And we're back with a Wednesday double-feature! Hopefully, this chapter doesn't offset traffic to "The Challenge of a Lifetime", but we'll see! I'm glad to see this story still barreling on toward the finish line of being caught up.

By my estimates, we'll be there at the end of May. But that's only assuming that everyone reading will help push it forward. So without further delay, I think it's time for us to get into the chapter!

"So what exactly is Kogetsu's plan, Todoroki?" Yuga asked as he and the Half-Cold, Half-Hot Quirk user rang along the streets of the battle center.

"It's something she was thinking about when it came to countering Mister Aizawa," his classmate answered, "Honestly, I had thought in order to know if he's near would be for one of us to use our Quirks until he erased them," he told the Navel Laser Quirk user, "But with what Homura's doing, we won't have to worry about our powers being erased," he pointed out.

"H-How come?" Yuga stuttered in question. Shoto narrowed his eyes upon recollecting what the Soul Blade Quirk user had told him. If he had to admit it, he was a bit nervous about her plan.

FLASHBACK

"When I normally use my Quirk, I make single swords or multiple ones for quick and easy use," Homura explained from the waiting room, "So when I deactivate my Quirk, those swords would disappear," she pointed out, "However, I can manifest a sword that remains tangible after some time," she mentioned.

"Remains tangible?" Shoto repeated in confusion, arching an eyebrow, "What does that mean?" he inquired.

"If I'm able to keep a sword manifested from my Quirk for a certain period of time, it'll be as if I'm holding an actual blade in my hands," she answered thoroughly to his surprise, "Truthfully, I've never actually accomplished the technique myself..." she admitted ashamedly, "If it doesn't work-" A hand coming onto her shoulder interrupted her sentence. She looked up to see her classmate standing beside her.

"It will," he assured, giving her a small smile, "I know you're strong from experience," he noted as she blinked in surprise. However, her expression shifted into a smile of her own as she got onto her own feet.

"Then we shall do our best," she declared in response.

END FLASHBACK

"...She'll be fine," Shoto stated firmly to Yuga, who blinked in surprise behind his red shades, "In the meantime, we have to do what we can in order to buy her the time she needs," he insisted.

"Time for what exactly?" a familiar voice inquired, getting their attentions as they widened their eyes. Screeching to a halt, the two Class A students whipped around to see Witch walking out from an intersection of the neighborhood.

"Miss Witch..." the Half-Cold, Half-Hot Quirk user uttered out, narrowing his eyes with concern. He was prepared to ignite his left arm with flames, but just as he did, they instantaneously vanished. Yuga noticed and gasped.

"That means...!" he started to realize, glancing back over his shoulder to see none other than Shota looming nearby, crouched atop a telephone pole.

"So you decided to split yourselves up for now..." he noted, standing up as his eyes glared down the two students.

"Uh oh..." the Navel Laser Quirk user uttered, shaking a little with fright.

'There's definitely nowhere we can run right now...' Shoto noted inwardly as he grimaced, 'Homura, please hurry!' he pleaded through his thoughts.

"Guess we'll start with the more troublesome of the two of you," Witch decided, leaping up in a burst of wind to the surprise of Shoto and Yuga, "starting with you, Sir Shoto," she added, landing down behind the pair.

"Cra-!" The Half-Cold, Half-Hot Quirk user didn't have time to finish his shout as Witch kicked him squarely in the back, knocking him away.

"Todoroki!" Yuga cried out. Before he could do anything, he found himself suddenly ensnared by Shota's binding cloth, locking his arms to their sides. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" he shrieked as he was pulled back and hoisted up into the air upside down.

"You might've had a sound plan at the start, but it's about to unravel," the Class A homeroom teacher stated, glaring at the Navel Laser Quirk user, who shuddered. Clenching his teeth in frustration, Shoto found himself worrying that Homura would be no match for Witch and Shota all by herself. But at that very moment, he felt ice form upon his right arm.

'My Quirk...!' he realized, quickly planting his right foot down as he whipped around. Witch took notice and lightly gasped.

"Eraser-!" Her shout came too late as a massive spire of ice was erected from their foe, veiling him from their sight.

'So he'd been testing to make sure he could use his Quirk ever since I erased it...' Shota inwardly noted, undoing the binding cloth he had tied Yuga to while making sure he was secured there.

"Witch, we need to find him or Kogetsu before they meet up," he advised of his colleague.

"Understood," she responded with a nod. They both headed off around the ice wall, leaving the Navel Laser Quirk user behind as he sighed with relief. Elsewhere, the glow surrounding Homura's blade slowly faded. She opened her eyes to see that it was fully manifested, even as she deactivated her Quirk. A small smile came across her face.

"Homura!" a familiar voice whispered out, causing her to whip and point her blade toward Shoto, much to her surprise.

"Shoto!" she yelped quietly, "Where is Aoyama?" she questioned, looking around for a sign of the Navel Laser Quirk user.

"We got ambushed by both Witch and Mister Aizawa..." her classmate answered, "Aoyama got captured," he mentioned in frustration as she blinked in surprise.

"Well... we'll save him," she assured confidently, "You two bought me enough time," she pointed out, showing off her manifested blade, "If you focus on battling Witch, I'll make sure Mister Aizawa doesn't erase your Quirk," she promised, "Does that sound alright?" she inquired of her teammate. He gave off another smile.

"It's what we agreed upon at the beginning," he remarked in reply. Traversing the neighborhood houses, Shota and Witch searched for their two foes. The latter landed atop a roof and looked around.

"It doesn't seem like they're planning to escape..." the Shining Star Hero noted as the wind breezed by through her hair, "Are they luring us into a trap?" she wondered aloud.

"That would be quite the surprise..." the Erasure Quirk user admitted, "Those two aren't exactly known for being discreet..." he pointed out. He then took notice of Homura running out from an alleyway alongside Shoto. "There they are!" he exclaimed, lunging out and glaring at their running forms. However, he was shocked to see that the Soul Blade Quirk user's weapon wasn't disappearing.

'I swear I looked at her and Todoroki...!' he noted to himself, while Witch seemed just as surprised.

'Has Lady Homura mastered a new ability with her Quirk like Valkyrie?' she wondered inwardly. Meanwhile, Shoto glanced back to see the two teachers coming towards them.

"Here they come!" he called out to his teammate.

"Right!" she responded, swiftly pivoting around and leaping out at Shota, who gasped. He quickly pulled out a large knife from behind to counter her blade in a flurry of sparks. As that happened, it forced him to blink. And in that very instant, it allowed for Shoto to unleash another massive wave of ice, which was heading for Witch.

'So their strategy was to battle us in one-on-one fights, with Sir Yuga assisting however he could...' she realized, giving off a small grin, 'How interesting...' she added through her thoughts. She slammed her right palm down, creating her own wave of ice that crashed against her foe's, causing them both to shatter as shards went flying everywhere.

"I admire your courage, Sir Shoto," the Shining Star Hero admitted to the Half-Cold, Half-Hot Quirk user, "However, I don't believe you'll be able to best us both individually," she pointed out as lightning crackled off of her palms.

"Don't underestimate Homura," Shoto advised, igniting his left arm in fire, "She's strong," he noted firmly. Elsewhere, sparks flew between Homura and Shota as their blades clashed upon the neighborhood rooftops. The latter was being forced into a metaphorical corner as his foe was relentless in her assault.

'Witch won't be able to take down Todoroki without my help...' he noted inwardly, 'And I won't be able to hold off Kogetsu like this unless Witch were able to help!' he added through his thoughts, 'I hate to admit it, but they really thought this through...' he concluded to himself, giving off a grin.

"HAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Homura bellowed, slashing mightily. Unfortunately for her, her opponent stopped her blade with his own, putting them at a deadlock.

"Sorry, Kogetsu..." her teacher apologized, much to her surprise as she blinked, "But I'm not going to make this easy for you," he said, readying his binding cloth. All of a sudden though, a blue laser beam zipped by and knocked his knife out of his hand. "What?!" he yelped in shock, while the Soul Blade Quirk user widened her eyes. They looked over to see Yuga there, shooting his teammate a wink.

"Many thanks, Aoyama!" she responded, rearing her blade back, "Warrior-Maiden Single Sword Attack..." she started to bellow out, landing a powerful slash across her foe's chest, "DRAGON FLASH!" she exclaimed, knocking him down onto the roof upon his back. She quickly cuffed his wrists behind his back, thus capturing him. Now all that was left was to capture Witch.

Flames and ice flew about the street as Shoto breathed heavily with exhaustion. The Shining Star Hero he was facing felt the same, though only due to the compressed weights upon her body. She readied her hands again, prepared to unleash another attack. But all of a sudden, several swords of energy appeared all around her up in the air, much to her disbelief as she gasped.

"Apologies for the delay, Shoto," Homura apologized, holding the captured Shota by his scarf as she had arrived with him and Yuga, "But I believe with this, we win," she declared. A smile came across the Half-Cold, Half-Hot Quirk user's face. Thanks to his teammate's planning, they wound up victorious. She was a lot more clever than he imagined based on the midterm rankings... But that's what he admired most about her.

"Huh..." Shiki exhaled, clenching his fists determinedly.

"Our match is the first one in which we're facing a lone opponent..." Momo pointed out as they were in the U.S.J. itself, which was acting as the battle center for their practical.

"Being that it's Thirteen, I can understand why..." Ochaco mentioned as she made sure her helmet was securely set upon her head, "A villain with her kind of Quirk would be really bad for anyone to deal with," she added.

"Definitely," Momo agreed, "I think we should focus on escaping," she insisted, "Thirteen's Quirk is probably too much for any one of us to try and deal with..." she admitted, putting her hand onto her chin.

"Are you okay with that, Shiki?" Ochaco asked of the Satan Gravity Quirk user, getting his attention.

"If no one has to get hurt, then yeah," he responded to her surprise. She recalled seeing how apologetic he had been with Kris earlier in the week. Clearly, he harbored a lot of regrets. "Let's do this," he said, taking on a determined expression.

"Right," Momo agreed with a nod, while Ochaco stood up and did the same. The horn went off, signaling the start of their match...

And there you have it! Shoto and Homura pass! Now it's time to see how Shiki, Ochaco and Momo do in theirs! In the meantime, I'm gonna go ahead and watch the season finale of Moon Knight!

Thanks for reading!