63

Chapter 63: End of Term QuestionsNotes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Question 30

30.A) Which American stylist and support item developer was the first to stir away from the all-encompassing trend of adding a cape to every Hero outfit? Name them and their brand.

30.B) How did their school of thought and work impact injuries and losses on the field?

His pen started moving on the page as he thought hard, scratching his head a bit.

- I remember that… must be that Edna "E" Mode, and "E" was also her brand… Her work did well- No, wait, how would Yaoyorozu or Midoriya say it? -

He scratched his head in thought for a few moments before erasing the last few words and starting again.

- Her way of thinking and subsequent work impacted the industry positively, lowering the injury and death rates caused by accidents in which capes became a liability to the Heroes wearing them. With fewer Heroes wearing capes that were only added for their aesthetic value, rather than for their function, the number of accidents related to costume inefficiencies decreased from 144 to 47 in a single year, turning public opinion in favor of Miss Mode's line of thinking… -

After completing the answer and raising his pen, Denki gave another look to his writing and nodded contently.

- Yeah, that will do, - he thought with a satisfied exhale.

A quick glance at the clock told him that he was cutting it close, so he chose to flip the page around and look through the whole thing again to find any mistakes he might have made—or not, which he crossed his fingers for. Miss Midnight's Modern Hero Art History exam wasn't the worst of the term—nothing would compare to Ectoplasm's Math tests, and Denki wouldn't be surprised if he were to find it again in his nightmares—, but it was still a U.A. exam.

Denki went through each answer again, one by one, barely finding anything to correct. He found a spelling mistake and a couple of numbers that might have been slightly wrong, but nothing major. He could have missed some here and there, sure, but for once that didn't feel true. Overall, he felt pretty satisfied with the outcome. This was a test he wouldn't mind handing over.

Yeah, he was very satisfied… And taken aback, of course. He wasn't used to finishing his exams, nevermind going back to check if he had made any mistakes.

Though, if he was impressed with himself, he was blown away by the fact that his friends had the patience to tutor him so that he could get that stuff in his empty head. He owed a lot to them, from Midoriya and Yaoyorozu to Shoda and Kodai, who had been helping him out more as of late.

It hadn't been easy, as he'd never been the best student. Good enough to get into U.A. high, yes, but never a full-marks guy. He had relied a lot on the practical aspect of the entrance exam to make up for the rest of his scores, and thankfully everything had worked out. 

And yet, their tutoring had managed the impossible, getting him to actually understand the stuff he was reading instead of just learning it like a script and trying to parrot it out. He now knew what he was writing, and he probably wouldn't even forget it all immediately like usual!

He had thought that after weeks of studying and four consecutive days of exams he would have been a shell of a man, but that couldn't be more wrong! He was a bit tired, sure, but it was a far cry from the headaches he usually got.

The way he had stopped frying himself had helped a bunch too. He had always felt like it was harder to focus for a while after those, making the issue all the worse. Thankfully he was now free—and apparently on the way to some exciting new developments if Monoma's theories were spot on.

Denki had to give merit where merit was due, because for the first time in recent years he wasn't afraid that he could be getting a failing grade in any of his classes. No impending doom to see here, no sir.

When Miss Midnight called for them to put their pens down, Denki's was already comfortably resting to the side.

"Alright kids, you're free to go," the teacher started when she had collected all of their papers. "And good luck on your practicals tomorrow."

"Thank you!" Denki joined the rest of the class as they replied as one while the woman left.

He then turned to the side and locked eyes with Mina, the two exchanging a smirk before jumping and giving each other a high five.

"We did it!" the two yelled before turning towards the end of the class, where their tutors usually sat. "We did it!"

"Congratulations," Yaoyorozu said with a smile before looking surprised as Mina jumped over her desk.

"We've gotta celebrate! The hardest challenge is gone!" she cried out triumphantly, blatantly ignoring Ida's look of horror.

"Debatable," Todoroki commented, apparently unperturbed by the spectacle. Nothing seemed to be able to shake him that much.

Tsu tilted her head. "You're already forgetting the practicals, ribbit?"

"How could we?" Sato chuckled while slowly shaking his head. "Midnight just talked about them."

"I don't know about you, but I would've been fine with just academics," Mineta sighed.

"But the practical exam is fundamental to let our teachers grade our progress!" Ida chided, still appalled.

"We know, Ida," Sero pacified him with a raised hand.

"He's just being a bit pessimistic since we don't know what's coming," Shinso pointed out matter-of-factly.

The bluenette considered his words before nodding. "I see. Though I have little doubt that we will be surprised by what our teachers have in store for us, I also believe that we shouldn't end up facing insurmountable problems." He raised his hand before chopping the air ahead of him. "Tomorrow, we shall prove our mettle!"

"Yeah!" Kirishima added as he raised his fist.

"Very optimistic of you," Uraraka giggled.

"True to the Vivacity name," Tokoyami mused to himself.

"But we still shouldn't celebrate today!" Ida continued as he turned slightly towards Mina. "We should be resting in preparation for tomorrow's harduos challenge!"

"Aw, come on!"

"I'm with the big ball of positivity on this one," Jiro sighed, his jacks pointing at Ida. "I think I need the rest."

"I think we all do," Ojiro agreed.

" Vraiment ." Aoyama nodded, probably agreeing with them.

The horned girl pouted, but soon relented. "Fiiine. Then we'll party tomorrow!"

"If there's anything to party for," Mineta added.

"Come on, it can't be that bad," Denki commented, hoping to lift the other's spirit.

"It will be fine," Midoriya agreed, patting the smaller teen on the back. "We've been working hard. I know that we can all pull on through."

"Then we'll come to you with any complaints later," Denki said with a wink, making the greenette chuckle lightly.

The chatting students left the class, all ready to spend an afternoon gathering their strengths to be in tiptop shape the following morning. It didn't take long before 1-A met their sister class, the two groups intermingling easily as people approached those they were closest to.

Denki, Kirishima, Sero, and Mineta found themselves with their usual squad—except for Bakugo, who had somehow disappeared during their previous chat while still in class.

"Hey! How'd it go?" he asked.

"Good!" Tetsutetsu replied immediately, followed by a "Fine," by Awase.

"Eh, turned out okay," Tsuburaba shrugged, making Kaibara nod along.

"How about you?"

"No sweat!" Kirishima grinned, fist tight to bump it with Tetsutetsu's.

"Better than ever," Denki grinned.

"Yeah," Mineta agreed, albeit with the same defeated tone he had before.

"Uh, what's up with him?" Tsuburaba questioningly raised an eyebrow.

Before he could answer, Awase thought of asking directly. "Is something wrong, Mineta?"

The smaller teen sighed and kept looking down. "Just antsy about the practical," he groaned. "I know I've improved, but I can't help but fear whatever they've got in store for us."

"Uh? Didn't we tell you?" Tetsutetsu asked, confused. "It's going to be robots. An upperclassman told Itsuka a few days ago."

"Whaaat?!" Denki reacted with a laugh. "Seriously? We were worried over nothing."

"So you were worried," Sero teased with a smirk, getting a weak jab as payback.

"Ah! That's a relief!" Kirishima said, grinning widely, before turning towards the smaller teen. "Heard that? Nothing to worry about!"

Mineta, however, looked lost in his own head, frowning as he thought. "Are you sure about that?" he finally asked.

"Uh, yeah?" the steel boy replied, confused. "I mean, that's what we heard from the upperclassmen."

"I'm sure it is, but I don't think it's right either," Mineta stated.

Now, that got him interested. "What'd you mean?"

"It wouldn't make sense for it to be robots. Why have a repeat of the Entrance Exam when we've all already proven that we can easily defeat those?"

Kaibara huffed. "They might want to see how many more we can take down."

"See, I thought so too for a moment, but that wouldn't work either," Mineta shook his head. "Our lessons weren't focused on taking down a large number of enemies, but individuals or small groups, because that's how Villains are usually found. Robots aren't even a good comparison, since everyone here can defeat them. Blasting through thirty, fifty, or a hundred robots is the same thing."

"What about the Zero Pointers? Maybe they want to see how we'd react to those now," Sero proposed.

"Mm, I don't think so. They've already seen how we dealt with those during the Sports Festival. Sure, we got better, but it's not like our power has skyrocketed between then and now."

"Eh, I wish," Tsuburaba groaned.

"He's not wrong… We didn't get hurt by it when it fell on us, but it's not like I think I can do much better now," Kirishima pointed out to Tetsutetsu, who reluctantly agreed.

"So what do you think it will be?" Kaibara asked, cutting to the chase.

"I don't know," Mineta groaned. "It could be anything, and I'm sure that it'll be way harder than robots."

"What else can they throw at us?" Tsuburaba interjected with a jaded snort. "It's not like we've fought much else during Heroics other than bots and each other."

Mineta slowed down slightly at that. "... Each other?" he asked himself, still in deep thought.

"Damn, do you think that's it?" Sero asked, looking as surprised as he felt.

"Fuck, you don't think it'll be another tournament or something, right?" Awase cursed.

"Damn, I hope not," Tsuburaba groaned annoyedly. "My barriers still can't keep up with everybody."

"More like 'anybody'," Kaibara commented with a sly smirk which only grew wider at the replying glare.

"But that would be just like our sparring sessions!" Tetsutetsu excitedly said. "We're great at those!"

"Yeah, we're always training like that!" Kirishima added, equally energized. "It's gonna go great!"

"Depends on who you're fighting though," Denki pointed out. "What would you do against Todoroki or Midoriya'"

"Create a diversion, run, and try to find backup," Mineta answered. "What else is there to do against odds like that?"

"I'd make them taste my fists!" Tetsutetsu replied, raising one of said fists and flexing his arm, blissfully oblivious to the others rolling their eyes.

"Sure," Kaibara huffed.

"Hey, at least he's positive about it," Kirishima chuckled.

"Eh, whatever, we'll just have to try harder anyway," Sero shrugged.

"Plus Ultra, am I right?" Denki smirked.

He had gotten through the worst part already, so he would be damned if he let the part he usually excelled in stop him. 

- Yeah! Summer camp, here I come! -

… But, just to be sure, he would see if Midoriya or Monoma had a few last-minute pointers to give. Could never be too careful with the teachers' tricks and whatnot.

Kyoka hummed, finding the information she'd just heard worthy of some thought.

- Seems like Itsuka got that one wrong… -

She clicked her tongue, as she was hoping to tackle something easier, for once.

Glancing to one side, she saw that Momo and Green were still in the middle of their conversation about something related to their duties as class reps. 

They two really did make a fucking pretty picture. One she would ruin by adding herself to the mix-

- No! Stop that! Not today! Shut up! - She growled internally. She was starting to get really fucking frustrated with her own thoughts. How come the fact that she was currently dating one and that she could technically ask the other out too wasn't helping at all?

Because she'd never find the courage to ask.

Trying to get herself out of that train of thoughts for the time being, Kyoka took the opportunity of a lull in the others' exchange to interject.

"So, Green," she blurted out, "what's up with the practical?"

The boy moved a bit to look at her, as she was half-hidden by Momo's silhouette. "What'd you mean?"

"Itsuka's friend said that it's going to be robots like in the Entrance Exam, but Mineta thinks that they were wrong." She pointed behind them with one of her jacks. "He's actually got some good arguments."

He let out a short sound of surprise as she repeated what the other had said, then smiled.

"Well, I'm glad that he's trying to look at every option critically."

She huffed lightly at the guy's constant praise of everybody and their grandmother. "But is he right?" she reiterated the question. "It's not actually going to be robots, is it?"

"Maybe it will, maybe it won't," the greenette chuckled and shook his head. "But Mineta's almost on the right track," he whispered, his voice so low that it was unlikely that anyone but Momo could have picked up on it.

Kyoka raised an eyebrow, but played ball.

"Just say that you don't know then," she huffed.

"Sorry," he mumbled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head in apparent defeat.

"We might still be able to theorize," Momo cut in. "Since we all have the same meeting time despite the test time being a full six hours, I surmise that our teachers might have prepared quite the undertaking for us."

"All of us?" she inquired.

"Yes. I checked with Itsuka and Shoda. Fortyone students at the ready and geared up at ten o'clock," the ravenette confirmed. "While we might be in for another separation into smaller groups, I feel like we should expect something new."

"That's the one thing I can say for sure," Izuku commented freely.

Kyoka raised an eyebrow, piecing together the boy's current giddiness with his previous statements. "You don't know, but you want to be surprised, don't you?"

He let out an awkward, shy chuckle that felt more real. "Is it that obvious?"

"... Nah. Just funny," she said, holding back a chuckle. "You look so much like a kid the night before a school trip now."

"I… guess I do?" Green mumbled.

Momo giggled, covering her mouth with one hand. "That is something I can't wait to experience myself."

"You've never-" Kyoka started before remembering that Momo had been homeschooled and tutored privately. While her holiday abroad must have been leagues more extravagant than any outing taken by them "commoners", they didn't exactly count as school trips. "Oh, right."

"Yes, I never had the pleasure," the heiress sighed.

Feeling a rare flick of confidence, Kyoka smirked. "Damn, now we really gotta win and get to that summer camp for you to try it firsthand, princess," she joked and winked.

Kyoka felt really grateful that Momo's hand had moved away from her mouth, as that caught-off-guard expression—and blush, what?—were a goddamn gift.

"Y-Yes, I suppose I would be very grateful for your aid," the ravenette replied, turning her head to look ahead.

- Weird, - Kyoka thought, confused by what her jacks were picking up, - what's up with her heart rate? -

"We'll do our best to make the dream come true then," Green proclaimed, giving her a wink.

Well, Kyoka should have expected that he'd find Momo as stupidly adorable as she did.

She smirked, winked back, and kept up the new little game of teasing their friend, one regal platitude and/or bad joke at a time.

Her nuisance didn't bother her for the rest of the day.

The entirety of Class 1-A and 1-B, all wearing their full gear, boarded one of the school's largest buses, more than double the size of the ones they were used to taking to reach the furthest facilities.

As per their instructions, Izuku, Momo, Itsuka, and Nirengeki had made sure that everyone had taken a seat before getting on those in the front and awaiting the arrival of a teacher. But, instead of the latter, all they got was the sound of closing doors and of the motor running as the automated bus started moving.

A low murmur of confusion—with the occasional "What the-"— began filling the bus as the students questioned what was going on. To say that some were on edge would have been stating the obvious. They had been waiting weeks for any hint at the practical and not getting an explanation when they were supposed to be starting the exam any minute made them feel quite apprehensive. Moreover, the windows were completely covered, giving them no hints to their current movements.

"Please, tell me that we haven't been hijacked by Villains again," Minoru pleaded in a squeaky voice.

The alertness level of the classes rose to the sky before falling a second later as the four screens over the central row turned on, revealing the calm and collected visage of their principal.

"Nothing so worrisome, Mr. Mineta," the chimera chuckled before clapping his fluffy hands. "Good morning, students! As you may have guessed, this is all part of the exam you're going to undertake today, so you have nothing to worry about. You should instead focus on the exam itself, as we've prepared quite a treat for you!"

The teens kept their silence, giving the creature their full attention. 

"Now, let's begin by taking care of the obvious. It's possible for you to fail today's exam, in which case you will not be allowed to attend this summer's training camp. As previous editions of it have been shown to improve our students' abilities by as far as sixty percent, I warmly suggest you give it your all so that you don't miss out."

If the threat had previously been mostly focused on missing the joys of a camping retreat with their friends, now they knew that they would also suffer a heavy loss in terms of teachings and breakthroughs. They would be left in the dust, which didn't sit right with any of them. People didn't get inside U.A. because they settled for mediocrity, and nobody here was an exception to that rule.

"We know that you have asked your seniors about the content of their own exams, and I commend you for your attempt. We expect every class to do so when the time comes, as it is only right in our business to try and learn about the challenges you will encounter with the means at your disposal. Regretfully, I have to confess that all your data gathering was for naught."

The chimera's smirk didn't show a single hint of regret. There was something of a sadistic glint in his eyes though.

"... So it's not another robot rumble," Hanta said, eyeing a dejected Tetsutetsu on the other side of the row.

"Indeed it isn't!" Nezu piped up.

"I knew it," Minoru, Kyoka, and a few others grumbled at once.

"If it's any consolation, you would have been right until last year," the chimera tried to console them. "If in the past we thought it acceptable to rely on machines to train and evaluate our students' skills, some recent developments in the industry, among which the U.S.J. attack, have shown us that our previous methods were in a dire need of revisioning. As you have already experienced for a good part of the past semester, we have chosen to shift our focus from machines to living opponents. On the field you're much more likely to meet Villains of flesh and blood rather than those of metal and oil, and it is crucial that we offer you an experience as close as possible to the real thing."

"Can't argue with that," Neito hummed, knowing a thing or two about adaptability.

"At least it should be challenging," Togaru commented with a huff.

"It goes without saying that living beings are usually harder to fight than robots, except for a few isolated cases. Almost no fight will be the exact same as another, and it won't just be a matter of Quirks. Strengths and weaknesses will vary vastly. Your strategies will be disrupted and will need to change on the fly. You may be surrounded by allies or alone against a crowd, and you should not drop your guard in either case. You will find some too cowardly to actually fight, just as you'll find those too proud, too scared, or too angry to give up. Some people will also act irrationally, something machines simply cannot do, and erratic behavior makes for unexpected and dangerous surprises," Nezu spoke, never losing a chance to lecture. "But, most importantly, you should remember that your opponents are still, under any label they may hold, living beings. Robots can be repaired, but a life lost can't be replaced."

Izuku silently sighed at the reminder, unknowingly imitated by several other pensive classmates. Despite their recent improvements, some fears were quite hard to repress.

Denki and Kinoko might have been the most expressive in their fear of hurting others by mistake, but they weren't the only ones whose powers could easily cause dire consequences. Electrocutions and suffocations were not even as common as blunt force trauma, perforations, blood loss, and a number of other incidents everyone on that bus could inadvertently cause.

None of them would be alone in their efforts to find ways to prevent the worst from happening… and even if it did, he would have their backs.

After letting them have a short moment of reflection, Nezu cleared his throat. "With that said, let me introduce you to this year's practical exam, the first of its kind."

- The first, is it? - he mused with a smile.

Izuku bent slightly forward, his interest piqued. He had told much of his previous tries to the principal to highlight which exams had worked well and which hadn't, so he was sure that the chimera would try to outdo himself once again, and he couldn't wait to be surprised.

"From this moment until the end of the exam, every one of you is part of a task force meant to raid a Villain hideout. Said hideout is the complex that constitutes Ground Sigma, a labyrinthine building where you might lose yourself if you fail to be careful. Furthermore, you won't start right by the entrance. This bus is currently moving you towards one end of Ground Tau, meaning the district-like landscape attached to and partially surrounding the complex. You will be given data over the district, the building, and some of the Villains you will be fighting, which should allow you to choose how to best handle the operation."

Two drawers opened in front of the Class Representatives, revealing the binders they contained. Their lifeline to success.

"So we're fighting Villains after all?" Sen questioned, an eyebrow raised.

Nezu directed its paw downwards, as if pointing towards the binders. "I believe you'll find the answer to all of your questions in those files. I am not allowed to disclose anything more about your targets, but I will offer clarification in case of doubts."

"We'll make do, sir," Itsuka stated, making the principal nod appreciatively as she placed one parcel on her lap and passed the other over to Izuku.

Judging by the things' thickness and weight, there couldn't be that much material inside. Overall, the exam seemed pretty standard… which meant that he still had to be wary.

"The exam will last for six hours, starting at the moment of your arrival," Nezu continued after a nod. "It should be more than enough time to complete your mission, but you should be careful about the details you'll find in the files. Wasting too much time may lead to your defeat, but the same might apply to rushing in without taking the proper precautions."

Izuku hummed along. A timed challenge wasn't anything new, and he'd already seen a few instances of "special events" changing things up as time passed.

"Last but not least, a few words on our grading metric," the chimera smirked. "How you secure your targets is up to you. You may act as you see fit for the whole duration of the exam, but keep in mind that all of your actions will be taken into account for grading purposes. By now you know how you should behave during this kind of simulation, so I won't repeat your teachers' words."

Their very first lessons with All Might had been a simulation, and just the first of many. Aizawa and Kan had only kept raising the bar since then, so they felt reasonably versed on that front.

"Furthermore, since you're working as a team, you will either succeed or fail as a whole. It doesn't matter who accomplishes the goal, only that is accomplished in its entirety." Nezu fixed his beady eyes on them as his expression grew judgemental despite the smile. "Of course, that doesn't mean that some of you can slack off. We teachers will be watching and evaluating your performances, and if we find an overall lacking performance in a sufficient number of you, we will be failing you all."

" All of us? " Pony asked, disbelieving her ears.

" Indeed , Miss Tsunotori," the chimera calmly confirmed. "Operations like the one you are about to embark on should be crafted carefully to ensure an efficient execution and the safety of everyone involved. With that premise, it would only be sensible for every member of the team to play their part to the best of their abilities. A few instruments out of tune in an orchestra are enough to turn a heavenly performance into a disastrous one."

Even those that weren't training musically easily got the comparison.

"In the spirit of realism," Nezu continued, "there will be no in-betweens and no retakes, only success or failure. But, since I am an advocate of free will and multiple choices, I will provide you with a small means of escape. If any of you wish to withdraw from the exam right now, I won't count such withdrawal as a penalty for the remaining participants. Those withdrawing will be given another test that I will oversee personally and that will depend solely on their abilities. However, in this case your grade will also take into consideration this first instance."

It was a way out with an added penalty of which they didn't know the magnitude. It told much about what Nezu thought of postponing pressing matters. Izuku supposed that the maximum grade in that case would still be a failing one, since Heroes don't have the luxury of avoiding danger altogether when there are lives at stake.

"I will now give you three minutes to think about it, so raise your hand if you wish to not participate."

In a small act to give them a semblance of privacy, the crafty Pro known as Mr. Principal looked away to serve himself some tea, slowly filling his handcrafted ceramic cup and stirring its content until it became of a suitable temperature for drinking.

Izuku huffed lightly, smiled, and laid back on his backrest with his arms crossed. To his right, Itsuka copied the gesture, being swiftly followed by Momo and Nirengeki.

Seconds trickled by. A few glances and smiles were exchanged, some words were mouthed in silence, various heads were shaken with huffs or grins, and everybody made their choice.

When the three minutes had run their course, Nezu could see almost every student in the same position, not a muscle moving.

"Marvelous! I expect great things from you all!" he exclaimed with a clap and a smile. "You should be arriving at your destination right about now, so I'll wish you good luck! I hope I won't see you all in remedial classes!"

The students raised their hands in quick waves and their voices to reciprocate the farewell, only for the creature's hand to stop a few inches away from his keyboard.

"Oh dear. I'm terribly sorry," Nezu excused himself, acting embarrassed. "I seem to have forgotten one last detail that you should know immediately."

- Says the one that never forgets anything… - Izuku thought as everyone else frowned in worry or let out sighs and groans of exasperation. A feeling of anticipation rose inside the boy, preparing him for the trick hidden inside the apparently standard operation. - So, what will it be this time, old friend? -

Unbothered by the emotions on the teens' faces, the chimera smiled carefreely and spoke. "Among your team there might be five spies with secret objectives! They've known everything since yesterday and they shall do everything in their power to fulfill their role! That's all!"

With a click, the screens became black again, and the bus' doors opened.

As chaos started to erupt around him, Izuku chuckled lightly.

- Well played, Nezu. Well played. -

Notes:

"What the hell" thought every other sane person on the bus.

"Fuck" though the five spies.

"Merde" thought Aoyama.

Up next, panic at the Ground Tau?

P.S.

To clarify, the 5 are spies for the exam, not for... well, everything else. The fact that this "oh so conveniently" allows Nezu to look at how they all would react to this kind of accusations and doubts, allowing him a better read at the (at least) one spy he *knows* is there, but that Midoriya won't tell him about... Well, that's just an added bonus.