Chapter 69: Chapter 69: Final Exams (I)
"Eri? Can you wake up? Your ribcage is hurting me..."
"Mhmmm..." Eri simply ignored him and continued hugging him.
"Sigh..."
Without any other choice, he simply mosaiced himself and escaped from Eri's grasp.
Leaving Eri alone in his bed, he went to clean wash himself up and went down to eat his breakfast.
"Morning Uncle Toshinori." Shido greeted him while Yoshinon just took an apple and munched on it.
"Morning Shido. I heard that you were involved in the Hero Killer incident in Hosu yesterday?"
"Yeah. Such bothersome students we have. Iida tried to fight him alone, while Midoriya and Shoto also arrived at the scene in an attempt to 'help' Iida. Luckily I was reached there in time to solve Stain."
"Yes. And for that..." Toshinori suddenly stood up and bowed to him,"...thank you for helping my students."
Seeing his guardian bow so respectfully to him, he got slightly embarrassed.
"It's fine. I knew Iida would try to fight him from the form he submitted anyway. Besides, there are my students as well." Shido waved his hands at him before asking him to sit back down.
"You've grown to like them, huh?"
"Maybe..."
The rest of the breakfast passed by peacefully.
Over the rest of the week, there wasn't any interesting news apart from Shido's reputation rising due to his contribution in taking down the Hero Killer, Stain. Tenya didn't get punished for attempting to fight Stain since Shido was there to supervise him and apart from some cuts and bruises, he wasn't injured.
*****************
And so, the rest of the week passed by without any major incident.
When the students finished their internship and Shido had fully rested (by sleeping and playing with Eri for the rest of the week), it was time to return to school.
"Morning Aizawa-sensei..." Shido yawned and greeted the usual stoic-faced man.
Shota glanced at him before replying back,"Morning. I see that you have taken care of our students during the incident."
"Yes. Nothing serious. It was my idea to constantly put Tenya under surveillance until he met Stain after all."
"It's illegal, you know? Following a student without their consent or knowledge."
"But you agreed, so you're my accomplice. So if you tell, you're getting in trouble as well." Shido smiled and replied.
Shota grunted at his reply before making his way to class with Shido.
"What a surprise! You're not in a sleeping bag today?" Shido exclaimed when he saw Shota making his way to class himself.
"I've been resting my eyes over the weekend break...so I won't need help...for now. After lunch, you'll continue doing what you have done for the past few months."
"You're just lazy."
"No, it's my quirk's side effect."
"Then how about I seal that side effect for you?"
"You can do that?"
"Yes."
"No thanks. If you get rid of it, I won't have an excuse to be in my sleeping bag anymore."
"So you're just lazy."
"..."
With their usual conversations and banters on their way to class, they finally reached the familiar giant door. They calmly stepped into the class and the first thing they saw was Katsuki.
""Pfft..."" Both Shido and Shota spluttered when they saw what happened to him.
Even Shota's usual monotonous and bland facial expression broke. His face had a smile for a moment before he quickly returned to his usual bland face, though his shoulders could be seen heaving up and down in an attempt to stifle his laughter.
Shido didn't care about his image and just laughed out loud together with Hanta and Eijiro.
"Stop laughing! It's just stuck like this, even after a good washing. Keep it up and I'll murder all three of you." Katsuki growled and tried to keep himself from blasting anyone.
"Look at that hair!! It's a perfect 2:8 hair ratio! Bwa ha ha ha ha!"
Shido didn't stop even after Katsuki's threats and just continued laughing .
As they reached the podium in front of the class, the second thing they noticed was...Ochaco. Her eyes were blank and fully white while she was emitting some sort of fiery aura around her
"Wow...that change is drastic..." Shido whispered to Shota who just kept his blank look. It seemed that such changes weren't uncommon since Shota had experienced many turnovers before, but nothing like Katsuki whose only thing that changed was his hair.
"Alright class, it's time to start." As soon as he finished his words, the school bell rang, signalling the start of homeroom.
*****************
"I am here!"
All Might arrived in front of the students with his trademark phrase. Standing in front of the students who had their hero costumes on, he said,"And the reason for that is...your basic hero training! It's been a while, boy and girl! How is everyone?!"
However, after getting used to All Might's presence for the past few months, their reactions were a little...bland.
"Not much of an entrance."
"I'd expect more after a break."
"Maybe he ran out of shticks?"
Shido could see All Might sweating as he mumbled softly,"Run out? Never. My supply of shticks is inexhaustible."
"Anyways!" He suddenly raised his voice,"As an immediate follow-up to your internships, today's activity is a playful one. A rescue-training race!!"
At this point, Tenya immediately raised his hand interjected,"Shouldn't rescue training be conducted at USJ?!"
"That place is for disaster rescues in particular. But what did I say? That's right...a race!"
Pointing towards the huge door behind him, he introduced,"This is field Gamma! It's a dense spread of factories that wind together to create an intricate network of maze-like alleys! You'll split into four teams of five, with each team going one at a time. I'll send up a distress signal from somewhere inside, and you will all start at the border! It's a race to see who can reach and rescue me first!!"
"Naturally, keep the destruction of property to a minimum!" He said as he suddenly turned towards Katsuki and pointed at him.
"Stop pointing at me."
Naturally, All Might ignored him and went on to split the class.
"Okay! Group one, to your marks!"
As Midoriya, Ojiro, Iida, Ashido and Sero made their way to the starting point, the rest of the class started their discussion about the race, commenting on the various points of the race and who was going to win and lose.
As soon as All Might was in position, the race began.
"START!"
Leading ahead of the others was Seri, who used his tape to lunge himself overhead the obstacles and away from the cramped obstacles. However, just as he was about to continue swinging around using his tapes, he suddenly spotted Midoriya dashing straight past him.
"WOAHHHH, MIDORIYA!? What's with those moves?! You kidding me?!"
Izuku could be seen hopping around from the top of one building to the next, parkouring seamlessly, not stopping for a single moment.
Shido floated from above and looked at each participant.
"Very good, it seemed that Izuku had improved once again...no longer just using All Might as his end goal."
His agility, flexibility, dexterity were all above average now, and the obstacle didn't pose a single threat towards him.
Coming in first place was Izuku, followed by Sero, Ojiro, Tenya and finally Ashido.
"Midoriya may have taken first place, but you've all figured out new and better ways to use your quirk since starting school!! Keep up the good work as you prepare for your final exams!!"
"Incredible, I barely recognised you...again. Come see me...after class. The time has come for an important discussion. About me...and about one for all." As All Might walked past Izuku, he whispered and gave him an indiscrete thumbs up.
Shido, who was floating above managed to see it, and wondered how he managed to keep it hidden for so long even after so many obvious clues.
Sighing, he just turned his attention to the next batch of students.
"START!"
*****************
"How was your talk with Izuku?"
While All Might was walking along the corridor, he suddenly heard a voice.
"Ugh! How did you know?" All Might was shocked at the sudden appearance of Shido but quickly calmed down.
"I -"
Shido was about to reply when All Might continued,"Never mind. You know everything, why am I even asking?"
"That's right. So?"
"Sigh, our talk was normal. I just told him about All for One and One for All's history and origins."
"I see. You finally decided to tell him that. I was wondering when you would tell him."
All Might just smiled, didn't say anything else and just proceeded to his next class.
At the end of the day, Shota announced,"Uh...summer vacation's close at hand. Of course, it would be completely irrational for all of you to take a whole month off."
"Don't tell me..."
"You'll be doing a summer training camp in the woods." Shota declared.
The class started cheering and naming things they would find or like in the training camp, but was rudely interrupted by the teacher,"However...anyone who doesn't pass the upcoming final exams...is in for summer school hell, right here."
And this was how the class became motivated to study.
*****************
"I didn't study at all!!"
Only a week remained before the final exams.
"Well, i just have to say..." Shido, who was in class together with his students, gave All Might's trademark smile, his teeth shining brightly and said,"Good luck."
"AHHH!!!"
"You're our sensei right?! Why don't you teach us then?"
Mina and Denki went towards Shido who was at the front of the class and asked.
"Now, it's true that I may be your sensei..." Shido smiled and turned serious,"...but my job doesn't include teaching you. It actually only consists of protecting you and ensuring you actually learn from the actual teachers."
"What??!!"
"Then what about all the times you came forward and taught us!?"
"Oh that? It was on my own initiative to teach you guys. You see, I didn't want to be left out when all of you are learning in class, so I decided to participate in it as well!" Shido gave a very innocent smile.
"Hah?!?! Then why don't you take the initiative to teach us now?"
"Are you a kid or something?"
"Can you bear to let us take summer school hell? Please?"
They thought Shido was going to feel a little guilty and start teaching them, but Shido's reply shocked them.
"Damn right I'm a kid. So kid's going to have some fun instead of studying. See you in the exams."
Waving at them at the doorstep, he immediately left, leaving them stupefied.
*****************
And so, after numerous coaching from their very classmates, tons of suffering and brain straining moments, the students of class 1-A have finally finished enduring the written exams.
And now, it's the day of the...practical exam!
"Let's begin your practical exam." Shota announced monotonously,"It is, of course, possible to fail this exam. If you want to attend the training camp, then don't mess this up."
The group of students were gathered in a straight line facing the teachers, who were also gathered in another straight line in front of them.
"Knowing you guys, you probably asked around...and you might think you have a vague idea of how this'll go..."
"It's a robot rumble, like the entrance exam!!" Denki cheered loudly.
"Fireworks! Curry! Truth of dare!!" Mina was pumped up and wasn't even thinking about the exam when suddenly a mouse popped out of Shota's scarf.
"Not quite!! Various circumstances have demanded a revision to the exam format!"
"The principal!" Denki and Mina paused in the middle of their cheering and was in a very 'amazing' pose.
"A revision...?" Momo wondered while Shoto was shocked..
"Well, you see...we're worried about a villain revival. Of course, we hope to prevent such a movement before it takes hold...but as a school, we have to take all necessary precautions."
Snipe continued,"It's not unreasonable to imagine that counter-villain battles in our current society will intensify considerably...and that means battlin' against robots ain't all that practical."
"So from now on, we'll focus on battles against flesh-and-blood opponents. It is critical that our teaching simulates practical experience as closely as possible!"
As Nezu spoke, there were lights that seemed to have appeared under his feet, as if he was showing something dramatic.
"As such...you student will be...pairing up..."
Pausing for dramatic effects, Nezu continued,"...and fighting one of the teachers you see here!"
The class became shocked but Nezu didn't let them speak and continued talking,"Your pairings and assigned teacher...have already been decided. Your battle moves, your grades, your friendships with one another...all these factors and more were considered, so without further ado..first...Todoroki is with Yaoyorozu."
"Against me." Shota started taking off his scarf and showed a rare smile.
"Next, Midoriya is with Bakugo."
"De...?!" Katsuki exclaimed.
"Ka...?!" Izuku exclaimed.
"And your opponent...will be me!"
Appearing in front of the duo was All Might in his full glory, muscles bulging and his trademark smile present.
"You'll have to work together to win...so come at me, you two!!"
"Ten stages have been prepared, and all teams will begin simultaneously. The test guidelines will be explained by your respective opponents. None of the areas are outside the school grounds, but let's not waste any more time. Get going."
[Principal] versus [Ashido and Kaminari]
[Thirteen] versus [Aoyama and Uraraka]
[Present Mic] versus [Koda and Jiro]
[Phantom] versus [Asui and Tokoyami]
[Midnight] versus [Sero and Mineta]
[All Might] versus [Midoriya and Bakugo]
[Eraserhead] versus [Todoroki and Yaoyorozu]
[Snipe] versus [Hagakure and Shoji]
[Cementoss] versus [Sato and Kirishima]
[Ectoplasm] versus [Iida and Ojiro]
*****************
"Now, this is where we fight." Looking around in a dome-like structure, Shido introduced the place to Tsuyu and Fumikage.
"Um...'fight'? You can't expect us to beat you..."
"No matter what we do, that'd be impossible! We've already seen what you did during our first heroic class..."
Tsuyu stated a fact while Fumikage had his head down and complained a little.
"Pessimistic and impatient, I see! Allow me to fully explain the rules of this exam. The time limit is thirty minutes! Your objective is to either get these handcuffs on me or have one of you escape from the stage."
"We can really just run away?!"
"It's kinda like our battle training."
"Hmm...you could just run away, but this is nothing like your past battle training! Because your opponent this time...is on another level!" Yoshinon raised both of his tiny paws and shouted dramatically.
"If we haven't actually seen your capabilities, I wouldn't even have that image of you." Tsuyu stated bluntly.
"Really? How sad~ but it's fine. I'll definitely drill my image into your minds this time round, so be careful~"
Both students shuddered and thought that Tsuyu might have made this test much harder than it was supposed to go.
"Ahem...anyways, this test is meant to simulate true battle as closely as possible. So please...think of us as actual villains. Suppose we do meet in battle...if you fight and win, that's just fine too. However...if you find yourself overwhelmed by my power...fleeing and calling for help might be your wisest option."
"So it's either right to win, or run to win..." Fumikage stated.
"Yes! Your decision-making is being tested! However, given the rules and circumstances, you're probably thinking running is the only option, am I right?"
Though ashamed, both of them nodded their heads.
"Don't need to feel ashamed. It is completely natural to run and get help in front of an overwhelming opponent. But we don't want to limit you guys to that option, so we had the support department make us these!!"
Taking out what seemed to be a bracelet out of his costume, Shido introduced it to them.
"Ultra compressed weights!! This handicap weighs me down a whole fifty percent of my body weight! It's a tried-and-true method of slowing movement and draining stamina! All combat-related quirks like mine have to wear these, so it means that All Might and Ectoplasm are wearing these as well, though All Might is currently wearing the most."
"!!"
"By the way, we held a competition to design them. And that Hatsume girl's design was picked." Shido added as he was wearing his bracelets.
"Hmm...it's heavier than I thought."
"Trying to bring this down to our level or something? That's offensive."
"Haha...you have the right amount of pride, but it won't help you in this case. We'll see whether these weights would drag me down or not...Oh! And I forget to mention, I'm banned from turning intangible as well the moment the handcuffs land on me."
After he finished saying his words, he floated up and got to his position.
Seeing Shido fly up, both students became speechless.
"This is going to be a hard battle..."
*****************
"So...the test makers, meaning us, start in the centre?" Fumikage asked.
"Yes. In order to escape, we've gotta pass through that one gate. Sensei is probably waiting to ambush us near the gate." Tsuyu replied before making her own analysis.
"Everyone in position? Let's begin the final exam...for UA High's first-years! Ready...GO!!!" An announcement was made and the battle started.
As soon as the timer started, five Shidos suddenly appeared from the ground, surrounding Tsuyu and Fumikage.
"What...?!"
"I forgot to mention...we teachers will be giving it our all...to utterly crush you students." All five Shidos spoke at the same time, finally revealing his golden left eye for the first time.
"So don't die too fast, alright?"
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A/N: Btw, some of you guys, well, actually, most of you guys probably won't like the ending of this battle. So you can criticise all you want, but I'm not going to change the ending.
If you want to support me or/and want 14+ chapters in advance, link:
https://www.patr eon.com/spirits_everywhere
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