Final Exams: Hero Course Mettle

"We had no time to prepare." A chorus of steps echoed as all of 1-B made their way through the halls of the grand hero high school, UA. "We have a very rough idea of what we're fighting." Each and every one of their faces were extremely serious, for once none of them were joking or playing around, even including the likes of Awase and Kaibara. "We have to go beyond what we were yesterday."

Monoma grinned and popped his collar.

Setsuna smirked and fluffed her hair.

Kendo rubbed her hands as she readied her quirk.

Reiko closed her eyes and tried to empty her head.

And Izuku breathed deep before his eyes glowed with the power of One For All.

"AND WIN!" They entered the light in the front area of the school, a large bus waiting for them there, as well as a load of teachers, it looked around eleven teachers which included their own homeroom ones.

Vlad King grinned as he turned to Aizawa, "Looks like my kids came out first, what happened to that punctuality you were drilling into them?"

Aizawa looked disappointed and grumbled to himself, probably thinking of ways to punish his students for being late.

"Sorry for being late!" Yaoyorozu yelled as her class came out of the school, "Iida-san insisted that we all walk in a single-file line…"

Their teacher hummed before pointing at Iida, "Detention for a week."

The youngest Iida startled before nodding,"Y-Yes sir!"

The students of both classes quickly all gathered around their teachers, even Bakugo who usually didn't care for what their teachers had to say, "Alright everyone." They heard a high-pitched voice come from seemingly nowhere before Nezu popped out of Aizawa's scarf. "Please enter the bus!"

Silence stretched before Pony pointed at the principal, "Rat."

She shut her mouth as soon as the little rodent sent her a smile, one that made her skin crawl.

Izuku gulped before instructing Class B to get onto the specially constructed bus there was for both hero courses while Yaoyorozu did the same for Class A. They were all quite a bit shocked at the principal's behavior, but Izuku was worried about what test he had designed.

The bus they were on was quite a bit larger than the one that they took to the USJ, Izuku noted as he sat with Reiko, most likely due to the need to fit both courses. The bus was probably big enough to take up a whole traffic road on its own, having an area for just the teachers and separate areas for 1-A and 1-B.

Speaking of, Izuku took the chance to glance at his sister class, seeing some of them just as nervous as he was, though there were some outliers. Todoroki with his cold exterior was a given, then there was Bakugo who was cursing about teachers pulling bullshit on them. Izuku would have agreed if he wasn't neck deep in anxious waiting.

His own class wasn't doing much better, Kamamkiri was a little like Bakugo however he was telling those around him that they would be just fine and pull through together, which was quite a shocker.

Kendo and Izuku shared a lock of the eye, allowing them to see each other's skepticism about being able to face this challenge head on, but they couldn't vocalize those thoughts. They had to stay strong for their classmates.

"Are you doing alright?" The monotone of Reiko was easily heard and Izuku turned to her, trying to muster up a smile. Though, it seemed that she wasn't fooled as she grabbed his hand. "I'm sure you'll do wonderfully."

It gave him a moment's pause before he let out a small smile and mouthed a "Thank you."

The bus slowed to a stop and Aizawa stood up, "Everyone get off the bus now." They all filled out slowly, finding themselves facing a large tower, around were even more buses, though they were much smaller than the first one, looking like they sat ten students at most. "This is the hub, while other students are taking their tests you will be here, listening and observing each and every exam." He drawled in monotone.

"We will be doing groups one by one." Vlad King spoke, "So everyone gets a chance to see how everyone else is doing, and offer good commentary to one another."

"But enough of that." Nezu hummed as he hopped off of Aizawa. "It's time for the Final Exams to begin!"

"yyyyYEAHHHHHHH!" Present Mic yelled with enthusiasm, only to be glared at and silenced by Aizawa. "...sorry…"

"Better be." The underground hero grumbled.

Nezu's squeaks advised both of the heroes to stop bickering and put the student's attention on him, "I would explain the test, but I figure some of you have already figured it out."

The students that had been at Yaoyorozu's estate entered a state of shock.

"H-How did he figure it out?" Monoma wondered aloud.

The rat simply grinned, "Do you all believe I told Young Shinso about the test on accident?"

Yaoyorozu's eyes widened, "It was deliberate, you wanted us to know, b-but why?"

"Information always leaks in the field." Midnight for once sounded serious, "Whether it's the intel you need to put the villains in jail or your own information for a raid that gets leaked, it happens, deal with it and move on."

Cementoss grinned, "We allowed the information to leak to see how you all would react, to see if you would make the most of the leak and how you would prepare using the information."

Aizawa shook his head, "Though, it appears you didn't do anything meaningful with the information, so we're moving on."

Midnight grinned a wide smile and the boys felt themselves locked up, "Speaking of moving." She turned around and smiled, "Get out here Shinso-kun!"

Out from behind one of the buses came Shinso, however the boy didn't have any sort of gear on and instead had the standard UA gym uniform, albeit with one of Eraserhead's capture scarfs around his neck.

Izuku grimaced, 'Shinso didn't have any time to have his request for support gear be completed, if we have the extra week then he might've been able to get his voice modulator in time…' It wasn't fair to Shinso, but it's the way this game was being played.

"WHAT'S THIS B-LISTER DOING HERE?!" Bakugo yelled in rage, only to be silenced by a glare from Eraserhead.

The pro sighed before speaking, "As you know this test will be the final exam for your first trimester, however it will also be considered as Hitoshi Shinso's entrance exam." Those that didn't know nodded along, accepting the fact, though Bakugo still looked ticked. "He's proved he has the will to push himself, now we're here to see if he's got the spirit."

Izuku grinned, knowing that he had been of help with Shinso's betterment of his skills, as he had been the one to provide Shinso with a workout routine to improve his body's strength.

Shinso grumbled as he stepped in front of the class, gazing at his friend's in 1-B and potential classmates throughout both of the classes. "Just so you know…" His voice carried throughout the area, "I'm here to pass this test, I might just take one of your spots."

Some of the hero students grumbled, but others listened, "Because… I want to be a hero!" Shinso's dead monotone turned resolute, "So that people with villainous quirks like me can have someone to look up to! Someone they can see to know that their quirks aren't evil!" His eyes held conviction and promise.

Izuku smiled and stepped up, sticking a hand out for his friend to shake, "I think that's a wonderful goal!"

Shinso grinned and shook Izuku's hand, "Thanks, Midoriya."

Kayama grinned as she nudged Aizawa, "Look at that, your kid's already making friends!"

The underground pro, and secret cat lover, grumbled and hid his face in his scarf, "He's not my kid…"

Yamada chuckled, "You sure about that one Shouta? He's practically a mini-you! I mean look at the eye bags! If he gets a little bit of shaggy facial hair and grows out his hair to a mop then it'll be a perfect match!"

"Young Shinso's surprising resemblance to Aizawa-kun aside, I believe it's about time we begin!" Nezu announced to everyone,"Everyone please file into the Hub Tower!" His mood was a little too chipper for some of the student's liking.

Both students and staff entered the Hub Tower, taking the elevator nearby to the top floor.

Bakugo crumbled, being around all these extras left a poor taste in his mouth. Monoma was acting the same but his reaction was due to being so close to class 1-A people instead.

The doors to the elevator flew open as the students and teachers stepped onto the top floor of the Hub Tower, one that was dedicated to cameras observing all of the surrounding test areas.

"Here, we'll be able to observe each test in real-time." Vlad King announced, "But, I think it's about time we begin." The students locked up, the air around them turning suffocating. "Like we said before, the matches will be a four against one, something a tad similar to your battle trials with All Might at the start of the year."

Izuku nodded along, having a similar experience to base this on would help, "However, unlike the battle trials, your teams have been handpicked by us to be specialized teams for you to work with, and you'll be fighting opponents much more experienced than yourselves."

Aizawa nodded, "Let's see how you handle the pressure." The man activated his quirk, his red eyes pierced the crowd as his hair floated ominously, "I see half of you breaking from it."

Nezu laughed and clapped his paws together, "Enough of all this funny business, I say it's time to start the first test!"

The screen behind the teachers lit up, names randomizing on the screen.

"Who's it going to be…" Aizawa muttered.

"First we have!" A robotic voice came from the screen,

"Kinoko Komori." The mushroom themed girl gulped as she would have to take the exam first, not trusting herself to be able to fight their teachers.

"Kosei Tsuburaba." The jokester flinched, feeling the same anxiety as Komori.

"Fumikage Tokoyami." The Avian headed teen sighed, "What a mad banquet of darkness…"

"And Tsuyu Asui." The frog girl tilted her head, looking strangely adorable with the action.

"Your opponent is… Ectoplasm!"

The disabled pro stepped forward, the man looking strange with his helmet and coat, despite his mask not giving away any showing to his emotions they could tell the man was sizing them up. "Shall we head down?"

Komori couldn't help but gulp, "Can we have a moment?"

Ectoplasm nodded, "You have five minutes before we're due to head to the combat zone." The man then turned to everyone else participating, "You all may head down already if you are prepared."

Much to Komori's dismay, the other three headed out to where they would be taking their final exam, while she quickly went to her friends, "I-I-I CAN'T DO THIS!" She yelled, pulling on her mushroom themed hat. "I-I'M GONNA FAIL, SHROOM!"

"Komori-san, I'm sure you've got this all handled." Kendo tried to assure.

"I-I DON'T!" The petite girl was shaking, on the verge of bawling her eyes out at this point. She tried to take deep breaths and managed to calm her voice down, "W-What can I do?"

"Komori." The mushroom whipped around to look at Kuroiro, the teen took her hands that were shaking and closed them into soft fists, "You are Shemage, a hero in training, you can do this."

She rubbed her eyes with her shoulder, "You think so, shroom?"

He smiled, his weird awkward smiled, "Kekeke, it's just another stupid test."

Komori let her breathing slow down and nodded, "Y-Yeah.. YEAH!" She pumped her fists, which Kuroiro was still holding, and let out a smile, "Yeah! It's just another stupid test! Just like the Battle Trials!"

Vlad King cleared his throat, causing both of them to look at him, "Your time is up Komori, you must start heading to the testing area now."

"O-Oh shroom!" The little hero yelped and retracted her hands before running to the elevator, waving to her friends before descending to her testing area.

Izuku grinned before looking at Kuroiro, "That was nice of you."

"You were getting pretty handsy there huh, Kuro-kun?" Setsuna teased.

Kuroiro simply turned away, thankful that, due to his skin color, no one could see his blush.

Practical Exam Location

The four gathered students entered their exam site, as they entered they noticed their site was rather a building than a mock city, a very tall cylindrical building at that, despite that the gate they had to get through to pass the test was right across from them on the first floor, as was Ectoplasm.

The rest of the building had an open air plan, with all the floors above them being able to peer down to the first floor.

"Kero, will this is strang–"

"sssSSSTARTT!"

With no other warning, Ectoplasm quickly turned around to face them and opened his mouth, a strange white, almost mist or goop like substance coming out of it, the substance then morphed into an exact duplicate of the pro. In under five seconds the man had an entire battalion ready to fight the heroes in training.

"Shit, RUN!" Tsuburaba yelled before making an air wall to block a flying kick from a clone.

More clones ran at them and Tsuburaba knew he couldn't block them all, yet it seemed he didn't have to as Asui and Tokoyami used their tongue and Dark Shadow respectively to wipe out a horde of clones, allowing them time to retreat.

Komori looked up and yelled, "We have to get up there!"

Tsuburaba nodded before yelping as Dark Shadow's hand wrapped around him, the same happening to Komori as Tsuyu leaped towards the higher floors.

The frog girl flew through the air and quickly used her long tongue to catch the soaring Komori and Tsuburaba, while at the same time Dark Shadow began fighting the Ectoplasm clones.

"Dark Shadow, it's time to go up!"

"Got it Fumi!" The beast clawed into the ground and pushed all the force it could downwards as it flew up into the air.

Tsuburaba used his quirk to make a platform for the three of them to stand on as Dark Shadow helped carry Tokoyami up into the air. The final of the four landed on the air platform, Tsuburaba straining his lungs to keep them up.

"So, what's the plan, kero?" Tsuyu asked as Ectoplasm kept spawning more clones. The man was completely surrounded by the entire group, it was almost impossible to tell he was there at all.

Komori looked down and closed her eyes trying to come up with any sort of a plan. Tokoyami clicked his tongue as Dark Shadow floated around him, "I'm unsure, not even I and Dark Shadow can take them all out as we are right now."

Komori hummed as an idea finally came to mind, grabbing glass bottles she had around her skirt and popping the caps off of them. "I think." She spoke with a little bit of uncertainty in her voice. "I've got an idea."

"You better hurry, Kero, your classmates's turning blue."

The mushroom girl nodded before sighing, "It's Shroom time." Quickly tossing all of her bottles down, she grinned as they hit the floor and broke into pieces.

The Ectoplasm clones all glanced at each other, wondering what exactly that was supposed to do. A wide grin found its way onto Komori's face as she pulled out two of her spray bottles, "Massive Spore Field!"

Mushrooms spawned into view as fast as popcorn came into being in a microwave, the entire first floor that had been covered into Ectoplasm clones instead became covered in mushrooms.

Tokoyami's eyes widened as their math teacher seemed to be overcome by the fungi. "What is this?"

Komori simply smiled to herself, "We need to go now."

Tsuburaba started to wheeze out his last breaths, causing the platform to wobble and crack.

Dark Shadow quickly scooped up all present and launched them even higher once more, Tsuburaba doubled over into a coughing fit as everyone else winced. "Take any longer and I would've died!"

"You're being dramatic, kero."

"SAYS THE ONE THAT STOOD THERE DOING NOTHING!"

Tsuyu seemed to… frown? Before placing a finger on her chin, "You're loud."

"Shhhhhh!" Komori shushed them as they all looked down at Ectoplasm, to see that instead of the mushrooms taking over his clones, a strange goop was taking over the mushrooms. "That's what comes out of his mouth when he makes a clone…."

Tsuyu gulped, "That's big…."

The strange looking substance coalesced into a new form, a giant Ectoplasm, one so big that the pro was only able to create the upper body of the clone, the giant reached up towards the sky, tearing up the floors around them as it headed towards them.

"You guys got your cuffs?" Tsuburaba asked as he pulled out his own pair. Tsuyu nodded, though she didn't pull out her pair. They were only given two pairs of cuffs, one for each pair of students from the separate classes.

"Then let us end this exam already." Tokoyami stood and Dark Shadow floated around him. "Ready, Dark Shadow?"

"You know it, Fumi!" The familiar screamed.

Tsuburaba grinned and stood alongside the avian teen, "Komori catch!" Komori yelped as she caught the capture cuffs, "You and Tsuyu got this, me and Tokoyami will give you an opening, we've got a good mix of defense and offense."

She nodded, a look of determination filling her face, "Got it!"

"Get ready, Kero." Tsuyu's tongue slipped around Komori's waist as they got ready to jump down.

"RAHHHHH!" Ectoplasm, or more the clone, yelled as it reached upwards.

"NOW!"

They all jumped down, with Tsuburaba making platforms for himself to head downwards, Dark Shadow clawing onto the floors around them so that she and Tokoyami could descend, and Tsuyu simply leaping down while holding onto Komori.

Tokoyami landed on the clone's face, Dark Shadow's claws reaching up and clawing at the eyes which caused the clone to yell and fall backwards.

Tsuburaba made a platform for him to land before he made even more barriers using his quirk, his lungs were on fire as he tried making prisons around the giant clone's face, keeping it from attacking Tokoyami as it tried to swipe at the avian looking teen, it was unable to do anything as it crashed into the ground.

Ectoplasm winced as the dust cleared, both of the boys landing on the floor right in front of him as his giant clone disappeared, "Seems I have to fight now–*POP*" The man recoiled as a mushroom appeared on his face. "What?" He looked around, not being able to find Komori. "You think the same trick you used on Bakugo is going to work on me?"

Tsuburaba grinned, "This time…" He cracked his knuckles as Dark Shadow flexed her claws, "She ain't alone!"

"That's right!"

Ectoplasm spun around, seeing Komori there with capture cuffs reaching for him. "Nice try, but not good enough!" The pro yelled as he continued his spin, throwing Komori into the two boys who fell as they caught her.

"Did you really think that was going to work?" Ectoplasm asked as he approached the three.

Komori smiled as she tried to get up, "Not really."

"What?"

*CLINK*

Ectoplasm went still, before looking back and seeing a cuff wrapped around his arm, as well as Asui who's skin and costume were changing from the matching beige of the walls and floor back to her usual green. "You can camouflage?"

The frog girl gave a thumbs up. "Always could. Kero."

The pro had to admit, he didn't know that, it was simply a lapse in his judgment that had cost him the battle. "Very well." He nodded, "You all have passed!"

Observation Room

By the time Komori had gotten back to the viewing deck of the Hub Tower the next match had already begun, consisting of Bondo, Awase, Mineta and Sero fighting against Midnight, she wished them luck. Her friends pounced on her as soon as she came into view, congratulating her on her victory against Ectoplasm.

"I knew you could do it shroomie!" Setsuna grinned and wrapped an arm around the smaller girl.

Kuroiro smiled, a very weird and slightly off putting smile, but an encouraging one nonetheless. "I told you you could do it."

The mushroom girl smiled and jumped into him with a hug, "You were right! We did it!"

"Now if only I had my phone so I could take a picture of this…" Setsuna pouted.

Kendo chuckled, "You can get one later."

"That much is obvious." Reiko smiled.

Izuku couldn't help but feel relieved that Komori had passed, with a good show of teamwork too! "Tokoyami's Dark Shadow is really versatile, Asui's Frog is incredible as well with a bunch of different abilities surrounding it. On top of that Tsuburaba has a really great grasp on Solid Air–"

"Breathe, will you?" Monoma chuckled as Izuku paused.

"A-Ah! Sorry." He rubbed the back of his neck. "Seeing all these quirks in action is just really interesting."

Reiko found her lips turning up just a tad, "Well, then why not see how Bondo and Awase's match is currently going?"

Izuku was eager to do so, but at the same time was rather reluctant since it was Miss Midnight they were fighting. He'd just ask Kan-sensei if he could get the recording of it later, that would be better. "I'm alright, I'll ask Kan-sensei if we're allowed to get recordings of the final exams later, he gave us the recordings of the Battle Trials after all.."

"Very well then." Reiko smiled up at him, "Are you ready for your exam?" She asked with a small tilt of her head that pulled on Izuku's heartstrings.

Izuku nervously chuckled at the question, "Nope." He scratched his cheek, "What about you?"

Reiko put a finger on her chin, "Perhaps a little bit, but not completely." She admitted.

They glanced at each other, just basking in the comfort of being able to be with each other, even if it was only for a moment. A thought came to Izuku's mind, however before he could voice it the announcement that the exam had finished went off in the tower, with a follow-up call for those in the next exam to head down to their site.

The two of them still had their eyes locked with each other before an arm slung around Izuku's head, "OH GEEZ!" Izuku yelled as he was pulled down by Tokage.

"You better cheer me on, Greenie!" His matching hair buddy yelled at him with a wide grin on her face, one that was almost reminiscent of Midnight.

"I-I will Tokage-chan!"

"Thanks!" The Lizard-loving teen said with a sincere smile.

Monoma sighed and shook his head, "You're such a handful."

"Sure am!"

The blond could only huff once more before unhooking Tokage's arm from Izuku's head, "Alright alright, now get going or you'll be late."

Tokage huffed as Monoma pushed her, but conceded that he was actually right. "Okay, okay! I'll get going. Just make sure to cheer me on too!" She took on running and waved at her friends.

Izuku smiled as he waved back, Monoma and the others joining him as well as they all wished Tokage the best of luck in her exam. After all, they were going to be fighting the principal, so….

Practical Exam Location

Kaminari gulped as he, Mina, the pretty girl with vine hair from 1-B, and the hot one with shark teeth walked through what was called Ground Gamma, which was an industrial ground with lots of concrete buildings and metal pipes sticking out of just about everywhere.

"So… we're fighting the principal, right?" He asked with a bit of nervousness as a small amount of electricity crackled in his palms.

Tokage looked around, one of her eyes disconnected and floating around high up above them, "Yeah…" She muttered as she looked around, "This one isn't going to be easy." They were walking around as they were trying to look for the little rat, to no avail.

Mina grinned as she bounced with her steps, nudging Shiozaki in the shoulder as they walked, "Hey, you were pretty cool during the sports festival, those vines of yours totally threw me for a loop!"

Shiozaki, for her part, was acting standoffish, not appreciating Mina's… state of dress. 'Seriously, her… assets… are almost hanging out… so sinful.' She thought to herself before shaking her head, "You were rather… cool… as well, Ashido was it?"

The pinkette grinned, "Yep! But you can call me Mina, everyone does!"

"GUYS!" Tokage yelled as a giant abomination came into view, an amalgamation of robot parts, Zero Pointer weapons, and construction vehicles that formed together to create a huge beast of metal, one even more frightening than the Zero Pointers they faced during the Entrance Exam and Sports Festival.

Kaminari yelled, "WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!"

Before Shiozaki had a chance to chastise him, a wrecking ball came crashing down, kicking up a large amount of debris.

Tokage quickly separated her body parts and started flying as the giant robot that Nezu made walked into view, "Just what the hell is that rat doing?"

Shiozaki frowned and activated her quirk, the vines crawling up and around the wrecking ball until it reached the chain that connected it to the rest of the robot. The tip of her vine spun together and turned sharp before slicing the metal chain.

BOOM

The massive ball landed on the ground, Kaminari and Mina cheered before the blond had an idea.

"Hey, Shiozaki-san!" Kaminari quickly ran up to her, despite how scared he was of Nezu and his giant robot. The religious girl turned to him as she continued trying to wrap the robot's legs with her vines while Tokage floated around it, trying to find a way to get inside the damn thing. "If you can get me close to the main control center, I can fry that thing!" He yelled as he crackled electricity in his hands.

Shiozaki turned to him and nodded, "Alright, very well!" She wasn't too confident in that course of action but she would at least try it. "Ashido-san, please try to take out this behemoth's legs!"

There was a LOT separating them from the machine that Nezu was piloting, at least a half a mile's worth of concrete and metal pipes, but she believed that Ashido could do it.

Mina grinned and pumped an arm, doubt not even an option in her mind.. "You got it!" With that she began skating on the ground towards the direction of the behemoth. She hummed as there was a ton of stuff in her path, rubbing her hands together she let some acid come off of them, "If there isn't a path then I'll just make one!"

Tokage eyeless face grinned as her two eyeballs finally got up to where Nezu's cockpit was, "So, it's a layer of glass, eh?" Her limbs quickly all gathered together as she rolled onto the ground to land. "Shiozaki, Kaminari!" She waved at the two.

The two quickly came over and tried to hide as Mina upped her acidity, so much so that it started hurting even her skin, as she tried to push through the surrounding area to get to Nezu.

"What is it,Tokage-san?" Shiozaki asked as Mina finally arrived at the leg of the robot and placed a hand on it, "Checkmate."

Tokage opened her mouth only to hear a giant crash, as the giant monster took a knee on the ground, the image only made Tokage grin before she explained that the cockpit where Nezu was located was only made of glass. "We break that, then Sparky here can finish it up!"

The two of them nodded, but Kaminari tilted his head, "How are we gonna do that though?"

Breaking the ice and then getting Kaminari in there, Tokage couldn't carry him up there, the guy was just too heavy.

She hummed and came up with an idea, "I'll rush full force and crash into the glass and break it, when Shiozaki you use your vines and carry Sparky up!"

Kaminari stammered, "Uhhh crashing into glass, that's a good idea?"

A smile full of shark teeth was all he got, "I've got this, don't worry." Tokage quickly turned to Shiozaki. "How about it?"

The vine haired girl could only nod, "It's our only chance, I suppose."

"Alright then BREAK!" Tokage's body quickly came apart once more as she soared to where Nezu was at while Shiozaki wrapped Kaminari in a group of vines.

"I'm going to have to make a lot for this little stunt we're pulling…" Shiozaki grunted as her vines bulged and grew in volume before rocketing Kaminari up.

The boy himself grinned, "Tell me about it, I'm gonna fry myself!"

Mina spun in place, acid spraying everywhere as the giant robot crumbled down to both of its knees, while it tried to punch her she quickly ran and hid behind the infrastructure of Ground Gamma. This time as she hid, she had to admit she was tapped out. Her skin stung as it looked bruned and she was exhausted, "I guess it's up to them now…" She muttered.

Tokage raced over to the glass cockpit and found Nezu, smiling despite how much the robot was crumbling. She sped up, going as fast as she could towards the glass tower, the little principal looked towards her and for once she saw that strange smile falter.

"Gotcha!"

CRASH

She got into the cockpit, with Kaminari landed right behind her and shocking the control panel, shutting down the entire monstrosity that Nezu had used against them. The giant thing fell backwards with a giant slam and Nezu had admitted defeat.

"I'm surprised by your recklessness, Young Tokage, but I understand why you did it, since you can regenerate with your quirk." Nezu commented as they went back towards the Hub, this time riding on the young teen's shoulder.

The girl, for the most part, had already healed most of the injuries that the glass had inflicted on her, "Yeah, that was pretty unexpected, wasn't it?"

She was glad, even if Kaminari was fried and Mina was juiced out, they had passed!

Observation Room

Aizawa wanted to curse, "That was so illogical…" He muttered to himself before glancing at Kan, "Your students are infecting mine, you're making my students go crazy." He accused with a point of his hand.

Kan crossed his arms and huffed, "You know I've done no such thing, we both know that hero students all have a little bit of insanity in them, I mean after all most heroes get mental conditions at some point in their careers."

The underground pro clicked his tongue, "You might be right…." He sighed as he observed those coming back, "I'll need to look into gear to help develop Kaminari's abilities, he went more for aesthetics than practicality with his costume. And Ashido needs to work on her quirk before she pushes it that much."

Kan nodded and said the same about Shiozaki, but at least her quirk was extremely versatile unlike Kaminari's, "You could always try a pointer and shooter, I've seen a lot of electricity based heroes use gear like that, or a whip or chain. Something like that will give him range."

Aizawa nodded, "I'll look into those. Thanks."

Kan grunted in response as the team that fought Nezu arrived back in the Hub's highest floor, Tokage was grinning ear to ear as she boasted about how their team beat the principal. Kan sighed and dragged a hand down his face. "She's too… chipper…"

"Hm." Aizawa grunted, a small smile coming to his face. "That's usually something I would say."

"Well, the trouble makers are more evenly spaced out this year." Nezu chirped as he walked up to both homeroom teachers. "Instead of them being all in your class Shouta-kun."

Kan grinned, happy that he was seen as capable enough to place some of the troublemakers into his own class. This year had felt different, his students were making more progress than they did before, was that because of his own effort? The villains? Or another factor?

"Ahem." Nezu gained the teacher's attention, "I know the next match involves one of your vice-representatives Sekijiro-kun. However, I'm very interested to see how you think your class' Representatives will do."

Both of the homeroom teachers exchanged a glance with each other.

"You'll have to wait and see." They said at the same time.

That just made Nezu's smile all the wider.

Unforeseen Simulation Joint

Kendo and Kuroiro were surprised by the location where their exam would be taking place, the USJ itself, the giant survival dome where natural disasters could be simulated for the students to practice rescue operations, with thirteen being the hero that they would have to face. While it made sense, both the placement and hero, it was very… unfair.

Thirteen was known for her ridiculously amazing quirk that let her destroy quite literal anything, dubbed Blackhole. Kendo herself couldn't risk getting near Thirteen since all she focused on was close range, hand to hand, combat. Kuroiro was much of the same with his quirk.

Their other teammates, Uraraka and Aoyama of Class 1-A, weren't all that much better in regards to combatting their opponent. Uraraka had a touch based quirk, very physical just like Kendo's, while Aoyama had a laser.

While Aoyama's quirk seemed potentially very useful at first, Kendo and Kuroiro later learned that he got stomach aches after using it…

So what the hell could they do against someone who had the power to create a literal black hole?!

They entered the giant disaster simulation joint after being told by Thirteen that all they had to do to pass the exam was either exit the USJ from their spot in the central plaza, which would be difficult since Thirteen was guarding the bottom of the stairs, or place cuffs they were given, only two sets so one for each class, around Thirteen on any point of her body.

Kendo clicked her tongue, knowing that they wouldn't be able to do much against a quirk like that. Unless Aoyama somehow pulled through for them and went Plus Ultra?

However, taking one look at the french speaking boy made her think that wasn't the case.

"What does moi think of my brightness?" Aoyama asked while posing in front of Kuroiro.

The teen sneered while pointing at the blond, "Tacky."

"WHATTTTT!" Aoyama yelled, feeling hurt, "How could you say something so rude to–"

"sssSSSTARTT!" The yell cut Aoyama off as their much had officially begun.

Kendo cursed as none of them had yet been able to throw a plan out for them to be able to pass. She took a glance at Ochako and they shared a nod, ready to step forward with their training from Gunhead to take control of the situation.

However, it was surprisingly Kuroiro who stood forward. "Eh, what are you doing Kuroiro-kun?" Uraraka asked.

The teen hummed, "I interned with a hero called Mr. Brave, an unknown and weak hero." Kuroiro gazed at Thirteen, seemingly dissecting and inspecting her as he tried to remember all Midoriya had told them about her before Rescue Training. "He told me that I'd never be a powerhouse, not like Midoriya or Bakugo or Juzo or Todoroki."

Kendo and Uraraka winced as the words stung.

"Since my quirk isn't like theirs I can't win fights through strength like they do. I've gotta be smart!" With that, the boy took off running towards Thirteen.

"K-Kuroiro!" Kendo yelled after him.

"Kendo-san!" Uraraka followed, Aoyama stayed back, not wishing to ruin his good looks with a fist fight.

"She won't risk hurting us, her quirk isn't easily controllable like some of ours, for her it's either zero or a hundred." Kuroiro called out as they neared Thirteen.

The pro quickly raised her arm as the group approached her, the cap on one of the fingers of her suit coming off. "Don't get any closer!" She yelled.

"Or what? Kekeke…." Kuroiro offered back as he got dangerously close to Thirteen, he could feel the shift in the air as the very matter itself around the area was being sucked and turned into nothing by Thirteen's quirk. 'You're a rescue hero, you're not built for combat…'

Uraraka and Kendo tried to pull him back as Thirteen's mind rumbled.

The pro didn't want to risk hurting the boy, she didn't have enough knowledge on the insides and outs of her quirk like combat heroes did, she was more used to maximizing her quirk's destructive ability to rescue civilians trapped in buildings or stuck in landslides or any other types of natural disasters.

So, she shut her quirk off. As soon as she did so a beam of light passed by all three hero students and struck her in the chest, sending her sprawling back and landing harshly on the ground.

Kuroiro stopped running and deadpanned before looking back at Aoyama, the french boy had a sly smile on his face. "We make a good team, eh?"

Thirteen quickly scrambled back to her feet, but her oversized suit made that difficult, as soon as she got up Kendo and Uraraka, the only ones with reason both engaged and each landed a solid punch on the pro's stomach, making her fall to the floor.

Since they were the only ones who had the capture cuffs on them, they quickly apprehended the pro, signaling their victory.

Thirteen sturred as they helped her up, "I told them I'm a Rescue Hero... not a combat one…." She grumbled to herself as she held her stomach which felt bruised. "It's fine they said!" She sighed and looked at her students. "Good job kids, just take it easy on me next time…"

Uraraka giggled, not believing her favorite hero could be so down to earth. "Will do, sensei!"

Observation Room

"That was a tad too fast for my liking…" Nezu hummed to himself as the five started walking back to the Hub.

Aizawa sighed and brought up the documents for this match, "Thirteen did say that she wasn't going to be a good match up since she has no experience in combat." He hummed as he looked at the details of who each of the students interned with, "It was an illogical decision from the start."

Kan nodded along, "Plus, I was wondering why your match against 1-A's knuckleheads went so smoothly."

The little rat squeaked, making both of his homeroom teachers shiver at the sound that they hated. "I could have very much done more than what I did, but they honestly had surprised me a great amount." Nezu smiled as he remembered the match, "I didn't expect Tokage to be so reckless, Ashido to push her quirk, and Shiozaki to work with the team. I believe they did commendable, not perfect, but well for now."

Both of the homeroom teachers nodded along as the students for the next round started heading down, this one would be a little bit more difficult as the students, Shoda, Juzo, Ojiro and Shoji, would be facing against Hound Dog.

Izuku gulped as he opened his notebook on the pro and his quirk.

Hound Dog was as good as Ectoplasm and Eraserhead when it came to hand to hand combat, his quirk Dog gave his enhanced strength, speed, and senses, a good overall quirk that was only hindered by making Ryo, the pro's real name, more susceptible to rage.

Ojiro Shoji and Shoda would have trouble since they were all physical fighters, while Juzo had the most potential in taking down Hound Dog, if he caught the man off guard though he'd have to be extremely cunning to do so.

At least in Izuku's opinion.

The four entered their testing area which was a dirt field, one that was in a suburban area of a city.

Izuku hummed as scrolled to his notes that he had on Juzo and Shoda, both of their quirks were very special, Softening and Twin Impact being unique in their own ways. Softening could make any substance into a liquid for Juzo to travel through while Twin Impact could create a second hit on anything that Shoda touched, with that hit usually being stronger too.

They could do a lot with those quirks against Hound Dog's well… Dog

But still, the pro's quirk was an overall boost to multiple different aspects of fighting while the student's all had quirks that benefitted one area, barring Shoji from 1-A.

Izuku chewed on the thumb of his glove, "Maybe…."

Reiko perked up and glanced at her closest friend as the match between the four students of the hero course and the school's counselor began.

"They should be relying on Shoji, don't you think?" Reiko found herself asking Izuku out of nowhere.

The boy perked up, his mumbling fit coming to a rapid halt as he glanced at his friend, "Ummm." He glanced at his notes, seeing that he had written the exact same thing. "Y-Yeah, actually, how did you…?"

A soft, quiet, almost unheard giggle cut him off, Reiko glanced at his notes before looking back at the screen showing the current on-going match, "It appears that your own analytical skills have rubbed off on me, I've noticed myself taking after some of your more intellectual traits."

Izuku blushed, hiding his face in his book, "Is that so..? I-I'm flattered."

Setsuna glanced at Monoma and grinned, nudging him in the side, the boy only gave her an exasperated look before shaking her head and continuing to observe how their classmates were doing against Hound Dog.

Shoji grunted as he used his size arms to try to hold Hound Dog in place, he was surprised that the pro was out-powering him in terms of strength, holding all three of his fists in one hand on each side and making him slide back as they were in a deadlock.

Behind a street corner, Ojiro, Shoda, and Juzo stood and waited with baited breath as their strongest team member faced off with Hound Dog.

Shoda sighed before nodding towards Juzo, "Alright, move in."

Juzo sprinted forward, quickly putting a hand on the ground and causing the floor under both Shoji and Hound Dog. Shoji grinned under his mask as their bait plan had worked, but that smile fell when Hound Dog jumped up and placed his legs on Shoji's chest.

Mudman, Juzo, cursed. He couldn't just turn his quirk off since Shoji was stuck in his softened ground, but staying down here wasn't helping anything either. Before either him or Shoji could make a decision, Hound Dog started flexing his legs, extending to his full height.

"I'm gonna take your arms with me, kid!"

Shoji could almost laugh, and it looked like they had the upper hand again. "By all means, feel free." His arms extended, startling Hound Dog as the man went flying from the excess force he had from planting his feet on Shoji's chest, Juzo grinned and was ready to activate his quirk again.

What they didn't expect was Hound Dog to cut all of Shoji's extended arms off.

All those in the observation room paled at the violence on display, Komori herself had to step outside as she almost threw up.

Monoma placed a hand over his mouth and turned away, "What the hell…"

Izuku gulped and looked at his teacher, "K-Kan-sensei, can you guys… do that?"

The Blood Hero turned to him, his gruff face terrifying Izuku just like it had the first day of classes, "This exam is designed to make you lot go Plus Ultra." A strange and intimidating smile appeared on the pro's face, "Shoji can heal with his quirk, so it's nothing too bad."

When the man turned back around, Izuku started shivering in place, imagining just what would happen during his exam.

Shoda went in to try to land a blow on Hound Dog, but with the man's enhanced hearing he was easily able to both dodge and counter attack against the large boy by ducking and palm striking the boy's belly before throwing him over his head and into Shoji's awaiting, and bloody, arms.

Hound Dog snarled as he turned to Juzo, his claws almost looking like they were getting sharper as a little bit of blood dripped off of them.

Juzo glanced at his classmates, wondering if he should try facing off against the pro or save them, just then Ojiro jumped in, going for a spinning tail hit against Hound Dog and giving Juzo enough time to run to save Shoji and Shoda who were both still down.

Only for Hound Dog to grab Ojiro by the tail and use him as a bat to slam Juzo into the ground. 'CRAP!' The skeleton-looking boy's helmet came off as he collided with the concrete, Ojiro winced as Hound Dog's claws dug into his tail to get a good grip, he tried wiggling out before the pro's strength easily outpowered his own.

Hound Dog spun in place, swinging Ojiro in a circle, the tailed boy held his mouth as he became nauseous. Juzo, Shoji and Shoda just began getting up when Ojiro was launched at the three of them, Shoji cursed and quickly caught the boy, wincing as he slid back.

Hound Dog launched himself at the remaining two, landing on Juzo's torso and knocking him down before swiping at Shoda's stomach.

A group of tentacles flew towards him but Hound Dog expertly dodged before grabbing each end, crossing them over, and pulling Shoji towards him before headbutting the bigger boy. 'Attacking his limbs won't do much, go for the head.'

Shoji cursed as he felt like his nose started bleeding, his mind feeling dizzy and numb.

Shoda tried to intervene but Hound Dog was much too fast, even when he landed a tap on the pro and activated his quirk, Hound Dog rolled with the blow and simply used the momentum to hit Ojiro with more force.

Izuku gulped, "Hound Dog's a combat machine…" It reminded him of… Bakugo.

The match ended soon after, with none of the four boys being able to do much of anything against Hound Dog, the man's quirk while simple was an effective boost to his overall strength and senses. Even the simplest of quirks could be extremely dangerous.

Would Izuku have been able to win? Or would it be just like the USJ where he couldn't do anything to help? Now that he thought about it, who would he be fighting?

Would he be able to persevere and become a hero?

His fist clenched as the next group went out, just like Vlad King said.

He'd have to go Plus Ultra for their Final Exam.

END

I did not like this chapter, but I liked things about the chapter. Sorry it took so long, I honestly didn't expect it to but it just took a lot longer due to burnout and other factors like summer school and summer training for my sports.

But, aside from that, what did you think about the fights? They're a bit harder to manage now since each round is a four against one but I wanted these to be joint battles for numerous reasons, one being I want to show the bond between both classes.

Moving on, one of the relationships is going to progress soon, is it the main pairing or a side thing? Who knows :)

So, these were the first five rounds, there will be another five but I don't believe they'll all be in the next chapter, Izuku's own exam will probably be a full chapter.

Finally, I've decided I will be doing the movie and then the forest training camp arc, but would you guys want me to include either a short chapter or have a small portion of a chapter dedicated to Izuku's birthday? I thought that would be something cute.

Anyways thank you all for reading and I'll try to get the next chapter out as soon as I can.

Jay out!