Part of me, just because I can be a lazy little bugger, wanted to skip this entire part of things, but I'm not that lazy or cruel as class B are the ones with the focus here; class A already got the lion's share of attention in the previous chapter in just how the teachers discussed who would be paired and which one of them would fight those pairs.

That said, much like canon, not every fight will get that much focus, as it would be simple and impractical to do it, especially when, let's face it, 20 main characters for a story like this is incredibly difficult to balance. However, with how late it is in the writing process, I'm going to need to cut some stuff and post a slightly smaller chapter than typical before it gets really late.

Chapter 48: Rise of Rule

With the match-ups settled, a few of the steams went off to their assigned waiting areas to strategize and prepare, but others followed Tokage and Rin's example and wanted to check out how the first couple of battles would go. While the teachers were all wearing restraints, they were still fully trained pros with at least a decade's experience under their belts. Weight or not, this would be the toughest fight any of them had had yet.

And yet, Tokage was handling it like it was little more than a morning stroll, the lizard tail splitter being as calm and fun-loving as normal. As Monoma watched her freely discuss some new movie with her teammate, she still managed that air of confidence of someone who didn't need to say 'I'm in charge' but instead was the type people would naturally turn to.

Entering the dark monitor room, as they expected, it had feeds on all 10 battle sites, with what looked like several dozen cameras in each of them, something that would make it easy for them to follow the coming action no matter where their classmates and friends happened to find themselves.

They also found the school's nurse seated, the veteran elder looking similarly calm to Tokage, yet hers was aged-perfected over what had to be decades of this, even if there was an undercurrent of what students of the hero course learned was perpetual annoyance from the heroine as it was an open secret that U.A. could only so far off the deep end because she worked there, and that she disliked how Nezu was willing to abuse that.

"You'll be the first group to do the exam." Recovery Girl started the conversation.

"Class A's coming after us?" Monoma asked.

"Yes, which isn't good news for you as it means your teachers are as fresh as they'll get," Recovery Girl advised, which made Rin and Awase more nervous than they already were. They had been hoping just a little that class A would have already gone. It looks like this time around, they'll be the ones to take the plunge.

Tokage didn't seem worried about it, her smile only growing. "Sweet, it just means it'll be all the better when we pass."

'I just hope we don't regret that confidence,' Rin thought, as Tokage could be confident in her abilities but forget that not everyone was her. Unknown to the two, Recovery Girl was watching them. The heroine found some amusement in that statement and wondered how Tokage would handle Thirteen.

The conversation was interrupted when the door opened, bringing in light and two more students. "Oh, you guys are here too?" Fukidashi asked as he walked in with Shishida, the door closing behind them.

"Yes, did you come to watch?" Awase asked.

"Well, we're supposed to go last, so we have time to burn," Fukidashi replied.

"We felt it would also be good if we supported our classmates. After all, we are all aiming to have fun during our summer training camp," Shishida added, which brought some smiles to the room as they remembered what was at the stack. It might not have been the main thing, but it was what they were working towards.

"Well, it would be quite embarrassing to be the one that fails, but if I had to guess, Tetsutetsu and Kaibara will probably have the hardest time." Monoma mused as he could appreciate Tetsutetsu for a lot of reasons. Still, his straightforward approach could serve as his downfall for this exam. Kaibara was more level-headed, but Tetsutetsu could be hard to direct when he was excited. Kaibara wasn't the best leader either.

"And what about Shiozaki and Tsuburaba?" Rin asked as he would imagine they would have the worst time.

Monoma scoffed at the idea. "That has to be a red herring; they wouldn't put them against All Might if there was no chance they could win." Tokage could agree on that front; pitting them against a foe that could not be defeated would just be cruel. All Might, more than any of them, would be holding back, but she still found it hard to believe that either could defeat him, so maybe they'd try and escape.

Still, one other person could fall short if they weren't careful, as Tokage nudged his side. "I wouldn't get too comfortable, Monoma. Midnight's not going to be easy for you to defeat. Stay cocky, and you might be the one that misses out on summertime fun." Tokage had been recommended to U.A. by Midnight, and more than any of them, she knew just how capable the woman could be.

She also knew that she was an expert at getting into people's heads. While Midnight typically used her extreme sex appeal to do this, she had other means, and Monoma loved to talk and could easily be baited.

Monoma either didn't see it like that or didn't realize, so he waved off her warning. "Please, have a little more confidence in me."

They weren't the only ones talking as the 6 gathered students continued to discuss the coming battles they'll have, but also what they planned to do afterward, what sort of events they could attend before their training camp, and things they could do once there. Recovery Girl from that could tell how sure they were about passing this, an admirable trait to have as walking into something believing you'll fail was a terrible mindset, but there was confidence, and there was arrogance. They should focus on this and worry about whatever fun and merriment they'll have after.

'A folly of youth, I was once the same, but let's see how well they handle that confidence being shattered.' She could have advised them against it, but sometimes the best lesson was experience.

The announcement came right on time: "Team Kodai and Bondo, practical exam. Ready? Go!"

The battlefield that would host the first match was designed to the scale of a rail yard. The area was pretty flat but with dozens of tracks and connections, along with signal polls, overhead electrical lines, turn tables, workhouses, and, of course, trains. Some seemed to be complete units, others were just single cars, from the sort they would have traveled on any typical day to ones designed for all kinds of freight.

When the test started, Bondo gave Kodai a boast atop one of the cars so she could try to spot the exit. Still, there was so much clatter that she couldn't pinpoint a direction, so they just needed to play it by ear as they ran through the place. "So we should probably try and escape, right? It'll be way too hard to fight Vlad-sensei." Bondo noted.

"Hmm," Kodai replied, not that he expected much from her as she was a girl of few words and fewer expressions.

"But we'll need to find the exit first, and this place is pretty big…" Bondo added, keeping the conversation going. If we could maybe get to the top of a taller building, it'll help." Kodai spotted what looked like the foremen's office not too far from here. It wasn't too large, so they could either find a way to the top inside or Kodai could create some stairs.

"Hmm!" Kodai sounded, the girl going wide-eyed as she pushed Bondo out of an attack from above, Vlad crashing where Bondo had just been, the man's hands and forearms already encased in hardened blood gauntlets.

From the ground where they landed, they saw Vlad slowly getting up, the man turning to them with eyes that spelled trouble for them. "Do you two pay attention in class? Always watch your surroundings; getting close to you two was too easy." Their teacher scolded them, but it felt less like a lecture and more like mockery from a villain.

"Kodai, I'll slow him down!" Bondo didn't have time to get up first, so he fired off his quirk, creating a web of glue between them and Vlad as the pro jumped back, as collected as ever.

"Smart play, cutting the path off like that?" Vlad was so unphased that he could compliment their attempt to keep him at a distance.

"What?" Bondo asked as he got up, the same as Kodai. The two kept their eyes on Vlad, who watched them like a bored but attentive hawk.

"You wanted to try and escape, didn't you?" Vlad revealed that he had been close enough to hear them for a while now, the implication causing them to sweat more. "Well, I'm not going to make that easy. I'm a villain right now, and it'll be real impressive if I can take down you two by myself!" Vlad rushed to the side of the train, his claws digging into its side, allowing him to run/climb rapidly atop him to bypass Bondo's barrier.

"Well, you can't fight us if you can't get close!" Bondo started to freak out as he fired out more as he and Kodai turned tail and ran, trying to slow Vlad down. The pro dodged all of his attempts, even when Kodai picked up loose pebbles, fallen nails, nuts, and bolts and tossed them back, enlarged to a person's size. Vlad either dodged or batted them aside before he cut them off by throwing a blood spear in front of them.

"Sloppy, you're reacting, not acting," Vlad thought aloud as his students looked like cornered mice. It was a shame he would be the cat, but it would be the only way they could grow and get used to fights like this. So, without hesitation or a crack in his mask of professionalism, he kept up the fight even as Kodai shrunk one of the cars so she and Bondo could escape down another path.

"They're doing pretty well so far," Monoma noted as the six continued to watch the match. Yes, Vlad had them on the ropes, but he hadn't managed to touch them either, so they remained in the fight with around 20 minutes left on the clock as well.

"Yeah, Vlad can't get close, and it's not like his blood can cut through Bondo's glue." Rin agreed with him. As the area was becoming a sticky mess, even if Vlad stopped to try and cut them, it would leave him open to an attack and capture.

"They're playing right into his hands." The two turned to Tokage, whose eyes didn't leave the screen. "Bondo's quirk is great for area control and capturing villains, but he's not immune to it. Kodai's also not helping by trying to seal him in."

"How so?" Shishida asked.

"Look at how Vlad's dodging," Tokage told them. It took them a while to understand what she meant, as Vlad was big. However, they already knew he was quick on his feet and crazy nimble. It was only when they considered the larger picture that they realized what got her so worried.

"He's getting them to seal off the paths leading away!" Awase cried out as all that glue and debris sealed off every route that could take them to the exit.

She adds, "Even if Kodai shrinks the stuff, Tokage started with Monoma seeing what she had.

"Bondo's quirk is getting everywhere, and it might not matter." He added, crossing his arms with a frown as Bondo wasn't careful with his quirk. No, Vlad was tricking him by landing close to where Kodai had already thrown things, so when he dodged, those obstacles became part of the glue wall forming around them.

"It's only a matter of time; Vlad could trap them or lead them around till the timer runs out. They need a solid plan to face or get away from him long enough to find the exit." Tokage explained.

"You're right." Recovery Girl spoke up. She, too, kept her eyes on the screens. There were no injuries, but that could quickly change on a battlefield like that. Those weren't fake trains, after all. "The whole point that the exam was changed from fighting robots with set objectives and limitations was that we needed you students to be more proactive, calm under pressure, and observant. The moment you let the villain lead the battle, you've all but lost."

"But they have a way out of this, right?" Awase asked, but Recovery Girl didn't answer. "Right?"

She ignored the question entirely. "Watch carefully. You might all be facing different opponents, but take this time to truly think about what that means. This isn't fun or pretend. This is your exam for when you one day take to the streets. If you let ego and panic get in the way, you might as well just surrender."

Kodai pulled on Bondo's sleeve, drawing his attention. "We need a new plan."

"But we have him cornered," Bondo pointed out. Vlad hadn't been able to get close to them for a while now, and just a little more, and they could trap him.

"No. Let's go." Kodai didn't leave it up for debate, shrinking a train car just enough for them to escape; Bondo hesitated but followed after her as the girl allowed the car to return to standard size.

"Well, it looks like she figured it out, and right before they closed off their last means of escape," Vlad noted, as the area was a mess, which nearly had been their undoing. Still, if Kodai figured that out, did it mean she also knew that he had blocked the past path out? Or was she trying to lure him into a fight?

If Vlad kept time right, they had less than 15 minutes left for the match. "Still, can't let them off the hook too easy." Vlad took to the top of the train cars and gave chase. Still, Kodai wasn't making it easy. Whenever she passed carts that carried anything flammable, she would toss something at it, increase its size to rupture it, and cause an explosion.

U.A. didn't, however, put materials into the trains that could cause and maintain fires, so while there were sizable blasts, that was all it was, with the smoke being more of a hindrance than anything else, buying them time to put distance between them and their teacher. Kodai led them through the maze of cars and tracks for a while before they found an empty car, which Bondo could pull open to jump into and hide, at least for the moment.

"Is this the way out?" Bondo asked her, as they had been running in what felt like circles for a while now, only for Kodai to shake her head. "Then…why are we running? He could surprise us again." And in an enclosed space like this, he couldn't even use his quirk, while Vlad could just get close and knock them out.

"Listen for him. I'm already doing that." Kodai replied; even while sweating from how much running they'd done and having a pro acting as a hunter, she remained passive. Bondo was about to respond about how he felt, only for the car to shake as someone impacted it.

"Wait," Kodai whispered, pointing towards the ceiling where they could make out more steps. Eventually, they stopped, and another thud followed, most likely Vlad jumping off into another car.

"He's up top, looking for us," Kodai explained. It wasn't much, but the view from up there would make it easy to spot them, especially when they wore bright costumes in a sea of rust, browns, greys, and blacks.

"That's trouble, he'll see us before we see him!" Bondo replied.

"No, we use that." Kodai shook her head. "He knows we want an exit, so he'll go there."

"So if we see him, it means we're getting close! That's genius, Kodai." Bondo complimented her, but she didn't blush or smile; she just nodded.

"We need to be sneaky about this, but we could fight," Kodai stated. Even if they shadowed him, he'd see them eventually, and making a break for the exit wasn't likely either. There was even time to consider, as she didn't know how much they had left.

"I can fight him. It'll be super scary, but if it means we can pass, I'll do it." Bondo assured her. The guy was still scared, and she could see that, but she appreciated it.

"So will I." Kodai reached for her side, where she had kept a pouch. "I have a surprise for him." It wasn't what she planned to use something like this for, but it must do.

Vlad was starting to wonder if his students had lost their nerve. They had less than four minutes left on the clock, and he hadn't seen any sign of them. He had stuck close to the exit in case they made a break for it, as it was built with no cover for that last 30m stretch. So they couldn't sneak through it, that is, if they were even planning to make the attempt.

'Did they forget about the timer, or do they think they have more time to scheme?' Vlad thought, looking for anything, but nothing stuck out to him: no movement, sound, nothing.

"I see him!" Bondo's shout drew his attention as the taller of his opponents pocked his head out of a corner and rushed him.

'I don't see Kodai; she must be waiting for Bondo to distract me so she can make a break for it.' Vlad suspected as he remained in place and waited for Bondo's attack, which predictably came. Vlad jumped to the side, landing on another train car. He clenched his blood gauntlet into a fist before rushing Bondo, and the boy realized his folly as he had no means of escape.

"Looks like it's over, hero!" Vlad was about to slam his fist into Bondo's gut and ensure that at least one person failed, and with the exit till in sight, Kodai wouldn't be able to make it either.

"Kodai!" Bondo yelled as he pulled out something from his glove. It was a tiny sachet, but it was quickly engulfed in a familiar pink aura before it rapidly grew until it was the size of a body pillow. Vlad wasn't able to stop his attack, and his fist plowed right into it, causing the bag to explode.

"What?" the man called, only to start coughing as the bag's contents spread all over the place, especially on him as he jumped back. The taste hit him as he looked at his gauntlet, once clean but now covered in dirt. "Sand?"

"Sand sucks up blood," Kodai announced, standing atop a train car; in her hands, she held 3 more sachets, no doubt containing more, as she tossed one at him. "Carried it for fire, but this will work too." She enlarged it mid-flight, but he easily dodged it.

'I can retract my blood back into my body with no issue, but it'll take time without bringing in grains.' Vlad thought to himself as he raced back atop the train cars, with Kodai falling back to keep distance, but not without throwing more obstacles in his way. 'So that's their plan then?' He created a spear and tossed it through the bag, sending it to the side, where it landed and burst.

Seeing him get closer, Kodai looked down below. "Bondo!" She called out, the boy having followed them deeper into the zone, which confused the man; he would have assumed he would make a break for it. Did he know he would immediately abandon his pursuit for Kodai if he did? Or maybe they wanted to capture him instead of escape?

"Right!" Bondo fired off another volley of glue, but Vlad was too fast, with the strands missing him as he continued his pursuit of Kodai. Still, he wouldn't make the same mistake twice, as he created a lasso from his blood, a complicated move, and there was only so long he could make it, but this would be more than enough.

Kodai's face hardly changed as she pulled out another sachet and a vial of something before she tossed both up above them. At their apex, Vlad was moments away from finishing her when she called, "Release."

The two things grew, one into a familiar sake of sand and the other into a giant glass water bottle, which Bondo tossed a sharp rock at, shattering it. Kodai did the same with the bag of sand; the two worked in sync as the two things mixed to create mud rain. Vlad reacted quickly, creating a shield of his blood, and jumped back-

Only to recall Bondo's previous attack and realize he had been had. When he landed, one of his feet landed in the still-wet glue, which Bondo saw and hardened.

Vlad grunted as he tried to pull his foot free but found it wasn't budging. Shifting his whip into a pick, he set to work, trying to smash the stuff, only for Kodai to leap onto another train car and race towards the exit.

"So that was their plan? Well…not bad, not bad at all." Vlad noted, a little smile on his face even as he continued to strike at the glue trapping him, but time wasn't on his side as he heard the announcement.

"Team Kodai and Bondo passed the exam!"

"Dang, it took them that long?" Tetsutetsu looked up.

Kaibara just sighed into his hand. "Dude, they're up against our teacher. We'll probably need around the same time."

With Kuroiro's group, they too waited for the exam to start, their waiting area giving them a view of the factory/warehouse field they'll be using. "The first group has survived the crossing."

"I'm just waiting to show them what I can do!" Kamakiri was more focused on the coming fight. Nezu wasn't a fighter but smart, so he probably had something in store for them, such as some bots he could slice to pieces.

With a third group, they were in a waiting area of their own, this one giving them a view of a large forested area. "It'll be us up soon enough," Shoda noted.

"We should go over our plans one last time, " Yanagi said as they returned to their conversation about handling Present Mic.

"That's our first pass! Isn't it wonderful?" Komori jumped for joy, Midoriya being just as happy as her.

"I had complete faith in Kodai's team. Wish we went to the observation room to see it." Midoriya sighed, leaning against the table their waiting area had.

"Well, we can support the next group from here." Komori cheered, getting Midoriya to give her a high-five. Yeah, they could do just that, and when their time comes, they'll be ready.

"You panicked at the beginning there, but you managed to recover and create a solid game plan, though you caused some destruction to this." Vlad addressed the two students; the man had been freed by a robot and placed in the zone for such an issue. "Lucky for you, while that will lower the grade, it's still a passing one." Kodai had to accept that, as even now, some smoke was billowing into the sky from the cars she destroyed.

"Oh, thank Goodness!" Bondo focused on the fact they had passed. I nearly passed out when I saw the time we had left." There was no timer inside the zone but one at the exit. He had been the first to see it as he took off before Kodai, and when he saw how little time they had, he ran even faster in fear of Vlad managing to catch up and slowing him down even a little.

"Hmm." Kodai sounded as Vlad dismissed them.

With their match the next one, Tokage and Rin left to ensure they were ready, now with a greater understanding of how their teachers would handle them as opponents. This left Monoma, Awase, Fukidashi, and Shishida alone when the second match started. The area chosen for it resembled any downtime commercial area they would have seen. It was mostly bland storefronts and office spaces. The only thing missing would just be the cars.

They couldn't tell what was being said between the two, but they seemed to be managing well enough—that was until Cementoss made himself known by creating several concrete barriers between them and him. Tetsutetsu, as they expected, charged straight on through and got pretty deep into the barriers, but the issue wasn't that he couldn't do it.

It was if he could sustain it, as it didn't matter how tough he was if he couldn't outlast his opponent. Cementoss, well, he was like Honenuki. He didn't need to rely on his stamina to use his quirk, and with their battlefield being an urban one, there was plenty of concrete for Cementoss to manipulate as he pleased. Because of that, Tetsutetsu was overwhelmed and knocked out, but before Cementoss could lock him down, Kaibara managed to grab him and run.

Like the rest of the battle, it became less of a brawl and more of a high-stakes game of hide-and-seek as it took a while for Tetsutetsu to wake up. Then he and Kaibara had to discuss their game plans, or at least, it looked like it. Monoma and the rest couldn't tell without microphones.

Time continued to exhaust as Cementoss remained on the main path leading to the exit when Kaibara appeared and challenged him. It was a confusing idea at first, as while he could damage one of those concrete barriers, he lacked the power to pierce through one fast enough to be effective.

Tetsutetsu re-entered, and they double-teamed him from two sides. Still, Cementoss hardly moved as he kept both at bay, especially when one was moving slowly, and the other had to take regular breaks to rest and not get too deep in, allowing the pro time to reinforce his defenses. That was until Kaibara dived into an alleyway and started to ascend a fire escape. From there, he jumped into an open window and vanished.

Of course, Cementoss could have brought the building on top of him, and that would certainly be something a dangerous villain would do, but it was still a training exercise, which Recovery Girl said was smart of them to take advantage of, as while they could harm them, they would never put them in serious harm.

So, Cementoss was forced to move with caution. He started by targeting the upper floors of the place, his plan seemingly to force Kaibara out to face him, only for the kid to jump from one window into another building, shattering it with his quirk. Time continued to tick away but around the 20-minute mark, the alarm sounded as Tetsutetsu had managed to cross the exit line.

"So that was their plan? Tetsutetsu was the overly aggressive one, and after that display in the beginning, Cementoss would probably assume he'll stay in the area to fight him or help his teammate." Monoma stated.

"So Kaibara was hiding in buildings to force Cementoss to pay attention to him?" Fukidashi asked as Recovery Girl rose and left to tend to Tetsutetsu's injuries.

"That would make the most sense, and with Tetsutetsu needing longer breaks, or maybe tricking Cementoss into thinking he needed, it gave him just enough time to get close enough to the gate that Cementoss couldn't have stopped him." Monoma guessed as it was just as likely that Tetsutetsu had just tried to charge through Cementoss' defenses without a real plan.

"Still feels like a needlessly risky strategy; if only one needs to cross the line for the team to pass, couldn't Kaibara have made an attempt while Cementoss handled Tetsutetsu?" Shishida asked.

"Well, it wasn't like they knew where the exit was; we're the ones with a bird's eye view of everything, remember?" Awase reminded them, as Cementoss had been close to the middle of the combat area.

The next chapter will be out on February 21st

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