And we're back with another exciting chapter of "Through the Rough"! Last time, Weisz pulled out a big victory in the first of the final exam matches! So let's see who'll win in the next couple! No waiting around for now, let's get to it!
"Hm..." Homura hummed in thought with her eyes closed as she sat at the table in the waiting room. Shota was one of the few opponents who could best match every single one of the students in class, even without needing to use his Quirk. She discovered that firsthand at the U.S.J. And now she was about to be on the receiving end of his attacks.
"So Steiner wound up winning for his team against both Cementoss and Hermit..." Shoto noted, getting her attention as she looked over to the TV screen hanging in the corner of the room, displaying the sheepishly grinning Machina Maker Quirk user getting compliments from the teachers he faced. In the meantime, Eijiro and Rikido were being carried away on stretchers by robots.
"I wonder if we're being graded individually or as teams..." Homura said out of curiosity.
"It's possible the former's more likely," the Half-Cold, Half-Hot Quirk user answered as he went over to sit across from her at the table, "Kirishima and Sato were defeated so quickly before they could really do anything to Cementoss or Hermit," he noted.
"And Weisz was able to capture them both without their help," his classmate added, "I must say, he's improved greatly since the USJ and the Sports Festival..." she mentioned, sounding quite impressed, "You have, too," she pointed out, causing Shoto to blink in surprise.
"Me?" he inquired.
"Mm-hmm," the Soul Blade Quirk user responded with a nod, "When we faced those Nomu and that villain back during the raid mission, you used your Quirk in such a clever way," she told them, "And you saved me," she mentioned. Hearing that, Shoto sheepishly scratched at his right cheek and blushed a little. Homura gave off a little giggle. "Anyways..." she continued, "I think we should discuss our strategy against Mister Aizawa," she insisted.
"Right," the Half-Cold, Half-Hot Quirk user agreed, "His Quirk cancels out ours until he winds up blinking," he recalled, "Therefore, we're going to have to discern how long he can keep his eyes open," he explained.
"Likely long enough to incapacitate us as he pleases..." Homura concluded, narrowing her eyes, "I do have an idea to counter him though," she said, much to her classmate's surprise, "It's something that my master was able to teach me," she mentioned.
"Okay then..." Shoto replied, "Um... where's Aoyama?" he wondered aloud, "I think he should be here for this..." he pointed out as the Soul Blade Quirk user looked around. Their classmate was posing in the mirror smugly, not having a worry in the world. Unfortunately, he would have to worry soon...
"OWOWOWOWOWW!" Denki exclaimed as he had gotten himself pinned down by one of Ectoplasm's clones, while Snipe had his gun aimed toward him.
"Kaminari!" Fumikage called out from afar as he and Tsuyu were battling the other clones provided by their teacher.
"Go on without me, guys!" the Electrification Quirk user insisted with teary, overdramatic eyes. From the viewing booth, Izuku and the others watched the battle go on with concern on their faces. Denki had gotten himself captured rather quickly and was now left to see his teammates go on ahead to the escape gate.
"Against a team like Mister Ectoplasm and Mister Snipe, can they really do anything?" Rebecca wondered worriedly.
"Weisz was able to beat Cementoss and Hermit, so I think they'll be fine!" Ochaco assured as she pumped her fist up, "Go for it, guys!" she cheered. As the duo of Fumikage and Tsuyu continued on their path to the escape gate, they were blocked off by the real Ectoplasm, who summoned forth a giant clone of himself to immobilize the two of them. They were only caught up by their foe because Snipe fired off shots to prevent their escape.
It seemed as if things would be over... until Tsuyu hacked up the handcuffs she had stored in her stomach. With Dark Shadow taking them, they captured Ectoplasm, thus removing him from the battlefield. Afterwards, the two student heroes faced down Snipe, who failed to fend off the shadowy entity from Fumikage, allowing for the Frog Quirk user to get behind him and handcuff his arms as well.
"They did it!" Izuku exclaimed with a bright smile.
"Wow, their teamwork was amazing!" Rebecca mentioned excitedly. As Ectoplasm and Snipe offered their compliments to the victorious students, one of the former's clones arrived with a knocked out Denki, who seemed to be a content daze. Looking at him on the screen, the Leaper Quirk user put her hand onto her chin nervously.
'If everyone in this gets graded individually, then so far, it seems like Eijiro, Rikido and Denki all failed...' she noted inwardly, 'And when the time comes...' she continued through her thoughts, thinking about her upcoming battle against All Might with Izuku and Katsuki as she started sweating profusely, 'I don't even know if any of us are gonna pass!' she admitted, shaking her head.
"You okay, Rebecca?" Ochaco inquired.
"Oh, uh, yeah..." the Leaper Quirk user stuttered in response, "Just a little nervous for my match at the end..." she admitted sheepishly.
"Same..." her brown-haired classmate confessed as a reply, "But you know, I think we're gonna be fine with the people at our sides," she pointed out assuredly, giving off a thumbs up. Seeing that, Rebecca gave off a small smile. The next match pitted Tenya, Mashirao, and Toru against Power Loader and Nezu. The latter of the two was in a crane with a wrecking ball, knocking down debris to make it much more difficult for the three students to traverse the grounds.
"What's the call here, Iida?" Mashirao inquired to the class representative, getting his attention.
"Based on the given situation, we'll need to retreat and find a pro that can better handle the likes of Mister Power Loader and Mister Nezu," he explained in reply.
"Shouldn't we try to fight?" Toru inquired.
"Yeah, that doesn't seem to be the best idea..." the Tail Quirk user admitted in response, smacking a rock forward with his extra appendage. It hit the ground, which subsequently collapsed in an instant.
"Whoa!" the invisible girl yelped. With Power Loader tunneling underground, there was no telling where any stable footing was.
"In that case, we'll hurry through!" Tenya decided.
"Right!" Mashirao agreed. He and Toru then boarded the Engine Quirk user's back as he took on a lunging stance. The weight of his two classmates was heavy... but to him, nothing was too heavy in the face of working to stop villainy.
"RECIPRO... BURST!" he exclaimed, blasting forward in an instant. The ground kept collapsing with each step he took. But he was going so fast that he wasn't getting caught up in the destruction.
"Oh my, how clever..." Nezu admitted from his crane, "I guess I'll have to step things up..." he concluded, pushing the levers of his crane to make the wrecking ball crash against the earth. All of a sudden, it started to cave in right ahead of the student heroes.
"AAAAAAAHHH!" Toru screamed, "We're done for!" she exclaimed with fright.
"No we're not!" Tenya proclaimed in response, "Ojiro, wrap your tail around my leg! And hold onto Hagakure tight!" he instructed of his teammate.
"Got it!" Mashirao responded, wrapping his extra appendage around the class representative's leg while also taking hold of the invisible girl in his left arm.
"Ah!" she yelped in surprise, feeling his hand touch her flesh.
"RECIPRO..." Tenya began to bellow again, spinning around rapidly "EXTENNNNNNDDDDDDDD!" he roared, launching his teammates toward the escape gate. They barely traversed over Power Loader as he lunged up to try and grasp them, landing just beyond the gate. A horn went off, signaling that they had cleared the match.
"Wow, that was close..." Mashirao admitted, sweating a little.
"Um... Ojiro?" Toru uttered out, getting his attention.
"You okay, Hagakure?" he asked in concern.
"Your hand... it's uh..." the invisible girl tried to say, causing him to arch an eyebrow. He looked to where his left hand was, realizing that it was upon something soft. A huge blush broke out on his face.
"OHMYGOSH, I'MSOSORRY!" he instantaneously apologized as he moved away and held his hands up in surrender.
"I-It's okay..." Toru stuttered assuredly, "Thanks for saving me..." she added with gratitude.
"Y-You're welcome..." the Tail Quirk user stammered in reply, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head. From the viewing booth, Izuku smiled at the sight of Tenya's victory. It was good to see him in better spirits after everything that happened in Hosu.
"So now the next match is Todoroki, Kogetsu, and Aoyama versus Eraser Head and Witch..." Ochaco noted aloud, getting his attention.
"Ugh..." Rebecca shivered out, "I'm getting chills just thinking about how fighting someone who can erase Quirks would go..." she admitted sheepishly, "especially after seeing how well he did at the USJ..." she mentioned.
"Knowing Todoroki and Kogetsu, they'll figure out something," her best friend noted, "Those two are strong..." he pointed out, recalling what he had seen from their duel in the Sports Festival.
"So you'll battle Miss Witch, while I face Mister Aizawa?" Homura inquired of Shoto as they lurked in the alleyway alongside Yuga.
"That seems like the best strategy for now..." the Half-Cold, Half-Hot Quirk user replied.
"Um..." Yuga uttered, raising his right hand to get their attentions, "what should I do...?" he inquired somewhat nervously.
"For now, stick with me," Shoto advised, "I'll fill you in on what we'll do as we hurry along," he assured to him, "Homura?" he said, seeing the Soul Blade Quirk user engage her power as red markings appeared along her arms.
"Worry not, Shoto," she responded, forming a blade in her hands, "I will be fine," she promised. The Half-Cold, Half-Hot Quirk user grinned.
"I won't worry," he affirmed, heading off with Yuga. And like that, the fourth battle of the final exams was about to begin...
So we've got a bit of comedy to go along with some nice little moments between our heroes! Up next, Shoto and Homura up against Witch and Eraser Head!
Hope you're looking forward to it! And thanks for reading!