The days leading up to the big exam were a varied one for the students of 1-A.
For the part of the class that was intelligent, it was mostly retreating back into their own paces and study routines. For the less so most of them ended up finding support elsewhere, be it Ashido Mina effectively isolating herself during her free time with her boyfriend, Kirishima finding unexpected support through the gruff and hostile Katsuki Bakugo, or most of the class finding their salvation from Yaoyorozu Momo.
All in all, it was the usual rounds of study before an exam you found in most Japanese schools.
Honestly, there were only two episodes at the school that were anything out of the ordinary and would have consequences down the road.
Both starring Katsuki Bakugo.
The first was a moment where the blonde boy got into what could at best be called an "Argument" with his fellow classmates, the ones who had surpassed him during the finals of the tournament, though in practice it was a mixture of threats and a declaration that he would surpass them.
It was frankly speaking the usual from the boy, and most of the class(who were generally just more amused by him than anything else) just saw it as more of the same.
The two that did not, were Izuku and Mina, the latter who suddenly got a very, very out-of-character look at her face when Bakugo pointed his finger in her boyfriend's face… Though most of the class didn't notice as it vanished as quickly as the aforementioned finger as Bakugo stomped off.
For Izuku himself though, the annoyed face he had during the whole ordeal did not in any way match the sudden spike of anger that flowed through him then.
None noticed that but Venom.
The thing most of the class did notice though, was that Uraraka was not included amongst the students Bakugo gave this declaration to, which was taken by most in a rather obvious, if mayhaps a somewhat misguided conclusion.
The more important person whose reaction mattered was Aizawa, who though he didn't see it, had been just outside the classroom and had listened in.
The teacher shook his head and scribbled something down on his writing block, connecting the names of Izuku and Katsuki.
Most of the names from the class were written down, and already connected, but not all.
It was a brief, brief moment in those last moments before the exam finals, but it was but a prelude of what would shortly come after, though none saw it then.
The other incident happened very shortly afterwards, as Todoroki Shoto, with a serious expression, followed after Katsuki, but intentionally did not catch up with him before they were out of the school.
I
"Bakugo."
Katsuki Bakugo stiffened, then turned around, along with Kirishima, as the boy who had called out to him stopped close enough for a verbal confrontation if not a physical one.
"What? You have a retort you came up with? Cause if so, you really should have said it back then."
The white and red-haired boy did not look much intimidated, but the extremely serious and frankly intense expression on his face immediately made both of the other boys assume he wanted to start something.
"Yeah dude, and frankly speaking… If you actually want to fight, picking one right outside the school gates isn't exactly the smartest place to do it."
Todoroki's eyes glanced over at Kirishima, but he didn't answer him, instead turning back to Katsuki Bakugo.
"I have something I wanted to say, yes. During that display, you very distinctly said you would leave Midoriya in the dust, and surpass him in every regard… I do not particularly care about that course of action in regards to him. However…"
His expression darkened.
"You then followed it up with "Todoroki… You too, asshole. I wanted some clarification on that."
Bakugo feeling a pang of anger but also a strong bout of adrenaline pumping through him at the statement turned around in full to face him, getting one of those toothy, confident grins on his face.
"Oh? What part was it I was fucking unclear on?"
"Most of them actually… But I need to clarify about the part in your statement where you claimed you would surpass Midoriya in every regard… Did you also mean in regards to romance? And if so, did you mean a relationship of your own, or were you planning on attempting to steal his girlfriend from him? You were rather unclear."
The tension on the blonde and red-haired boys broke as quickly as it came.
"What?"
"I said-" "I HEARD what you fucking said! Why the hell would you think I give TWO SHITS about who the Hell gives Deku a Lay!?"
"I could only assume that to be the case. Your expressions regarding Izuku have dramatically worsened ever since he got a girlfriend. I could only assume this was due to you disapproving of this development, likely due to jealousy, though whether because you yourself were interested in Mina or Midoriya himself, or just anger because Midoriya "got a lay" I don't know."
It was his expression that really sold it.
He looked like a man who was about to march off to war and was treating it with deadly seriousness.
"You… You really got some fucking screws loose."
"So my assessment was incorrect?"
"OF COURSE it was fucking incorrect! I don't give two shits who the hell Deku fucks around with! I frankly have EVERYTHING better to do with my day!"
The multicolored boy did not lose his expression though.
It was Kirishima who was by far the most baffled though.
"Why… Why do you care so much about this man?"
"Bakugo suggested he would "Leave me behind in every regard" as well. I merely wish to clarify whether this ultimately also included romantic matters."
"Wait… This was all about you worrying I would cockblock you?"
"...That would be one way to put it."
"Who the HELL are you gunning for then that you think I would give two shits!?"
"Hatsume Mei."
Bakugo… And Kirishima as well, just stared at him as if he had just gone completely loony.
"...Ok, good luck with that."
This finally got Todoroki to drop his standoffishness.
"...So you are not interested in her?"
"No, I'm not. I'm not interested in romance, but if I am gonna get married, I'd at the very least set the low, low bar, of someone not out of their fucking mind!"
"I see…"
Then the hostile expression completely evaporated, leaving the boy a stoic calm.
"Thank you for your time, and have a nice day forward."
He bowed his head and promptly turned around and walked off without a further word.
"I can never read that guy."
Bakugo was about to say something, but as he looked after the boy, his expression lost a lot of its usual aggressiveness.
"He needs to work out his own shit I suppose…"
I
Iida Tenya had never been anything but diligent when it came to his studies. It had been a part of his life since he'd been old enough to read.
And so as he sat writing on the great test before their summer trip, his writing zoomed across the pages of paper beneath, one after another.
Perhaps not flawlessly, for his academic capacity had always been a learned thing, not an innate trait.
He was certainly not an idiot, but he was not actually brilliant either.
By all accounts, he was doing well, and after he finished, he spent the remainder of the test going over and checking every single part again and again for errors.
He was doing everything the way it was supposed to be done. Proper and with diligence.
And yet… He had rarely felt less at ease in any classroom.
He was on relatively good terms with most of the class. As the class Vice-president, it would have been unseemly if he was not.
In fact, it was probably the best he had ever gotten along with classmates, or any people outside his family for that matter.
And yet… The little group he had been defined by at the start of this school year was breaking apart in front of his eyes.
He had never had a true friend group before this, so he had not had a base to compare it to before.
It was a sad and depressing feeling… To which he, unfortunately, was becoming more and more accustomed.
He understood why it was happening. What had led to the trio of Him, Midoriya, and Uraraka, which had seemed rather strong, for all intents and purposes.
His role was simple enough, he had been in need of some soul searching, and time alone to think after… After Stein.
That had, at the end of the day, been good for him as a Hero.
Perhaps he could have reached a different and quicker conclusion if he'd sought out the advice of the far greater Hero Midoriya, but he was satisfied with where he was now.
Uraraka had gone a different, though similar path.
Unlike him though, she clearly was not done working through her depression, whatever it had been that caused it, and she mostly kept to herself nowadays outside of classes, rejecting offers to hang out or talk from him or the rest of the class.
Hopefully, she would in time work through it, and emerge stronger mentally, as he had.
And finally, there was Midoriya.
The thing that had caused him to drift away was not negative in nature, quite far from it… But drift away he had.
The reality was that though he and Izuku certainly still talked and interacted friendly enough, most of his free time was devoted to his newfound relationship.
If there was one thing he could honestly complain about, it was that Izuku, unlike his partner, did not seem very good at balancing his friends and his girlfriend.
Not that he was going to complain about it.
To be truthful, though it hurt in its own way the direction things had been going, he honestly admired how Midoriya put everything in whatever he was focused on. Whether it was Hero work or his own romantic relationships.
His relationship with Hardy-Ashido was by all accounts going very well.
It would be the height of selfishness to complain about it in favor of his own desires of friendship. Petty selfishness… And not at all what a Hero would do.
Things changed, regardless of what he or anyone else thought about it.
I
"I got a 68!"
Mina's strong arms were clenched around in a bear hug as she excitedly hugged her boyfriend, while at the same time jumping up and down in ecstatic joy!
Izuku smiled, though truthfully, he was feeling absolutely mentally exhausted, as the dark, dark rings under his eyes could attest to.
He was just… Mentally exhausted.
In another time and place, jumping from an average in the low 40s to 68, and thus in the higher grades of "passable" would have seemed rather uninspiring to Izuku.
After having spent every day, for weeks, giving up every bit of free time he had for the cause, he instead felt an incredible relief that she had not even come close to failing.
Well, that and a sense of enjoyable warmth as she peppered his cheek with appreciative kisses.
That was nice too.
Though truthfully, he just wanted to go home and lie down.
Around them, a lot of the other students were thanking Momo, if not in quite as affectionate ways, while Uraraka had walked away from the gathered class after seeing the results, without a word.
There was clear, obvious pain in her eyes.
However, regardless of how any of them felt, joy, relief, annoyance, or sorrow, it was but the first great step that day, for there was still one more, giant hurdle to cross before they were all done.
The Physical half of the Exams.
I
There had been rumors amongst the students, originating from their upperclassmen who had gone through it before, that the physical part of the test was going to be a repeat of their entrance exam, just on a larger scale.
Some believed it, some did not.
Izuku and Mina were actually split on the topic, with Mina being a full believer in their seniors, while Izuku(In large part due to Venom's Take) believed fully that this rumor was probably just another of the School's tests.
Not only did it seem redundant as a test, but the information had spread way too easily and far in a very short amount of time.
As Venom saw it(And Izuku agreed), the entire thing had to be a hoax, lulling them into a false sense of security with obviously false info in order to knock them off their feet.
That seemed like a Yuei thing to do.
Not that the possible unknown danger was what was on Izuku's mind.
The simple reality was that he was just so tired. He was far and away the least mentally ill-prepared for this test.
That in and out of itself was a lesson he supposed. The world of Heroes did not care whether you were tired, and sleepy and just wanted to go lie down for half an hour. It threw you out into the conflict regardless and you had to do or die.
The spot where they were told to line up before the exam, the busses they always used to get between Yui itself and its training areas, didn't reveal anything by itself, but upon seeing most of their teachers lined up to meet them, Izuku's assumption that they would not be facing robots seemed quite correct.
His assumption that this story had been complete fiction though wasn't quite on the mark.
Aizawa was about as enthusiastic as he usually was as he began his speech.
"Right, the exercise will begin shortly. Obviously you can fail this test too, so if you want to head to the forest lodge, then we better not see any obvious blunders from you."
It was Jirou who asked the obvious question in the mind of everyone who had assumed it was robots they would be fighting.
"...Why so many teachers?"
Aizawa was not faced.
"I've no doubt you all learned what information you could of the test beforehand. So I think you all hold a vague idea of what you are to do…"
Several of the students nodded or made their enthusiastic feelings quite clear, as they affirmed verbally that it would be a fight against the School's robots, or the summer trip itself.
Izuku missed the exact wording though, as Mina grabbed him around the neck and affectionately pulled him close to her, where he felt the strong force push up his face against the leather of covering her right boob while raising her other hand skywards with a victory sign.
He immediately felt his mind sorta sputter as his face went absolutely red…
"I can see the fireworks! The curry! The Dare sessions! The sweet date nights!"
Her enthusiasm was brought to a sudden halt though, as their rodent Principle suddenly shot up out of Aizawa's mess of scarves.
"Sorry, I'm Afraid not! Due to various reasons, we are changing the content of the tests starting today!"
Mina froze immediately, Izuku still pressed up against her chest, but nobody else, other than Mineta(Who glared at it with the most spiteful look imaginable), and Uraraka(Who was blatantly staring at the sight with a blank expression)paid any attention to that.
Everyone was now focused completely on their furry Principle as he climbed down from Aizawa to ground level.
It was Momo who spoke up first.
"What… What do you mean by that?"
"Well… Because we are expecting a surge in open battles against villains in the near future, we have decided to make some changes. From now on, we'll focus more on Person-on-Person Battle Activities, and emphasizing a teaching environment closer to that of real battle!"
-What, that wasn't the goal already? If so they really need to step up their game! The first big test we had after Aizawa's measurement nonsense was a do-or-die battle trial.-
"Which boys And girls, is all to say that henceforth… We will have you form pairs to engage one of these here educators."
There was silence for a moment.
Mina sighed, and Izuku felt the pressure around his neck lessen almost completely.
"We're… Not gonna get to pick our partners are we?"
"I'm afraid not little kitty-cat. Who you are paired with, and which teacher you'll end up fighting have already been decided."
He seemed… VERY enthusiastic about that idea.
"The way you tend to move, your grades, and your degrees of familiarity… We personally judged how you'll be pairing up based on all sorts of things, and we'll list the matchups now."
-Well this sounds perfectly doable. So long as we DON'T get paired up with Satsuki, and get anyone other than All Might this should be a breeze.-
Aizawa stepped up and gave one of those awkward, fake smiles of his.
"First of, Todoroki's with Yaoyorozu as a team against me."
The ice boy gave no gave no suggestions of doubt or hesitance, but the taller girl did, seeming very worried about this development.
Aizawa then turned towards Izuku, still in an affectionate headlock by Mina.
"And Midoriya, you're with Bakugo as a team."
Izuku blinked, his very tired mind taking a few moments before the implication and the way Mina's arm stiffened around it, sunk in.
-Of fucking course we are… Let me guess, against All Might right?-
Sure enough, as Aizawa continued, it was indeed that enormous, giant of a man that stepped forward.
Shit/Shit.
I
Mina was not particularly thrilled with any of this.
She had really, really been looking forward to an easy with after that stupidly boring period of studying that FINALLY had come to an end.
However, instead of getting that, she would need to test herself against the principle, while Izuku… Well, Izuku would have to go toe to toe with All Might.
While fighting side by side with All Might.
Her first thought was the obvious one.
She was going to have to give up on plans she had for the trip… At least so far as she and her boyfriend were concerned.
That thought pissed her off something fierce.
Izuku had sacrificed so much of his free time to get her over the hurdle of the written exam, only for their romantic summer to be cut short by whoever it had been that decided what team would fight which teacher.
At the very least one team was going to lose this exam. And unfortunately, her boyfriend was on that team.
She believed in Izuku a lot. More than anyone else in the class as a matter of fact, but there was no way he was going to beat All Might in a straight fight.
No one in class could have.
That was just… The brutal truth.
The only positive she could see was that at the very least, the guy who would be losing together with him was Bakguo, so at least someone who actually DESERVED to lose would share not getting to go on the trip.
As they sat on the bus ride in silence, it began to sink in how much she had been looking forward to enjoying this school trip with Izuku.
She was still looking forward to it, but… The idea of getting to spend romantic summer nights with her Boyfriend, far away from Mom or Mana's teasing was… Well, it appealed to her.
A lot.
There was still the trip to Europe of course, but that wasn't going to be very long, relatively speaking, and other than the party at the end, she was planning on mostly spending the trip together with Peni in some form or another.
Also, the idea that Izuku would be trapped in remedial hell while she was off having fun was… Annoying.
Like really annoying.
What her partner for the fight thought she wasn't sure, as the blonde pretty boy Kaminari was rather quiet, enjoying the trip.
If she had to guess he was probably a bit nervous, given how different than his usual, happy self he was.
It was after stopping though, outside of the same cityscape block of land that had welcomed her and Izuku back after returning to school, that a lot of her worries were quenched.
"So we don't have to actually defeat you?"
"Oh, you do… But you have several options. You have 30 minutes, your win conditions are that you either manage to pin these on me…"
He held up a set of fancy handcuffs.
"Or, alternatively for one of you to escape from this stage!"
That pretty much vanished all of her worries.
Well… Her worries for Izuku anyway. She hadn't been much worried for herself, and she was even less so now.
She saw the hidden message immediately… Not because she was particularly bright on the matter, but because she immediately recognized the hidden point.
Her mom had drilled this exact scenario into her head time, and time, and time again, and those lessons sat deep.
You're not that smart, so if there is some ticking clock, anyone with any sense will stall you. Ignore them completely, and power through to the objective.
There had been A LOT of lessons in her life with that scenario and hidden message. And she had been burnt way too many times not to recognize it… And what she had to do.
Way more importantly, this meant Izuku would probably be okay too.
I
It had been a while since Izuku found himself in a position where he wanted to be ANYWHERE ELSE, rather than where he currently was.
Fear, worry, exhaustion… And hatred and rage.
Those last two had come unbidden and unwanted, but they were absolutely there.
He did not want to be on the same team as Katsuki.
Logically speaking, his sleep-deprived and tired mind understood that part of this was to hammer in the same lessons as his first test with All Might, but that didn't make the point any less true.
A deep, deep, dislike he had for the most part lately pretended wasn't there… No that wasn't it. He'd ignored it because he frankly had better things to do with his time than worry or care about Katsuki.
And yet now, unwanted and as he was struggling to focus and keep his mind on the rather terrifying task at hand, he had to put trust in the one person he was supernaturally charged to hate, mistrust, and despise.
Not that he knew the finer details of that of course.
Whatever effects Venom had on him in this regard, Izuku and his intense dislike of Katauki was very, very real, and had origins that had nothing to do with the creature from outer space.
And though he had boosted Izuku's aggressive feelings towards Katsuki, the greater effect was not that, but rather making Izuku unable to feel or access any positive feelings regarding Katsuki, burying them in hate and loathing.
It was a potent combination, and frankly speaking, the dislike Izuku now felt for the boy was far more in line with what a Klyntar host normally felt against those who had wronged them.
And it was never going to go away.
It would always be there, right under the surface, ready to emerge… As it did now. A powder keg just waiting for a match to let it explode.
And as time went on, it would only get worse.
They would reach a point where Venom's capacity to increase Izuku's hatred and rage… His REAL hatred would plateau, but they were nowhere near that point just yet.
Of course, while the feelings regarding Katsuki were the more visceral ones, it was only part of his conundrum.
Having to face All Might in combat was the other part.
He… He rather doubted he could pull that off.
Even if he had completely rested and was on the top of his game, that was something he was pretty sure was far, far above him.
The memory of Black Cat's foot burying itself into the ground beside his head came to mind.
So did the time Rhino caved in his chest.
He was strong, and far more experienced now… But he was nowhere near the top. Neither against all the world or the best he could be.
On the opposite end of the bus, Bakugo was thinking similar thoughts, though he had no alien symbiote to egg him on. Just pride and insecurity.
Once they actually got to their destination, his thoughts did not get much easier as All Might explained the ways to win.
"So we can win by fighting, or fleeing, is that it?"
Izuku's other half from outer space seemed far, far more cheerful than he had any right to be, though he had been rather quiet on the trip so far.
Answer in a similarly cheerful, if bombastic tone was All Might.
"THAT'S RIGHT! THIS IS A TEST OF JUDGEMENT! However…"
He pulled out 4 bracelets with what seemed to be weights on them.
"You might be thinking, with this setup isn't running away the only real option?"
Both boys eyed the bracelet as he continued.
"Well, we commissioned the support department to make us these. Super compression weights! Each of these is… Actually, I'm not sure of the exact number, but the basic gist is that they slow me down quite a bit. It's an old classic, but it will make it harder to move and shave off quite a bit of our strength!"
Judging by the way his hand dropped, it was probably rather heavy.
"Incidentally, this design is young Hatsume's, selected via competition!"
Izuku felt a brief pang of intense dislike for them flare up after this revelation, but it was quickly quenched by the realization that it would drastically benefit him, and frankly speaking, it was nothing compared to the hate he felt for the boy beside him.
Said boy did not look at him, instead looking at All Might with a sullen look.
"Is that all just to let us consider fighting? You're looking down on me."
All Might's grin did not go away, but the way his darkened eye suddenly flashed in a bright blue sent shivers down Izuku's spine.
"HAHA… I wonder!"
I
Todoroki considered the best means to go about it.
He had several options, but in the end, he decided that it was best to play it safe.
"The first thing we need to do is gain elevation. We need to get up high so we can avoid Aizawa's gaze. Then once we know where the exit is, we begin moving there."
Momo nodded. Strangely, she seemed far more nervous than usual.
Usually, the girl had always been known to speak her mind without being asked for it, their class president was never scared to give her thoughts on something.
He created 3 things at the same time.
A massive stairwell of ice, and two sheer cliffs at the sides of it, all careful to cover the road only and not any of the houses where Aizawa might be hiding in.
The thing easily went up several hundred meters, and after closing up behind him as well, he began making his way up the stairs.
Aizawa's power was very strong… But if he could not see him, nor get into a position where he would be able to get over or beside him, it was useless.
The warmth engulfed him.
Mei's suit allowed him to comfortably make such enormous pieces of ice without having to worry at all about the cold overwhelming him.
"You should probably make yourself something to keep warm. This is gonna be a pretty cold climb."
"Right."
The girl, whose body was suddenly starting to shake due to all the cold, conjured herself up a fur coat, gloves, and a hat
It seemed rather familiar, but it took him a moment before he recognized it.
"That's from Galaxy Express 999 right?"
"What? Oh, right, yes…"
She seemed rather out of it.
Had he been paying more attention to her demeanor lately, he would probably have figured out why by now, but his focus had mostly been on Mei… As well as the more obviously out-of-it girl in their class.
"You… Seem out of it."
"Oh… I'm… I'm fine."
That she was distinctly not.
Hmmm… How to help her out with that…
He wrecked his brain trying to think what could be wrong.
Then he recalled the other girl in class who had been out of it lately.
"I don't suppose that it's a guy?"
"What?"
This time she actually sounded genuinely confused.
"It's just you reminded me of Uraraka, she's been out of it as well, ever since Hardy-Ashido-San hooked up with Midorya. I thought it might have been something similar for you."
They walked in a bit of silence then, before Momo took the word, sounding baffled.
"Uraraka… Was in love with Midoriya-Kun?"
"Yes. Though given her current behavior, I would not label it in the past tense. She is very clearly pining for him… Hence why she is in such pain whenever Midorya-San gets affection from his partner."
Had he turned around he would have seen a girl who was coming to a LOT of conclusions in her head.
"I didn't notice that at all…"
"Yes, I noticed. For some reason, everyone else seems to have completely missed it. I'm Honestly not sure why, as it's pretty obvious."
There the conversation stopped, as they reached the top, and Shoto crouched down, to expose as little of his head as he possibly could as he looked out over the area.
"There! That's the exit. Can you make a Bobsleigh for two people?"
"Y-yes."
"Then do it. Now."
He for his part conjured up a massive set of thick sleigh tracks held up by mighty ice pillars. Far too thick for Aizawa to do anything about.
It was quite a work, and normally he would have expected a deep bite of chill to set in as he did it.
Instead, there was only comfortable warmth.
It felt… Nice.
They both jumped into the cart, and with motion and conjured ice behind from Todoroki, it found itself speeding down the tracks, and they went down, down, down at massive speed before speeding past a gateway titled "Escape Gate."
Victory.
I
Izuku walked behind Katsuki massaging his forehead where a mixture of pure, seething annoyance, fear, and just tiredness was struggling for supremacy.
"DON'T FOLLOW ME!"
The main reason for that was his "Partner", who was stomping about.
Izuku had been insistent that they be stealthy.
Katauki had ignored him.
As he was ignoring him now.
"IT'S FUCKING OBVIOUS I SHOULD JUST KNOCK HIM OUT!"
"And I'm Telling you… We need to avoid battle at all costs…"
The stupid thing was… He actually had a plan. One he was sure could get them to victory.
He just needed to get this damn idiot to swallow his stubborn pride for once, and cooperate with him…
"Let's just ditch him and go at it alone! We don't need this loser!"
He felt incredibly tempted to take Venom's advice…
If he did not both respect and frankly fear All Might's power so much, he would most certainly have done so by now.
But no… As much as he hated him, his dislike for Katsuki was overruled.
For the moment.
Katsuki stomped on, through the urban environment.
A knight with grenades on his hands, followed by an Alien supersoldier.
It was quite an unlikely duo.
"I'll lead him around by the nose until the final moments, and then I'll smash him when he's tuckered out! Me!"
It was like talking to a brick wall…
"Look Katsuki… You know who All Might is right?"
He gave a sigh.
"Handicap or no, the idea of me or you'd beat him is just…"
Katauki swirled around and brained him in the side of the head with his giant metal gauntlet.
It was such an unexpected move that Izuku didn't expect it at all and found himself sprayed on the floor, head ringing and confused, eyes blinking as for one brief moment the world just swam as his tired head tried to take in what had just happened.
The blonde stared at him with a look of pure disdain, though his quivering jaw betrayed his real emotions.
"Not another Goddamn word! Just because you're doing halfway decent don't you DARE say another word. Or I'll get pissed."
He glared down at him, the green-haired boy.
Then two explosions from his hands sent him soaring upwards and into the sky.
Two enormous, black hands smashed down where he had just been, with enough force that the sheer force of it shattered every single bit of glass on every window nearby to utter pieces.
A roar of pure anger and rage let loose from a maw of razor-sharp teeth!
I
All Might had been wondering how long it would take for young Bakugo and Midorya to expose themselves.
He did not expect it to take long.
And it didn't.
Maybe 3 minutes from when the bell rang and announced the test had begun and they were allowed to enter.
He had been standing by the exit, expecting something to announce where they were.
And sure enough…
Explosions that could only be from Katsuki and A roar he was pretty sure were from young Midoriya having given in to his Quirk's darker side, which he had only glimpsed at the sports festival.
He was wondering if he should let them have a bit of civil war before he broke it up. Maybe let them get out their frustrations a bit before forcing them to work together.
A building section, not a piece, but an apartment-sized section soared upwards into the sky.
Judging by the foundations still attached, young Midoriya had ripped it straight out of the ground and thrown it.
Hmmm… Probably best to end this now, before someone got hurt.
"Now then, brace yourselves… For here I come!"
I
A barrage of black cannonballs soared through the sky.
Only one of them hit its mark, and rather than a direct hit, it glanced off from Katsuki's breastplate.
An explosion came down towards him, and he felt searing pain in his arm as he dodged, not quick enough.
Not that he cared.
A thick, black layer of goo exploded back and a new, enormous arm regrew around his own instantly.
A massive whip smashed through the air, and with no particular difficulty crushed its way through an entire city block.
The rage was… All-consuming.
It was the same rage that had led him to attack Katsuki all the way back then, the first day he'd bonded with Venom.
Hate.
It had just… Engulfed his entire world.
Suddenly, and out of nowhere, with no warning.
It was as if the moment Katsuki hit him again, any and all other thoughts beyond wanting to smash Katsuki like a bug had gone out the window. Nothing else mattered, other than ensuring Katsuki would never hit him again!
It was the case to such an extreme, that when suddenly, the entire city block was engulfed in a storm of force so strong that it blew the roofs off of the buildings and sent every single bit of debris flying, he didn't care.
He could not have cared less as the bloodlust was over him.
What he cared about was that for a brief moment, as the force arrived on the battlefield, Katauki's attention was diverted completely.
A tendril of black shot up at Katsuki, and before he managed to react it immediately engulfed him, and he was suddenly snapped back down towards Izuku, where he held him up like a ragdoll.
No explosion came despite Bakugo's suddenly panicked face.
He needed air to ignite the substance from his hands after all, and engulfed as those were, there was no escape.
"Got you!"
He raised a claw high.
Then briefly, he hesitated.
It suddenly came to him the simple question, what was he going to do exactly?
In that moment of hesitation though, two things happened.
The first was that the grenades at Katsuki's belt, which had their own, internal bit of air exploded, freeing him.
The second was a fist hitting Izuku in the face with enormous force sending him flying into a building.
He almost blacked out for a moment as the world became pain…
"TSK' TSK' FIGHTING AMONGST YOURSELVES HEROES!? THAT WILL NOT DO! I AM A VILLAIN OH HEROES! AND IF YOU DON'T TAKE ME SERIOUSLY… YOU'RE IN FOR A WORLD OF HURT!"
With his own battle cry, Bakugo launched himself forward… Only to find All Might's hand clamped over his face.
That didn't stop him though, as he brought his hand up to unleash another barrage of explosions against All Might.
This took the enormous man by surprise, but it didn't last long as he ended up simply slamming the boy into the ground, knocking the wind out of him.
"IS THAT ALL YOU GOT! A simple flurry like that barely hurt me at all!"
Then he got back up to face Izuku, who had gotten back on his feet.
"I see you're letting your rage dominate you kiddo… Not a good look!"
A whole host of emotions ran through Izuku's mind.
Anger, hate, a lifetime of suffering and pain.
Also fear, admiration, awe at the man in front of him.
His tired and confused mind was really struggling to try to make sense of it… But he was not in a position where he had time to think about it.
All Might rushed him.
Izuku sprang out of the way and launched a series of black cannonballs in the giant's direction, which rather than dodge or let him hit him, he simply knocked all of them out of the air one after another with immense speed and precision.
Izuku landed on a wall.
-He's way slower than usual, much slower than Uraraka was at the tournament! We can take him! So long we don't get hit!-
Don't get hit. While fighting All Might.
That was like saying that if you could dodge the stones, the rockslide wasn't all that bad.
Izuku jumped again as All Might launched his next attack.
He jumped again as All Might snapped around from the wall he'd just been to return to the ground level.
Venom wasn't wrong, Izuku realized to his shock.
All Might was slow.
Well… Slow, relatively speaking.
He was slower than Uraraka had been when he'd fought her, and more to the point… His current speed was absolutely nothing compared to his last, supersonic opponent.
You didn't beat that guy though, his brain reminded him.
His thoughts, however, were cut short as he jumped another time…
Only for something to smash into his back from behind!
"Get out of my fucking-"
It was Katsuki.
The blow of their two bodies crashing together didn't hurt that much, not when he was completely covered in Venom's black goo… But it did hurt… And that was all it took.
Quick as a jaguar, Izuku twisted around, and his hands closed around Balugo's gauntlets.
It was a testament to the blonde boy's reflexes, that he managed to let forth two explosions that ripped his hands out and away from disintegrating gauntlets as two black hands crushed them like a couple of beer cans.
They landed far away from each other, Bakugo with a mixture of frustration, rage, and just a hint of fear, though he did not in any way back down, and Izuku once more raring as rage took his mind.
The world was forgotten completely, as suddenly it was only these two.
All Might put an end to it as he smashed into Izuku from the back and sent him flying through an apartment building, where he smashed into the apartments on the opposite street.
This… This was starting to feel familiar.
-For fuck's sake man, pull yourself together.-
Despite his words though, Venom didn't sound too angry.
On the contrary, he sounded… rather pleased.
Izuku didn't have time to think about it.
Instead, he forced himself out of the crater as he had done the last time he was sent through an apartment, only this time, he went to ground level, and there he jumped in, underneath an apartment overhead.
He melded into the shadows, becoming invisible, light passing through him.
It took All Might 6 more seconds before he got through the apartment.
Izuku didn't move an inch.
Instead, he just lay there, while All Might looked side to side.
"Oh… So you've to decide to run, have you little Hero… Leaving your team behind?"
In any other situation, that sentence would have brought Izuku to do something.
But not now. Not when his entire head was still pulsating with every single negative feeling he had ever had against Bakugo pulsing through his head.
Instead, he remained silent.
"Well… I'll see you at the exit Midoriya."
Then with another sonic boom, he left.
Izuku took a moment of waiting to ensure he wasn't there before he began the slow, but steady crawl out from his hiding place and making his way to the aforementioned exit.
-Well that could have gone way better… But man that felt good! To just let LOOSE against Katsuki… Pity it had to end prematurely like that though.-
Izuku didn't answer partially because he didn't want to risk discovery… But mostly because he really, really didn't want to think about Katsuki right now.
Focus you idiot. Forgot about that jackass, and FOCUS!
He had completely lost his edge, his cool, and his ability to focus when Katauki had hit him… It was astonishing how angry he suddenly felt.
Forget about that and focus! Get to the exit and get out!
I
"...Invisibility! I was not aware you had such powers, young Midoriya!"
Midoriya, usually such a well-behaved lad, didn't answer him. He seemed really, really sullen.
His Quirk did answer him though.
"If we had revealed that before, we wouldn't have gotten past you now."
All Might laughed.
"True enough young Midoriya! Keeping an ace in the hole to pull out at critical points is very important for a Hero! But congratulations! Now I must go and pick up young Bakugo! He needs a trip to Recovery Girl unless I'm Totally mistaken… The lad does not know when to give up… Though that too is an admirable trait in a Hero!"
A flash of disdain came over Midoriya's face, and he simply walked off without a word back to the bus.
Now that was… Rather out of character from him.
Young Midoriya was always amongst the most enthusiastic amongst all his students.
As he went to pick up Bakugo though, All Might mused to himself that this particular exam had been an absolute failure. Oh, the team that had been assigned to him had passed, but the actual reason Aizawa had assigned them together, to force the two biggest rivals in the class to work together, had been a total disaster.
In that regard, he was even more right than he could possibly have realized, and he would eventually come to deeply regret not stepping in to try to resolve this harder then and there.
I
Yes… Things were going really, really well.
Venom had been a bit worried that Izuku's hatred for Bakugo(Which they had been stoking on and on since the day the Symbiote first met him) would begin to abate now that he'd gotten a girlfriend, and his focus had in large part moved on to her.
But no, it was still there, still supernaturally charged and powerful.
So strong that it overpowered even Izuku's natural instincts and base nature.
Excellent. Just the way Venom wanted it.
Still… Despite how good a development this turned out to be, this was hardly the place or time.
Finding a more permanent solution to the problem was better left somewhere without cameras and witnesses.
Venom WOULD have their vengeance against Katsuki! Just as they would have against that bitch Mei and the flaky false friend Tenya!
They would all suffer if Venom had anything to say about it.