Chapter 53 - What Would Midoriya Do?

Todoroki stood in the shadows of the factory terrain section of the testing arena. He had to play this smart. While he was alone, separated from his classmates, the other schools were sticking together, moving around in groups of ten or more. This meant he was at a disadvantage. He could attack one of them, but the others might rush to defend them, and they had quirks he could not anticipate. He was hoping the schools would fight each other until their numbers were thinned, allowing for Todoroki to swoop in and pick them off.

"Let's see," Said the voice of Mera over the speaker. "Where are we now? It looks like 52 - no, make that 53 students have passed. Things are moving a lot more quickly. It also looks like 230 examinees have already failed. With less than half the spots left open, now is the time to move. Don't dally now, kids!"

Todoroki no longer had the luxury of waiting and strategizing. He had to move. Leaving his cover, he began to run further into the factory until he reached an open area. As soon as he was exposed, he saw in his peripheral vision one of the orange orbs careening towards him at a fast pace. Instinctively, he used his fire to torch the orb until it was nothing but a charred lump on the ground.

"Nice moves!" Came a voice from above. Todoroki looked to see that he was surrounded by a group of other students, all wearing different colored ninja-like costumes. Izuku recognized them from Seijin High School, one of UA's rival hero schools.

"Just what we'd expect from the champion of the UA Sports Festival," continued his attacker, a ninja clad in a red suit. "I can't believe the great Todoroki is wandering around here all by yourself. You must be really confident."

"But even if he is from UA High, acting alone is just asking for trouble," Said one of the green ninjas.

"10 against one? He doesn't stand a chance," Said one of the blue ninjas.

"This is great," Said Todoroki, dropping into a defensive stance. "Now I don't have to look for opponents."

"Well, aren't you cool?" Said the red ninja. In an instant, the other ninjas advanced on Todoroki, throwing several orange orbs at him. Todoroki threw up a wall of ice to defend himself, and the orbs bounced off harmlessly. Without hesitation, Todoroki used his ice to encase the other ninja's up to their knees, restricting their movements. He didn't dare cover anymore, as it might prevent him from accessing their targets.

The red ninja, who was the apparent ringleader of the group, pulled out a small object from his pocket and began to twirl it in his fingers. Todoroki realized it was a bolt fastener. In a flash, the ninja threw the bolt fastener towards Todoroki, who looked in shock as it began to rapidly grow in size. He threw up another wall of ice, which collided with the object just before it hit him. Todoroki surmised that enlarging objects was the ninja's quirk. The ninja began to throw more objects at him: nails, bolts, fasteners, all of which began to grow to immense sizes as they collided with his ice wall. Todoroki dared not use an attack until he was sure the ninja was out of objects to throw at him. He jumped back as the crack in the ice wall grew larger before crumbling beneath the weight of the attack. One of the bolt fasteners flew past the broken ice wall, directly at Todoroki, who used his fire quirk in an attempt to destroy it. The bolt fastener resisted his heat, causing Todoroki to leap out of the way before it struck him.

Even if it didn't melt the object, it should have at least left a mark, thought Todoroki, but the bolt fastener was undamaged. Then it occurred to him that it was made of tungsten, a metal with an extremely high melting point. These students were prepared for them. He looked up at the ninjas above him, and the red ninja had already used his quirk to break through the ice that encased him and his allies.

"It's over Todoroki," Said the red ninja. "You thought you could pass this test alone. Your pride will now be your downfall."

The other ninjas began to advance on Todoroki. They were all using their quirks at once in an attempt to overwhelm Todoroki, using water to quench his fire quirk, and heavy physical attacks to break his ice defense. They worked out a way to counter everything he had. If he did not come up with an alternative strategy quickly, he would fail. Absently, a thought began to formulate in the back of his mind: what would Midoriya do?

Two of the ninjas began to attack him again. One of them had a water quirk, the other was able to shoot a strange soot-like substance from his hands. Todoroki saw his opening, using a huge blast of fire to attack the streams of water and soot directly. But he wasn't trying to fight back against the attack. In a moment, a large explosion of dust and steam erupted around them. The ninjas frantically looked for their enemy in the dense fog, but it was fruitless. Todoroki used the smokescreen to make his way deeper into the factory. He could now see why Midoriya was so fond of using smoke bombs. He approached what looked like a large propane tanker. Because the Hero Public Safety Commission constructed this factory to be as realistic as possible, he was guessing that this tanker must contain actual propane. Using his quirk, he punctured a hole in the side of the tanker. His guess was right on the nose, as he began to smell the gas as it escaped from the opening. He used his flames to light up a sign that was next to the tanker. He had to act fast, as his opponents would be on him soon.

"There he is!" Shouted the Red Ninja, pointing to the red light in the fog. He and his cohorts quickly ran towards the source of the light. They had to act fast before he disappeared again. They stopped dead in their tracks as they approached the source of the light: a street sign blazing with fire.

"Oh, no!" Said the Red Ninja, horrified. "He got us!"

They heard the sound of ignited flames from behind them. Standing on the factory structures above him stood Todoroki, his left hand set ablaze. In an instant, he launched a fire attack directly at the opening in the propane tank, resulting in a large explosion that sent the ninjas flying in the opposite direction. As soon as they hit the ground, Todoroki used his ice to encase their legs and arms, restricting their movements.

"To use a move like that," said the Red Ninja as Todoroki approached. "You're crazy! You bastard, you're crazy!"

"Apologies," Said Todoroki, placing the orange orbs on each of the targets. "But I simply cannot afford to fail."

"Miss Sai, we'll soon have company,"

Saiko Intelli, a second-year student from Seiai Academy, sipped her tea nonchalantly as she was approached by her classmate. They took up residence for the exam in one of the higher-end office buildings in the Cityscape terrain. Her quirk, IQ, granted her a temporary increase in her already high intelligence. In order to use it, her eyes had to be closed, and it required her to drink tea to stimulate it. She wasn't a fighter, and thus had instructed her cohorts to sit back and wait for other students to come to them. It was a statistical probability that at least a few students would reach them before the end of the test, and then they would have the home-field advantage.

"Who is it?" Said Saiko.

"I have confirmed four UA students have entered the building," replied her classmate, using her own quirk to bring up a video projection of the security cameras surrounding the building. She recognized them from the Sports Festival as Tsuyu Asui, the frog student; Mezo Shoji, the arm duplication quirk; Kyoka Jiro, who had sound amplification; and lastly, Momo Yaoyorozu, who had a quirk that allowed her to make things. She would be her biggest threat, but Saiko wasn't worried. The formula she constructed was flawless, and there would be no way they would be able to prevail against her.

"It appears that our prey has been decided," said Saiko. "Please gather the other ladies."

"Having any luck, Shoji?" Said Asui. Shoji was using his quirk to duplicate eyes and ears on the ends of his arms, scanning the area around them. They had entered the building in the Cityscape area so they could get to high ground in an attempt to find their classmates. Meanwhile, Jiro was using her earphone jacks to listen to vibrations in the building for other students, while Yaoyorozu was deep in thought.

"It's no use," said Shoji. "I can't see anyone from our class. It's most likely they are in another area."

"I don't want you to panic," Said the voice of Mera over the intercom. "But so far 56 students have passed. You may want to hurry, as your time is running short."

"So, less than half of the spots remain," Said Shoji.

"We should probably give up on finding everyone," said Asui. "We need to fight for ourselves and make sure we pass."

"That would be wisest," said Yaoyorozu.

"Shh!" Said Jiro suddenly. "I hear four people climbing the stairs, ten floors below. They're heading this way."

"Do you think they plan to attack?" Asked Shoji.

"If that's the case, I don't know why there are only four of them," said Jiro. "All the other schools we've encountered have moved in much larger groups than that--" Jiro suddenly reared back, screaming as if in pain, clutching her ears.

"Jiro!" Shouted Yaoyorozu and Asui in unison, rushing to her side.

Shoji constructed an ear on one of his dupli-arms and pressed it to the wall. "Someone's playing music," He said. "Loud music. It's not too bad for me, but with Jiro's sensitive ears, it must have come as a shock to her."

"They must know her quirk," said Asui. "They targeted her directly to incapacitate her."

"A coordinated attack," Shoji agreed.

"This isn't good," Said Yaoyorozu. "Without Jiro, we can't tell where they are."

Asui jumped suddenly as a loud crash sounded from behind her. The window she was standing in front of was suddenly cracked and splintered, preventing her from seeing through it. Someone was shooting at them from outside the building. Everyone jumped behind the stone pillars to keep from being hit by the sniper. They watched as each window before them was hit, resulting in the same spider web cracking and splintering, obscuring their view of the outside world. They were trying to prevent Shoji from using his eyes to get their bearings.

Yaoyorozu began to calculate. Their opponents knew exactly who they were, and knew to counter Jiro and Shoji's quirks right off the bat to prevent them from knowing where they were. Likely their plan was to entrap them so they can surround them and attack as a group.

"What's our next move, Yaoyorozu?" said Shoji.

"We need to be ready," Yaoyorozu replied. "They may already be close by, waiting for the right moment to strike."

"Then we need to strike first!" Said Jiro, connecting her earphone jacks to her wrist-amps.

"No, wait!" Said Yaoyorozu, but it was too late. With pinpoint accuracy, the sniper had shot through the remaining window that Jiro had stepped in front of and shot Jiro's amps right off of her wrists. She fell back, collapsing beneath one of the pillars.

"Are you all right!" Said Yaoyorozu.

"They got my amps!" Said Jiro. "And my left ear jack!"

Yaoyorozu confirmed that Jiro's ear jack was bleeding. This was bad. They were able to predict their actions thus far. This meant they probably had a good idea of what they would do next. She knew there had to be up against someone of extreme intelligence and strategic skills.

"Does it feel colder to you?" Asked Shoji.

Yaoyorozu didn't notice at first, but she suddenly felt a chill in the air. It seemed to be coming from the vents. Suddenly, the windows grew dark as heavy metal covers slid over them. They were locked in, and the room was getting colder.

"It's like a freezer in here!" Said Jiro.

"Asui!" Shouted Shoji, suddenly alarmed. He turned to see Asui fall to the ground in a heap. Her friends rushed to her side. She was still breathing, but her breaths were shallow as if she was sleeping.

"Her body is going into hibernation!" Said Yaoyorozu, using her quirk to create a heavy blanket.

"We need to make a fire," Said Shoji. "Can you make some matches or something?"

"No, it would set off the sprinkler system," Said Yaoyorozu. "And that would make her colder. I can't make an electric heater, they have control over the electrical system."

"We have to get out of here," said Shoji. "Let's get to the -- what is that?!"

They turned to see the door to their right glowing red. Whoever was on the other side was welding it shut, further sealing them in. The only exit they had was the blue double doors in front of them.

"That's the only way out," Said Yaoyorozu.

"We could break through," Said Shoji.

"Our opponents are definitely waiting on the other side," Said Yaoyorozu. "It's too dangerous."

"Then what are we supposed to do?" Said Jiro.

Yaoyorozu had to think. Whoever they were up against seemed to be able to anticipate their every move. She could make an explosive to try and force the welded door open, but that was too risky. She might hurt her teammates in the process. They could try to use brute force, but they had no idea how many of them were really out there since the four they counted earlier. They obviously would have considered that a possibility and prepared for it. With one ear injured, Jiro couldn't use her sound attacks to the fullest capacity. For now, they had to do something about the air conditioning. She supposed she could use her quirk to create a sealant to block the vents, but she counted that there were eight of them. That would use a lot of the lipids in her body, and she wouldn't have enough to defend herself should they decide to attack.

"Why aren't you creating anything?" Said Jiro.

"Is something wrong?" Asked Shoji.

"This is what they want," said Yaoyorozu. "No matter how many times I look at it, I get the same answer. They want me to use my quirk."

"Until you can't make anything else," said Shoji.

"Exactly," Said Yaoyorozu. "My quirk has many applications. They can't have a comprehensive list of all the things I can create, which is why they are doing this. At first, I thought they were using the air conditioning to incapacitate Asui, but I think they're really trying to force my hand to use my quirk enough to exhaust me."

"Clever," said Shoji.

"But we can't just sit here," said Jiro. "The longer we wait the less chance we have of passing the licensing exam. We should just charge in and attack."

"An enemy this smart would have already considered that a possibility and prepared for it," said Shoji.

"Okay, then, what do we do?!" Said Jiro exasperatedly.

Yaoyorozu began to feel panic enter her heart. She was in a no-win situation. Her friends were in trouble, and their chances of passing were beginning to dwindle. She had no idea what to do. Her mind suddenly began to drift as she thought of her classmates. What would they do in a situation like this? She thought about the battle training with All Might when they first started school. She remembered how Midoriya had taken Todoroki, Iida, and Kirishima down almost single-handedly. She thought about all the other times she had underestimated him for being quirkless, all the times he surprised her: the Gauntlet, the Sports Festival, and even defeating the Hero Killer. He was ten times the hero she was even before he had gotten his quirk. What would Midoriya do in a situation like this? She thought desperately. In the back of her mind, she remembered the things her classmates said to her when he was taken by the villains.

Midoriya saved my life. . . the Hero Killer, he crippled my brother. . . Midoriya knew I would go after him and followed me. . . he saved me from being murdered that day.

Midoriya wouldn't think twice about coming to our rescue if it was one of us.

Izuku stepped in to save me when I first met him, before his training. As long as I have known him, he has always been there for those in need, no matter what.

It was as if a bolt of lightning had struck her heart, giving her the strength and confidence she needed in this time of crisis. These were her friends, and they needed her to save them, just like Midoriya would. The provisional exam no longer mattered to her. She had to focus on saving her friends.

"Everyone, please endure for a few more minutes," Said Yaoyorozu. Using her quirk, she produced four sets of noise-cancelling headphones and passed them to her friends.

"What's this for?" Said Jiro.

"Trust me." Yaoyorozu hunched over and began to use her quirk. This was the first time she had created something like this, but its physical structure wasn't all that complicated. And when it was done, she should still have enough lipids for her to move. She only hoped it would be enough.

Saiko sat her tea down on the table next to her. It had been almost ten minutes since they had been trapped in there. They lasted longer than she had expected, but by now they must have all the fight taken out of them. "It's time, ladies," She said to her friends surrounding her. "Prepare to take them."

How utterly delightful, Saiko thought gleefully to herself. I wonder what we'll find inside.

Suddenly, the room around them began to vibrate. Saiko looked around, wondering if it was an earthquake. No, they were too high up. The vibrations began to grow louder by the second. It was coming from the room. Saiko doubled over, clutching her head. The vibrations were so loud that it felt like her head was about to split in two. One by one, her classmates began to drop to the floor around her, each one losing consciousness until only she remained standing.

No! She thought angrily. Is this some sort of sonic attack?!

Yaoyorozu, Jiro, Shoji, and Asui burst through the doors in front of them. The plan had worked. All their opponents were unconscious. Asui had regained consciousness but was still struggling to stand. She, Jiro, and Shoji began tagging the unconscious students while Yaoyorozu stayed back. Producing the amplifiers Jiro used to launch her sonic blast had left her extremely drained.

"Come on, Yaomomo," said Jiro. "You need to tag some of these -"

She looked back to see the door behind them had slammed shut, and Yaoyorozu was gone.

"You used your quirk to attack, not defend?" Said Saiko, locking the door behind her. She had grabbed Yaoyorozu and had thrown her to the floor. She struggled to lift herself up but had obviously used too much of her quirk.

"I can't believe a UA student would choose such a high-risk move," Saiko continued, producing an orange orb. "But that must mean you can't move now. I may not pass, but I'm going to make sure you don't either!"

Before she could use the orange orb on Yaoyorozu's targets, the door behind her burst open with tremendous force, and Asui's long tongue wrapped itself around her hands, pulling her away from the helpless Yaoyorozu.

"But why did you come back?" Said Saiko, shocked. "Surely you assumed that I had already tagged her. It's the licensing exam, you should be looking out for yourselves! It's not logical!"

"That may be how you roll, but not us," said Jiro. "We're obviously different."

"She's our friend," Said Asui. "We'd never leave her behind."

"And we don't give up," said Shoji.

Saiko sighed deeply. It was over. She had been defeated completely.

Kirishima and Kaminari had made their way to the far end of the Cityscape terrain after being separated from the rest of Class 1-A. They had found an access ladder that would take them to the overpass above them, and started making the 50-foot up. Kirishima figured that they would have an advantage if they made it to the high ground.

"There may be a lot of people here, so we need to stick together," Said Kirishima.

"Fine with me, I don't want to be alone," Said Kaminari. "So what do we do now--"

"Look out!" Shouted Kirishima, pushing Kaminari to the ground. Kirishima just barely managed to dodge what looked to be like a large lump of clay heading right for him. Looking in the direction it came, he saw the purple-haired Shiketsu student he saw earlier. The clay that was shot at him seemed to double back and reform on the Shiketsu student.

"What the crap was that?" Said Kaminari, frightened.

"I don't know," Said Kirishima. "But don't let that stuff touch you."

The purple-haired Shiketsu student's eyes narrowed. "Not many people can dodge my attacks," He said. "Please notice, Shiketsu students keep our hats on when we're working. Why's that? Because each and every one of our movements is crowned by the legacy and honor of our school. Look around me, UA students."

Kirishima and Kaminari complied. Strewn all around him were grotesque blobs of clay, but something was off about them. They all had some human features protruding from them, such as a nose, a mouth, hair, and even eyes. Kirishima gasped in horror as he realized that these were other students.

"This is a demonstration," Said the Shiketsu student. "Proof of the difference in level between my peers and your vulgar class. We value obligation and dignity, things that appear to be sorely lacking among you."

"What the heck are you talking about?" Said Kaminari.

"Apparently, he doesn't think much of our school," said Kirishima.

"Don't misunderstand me," Said the Shiketsu student. "I have great respect for your school. I take pride in the fact that our institutions are treated as equals. But your class is shameful. You act in a way that disgraces heroes!" Three giant wads of clay began to form around him.

"He's attacking again!" Said Kaminari. "I don't want to be gross!"

"Calm down!" Said Kirishima before turning back to the Shiketsu student. "You know what, I think you're full of shit. I don't see any proof that you're better than us. How about you show me how you're better than me, if you can."

"Beast!" Shouted the Shiketsu student angrily. "How dare you!"

Kirishima dodged and weaved as the Sheketsu student threw the wads of clay at him. It looks like training with Midoriya paid off, he thought deftly as he pressed his attack. A look of stunned surprise spread across the Shiketsu student's face as Kirishima landed a heavy haymaker across his jaw, sending him careening backward.

"Dammit," the Shiketsu student said, trying to stand as his arms reformed with clay. "I shouldn't have fallen for such obvious baiting. I see now that you possess an indomitable spirit. The only way to teach you a lesson is by breaking that spirit!" Kirishima leaped backwards as more clay wads began to float around them. He had to be careful not to touch them, lest he end up another one of this Shiketsu maniac's victims.

"Let's get this over with!" Said Kaminari, using his upgrades to launch two electric disks towards the Shiketsu student, who dodged them easily as they embedded themselves in the wall behind him.

"You should work on your aim," Said the Shiketsu student. "And your look, for that matter. Perhaps I can make you into something more appealing!"

"You really need to shut up!" Shouted Kirishima, getting in close and throwing punches at the Shiketsu student, who began to easily dodge and weave. Kirishima stopped as he felt something on the back of his neck, something heavy and moist.

"You've left yourself exposed," Said the Shiketsu student. "I had a piece of my clay sneak around beneath us before approaching you from behind. Now, you're mine."

Kirishima began to feel as if his entire body was being compressed as the clay began to morph him.

"Kirishima!" Shouted Kaminair. "No way!"

"Quick, take this!" Shouted Kirishima, throwing a small container to Kaminari, who caught it clumsily.

"This is a demonstration," Said the Shiketsu student again, dropping the grotesquely morphed Kirishima to the ground. "The test has an unusually low passing rate. At first, this seemed counterintuitive, given our current world. With All Might retired, wouldn't it make more sense to flood the streets with heroes? So, I must assume that their goal is to weed out the riff-raff. I must surmise that they are starting to be more selective in order to bring the profession of hero to a higher level. And I agree with this thinking, so I decided to thin the herd myself."

"You're ignoring the test because you think you're superior?" Said Kaminari. "What are you, a crazy person?"

"I'm simply separating the mediocre and extraordinary," said the Shiketsu student. "By the way," he added, stepping in the Kirishima blob. "Your comrades still feel pain in this form. Your untamed electricity will torture your friends if you use it."

Kaminari could feel himself shake in his boots. This kid was acting like a full-fledged villain. He could almost feel himself having flashbacks to the USJ incident and the summer training camp. As much as he tried, he knew he wasn't as strong or as brave as his other classmates. He didn't even have control over his own quirk. He wished he was more like Midoriya. For the longest time, he didn't have a quirk and still managed to be the strongest in the class. Not only that, but he had only had a quirk for a few weeks and was already using it like he had had it his whole life. He could never hope to compete against that.

What do I do? Thought Kaminari. What would Midoriya do?

He grasped the canister he held behind his back tightly. It seemed almost familiar to him, as if he had seen something like this before. Thinking back to the contest in the dorm rooms, he felt realization dawn on him as to why. He had seen it before. Midoriya had a bunch of them.

And that gave him an idea.

"Ugh," said Kaminiari. "You've been hurling insults at us this entire time. I'm starting to take it personally, y'know!"

"Then perhaps you are more self-aware than I thought," Said the Shiketsu student, forming more clay wads around him. "I'd take more time to reflect on your failure."

"Or you can reflect on this!" Shouted Kaminari, throwing the container Kirishima gave to him. It hit the ground at the Shiketsu student's feet before erupting in a flash of light, blinding him.

"What the hell is that?!" Shouted the Shiketsu student. His eyes were blurred and his ears were ringing from the explosion as he moved around, trying to get his bearings.

"By the way, big shot," said Kaminari. "You've stumbled into a really killer spot." A bolt of electricity shot out from Kaminari's extended finger, arching to the two disks embedded in the wall behind the Shiketsu student. He had moved right into the path of the electric bolt, screaming as the current passed through him.

"You may think you know everything about us," Said Kaminari. "But the truth is you don't know anything, only bits and pieces which you've used to form an ignorant theory. If you ask me, you're the one who shames their school."

"How dare you!" Said the Shiketsu student, trying to stand from the electric shock. "You degenerate! I'll teach you to be more aware of your place, you --"

A heavy fist collided squarely with the Shiketsu student's face, sending him careening to the ground. His hold on Kirishima was gone. Having fully reformed, he hadn't wasted his opportunity to teach his enemy a lesson. The Shiketsu student hit the ground hard and lay there, motionless and unconscious. Slowly, the other orbs of clay began to reform into the other students.

"Thanks for the save, Kaminari," Said Kirishima.

"No problem," replied Kaminari. "Where did you get that flash grenade?"

"That was Midoriya's idea," Said Kirishima. "With quirks like this, it's hard for me to get in close enough to attack. This helps even out the odds." He looked back at the other flesh balls as they began to take form.

"Look alive, Kaminari," he said, producing an orange orb. "We've got targets."

"Want some gum?" Said Ms. Joke.

"It's really a finger-trap, isn't it?" Said Aizawa, not taking his eyes off the field. "I hate this. It's frustrating that we can't tell who passes and fails in real-time."

"And Shindo made it worse by splitting the ground open," Said Ms. Joke, blowing a large bubble with her gum. "Now it's hard to see anything. Wait," she added, laughing. "Eraser! Are you actually worried?"

"No," Said Aizawa. "There's something I've realized after watching my students, in school and in the field. They may not have realized it themselves, but in class 1-A, there's one person whose spirit has had a big impact on them. He doesn't consider himself a leader, and he doesn't care about being the most popular, but time and again I've watched his passion spread to the rest of his peers. It's strange, but whenever there's some kind of major event, he is always at the center of it. I'm not worried, Joke. I can't wait to see what they'll do. Even if he isn't physically with the others, his presence raises the standard for the entire class."

"You've fallen hard for them, Aizawa," said Ms. Joke.

"I'm honored to have them as students," Said Aizawa.