It's finally time to start the practical exams for Class 1-A! Like how the matchups are arranged in the previous chapter, we'll be seeing more of some matches over others in order to delve into how certain characters face down their teachers. And it'll be interesting to see just how these matches turn out.
In other news, I'm happy to report that "Through the Rough" has reached over 50 favorites and follows! I'm glad that this story has taken off in such a great way, and I hope future chapters will bring even more readers! But until that happens, thank you so much for liking the story thus far!
Now let's get into the first match of the final exams!
As he made his way to the gate leading to the exam site, Weisz looked at his Arsenal watch and exhaled a frustrated sigh. Sure, he had won a battle against a villain recently, but that was only after he realized that his armored suit was barely doing him any good. And even after all of the guidance Eraser had given him in regards to his Quirk, he was only able to use the suit for just ten or fifteen seconds more than he could normally. He imagined Laguna, who didn't have such a limit to his Quirk, calling him an idiot or pathetic. It turned his stomach to think about it.
"So Mister Cementoss and Miss Hermit against us, huh?" Eijiro noted as they approached the massive doorway.
"Guess it makes sense when you think about it," Rikido admitted, putting his hands onto his hips, "Hermit's Quirk is perfect for taking care of bad guys' weapons like Steiner's..." he pointed out.
"You make it sound like I am a bad guy..." Weisz muttered out upon overhearing.
"I'm guessing Cementoss' Quirk might be what really trips us up though..." Eijiro noted, ignoring the Machina Maker Quirk user as he crossed his arms, "If it's anything like what I saw at the USJ, we could be in a lot of trouble..." he pointed out. At that moment, the horn to signal the start of the exam went off, and the gate opened.
"No point in worrying over it now!" Rikido yelled, cracking his knuckles before he and Eijiro jogged in.
"Hey, wait a second!" Weisz called out, only to sigh in frustration, "Dammit..." he cursed, following his teammates. Watching them via the large monitor in the viewing section were Izuku, Rebecca, Shiki, and Ochaco.
"It's easy to see why Hermit and Weisz are matched against each other..." the Zero Gravity Quirk user noted as she put a hand onto her chin.
"Is it really okay for her to be part of the exams at all?" Rebecca inquired, looking over to a seated Recovery Girl, "I mean... she just got back from being held captive for months..." she pointed out worriedly.
"Well, she insisted..." the nurse replied, "Sister, too," she mentioned, "though I don't think she was met with such resistance..." she muttered out, "But Hermit's always been a go-getter, especially when it comes to things like helping the next generation," she told the Class A students, "Those kids out there now shouldn't underestimate her just because she's a little rusty..." she added.
"I can't wait to see how Hermit fights!" Shiki excitedly exclaimed.
"It'll be cool to see just how much everyone's grown from the internships," Izuku mentioned while taking out a notebook and a pen. Rebecca blinked twice.
"Where'd you pull that out from?" she wondered aloud. Back in the faux city acting as the exam site, Hermit stretched her arms up before exhaling a relieved, deep breath. Cementoss approached her.
"The weights aren't too heavy on you?" he inquired of her.
"Nope, I'm all good!" she assured in response, making him chuckle.
"I'm glad to see that you've fit right in with UA nicely..." he pointed out.
"Witch and Sister really got me up to speed, even though they wanted me to rest," the Master Code Quirk user noted in remembrance, holding her hand over her heart, "For the heroes who helped save me," she continued, "I wanna help them get stronger!" she vowed.
"Then I suppose it's time we get started," Cementoss decided as he turned his head.
"Right!" Hermit agreed, readying several holographic keyboards and monitors around herself. As Weisz trailed after Eijiro and Rikido, there was an uncomfortableness bubbling in his stomach. Something about him and his teammates being paired together wasn't sitting well with him.
'The exam's meant to test us based on our Quirks and how we've overcome our own weaknesses...' he noted to himself, 'Mine happens to be the time limit I have to use my Quirk if done excessively...' he recalled, 'And I'm not sure if guys like Cementoss or Hermit have limits like that...' he added inwardly, 'So then-' The sound of a car engine snapped him away from his thoughts as he turned and widened his eyes to see an empty sedan driving towards him.
"AH!" he gasped loudly, jumping out of the way in the nick of time as the car crashed into a building before it could hit him.
"Whoa, Steiner!" Eijiro yelped upon overhearing the crash as he and Rikido turned to see him seated on the street, "You okay?" he asked in concern.
"Hermit's seriously tried to kill me!" the Machina Maker Quirk user shouted out angrily. Rebecca winced, remembering when Jamilov had used his Quirk to try the exact same thing back in Hosu. The three boys regathered themselves before a wall erected in front of them, forcing them to hop back. They looked to see Cementoss there with his weighted hands pressed upon the ground.
"So he's trying to wall us off, huh?" Rikido assumed, taking on a ready stance.
"Not a problem," Weisz assured, readying his rifle, "I'll get him with some tranqs before he can-!" He stopped upon pulling the trigger, not seeing any ammunition come out. "Oh, shoot!" he yelped in realization, looking around with a grimace upon his face. Perched nearby with a pair of cybernetic, rabbit-like ears floating beside her head, Hermit giggled.
FLASHBACK
"Machina Maker, huh?" the Master Code Quirk user noted upon seeing the paperwork for the three students, "Sure sounds like quite a tough customer!" she pointed out, "How'd he do in the Sports Festival?" she inquired curiously.
"We can catch up on that another time..." Shota insisted, "Anyways, Steiner, Kirishima, and Sato have glaring limit weaknesses," he told his fellow teachers, "The one thing about Steiner is that he has a tendency to rely on the battle suit he created, which causes him to only be able to use his Quirk for up to just over a minute," he explained thoroughly.
"Though any machine doesn't mean much in the face of you, Hermit," Cementoss noted.
"Mmm... not exactly..." the Master Code Quirk user responded to his surprise, "When it comes to complex machines like certain supercomputers, it takes a while for me analyze them," she told the teachers, "That's why making contact with any type of machine I'm unfamiliar with helps, because I can break it down in that very instant," she explained.
"Either way, it sounds like you'll be more than enough of a challenge for Steiner's Quirk," Midnight pointed out.
"I'm still uncertain that you should participate, Hermit..." Witch admitted in concern.
"It'll be okay," the Master Code Quirk user assured as she stood up, "But don't expect me to hold back against those kids..." she mentioned with a smirk.
END FLASHBACK
"Crap...!" Weisz yelped out.
"What's the matter, Steiner?" Eijiro asked as he glanced back at his comrade, "Your gun jammed?" he guessed.
"We got bigger problems, guys!" Rikido called out, getting their attentions as they looked to see several walls erecting up from the street, heading towards them.
"Mister Cementoss must be trying to trap us!" Eijiro realized, hardening his arms as quickly as he could, "Let's break through for a high score!" he insisted.
"Yeah!" Rikido agreed, downing a packet of sugar to make his muscles grow.
"Wait a sec, guys!" Weisz called out. But he was too late as his teammates were already making their charge. They were tearing down the formed walls one after another with ease, but more were being made by Cementoss, blocking them off. The Machina Maker Quirk user grimaced.
'At this rate, they're gonna just wear themselves out!' he noted inwardly. He then took notice of several empty cars swerving around the corner, heading toward him. He looked over and spotted Hermit atop the nearby building. 'The only thing I can do right now is use Arsenal and blast my way through...' he told himself, 'But if I do that, I could wind up being left as useless as my teammates could be!' he added through his thoughts, gritting his teeth out of frustration.
"Steiner, help!" Eijiro called out desperately, getting his attention as he looked to see his two teammates suddenly get swallowed up in a wave of cement. The Machina Maker Quirk user growled, clenching his fists.
"Screw it!" he yelled out, twisting his watch and causing the armoring to pop out from it, forming upon his body. He quickly formed boosters on his legs, propelling himself forward to blast through the cement. His two teammates were already unconscious unfortunately, but he managed to catch them and set them aside on the sidewalk. "Don't worry, guys..." he assured to them, "I'll finish this in a minute!" he vowed, dashing out at Cementoss.
"You realize that to do that, you'll need to capture both of us..." the Cement Quirk user pointed out, erecting several more walls to slow his foe down. However, Weisz easily bashed through them with his armored fists, closing in.
"I'm not gonna lose!" he vowed, "The Weaponized Hero Arsenal doesn't lose to villains like you!" he declared fiercely. His bravado vanished once he saw Hermit land down in front of him.
"You're taking this pretty seriously, huh?" she inferred, causing him to gasp, "Unfortunately, it's not gonna do you any good..." she pointed out. All of a sudden, a semi-truck suddenly drove in and rammed into Weisz, knocking him back. He quickly recovered, launching out at his foes.
'Only twenty-five seconds left...!' he noted to himself.
"You can't drive cars on a damaged street!" he pointed out, forming his right arm into a cannon and pressing it against the ground, "DRUM BUSTER!" he roared, unleashing a powerful blast that shattered the pavement, causing it to become jagged and rough.
"Hmm... a little excessive on the damage..." Hermit pointed out, "but not bad..." she admitted with a smirk, "I think it's time we ended this party!" she decided, readying her hands as she lunged out at the Machina Maker Quirk user, who reformed his right arm from its cannon.
"Yeah!" he agreed, lunging out at her.
"Whoa, he's charging toward her?!" Izuku yelped from the viewing section.
"Isn't that a bad idea with Hermit's Quirk?!" Rebecca inquired aloud. On the battlefield, Weisz was mere inches away from losing his only advantage. However...
'Arsenal... isn't my only weapon!' he exclaimed inwardly. And of his own accord, he made the armor suddenly retract. Both Hermit and Cementoss gasped in surprise, seeing him move around and grab one of the Master Code Quirk user's cybernetic, bunny-like ears.
"Sorry about this, Hermit!" he apologized in advance, remodeling the protrusion into a pair of handcuffs, which he quickly placed onto her, "But I'm not planning on losing!" he yelled with a wide grin.
"No way...!" the Shining Star Hero gasped in disbelief.
'At the last second, he used his Quirk to remove his armor before I could disassemble it...!' she noted to herself, seeing him turn his attention onto Cementoss and equip his armor on himself again, 'This guy... he's really clever...!' she added inwardly, giving off a grin.
"Not bad, Steiner..." the Cement Quirk user admitted, "But don't think that I'll-!" Without warning, his foe dashed by him.
"Sorry, teach," he apologized again, having gotten his other foe in cuffs as well, "but it's like you said..." he continued as his armor came off, "I needed to get both of you to win, right?" he inferred, giving off a smirk. Cementoss chuckled.
"And that you did..." he said.
"Team Kirishima, Sato, and Steiner have passed the practical!" a voice over the loudspeaker announced.
"Way to go, Weisz!" Shiki cheered from the viewing section.
"That was incredibly close..." Ochaco pointed out, taking a deep breath, "I honestly thought they were gonna lose when Kirishima and Sato got knocked out..." she admitted.
"Guess we underestimated just how determined Weisz is," Rebecca realized.
"Yeah," Izuku agreed with a nod, "He's got a heart of a hero for sure," he mentioned, closing his notebook as he finished his notes on the Machina Maker Quirk user.
And Weisz takes a big victory for his team! He's still got a long way to go, but he's going in the right direction for sure! Next time, we'll be getting through a few more matches before getting to the bigger ones!
Thanks for reading!