Might's mouth.
"You've got a weak spot." Zen whispered.
"You're a devilish fighter, hero." All Might commented, almost disapprovingly.
All Might threw more punches, with Zen avoiding most of them. He got hit a few times but noticed that they felt weaker than before. Zen continued trying to hit All Might's weak spot, but the No. 1 Hero began guarding it.
Suddenly, Kitsuna finally joined the frey, grabbing Zen and running. She could see the damage he was truly taking.
"What the hell are you doing?!" Zen said angrily.
"Are you trying to get yourself fucking killed!?" Kitsuna said, pissed.
"I'm trying to win!" Zen responded. He felt a hand cross his face.
"Stop acting like this! It scares me." Kitsuna said, tears in her eyes.
Zen snapped back to reality. All forms of pain hit him. Regardless he hugged Kitsuna.
"I'm so sorry." Zen apologized.
They could hear All Might approaching them.
"Let's do this together." Zen said, holding a hand out to Kitsuna.
"Please." Kitsuna responded, taking his hand.
They let go of each other. Kitsuna activated 5 of her tails while Zen activated Zen Style at 35% again. All Might finally got to them. However, he was met by a pair of fists. Zen and Kitsuna dashed around All Might, trying to disorient him. All Might swung out and struck Zen. Zen grabbed his arm and blasted him with fire. While preoccupied with Zen, All Might didn't notice Kitsuna pounce. She wrapped the cuffs around All Might's wrist. The speaker sounded, announcing Zen and Kitsuna's victory. All Might let Zen go.
"You need to work on working with others, kid. The best way to beat an opponent is with help. You did well working together at the end, though." All Might said to Zen.
"I'm sorry, All Might-sensei." Zen said, bowing.
"And you should have intervened earlier. Should I have been a real villain, I would have used his battle craze to kill him. However, once you did intervene, you got him out of his battle craze." All Might said to Kitsuna.
"Sorry, All Might." Kitsuna said, also bowing.
"Cheer up, you two. It was still a great battle. Zen, if you can get control over yourself, you will definitely be able to become a top hero." All Might said.
"Thank you." Zen said, smiling at his somewhat praise.
Zen and Kitsuna returned to the monitoring room after getting patched up, while All Might went elsewhere. Zen and Kitsuna were met with admiration by their classmates.
"Dude, you just one-on-one fought All Might and held your ground!" Ketsugi said.
"How are you this good?" Jinto asked.
"I uh, I don't deserve all this." Zen said.
"Correct, Zen. You don't deserve praise. You went on by yourself, ignoring your partner. You took critical damage and didn't even consider other options. I should fail you on this exam, but All Might believes otherwise. You better thank the man." Aizawa said, livid with Zen.
Zen felt a stinging worse than his arm from Aizawa's words. He then vowed to himself to try harder, as well as to make it up to Aizawa.
A few days later, Class 2-A got their exam scores. Zen scored perfectly on the written exam, as well as passed the practical exam. Kitsuna, Kyosuke, and Yui all made high on the written exam and passed the practical portion. While Ketsugi, Chinami, and Jinto passed their practical exam, the three of them almost failed their written exams. Zen still continued trying to make up for his failure to Aizawa.